Latest news with #MattBelloni
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Sony Lost Big On KPop Demon Hunters' Record Success, Says Report
KPop Demon Hunters Netflix While KPop Demon Hunters is almost exclusively associated with Netflix as it sets record after record across two different industries, streaming and music, few may know who actually developed and produced the film, Sony Pictures Animation, the studio behind Enter the Spider-Verse (you may see some similarities to that style here). The film is a colossal hit, so surely that must be working out great for Sony, right? Well, not so much. According to industry fixture Matt Belloni, the problem is how this original deal was structured. Sony made KPop Demon Hunters for $100 million, then sold the rights to Netflix. Now, reports are that Sony will end up making just $20 million in profit on the deal thanks to those terms, as anything that happens from here, that's all Netflix, since they own the property. KPop Demon Hunters Netflix At the time, that probably sounded like a deal that was just fine. It's a good movie, it would be fed into the Netflix conveyer belt of content, be watched, and everyone will praise it for a weekend and move on. But the rest is history, of course. As I write this, Kpop Demon Hunters remains the #1 movie on Netflix seven weeks after release, something we've never seen before. It has been elevated to Netflix's second most-viewed movie ever, and it has its sights set on #1, Red Notice . It has placed at #1 on almost every top music chart with its fictional group HUNTR/X's track Golden, most recently achieving the ultimate prize, landing at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first Kpop group to do so, and the first girl group to do so since Destiny's Child. Netflix reportedly views KPop Demon Hunters as its ' Frozen ' equivalent, Disney's billion dollar franchise. While KPop Demon Hunters is not making bank at the box office, it's a huge success in Netflix terms and that will spawn at least a trilogy of movies, and there are rumblings of a live-action adaptation or even a stage show. Live-action may seem a bit goofy and antithetical to the concept, but the singing voices of the three girls are essentially those characters in real life, appearance-wise, so that helps. As for Sony, its involvement in what happens from here is unclear. Netflix, of course, needs someone to make these future movies, and while Sony largely missed out on the success of this first film, I imagine that will not slip away the second or third time around. We have no announcements of what's coming next for KPop Demon Hunters , and that may be why. I've asked Sony for comment and will report if I hear back. Follow me on Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram . Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .
Fox News
19-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Colbert's 'Late Show' was reportedly losing CBS $40M a year as critics speculate politics drove cancellation
A new report is putting a spotlight on the finances of "The Late Show" as critics speculate the CBS cancellation was a political move to silence its anti-Trump host Stephen Colbert. Puck News' Matt Belloni reported the late-night show "has been losing more than $40 million a year" for CBS and that it had a budget of "more than $100 million per season," contrasting it with network's daytime and primetime programming, which he noted were "still profitable." "'Late Show,' with its topical humor and celebrity interviews pegged to specific projects, has struggled on Paramount+. And of the three network late-night shows, 'Late Show' has by far the smallest digital footprint on YouTube and other platforms," Belloni wrote. "So from a business perspective, the cancellation makes sense." Belloni said the sources he spoke with at CBS and Skydance Media, the company that is set to buy the network's parent company Paramount Global as part of an $8 billion merger, insist Colbert's cancellation was "based on economics, not politics," pointing to the decision to give his show a 10-month extension to May 2026 instead of pulling the plug immediately as evidence. "Still, two other people with deep ties to CBS and Late Show suspect otherwise," Belloni said. "After all, when a network decides that a show is too expensive, executives typically go to the key talent and ask them to take pay cuts, fire people, or otherwise slash costs. That didn't happen here—though with Colbert said to be making between $15 million and $20 million per year, a pay cut wouldn't have solved the problem on its own." The veteran entertainment journalist went on to suggest that political motivations could be in play if Paramount goes on to also cancel "The Daily Show," which airs on CBS' sister cable network Comedy Central, but stressed, "for now, I cautiously (and skeptically) believe that this was mostly an economic decision." That said, Belloni asked whether this was "the dam bursting" in late night on broadcast television, suggesting that Jimmy Kimmel at ABC as well as Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers at NBC could be next. "I've sensed that the networks have all been reluctant to be the first to pull the trigger on a cancellation in the historic time slot. CBS has now fired the opening shot, and it's reasonable to suspect that NBC and ABC will follow," Belloni wrote. "So no, I wouldn't sleep well tonight if I were Kimmel or Fallon, though both have larger digital footprints and do a lot more for their respective networks. Fallon and Meyers have also been protected by Lorne Michaels, who produces both their shows, though I wonder if even Lorne might recognize that the 12:30 slot is increasingly not viable, and the sacred cows of television are being slaughtered, one by one." President Donald Trump speculated about the future of the other late-night hosts in his Truth Social post celebrating "The Late Show" cancellation. "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," he said. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show." CBS said in its statement Thursday announcing the cancellation that it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," adding, "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount." In a somber message breaking the news to his studio audience, Colbert said, "The folks at CBS have been great partners." However, he struck a vastly different tone on Monday while slamming Paramount's recent settlement with Trump. "I believe this kind of complicated financial sentiment with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's 'big fat bribe,'" Colbert said. "Because it all comes as Paramount's owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance!" There had been concerns within Paramount that not settling Trump's lawsuit would halt its Skydance merger, which needs the approval of the FCC. Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, who would control CBS after the planned merger, is believed to desire a less-partisan operation. Liberal critics, including several top Democrats, have expressed outrage towards CBS, insisting Colbert's show was canceled for political reasons. Paramount did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Bloomberg
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
How ‘Yellowstone' Became a $3 Billion Franchise – and Where It Goes Next
Good afternoon from Los Angeles. I took a week off from the newsletter to visit Chicago, where I stuffed my face and watched the Dodgers lose in heartbreaking fashion. I missed the chance to talk about Netflix's earnings – all is well in Los Gatos, California – as well as the controversy around Sinners, though Matt Belloni, Franklin Leonard and I discuss the film's success on The Town. I also appeared on The Sam Sanders Show to talk about whether entertainment is getting more conservative in the Trump era and on the BBC to discuss whether YouTube is making Hollywood irrelevant.
