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Augusr 8 - August 14

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Apple Original Films’ summer blockbuster “F1 The Movie,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, accelerates back into IMAX. Presale tickets available now for the high-octane, global hit feature starring Brad Pitt, hailing from director Joseph Kosinski, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Plan B Entertainment and seven-time Formula 1® world champion Lewis Hamilton’s Dawn Apollo Films banner...

James Cameron said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that he’s given his filmmaking career entirely to the “Avatar” franchise for decades in the hope of doing good for the world, not just making boatloads of money, which the films have been quite good at doing so far. The director’s original “Avatar” from 2009 is the highest-grossing movie of all time (unadjusted for inflation) with $2.9 billion. The 2022 sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is the third highest-grossing movie ever with $2.3 billion. “I’ve justified making ‘Avatar’ movies to myself for the last 20 years, not based on how much money we made, but on the basis that hopefully it can do some good,” Cameron told the publication. “It can help connect us. It can help connect us to our lost aspect of ourself that connects with nature and respects nature and all those things.”...

Midjourney issued its first response to a lawsuit brought by Disney and Universal, arguing that the studios have no power to prevent AI training on its works. The studios accused Midjourney — a startup AI image platform — of “vast, intentional, and unrelenting copyright infringement” in a suit filed in June, claiming that users on the platform were able to produce nearly identical copies of the studios’ copyrighted characters. In a response filed Wednesday evening, Midjourney argued that AI training is protected “fair use.” “Copyright law does not confer absolute control over the use of copyrighted works,” Midjourney’s lawyers argued. “The limited monopoly granted by copyright must give way to fair use, which safeguards countervailing public interests in the free flow of ideas and information.” Midjourney also argued that the studios are trying to “have it both ways,” using AI tools themselves while seeking to punish a popular AI service. The response also states that “many dozens” of Midjourney’s subscribers have email addresses linked to Disney and Universal — suggesting the studios’ own employees are also using the service. ...

Netflix's approach to theatrical distribution has been called out by the CEO of one of the United States' biggest theater chains. The popular streaming service generally releases their original movies directly onto their platform, without theatrical or physical media releases. While some Netflix movies, particularly those that the company wishes to be eligible for Academy Awards, do run in theaters, their runs tend to be cursory and, almost without exception, take place in limited theaters. This remained the case even after 2022's Glass Onion debuted at No. 3 during its one-week run, despite playing in significantly fewer theaters (696) than many prominent movies below it on the domestic chart, including Devotion (3,405), The Menu (3,228), Black Adam (3,372), and Bones and All (2,727). Per Deadline, Cinemark CEO Shawn Gamble criticized Netflix's approach of avoiding sending their streaming movies to theaters during a recent earnings call with analysts. After reflecting on the success of F1 The Movie for Apple Studios, which helped push Cinemark to a quarter with a net income of $93.5 million (more than double the previous year), he said that "it's clearly unfortunate" that Netflix does not seem to have "any near-term plans to change their overarching strategy." Gamble argued that "all the data clearly shows now that theatrical creates a bigger promotional impact, elevates consumers' desire to see films, [and] builds bigger brands and cultural moments." However, he revealed that they are "optimistic" that Netflix's approach will eventually change...

A documentary about the YouTube group Dude Perfect is now set to release in theaters. Dude Perfect is a Texas-based comedy group consisting of members Tyler Toney, Coby Cotton, Cory Cotton, Garrett Hilbert, and Cody Jones. The group met as college roommates at Texas A&M and now makes comedy videos depicting trick shots, stunts, and more. Dude Perfect was founded and started their YouTube channel in 2009. Their very first video, Backyard Edition, went viral and helped elevate the group's fame. Now, they run a YouTube channel with over 61 million subscribers whose videos consistently get millions of views. Per Bloomberg, a documentary titled Dude Perfect: The Hero Tour is officially set for release in theaters. The film will chronicle the YouTube group's nationwide performances. The theater chain Regal will release the movie onto 800 screens throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and parts of Western Europe. This will start out as a two-week release that could eventually expand. According to the source, Regal is "hoping Dude Perfect can be the next Taylor Swift.”...

A new Warner Bros. report reveals plans to release 12 to 14 movies annually. Warner Bros. is one of the still-surviving major studios from Hollywood's old studio system. Of the original five Majors, they are one of only two to survive, alongside Paramount. Some of their recent titles include The Alto Knights, Sinners, and Superman. Warner Bros. Discovery serves as the parent company for both Warner Bros. and HBO. As such, many of their films end up being distributed on HBO Max. HBO has also gone through some rebranding this year with its streaming transition back to HBO Max (rather than just Max). During their recent earnings call, Warner Bros. is now planning extensive theatrical release plans. This comes in response to the group's recent financial reporting, which sees them up $9.8 billion in revenue from this time last year. The company has made over $3 billion at the box office this year alone...