Latest news with #TheMinecraftMovie
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Reshaping $540 billion portfolio: America's largest pension fund shuffles billions as CalPERS trims Apple stake, adds Meta, AMD, McDonald's
Why Sell Apple? Why Buy Meta, AMD, and McDonald's? Live Events Meta by 579,150 shares (now 5.5 million total). Meta's advertising business is still going strong, and even though the stock dipped slightly early in the year, it's bounced back. AMD by 325,180 shares (now 3.3 million total). The chipmaker had a rough first quarter but then recovered. It just announced a big new project to build AI data centers in Saudi Arabia, which excited investors. McDonald's by 494,290 shares (now 3.5 million total). While foot traffic at US locations slowed, a popular Happy Meal promotion with 'The Minecraft Movie' helped turn things around. What Does This Mean? Leadership Changes Ahead The road ahead (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as CalPERS, has made some big changes to where it puts its money. CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the US, managing over $540 billion to support retirement benefits for more than 2 million California public quietly shifted some of its biggest investments in early 2025 as it sold more than 5 million shares of Apple , a company whose stock dropped 11 percent in the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, it bought more shares in Meta (the company behind Facebook and Instagram), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and McDonald' has been struggling in the market lately. On top of that, President Donald Trump recently criticized Apple for building iPhones in India instead of the US, even threatening a 25 percent tariff on iPhones made in foreign factories. That could make Apple devices more expensive for American buyers. CalPERS still owns plenty of Apple shares at 34.7 million, but decided it was time to trim increased its stake in:CalPERS said it doesn't make decisions based on short-term news. 'Our public assets investments are index-oriented and optimized using systematic and quantitative investment strategies, not driven by any single period's events,' the fund said in a other words, CalPERS takes the long view, using data and strategy to guide its more going on behind the scenes. Dan Bienvenue, who helped lead CalPERS' investment decisions for over 20 years, left in April. Now, CalPERS is looking for a new Deputy Chief Investment Officer to manage its public stock and bond investments. The new leader will play a big role in shaping where CalPERS puts its money next.'The DCIO will provide thought leadership, identify emerging trends, develop forward-thinking investment approaches, ensure a strong governance and organizational culture exists for investment decision making, ensure alignment with CalPERS long-term strategic objectives, and coordinate inclusion of public market asset class research, analysis, and information into Total Fund investment decision making and drive our CalPERS mission,' the job posting everyday people, especially public employees in California, these decisions matter. CalPERS' job is to keep retirement funds growing safely. These investment moves show how the fund is navigating a changing economy, political pressure, and global tech trends, all while staying focused on the long term.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cinemark CEO Touts Box Office Rebound, Amazon MGM Slate & Industry Track Record Amid Economic Uncertainty; Also Sees More M&A
Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble was upbeat at an ongoing box office turnaround that started in April and touted Amazon MGM's newfound commitment to theatrical releases. On a call with analysts after quarterly earnings, he said M&A in exhibition may finally pick up, and also recalled the industry's historically sturdy performance during periods of economic uncertainty — which appears to be upon us. The chief executive of the nation's third largest theater circuit weighed in on the lively debate around windows that dominated CinemaCon last month, backing 45 days for most films. More from Deadline His wide ranging comments followed mixed first quarter financials that saw losses widen to $39 million, from $25 million the year earlier on a shockingly soft box office. Hollywood strikes continued to ripple, some films underperformed and others were moved out the frame, Gamble said. Cinemark revenue rose 7% to $541 million. Gamble's M&A comments stood out because that subject has been DOA for years. He recalled that deal expectations were high post-Covid, which gut-punched the industry. Many theaters and chains received government subsidies that allowed them to hang on. Those that made it may finally start to find buyers since the box office at last appears to be in the early stretch of a long-awaited recovery. 'It's a better time now than before to bring assets to market if you've survived. I believe we'll see a little bit more [M&A] as we get to a better place.' The rebound started with The Minecraft Movie, spilled into Sinners and moves into Thunderbolts this weekend. Gamble sees the box office roll continuing given the 'strength and breadth' of content in the pipeline including fare studios showcased recently at CinemaCon enhanced by a ramped up theatrical commitment at Amazon, MGM. The studio took the stage at Vegas for the first time with plans to release 14 to 16 films into theaters by 2027, maybe 14 by next year. 'Their message was highly encouraging with regard to the further recovery of overall wide release volume in 2026 and beyond, and so too was the quality and scale of their films, as well as how far along they are with the titles they have in motion,' Gamble said. On Apple, it's dipping a toe with F1 this summer, then we'll see.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump Calls for 100% Tariff on Foreign Movies
Movies are a new focal point for the Trump administration's campaign to impose tariffs across a wide range of industries, from tech to textiles and beyond. In a Sunday night social media post, President Donald Trump said the US movie industry "is DYING a very fast death." He wrote that he's authorizing a 100% tariff "on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands." Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick quoted the president and responded, "We're on it." Trump's latest tariff call to action raises a lot of questions about what movies, and potentially TV shows, will be affected and whether the tariffs would affect future releases or films that are already in the market and on streaming services. One example of that is the wildly successful The Minecraft Movie, which was mostly shot in New Zealand. Film studios often shoot overseas with the help of incentives from countries. The tariffs almost certainly would affect foreign-made films such as the Oscar-winning animated film Flow from Latvia. As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter and others, it's unclear how streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu would be affected, such as the potential impact on subscriber fees and the kinds of content that those services offer. Among the top hits made overseas on Netflix alone are Squid Game and The Crown.
