Now that we have a deal between Time Warner Cable and CBS, we can turn our Hollywood focus back on the movie industry.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, would you agree it's been an up and down summer at the box office?

Mark Lacter: It's been a flaky summer for Hollywood, Steve.  On the plus side, ticket revenue was up more than 10 percent, and attendance increased around six-and-a-half percent compared with last year (this covers the first week of May through Labor Day weekend).  The problem is that the studios and their investors spent huge amounts of money to make a lot of these movies, and they had to compete in a very crowded market - 23 big-budget films came out this summer, which is way higher than normal, and some of them never had a chance.

Julian: Some examples?

Lacter: Probably the biggest clunker was "The Lone Ranger," which could end up losing close to $200 million for Disney.  Another big disappointment was "White House Down," which was distributed by Sony and brought in only $140 million, which for a big-budget action film is really bad.  Even a film like "Pacific Rim," which did well at the box office, might still end up in the red because the production and marketing costs were so high.

Julian: And summer, of course, is the time when studios want to bring out these monster releases -

Lacter: - right, what they call "tent poles" - and in that category, the biggest winner was Disney's "Iron Man," which took in $1.2 billion.  Also having a great summer was "Monsters University" from Pixar, with $700 million.  You also had "Despicable Me 2" and "Fast and Furious 6," which might not be our cup of tea (speak for yourself, it takes me back to my police car days!), but did very well for Universal.  Eight of the top 12 films this summer were sequels - and yet, sequels were no guarantee of success (a number of them really struggled).  And, some non-blockbuster films found considerable success: "Now You See Me" from Lionsgate only cost $75 million to make.

Julian: So, in some ways, Hollywood was its usual unpredictable self.

Lacter: That's right - and don't expect any big changes in strategy when it comes to big-budget films.  The prospect of having huge success with one of these blockbusters is just too great, but perhaps more important is the fact that many of these films are financed by multiple groups of investors, and so the risk is spread around.  It's not like the old days when a studio bankrolled the whole thing.

Julian: Though, sounds like it's bad news for the city of Los Angeles: the "Man of Steel" sequel is going to be shot in Michigan?

Lacter: Mayor Garcetti has actually declared a state of emergency because the city keeps losing business to other states that offer big tax incentives to films - what's known as runaway production.  The truth is that business has been lost over the years, but L.A. is hardly in any danger of losing its spot as the center of entertainment.  And, you can see that with the L.A. County Board of Supervisors signing off on Disney's plan for a TV and movie production facility near Santa Clarita that will add more than a half-million square feet of studio space.

Julian: And, Universal's expanding, too.

Lacter: Earlier this year, Universal was given the approval to build more production facilities, and Paramount is planning an expansion, as well.  Now, these are all very ambitious projects - not the sort of investments that would be made if these studios were looking elsewhere to make movies and TV shows.  And, of course, they mean jobs - actually, employment levels in the entertainment industry have remained fairly steady going back the last decade.

Julian: Are there states that are pulling back their incentives?

Lacter: Yes, the state of North Carolina, which has been especially aggressive in using tax incentives to draw in movies and television going back to the 80s, is phasing out the giveaways because legislators have decided that the economic benefits aren't worth the tax revenues being lost.  And, other states with tax incentive programs are pulling back as well - they're finding that the payback is very difficult to measure.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Foxconn's shares have surged more than 100% so far in 2024, far outperforming the broader market's 28% gain. Foxconn said last month it was building in Mexico the world's largest manufacturing facility for bundling Nvidia's GB200 superchips, a key component of the US firm's next-generation Blackwell family computing platform.

Perseus Proteomics Faces Mixed Financial Results  TipRanks

Vimeo — Too many failed login attempts results in a shrugging Vimeo robot and a page title of ‘VimeUhOh’.

/via Chris Droom

Apparel exporter Gokaldas Exports posted an 18.77% rise in consolidated profit at Rs 28.16 crore for the quarter ended September 30, mainly led by exports. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 23.71 crore for the same quarter a year ago.

The Splash n Dash event was held yesterday evening at Cambridge Beaches. A spokesperson said, “There was a great turnout at the Splash n Dash event yesterday evening at Cambridge Beaches – the event was followed by food and drinks courtesy of Cambridge Beaches – a big “Thank You” to Cambridge Beaches for generously hosting […]

The Liberty Mutual mixed team relay national championships took place at the Clearwater Beach. The mixed senior team 11+ age group division saw the Double Trouble team of Sanchez Smith and Naomi MacGuinness clock a winning time of 56:45, team Shepherd/Wright that featured Ella Shepherd and Jacob Wright finished second in 59:48, and the Transition […]

[Updated with photos] The 2021 Bermuda Power Boat Racing season continued with the juniors running heats inshore, while the power boats held a 30 minute offshore race at Ferry Reach. The Junior Drivers are in two groups of three, with Tyler James and Santiago Roe, both winning a heat in the A Group, while Zauza James […]

