Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) No More With Post-Split Dynamics Reveal
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Basically, once the split is actually accomplished, it will leave us with two halves of the former whole. The studio and streaming business, which includes the film and TV studios, HBO, HBO Max, DC Studios, and the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, will all be part of Warner Bros. Meanwhile, the networks operations —including Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, and of course, Discovery Channel, will be Discovery Global.
David Zaslav will continue to head up Warner Bros., while Warner's chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels will be dispatched to helm the sinking ship that will be Discovery Global. Wiedenfels pointed out, '…our enthusiasm for the opportunities ahead only grows thanks to our leading portfolio of beloved brands and programming, our worldwide footprint for adults, kids, and families…' keeps them all going.
A New Gaming Crossover
While horror buffs eagerly await the arrival of Weapons, the new film from Zach Cregger, Warner and Sawhorse Productions are getting together to bring elements of the film to popular game Fortnite. The move will basically sink Fortnite players into the Weapons world, allowing players to collect props, encounter haunted NPCs, and '…face the mysterious 2:17 AM event.'
This is not the first time that Warner and Sawhorse worked together on a project like this; they were also seen together on Sinners: Survive the Night based on the release of Sinners. While little data was on hand for how many played that last game, it must have done reasonably well for Warner to come back to Sawhorse to make a second round.
Is WBD Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on WBD stock based on 10 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 60.21% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $13 per share implies 5.18% downside risk.
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Digital Trends
14 hours ago
- Digital Trends
2026 Oscars: Contenders, analysis, and way-too-early predictions
It's never too early to start thinking about the Oscars. Summer blockbuster season is just about over, paving the way for fall festival season. Many of the projected contenders at the 2026 Oscars will screen at one of the major festivals in the coming months. Places like Telluride, Venice, Toronto, and New York will serve as the springboard for many awards season campaigns. Admittedly, the 2026 Oscars are seven months away, and a lot can change from now until March 26. However, some movies have already begun their campaigns. Others have generated considerable buzz and will launch to the top of the race once they hit theaters. For now, let's break down the contenders and make our predictions. Sinners dominated the first half of the year The first half of the 2025 movie calendar will be remembered for one thing (besides chicken jockey): Sinners. Ryan Coogler's vampiric horror became a phenomenon. A $100 million budget for an original story presents a significant risk in today's Hollywood. Recommended Videos However, Sinners became an event, thanks to its savvy marketing campaign, sensational music, and IMAX format. Coogler's 10-minute video about aspect ratios was a stroke of genius, as it persuaded audiences to see it on the biggest screen possible. In the lead-up to the release, the trades began reporting what Sinners needed to make to be profitable. Puck's Matt Belloni set the Sinners' profitability line at $300 million. Released in April 2025, Sinners overperformed in its first weekend with an opening of $48 million in the United States and Canada. Sinners benefited from a strong word-of-mouth reception, resulting in a $45.7 million haul in its second weekend. With a 4.9% drop, Sinners had the third-best second-weekend performance for a film that made over $40 million. Critics also positively responded to Coogler's epic horror. 'Sinners is a fantastic and frightening masterpiece from one of cinema's best, most ambitious directors,' Digital Trends' Anthony Orlando wrote in his five-star review. Its box office success and critical acclaim make Sinners a serious awards contender, with a legitimate claim to be the frontrunner as of August 3. Sinners feels a lot like Get Out — a first-half-of-the-year release that will only gain more momentum in awards season. A Best Picture nomination should be a lock, along with screenplay and several below-the-line categories. Coogler should be in the running for Best Director. Can Michael B. Jordan get a spot in Best Actor? As of now, he's in, but we'll see how the rest of the year pans out. The 'It's Time' nominee One of the actors or directors this season will run an 'it's time' campaign. What does that mean? Every year, voters decide to reward one actor, actress, or director with a nomination to celebrate their respective career. 'It's time for their person to be recognized for their achievements.' Perhaps this person has not won a major award, or they've never been nominated. Last year, look at Demi Moore, who was fantastic in The Substance. The entire film community rallied around Moore, an actor for over 40 years, and propelled her to her first Oscar nomination. I look at three candidates this year who can run on the 'it's time' campaign. The first is Adam Sandler, and no, it's not for Happy Gilmore 2. The Sandman has never been nominated for an Oscar, with many citing Uncut Gems as the movie that should have resulted in a nomination. Sandler is one of the stars of Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach's new movie for Netflix. George Clooney stars as Jay Kelly, a famous actor, while Sandler plays his manager. Early speculation is that Netflix will campaign hard for Sandler in the supporting actor category. Perhaps Sandler will become the next Laura Dern, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Baumbach's Marriage Story. In that same supporting category, Stellan Skarsgård might be the favorite to win for his performance in Sentimental Value. Shockingly, Skarsgård has never been nominated for an Academy Award. Winning an Oscar for your first nomination would be a nice way to acknowledge Skarsgård for a fantastic career. The next candidate is Paul Thomas Anderson. PTA is back in the Oscars mix with his new film, One Battle After Another, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio. The action comedy carries the biggest budget — $140 million — of PTA's career. Someone who attended a test screening called the film 'bats— crazy,' which excites me even more. Anderson has 11 Oscar nominations and zero wins. It's time for PTA to get his little gold man. The Marty Supreme conundrum I said most, not all, of the contenders will be heading to the fall festivals. One of the noteworthy movies skipping the major festivals is Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie's A24 sports dramedy starring Timothée Chalamet. The movie is about Marty Mauser, a ping-pong hustler who becomes an integral figure in the world of table tennis. Marty Supreme is Safdie's first movie since the split with his brother Benny. Why would a potential contender skip the fall festival circuit? For starters, I don't think it's finished. A24 also has a lot riding on Marty Supreme financially. It has a $70 million budget, the most expensive film in A24's history. If A24 had to choose between profit and Oscars, my guess is they want Marty Supreme to be profitable. A24 wishes to make more movies with bigger budgets, and if Marty Supreme is a success, this will only support that decision to make bigger movies. However, A24 wants to have its cake and eat it, too. If Marty Supreme can turn a profit and win Oscars, they'll take it. Let's see if Chalamet can go on another generational press run like he did for A Complete Unknown. 