The End-of-Year Exec Survey: Next Disney CEO, Where to Sell Your Movie, and Worst Media Exec

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Town with Matthew Belloni

Episode: The End-of-Year Exec Survey: Next Disney CEO, Where to Sell Your Movie, and Worst Media Exec
Host: Matthew Belloni
Guest: Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg)
Date: December 29, 2025

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Overview

In this end-of-year special, Matthew Belloni is joined by Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg to break down the results and key insights from Bloomberg’s annual Hollywood executive survey, which gauges the views of 700 industry insiders on the business’s biggest questions. Topics include predictions for studio ownership, Disney’s CEO succession, the best (and worst) places to sell a movie, and who today’s executives believe are the most—and least—respected figures in media leadership. The duo also reviews the surprisingly robust Christmas box office and analyzes the evolving star power of actors like Timothée Chalamet and Sydney Sweeney.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Christmas Box Office: A Return to Form

Timestamp: [03:17 – 08:36]

• The holiday box office reached pre-pandemic levels, with seven movies grossing over $10M—a sign of diverse audience interest.
• Standout titles included Avatar 3, Zootopia 2, Marty Supreme, The Housemaid, Anaconda David, and Spongebob.
• Surprise Hit: The Housemaid ($50M in two weekends). This marked Sydney Sweeney’s comeback after Christie Bombed.
• Timothée Chalamet’s Status: Belloni and Shaw debate whether the opening of Marty Supreme ($24-25M, $70M budget) solidifies Chalamet as a bankable star.
  • Quote:

    “Timmy’s a star. He can open this movie. The blimp worked. The marketing campaign was brilliant.” — Matthew Belloni [05:32]

  • Despite enthusiasm, profitability remains uncertain due to the heavy budget and American-centric appeal.
• Notable comparison to Sinners and One Battle After Another in terms of box office performance and awards prospects:
  • Sinners — a $90M movie, crossed $300M, Best Picture contender.
  • Marty Supreme could become A24’s biggest movie domestically if it reaches $100M.

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2. Executive Survey: Who Will Own Warner Bros. Discovery?

Timestamp: [08:36 – 12:35]

• Survey Result:
  • 52% said Netflix will own Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
  • 38% named Paramount, 10% “someone else”.
• Skepticism persists despite Netflix’s signed deal, highlighting industry uncertainty and how “conventional wisdom” is often media-driven.
  • Quote:

    “Nobody knows anything... They parrot that back to each other.” — Matthew Belloni [09:59]

• Main concern with the Ellison/Paramount bid: overhaul of CNN, not job cuts. Media coverage has heightened this.
  • Secondary concern: Ellison's “Middle Eastern money.”
• Both Netflix and Paramount would likely mean layoffs (consolidation).

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3. The Disney CEO Succession: Who Replaces Bob Iger?

Timestamp: [12:35 – 15:29]

• Survey Result: The frontrunner is now Josh D’Amaro, Disney Parks chief, overtaking Dana Walden (TV/streaming).
• Discussion around possible co-CEO structures was revealed but seen as unlikely.
  • Quote:

    “The disembodied head of Walt Disney is ultimately deciding who… The one they keep in the vault down in the basement.” — Matthew Belloni, joking [14:06]

• Likely outcome: D’Amaro as CEO, Walden in a high-ranking content role.
• Expect a decision and announcement in the first quarter of 2026.

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4. Where Would Execs Sell Their Movie?

Timestamp: [16:36 – 22:38]

• Top choices (out of 8 studios):
  1. Universal (Donna Langley's stewardship praised for franchise management).
  2. Warner Brothers (climbing due to hits from original IP).
  3. Apple (despite limited theatrical output, F1 is a hit and draws "starry-eyed" comparisons).
• Surprise: Amazon placed dead last; despite theatrical releases and a professional exec team, it lacks a clear breakout hit.
  • Quote:

    “They need the movies to work... they have nothing to point to right now.” — Lucas Shaw [21:57]

• Netflix is ranked higher than Paramount, Sony, and Disney—primarily due to sheer production volume, but selling to Netflix without a theatrical window remains unpopular among filmmakers.
  • Quote:

    “They don't want to have to sell their movie to Netflix. Ted can go on all day and night about how filmmakers love working there… Ted knows that filmmakers want theaters.” — Matthew Belloni [20:30]

• Disney considered a tough place to sell a new movie unless it’s under Searchlight or 20th Century.

