AMC Entertainment It dropped plans to charge customers variable prices for cinema seats.

The company announced its “Sightline” pricing strategy in February and tested it at select locations in three US markets. The program costs moviegoers more to get the best theater seats, or “preferred line of sight” seats.

The program also lowered prices for seats deemed less attractive to patrons, such as those in the front row of theaters.

The change comes as the movie theater industry struggles during its slow summer blockbuster season. And theaters are counting on this week’s releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer to bring much-needed foot traffic to theaters.

Shares of AMC Entertainment fell less than 1% on Thursday. The stock is up more than 5% this year, lagging behind the broader market.

Preferred Sightline seats included select locations in the middle of the auditorium that were preferred by some moviegoers, while Value Sightline seats were those usually located in the front row.

The chain said the program will end at participating locations in the coming weeks.

The decision comes after the pilot program showed moviegoers had little or no interest in sitting in the front row, despite lower prices. The company said it also found that most moviegoers continued to choose the seats they preferred, even at higher prices.

The company added that the focus is ensuring that AMC’s ticket prices remain competitive. Other theater chains like the Regal don’t charge higher prices for better seats.

The movie theater chain said it will now focus on testing front-row seats with more comfortable seats at select locations in the US later this year.

CNBC has reached out to AMC for additional comment.

LOS ANGELES – It’s the billion-dollar question: Why are blockbusters in short supply this year?

universal The Super Mario Bros. movie. Movie is the only movie released in 2023 to so far pass the billion dollar mark at the global box office. It doesn’t look like there could be another, even with some big titles on the calendar.

“If you were to give 10 people a release schedule at the beginning of the year and say, ‘We’re only going to have one billion-dollar movie out of all these movies, and can you choose which movie that’s going to be? Mike Polidoros, CEO of film marketing firm PaperAirplane Media, said, “I don’t think anyone would have taken a Super Mario Bros. movie to the next level.”

The lack of billionaires marks a sea change in the industry. In the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, and even last year, there were many megabytes that exceeded $1 billion of the global total.

The lack of these types of blockbusters in 2023 is especially evident Disney, which owns the Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Legacy of Fairy Tale franchises. While the studio is well on its way to being the ruler of the box office this year, it’s had a series of missteps in recent months that have raised concerns that audience preferences are changing too quickly for Hollywood to adapt.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to draw audiences beyond Marvel’s die-hard fans in February, grossing just $214.5 million domestically and less than $500 million worldwide. “Elemental,” which was released just last month, currently holds the second-lowest domestic showing of any Pixar film in the studio’s history, narrowly eclipsing 2020’s “Onward,” which experienced a shortfall at the box office due to the pandemic.

At Disney’s Lucasfilm, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which hits theaters June 30, is expected to struggle to make back its roughly $300 million production budget. To date, it has grossed $122.1 million at the domestic box office and $221.4 million worldwide.

“On the whole, I see Disney in a situation that was mostly expected to be emerging from the pandemic and going through yet another leadership change,” said Sean Robbins, a senior analyst at BoxOffice.com. “These two hugely influential players have reshaped the studio’s stature in many ways, especially at the box office when considering the past decade that has seen their best franchises and their brand on all cylinders. This kind of momentum just wouldn’t have been sustainable without occasional ebbs and flows.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC’s David Faber Thursday that the company will cut Marvel and Star Wars content as it seeks to cut costs and revamp its brands.

A bright spot for Disney has come in the form of James Gunn’s final arc at Marvel Studios. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the third-highest-grossing domestic release so far this year, with $357.5 million. It follows behind Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”. Gunn is now helping helm Warner Bros. Pictures. DC Discovery Studios.

The third Guardians movie has managed to secure $834.2 million worldwide since its May release, but it likely won’t reach the coveted $1 billion threshold.

Notably, Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” generated more than $1 billion in global ticket sales in 2023, but since it was released in 2022, it’s not considered a billion-dollar movie of the year.

“The billion-dollar club seems to be getting more exclusive in 2023,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore. “Despite many high-profile titles featuring some of the biggest movie brands and franchises, this year’s crop so far lacks the global footprint or sheer market dominance to cross the billion-dollar threshold in what has been a competitive global film market.”

