The 2025 Box Office Draft
22 January - 45 minsMatt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to conduct the third annual box office draft on ‘The Town.’ Matt and Lucas each draft seven blockbuster movies set to be released in 2025 with the goal of making the most money possible against the production budget. Plus, an added twist that allows each person to saddle the other's team with a movie they believe will bomb.
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For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.
Email us your thoughts! [email protected]
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Lucas Shaw
Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo...
How YouTube Quietly Took Over TV, With CEO Neal Mohan
Matt is joined in person by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan from the annual TV upfronts in New York to discuss YouTube’s relationship with Hollywood in 2025, challenges from TikTok and Instagram, and why creators continue to seek out other platforms after gaining success on YouTube. They also talk about their newest deal with the NFL, which includes a YouTube-exclusive NFL game, and how they plan to reinvent watching sports (0:32). Matt finishes the show with a prediction surrounding the announcement that the streaming service Max is changing its name back to HBO Max (32:51). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Neal Mohan Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
40 mins
15 May Finished
Hollywood Q1 Report: Disneyland in Abu Dhabi, a Warner Bros. Spinoff, and Streaming is … Stable?
Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss announcements and narratives that emerged from the latest Q1 earnings reports, including Disney’s new theme park in Abu Dhabi, a Bob Iger succession check-in, a potential Warner Bros. Discovery split, Paramount in trouble, and other takeaways following streaming's continued path towards profitability (2:20). Matt finishes the show with a prediction surrounding the latest news of 'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson’s fight with manager Dan Spilo (26:13). Email [email protected] to inquire about Puck’s Stories of the Season event. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
34 mins
12 May Finished
The 2025 Summer Blockbuster Power Ranking
It’s May, which means summer blockbuster season has officially begun. Matt welcomes back Puck’s Scott Mendelson to run through the most highly anticipated films of the summer, ranking each one by their box office potential and sharing their confidence levels for which are most likely to exceed expectations (2:25). Matt wraps up the show with a discussion about the newest Golden Globes category: Best Podcast (43:30)! For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here Email us your thoughts! [email protected] Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Scott Mendelson Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
52 mins
8 May Finished
A Revealing Ranking of the Biggest Movie Stars: Tom Holland's Surprise Rise, Zendaya’s Stronghold, and Glen Powell’s Struggle
Matt is joined by Ray Subers, senior vice president of theatrical strategy at the National Research Group, to discuss the newest iteration of their eye-opening study highlighting which stars make people most interested in going to a movie theater. They discuss why Tom Holland is so high in the ranking, why Glen Powell is so low, why Gen Z still loves the Rock and Adam Sandler, and why Zendaya is nearing the top 10. They also talk about the importance of awards campaigning, how nostalgia impacts longevity, and the power of recency bias (2:32). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ (27:15). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Ray Subers Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
33 mins
7 May Finished
Trump's Movie Tariff Bombshell and Hollywood’s Freak-Out
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Donald Trump’s social media post announcing a plan to institute tariffs on movies coming to America that are produced in foreign countries. They investigate whether imposing a tariff on a movie is even possible, how disastrous this could be for the movie industry, and whether this could ultimately lead to a more reasonable outcome that could actually help Hollywood. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
34 mins
5 May Finished
The Future of HBO (and Max?). Part 2 With CEO Casey Bloys.
Matt is back for Part 2 of his conversation with Casey Bloys to discuss what HBO and Max are looking for going forward, how he deals with competition, why he has stayed at HBO for over 20 years, the TV show he is most jealous of, what he would do as king of Hollywood for a day, and more (01:08). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.Email us your thoughts! [email protected] Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Casey Bloys Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie LopezTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30 mins
30 April Finished