Oscar Ratings Up?; Netflix Denied; Spike vs. 'Green Book'; Studio Scorecard; 'Dragon' Roars

What's news: One sleep after the Oscars, what do Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody and Roma's respective successes mean? Plus: How to Train Your Dragon's strong domestic debut, WGA is gearing up to potentially sue talent agents and this weekend's other awards show, the Spirits. — Will Robinson [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment]( February 25, 2019 What's news: One sleep after the Oscars, what do Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody and Roma's respective successes mean? Plus: How to Train Your Dragon's strong domestic debut, WGA is gearing up to potentially sue talent agents and this weekend's other awards show, the Spirits. — Will Robinson ^The morning after: In an Oscars marked by firsts in many categories, the best picture winner went to not Roma but Green Book, a movie in the liberal tradition of In the Heat of the Night and Driving Miss Daisy, Gregg Kilday reports: + Disdain for Netflix?: While Netflix gave Roma a limited theatrical release three weeks before the movie was made available to the streaming service’s subscribers in December, the nation’s biggest theater owners see Netflix as a threat to their very existence and refused to play the film. And some old-guard studio types, arguing that movies belong in theaters and not on the home screen, didn’t want to hand over Oscar to such a disruptive force. * Stay tuned: That debate is only going to grow more contentious as Netflix commissions more and more films from A-list filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, whose next movie, The Irishman, is coming from Netflix later this year. + The winner no matter: Participant Media, which specializes in producing socially conscious projects, found itself smack in the middle of the showdown. It backed both Roma, which it then sold to Netflix, and Green Book, which it produced with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks, for a Universal release. [Full story]( | [Studio scorecard]( -> TV may have been the biggest winner on Oscar night: Regina King, Mahershala Ali, Rami Malek and Olivia Colman all have one thing (beyond their new statuettes) in common, while fellow winners Peter Farrelly and Spike Lee have new seasons of TV [coming up](, Lesley Goldberg notes. [Quoted:]( "I'm snake-bit. Every time someone is driving somebody, I lose." — Spike Lee, on Green Book winning best picture. * Donald Trump takes a swipe at Lee: The president attacked the filmmaker on Twitter over his acceptance speech after winning best adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, a speech that didn't mention Trump by name, but urged Americans to "[mobilize](" for the 2020 election and "make the moral choice between love versus hate." Other Oscar loose ends... + How was the telecast?: "Sunday's Oscars telecast definitely confirmed that under the right circumstances, a host isn't a necessity," Daniel Fienberg writes. "I might have missed a good monologue and good transitions and a smooth show wrap-up on Sunday night, but most hosting performances aren't all that good." [Full review.]( + How do the ratings look?: Good news for ABC: Preliminary ratings show the broadcast slightly up. The telecast [posted]( a 20.1 rating/33 share in metered-market households, up about 6 percent over the early figures from a year ago. The 2018 awards posted a preliminary rating of 18.9/32 on their way to an all-time low of 26.54 million viewers and a 6.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Inside "The Night Before" party: Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Tiffany Haddish, Comcast’s Brian Roberts and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos also were among the A-listers who turned out for the invitation-only fundraiser — one of Hollywood's glitziest gatherings of Oscar weekend. [Photos.]( Fiery Debut Franchise-best open: The family offering How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World provided a much-needed boost of confidence to the struggling 2019 box office with a franchise-best launch of $55.5 million from 4,259 theaters in North America, the top opening of the year to date, Pamela McClintock reports: + Big overseas take: Internationally — where it opened early — the final title in the DreamWorks trilogy earned another $34.7 million from 53 markets for a rousing foreign total of $216.9 million and $274.9 million globally, including $2.5 million in previous U.S. sneaks. + Threequel outpacing predecessors: The original pic opened to $43.7 million domestically in 2010, followed by How to Train Your Dragon 2 with $49.9 million in 2014, not adjusted for inflation. * Solid opening for The Rock's indie: The Dwayne Johnson-produced Fighting With My Family came in No. 4 with a solid $8 million. The niche offering, likewise earning an A CinemaScore, expanded into a total of 2,711 theaters after first opening last weekend in Los Angeles and New York. Combined with those grosses, the pic's early total stands at $8.2 million. [Weekend box office.]