Summary: Though Disney had previously dismissed the idea of venturing into sports betting, saying it didn’t fit the company’s image, the media giant signed a billion dollar agreement this week with a little known online gambling company. The move comes as Disney’s linear television revenue is declining with no end in sight and losses for its streaming service continue to mount. Will ESPN Bet help bolster Disney’s balance sheet?<br> Meanwhile the dual writers and actors strikes continue though the AMPTP held what was reportedly a productive conversation with the Writers Guild over the past week. Hollywood will need to get comfortable with holding labor negotiations since more of its workers are opting to unionize.<br> Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Paramount is selling publishing giant Simon & Schuster, India has one of its biggest box office weekends of all time and why you might not want to work for Lizzo anytime soon.<br> <br> <br> ‘Barbie’ Sails Past $1.18B Global, ‘Oppenheimer’ Closing In On $650M, ‘Meg 2’ Tops $250M & ‘Gran Turismo’ Starts Early Overseas Engines<br> <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/barbie-oppenheimer-gran-turismo-meg-2-global-international-box-office-1235475535/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://deadline.com/2023/08/barbie-oppenheimer-gran-turismo-meg-2-global-international-box-office-1235475535/</a><br> ‘Barbie’ Takes Fourth No. 1 as ‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ Sinks at Box Office<br> <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/barbie-last-voyage-demeter-box-office/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.thewrap.com/barbie-last-voyage-demeter-box-office/</a><br> Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer,’ Sunny Deol’s ‘Gadar 2,’ Chiranjeevi’s ‘Bhola Shankar,’ Akshay Kumar’s ‘OMG 2’ Create Indian Box Office History<br> <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/asia/rajinikanth-jailer-sunny-deol-gadar-2-chiranjeevi-bhola-shankar-india-box-office-1235695378/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://variety.com/2023/film/asia/rajinikanth-jailer-sunny-deol-gadar-2-chiranjeevi-bhola-shankar-india-box-office-1235695378/</a><br> Twilight of the Serial Killer: Cases Like Gilgo Beach Become Ever Rarer<br> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/nyregion/serial-killers-gilgo-beach-rex-heuermann.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/nyregion/serial-killers-gilgo-beach-rex-heuermann.html</a><br> Pixar President on ‘Elemental’s’ Unlikely Box Office Rebound: ‘This Will Certainly Be a Profitable Film’<br> <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/pixar-elemental-box-office-rebound-1235691248/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://variety.com/2023/film/news/pixar-elemental-box-office-rebound-1235691248/</a><br> Marvel’s VFX Workers Have Moved to Unionize—and It’s a Huge Deal for Hollywood<br> <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/marvel-vfx-unionization-big-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.wired.com/story/marvel-vfx-unionization-big-deal/</a><br> ‘Suits’ Continues To Dominate Nielsen Streaming Top 10; ‘Bluey’ Records First Billion-Minute Week<br> <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/08/nielsen-streaming-ratings-suits-netflix-peacock-bluey-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-1235459890/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://deadline.com/2023/08/nielsen-streaming-ratings-suits-netflix-peacock-bluey-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-1235459890/</a><br> Six Takeaways from Disney’s Quarterly Earnings Call<br> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/09/1192746089/disney-earnings-call" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.npr.org/2023/08/09/1192746089/disney-earnings-call</a><br> Disney Shrinks Streaming Losses to $512M, Ups Cost-Cutting Goal From $5.5B<br> <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-earnings-streaming-1235559975/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.hollywoodreporter.</a>