The Chinese market, in particular, was a major driving force in its previous multibillion-dollar box office hit, but the region has been more selective about which Hollywood films are allowed to be shown in the country. China has also developed its own lucrative film market.

For example, most Marvel films released pre-pandemic saw 15% to 22% of all ticket sales from China. In the aftermath of the pandemic, only a few of these comic book movies have been released to screens in the country and those that have have seen significantly less revenue.

The first two Ant-Man movies, which were released in 2015 and 2018, brought in about 20% of ticket sales from China. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania saw just 8% of tickets sold in China.

“Globally, China’s evolution into a market that can no longer be relied upon for massive offerings by some of the films and franchises that used to do so leaves a gap that may be too big to fill in the short term,” Robbins said.

Lower Chinese ticket sales coupled with slower-than-expected returns from domestic moviegoers have hampered big blockbusters in 2023, dragging down the number of multi-billion-dollar blockbusters.

In the past decade, the number of global multi-billion dollar earners has increased exponentially, with Disney responsible for the majority of the chart-topping titles. In fact, the studio earned at least $1 billion every year from 2014 through 2019, when it had seven billion dollars worth of movies.

He didn’t make a $1 billion movie in 2020 or 2021 due to pandemic restrictions, but the 2022 movie “Avatar: The Way of Water” crossed $2 billion.

“Because 2019 was an anomaly on the upside, I think 2023 can be viewed as an anomaly in the other direction,” said Polidoros of PaperAirplane. “As they say with auditioning, get rid of the high and the low and go from there. And I think the same theory applies to the box office as a whole.”

Several box office analysts who spoke with CNBC shared the same sentiment as Polidoros. They noted that while many of Disney’s releases fell short of expectations, the studio remains a strong competitor at the domestic and global box office.

“It’s very unlikely that Disney will get a global hit of $1 billion this year,” Dergarabedian said. But, to be fair, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and “Elemental” have collectively earned more than $2 billion worldwide.

Despite tepid results from traditionally strong Disney, the studio has generated more domestic ticket sales than any other studio this year so far.

Through June, Disney releases account for 30% of all domestic ticket sales, or $1.3 billion, according to data from Comscore.

The studio also has four of the top 10 highest-grossing domestic films so far this year.

“As usual, it’s about the content,” said Polidoros.

It’s not yet clear if Disney’s upcoming releases, like “Haunted Mansion,” “The Marvels” or “Wish,” will be able to generate a record $1 billion, but a diverse slate bodes well for the company.

“2024 looks more promising on several fronts, and their original animated film, Wish, could be a big hit later this year if it lives up to its potential with the audiences that helped make the ‘Frozen’ series such a hit,” Robbins said.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.

Companies and industries have ups and downs. Old media industry in a valley.

The first half of 2023 was a huge disappointment for media executives who wanted this year to be a rebound from a terrible 2022, when a slowdown in subscriber flow slashed ratings. NetflixAnd DisneyAnd Warner Bros. Discovery And Paramount Global to almost half.

Instead, investors are once again excited about Netflix’s future prospects as it cracks down on password sharing, which could lead to tens of millions of new sign-ups. Shares of Netflix have soared in the past five months, outperforming the S&P 500.

Meanwhile, the old players couldn’t get out of their own way.

“When it rains, it rains,” said Rich Greenfield, media analyst at LightShed. “It just keeps getting worse.”

It’s been a bumpy ride for Disney CEO Bob Iger since he returned to lead the company late last year. Disney It recently finished laying off 7,000 employees. Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy stepped down last week. The company is pulling programming from streaming services to save money. Its animation business is in serious trouble, with its latest Pixar movie, “Elemental,” scoring the studio’s lowest opening weekend gross since the original “Toy Story” premiered in 1995. Stock has struggled in the past five months.

Paramount Global It cut its dividend last quarter as broadcast losses peaked this year and a weak advertising market exacerbated the ailing cable network business. Wells Fargo issued an analyst note Friday saying the company’s bull case and bear case are the same: selling for parts. Said Warren Buffett, perhaps the most famous investor in history CNBC said the Paramount streaming show “Basically, it’s not good for business.”

NBCUniversal weathered the storm better, shielded by its parent company, Comcast, which derives its revenue from its cable and wireless assets. The above errors have also been taken advantage of. MSNBC has become no. 1 cable news network this month for the first time in 120 weeks, ousting Fox News amid coverage of former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment. The Super Mario Bros. Universal’s Movie is the year’s biggest box office hit, yet stocks haven’t moved much.

All of this is happening with an expanding strike of Hollywood writers playing out in the background with no end in sight. Writers know that the longer the strike lasts, the greater the pain will be inflicted on the media companies, who will eventually run out of content already written. Zaslav recently gave a commencement speech at Boston University and was drowned out in boos and cheers of “pay your book.”

This week may bring more bad news. Film and TV actors are set to join the writers’ strike unless they reach an agreement with Hollywood studios by Friday.

Greenfield said the beneficiaries of shutting down work in Hollywood will likely be YouTube, TikTok and Netflix, which continue to produce international content not affected by the strike.

Legacy media may get a small respite if advertising jumps back up as the 2024 US presidential campaign heats up. But there is still little evidence that investors will reward media companies simply for cutting costs. There is currently no solid growth narrative for legacy media, and merger prospects are murky as regulators block media-adjacent deals like Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision and Simon & Schuster’s proposed Penguin Random House purchase.

The industry has just concluded its annual advertising gala in Cannes, France. Old media executives still shell out company dollars for a yacht lounging trip and rosé drinking. The background was as beautiful as ever.

But the scene is bleak.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of CNBC.

WATCH: Mark Reid, CEO of WPP, on the state of the advertising market, from Cannes Lions 2023

Disney On Tuesday, it revealed a change in the film’s release calendar, delaying several entries in the Avatar, Marvel, and Star Wars franchises.

The company hasn’t clarified the decisions behind the release date rearrangement, though studios often adjust their schedules for a variety of reasons. The moves come as a writers’ strike has crippled the film and television industry, causing production halts that could affect release schedules.

Many high-profile films and shows have halted production or ended prematurely since the start of the strike. These include Netflix“Stranger Things” for “Stranger Things”appleTV +, “Severance” and BasicCNBC reported in May that the series, “The Evil.”

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

James Cameron’s third “Avatar” movie has been moved from 2024 to December 2025, with the fourth film following in 2029. The company’s release calendar indicates that the fifth installment in the franchise is now set to be in 2031. “Avatar,” released in 2009, and “Avatar: Waterway,” released late last year, are two of the top three highest-grossing films worldwide.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the recently retitled “Captain America: Brave New World” will be delayed from May to July next year, with “Thunderbolts” moving to December 2024, “Blade” moving to February 2025 and “Fantastic Four” now. specific. In May 2025.

The changes also affect the two upcoming Avengers movies in the MCU. “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” has been delayed by a year to May 2026. “Avengers: Secret Wars” won’t be released until May 2027.

Actor Jonathan Majors, who played Kang in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, was arrested on assault charges earlier this year and is said to face more abuse charges. Earlier reports said he denied the allegations through his lawyer, but he was dropped by his old management company. Marvel has been silent on Majors’ case.

After the box office disappointment of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” Disney CEO Bob Iger pondered whether Marvel should prioritize more recent characters instead of continuing to create third and fourth films for established legacy characters.

Disney has also pushed back its planned “Star Wars” movie from December 2025 to May 2026. It’s also added another Star Wars movie to the schedule as well – set for December 2026. Disney has yet to release a Star Wars movie. Movie since “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019.

Hollywood producers have a tentative deal with movie and TV directors, but that doesn’t mean we should expect surprising writers’ strike decisions or talks with the actors’ union.

On Sunday, the Directors Guild of America and the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance provisionally agreed to a three-year contract that would provide the 19,000-member union with pay and benefit gains, increased global broadcast residuals and protections against the use of artificial intelligence.

The DGA contract is set to expire on June 30. The union will present the proposal to its members on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America is entering the second month of its strike. Likewise, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists are on the verge of authorizing a possible strike should negotiations falter. Those talks begin on Wednesday.

The WGA has been on strike since May 2, shutting down dozens of TV and film productions as talks with producers stall.

actually Netflix The start of production for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has been postponed. Warner Bros. discovery “Game of Thrones” prequel “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Night of the Hedge” locked her writers’ room, and Disney And Marvel’s Thunderbolts and Blade films have paused production.

During the recent writers’ strike in 2007 and 2008, which lasted 100 days, the studio’s deal with the DGA pushed writers back to the negotiating table. That may not be the case this time around, though.

“We congratulate the DGA Negotiation Committee for obtaining a deal that they will recommend to their National Council for approval and which they will then presumably send to their members for ratification,” the WGA Negotiation Committee wrote in a note to members on Sunday.

The committee said it would not comment on the deal points of the new DGA contract and noted that its negotiating positions remain the same.

“Last week we sent out an email about how AMPTP’s divide-and-conquer strategy didn’t work this time,” the memo read. “AMPTP will not be able to negotiate a book deal with anyone but us.”

The committee also said it stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA during the completion of the strike vote on Monday.

Representatives for SAG-AFTRA did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The WGA memo mirrors comments made by WGA negotiator Chris Keyser on Friday, when he provided a public update a month after the strike via YouTube.

“Any agreement that puts this city back in business goes directly through the WGA, and there’s no way around that,” he said.

Keyser also expressed that the WGA strike was indeed “extremely effective in harming businesses”, noting that the work stoppage, along with the public picketing, demonstrated the union’s determination to get “the contract we deserve”.

In the DGA agreement, managers received pay increases starting at 5% in the first year, an increase in tailings from the flow and a guarantee that AI could not replace the duties performed by members.

Artificial intelligence has been a major concern for writers’ and actors’ unions, who see their jobs as particularly vulnerable to this new technology.

The WGA and SAG-AFTRA are both seeking protection against the use of artificial intelligence in their negotiations, as well as increased compensation for streaming content. The WGA is also seeking minimum staff for television writers’ rooms and more competitive minimum payments for the work.

WGA is less concerned about being replaced by AI systems and more concerned that production companies will exploit these technological tools to cut writers’ salaries.

SAG-AFTRA has acknowledged that AI technology can have its benefits in the industry, but wants to ensure that any use of AI to duplicate an actor or create a new performance is done with the consent and payment of the actor. The Syndicate has similar guardrails when it comes to taking computer-generated images.

Indeed, some performers, such as James Earl Jones, have already agreed to have their voices reproduced for posthumous use. Jones, 91, voiced Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and has sought to exit the role. Jones was compensated and technology was used to bring Vader’s iconic voice to Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

The Actors Guild has also been vocal about its negotiations for the benefit of all of its members, not just the big stars. Health coverage, compensation and waste are top priorities for tens of thousands of workers.

SAG-AFTRA’s vote for permission to strike ends Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance.

Disney World’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a two-day hotel experience, is closing and will make its final voyage in September after being open for just over a year.

The experience blends elements from the company’s resorts, cruise lines and theme parks for a 48-hour journey into space. The Galactic Starcruiser first opened during the Disney D23 Expo in 2019 and will be located near the company’s Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida in March 2022.

The cost of the trip is about $1,200 per person, per day, with family packages coming in at nearly $6,000 for the two-day trip. This can be a hard number to swallow, especially considering that a typical Disney vacation for a family of four can cost a lot for a weeklong trip, depending on hotel and restaurant options.

However, the Galactic Starcruiser has been lauded as a dream come true for fans looking for the ultimate Star Wars experience. The two-day trip includes a hotel room, all food and beverages except alcoholic and specialty drinks, a day trip to the Hollywood Studios theme park, Magic Band and valet parking on delivery.

However, the Galactic Starcruiser is more than just a hotel. It is an immersive experience. Travelers spend their time on Halcyon meeting new characters and aligning themselves with the light or dark side.

The main gist of the overarching story goes like this: You are a passenger on a Star Cruiser for a two-day cruise. During that voyage, an Officer First Class and several stormtroopers boarded the ship to root out Resistance spies. Alongside these bad guys are spies, musicians, rebels, and reluctant heroes, all of which make up a Star Wars story.

