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$135B 🎥

Netflix on Tuesday announced that it has spent more than $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the past decade.

“While other entertainment companies pull back, we’re leaning in — spending tens of billions of dollars on content every year, investing in production facilities from Spain to New Jersey,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post accompanying a new interactive site called “The Netflix Effect.”

According to Netflix, the company has contributed $325 billion to the global economy in that time, creating more than 425,000 jobs.

As Sherwood News has previously reported, Netflix continues to increase its content spend, but that investment has notably slowed in recent years when weighed against revenue, dropping from a content spend ratio of $0.72 per $1 of revenue in December 2019 to $0.40 per $1 in March. This year, the company has projected a content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year. The company’s annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion.

All that spending has paid off for Netflix, too: the streamer has pulled in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.

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Disney is no longer considering spinning off ESPN, reports Business Insider

Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is said to have decided against spinning off sports giant ESPN, according to reporting by Business Insider.

The House of Mouse may still seek other partners to take minority stakes in ESPN, per the report. The NFL gained a 10% stake in the company last year in a deal that saw ESPN acquire NFL Network.

There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”

Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.

There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”

Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.

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Saleah Blancaflor

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” strutting toward a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Gird your loins. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” the highly anticipated sequel from Disney and 20th Century Studios starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, comes out this week.

Over the past few months, the studio ramped up its marketing, so you may have seen the fictional Runway magazine with Blunt’s Emily Charlton on the cover at a newsstand pop-up, or come across brand partnerships with L’Oréal Paris, TRESemmé, Tweezerman, or Diet Coke — the list goes on. The global press tour has also taken over social media, with the main cast — and their outfits — traveling across Mexico City, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, New York City, and London to promote the movie. Hathaway and Tucci even appeared throughout a Jeopardy! category on Monday night.

But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.

AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”

Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.

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(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.

AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”

Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.

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(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC. Futures and event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC.