Comcast's Streaming Bid; Fox-Netflix Poaching Update; Christmas Box Office; 2020 Predictions

What's news: Comcast is reportedly eyeing another streaming service as it prepares to launch Peacock early next year. Plus: A look ahead at the year in bold business predictions and highly-anticipated scripted TV. — Erik Hayden

Today In Entertainment DECEMBER 27, 2019 What's news: Comcast is reportedly eyeing another streaming service as it prepares to launch Peacock early next year. Plus: A look ahead at the year in bold business predictions and highly-anticipated scripted TV. — Erik Hayden What's news: Comcast is reportedly eyeing another streaming service as it prepares to launch Peacock early next year. Plus: A look ahead at the year in bold business predictions and highly-anticipated scripted TV. — Erik Hayden  2020 Predictions As the decade draws to a close, The Hollywood Reporter asked more than 40 industry notables — from the heads of studios to the faces of movements — to weigh in with their predictions for the year ahead. + Some were decidedly bold with their bets (Apple will buy Netflix! Quibi will flounder! Sony, Lionsgate and MGM will merge!); others more hopeful, with declarations about original content making a comeback, a strike by the guilds being thwarted, a rising of the underrepresented and the end of nondisclosure agreements. Predictions. Holiday box office... *Rise of Skywalker has crossed the $500 million mark worldwide as it earns the 2nd best Christmas Day showing of all time, behind Force Awakens, Pamela McClintock writes: + Rise of Skywalker ($32 million) supplanted Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($27.5 million).  + Greta Gergwig's Little Women grossed $6.4 million for a promising five-day debut of $22 million. + Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, expanded nationwide Wednesday, earning $5.9 million. Full update. Making of... — 1917. Utilizing a $90 million budget, 500 extras, two relatively unknown actors, three stars (in bit parts) and one extremely long continuous shot, Sam Mendes depicted a harrowing tale of the trenches during World War I that unfolds in real time, Tatiana Siegel reports. Story. News ticker... + Comcast is in talks to acquire video streaming firm Xumo, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Financial terms of the potential deal, which would come as Comcast's NBCUniversal is getting ready to launch streaming service Peacock, weren't immediately clear. [WSJ] + Fox-Netflix poaching battle all but certain to avoid trial. Disney's Fox unit has dropped two interference claims against Netflix. The move, made official in court papers filed Dec. 24, represents something other than a Christmas gift for the streamer whose recruitment of entertainment executives under contract set off a high-stakes legal battle, Eriq Gardner writes. Full story.  + SAG-AFTRA lines up ambitious 2020 policy agenda. The union will attempt to streamline copyright fights, take its "deepfakes" victory national, push for radio airplay accountability and strengthen worker protections, Ashley Cullins reports. Full story.  + "Spectrum outage in Inglewood disrupts holiday for Lakers-Clippers fans." "Thousands of Spectrum customers in Inglewood and surrounding communities experienced a Christmas Day outage, infuriating sports fans who were eager to watch the much-anticipated Clippers-Lakers basketball game," Meg James reports. [Los Angeles Times] + Trump's cut Home Alone 2 cameo noticed. "Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has viewed the president’s seconds-long appearance in the sequel to the 1990 Christmas classic as so unimportant to the film’s plot that it has for several years been cutting it from the version that it broadcasts on Canadian television to fit the time slot," Amanda Coletta writes. [Washington Post]  2020 Predictions As the decade draws to a close, The Hollywood Reporter asked more than 40 industry notables — from the heads of studios to the faces of movements — to weigh in with their predictions for the year ahead. + Some were decidedly bold with their bets (Apple will buy Netflix! Quibi will flounder! Sony, Lionsgate and MGM will merge!); others more hopeful, with declarations about original content making a comeback, a strike by the guilds being thwarted, a rising of the underrepresented and the end of nondisclosure agreements. Predictions. Holiday box office... *Rise of Skywalker has crossed the $500 million mark worldwide as it earns the 2nd best Christmas Day showing of all time, behind Force Awakens, Pamela McClintock writes: + Rise of Skywalker ($32 million) supplanted Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($27.5 million).  + Greta Gergwig's Little Women grossed $6.4 million for a promising five-day debut of $22 million. + Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler, expanded nationwide Wednesday, earning $5.9 million. Full update. Making of... — 1917. Utilizing a $90 million budget, 500 extras, two relatively unknown actors, three stars (in bit parts) and one extremely long continuous shot, Sam Mendes depicted a harrowing tale of the trenches during World War I that unfolds in real time, Tatiana Siegel reports. Story. News ticker... + Comcast is in talks to acquire video streaming firm Xumo, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Financial terms of the potential deal, which would come as Comcast's NBCUniversal is getting ready to launch streaming service Peacock, weren't immediately clear. [WSJ] + Fox-Netflix poaching battle all but certain to avoid trial. Disney's Fox unit has dropped two interference claims against Netflix. The move, made official in court papers filed Dec. 24, represents something other than a Christmas gift for the streamer whose recruitment of entertainment executives under contract set off a high-stakes legal battle, Eriq Gardner writes. Full story.  + SAG-AFTRA lines up ambitious 2020 policy agenda. The union will attempt to streamline copyright fights, take its "deepfakes" victory national, push for radio airplay accountability and strengthen worker protections, Ashley Cullins reports. Full story.  + "Spectrum outage in Inglewood disrupts holiday for Lakers-Clippers fans." "Thousands of Spectrum customers in Inglewood and surrounding communities experienced a Christmas Day outage, infuriating sports fans who were eager to watch the much-anticipated Clippers-Lakers basketball game," Meg James reports. [Los Angeles Times] + Trump's cut Home Alone 2 cameo noticed. "Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has viewed the president’s seconds-long appearance in the sequel to the 1990 Christmas classic as so unimportant to the film’s plot that it has for several years been cutting it from the version that it broadcasts on Canadian television to fit the time slot," Amanda Coletta writes. [Washington Post]  Most Anticipated Scripted TV Breaking through in a Peak TV world of more than 500 (and quite possibly 600!) scripted originals is a challenging task, Lesley Goldberg writes: + In a bid to navigate the landscape, The Hollywood Reporter picks the 20 most-anticipated new scripted TV shows coming in 2020. Including: Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, Briarpatch, Bridgerton, Central Park and more. Full list. TV talk... + Is streaming the future for international sports rights? Scott Roxborough asks: After Amazon deals for top-flight soccer in the U.K. and Germany, will 2020 see a digital revolution in the lucrative business of live sports? Story.  + "Gambling will overwhelm sports media in 2020." "With sports book operators hungering for new customers in a growing number of U.S. states ... sports publishers find themselves in position to significantly bolster their ad revenues over the next several years," Max Willens writes. [Digiday] + "2019 was the end of an era in feminist TV." "The finales of Transparent, Orange Is the New Black, Broad City, and more left us wondering what comes next," Inkoo Kang writes. [Slate] + "How TV taught America bad Constitutional law." "The Twenty-Fifth Amendment was never meant to be used to remove a terrible—albeit alert—president from office. But that’s not what the country has learned from Hollywood," Brian C. Kalt argues. [The Atlantic] Music in 2020... + "Why concert tickets are so expensive." "Over the past decade, the average ticket price for the top 100 North American tours has increased 55% to $94.83," Anne Steele reports. [Wall Street Journal] + "We wish to be entertained, in person." "While media employment stagnates, more and more jobs are being created in arts, entertainment and recreation. The pay isn’t great, though," notes Justin Fox. [Bloomberg] + "Vinyl album sales hit record week in U.S." "In the week ending Dec. 19, the data tracking firm reports 973,000 vinyl albums were sold in the U.S. — marking the single biggest week for vinyl album sales since the company began electronically tracking music sales in 1991," Keith Caulfield reports. [Billboard] *R.I.P., Jerry Herman. The Tony-winning composer and lyricist, whose musical anthems for Hello, Dolly! and Mame created and shaped a new golden age of Broadway, has died. He was 88. Full obit. From the archives... + Today in 2002: Rob Marshall's musical Chicago debuted in theaters on its way to Oscar best picture glory. Original review.  Today's birthdays: Timothee Chalamet, 24, Olivia Cooke, 26, Emilie de Ravin, 38, Jay Ellis, 38, Masi Oka, 45, Gerard Depardieu, 71.  Most Anticipated Scripted TV Breaking through in a Peak TV world of more than 500 (and quite possibly 600!) scripted originals is a challenging task, Lesley Goldberg writes: + In a bid to navigate the landscape, The Hollywood Reporter picks the 20 most-anticipated new scripted TV shows coming in 2020. Including: Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, Briarpatch, Bridgerton, Central Park and more. Full list. TV talk... + Is streaming the future for international sports rights? Scott Roxborough asks: After Amazon deals for top-flight soccer in the U.K. and Germany, will 2020 see a digital revolution in the lucrative business of live sports? Story.  + "Gambling will overwhelm sports media in 2020." "With sports book operators hungering for new customers in a growing number of U.S. states ... sports publishers find themselves in position to significantly bolster their ad revenues over the next several years," Max Willens writes. [Digiday] + "2019 was the end of an era in feminist TV." "The finales of Transparent, Orange Is the New Black, Broad City, and more left us wondering what comes next," Inkoo Kang writes. [Slate] + "How TV taught America bad Constitutional law." "The Twenty-Fifth Amendment was never meant to be used to remove a terrible—albeit alert—president from office. But that’s not what the country has learned from Hollywood," Brian C. Kalt argues. [The Atlantic] Music in 2020... + "Why concert tickets are so expensive." "Over the past decade, the average ticket price for the top 100 North American tours has increased 55% to $94.83," Anne Steele reports. [Wall Street Journal] + "We wish to be entertained, in person." "While media employment stagnates, more and more jobs are being created in arts, entertainment and recreation. The pay isn’t great, though," notes Justin Fox. [Bloomberg] + "Vinyl album sales hit record week in U.S." "In the week ending Dec. 19, the data tracking firm reports 973,000 vinyl albums were sold in the U.S. — marking the single biggest week for vinyl album sales since the company began electronically tracking music sales in 1991," Keith Caulfield reports. [Billboard] *R.I.P., Jerry Herman. The Tony-winning composer and lyricist, whose musical anthems for Hello, Dolly! and Mame created and shaped a new golden age of Broadway, has died. He was 88. Full obit. From the archives... + Today in 2002: Rob Marshall's musical Chicago debuted in theaters on its way to Oscar best picture glory. Original review.  Today's birthdays: Timothee Chalamet, 24, Olivia Cooke, 26, Emilie de Ravin, 38, Jay Ellis, 38, Masi Oka, 45, Gerard Depardieu, 71.   Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.  ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. DECEMBER 27, 2019 UNSUBSCRIBE  MANAGE PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY TERMS OF USE