The 2021 Bermuda Power Boat Racing Season continued with the junior running heats inshore, jetskis running an offshore and inshore race, while the power boats held a 40 minute offshore race at Ferry Reach. Jauza James won two of the junior power boat races, Dakar White on his modified Jet Ski won both the off […]

The 2021 Around the Island Powerboat & Jet Ski Race took place on Sunday  [Aug 8] starting and finishing at Ferry Reach in the east end. Juniors: Race # 1 1 Trystan Hocking 2 Santiago Rose 3 Tyler James Juniors: Race #2 1 Isobel Rowe 2 Jonah Moniz 3 Shawn Bremar Juniors: Race #3 1 […]

The Bermuda Power Boat Association season resumed at Ferry Reach this weekend. In the Junior Division, Trystan Hocking, and Jauza James both won two races each, while Dakari White won both JetSki races. David Selley and John Harrison won the A Class in the Power Boats, while the B Class was won by Bobby DeCosta […]

The Bermuda Powerboat Race Season resumed at Ferry Reach with Powerboats and Junior Powerboats competing. In the Powerboat S Class, Aaron Simms and Steven Bridges claimed the victory, while Craig Nebitt Sr. & Jr. won the D Class. The C Class was won by Chad and Graham Sutherland, with Jody and Tony Carreiro winning the […]

The Bermuda Power Boat Association held their National Championship races at Ferry Reach. Ryan McLean won two of the Junior Races, with Santiago Rowe winning the other two. Jason Simons, and Jahlae Raynor both won a race in the JetSki Class, while in the Power Boat Class, Jody Coreiro and Chris Pacheco won the B […]

The Bermuda Motocross season resumed at the Southside Motor Sports Park. Cassidy Spencer Furbert won the Peewee Class, while the 50cc Class winner was Tinho Tucker Wall. Ajahni Foggo won the 65cc Class, with RJ Pitcher claiming the 85cc Class, and Jazuri Easton Thompson won both the Novice, and Super Mini Classes. Aaron Cannonier won […]

The Bermuda Motocross Season continued at the Southside Motor Sports Park. Kai’Jun Simons won the expert class, while Letroy Trott claimed the victory in the over 30’s class, and Michael Maclean won the novice class. Jazuri Easton-Thompson claimed the victory in the super mini class, Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the peewee class, while Tinho Tucker-Wall won […]

[Updated with photos] Motocross fans were thrilled over the holiday period with racing taking place in the east end. Allan Degraff Jr won the expert class holding off American Denver Rigsby, with Zano Tucker finishing third in the class. Ben Zoeller won the over 30 class, with Ronald Trott second and Bobby Lambe finishing third. Brazilian […]

The Bermuda Motocross Club’s season continued at the Southside Motor Sports Park. Z’naz Jones won the super mini class, Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the Pee Wee Division on the day, with Kody Paul winning the 50cc class. A’Jahni Foggo won the 65cc class, Aiden Simmons would also win the 85cc class. Jazuri Easton-Thompson won the novice […]

The Bermuda Motocross Club’s season continued at the Southside Motor Sports Par, and the top five finishers in each class are listed below. Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the Pee Wee Division on the day, with Kody Paul winning the 50cc class. A’Jahni Foggo won the 65cc class, Aiden Simmons would also win the 85cc class. Michael Maclean […]

The action was fast and furious as the Bermuda Motocross Club season continued at the Southside Moto Sports Park. Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the Pee Wee Division on the day, with Tinho Tucker Wall winning the 50cc Class. A’Jahni Foggo won the 65cc Class, Aiden Simmons would also win the 85cc Class. Jazuri Easton-Thompson won the […]

Action continued in the Bermuda Motocross Club season at the Southside Moto Sports Park. Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the Pee Wee Division on the day, with Tinho Tucker Wall winning the 50cc class. Azai Burt won the 65cc class, Aiden Simmons would also win the 85cc class. Jazuri Easton-Thompson won the novice class, Aaron Cannonier claimed […]

Race fans had double delight as the Bermuda Karting Club and Bermuda Motocross Club were both in action this past weekend. Karting Tag Senior Race 1 Brian Bulhoes Blake Horseman William Dunkley Jayden Brimmer Race 2 Blake Horseman Brian Bulhoes William Dunkley Jayden Brimmer Race 3 Brian Bulhoes William Dunkley Blake Horseman Jayden Brimmer Tag Junior […]

Action continued in the Bermuda Motocross Club season at the Southside Moto Sports Park. Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the Pee Wee Division on the day, with Tinho Tucker Wall winning the 50cc class. A’jahni Foggo won the 65cc class, Aiden Simmons would win the 85cc class. Jazuri Easton-Thompson won the Novice class, Lorenzo Burch claimed the […]

Action continued in the Bermuda Motocross Club season at the Southside Moto Sports Park. Cassidy Spencer-Furbert won the Pee Wee Division on the day, with Tinho Tucker Wall winning the 50cc Class. A’jahni Foggo won the 65cc Class, Aiden Simmons would win the 85cc Class. Jazuri Easton-Thompson won the Novice Class, Lorenzo Burch claimed the […]