And of course, some familiar faces also appear, including Chewbacca, Rey, and Kylo Ren.

The experience has earned some of the highest guest satisfaction ratings in Walt Disney World history and earned Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in Themed Entertainment.

However, the boutique hotel proved too pricey for the general Star Wars fan.

“Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most innovative projects ever and has been lauded by our guests and recognized for setting a new standard for innovation and immersive entertainment,” the company said in a statement. “This distinct, boutique experience has given us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale than 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final journey, we will take what we have learned to create future experiences that can reach even more of our guests and fans.”

Disney reportedly spent $2 billion building the two Star Wars immersive parks in Florida and California — though it’s unclear if the cost of building the Starcruiser is included in the amount.

Magic Kingdom is a fan of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Disney CEO Bob Iger used part of his opening remarks during Wednesday’s earnings call to praise Universal Studios’ “Super Mario Bros.” movie and its success at the global box office.

Iger said, “Let me digress for a moment to congratulate Universal on the massive success of Super Mario Bros.” “It certainly proves people’s love of being entertained in theaters around the world, and gives us reason to be optimistic about the film industry.”

Universal did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iger’s comments.

Super Mario Bros. More than $1.1 billion globally since its launch in early April, proving that family-friendly films, especially animated films, can succeed in the wake of the pandemic.

Disney’s theatrical animated content has lagged at the box office since the pandemic. Some analysts have blamed slowing ticket sales on market confusion over which Disney movies are streaming-only and which have wider theatrical releases. Others said Disney did a poor job of marketing its animated films to audiences.

Lightyear, the sequel to the highly profitable Toy Story series, grossed just over $200 million worldwide last summer, and “Strange World” flopped in the fall with less than $100 million in global ticket sales.

Meanwhile, Universal has been hugely successful at the box office, with Minions: The Rise of Gru grossing nearly $940 million worldwide and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grossing nearly $500 million worldwide. .

The widespread success of the Super Mario Brothers movie could pave the way for upcoming Disney releases, which include the Pixar movie “Elemental” and the Thanksgiving release “Wish.” When parents and kids entered theaters to see the Nintendo flick, they were treated to advertisements for upcoming animated features, including Disney’s slate.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.

Park-goers at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, will finally be able to return to Mickey’s Toon Town this weekend after a year-long closure for renovations.

The cartoon-inspired land has long been a haven for younger Disney park guests, offering character meet-and-greets with the likes of Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto, as well as kid-friendly coasters and play areas.

The redesigned Toontown pays homage to the space that first opened in 1993, keeping existing structures like Mickey and Minnie’s homes in tact, albeit with a touch of paint. But there’s also a great deal of new infrastructure for kids to explore – with an emphasis on inclusivity.

At its core, the entire Toontown renovation is centered around intent. Creating space for all the kids, the Imagineers designed accessible play spaces, as well as quiet areas and shaded spots so that the youngest park goers would have a place to exercise their pent-up energy or decompress.

The redesigned grounds, which open to the public March 19, are fully wheelchair accessible, including slides, and are visually and audibly accessible for children who are easily overwhelmed by loud or bright sensory stimuli. The entire grounds have been repainted in softer hues, and some areas feature quieter, spa-like, musical tones.

said Jeffrey Schaffer Moskovitz, executive portfolio producer at Inc Walt Disney to imagine. “They were seen, and this place was welcoming to them.”

Shaver-Moskowitz said Imagineers have spent time looking at children’s museums and water play venues to see how children are engaged and developing different stations around the country to cater to different types of play styles.

“We know a day at Disneyland can be hectic and chaotic, going from one attraction to another, from one reserve to another,” he said. “We wanted Toontown to be not only exciting, but also stress-relieving, relaxing and welcoming.”

With that in mind, the Imagineers provided more green spaces within the grounds, places for picnics, to sit and relax, or to play freely.

“We really wanted to take a look at Toontown, realizing how important it was to so many of our guests for the many generations that grew up and the many memories here associated with the land, and to make sure we don’t lose any of this,” said Shaver-Moskowitz. “But, he brought a lot of new magic.”