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5. Media’s Least Respected CEO: “Worst in Show”

Timestamp: [22:38 – 25:02]

• David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery) again “wins” as the survey’s worst CEO—in a landslide.
  • Quote:

    “David Zaslav just pulled off the deal of all deals… Like, why the disrespect?” — Matthew Belloni [22:59]

• Runner-up: David Ellison (Paramount/Skydance).
• Netflix leaders placed last (i.e., least likely to be viewed as “worst”).
• Zaslav’s reputation suffers from negative PR, company mismanagement, and his large salary. Only way out is a new industry villain or a major philanthropic gesture.
  • Quote:

    “He became the face of the problems in Hollywood over the last couple of years, rightly or wrongly… Someone else has to step in it in a big way.” — Lucas Shaw [24:03]

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6. Other Survey Insights & Streaming Trends

Timestamp: [25:02 – 26:38]

• Streaming growth highlights:
  • Timothée Chalamet got over half the votes as the “next big movie star.”
  • HBO Max nearly tied Netflix as the preferred place for scripted TV deals, despite recent struggles—credibility of the HBO brand stays strong.
  • Quote:

    “It’s the halo of HBO… they still do good stuff… you're going to get a bespoke treatment.” — Matthew Belloni [26:06]

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7. Avatar 3 and Franchise Future

Timestamp: [26:55 – 30:36]

• Avatar 3 (Fire and Ash) performed well, though slightly below its predecessor.
• Belloni predicts Avatar 4 will be made (with Cameron directing), possibly after a longer gap.
• Franchise longevity discussed, with an “Earth scenario” teased for future installments.
  • Quote:

    “There’s a scenario where they go to Earth or Earth people come there... could be fascinating.” — Matthew Belloni [30:05]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “People just mirror what we are saying… nobody knows anything.” — Matthew Belloni [09:59]
• “I love a good Disney conspiracy theory.” — Lucas Shaw [14:03]
• “Don’t try to make [Sydney Sweeney] do the things people don’t want to see her in.” — Lucas Shaw [04:52]
• “If Project Hail Mary turns into the F1 of next summer, [Amazon] will go up on this list.” — Matthew Belloni [22:07]
• “[David Zaslav] could be a hero if he did that. Something about his history tells me he will not do that.” — Matthew Belloni (on donating part of Zaslav’s payout to the industry fund) [24:55]

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Conclusion

Matthew Belloni and Lucas Shaw offer a candid, data-driven look into what Hollywood’s leadership is thinking entering 2026—covering the high-stakes studio wars, CEO succession drama, and the evolving power dynamics of streaming, prestige, and box office performance. The tone is analytical but irreverent, poking fun at the industry’s groupthink and gossip but underlining real strategic trends shaping the business. The conversation provides invaluable context for anyone trying to understand the true mood and direction of Hollywood’s executive class as the industry heads into a new year of uncertainty and opportunity.

Transcript

[A]

If you care about Hollywood, and I assume you do, if you're listening to the Town, you should really be getting the whole story about Hollywood. That's what you get with Puck. I'm a founding partner Puck and I write a newsletter called what I'm Hearing. It's got exclusive news for insiders and analysis of the biggest stories. Puck has a bunch of great journalists. We just hired Kim Masters, who also covers Hollywood from the inside, plus media, sports, fashion, politics and finance. It's a must have for plugged in people. Fans of the Town get a discount on the description page of this episode or at Puck News thetown. Go further into Hollywood by becoming a Puck member Today. This episode of the Town is presented by HBO Max, presenting the HBO original series Task for your consideration. In the working class suburbs of Philadelphia, an FBI agent played by Mark Ruffalo heads a task force to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspected family man played by Tom Pelfrey. Don't miss the series the Atlantic is calling riveting and revelatory. Now streaming on HBO Max, this episode is brought to you by Warner Brothers Pictures. Presenting Sinners, written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan. Hailed as the best picture of the year, the New York Times calls Sinners a big screen exultation, a passionate, effusive praise song about life and love, including the love of movies. And Time out says Ryan Coogler's bold vision makes Sinners a true event. An exuberant widescreen experience that stirs the soul, Sinners is awards eligible in all categories, including best picture, best director and best actor. It is Monday, December 29th. Happy holidays. Hollywood may be shut down this week, but the Town is always on. Today, it's all about predictions. Not ours. Specifically, it's the executives who run the entertainment business. They're telling us what they think. Or at least a survey of executives is telling us what they think. Lucas Shaw, our Monday guy from Bloomberg. He and his team did a poll of about 700 executives in Hollywood and the music industry and asked some things like who's going to end up with Warner Brothers, the Disney CEO Endgame, the worst executive in media. I have my thoughts on that one. It's interesting stuff. So I asked Lucas to take us through some of the highlights and the biggest surprises. A little spoiler our guy David Zaslav not commanding a huge amount of respect in the industry. We'll also do a little on the Christmas box office, how Avatar 3 is doing the Timmy Chalamet discourse. Overall, a pretty wild weekend at the Cineplex. Lots to discuss. So today it's executive predictions and the holiday box office narratives from the ringer and Puck. I'm Matt Belleny and this is the town. All right. We are here with Lucas Shaw from Bloomberg, back from a nice little vacation in Spain. Lucas, did you watch Avatar in Spanish?

