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Monday, November 13, 2023

News outlets appeal to Israel and Egypt for access to Gaza, CAA launches a media-focused investment bank, an ex-Fox News reporter sues the right-wing network, Google's secret search deal with Apple gets revealed in open court, CBS announces its scripted slate will return in February after the Hollywood strikes, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

The Marvel Mess

CNN Photo Illustration/Marvel Entertainment

Disney has a mess on its hands to marvel at.

Its $200 million-plus "The Marvels" bombed at the box office over the weekend, posting an anemic $46 million in domestic ticket sales, with audiences firmly rejecting the "Captain Marvel" sequel in a not-so-subtle fashion. The embarrassingly weak debut marked the worst opening for any Marvel Studios film in its history.

The film's meltdown at the box office underscores the dire state of affairs for what has long been one of Hollywood's most lucrative studios, having grossed more than $30 billion in its 15-year history. For years, Marvel was the envy of the entertainment industry, churning out superhero-sized blockbusters that lifted box office receipts to exceptional heights and were hailed by fans and critics alike.

But, in recent years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has started to show serious signs of trouble. Ever since "Avengers: Endgame," the epic climax that was 22 films in the making and which holds the trophy for the second highest-grossing film of all-time, the studio has struggled immensely, producing several lackluster films that have tainted its once-pristine brand.

Movies such as "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania," "Eternals," "Thor: Love and Thunder," and "The Marvels" have been panned by critics and die-hard fans. Those films — all of which were released after "Endgame" — are the four worst-reviewed films in Marvel history, according to Rotten Tomatoes averages. And the movies failed to earn an A-rating from CinemaScore, a feat almost all Marvel films easily accomplished, signaling deeper troubles with audience reception and crushing word-of-mouth.

Taken together, the string of recent misses from the once-vaunted studio that was synonymous with high-quality production and narrative storytelling, seamlessly weaving together a complex mesh of interlaced films, marks an astonishing tumble after the high point of "Endgame."

"Marvel has had an up-and-down few years," Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro, told me. "2023 exemplifies that with that lukewarm reception toward 'Quantumania' and 'Secret Invasion,' the relative success of 'Guardians' and 'Loki', and now an opening weekend that is reflective of the broader state of the franchise more than just 'The Marvels' film itself."

To be certain, "The Marvels" was the victim to some extent of the painful actors' strike, preventing the film's stars from doing the traditional slate of promotional appearances on red carpets and talk shows, giving the flick an added injection into the public consciousness. Star Brie Larson didn't make her first public appearance for the film until Friday night on "The Tonight Show," after it had already opened in theaters.

And Marvel has found some success after "Endgame," with legacy franchises like "Spider-Man" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" performing well. But that leaves it facing the same problem that has ailed DC Studios for some time: An unreliable track record leaving audiences wary of individual films released by the studio.

It's a problem that Disney chief Bob Iger alluded to when he returned to the Magic Kingdom and addressed the company's recent creative problems. Iger said over the summer that Marvel was a "great example" of a brand that in recent years had pumped out too much content between film and streaming series that came at a cost to quality. "Frankly," Iger said, "It diluted focus and attention."

The question now facing executives like Iger and Marvel boss Kevin Feige: How to get the train back on the tracks?

It goes without saying that it will not be easy. One of Marvels' chief problems is that the studio killed off its most well-liked — and thus profitable — tentpole characters in "Endgame." Robert Downey Jr.'s "Iron Man," Chris Evans' "Captain America," and Scarlett Johansson's "Black Widow" were all written out of the franchise. Thanos, who had also been the ultimate villain unifying the MCU, also met his demise. And Chadwick Boseman's "Black Panther" had to be written out of the MCU after the actor died of cancer in 2020.

That, however, doesn't mean that the MCU is doomed for failure. It still has plenty of IP rights to draw from. And characters such as Spider-Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange already have strong foundations to continue building on.

But what has mostly plagued the MCU has been poor storytelling, as evidenced by reviews from critics and audiences. Gone are the days of easily digestible superhero plots, which made up the early days of Marvel with heroes like Iron Man battling evil war profiteers. Now, to understand Marvel, one needs to keep tabs on a complicated web of universes.

Of course, after "Endgame," it probably was difficult for the writers to find somewhere to go with the story. But if the studio wants to succeed in the future, it must find a solution. And that starts with getting some base hits, creating solid movies centered around individual characters that introduce audiences to new entries into the universe on a high note.

