On today’s episode of the “Daily Variety” podcast, Box Office segment, Variety’s Jack Dunn breaks down the tough weekend for “Supergirl” and the big frame for “Toy Story 5” and “Michael.” And Todd Spangler explains why Comcast is bringing out the corporate butcher knife to separate NBCUniversal and Sky from Comcast’s core cable and technology assets.
Variety reporter Jack Dunn says “Supergirl” simply resonated with younger fans on social feeds and wasn’t enough to make a big splash at the opening weekend box office. This is part of a larger problem with superhero movies.
Dan, who is a big consumer of movies, believes there is a certain sameness in the storytelling that made movies and that a major change is needed. “Anyone who has the guts to make a superhero movie that feels different than the last 15 years of superhero movies. DC certainly has ‘Clayface’ coming out in October, but that movie seems to offer a new lens to the body horror superhero genre,” Dunn says. “I come from a horror background,” said DC Studios head James Gunn. “I think they’re definitely curating a cool vibe, a creepy vibe for October. I’m really interested to see how they take the superhero story in that direction.” We saw that in The Batman (2022), which was definitely a detective drama, almost a procedural movie. ‘Clayface’ will be a test of what DC has – they’re willing to experiment.”
Spangler, Variety’s business editor, broke news early Monday from Comcast that the company plans to split NBCUniversal and European satellite broadcaster Sky into independent companies separate from Comcast’s core cable, broadband and technology assets. Spangler said the move is meant to boost Comcast’s stock price, which has weighed on it for years. Mike Kavanaugh will become CEO of NBCUniversal and Sky, while former Comcast Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis will become CEO of Comcast, which has been slimmed down under Chairman Brian Roberts.
Comcast shares rose as much as 9% in early trading following the news announced before the market opened, but settled to a 4.5% gain by the end of the day.
“Mr. Kavanagh simply said he had changed his mind that it was better to put the two businesses together,” Spangler explained in explaining his rationale to Wall Street analysts on a conference call Monday. “Both companies could spread their wings if they were on separate trajectories with different underlying financial fundamentals. So the next question is, are you doing this to consider M&A? And Brian Roberts said absolutely not. This is not about separating what we built together. The important thing is that these two are great. “That’s not what the issue is about, but remember that they proposed integrating Warner Bros.’ streaming and studios into part of Comcast’s portfolio,” he said. So they were in the M&A market (last year) and now I wonder how strongly Brian Roberts is protesting here. ”
Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Variety’s YouTube Podcast channel, Amazon Music, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