When guests enter the new Toontown, they will pass through Centennial Park. The area is anchored by a large fountain featuring Mickey and Minnie, as well as water tables for kids to dip their hands in, and the “Dreaming Tree.”

The live tree was chosen from the Disney property for its cartoonish limbs and leaves. Around the trunk are carved roots that kids can climb over, crawl under and weave through.

“One of the main functions of play for young children is to learn the concepts of over, under, and through,” Shaver-Moskowitz explained during a media tour of the country earlier this month. “So you’ll see that some of the roots are big enough for the little ones to crawl under, and some can be used as stabilizing beams for the little ones learning to put their feet under.”

(There’s a wheelchair-accessible path that winds through the roots, too.)

Centennial Park is also located next door to the El Capitoon Theatre, home of the Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The Knights are invited to the premiere of the newest Mickey and Minnie animated short, Perfect Picnic. However, tumult ensues and the guests are whisked away to ride the Goofy Train, entering the cartoon world.

The ride without tracks has no restrictions on height or age, allowing even the youngest Disney guests to join in.

Continuing through the grounds, guests will see Goofy’s new playground, which wraps around Goofy’s house and features an intact garden filled with musical bridges and watermelons, as well as Fort Max, a climbable clubhouse with attached slides.

Rotary slides were chosen for the space so smaller guests, who often have less mobility in their legs, wouldn’t get stuck at the bottom of the slide, Shaver-Moskowitz said. There is also more space at the bottom of the slides to accommodate guests who need time to get back into wheelchairs.

“We try to make sure we think of every single guest here,” he said. “Making sure that every child who comes to play here feels like we designed the space for them.”

Also outside there is a small enclosed area for kids to crawl around and experience the area safely.

Inside Goofy’s house are a series of games kids can play to help Goofy grow honey from the beehives on his property and turn it into candy. Here, young garden-goers can sort the candy by flavor and color and watch the Kinetic Ball Machine zip all over the place.

Extra care was taken to ensure that the sound of the air compressors propelling the balls was muffled, Shaver-Moskowitz said, in an effort to ensure those with sensory sensitivities would not be disoriented and still be able to enjoy the experience with peers.

In a separate area next to Goofy’s new playground is Donald’s Duck Pond, a children’s water experience. Imagineers intentionally separated this space from the playing field so that parents could better watch their children around the water elements.

Shaver-Moskowitz noted that the earlier layout of the land meant that children would occasionally return to their parents wet, after having wandered into the water play space.

Donald’s Duck Pond features a water-pulling tow boat, spinning water lilies, balance beams, and rocking toys. Inside the boat, kids can help Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby fix a leak in the hull, and spin the wheels and levers to push the water out.

Imagineers also revamped the food in Toontown. New restaurants like Cafe Daisy and Good Boy! Grocers offer a wide variety of selections and flavors for young gardeners and more mature palates.

Michelle Gendreau, Director of Product Improvement for Food and Beverage, explained that the team wanted to make eating easier by creating handmade food that could be chewed on the go.

The menu at Daisy’s Café features pizza, hot dogs, and “flop” wraps. Here, adults can have cold brew coffee or sweet tea with honey and mango. For dessert, there’s a mini donut topped with cinnamon sugar.

“Kids want to eat what their parents eat,” Gendreau said, referring to kid-friendly versions of traditional pizza.

The father of the good boy! Grocers, guests can pick up drinks, snacks and novelties. A roadside stand provides the “perfect picnic basket,” including up to three snacks and a drink. Kids can choose from a variety of options, from hummus and pickles to granola bars and apple slices.

The baskets are set up at multiple heights to allow the youngest guests to choose their own items, giving them a bit of independence when it comes to mealtime.

Park-goers can purchase picnic blankets, T-shirts, toys and other exclusive Toontown merchandise at EngineEar Souvenirs.

Plus, a meet-and-greet game with fan-favorite characters returns to Earth. Guests can take pictures with Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald Duck, Daisy, Pluto, Clarabelle and Goofy. And for the first time in any Disney park, Pete will appear, causing mischief throughout the neighborhood.

