A24's Golden Ticket
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
A24 dream scenario, Harry Potter and the Showrunner's Announcement, Halle Berry's Union, War Game minus Broderick and a devil fruit.
Let’s go!
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
A24 gets a $100 M investment from Thrive Capital. A24’s valuation has skyrocketed in recent years:
$2.5 bn (2022)
$3.5 bn (2024)
Up 40%
Thrive Capital stated:
“In A24, we see a company bringing extraordinary talent and creativity together with business model and technology innovation to reinvent entertainment for the modern age.”
Josh Kushner, the founder of Thrive Capital, will be awarded a board seat. Thrive is typically a tech investor with early-stage investments in Instagram, Spotify, and OpenAI, but they have also taken over Life Magazine.
As A24 increasingly vies for IP-driven projects and ups their production budgets (e.g. $50 M for Civil War), the investment serves as a crucial driver for continued expansion.
Harry Potter and the showrunner's announcement Warner Bros. Discovery has selected Francesca Gardiner (consulting producer: Succession, EP/Writer: His Dark Materials) as the showrunner for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, with Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones) directing multiple episodes and serving as executive producer. The series, a faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling's seven books, will air on HBO, diverging from the initial plan to release it on Max. The show is set to premiere in 2026 and will span 10 years, though each season might not correspond directly to one of the seven books. The casting process for new actors to play Harry, Ron, and Hermione, among others, is expected to begin soon.
Sony's live-action Street Fighter movie is still kicking even after the exit of its previous directors, Danny and Michael Philippou (Talk To Me). Sony has gone ahead and scheduled the movie for release on March 20, 2026 with a new director to be announced soon.
The original 1994 version has been lauded as one the greatest worst movies ever made and has a bit of a cult status, especially Raul Julia's wonderfully campy M. Bison performance. The original was plagued with a tight shooting schedule, a ballooning budget, and tons of overseas studio interference. Surely we have learned this time? Sony might want to take its time or could be another K.O.