culture

Max Knoblauch9/2/25

Paramount and Microsoft’s Activision agree to partner on a “Call of Duty” movie

Less than a month after forming, Paramount Skydance has landed another major piece of intellectual property. The studio said it’s signed a deal with Microsoft’s Activision to create a live-action “Call of Duty” film.

The competitive shooter is one of the most popular gaming franchises in the world and has been the US’s bestselling series for the past 16 years. The next title in the 22-year-old franchise, “Black Ops 7,” will debut in November.

Paramount, which closed its merger with Skydance in August, has had a summer of big deals. It acquired UFC broadcast rights in a $7.7 billion deal with TKO last month, following a $1.5 billion deal for “South Park” rights in July. The company also lured “Stranger Things” creators away from Netflix last month for a four-year film and TV development deal.

Paramount & Activision Team For ‘Call Of Duty’ Movie

Paramount & Activision Team For ‘Call Of Duty’ Movie

The competitive shooter is one of the most popular gaming franchises in the world and has been the US’s bestselling series for the past 16 years. The next title in the 22-year-old franchise, “Black Ops 7,” will debut in November.

Paramount, which closed its merger with Skydance in August, has had a summer of big deals. It acquired UFC broadcast rights in a $7.7 billion deal with TKO last month, following a $1.5 billion deal for “South Park” rights in July. The company also lured “Stranger Things” creators away from Netflix last month for a four-year film and TV development deal.

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As rival music services launch end-of-year recaps, keeping listeners loyal is crucial to Spotify’s long-term profits.

Musical notes wrapped gift

"Zootopia 2" Debuts With $273M In China

“Zootopia 2” is a rare smash hit for Hollywood at the Chinese box office

The Disney sequel just had the second-biggest foreign film debut ever in China, even as the country’s box office leans heavily toward domestic movies.

Millie Giles, David Crowther12/1/25

US officials want to bring back the “Golden Age of Travel” — and that starts with ditching pajamas at the airport

Views on what makes for acceptable plane wear vary by generation.

Joyful man in colorful unicorn pajamas with a suitcase against a violet background

culture

Max Knoblauch11/26/25

Netflix climbs ahead of “Stranger Things” streaming premiere amid reports it is ramping up its efforts to acquire WBD

The final season of Netflix’s tentpole franchise “Stranger Things” debuts on the streamer at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and its stock appears to be safely out of the upside down.

Netflix is trading up about 2% on Wednesday, on pace for one of its better days in the past three months. The stock has closed up more than 3% only a dozen times this year.

Potentially boosting investor optimism is a New York Post report from Tuesday evening that the streamer has ramped up its efforts to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. According to the Post, Netflix has made a case to the WBD board that antitrust concerns may not be warranted because Netflix competes not just with other streaming companies but with a larger pool of content providers, such as YouTube and TikTok. If Netflix’s legal team is right, the idea could pave the way for the world’s largest streamer by subscriber count to buy the fourth-largest.

At least one major Hollywood player is rooting against the company in the WBD bidding war. “Titanic” and “Avatar” director James Cameron this week said that Netflix acquiring WBD “would be a disaster.”

Morgan Stanley analysts have also argued that Netflix’s pursuit of these studio and streaming assets was creating headaches for its investors.

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