Spring Megabanter: Cannes flops, Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI, underwhelming box offices
May 24, 2024
auto_awesome
Entertainment journalists Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss lackluster summer box office, Scarlett Johansson's clash with OpenAI, and the underwhelming movies at Cannes Film Festival. They cover challenges in the film industry post-COVID, AI impact on talent, media service uncertainties, and Paramount drama.
Summer box office struggling due to movie flops and audience fatigue.
Scarlett Johansson challenges AI usage, highlighting actors' struggle to protect likeness rights.
Deep dives
Challenges in the Summer Box Office
Despite high expectations, the summer box office is facing challenges with movie releases like Furiosa and Garfield falling short of anticipated numbers, indicating a significant drop in box office performance compared to previous years. Factors such as audience fatigue and lack of strong performers are contributing to a pronounced decline in box office returns.
Struggles of Original and Independent Films
The difficulty of launching original and independent films post-COVID is highlighted, with a clear shift towards established intellectual properties (IP) like Deadpool and Despicable Me for guaranteed success. Scarlett Johansson's vocal stance against the unauthorized use of her likeness by OpenAI underscores the challenges faced by actors in protecting their image and rights in the evolving landscape of AI integration into entertainment.
Industry Dynamics and Future Developments
The podcast delves into complex industry dynamics, including the merger of Warner Brothers Discovery and the upcoming launch of Venue, a sports collaboration involving major studios. While controversies surround films like Megalopolis and Horizon, showcasing the financial risks and creative dilemmas faced by filmmakers, the ongoing saga of Paramount's ownership changes hints at potential shifts in the entertainment industry landscape.
A frighteningly lackluster summer box office, human ScarJo dukes it out with OpenAI’s ‘definitely-not-supposed-to-sound-like-ScarJo’ ScarJo, and the movies making noise at this year’s Cannes Film Festival–not necessarily in a good way. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down this week’s news in a special Spring Megabanter episode of The Business.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode