© Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix offices
Netflix is expanding its vaccination mandate.
The streamer will require that workers at its offices be vaccinated for COVID-19,The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. That includes its Los Gatos, Calif. headquarters, where visitors also have to show proof of vaccination, as well as the Sunset Blvd. location in Los Angeles. Variety first reported the news.
While Netflix employees have not fully returned back to work in their offices, they can currently work there if they opt to. No date has yet been set for an official return to the office. It’s not clear when the policy will take into effect, and the streamer declined to comment.
Video: Netflix to Require COVID-19 Vaccination for Employees, Visitors (TheWrap)
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Roku’s Q2 Ad Revenue Surges 117% Despite Viewers Streaming Less Content
Roku on Wednesday reported its users watched less content during the second quarter, but that didn’t stop the streaming company from seeing its ad revenue more than double during Q2. The key numbers to know: Roku reported $645 million in quarterly sales, which topped Wall Street estimates of $618 million in revenue. The bulk of those sales stemmed from Roku’s platform revenue, which is driven mostly by ad sales, increasing 117% year-over-year to $532 million. Roku also reported earnings of 52 cents per share, easily lapping analyst projections of 12 cents per share. The company’s stock price took a hit in early after-hours trading, though, likely because Roku said its customers watched less content than they did earlier in the year. Overall, Roku’s viewers streamed 17.4 billion hours of content, which was 1 billion hours less than Q1, but still up 19% year-over-year. Roku’s account growth slowed down during Q2 as well. Roku added 1.5 million new accounts, bringing the company to 55.1 million. For comparison, Roku added. 2.4 million new accounts last quarter. About 20 minutes after the market closed, Roku’s stock price was down 8.4% to $385 per share. Heading into Roku’s earnings, the company’s stock price was up 32% since the start of the year and had recently hit a new all-time high of $490.76 per share. Most notably during the second quarter, Roku started to rollout its slate of original content, following its acquisition of more than 75 shows and movies from Quibi earlier this year. More to come… Read original story Roku’s Q2 Ad Revenue Surges 117% Despite Viewers Streaming Less Content At TheWrap
TheWrap
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Universal Sets New ‘Exorcist’ Sequel for October 2023
Universal announced on Wednesday that it has set Blumhouse’s upcoming sequel to “The Exorcist” for release on October 13, 2023. The film will be a sequel to the original 1973 film and the first of a trilogy of films directed by David Gordon Green. This will be the second reboot horror trilogy that Green is slated to develop as he also directed the 2018 sequel to “Halloween” along with the upcoming sequel “Halloween Kills” and a planned third installment. Ellen Burstyn, who earned an Oscar nomination for her work in the original film, is reported to return as Chris MacNeil, the actress and mother who discovered that her daughter was demonically possessed. Leslie Odom Jr. is also attached to star in the film. Blumhouse and Morgan Creek Productions will co-produce. The original “Exorcist” is regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time, receiving ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture and earning $441 million in lifetime box office earnings. The film also spawned four sequels over the ensuing decades, most recently the 2005 prequel “Dominion” directed by Paul Schrader. The “Exorcist” sequel is the first major studio title to enter the October 2023 slate, filling in an untitled release slot held by Universal for a Blumhouse horror title. Disney currently has plans to release a Marvel Cinematic Universe film the week prior on October 6, 2023. Read original story Universal Sets New ‘Exorcist’ Sequel for October 2023 At TheWrap
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Apple Original Films and Matthew Vaughn’s MARV Partner on Spy Thriller ‘Argylle’
Apple Original Films and Matthew Vaughn’s MARV have partnered on the spy thriller “Argylle,” based on the debut novel by first-time author Ellie Conway, according to an individual with knowledge of the project. Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena and Dua Lipa will all star in the project. “Argylle” will be Lipa’s first movie role, and the pop star will also provide original music for the film. “Argylle” is based on the upcoming debut novel of the same name by Conway, which will be published in 2022 by Transworld Publishers Ltd, a division of Penguin Random House. It follows Argylle, the world’s greatest spy, as he is caught up in a globe-trotting adventure. The film will be the first of at least three movies in the franchise and is set in America, London and multiple locations across the world. Vaughn is directing from a script by Jason Fuchs (“Wonder Woman”), and the film will be produced by MARV and Vaughn’s collaborators Adam Bohling and David Reid, as well as Fuchs. Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres, Claudia Vaughn and Adam Fishbach will serve as executive producers. “I’m thrilled to team with Apple and bring the most compelling spy thriller I’ve ever read to the only streaming service that can create a franchise of this scale and quality for global audiences to experience,” Vaughn said in a statement. Vaughn’s MARV is currently in post-production on “Tetris,” based on the video game and starring Taron Egerton. That film is directed by Jon S. Baird and will be released through Apple. The company also has “Silent Night,” starring Keira Knightley and Lily-Rose Depp, and the action comedy “School Fight,” directed by stunt director Damien Walters. “The King’s Man,” the prequel to the “Kingsman” movies and starring Ralph Fiennes, will also hit theaters this December. Deadline first reported the news. Read original story Apple Original Films and Matthew Vaughn’s MARV Partner on Spy Thriller ‘Argylle’ At TheWrap
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The streamer’s move follows that of several other major American companies, including Disney, which announced in late July that it was requiring all salaried and non-union hourly U.S. workers to be vaccinated against the virus. Facebook, Google, Twitter, The Washington Post and The New York Times have also recently announced vaccine mandates for employees returning to the office.
In late July, Netflix became the first major studio to require vaccines for cast and crew working in “Zone A” of its U.S. productions after the industry’s top studios and guilds reached a short-term return-to-work agreement that empowered producers to voluntarily require vaccines for Zone A on their sets. Several other major studios are currently mandating vaccines on a case-to-case basis on productions.
These changes arrive as the delta variant of COVID-19 has spread nationwide and known global coronavirus infections have surpassed 200 million, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University announced on Wednesday. In Los Angeles alone, the Department of Public Health has noted recent outbreaks on the sets of The Masked Singer, S.W.A.T. and the reboot of House Party as well as the offices of Endemol Shine North America.