CNET
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Trump Calls for 100% Tariff on Foreign Movies
Movies are a new focal point for the Trump administration's campaign to impose tariffs across a wide range of industries, from tech to textiles and beyond. In a Sunday night social media post, President Donald Trump said the US movie industry "is DYING a very fast death." He wrote that he's authorizing a 100% tariff "on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands." Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick quoted the president and responded, "We're on it." Trump's latest tariff call to action raises a lot of questions about what movies, and potentially TV shows, will be affected and whether the tariffs would affect future releases or films that are already in the market and on streaming services. One example of that is the wildly successful The Minecraft Movie, which was mostly shot in New Zealand. Film studios often shoot overseas with the help of incentives from countries. The tariffs almost certainly would affect foreign-made films such as the Oscar-winning animated film Flow from Latvia. As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter and others, it's unclear how streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu would be affected, such as the potential impact on subscriber fees and the kinds of content that those services offer. Among the top hits made overseas on Netflix alone are Squid Game and The Crown.
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘The Minecraft Movie' Tops $825 Million As Biggest Blockbuster Of 2025
The Minecraft Movie tops $825 million heading into the weekend, building on its huge lead as 2025's biggest blockbuster ahead of summer movie season. Jack Black stars in "The Minecraft Movie." With a fourth weekend worldwide gross north of $60 million, including about $38 million internationally and nearly $23 million domestic, Minecraft is eyeing a fifth weekend global haul of $25-30 million and a running total likely north of $850 million. The Minecraft Movie enjoyed much early fanfare and even some cultural controversy over audience-participation trends making a mess of screening rooms, sneaking live animals into theaters, and generally acting like attendees of a Rocky Horror Picture Show cult-classic screening. But since that rowdy early period, things seem to have calmed quickly and considerably, with Minecraft quickly losing headlines to Sinners' upset opening weekend victory and continued huge weekend grosses in a packed second weekend. Indeed, Sinners deserves all of the attention it's getting and more, as does Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith for its own surprise second-place finish last weekend, and The Accountant 2 for delivering at the higher end of estimates despite the rest of the top-tier weekend box office performers all enjoying stronger than expected showings. However, The Minecraft Movie's quieter presence in the weekend headlines doesn't mean it's lost a step at the box office. Holding steady at #5 after a month into release, with such an impressive fourth-weekend cume, speaks volumes about Minecraft's brand popularity, Warner's marketing of the film, and the work that went into making it more than simply a cheap cash-in on a brand name. A huge part of the film's success is due to the way the Wētā FX team – including VFX Supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and Animation Supervisor Kevin Estey – adapted the world of the game and its characters faithfully yet in a way that translates well into a feature film alongside live-action performances and sets. Estey explained, 'Regardless of their individuality, one challenge remained constant: to balance the stylized world of Minecraft with a realistic approach that could be convincing when introducing human actors into the world. Everything had to be real enough to be believed, but not so real that it lost connection with the aesthetic game. This was always on our mind and guided us throughout production.' That can be a tough balance, keeping fans of the game and mainstream audiences all happy. Part of that balance includes tone and pacing, which I feel work strongly in The Minecraft Movie's favor as another example of both the game and film sharing a core element that drives popularity. Stopsack points to this as a significant reason the film works, telling me, 'To me, the sheep represents everything this movie stands for. It's goofy, fun, and innocent, not taking itself too seriously. Yet, it is incredibly well-thought-out and carefully crafted. A large portion of this movie's success is due to the particular and smart humour that Jared brought to it. For me, the sheep embodies all of that.' I've got a series of articles coming up full of details about Wētā's work on The Minecraft Movie, so be sure to watch for that this weekend and next week. The combination of factors are strong enough, in fact, that as an aside I can't help wondering what would've happened if Warner made a swap and Superman opened in early-April while The Minecraft Movie took the July 11th date instead. Might Superman have stood a better chance of breakout success without as much like-minded competition, while Minecraft still offered a stand-out viewing experience and all of the same powerful base of support and built-in fandom. Nevertheless, Minecraft is dominating the spring release frame easily and should manage to hold well next weekend when Thunderbolts* kicks off the summer movie season with a probable $80 million domestic bow and north of $100 million overseas, for what I expect could be a $200 million worldwide MCU opening if audience word-of-mouth is as positive as critical reviews. I suspect The Minecraft Movie will hold onto its lead as 2025's highest-grossing film until Jurassic World: Rebirth has been out a couple of weeks or so. As I explained in my summer movie analysis and predictions, there are only a few other summer filmscapable of challenging Minecraft's and Rebirth's likely eventual totals. If those films – Fantastic Four: First Steps and maybe Superman or Thunderbolts* – play where I expect, lower than $1 billion and closer to $900 million or less, then The Minecraft Movie should keep its 2025 second-place ranking all the way through holiday season in December. The Minecraft Movie put together a fun, funny, exciting family experience that could beat my bullish expectations and top $900 million by the end of its run. Summer has arrived and kids are out of school, and as we all know, if you build it they will come.