2026 Oscars: Predictions Best Picture Avatar: Fire and Ash Bugonia Hamnet Jay Kelly Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners* Sentimental Value Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Wicked: For Good Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelley Ryan Coogler, Sinners* Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value Chloé Zhao, Hamnet Best Actor Michael B. Jordan, Sinners Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent Jeremy Allen White, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere* Best Actress Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Jessie Buckley, Hamnet Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: For Good Jennifer Lawrence, Die, My Love Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value* Best Supporting Actor Delroy Lindo, Sinners Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly Andrew Scott, Blue Moon Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value Jeremy Strong, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Best Supporting Actress Laura Dern, Jay Kelly Ayo Edebiri, After the Hunt Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value* Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners *= predicted winner
Buzz Feed
18 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
MGK Was Supposed To Be A Vampire In Sinners
Machine Gun Kelly apparently had the chance to audition for a vampire role in Ryan Coogler's runaway 2025 hit movie Sinners, but he turned it down for one solid reason. On the Aug. 1 episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the "Cliche" singer explained that he declined to audition for the movie, which became a commercial success, when he learned that a racial slur would be used. MGK was not down to say the n-word. Straight up. "Like 'Sinners,' I was supposed to be in that," MGK said. "The vampire, they had me set up to do the audition — it's the one that's in the house, so he's the second vampire, the one that the guy comes and eats the family. In the audition, he has to say the 'n-word' and I wouldn't do it." Sinners premiered on April 18, 2025, and featured actors Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo, and more. MGK is likely talking about Bert, the KKK member turned vampire portrayed by Peter Dreimanis. The character and his wife, Joan (Lola Kirke), were made vampires by Remmick (Jack O'Connell). One audition turned down isn't going to keep MGK from pursuing acting. "I have a lot of aspirations to be in movies, it just hasn't panned out that way," he said. "I'm on universal timing," MGK explained, before adding, "It'll align. The angels will put something in the works." "There's been plenty of movies that come out that I was like, ah, I was supposed to be in that, or I did auditions for that." MGK, under his real name Colson Baker, has starred in several films throughout the years outside of his music projects. He had a part in the Netflix movies Project Power (2020) and Birdbox (2018), as well as the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt as Tommy Lee. If MGK's reason for not auditioning for Sinners is true, then good on him because I don't think an MGKKK would've sat right with me. Check out he full interview below:
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Machine Gun Kelly claims he turned down an audition for Sinners – here's why
Machine Gun Kelly has claimed he turned down an audition for box office smash Sinners. The 35-year-old singer said that he was supposed to be in the 2025 thriller movie, directed by Ryan Coogler, during Thursday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show. 'The vampire, they had me set up to do the audition, it's [for] the one that's in the house, so he's the second vampire,' he explained. He then cited the reason why he turned the opportunity down, claiming: 'In the audition, he has to say the 'n-word' and I wouldn't do it.' Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, auditioned for Bert, who gets turned into a vampire by Remmick (played by Jack O'Connell) in Sinners. Bert's wife, Joan, also gets bitten by Remmick and becomes a vampire. Ultimately, the role of Bert went to Peter Dreimanis. During The Pat McAfee Show, the 'Wild Boy' singer said that he's always had an interest in acting. 'I had a lot of aspirations to be in movies, but it just hasn't panned out that way,' Kelly said. 'I'm on universal time, though, so we'll see.' He described what universal timing meant, noting that the acting opportunities will come when it's right for him. 'The angels will put something in the works,' he added. 'Whenever they feel like it.' However, he acknowledged that he doesn't want to wait too long to book another movie role. 'I'd like to be in cinema while I still look young. I'd really like to be recruited into a movie while I still got looks,' Kelly quipped. Kelly started acting in 2014, with his first role in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights, where he played rapper Kid Culprit. However, he later noted that when in the acting business, he wants to go by his birth name, Colson Baker, which is what he did in the Western film, The Last Sun. 'I think it's more just out of respect for the art,' he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 about dropping his stage name for movie roles. Referring to the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, he said: 'If you're looking at a Basquiat piece and you have feelings about him personally, is that fair to the art because of how you feel about him personally?" 'There's music and then there's movies. I don't feel like being Inception in a person,' he added, referring to the 2010 Christopher Nolan film. 'Like there's a character inside of a character inside of a character inside of a character. I'd rather it just be me playing a character in one world and then me playing a character in another world.'
