UK Agency Insanity Group Restructures Entertainment Team; Eric Anthony Lopez Deal; BBC Studios Germany Hires – Global Briefs

The cost of British comedy is just getting more expensive — news that doesn’t make great reading for the UK’s comic talent base.

Disney+’s ‘Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story’ First Look

The BBC, ARD/ZDF and other major European public service networks have seen viewer engagement in their services dive by nearly a fifth in the past six years, an Ampere Analysis study revealed today.

Naman Ramachandran The historic Maida Vale Studios in London has been sold by the BBC to a four-way partnership between Working Title chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steven Kofsky. The partnership has multi-million pound refurbishment plans to upgrade the studio’s facilities.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Barbie” continues to shatter records nearly a month after the Malibu icon first graced the big screen. The Greta Gerwig comedy has earned $1.18 billion at the worldwide box office and now ranks as the second highest-grossing release in the history of Warner Bros. Internationally, the film earned $45.1 million from 75 markets to bring its foreign gross to a sizzling $657.6 million.

EXCLUSIVE: Following the powerhouse Netflix launch of his latest feature, the action thriller Kill Boksoon, Byun Sung-Hyun has signed with Independent Artist Group for representation.

Toby Jones & David Morrissey Board ITV Yorkshire Ripper Drama

Naman Ramachandran Revenues at Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group, a media giant which owns Fremantle, slid 5.1% to €3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) for the first half of 2023, financial results released on Tuesday have revealed. Adjusted EBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, and Amortization) was down to down to €250 million compared to €501 million during the same period in 2022 and group profit was at €132 million, more than 50% down €304 million in 2022. The company attributes this to “challenging TV advertising markets, in particular in Germany.” RTL group’s TV advertising revenue declined 12.5% to €1.18 billion (H1/2022: €1.35 billion).

Naman Ramachandran Germany’s ZDF Studios has secured worldwide distribution rights for documentary series “Hitler’s Power” (3 x 50’), an exploration of how and why Hitler rose to power and the terrible events that followed. On Jan. 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LOCARNO — Spain’s Vertigo Films has boarded “All the World Drops Dead,” committing to co-produce the next scarefest from Austrian Kevin Kopacka, director of 2021’s noteworthy “Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes.” Set up at Germany’s Manderley Films, which oversaw VFX on “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “All the World Drops Dead” has been brought to market at Locarno’s Match Me! Forum by producer and co-writer Lili Villlányi. Also produced by Manderley Films’ founder Rebekka Garrido, “All the World Drops Dead” ranks as one of the biggest genre plays on offer at this year’s Swiss festival – not an idle boast as distributors worldwide turn to genre, as well as family animation, as a reaction to plunging cinema theater audiences for arthouse cinema through and after the pandemic.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has reached the $500M global milestone, on its way to an estimated $551M through Sunday. This would make it the filmmaker’s fifth-highest-grossing film of all time, ahead of Dunkirk. The worldwide total through Friday is $499.3M, meaning that it has already topped the five-century mark today.

The latest celebrity to join Strictly Come Dancing 2023 was snuck into the BBC studios in a Traitor's-style cloak to avoid detection ahead of their cast announcement.

Gary Lineker has spoken out about a standing ovation at a M&S store just days after he was suspended by the BBC earlier this year.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Roland Emmerich’s gladiator drama “Those About to Die,” which Prime Video has acquired exclusive streaming rights for in several European territories, is an ambitious project creatively, but it also breaks new ground in business terms. With a budget north of $150 million for a 10-episode first season, it is the most expensive independently produced European series ever. For Emmerich, the German filmmaker best known for blockbuster movies such as “Independence Day,” the show is a new departure as well as it is his first foray into television.

Naman Ramachandran Declining TV advertising revenues in the German-speaking region have contributed to revenues and profits plunging at media giant ProSiebenSat.1. Quarterly results published on Thursday reveal that the group’s revenues declined from €1.04 billion ($1.14 billion) in 2022 to €868 million ($950 million) this year.

Roland Emmerich’s upcoming gladiator series Those About to Die has been picked up by Prime Video across Europe.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Prime Video has acquired the Ancient Rome gladiator drama series “Those About to Die” in multiple European territories. The show is directed by “Independence Day” helmer Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. The 10-episode first season will debut exclusively on Prime Video in Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, Luxembourg and Belgium.

The BFI has found a new way to give indies a helping hand.

Veteran BBC presenter Esther Rantzen fears her lung cancer may have been caused by exposure to asbestos in the studios where she worked for decades.

Naman Ramachandran Casting for the beloved “Famous Five” stories of Enid Blyton, which are being reimagined for the BBC and ZDF by Nicolas Winding Refn, has been revealed. Diaana Babnicova is playing the role of George, alongside Elliott Rose as Julian, Kit Rakusen as Dick, Flora Jacoby Richardson as Anne, playing George’s cousins who come to stay at Kirrin Cottage. Making up the fifth member of the “Famous Five” is Kip, the Bearded Collie Cross playing Timmy the dog.