North America
United States and Canada theatrical and home entertainment market.
11
Total Mentions
11
Articles
August 18, 2026
Most Recent
Deal Activity
TIFF Docs 2026: 21 Titles, 18 World Premieres, and a Documentary Market That Has Quietly Reorganised
Toronto's 2026 documentary programme carries 21 titles from 20 countries with 18 world premieres, opens with Rebeca Huntt's Rapinoe, and is more than two thirds directed by women. The lineup is a good read on where documentary money now comes from, which is not where it came from five years ago.
Cleared in Nearly 70 Jurisdictions and Still Unable to Close: The Paramount Warner Bros. Position in Mid August
Paramount Skydance announced in mid August that it had satisfied every regulatory condition required to close its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, with clearances across nearly 70 jurisdictions including the US, EU, China and the UK. It still cannot close, and the reason is instructive about where merger risk now lives.
The July 31 Stipulation: Why an April 2027 Trial Date Would Reshape Two Autumn Licensing Cycles
Paramount and the twelve suing states were due to file a joint stipulation on trial scheduling by July 31. It is a procedural filing that almost nobody outside the litigation will read, and it sets the length of the window in which two of the largest content libraries in the world remain competitors.
Toronto Unveils Its First 2026 Lineups: 64 Gala and Special Presentations Titles, 32 Premieres, and an Opening Night Built on CODA
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival revealed 64 titles across Gala and Special Presentations, including 32 premieres, and set Sian Heder's Being Heumann as its opening night film. For the autumn acquisition market, Toronto's Special Presentations slate is the single most useful supply document of the year.
Twelve States, One Antitrust Theory: Reading the Legal Challenge to the $111B Paramount Warner Bros. Deal
On July 13 twelve state attorneys general, led by California, filed to block the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The filing is the first serious legal test of what library concentration means in a streaming market, and the theory it advances is more interesting than the headline.
Paramount Agrees to Hold the Warner Bros. Discovery Close Until After Antitrust Trial: What a Ten Month Delay Does to Rights Holders
On July 24 Paramount Skydance agreed with a group of state attorneys general to postpone closing its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition until five days after an antitrust trial, or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The delay is not a pause on the industry. For anyone licensing into either library, it starts a clock.
FAST Channel Licensing Rates Compression in Q2 2026: What Indie Sellers Are Actually Being Offered
Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) was supposed to be the recovery channel for indie film catalogs after the SVOD output deals collapsed. In Q2 2026, the per-title licensing rates from Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku, Freevee, and the platform aggregators have compressed materially — and the structural reasons matter for any rights holder building a 2026-2027 monetization model.
Paramount-WBD Merger's 30-Film Pledge Squeezes Indie Theatrical Window
The $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, with its pledge of 30 theatrical releases per year and WBD shareholder vote set for April 23, will fundamentally reshape the competitive landscape for independent distributors fighting for screen time.
A24's Genre Bet: Cosmatos Vampire Thriller Signals Elevated Horror Push
A24 has acquired U.S. distribution rights to 'Flesh of the Gods,' Panos Cosmatos' 1980s-set vampire thriller starring Kristen Stewart and Wagner Moura, extending the distributor's calculated push into elevated genre territory.
Sony-Macro Pact Deepens Co-Financing Model for Inclusive Tentpoles
Sony Pictures and Macro Film Studios have closed a multiyear exclusive first-look and co-financing deal, committing to at least one co-produced theatrical release per year in a deepening partnership between the major studio and the diversity-focused production banner.
Lionsgate Picks Up North American Rights to Documentary
Lionsgate has acquired North American theatrical and home entertainment rights to 'The Weight of Gold,' a feature documentary exploring the financial pressures facing Olympic athletes.