<\/a> Instead of a typical reflection piece, I\u2019ve decided to let you all know what my most-popular pieces of 2025 were (excluding listicles like my very wrong <\/span>box-office predictions<\/a> or <\/span>top 10 TV shows<\/a>), as I think they capture the year in entertainment fairly well. Below are the headlines\/links to each story, along with a short excerpt. As always, thanks for reading!<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into it:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually putting my <\/span>fan<\/em> hat on today rather than my business hat. This newsletter has always been about marrying the two, but I tend to lean more towards the latter; \u2018Thunderbolts,\u2019 though, has renewed my interest in the future of the MCU so much that I\u2019m going to spend this newsletter channeling my comic nerd knowledge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve written about the <\/span>diminishing returns<\/a> of the Disney+ TV shows and their dwindling viewership. \u2018The Acolyte\u2019 was <\/span>quickly canceled<\/a> and there\u2019s hardly a peep about \u2018Skeleton Crew\u2019 (which I actually enjoyed). It has yet to chart on Nielsen\u2019s weekly streaming rankings \u2026 That\u2019s what happens when you <\/span>run a franchise into the ground<\/a>. Disney is obviously going to back away from the onslaught of TV shows (after spending the last half-decade turning <\/span>Star Wars into Star Trek<\/a>), but is it too late?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cThese remakes largely serve no purpose to stimulate Disney IP beyond the few that have made a lot of money (and the few others that have actually been decent). They do nothing for the Disney brand beyond maybe reminding people that the much better originals exist, which are now readily available with the click of a button.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cThe layoffs at Alamo raised an eyebrow because they come just half a year after Sony Pictures Entertainment bought the company \u2014 the first such acquisition after the \u201cParamount Decree\u201d sunset in 2020, allowing a movie studio to more easily buy a theater chain. Another wrinkle to this: The NYC layoffs occurred amid bargaining of a new contract between Alamo and NYC Alamo union\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve written at length about how the movie business is in <\/span>desperate need of new franchises<\/a> to support the future, as the old guard \u2014 from Transformers to Fast and Furious to even the MCU \u2014 run their course. Audiences have shown an appetite for fresh stories on the big screen post-pandemic, but \u2018Sinners\u2019 is the first big post-pandemic hit that is a purely original story\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cThere\u2019s obviously a strategy to time comic releases to movie releases; that\u2019s probably not new, but it does seem even more prevalent in recent years. The series never last that long, which makes sense if the only publishing incentive is to cash in on movies without any long-term creative goal or vision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cAnimated family movies were the top movies at both the box office (\u2018Inside Out 2\u2019) and on streaming in the US (\u2018Moana\u2019) [in 2024] … And yet, Hollywood\u2019s investment in kids content is slowing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> If \u2018Fire and Ash\u2019 performs on par with the first two movies, the Avatar franchise would surpass the likes of Batman and X-Men as one of the 10 biggest movie franchises ever \u2014 after only three movies. Here\u2019s more perspective: Do you know how hard it is for an original movie to not only become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, but also spawn a sequel that <\/span>also <\/em>becomes one of the highest-grossing movies of all time? VERY hard!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cI wrote in 2022, when I reported at Business Insider, that cracks in Marvel\u2019s armor were starting to show. I wrote that as the franchise grew, audiences would likely become more selective about what they consume. And that appears to be exactly what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a> \u201cAt any rate, this is a fascinating look at the dichotomy between different screen mediums: the interactive nature of video games versus the week-to-week waiting for a TV series. How will fans of the game respond to the show? Unlike Amazon\u2019s \u2018Fallout,\u2019 which <\/span>told a new story set in the same world<\/a> as the games, \u2018The Last of Us\u2019 is adapting the same story\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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