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Box office trends in 2023: audiences sought comfort, flocking to see Barbie, Taylor Swift, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and mostly skipped superhero movies — Movie audiences flocked to Taylor Swift, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” but were cooler toward returning superheroes like the Flash, Captain Marvel and Aquaman.
Discussion:
The Wrap, ThePrint and ScreenRant


Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads starting January 29, with an option for customers to pay an additional $2.99 per month to avoid the ads — Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to start incorporating ads into movies and TV shows streamed from its Prime Video service …


Filing: Paramount Global parent company National Amusements experienced a data breach in December 2022, in which hackers stole information on 82,128 people — National Amusements, the cinema chain and corporate parent giant of media giants Paramount and CBS, has confirmed it experienced …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social and Cord Cutters News


The earliest versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse enter the public domain on January 1, as Disney's copyright suits have slowed to a trickle in recent years — Dan O'Neill was 53 years ahead of his time. … In his underground comic book, “Air Pirates Funnies,” the lovable mouse …
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Associated Press, @trungtphan, @sethjacob, @aliaaaloha, @okidokidev, @victoriaannmeyers@threads.net, @austinplanet, @thequestbro, @lessig, @martinsfp@threads.net, @douggernaut_2, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @oliverjia1014, @rhnintendo, US News, Mashable, JoBlo, TMZ.com, Axios, Gizmodo, Cord Cutters News, @finsvol, @evankindley, @wayne_crews, @trailersfromhel and The Blast
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Books, movies, and music from 1928 and sound recordings from 1923 enter the US public domain on January 1; works include D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover — Director, Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain — Please note that this site is only about US law; the copyright terms in other countries may be different.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, @doctorow, @dukecspd, @doctorow, @internetarchive, @JMarkOckerbloom … and @biz


Major outlets sign a letter complaining about NYC's plan to move police reporters out of NYPD HQ; NYC says the move would allow more outlets to cover the police — Mayor Eric Adams said that the move would allow more outlets to cover the police, but critics said it was another blow to transparency.
Discussion:
@steveashleyplus, @catherine_lucey, @jbflint, @mikesisak, @mikesisak and @mediaevan


Nielsen: YouTube's share of US viewership by 2- to 11-year-olds jumped from 29.4% in September 2021 to 33% in September 2023, while Netflix fell from 25% to 21% — Major streaming services test releasing children's content on YouTube and cut back on fare for kids


Goodreads' current combative culture is antithetical to the spirit in which the service began, and fixing that requires more human moderation to monitor users — If you have not kept up with the latest scandal in the world of young adult publishing, it is a doozy.


Sources: Disney and Reliance signed a non-binding term sheet last week to merge their media operations in India, with Reliance paying for a majority 51% stake — Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive brought back in July by chief executive Bob Iger as an adviser to help him navigate …


Sources: Reddit expects 2023 ad revenue to grow 20%+ YoY to slightly over $800M; a source says Reddit was not profitable through the first nine months of 2023 — If the market for initial public offerings recovers in the new year, one company that aims to go public early on is Reddit.


A list of 2023's most engaging stories: CNN had the most entries on the list, and most prominent themes were “catastrophe”, “memorial”, and “human connection” — Our 2023 edition of The Most Engaging Stories of the year reflects a year in which catastrophes …
Discussion:
@noahshachtman, @gaydos_ and @kevinroose


An interview with Sebastien Lai about his father and media tycoon Jimmy Lai's sham trial, how Hong Kong “weaponized the law” to shut down Apple Daily, and more — Sebastien Lai hasn't spoken to his father in three years, but says he supports the stance the veteran pro-democracy activist has taken
Discussion:
@heguisen