[B]

We talked about it. Camila has not seen the first or second Avatar, so.

[A]

Oh, that's rough.

[B]

Yeah. She wasn't going to jump in midway on the third. I did. I actually did want to see sentimental value while I was gone. And then I realized that I asked my mom, who had seen it, how much of the movie was in English. And she's like a little less than 50%. So watching that movie with Spanish subtitles for Norwegian was probably not the way to go.

[A]

No double subtitles for the Norwegian. It's like watching it in one foreign language.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

Okay, well, a lot happening at the box office while you were gone. Pretty amazing weekend, actually. This is like harkens back to yesteryear when the Christmas holiday would give us like seven or eight quality movies for different audiences. I feel like we haven't really had that post, Covid. Even without the four day holiday, seven movies hit 10 million this weekend at the box office. And all different kinds of movies. You have everything from Avatar to something for Brain Dead Men with Anaconda, Brain Dead Women with the Housemaid. Everything was there.

[B]

Which of the seven were you most surprised by?

[A]

Honestly? I think you want me to say Marty Supreme. No, no, I don't got to 25. I was not surprised by that.

[B]

Should we go over what they are? So it's avatar, Zootopia 2, Marty supreme, the Housemaid, Anaconda David and Spongebob movie.

[A]

Yeah, and you forgot songs on blue.

[B]

But it didn't get to 10 over the weekend.

[A]

Oh, not on the three day. Yeah, on the four day it did.

[B]

Yes. The song sung blue numbers don't seem great.

[A]

They're okay. I mean, that movie only cost 30 million and 12 million. It'll. It'll get. It'll get in the black. It's fine. That's the kind of movie that plays for a while. Old people love it. And I think I'm most surprised by the housemaid and that that Movie's like at $50 million already after two weekends. We could talk about the Chalamet narrative. And yes, he is now considered a star, I believe, because he opened this movie. But Sydney Sweeney, nice little comeback vehicle after Christie Bombed.

[B]

This is the type of movie people want to see her in. They just. They need. They need to stop trying to make her do the things that people don't want to see her in.

[C]

I know.

[A]

Not that she was going to get an Oscar nomination anyways, but I think this does Norbit her a little bit. She. This is like very campy, very kind of silly, and not the kind of movie that your Oscar campaign wants, but this is what people want out of her, so you got to lean in. I agree. Let's talk about Chalamet, because I don't want to be that guy, but I'm going to be that guy. 70 million budget for Marty Supreme. This movie opens to 24, 25 million and everyone goes nuts. Timmy's a star. He can open this movie. The blimp worked. The marketing campaign was brilliant.

[B]

The biggest marketing campaign in a 24 history.

[A]

The biggest budget in a 24 history. And it's still got a path to go to get to profitability. This movie needs to make 1 75, 180 worldwide to get into the black with the $70 million budget.

[B]

Just in theatrical.

