French telecom corporation Orange has announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI and Meta to develop artificial intelligence models tailored to African languages. This initiative, set to roll out its first models in early 2025, aims to address the gap in AI capabilities for understanding regional languages like Wolof and Pulaar, spoken by millions across West Africa. Wolof is widely used in Senegal, Gambia, and southern Mauritania, while Pulaar is prevalent in Senegal. Together, these languages represent over 22 million speakers, [...]

Music to the ears of cinephiles who love to show off hefty film books on their coffee tables. Mubi will launch a publishing arm, Mubi Editions, next April, focusing on titles on cinema and the arts. Following in the footsteps of companies like A24, which released novelizations of its X trilogy, and TikTok’s recent entry into the print world, arthouse distributor, streamer, and production company founded in 2007 by Efe Cakarel, is offering a fresh way to engage with its [...]

Thanksgiving 2024 just made Hollywood history. The box office exploded with Moana 2 leading the charge at $221M domestically—the biggest debut to date on this beloved Holiday. Joining the festive frenzy, Wicked and Gladiator II, which premiered the prior weekend, each crossed $300 million globally. This brought the U.S. and Canada’s five-day total from Wednesday to Sunday to an impressive $420 million, driven by the three heavyweights from Disney, Warner Bros., and Paramount. The Turkey Day successes have given theater [...]

Universal Pictures has addressed online rumors suggesting a pay gap between Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, emphasizing that both actresses received equal compensation for their roles in the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway hit. The speculation, which originated on Reddit, claimed Grande earned $15 million for portraying Glinda, the “good” witch, while Erivo was allegedly paid only $1 million for her role as Elphaba, the “wicked” witch. Universal, however, dismissed these claims. "Reports of pay disparity [...]

Netflix continues to push boundaries, transforming live events into streaming triumphs. In November, the much-hyped Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight dominated global charts, racking up 233 million viewing hours, making it the #1 show of the month. Though far from Netflix's biggest hit of the year—Fool Me Once boasted 512 million hours in January—this event showcased Netflix’s ability to draw massive audiences for live sports, a traditionally tricky terrain for streaming platforms. Critics may argue that the event's numbers [...]

The television product strategy under Casey Bloys' leadership at HBO and Max has been analyzed in a recent report, shedding light on the platforms' evolving development and acquisition policies. The analysis explores programming trends, criticisms from agents, and economic challenges faced by the two entities. HBO, long considered the flagship brand of the Warner Bros. group, has seen its reputation tested by competitors such as Netflix and Apple TV+ and by structural changes introduced by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The [...]