Friday Briefing #15: The Housemaid Effect, SAG-AFTRA Strike Threat & 2026's First Viral Trend
This week: The Housemaid becomes Lionsgate's biggest hit since Hunger Games, SAG-AFTRA won't rule out a strike, and 365 buttons becomes 2026's first viral trend.
Netflix folds. Paramount wins WBD. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sticks the landing. Project Hail Mary first reactions are extraordinary. And Glen Powell's new movie is dead.
IP Surveillance #20: The Paramount-WBD Leviathan
Netflix walks away. Paramount wins. The merger that changes everything — plus Tayari Jones, a Trotsky thriller, and a video game franchise finally going live-action.
Friday Briefing #19: The Last Studio Standing
The bidding war for Warner Bros. enters its final stretch. Plus: Presidents Day box office, SAG-AFTRA talks, Spirit Awards, and why micro-dramas are a billion-dollar problem.
IP Surveillance #19: The debut boom
Five debut thrillers with adaptation DNA, a grown-up Nancy Drew, podcasts built for the screen, and a Guardian long read about a novelist who may have stolen a woman's life.
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Hollywood Signal is the anti-gossip newsletter for decision-makers — distilling market data, buyer mandates, and trend analytics into a weekly briefing that helps execs, producers, and creators green-light, pitch, or pivot.