The special prosecutor in the “Rust” manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin resigned on Tuesday after attorneys for Baldwin argued that the New Mexico constitution barred her from serving in the role while she was a state representative.

It’s a major setback in the case of State v. Baldwin and co-accused Hannah Gutierrez Reed over the October 2021 accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Helena Hutchins on the set of “Rust.”

“After much thought, I have made the difficult decision to step down as the Prosecutor in the Rust case,” Special Prosecutor Andrea Repp said in her surprise statement. “My priority in this case – and in every case I have filed over the course of my 25-year career – has been to get justice for the victim.”

“However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is done in this case is to step aside so the prosecution can focus on the evidence and facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols that led to the death of Helena Hutchins,” she said.

Ripp’s decision to disqualify herself came after weeks of resistance to that idea by her and Senior Judicial Circuit attorney Mary Carmack-Altois, who hired her.

“I will not allow questions about my work as a lawmaker and attorney general to overshadow the real issue at hand,” Reeb said on Tuesday.

Baldwin’s defense attorneys last month filed a motion asking the judge to remove Reb from the case, arguing that the New Mexico Constitution expressly forbids people from holding office in one branch of government while executing the powers of another.

Contacted by CNBC on Tuesday, Luke Nicas, one of Baldwin’s attorneys, would not comment directly on Repp’s refusal, but did point to the reasoning from his article for excluding Repp as the defense said that “there is no question that Rep. Repp violates both the clear text The purpose of the Separation of Powers Clause of the New Mexico Constitution is by acting simultaneously as legislator and attorney general.”

It is not clear whether Carmack-Altoys will take over the case or appoint a new special prosecutor. The first prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Baldwin and Gutierrez Reid face two counts of manslaughter, both of which carry an 18-month prison sentence. The jury will decide which number of manslaughter counts applies.

Rust’s original assistant director, David Halls, signed a plea deal for negligence with the use of a deadly weapon, resulting in a suspended prison sentence and six months of probation.

The prosecution has already been criticized for mischaracterizing and handling the case.

Reeb, who previously served as a district attorney in the New Mexico 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, originally charged Baldwin and Gutierrez Reid, the original “Rust” gun maker, in January with so-called firearms promotion. This was the mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years if the defendants were convicted.

But Rippe overturned this improvement after admitting to Baldwin’s attorney via email that she had improperly applied a law only in effect after Hutchins’ murder.

And at a hearing last week, Baldwin’s attorneys confirmed that the gun that killed Hutchins was destroyed in the investigation process. Prosecutors denied that statement, stating that the gun had some internal damage during the FBI’s initial investigation but was still intact.

Along with Rip, Carmack-Altoys has hired spokeswoman Heather Brewer, who is specifically dedicated to answering “Rust” media inquiries. Brewer made incendiary public comments, referring to Baldwin as a celebrity “with imaginary lawyers,” which struck some lawyers as bizarre.

“Plaintiffs have to walk a very fine line between what you can say publicly,” said John Day, a district attorney from New Mexico. “You don’t want to be accused of poisoning the jury early on. That certainly could be a problem here.”

Sunday’s Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards may not take a bump at the box office for taking home the biggest prize of the night.

It’s part of the evolution of Hollywood. The Covid pandemic and the advent of streaming have fundamentally changed the industry. The result was a small increase in the box office at the time of nominations and a significant increase in the order flow.

From nominations in late January through Wednesday, this year’s Top 10 Picture nominees added $82 million in domestic box office sales, of which $71 million came from “Avatar: The Way of Water.” (“The Way of Water” grossed over $670 million in North America.)

For comparison, in 2020, The Nominees brought in about $201 million at the domestic box office after being nominated in mid-January, according to Comscore data. The Oscars are awarded in February. 9 that year, weeks before covid was declared a pandemic and the lockdown began.

“Many of the contenders this year originated from earlier in the release calendar and have therefore been ‘played’ in terms of their ability to reap the Oscar dollar in cinemas,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

In the past, films like “1917,” “Hidden Figures,” and “Silver Linings Playbook”—which were only nominated for the award—have earned 50% or more of domestic box office revenue after receiving a nod, according to data from Comscore. For 2014’s American Sniper, 99% of its box office ticket sales came after it was nominated, which is $346 million.

