We hope you’re signed up and enjoying the daily Playlist Newsletter but are you ready for even more exclusive Playlist content? Later this month, The Playlist will launch a brand new newsletter column, The Breakdown. Written by yours truly, this twice-a-week column will give an insider perspective on awards season, box office, the streaming business, film festivals, and other industry topics. It will be a destination for analysis and commentary for those looking to take a deeper dive into the business of Hollywood.

Continue reading Introducing The Breakdown, A New Newletter Column From The Playlist at The Playlist.

If there’s one thing that can be said about the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, it’s that the world was honestly not prepared for anything like this. We’ve seen economies come crashing down, hospitals and healthcare workers unable to treat people due to lack of supplies and space, and even some members of the population just not intelligent enough to heed the warnings of scientists and folks who actually know what to expect (some of those idiots even hold a lot of power in government).

Continue reading Netflix & YouTube To Reduce Streaming Quality In Europe After Bandwidth Concerns Due To Quarantines at The Playlist.

We are now only a month away from what isn’t the most-talked-about streaming launch of the spring (HBO Max and Peacock are vying for that title) but might very well be the most interesting. That’s right, on April 6, the world is introduced to Quibi. And according to the streaming service, the app is going to have quite a few series for subscribers to watch on their phones. 

Continue reading Quibi Announces Its 50-Series Launch Lineup Featuring Sophie Turner, Christoph Waltz & More at The Playlist.

Anthony Mackie is an actor that has one of the more rare careers in 2020. Rare in the sense that not only is he a major film star in one the biggest franchises in the world (The Marvel Cinematic Universe), but he’s also someone that has found a sweet spot on the streaming side of things with the recent films “Point Blank” and “The Banker,” as well as the upcoming series “Altered Carbon” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” And it’s this experience that gives him a bit of experience and insight discussing the current state of film.

Continue reading Anthony Mackie Thinks The Only Place To Work With “Filmmakers You Adore” Is In Streaming at The Playlist.

You just had to know that Disney would find a way to get its hands on “Parasite” somehow, right? Well, it’s happened, though in a bit of a roundabout way.

According to Variety, Hulu (owned by Disney) has secured exclusive US streaming rights to Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning film, “Parasite,” and will launch the film on the platform in April. After dominating the year-end awards discussion in 2019, “Parasite” went on to win four Oscars this month, including a milestone win for Best Picture (the first time a foreign-language film has earned the prestigious honor).

Continue reading Hulu Lands Exclusive Streaming Rights For ‘Parasite’ & Will Release The Film In April at The Playlist.

If you’re like me, then your Netflix app is probably littered with rows and rows of potential series and films that the service thinks I’d be interested in but have no intention of watching. Sure, I love a good crime thriller, but that doesn’t mean I want to have a row of only “Cop TV Shows” being provided for me. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Netflix gives me a whole row of the app devoted to “Mother-Daughter TV Shows.” Long story short, for all its algorithms, the Netflix app doesn’t always provide the most interesting suggestions.

Continue reading Netflix To Add Daily ‘Top 10’ List To Its App/Website To Help Suggest Content For Users at The Playlist.

As we laid out yesterday, in one of our many post-Oscars pieces, with the massive Best Picture win for “Parasite,” distributor NEON is now an awards season force that everyone will have to pay attention to moving forward. And making the night even more interesting is the fact that NEON beat out the likes of Netflix (who had the most nominations of any studio) in many of those Oscar categories.

Continue reading NEON Co-Founder Isn’t Worried About Netflix & Streaming: “Everybody Needs To F*cking Settle Down” at The Playlist.

There is no way of knowing what the final effect that Netflix and streaming platforms will have on the film industry. We’ve already seen how streaming has affected how studios release films and how they rely more and more on TV series. But we have yet to see just how much disruption this new paradigm will cause on the theatrical distribution model. And according to Disney, we shouldn’t expect the Mouse House to get its hands dirty in the fight between streamers and theaters.

Continue reading Disney CEO Says Studio Is Happy With The Current Theatrical Window & Won’t Ask For It To Be Shortened at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column (migrating to The Playlist from Flavorwire, it’s home for the past five years) will sift through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. This week: an exhilaratingly bizarre sophomore effort, two ‘90s “Irishman”-adjacent gems, two timely catalog releases from KL Studio Classics, and a new Cukor in the Criterion Collection.

Continue reading The 6 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The Lighthouse,’ ‘Brick’ at The Playlist.

With “The Irishman” less than two weeks away from making its Netflix debut, after debuting in a limited theatrical run 13 days ago, it appears that any hope that the streaming service would make a deal with theater exhibitors seems dead. At least for the time being.

According to a new interview with THR, the CEO of the Canadian theater chain, Cineplex, says that they’re open to making a deal with Netflix, but it’s not going to happen in time for a release of Martin Scorsese’s latest crime drama.

Continue reading Cineplex CEO Says The “Ship Has Sailed” Regarding ‘The Irishman’ Theatrical Release & Netflix Is “Leaving A Lot Of Revenue On The Table” at The Playlist.

Now that Apple TV+ and Disney+ are live and ready to take your subscription dollars, two of the biggest companies in the world have officially entered the Streaming Wars. But over at Netflix, who is currently the dominant force in the aforementioned conflict, the executives, such as Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, aren’t worried.