( + Alita: Battle Angel scores needed win with $62 million China debut: The movie's international total through Sunday, including China, stands at $202.7 million for a worldwide cume of $263.4 million. Fox insiders say the movie [needs to reach]( $350 million globally to break even; outside analysts put that number between $400 million and $500 million. Elsewhere in film... ► Kingsman prequel moves to next February; Ryan Reynolds' Free Guys set for summer 2020. On the eve of the Disney merger, Fox also relocates James Mangold's high-profile Ford v. Ferrari biopic, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, to awards season. [Details.]( R. Kelly update... ► Singer fails to post $100,000 bail, due in court Monday. "Kelly's money problems don't stop with his bail. According to court documents reviewed by CNN, Kelly owed more than $169,000 in unpaid child support to his ex-wife as of February 6." [[CNN](] ^If Beale Street Could Talk wins best feature at Spirit Awards: Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Eighth Grade and Roma also were among the winners of the trophies, handed out Saturday afternoon inside a tent on the beach in Santa Monica. [Full winners list.]( + Host Aubrey Plaza pokes fun at hostless 2019 Oscars, Roma: The actress on Saturday joked that IFC's first choice to host the Spirit Awards was "no one, but they're [already booked]( for tomorrow." Musical notes... ► Peter Frampton reveals rare muscular disease, announces farewell tour. In an interview with CBS This Morning: Saturday, the singer revealed that he suffers from a rare degenerative muscular disorder called Inclusion-Body Myositis (IBM): "I'm a perfectionist, and I do not want to go out there and feel like 'This isn't good.' That would be [a nightmare for me](." In memoriam... ► RIP Stanley Donen. The co-director of Singin’ in the Rain with Gene Kelly and director of two of the most acclaimed musicals of the 1950s, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Funny Face, died Thursday at 94. [Obit]( | [Critic's appreciation]( KKR buys Universum Film in German acquisition spree. The private equity group last week acquired German mini-major Tele Munchen Group with an [eye to creating]( an independent audiovisual platform for the German market. Enjoy reading this? Six days a week, look for Today in Entertainment in your inbox to stay up-to-date on the industry. Sign up for this newsletter (and others) at [THR.com/Newsletters](. Broadcast's Middle Class Rick Porter notes: Most discussions of ratings are about the highs and lows — which shows are taking off, holding at or near the top of the rankings or experiencing the biggest losses. This is not about that. It's about the middle of the pack. * The watermark: Currently, shows are averaging a 1.5 in the key 18-49 demo and 6.87 million viewers in live plus seven-day ratings. + Most average show of all: This calculation is a bit less obvious, because of the six series that average 1.5 ratings in adults 18-49, only two — CBS' SWAT (8.64 million viewers) and ABC's Single Parents (5.05 million) — were anywhere near the average total audience across all five networks. Neither one, however, is even within 25 percent of that number. Of shows within 0.1 of the 18-49 average, Fox's The Cool Kids has a total audience (6.32 million) nearest to the all-net mean of 6.87 million. It can thus be named the most average-rated show on all of broadcast TV this season. [Full story.]( Elsewhere in TV... ► WGA "preparing" to sue agencies over "kickbacks and conflict of interest." The disclosure did not say when — or even if — the lawsuit will be filed, but it [raises]( the temperature of an already roiling dispute and clearly increases the likelihood of litigation. ► Netflix sets second African original. Number 37 director Nosipho Dumisa will helm Blood & Water as Netflix [expands]( its African investment. ► Fremantle, Syco and Hunan TV developing global Got Talent series for China. Produced for the China market, the new show will bring together fan-favorite acts from more than 30 of the Got Talent franchises around the globe. ► Adam Levine's nipples during Super Bowl spark complaints to FCC about gender equality. More than 50 people filed complaints with the FCC about the Maroon 5 frontman's decision to take off his shirt during his halftime performance, Ashley Cullins reports. The backlash pales in comparison to what Janet Jackson once faced, and that's precisely what most of the people who contacted the agency [are upset about](. Digital digest... ► Warner Music sues Spotify ahead of expected India launch. The label, which is home to Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran, [has sued]( the streaming service in India which "abruptly changed course" by claiming that a rule applicable to broadcasters also applies to Spotify. ► Popular apps cut off data sharing with Facebook. "At least four of the apps that the Journal had identified and contacted as part of its reporting issued updates to cut off transmission of sensitive data to Facebook, a new round of testing showed Sunday. The apps that made the change include Flo Health Inc.’s Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker and Azumio Inc.’s Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor." [[The Wall Street Journal](] Latest reviews... ► ABC's Whiskey Cavalier. "If you approach the show looking for nicely shot European locations, a preposterously photogenic cast and the occasional witty barb, Whiskey Cavalier often delivers," Daniel Fienberg writes. "Ask for anything more — plausibility, dramatic stakes, thoughtful timeliness, character nuance, etc. — and any disappointment you experience is on you." [Full review.]