This year, all but one of the Best Picture nominees saw less than 13% post-nomination box office revenue. One of the smaller films to win the top prize, “Woman Talking,” took in 77% of its revenue after nominations, or about $3.9 million, according to comScore data.

“The Oscars bump is not a new phenomenon,” said Brandon Katz, industry strategist at Parrot Analytics. “For decades, we’ve seen contenders get additional box office ticket sales once Picture nominations are announced. But what’s changed recently, particularly as the Oscars have taken place a month later than usual in recent years and have been impacted by Covid, is a gushing bump.” .

Parrot Analytics determined that the top 10 photo nominees saw an average audience demand increase of 21% in the week after they received their coveted nomination. This measure of demand is calculated by looking at consumption, including hacking, social media posts and interactions, watching social videos, and online searches on sites like IMDb and Wikipedia.

Much of that demand is likely to manifest in streaming. Only six of the top 10 nominees for the picture released comparable box office data in the week after the nominations were published.

“Banshees of Inisherin” saw the biggest rise between the week before the nominations and the weeks after, with ticket sales jumping 381%. However, this is a jump from $73,000 in box office receipts to $352,000.

Over that weekend, fellow nominees “Everything Everywhere at Once,” “Fabelmans,” “Tarr,” “Triangle of Sorrow,” and “Women’s Talking,” all had ticket sales of under $1 million despite receiving huge highs. in audience visits.

And the only “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which saw ticket sales drop 21% over the weekend after nominations, grossed more than $1 million — bringing in $15.9 million in domestic receipts.

The striking difference has a lot to do with when these movies were released, their availability on streaming platforms and the genres of the movies.

The blockbuster “Waterway” was in its sixth week in theaters and was building momentum at the box office, while “Everything Everywhere at Once” made its return to the big screen after a nearly six-month hiatus from theaters.

Notably, by the time the nominations were revealed, “everything everywhere at once” had already been in the general zeitgeist for nearly a full year. The movie will be released in late March 2022.

Traditionally, Oscar bait films are shown in the last quarter of the year, with the majority hitting cinemas in November and December. As for this year’s nominees, only three made their debuts over the last two months of last year.

In the past, the Oscars were hosted in February, so even those films released in October might still have been shown exclusively in theaters if the pandemic hadn’t pushed the event to March.

However, this year, at the time of the nominations in late January, eight of the ten films nominated for Best Picture were available on streaming. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, Katz said.

“The last couple of years, everyone said: movie theaters vs. streaming. I’ve never seen it like this,” Katz said. “I don’t necessarily think the data supports that. I actually think these two methods can be additive and complementary rather than mutually exclusive.”

Katz noted that some films get a box office boost from the nomination, but the availability of titles on streaming can build buzz and momentum during the latter part of the voting period.

“Obviously, it’s hard to argue with the dollar sign and box office numbers,” said Wade Payson Denny, an analyst with Parrot Analytics. “But that’s just one part of the equation nowadays. Live streaming plays a huge role.”

“All Quiet on the Western Front” had the biggest spike in demand, up 59% in the week after it was nominated for Best Picture. The film ran for a limited time in theaters, just long enough to spark Oscar contention, before going home to the Netflix. The fact that the movie was only available during streaming is probably why it experienced the biggest jump in demand.

This also explains why the film has no box office data.

On the other end of the spectrum, “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” the biggest box office smashes of 2022, saw demand drop.

For Maverick, there will likely be a drop in demand because the movie has been in the open since May and has been available for streaming since late December. “Waterway” is still in theaters and won’t be available for streaming until the end of this month. Those who wanted to watch these movies had plenty of time to do so or watched them recently, and didn’t feel the need to watch them again or pirate them.

“The telecast on Sunday will be a three-hour commercial in addition to showing films and shows that are considered the most popular of the year,” Dergarabedian said. “This should translate into a growing desire among viewers to seek out these films at home.”

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “1917” and “The Fablemans”.

Correction: This article has been updated to show that in 2020, the nominees made about $201 million at the domestic box office after their nomination in mid-January.