How the Hollywood strike is scrambling film, TV schedules into next
summer
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[October 18, 2023]
By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Santa Claus will not be coming to Hollywood this
year.
“Dear Santa,” a comedy by the Farrelly brothers about a young boy who
accidentally sends a letter to Satan instead of Santa, will not reach
theaters this holiday season, one of many victims of a prolonged actors’
strike that has set the U.S. entertainment industry reeling from one of
the longest work stoppages in its history.
The strike, which has entered its 14th week, is scrambling next year’s
film slate and delaying the return of primetime television comedies and
dramas.
While film and television writers have ended their 148-day work
stoppage, talks between actors and studios broke down last week and both
sides said they remain far apart on many issues with no negotiations
scheduled.
Major releases such as “Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part 2,”
“Gladiator 2” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2” have been delayed because
of the walkout, as was “Bob Marley: One Love,” a biopic about the reggae
musician that was receiving early Oscar buzz. Other films, such as the
romantic comedy, “Anybody But You,” cling tenuously to the December
release calendar, but could be postponed if its stars remain on strike
and unavailable to help with promotion, sources with direct knowledge
told Reuters.
“The whole release calendar is going to be tossed around,” said one
studio executive, who identified two major movies and an animated sequel
with release plans that have been tossed into the wind. “The whole thing
is a giant Rubik’s Cube.”
One film financier shifted investment strategies as Hollywood’s work
stoppage stalled several big-budget studio projects, backing productions
outside of North America instead, including director Guy Ritchie’s next
film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill, which is shooting in
Spain.
Media analyst Doug Creutz noted that the strikes “came at a very
difficult time” for major media companies already contending with
declines of the traditional cable TV business, weak ad performance and
streaming services that mostly lose money. Add to those concerns a
struggling movie business, whose holiday quarter box-office proceeds
could fall 30% or more below pre-pandemic levels, as the actors’ strike
forces the delayed release of several movies.
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SAG-AFTRA members walk the picket line during their ongoing strike
outside Sony Studios in Culver City, California, U.S. September 29,
2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
Warner Bros. Discovery, which pushed
“Dune: Part Two” to March from November, reduced its adjusted
earnings estimates for this year by $300 million to $500 million.
Other studios are expected to provide an accounting of the strike’s
financial toll on upcoming quarterly investor calls over the next
few weeks.
WINTER IS COMING Among the hardest hit are independent production
companies, whose lifeblood comes from delivering movies and
television shows. After taking a series of cost-cutting measures,
like curtailing travel and entertainment, they are contemplating
layoffs, say several executives at the companies. Some have sold
rights to film and television libraries to keep the lights on, one
buyer told Reuters.
Television executives hope to return to production in December, or
by February or March at the latest, to produce a shortened season of
primetime shows, with half-hour comedies returning to air more
quickly than hour-long dramas. Writers are already drafting scripts,
these executives said.
At the same time, programmers are embracing unorthodox backup plans
to fill screens, such as a “CSI”-inspired reality show focused on
local police forensic investigators, which is in the works for CBS,
according to two sources familiar with the project.
Some major studio films scheduled for next year could slip into 2025
if the work stoppage continues, according to the studio executive,
raising concern that audiences will get out of the habit of going to
theaters. One exhibitor expressed concern about how to fill movie
screens in the second half of 2024, remarking, “There’s nothing in
production.”
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles;
Editing by Ken Li and Rod Nickel)
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