[A]

Just in theatrical, yeah. And I just don't know if 27 million is enough. It was 27 million for the four day, which is great. It was supposed to gross about 15 million for the four day, according to NRG, and it vastly improved over that number. But we'll see how it plays over the next week or two. It could easily do it. But I know, like, the international on this movie is not going to be great. It's very American. It's a sport story. It's very Jewish. Like, I don't know how big it's going to be overseas. So they really got to lean into the US which they've been doing. And is this movie going to get to profits? Don't know.

[B]

On the theatrical run? Maybe not. Probably not. I think all in. It'll be fine. I mean, it's probably going to hit, what, 75 to 100 easy domestic, which.

[A]

If it grosses 100 domestic, it would be A24's biggest movie of all time.

[B]

Domestic. Right. And they have the big HBO output deal.

[A]

Yeah, but we're not. We're not counting that. We're judging on theatricality here. And if they get a bunch of Oscar noms, good for them.

[B]

It's going to get a bunch of Oscar noms. A lot of people now kind of see it as like the alternative to one battle after another. It's not going to win, but it's Second or third, Chalamet will contend for best actor. They'll have some, you know, people will get nominated for supporting roles. It'll be an awards player, which is so it's an awards player that has like big, gaudy numbers that look a little bit better than maybe they really are on paper for the reasons you're saying. And we also don't know, I don't know what they did in terms of kind of pre sailing or hedging internationally.

[A]

That's true with everything everywhere. The box office narrative really helped that movie. The fact that it was a small movie that did very well for a 24 really helped its Oscar trajectory. And I think if this movie breaks out, it could actually really help at the awards race.

[B]

I think it's similar to One Battle in that it did well enough considering that it's a really good movie that's going to be nominated for a bunch of awards.

[A]

It has a star that everyone believes in. And, you know, Sinners is the same way. Sinners would not be Sinners if they did not hit at the box office. Now it's a best picture contender.

[B]

Sinners is a win even without any awards. Right. It crossed $300 million for a $90 million movie. That's really good.

[A]

But remember Sinners, opening weekend, we were here being those guys saying, listen, opened big, but let's see how it it legs out. And it did.

[B]

And it legged out really well.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. So we're going to be those guys again and say it about Timmy.

[B]

One battle after another. Didn't quite repeat the trajectory. It did fine. And then Marty Supreme. We'll see. It will go in that order. Sinners is the highest growth thing of the three. Then One Battle, then Marty Supreme. Marty supreme, the cheapest of the three, but not by that much compared to Sinners.

[A]

Right. Okay, so let's move on. I want to talk about your exact survey because I read this thing every year. I love it. You got 700 people to return your survey and you asked a bunch of questions. I'm going to go through my five favorites and we're going to talk about the answers to this. Number one, of course, you had to ask who will end up owning Warner Brothers and Warner Brothers Discovery. The top answer was Netflix. Netflix has a signed deal at this point, but only 52% of the vote said Netflix. So not a runaway. Not a runaway.

[B]

Here we did the poll before Warner Brothers reiterated that Paramount should fuck off.

[A]

Well, and Paramount got 38% of the vote. And then 10% of people said someone Else.

[B]

So I don't know if that would be more like, you know, 65% now for Netflix or if it would stay where it is, but it is an obviously an inversion of where people had been for a long time.

[A]

But why do you think there is such skepticism that Netflix will get it? You think with a closed deal, people would say this is over?

[B]

Well, executives in the industry are. This is like one of those where it's going to sound like somewhat self aggrandizing, but they are often asking us, no, I know.

[A]

That was going to be my big point I was going to make about this because this comes up in the Disney question too. It's like nobody knows anything.

[C]

There's no.

[A]

Yeah, they just don't. And they go by what they read in the media. So, like often what we are covering and what we are saying, I hate to, this is gonna sound douchey, but like people just mirror that. They parrot that back to each other.

[B]

And so if there had been this conventional wisdom all along that Paramount was the favorite, and even now people are covering like it's being covered not just, not just by us, but by everyone as sort of like a battle between Netflix and Paramount. Because yes, Netflix has to sign deal, but Paramount is, you know, waging an aggressive campaign to, to try to get there, to try to win.

[A]

And everybody in town knows how much the Ellisons have in terms of financial backing. Right. Curious whether Larry is going to allow.

[B]

It to be deployed between the financial backing, the, you know, the political stuff. Like there's just, I think there's a feeling that the Ellisons might still have an edge.

