→ You can now listen to all Ankler stories in the Substack app. Just hit the “play” arrow at the top right of the screen. ☀️Fall Box Office: Movies Drop The Ball With DudesCAA agents to WME / PAR adds to spec 🔥 / WBD wants more 💰 / NETFLIX’s ‘Champagne’ pops
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Where there’s nothing quite like spreading holiday cheer by choosing the day before the Thanksgiving vacation to tell your 3 bidders that they need to go back to the drawing board on their bids to uh, gimme more money . . . by Monday. Sincerely, WBD 🤑. Eh, M&A execs spending the Thanksgiving holiday with their families is overrated anyway. So, anyone know how much a last-minute flight to Dubai costs the day before Thanksgiving? Although, given that this movie 👇 is in the PARAMOUNT library — let’s still give them the advantage.
GOOD NEWS!: If you’re a Thanksgiving parade completist (who may now have to watch it from your office in the finance group at COMCAST) — PEACOCK has you covered with a multi-view feed tomorrow.
OH: Not to be outdone by the streamers — AMC THEATRES is getting in on the #BlackFriday action, offering 50% off 1 large popcorn every day of the week deal for just $30 to members of its Stubs loyalty program, in case you want to do a one-man re-enactment of Super Size Me. AH: YOUTUBE TV is also getting in the Thanksgiving spirit, settling its carriage dispute with TELEVISAUNIVISION after about 2 months. AND: WB is putting Sinners and One Battle back on 10 IMAX screens in 70mm on the weekend of Dec. 12. Sinners tix here, One Battle tix here. YEAH: Between META now buying some of GOOGLE in-house TPU chips for its AI growth and the general “this is a step up” reaction to its Gemini 3 Pro AI release — ya gotta love GOOGLE’s big AI week is happening pretty much at the 3-year anniversary of CHATGPT’s release into the world. PLUS: Nate Bargatze’s shows grossed over $15M in October alone, according to Billboard (the highest of any comedian that month). Then again — when you do 14 of them in a month, that helps.
WAKEUP POLL RESULTSWhile I did not eat the AMAZON Sports cereal (as 55% of you thankfully voted against me doing so), I did open the box — which totally didn’t have fake blueberries as promised, btw 🙄 — to find out what the “mystery cards” were inside, and I gotta say . . . it’s like looking in a mirror.
A THANKS TO YOU ALLJust expressing a note of thanks to you folks for reading these daily missives chronicling our fine industry, and a special thanks the many readers who have reached out to get in touch this year, whether to share some intel or insights or to say hi (yes, I really do respond on LINKEDIN! And to my email address at the top of every newsletter). It’s great to hear from folks across the executive spectrum, as well as college students and assistants who have reached out and had calls together — I always find it insightful to hear what the future thinks. This interaction is really one of the best and most unexpected aspects that have come with launching The Wakeup as a newsletter, coming up on 5 years ago. On a more personal note, I’m also thankful that I’m about 90% back to walking normally again after my knee scope, so just putting that out into the universe as the progress continues! 🙏 A fine reminder to both try and be present in the day you’re in, and enjoy what you can do in the day in front of you — and with that . . . SOME WEEKEND RECOS IN THE THANKSGIVING SPIRITSharing a couple of things that I found moving this week, and served as healthy reminders to really try to both enjoy and appreciate the time you have here, as well as make a continued effort to do that with friends and family in your life as well.
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
Sorry, dudes, women powered the fall Box Office successes this year...Continue reading this post for free in the Substack app
|
