Tubi Hires Meta’s Mike Bidgoli as Chief Product and Technology Officer (EXCLUSIVE)

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Dystopian thriller “Leave the World Behind” was the most-watched film — and title overall — on Netflix globally in the second half of 2023, while anime-inspired live action series “One Piece” led on the TV side. The data comes from Netflix’s second edition of “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” reflecting viewership on the streamer from July-December 2023 covering 99% of all viewing on Netflix. Subscribers across the world watched about 90 billion hours of Netflix in the second half of 2023, compared with 93 billion hours in the first half of the year.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor For fans of old-school games, it’s kind of like Coke acquiring Pepsi: Atari, which produced one of the first hit home game consoles, announced a deal to acquire the brand of long-time rival Intellivision and the rights to more than 200 games from Intellivision Entertainment. Atari and Intellivision battled it out what is considered the game industry’s first console war, starting in the late ’70s.

Naman Ramachandran It was a neck-and-neck battle atop the U.K. and Ireland box office between Paramount’s “IF” and Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” While Disney’s simian saga won the three-day weekend, Paramount’s Imaginary Friend tale was the winner including previews. “IF” bowed with £2.4 million ($3 million), while in its second weekend, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” grossed £2.1 million ($2.7 million) for a total of £7.6 million ($9.7 million), per numbers from Comscore.

When it comes to whether AI is friend or foe, particularly in regards to its place in the film industry, David Cronenberg is both intrigued and terrified. “What do we do? I have no idea,” the Canadian horror sci-fi maestro said Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, the day after the world premiere of his new film The Shrouds.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Actor Scarlett Johansson said she turned down OpenAI‘s request for her to lend her voice to a conversational ChatGPT system — and that she was “shocked” and “angered” that the company went ahead and used a voice that sounded very similar to hers anyway. Johansson, in a statement provided to Variety, said her lawyers contacted OpenAI to have the voice of Sky, one of the new voices in the GPT-4o conversational chatbot release, pulled down. OpenAI introduced the Sky voice, which sounded very like that of Johansson’s disembodied AI companion in Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie “Her.” The company on Monday said it would “pause” the use of the Sky voice, and said the voice was supplied by another actor.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Peter Caranicas, a Variety editor for 16 years who was respected for his expertise in production and technology, died Sunday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. He was 80. Caranicas covered film and TV production, the birth of cable and satellite TV and much more over his long career as a writer and editor at Variety and other entertainment business publications.

The Met Office has issued an update on the Northern Lights being visible in Scotland this weekend, after forecasters predicted more dazzling light displays.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Julia Phelps, Paramount Global‘s executive VP and chief communications and corporate marketing officer, is exiting after almost 20 years with the company and predecessor Viacom. Phelps had long worked with Bob Bakish, who was ousted as CEO of the company last month and replaced by a three-exec committee. Phelps, in a memo to her team Friday, said she will leave Paramount at the end of May.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The joint venture of Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to package together a sports streaming bundle has a name — Venu Sports.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.8 million ($4.7 million), according to numbers from Comscore. Universal’s “The Fall Guy” dropped down to second place with £948,970 and now has a running total of £6.7 million.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor CAA has turned to technology vendor Veritone to help build and operate the talent agency’s early-stage database housing replicas of its clients’ digital likenesses. In September 2023, CAA launched The CAA Vault, an in-house service based in Burbank, Calif., that can scan, capture and securely store clients’ digital likenesses (face and body) and voice. The point is to give talent ownership, control and permission over their digital identities to address issues of consent, credit and compensation related to AI usage.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku has landed exclusive multiyear rights for Major League Baseball‘s Sunday Leadoff live games, a package previously with NBCUniversal’s Peacock. Starting May 19, Roku will stream Sunday MLB games for free on the Roku Channel. The company also will launch a new MLB Zone to help baseball fans find live and upcoming games, nightly recaps, highlights, a fully programmed MLB free, ad-supported streaming TV channel, and other content across the Roku platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Carrie-Anne Moss is joining Arnold Schwarzenegger in action comedy series “Fubar” Season 2 as a former East German spy — who has a passionate history with Schwarzenegger’s CIA operative. Moss (“The Matrix” movies, Disney+’s “The Acolyte”) joins the returning cast of “Fubar,” which includes Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, Fortune Feimster, Travis Van Winkle, Jay Baruchel, Aparna Brielle, Andy Buckley, Milan Carter, Fabiana Udenio and Barbara Eve Harris.In Season 2 of “Fubar,” Schwarzenegger reprises his role as Luke Brunner, a veteran CIA operative who, until recently, was on the verge of retirement.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor More than three decades after they co-starred in hit sitcom “Cheers,” Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson are getting back together — going into the audio booth for a new podcast from SiriusXM. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)” is set to premiere June 12, with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays on all major podcast platforms.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix used to say its goal was to become HBO faster than HBO could become Netflix. Well, Netflix succeeded on that front. Now Warner Bros.

K.J. Yossman Lionsgate will handle U.S. distribution of eagerly awaited “Greenland” sequel “Greenland: Migration,” Variety can confirm.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ordinarily rivals for consumers’ time and money — are teaming up for a triple-play bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max. The companies announced a new streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max will be available this summer in the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor An Apple commercial for the new iPad Pro tablet showing an industrial press literally crushing a TV, musical instruments, books and more ignited an angry backlash among many in Hollywood and other creative industries. The ad, titled “Crush!”, shows an array of various objects — including a record player, a piano, a guitar, an old TV set, cameras, a typewriter, books, paint cans and a classic arcade game machine — getting compressed into (voila!) the new iPad Pro.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor NBCUniversal inked a deal with iHeartMedia making it the exclusive audio partner for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Under the agreement, iHeart will provide 24-7 play-by-play audio channels for select NBCU linear coverage of the Olympic Games.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “The Fall Guy” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.5 million ($4.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore. But the force was strong with Disney’s 25th anniversary rerelease of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” as it debuted in second place with £1.1 million.