[A]

Well, that's what was interesting. You asked a follow up and the question was, what worries you most about a potential deal deal? And this is where the reality of the situation doesn't match the perception because of the media. I think there's been so much coverage of the blow up at CBS News and the Trump stuff and everything that the top answer was people are most worried about the Ellisons overhauling cnn. And CNN is like a tiny part of this deal, yet it is the number one concern for Hollywood people that the Ellisons would get their hands on cnn.

[B]

Well, in fairness, I did not ask about job cuts, which I think would be the number one concern, but that's because job cuts are a big part of either bid. So it didn't feel like a way to differentiate between them.

[A]

Not if you ask Netflix. Netflix is like, oh, we're going to keep everybody and Paramount's going to kill, kill the entire workforce. I mean, I do think the initial layoffs in a Paramount deal would be more striking. But overall down the line is like both of this, both of these scenarios are consolidated.

[B]

But I want you, you know, you talked about the coverage of Ellison, cnn. I would argue that the Netflix movie stuff has gotten as much, if not more attention. And so I was surprised that that was behind not just the Ellison's overhauling cnn, but the fact that the Ellisons have Middle Eastern money.

[A]

Yeah, that was the runner up.

[B]

I figured people would just be like, eh, it happens. Like because Hollywood's a parochial town. Right. I figure people would be more concerned about the movie business than about Middle Eastern money.

[A]

I think if you specifically zeroed in on movie executives, it would probably be a higher thing. There's a lot more television and streaming people in town now than there are movie people.

[B]

That is true.

[A]

That's probably one. All right, let's go to number two on the list. Who will be the CEO of Disney in 2027? Top answer, an upset. You've done this survey many years before. It's always been Dana Walden, the head of streaming and tv, now Josh d', Amaro, the head of parks.

[B]

That's not an upset, though. That just mirrors the conventional wisdom.

[A]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. This year was designed to weed it out and to tease out who would ultimately be the successor here. And I think we have an answer within the community is that they've done the vetting, they've done this, you know, the, the, the process and the media and people in town now believe it's Josh.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Many people thought that there would be a co CEO situation.

[B]

Bob Iger explored a co CEO situ or. I, I don't know about. Bob Iger's not making this. I know the board is making this. But we know that Bob Iger talked to Ted Sarandos about how the co CEO situation works at Netflix. And I think we know also that the board has at least discussed it. Right.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I've heard conspiracy theories that Bob asked Ted because he knew it would leak and he wanted the town to think that they at least explored this and that it was always going to be Josh. But he wants the perception that they were thorough and gave Dana her shot.

[B]

I guess.

[A]

I don't know if that's true.

[B]

I love a good Disney conspiracy theory.

[A]

The disembodied head of Walt Disney is ultimately deciding who. The one they keep in the vault down in the basement of the rotunda is ultimately deciding who the next CEO is.

[B]

Not sure where I'm supposed to go with disembodied.

[A]

It's an animatronic Walt Disney Lucas. Okay. Or what I think is more likely is that they will announce a realignment of all executives where Josh becomes CEO and Dana becomes, like, president or Chief Content Officer or some elevated title that allows her to have more authority but not be CEO.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, what else is there to say? We will know soon.

[B]

Yeah. We're expecting first quarter of 2026, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It will briefly steal the thunder from the Warner Brothers process.

[A]

Exactly. Question. Do you have your Josh gets CEO story pre written?

[B]

That's a good question. We obviously do templates for a lot of scenarios. Yeah, it's been long enough on that one that I would actually have to.

[A]

Look through our obituary where it's written by someone who no longer works at the company and you just save it until it becomes true.

[B]

No, because they've been. If we still had like, a Tom Stagg, CEO of the company, then maybe.

[A]

Just update that story.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Train Dreams is now nominated for five Critics Choice Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Actor. Joel Edgerton. I don't know where the year it is. Also nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards.

[A]

Figure it out. Let me know.

[B]

Like to ask for a few back.

[D]

And winner for Best Adapted Screenplay from National Board of Review. New York magazine hails it the Best Picture of the year. Train Dreams, now playing in select theaters and on Netflix. For your consideration. Rated PT. 13 may be inappropriate for children under 13. This episode is brought to you by the Focus Features film Hamnet, from director Chloe Zhao and producer Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendez discover the untold story behind Shakespeare's greatest masterpiece. Winner of more audience awards than any film this year, Hamnet is a monumental cinematic experience. And now it's nominated for six Golden Globes and 11 Critics Choice Awards, including Best Picture of the year. Hamnet Ready? PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13 now playing only in theaters.

[A]

All right, every movie studio in town wants to buy your film. Where do you sell it? Top answer here, Universal. Runner up, Warner Brothers. Last place, Amazon. The Universal thing. Like, does Donna Langley get too much credit here? Like, everybody is kind of announcing her as the queen of the studios because they've had some good years and created franchises when they didn't have many franchises in the cupboard. But, like, if you look back at the year, Warner Brothers should be the number one here because they turned at least three original ideas into hits.

[B]

Well, but I Don't think one year does it for you. Right. Warner Brothers. The success that they had this year meant that Warner Brothers moved up several spots. Right. Universal's been number one every year. So Warner Brothers has now established itself as the other place to go. If you've got really good original ideas and if they continue to crush it. Right. If they have a really good 20, 26, then maybe they really. They eat into Donna's lead.

[A]

Maybe. I just. I'm looking at the year that Universal had and like, you take out Jurassic and you take out Wicked and pretty rough.

[B]

So you take out two of their biggest movies of the year.

[A]

Yeah. I'm just saying those were pre branded. Donna, I mean, she's done a great job managing the franchise. Like, the Jurassic franchise goes back to 1993.

[B]

Yes, their franchises are long in the tooth, but they didn't have a bunch of new hits. But we're what, two years out from Oppenheimer.

[A]

Yeah. They knew this was gonna be a down year. And next year, if the Odyssey hits, if the Spielberg movie hits, they have a Minions next year.

[B]

They have a Mario next year.

[A]

Yes, they have it lined up for next year. Right.

[B]

They did not have the same run of sort of maybe like originally movies, but they also remember, they also have all the focus projects.

[A]

They do, and they have Blumhouse and they have these feeder things that come to them, which Donna did set up, and she's nurtured those relationships with Blum.

[B]

And with Melanie, Andre and.

[A]

Yes. Although Hamnet not doing well at the box office, I had hoped Hamnet would have done better.

[B]

You mean an adaptation of a book about Shakespeare character.

[A]

I know, I know. Not very commercial. It's also a huge bummer of a movie, but it's very good and it's going to be an awards contender.

[B]

Were you surprised that Apple was third in this little.

[A]

Just because they've basically abandoned theatrical movies except for like F1. But I think because F1 hits, everyone has the Jerry Bruckheimer stars in their eyes, being like, oh, I can do my own F1 at Apple. But they're just not doing that. Except for the biggest, most pre branded packages that they can get their hands on.

[C]

Are you surprised that Netflix is above Paramount, Sony and Disney, or is that just because you get paid?

[A]

Yeah. And they're making movies.

[B]

Yeah. Disney is a very hard place to sell a new movie.

[A]

You can't. It's just very difficult. Unless it's searchlight or maybe 20th. But Netflix is making 30 movies a year, so of course people are going to be into that. It's just if you. The follow up question to that, that, that Lucas asked, which was Netflix wants to buy your movie but won't put it in theaters. Do you sell it to them anyways? If you have another lower offer and people said no, they don't. This should be evidence in the trial that is eventually going to happen about Netflix taking over Warner Brothers. Because nobody wants this. They don't want to have to sell their movie to Netflix. Ted can go on all day and night about how filmmakers love working there and it's a great place and they get more reach for their movies than they'd ever have in theaters. You know what, he's been doing this for 10 years. He knows. Ted knows that filmmakers want theaters. This is why they are buying Warner Brothers. Because they know that they can't offer the thing that filmmakers want. Well, they can offer it, but they haven't. So they will buy Warner Brothers and maybe for the right filmmakers, they will put their movies at Warner Brothers.

[B]

Yeah, they had a pretty, pretty good crop of filmmakers making movies for them this fall.

[A]

They did. But I mean, we don't have to go through each project, but several of those were projects that other studios would not make.

[C]

Why is Amazon seven times smaller than Apple in this poll? In terms of where you.

[B]

I don't understand that one. I gotta be honest.