Rescuing the brand is imperative for Disney. Alongside "Star Wars" and Pixar, Marvel is one of the core creative engines powering the entertainment juggernaut. And now, at a time Disney needs it most as it grapples with a wildly shifting media landscape, it is faltering.

"Every franchise faces peaks and valleys, and the truly generational ones can rebound with timely action and leadership," Robbins said. "Marvel checks those boxes. It's a crucial time now for Disney to allow Kevin Feige and the Marvel braintrust as much creative control as possible to course correct versus the current challenges."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Getting Into Gaza: A coalition of 11 news organizations sent a letter on Monday to the leaders of Israel and Egypt, asking their governments to grant access for international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip to cover the ongoing war. "As the current crisis enters its sixth week, the need for more journalists to document events on the ground is greater than ever — particularly when so much information is being shared informally via social media," the letter said. The letter was signed by CNN, BBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, CBS News, ABC News, ITV News, and Sky News. Here's my story.

🔎 Zooming in: The newsrooms noted in the letter that "while we have been able to see images and read accounts from inside Gaza, the only reliable reporting has come from a small number of incredibly brave journalists who are working to document events there." But they added, direct access for more reporters is paramount to tell the story, despite the danger. "We understand the risks that reporting on the ground in a time of conflict entails, but we also know that factual, impartial information is vital to enable the world to understand this crisis," the letter said.

IN THE WAR-ZONE

The death toll among journalists has swelled to 42 since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. (CPJ)
David Ignatius wrote about what it was like to recently travel with Israeli soldiers in Gaza City. (WaPo)
"I have never seen the scale and level of destruction in more than 30 years of war reporting," CNN's Nic Robertson said during a live report, after embedding with the IDF.
The deluge of video content coming out of the Israel-Hamas war has allowed news organizations to show their tech and data capabilities, Dave Bauder reports. (AP)
Drew Harwell noted TikTok is "not alone" in seemingly having more pro-Palestinian content than pro-Israeli content: "The consistency of pro-Palestinian content across social networks, whether Chinese- or American-owned, undercuts an argument that has become central to the latest wave of anti-TikTok rage in Washington." (WaPo)

THE INDUSTRY

THE FOURTH ESTATE

Recurrent Ventures, publisher of outlets such as Popular Science, "informed employees of a new round of layoffs" on Monday, Kerry Flynn and Sara Fischer report. (Axios)
Ofcom said it would not tell GB News who not to hire. (BBC)
Courier Newsroom will expand its news operation via a slew of additional national contributors, newsletters, video series, op-eds, and podcasts, Max Tani reports. (Semafor)
Boardroom held an inaugural talk event with rapper Lil Baby and businessman Michael Rubin, moderated by chief executive Rich Kleiman. (Boardroom)

IN THE MARKET

Creative Artists Agency is launching an investment bank with Michael Klein focused on media and entertainment deals, Cara Lombardo and Joe Flint report. (WSJ)

MEDIA MOVES

CNN hired Elizabeth Wagmeister as an entertainment correspondent based in Los Angeles. (CNN)
CNN also tapped Hanako Montgomery as international correspondent; hired Elisa Raffa as a weather anchor and correspondent; hired Julia Benbrook as a correspondent based in D.C.; and hired Christopher Lamb as its Vatican correspondent. (CNN/CNN/CNN/CNN)
Nexstar appointed Clifford McKinney as vice president and head of sales at The Hill. (Nexstar)
The NYT hired Bo Hee Kim as a director for audience, strategy, and operations. (NYT)
The LAT hired Erica Bonkowski as a senior art director. (LAT)
Salesforce named Denise Dresser chief executive of Slack. (Bloomberg)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Muting the Madness: Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's rhetoric grows ever more dangerous by the day. But are news organizations giving the alarming trend enough attention? Over the weekend, when Trump referred to his critics as "vermin" who he vowed to "root out," little attention was given by the major national media outlets. The progressive watchdog Media Matters pointed out that the remarks were not mentioned on the weekend editions of the big three broadcast networks. And, Media Matters noted that the print edition of major newspapers, such as The NYT and The WSJ, did not include stories on the authoritarian-style rhetoric.