Allan DeGraff continued his rich vein of form after winning the Expert class in the Bermuda Motocross Association’s New Year’s Day Trophy Race Series at the Southside Motocross Track yesterday. DeGraff, who also won his class in the Boxing Day Trophy Race Series, was the best rider once again, finishing ahead of second-place Zico Majors […]

The action continued in the Bermuda Motocross Club season at the Southside Moto Sports Park. Ade Stovell won the Pee Wee division on the day, with King Clarke winning the 50cc class. Mazaii Tucker won the 65cc class, A’jahni Foggo won the 85cc class. Aiden Simmons won the novice class, Lorenzo Burch claimed the win […]

The Bermuda Motocross Association race season came to an end at the Southside Motor Sports Park. Malakai Dill won the pee wee division on the day, with Cassidy Spencer-King Clarke winning the 50cc class. Mazali Tucker won the 65cc class, A’jahni Foggo claimed the 85cc class title, and Nyla Goodchild won the 85cc ladies division. […]

The Bermuda Motocross Association season delivered another thrilling installment at the Southside Motorsports Park in St. David’s. 85cc Class: A’jahni Foggo Mazaii Tucker Azai Burt Lyfe Rewan Robinson Messiah Levrock PeeWee: Ace Moniz Tiano Tucker Wall Diego Smith Ahno Sutton A’kyo Cannonier 50cc: Cassidy Spencer-Furbert Max Butterfield Remington Boden Malakai Dill Ade Stovell 65cc: Kody […]

Warwick Academy won the Bermuda School Sports Federation Primary School B division six a side tournament after defeating Saltus Grammar School in a fast paced final. A spokesperson said, “Saltus grabbed the early initiative but could not find a way past Warwick goalkeeper Adam Pedro who made a string a fine saves to keep Saltus […]

San Juan County in Washington has reported an 85.5% spike in job applications, with open positions getting filled 23.75% faster after it shifted to the 32-hour workweek last year.

Sri Lanka votes today in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.

The court lifted the stay on the result announcement on Monday allowing the counting to begin and announce the results on or before November 26.

Sri Lanka votes today in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.

International arrivals helped drive the operating results of Thai carriers despite the third quarter coinciding with the low season, but smaller fleets still pressure the aviation industry, resulting in consistently high airfares.

'Hopeful that we will kind of hold our nose and get through it'

Google is running a test to see what happens when news results are removed for 1% of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, …

Minor Hotels has continued its robust growth trajectory, with Q3 results revealing significant increases in core profit and revenue. The group, which owns and operates more than 560 hotels across eight brands globally, announced a core net profit of THB 3.1 billion for the first nine months of 2024, marking a 13% year-on-year increase, despite the negative impact of an unrealised foreign exchange loss.

1. Stock market today: Trade setup for Nifty 50 to Q2 results today; five stocks to buy or sell on Thursday — Nov 14 | Stock Market News  Mint
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3. GIFT Nifty starts in the red, down 10 points; market trading setup for today  India Today
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5. Sensex Today | Stock Market LIVE Updates: GIFT Nifty signals a muted start; Asian shares trade mixed  The Economic Times

Effective negotiation for business leaders requires clear goals, understanding the other party's needs and utilizing strategies like preparation, flexible options, active listening and knowing when to stand firm or concede to build mutually beneficial relationships.

Fifty Fifty Lottery Result: നിങ്ങളെടുത്ത ലോട്ടറിക്കാണോ ഒരു കോടി അടിച്ചത്? വിജയികളുടെ നമ്പറുകൾ അറിയാം...        

The Kerala Lottery Result for Karunya Plus KN 547 is set to be drawn today (November 14, 2024). The draw is scheduled to be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The public can view the Winning Number post at 2.55 pm during the Kerala Lottery Today live broadcast.

The counting of votes for both the central panel and college representatives will begin at 8:30 a.m. on November 21 at the DU Conference Centre

The Delhi High Court had on Monday allowed the university to start the process of counting the votes, subject to the university’s satisfaction regarding the restoration of public property defaced during campaigning

Despite the revenue growth in H1, the Q2 performance was impacted by a one-time loss of ₹69 crore due to reduction in customs duty in India

Greaves Cotton reported consolidated revenue of ₹705 crore for Q2 FY25, with standalone revenue growing by 2 per cent to ₹468 crore

Campbell, J E; McCurdy, M W; Lauzon, G; Regis, D; Wygergangs, M. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8714, 2020, 40 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/327218
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Issler, D R; McDannell, K T; Lane, L S; O'Sullivan, P B; Neill, O K. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8821, 2021, 158 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/328844
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Regis, D; Canam, R; Martel, E. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8880, 2022, 33 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/329884
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Böhm, C; Rayner, N. Canada's northern Shield: new perspectives from the Geoscience for Energy and Minerals Program; Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 612, 2024 p. 327-334, https://doi.org/10.4095/332503
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