[A]

I don't understand that either. I mean, they're putting movies in theaters. They are putting marketing behind them. They have professional people now running the studio.

[C]

Amazon, we should say, is dead last in this list of there's eight options of where you would sell your movie. Universal is first at 258 out of 700 votes. Amazon has 15 out of 700. Apple has 104.

[B]

The Apple one versus Amazon, I don't understand, but Amazon has historically been a really difficult place for people to work on both film and television side for several years. And one, I think some of the TV aura of people in the industry is probably benefiting Apple here. I think the success of F1 this summer. Amazon doesn't have a defining movie.

[A]

Oh, the, the blasphemy for Red one right now is just off the charts. They popped up again on the Nielsen charts around Thanksgiving. People watching the Rock, they've reset the.

[B]

Relationship with under Courtney Valenti, but they need the movies to work so like they have a big slate this upcoming year. If a couple of those movies work. I think you see Amazon come up, but they have nothing to point to right now.

[A]

Yeah, if Project Hail Mary turns into the F1 of next summer, then they will go up on this list. Because that one actually. That one actually looks pretty good.

[B]

But isn't that coming out in, like, February or March?

[A]

No, that's the Chris Pratt Sits in a chair movie. Mercy. That's January.

[B]

No, it comes out. It comes out March 20th.

[A]

Okay, all right, so it's March. So it's a spring movie. Yeah, but I think that one has a chance. Ryan Gosling, Sci Fi, Lord and Miller. Like, that one could be good.

[B]

I'm looking forward to it. They're very high on it.

[A]

Okay, let's move on to the last one. My favorite topic. Who is the worst CEO in media? Top answer, Running away with it again. David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Brothers. Discovery. Runner up, David Ellison, CEO of Paramount. Skydance, Skydance, Paramount.

[B]

And nobody else really matters.

[A]

Well, I mean, you also asked the best CEOs. We're not going to get into that because everyone always says iger. But last place, the Netflix guys. I mean, what does this mean? David Zaslav just pulled off the deal of all deals. Got $30 a share for a company that most people did not think would get 20, $22 a share. Like, why the disrespect here? Why is our guy being dragged through the mud?

[B]

Because that doesn't benefit the average employee, I think. I mean, it does if that. You have stock, I guess, but he's still getting killed for a couple years of people feeling like he mismanaged the company or PR fails.

[A]

Well, and the salary, the fact that he's paid himself so much money, I think really does impact your impression around town. If this $600 million actually happens and he is paid this much money, I think it's going to impact him socially around town. Is there any way for Zaslav to escape being named the worst CEO in media?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

How? Donate $300 million to the motion picture fund.

[B]

I think it's just someone else becoming the villain. He became the face of the problems in Hollywood over the last couple of years, rightly or wrongly. Right. And so assuming this deal for Warner Brothers goes through, then someone else is gonna become the villain, whether it's David Ellison, because he got the second most votes already and people have a problem with the politics or the new Disney CEO comes in and people decide they really don't like them. Someone else has to step in it in a big way.

[A]

Yeah, the JPEG factor, the Bob Chapek factor. I think Zaslav could donate $300 million, half of his windfall from the sale to some foundation set up for Warner Discovery employees. Some, you know, the Motion Picture Television fund. They are there for older people in the industry that need it. He could be a hero if he did that. Something about his history tells me he will not do that.

[B]

You know, but. But you gave the suggestion. And so if it. If it happens, you can take credit. You can even ask for a 1% commission.

[A]

I will absolutely do that. Which I will not be donating to charity, so. All right. Anything else surprised you from your survey? Lucas, the about face on Dana. You in your newsletter have noted once again that Disney is not growing in streaming. So you are essentially on the bandwagon for Dana Wallen does not deserve to.

[B]

Be CEO on any bandwagon. You are.

[A]

You are providing evidence to the board.

[B]

I was a little surprised. I mean, it echoes a conversation earlier that we had, but that for, like, next big movie star, that Chalamet got more than half the votes.

[A]

But I didn't even include that because that's so obvious. Everyone says that. Everyone. Oh, Chalamet is like the great white hope around town. Everybody thinks that he can save the movie business.

[B]

And I was a little surprised that when I asked about where people would sell their shows that HBO Max, despite all the problems, almost tied Netflix. Only because as I've done this, HBO Max has, like, seeded ground over the years. And I. So I don't know what accounts for them bouncing back this year.