( From the Live Feed... ► How Walking Dead may (finally) be setting up a love story for its most beloved character. Season nine puts the pieces in place for Norman Reedus' bow-wielding badass to finally find love. [Spoilers.]( Game of Thrones Final Path: The journey of Arya Stark. in the episodes ahead, will Arya [finally meet]( the God of Death head-on, only to find "not today" is no longer an acceptable answer? Josh Wigler explores. Preserving History Film artifacts: From a Terminator head to a Spartacus matte painting, the L.A. museum's collection has more than 2,700 three-dimensional objects, to be displayed on a rotating basis. Items like The Wizard of Oz's iconic ruby slippers are in good shape, but others are showing their age, Gregg Kilday reports: + Battling time: "None of these objects were intended to last long — they were simply made for a specific film," notes the museum's Deborah Horowitz. "Some look sad when you first see them, but we are bringing them back to their original luster and magic." Not everything will be restored to pristine condition, though. Some vintage cameras will show the wear and tear they acquired through use. + Lengths of restoration: Another type of restoration is underway on a 27-by-57-inch matte painting that Peter Ellenshaw created for Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus in 1960. One of the original VFX tools, painting on glass, when combined with footage of actors milling in the foreground, resulted in an establishing shot of ancient Rome. But the glass developed cracks over the years, so the first order of business was stabilizing the painting, which will be displayed in a rigid frame. [Full story.]( What we're reading (Oscars edition)... — "Oscars Provide Stage for Participant Media’s Comeback Story." Brooks Barnes looks at the company involved with Green Book and Roma: "And wait until what’s next. I think it’s going to rock people’s socks." [[The New York Times](] — "The Oscars Made Progress This Year (Despite Green Book)." Mark Harris writes: "It’s impossible to translate those demographics to wins neatly, but it is worth noting that many of last night’s results can be viewed as a vindication of the effort to change the Academy’s hidebound ways." [[Vulture](] — "What It's Like to Be an Awards Show Seat-Filler." Maya Tribbitt shares her own experience: "The rules from seatfillersandmore.com were pretty straightforward: Don’t wear anything to stand out on camera or to outshine the stars you’ll be seated next to — no bright colors, sequins, short dresses — no talking/selfies with the celebrities, and no looking at the camera." [[THR](] What else we're reading... — "Everybody Makes Podcasts. Can Anyone Make Them Profitable?" Gerry Smith explores: "There are more than 600,000 podcasts in Apple Inc.’s service, about double the number from three years ago. The top ones attract audiences rivaling those of cable-TV shows, but the vast majority reach few listeners and make no money." [[Bloomberg Businessweek](] — "Mark Ronson's Rock Bottom." Alexis Petridis interviews the hit producer: “I was floundering. I was drinking too much and just giving orders over the backs of people’s shoulders and shit." [[The Guardian](] — "The Importance of Dunking on Tucker Carlson." Justin Charity writes: "Carlson’s critics see a senior conservative figurehead losing an argument against a voguish, left-wing historian. But Carlson hadn’t even mounted an argument about anything." [[The Ringer](] What else we're watching... + "John Oliver looks at exploitative psychics." [[Last Week Tonight](] What's ahead this week... Monday: Morgan Stanley’s 2019 Technology, Media & Telecom Conference kicks off in SF... NBC debuts The Enemy Within... and returns The Voice. Tuesday: Discovery and Imax earnings. Wednesday: ABC rookie Whiskey Cavalier makes its time slot premiere. Thursday: AMC Networks, AMC Theatres and Liberty Media earnings... FX's critical darling Better Things bows season three... How to Get Away With Murder returns to ABC. Friday: Tribune Media earnings... Focus opens Greta... Lionsgate debuts Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral... Amazon debuts British import The Widow... Hulu returns horror anthology Into the Dark. Sunday: HBO airs Part 1 of Leaving Neverland. Today's birthdays: Jameela Jamil, 33, Rashida Jones, 43, Chelsea Handler, 44, Anson Mount, 46, Sean Astin, 48, Téa Leoni, 53. Follow The News Is this email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use]( February 25, 2019