🔎 Zooming in: Trump's remarks continue to pose a difficult balancing act for newsrooms. On one hand, they do not want to give too much oxygen to Trump and his menacing rhetoric. But on the other hand, covering his threats is newsworthy. And it seemed by Monday, as the "vermin" comments gained more attention, news organizations moved to spotlight them more in that context.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

On "CNN This Morning," Brian Stelter said news outlets should call out Trump's rhetoric as fascist. (YouTube)
Former Fox News reporter Jason Donner filed a lawsuit against the right-wing channel, alleging that he was fired for opposing its "false coverage" of the insurrection," Justin Baragona reports. (Daily Beast)
MSNBC added a government shutdown clock to its on-screen banners as the government careens toward another funding deadline.
"How often do I do this story?" Jake Tapper wondered when reporting on the shutdown deadline. "I feel like [my staff] just puts this in the teleprompter like every three months."
Tucker Carlson and Kid Rock joined Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden over the weekend for a UFC fight. (New York Post)
"The institutional right is laying the groundwork for a more authoritarian Republican administration if the party triumphs in next year's presidential election," Matt Gertz writes. (MFMA)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Mauritz Antin/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

A Large Bite of the Apple: An eye-popping 36% of what Google earns in advertising revenue via Safari is paid to Apple as part of the pact between the two companies to program the Alphabet search engine as the default on its devices. The disclosure came by way of an economics expert for Alphabet at the historic antitrust trial taking place in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg's Leah Nylen reported. The search titan has long aimed to keep the figure secret, which is probably why Nylen reported that its main litigator "visibly cringed" when it was revealed in open court. Nylen has more details here.

TOO MANY TABS

"The recruiting fight between OpenAI and Google is growing fiercer," Jon Victor writes, reporting that the former company is trying to recruit A.I. researchers with packages worth millions of dollars. (The Info)
Threads has introduced two new features aimed at better empowering its user base. (Threads)
But Adam Mosseri also disappointed with some less-than-ideal news: "We're not building DMs into Threads," he said. (Threads)
X will amend its algorithm to promote accounts with smaller followings, Elon Musk said. (TechCrunch)
Nepal will ban TikTok, citing detrimental social impacts. (Reuters)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/CBS

From Fall to February: Ready for new television shows to hit the big networks? You're going to have to wait until February — at least on CBS. The network announced Monday that it will premiere new scripted shows, including hits like "NCIS," in mid-February, not January, using the "Super Bowl" to promote its lineup. CBS is the first of the big networks to announce its plans, after the dual strikes paralyzed Hollywood and nearly entirely torpedoed a year of television. It goes without saying, though, that the salvaged season will be quite short. The NYT's John Koblin has more here.

HOLLYWOOD HEALING

Not everyone is thrilled with SAG-AFTRA's deal with the studios. Justine Bateman said actors should only vote in favor of the deal "if they don't want to work anymore." Bateman argued, "If they want to be replaced by synthetic objects that are made by generative A.I., why not?" (THR)
However, Jason Winston, a member of SAG's negotiating committee, said that it's "unrealistic and impossible to try and hold back the tide when it comes to technology," adding that the deal will "allow you to surf the wave of A.I. technology." (TheWrap)
And Fran Drescher hasn't kept quiet either — scolding "naysayers" and "contrarians" alike. (Variety)

OFF STAGE

Britney Spears "is currently in the midst of a feeding frenzy among the industry's top studios, streamers and producers, many of whom are vying for the rights to her book," Peter Kiefer reports. (The Ankler)
Cade Hudson, Spears' manager, called an "SNL" impression of his client "pathetic." (Vanity Fair)
Executives at Warner Bros. Discovery will permit "Coyote vs. Acme" to be shopped by other distributors after saying it would not put out the $70-million, live action-CGI hybrid Looney Tunes flick — which was already finished. (Puck)
Taylor Swift's "1989 (Taylor's Version)" is currently holding on to the top Billboard's 200 album chart. (NYT)
Swift also asked fans to resist throwing gifts on stage during performances, saying, "It really freaks me out when stuff gets thrown on the stage, because if it's on the stage then a dancer can trip on it." (Deadline)
Denzel Washington will join the cast of Antoine Fuqua's "Hannibal" for Netflix. (THR)
James Cameron's "The Abyss" is heading back to theaters on December 6 — and in 4K. (The Wrap)
Netflix released the official trailer for "Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire" ahead of the film's Dec. 22 theatrical release. (YouTube)
Sony dropped the trailer for "The Garfield Movie." (YouTube)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.