[A]

It's the brand.

[B]

But that was true last year.

[A]

I know, but it's the same reason the pit beats severance at the Emmys. It's the halo of hbo. People still have that association and they still do good stuff. And you know that when you go there, you're going to get a bespoke treatment.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Look at what they did this fall for Chair Company. And I love la. They treated those shows like they were fricking, you know, severance. They're tiny shows, but they got huge marketing campaigns, PR blitzes, everything.

[B]

I missed all the Chair Company stuff.

[A]

Okay, well, Craig loves it. It's his favorite show.

[C]

I do most insane comedy I've seen perhaps ever.

[A]

At least since the rehearsal.

[C]

The end of episode, I think it's five is the most shocking thing I've.

[B]

Ever seen in my entire life.

[A]

Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Nice tease there, Craig. All right, on that note, thank you, Lucas.

[B]

Thanks, Matt.

[A]

Okay, we are back with the call sheet. Craig, obviously you and I have seen Avatar, Fire and Ash. We famously now got to sit in James Cameron's chairs in his personal screening Room. But do you know anyone in your life who has seen Avatar Fire and Ash? Not Ringer employees. Not Ringer employees. We know Sean and Amanda have seen it.

[C]

Sure. Not many. I will say not many. But that's because as you guys talked about at the beginning of the episode, there was a lot to watch this Christmas. People saw Marty supreme or Housemate or whatever. There was a lot going on.

[A]

So, no, it's just crazy. It's crazy. The numbers that this franchise puts up. And I suggested it to my wife, I even told her I would see it again. She's like, hell, no. And none of my family members have seen it. Like, they're pretty regular moviegoers. It's just this thing just keeps on chugging. The Avatar audience is there. We know they're there.

[C]

You and I were kind of ahead of the game because we saw this movie a little early on. The Varang hype. We got in early on Varang. And I have to say, I think Varang is the first kind of piece of Avatar that has broke through culturally and become a meme.

[A]

She is a meme. Yeah. And we said it when we walked out of this greeting, we're like, wait, was she, like, kind of sexy?

[C]

Yes. She stole the movie. I think she should get an Oscar nomination.

[A]

She said una Chaplin. I know. Amazing.

[C]

I think she was great.

[A]

So based on the numbers at this point, the movie is holding about as well as Avatar 2. Down a little because it didn't open as big. But the numbers are pretty strong so far. This next week is gonna be key, but I am prepared to call it. I believe there will be an Avatar 4. I'm going to predict that Cameron will make Avatar 4, will direct it, and it probably will not stay on the three year schedule that they have it on currently. He may do something else in between. He may work on something else concurrently. But my prediction is that Avatar 4 will indeed happen.

[C]

Interesting. I didn't know where you were going to go with that because it seems like even Cameron has hedged a little bit, saying if this movie doesn't do well, he's comfortable kind of letting it go and letting the franchise end now.

[A]

Yeah, I think he was doing that to kind of end game this one. Like, oh, you better go see this one, because it's not just another installment, it could be the finale of the franchise. I think his intention has always been to make five of these movies. They have shot certain sections of this movie and they've shot all the spider scenes because he's now like 25 years old. And I think that his goal has always been this. If the trajectory holds, It'll get above 1.5, maybe 171 8. I hope it gets higher for my box office draft purposes, but that's enough to do another one.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And I think, like you said, it probably coming out in 28 is probably too early and you almost. They certainly need to do something a little different. I think the only criticism of the movie is that it feels too similar to the second one. And the fourth one will have to be a different planet and maybe five years from now rather than three to build up a little bit more anticipation.

[A]

No, they tease it. They tease it in this one that if this whole. I mean, I don't want to give anything away, but like there's a scenario where they go to Earth or Earth people come there looking for the ability to live on another planet, which is now apparently possible. So there's a whole Earth scenario that could be fascinating to see with the avatars interacting with people from Earth. We'll see. All right, that's the show for today. I want to thank my guest Lukas Shaw, producer Craig Horlebeck, editor Jesse Lopez. And I want to thank you. We'll see you one more time this week.

[B]

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[D]

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[A]

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[B]

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[D]

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[E]

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