Speaking at the Paley Center’s International Council Summit in New York (via Deadline), Sarandos was asked about the debut of Disney+ and the incoming flood of new streaming services from some of the biggest studios in the world.

Continue reading Ted Sarandos Says “Nothing Really Changes” At Netflix Because Of Disney+ & The Streaming Service Won’t “Get Distracted By Competition” at The Playlist.

Earlier today, we reported that one independent research firm stated that Disney+ was downloaded 3.2 million times on mobile devices over the course of the first 24 hours of release. Obviously, mobile users are only a fraction of those who watched the content. Apparently, according to the new numbers released by the studio, the number of sign-ups on launch day is well above that 3.2 million number.

Deadline is reporting that Disney’s official number of sign-ups for Disney+ in the first 24 hours is up to 10 million.

Continue reading Disney+ Touts 10 Million Sign-Ups On Its First Day Of Streaming at The Playlist.

While we don’t expect to hear any true numbers about subscribers or downloads from Disney until its next investors call in early 2020, there’s a new report that offers some pretty impressive data about just how popular yesterday’s launch of Disney+ was. Sure, the Mouse House isn’t ready to topple Netflix. Well, not yet at least.

According to the research firm Apptopia (via Variety), Disney+ was downloaded on mobile devices (we don’t have data on TV app viewing or any other method) 3.2 million times in the first 24 hours it was available.

Continue reading Disney+ Has More Than 3 Million Mobile Downloads In Its First 24 Hours Of Release at The Playlist.

Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler might not be the first people you’d expect to pair up and do an interview piece together about their respective films and the future of the medium. However, thanks to the folks at Variety, that’s exactly what happened, as the stars recently talked to each other about their respective projects, “Uncut Gems,” “Ad Astra,” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” as well as the dominance of streaming services.

Continue reading Adam Sandler “Lucked Out” Signing With Netflix & Says Ted Sarandos Cares About Films “More Than Anyone” at The Playlist.

We are just over a week and a half into the launch of Apple TV+ and it’s safe to say the tech company’s streaming service hasn’t had the best debut. With barely any content debuting on its November 1 launch date, and mostly negative reviews for the series that did premiere, Apple TV+ has yet to excite audiences enough to become more than just a blip on streaming radar. And not even two weeks into its launch, there’s already been one casualty.

Continue reading Apple TV+ Parts Ways With One Of Its Top Executives Less Than Two Weeks After The Service Debuts at The Playlist.

We’ve heard it a million times before — “Streaming is killing the theatrical experience!” We’ve heard from filmmakers and pundits that theaters in the US are dying off because people would rather stay home and watch a movie on Netflix. But according to yet another survey, that idea is being debunked.

According to a new survey from ComScore (via Deadline), not only does the “streaming killing theaters” claim not add up, but it would appear that both streaming and theaters are thriving because not everyone streams movies and the people who are obsessed with films will just watch them wherever they can.

Continue reading New Survey Backs Up Claims That Streaming & The Theatrical Experience Can Thrive Together at The Playlist.

Apple Eyes Going Hollywood By Creating Original Films And TV Shows

Continue reading Apple Eyes Going Hollywood By Creating Original Films And TV Shows at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'Tapeheads,' 'Bad Milo!,' 'Boy A' & More On VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘Tapeheads,’ ‘Bad Milo!,’ ‘Boy A’ & More On VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints,' 'A Single Shot,' Films From Wong Kar-Wai & More On VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,’ ‘A Single Shot,’ Films From Wong Kar-Wai & More On VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'Arbitrage,' 'And While We Were Here,' Gary Oldman In 'State Of Grace' & More On VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘Arbitrage,’ ‘And While We Were Here,’ Gary Oldman In ‘State Of Grace’ & More On VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'Lovelace,' 'Prince Avalanche,' 'Breaking Bad' & More On VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘Lovelace,’ ‘Prince Avalanche,’ ‘Breaking Bad’ & More On VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'The Canyons,' Brian De Palma's 'Passion,' 'On The Road' & More On VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘The Canyons,’ Brian De Palma’s ‘Passion,’ ‘On The Road’ & More On VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'Mud,' Hugh Jackman In 'The Fountain,' Woody Allen's 'The Purple Rose Of Cairo' & More on VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘Mud,’ Hugh Jackman In ‘The Fountain,’ Woody Allen’s ‘The Purple Rose Of Cairo’ & More on VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: 'Grabbers,' Jeff Bridges in 'Fat City,' Ryan Gosling in 'The United States of Leland' & More On VOD This Week

Continue reading Stream This: ‘Grabbers,’ Jeff Bridges in ‘Fat City,’ Ryan Gosling in ‘The United States of Leland’ & More On VOD This Week at The Playlist.

Stream This: Michael Cera’s ‘Crystal Fairy,’ David Lynch Criterion Shorts, Adam Sandler, Guillermo del Toro Movies & More

Continue reading Stream This: Michael Cera’s ‘Crystal Fairy,’ David Lynch Criterion Shorts, Adam Sandler, Guillermo del Toro Movies & More at The Playlist.