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This Week in Hollywood: Where Attention Is Holding, Shifting, and Scaling · Brighter Path: Data, Marketing, Entertainment, and Storytelling

• 0:00
  OK, let's unpack this because I mean, if you are deeply tuned
• 0:05
  into the entertainment landscape right now, you might have
• 0:08
  noticed a a structural anomaly taking place, especially as
• 0:12
  we're moving through the early weeks of this new year.
• 0:15
  Oh, it's highly unusual. For years, this cycle has been,
• 0:18
  well, completely predictable. Totally.
• 0:21
  The massive holiday box office success would inevitably settle
• 0:24
  down. Streaming numbers would
• 0:26
  normalize. Right, drop back towards the
• 0:28
  baseline. And the music charts, they
• 0:30
  traditionally revert back to reliable catalog hits, while the
• 0:33
  industry sort of holds its breath for the big Q1 releases.
• 0:36
  It's supposed to be a market reset.
• 0:38
  It's supposed to be, but that's not what's happening.
• 0:40
  Exactly. The pattern broke, and it broke
• 0:43
  hard this year. The excerpt sources we're
• 0:45
  drawing from this Entertainment Pulse report describes what
• 0:49
  we're seeing as compression and carryover.
• 0:51
  And that's a fantastic way to put.
• 0:53
  It it really is. It tells us that audience
• 0:55
  momentum isn't just resetting to 0, it's it's traveling across
• 0:59
  consumption windows weeks, even months later, and it's dragging
• 1:02
  that high signal content with it.
• 1:04
  That carryover, you know, that inability of the market to
• 1:07
  really cool down, that is the core structural shift we need to
• 1:12
  analyze today. We are fundamentally moving away
• 1:17
  from an era that was defined by short, isolated spikes.
• 1:20
  That viral moment that's everywhere for 48 hours and then
• 1:23
  just gone. Precisely.
• 1:26
  It burns bright and then fizzles out.
• 1:28
  What defines true success right now is the sustained signal.
• 1:32
  And that really defines our mission in this deep dive.
• 1:34
  We're using these secialized reports to breakdown where
• 1:37
  audience attention is accumulating an maybe more
• 1:40
  importantly, where it's traveling next.
• 1:42
  Yeah. So the core lesson for you, the
• 1:44
  listener who needs to navigate all this complexity, whether
• 1:46
  you're a creator or studio exec or just, you know, really
• 1:49
  curious, is understanding how the quality of that sustained
• 1:52
  engagement is now decisively outweighing raw scale.
• 1:55
  And you can see this gravitational pull immediately.
• 1:58
  It's disrupting decades of seasonal predictability.
• 2:00
  Yeah, just look at the biggest theatrical success from the
• 2:02
  holiday period. Avatar Fire and Ash.
• 2:04
  A single title still anchoring the global box office weeks
• 2:08
  later. I mean that level of market
• 2:10
  stability, that persistence is simply not typical post holiday
• 2:14
  behavior. And on the streaming side, it's
• 2:16
  the identical dynamic. We see a massive year end series
• 2:20
  finale, Stranger Things, which isn't just wrapping up.
• 2:23
  It's generating sustained streaming numbers, it's driving
• 2:26
  massive talent interest, and it is actively disrupting the music
• 2:30
  charts well into this new calendar year.
• 2:33
  This kind of sustained performance, it signals A
• 2:35
  dramatic strategic shift. It's in how content is being
• 2:39
  constructed, how it's launched, and how it's marketed afterward.
• 2:43
  So the studios are building for the long haul.
• 2:45
  They're building content to create a persistent, ongoing
• 2:47
  gravitational pull. The investment isn't in a
• 2:50
  momentary flash anymore, it's in building an entire universe that
• 2:53
  has the the necessary density to keep audiences perpetually
• 2:58
  engaged. It's about cultivating staying
• 3:00
  power. Exactly.
• 3:01
  So let's start exactly where that gravitational pull is most
• 3:03
  visible, the theatrical box office.
• 3:05
  Like you said, box office behavior is usually the clearest
• 3:09
  and you know, the first indicator of that annual reset.
• 3:12
  Yet Avatar Fire and Ash is just it's fundamentally defying all
• 3:17
  the seasonal norms. It is the definition of a market
• 3:20
  anchor. The film remained the top title
• 3:23
  domestically for 1/4 consecutive week.
• 3:25
  A fourth week. Just think about what that kind
• 3:28
  of sustained dominance means in the early part of the year.
• 3:31
  It proves that a true tentpole franchise doesn't just dominate
• 3:35
  the holiday season, it influences the entire ecosystem
• 3:38
  around it for months. It acts as a financial buffer, a
• 3:41
  market stabilizer. And in numbers themselves are
• 3:43
  just staggering, right? They really reinforce that
• 3:46
  staying power. They do.
• 3:47
  We're talking about the 3rd installment in James Cameron's
• 3:50
  saga and it has now surpassed $1.1 billion.
• 3:54
  Worldwide, which is incredible. That's already solidified it as
• 3:57
  the third highest grossing movie of 2025, and it just overtook
• 4:00
  the animated film Lilo and Stitch.
• 4:02
  That massive long tail isn't just impressive, it's
• 4:05
  economically vital for the studio.
• 4:07
  Oh, it's more than vital. A run like this shows that an
• 4:10
  event film doesn't just vacuum up the available revenue, it
• 4:14
  almost holds the market hostage in a way.
• 4:16
  How? So.
• 4:17
  It provides cover for the studio's entire slate.
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  It means they could defer some of the marketing spend on their
• 4:23
  smaller Q1 releases. So they're using Avatar's
• 4:26
  lingering noise as a massive market buffer.
• 4:29
  Exactly. This is critical for studios
• 4:32
  trying to balance their yearly portfolio, especially when
• 4:35
  January and February are, you know, traditionally very lean
• 4:38
  months. But I wonder, isn't holding that
• 4:40
  attention hostage just delaying the inevitable reset?
• 4:43
  I mean, if Avatar is absorbing all the available oxygen, does
• 4:47
  that really help smaller films? Or does it just confirm that
• 4:50
  only the mega franchises can survive?
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  Well, that's where that compression and carryover idea
• 4:54
  comes back into play. The market is compressed, sure,
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  but the studios are adapting. OK.
• 4:59
  Look at the supporting cast that debuted underneath that avatar
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  anchor, right? You have Primate, a creature
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  feature from Paramount, right, which successfully debuted in
• 5:07
  second place. That's the one one with Johnny
• 5:09
  Sequoia and Troy Clitzer, and it's about a deadly domesticated
• 5:13
  chimp on an island vacation. A.
• 5:15
  Classic High Concept and Primate is fascinating because it
• 5:18
  highlights this this tension between budget efficiency and
• 5:22
  franchise power. It was reportedly made on a
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  tight $21 million budget. This is a genre piece designed
• 5:29
  for immediate high concept thrills.
• 5:31
  Made to make a quick, efficient return.
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  Precisely. Yeah, to do so under the shadow
• 5:36
  of a tent pole. Its success isn't about setting
• 5:39
  records, it's about strategic budget alignment and guaranteed
• 5:43
  thematic traction. The studios know that sometimes
• 5:45
  people just want to see an angry ape on a deserted beach.
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  And that is a reliable, profitable bet.
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  So now let's contrast that efficient genre hit with the 3rd
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  place finisher, Greenland 2 Migration.
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  A sequel. Which means the studios are
• 5:58
  looking to revisit non superhero kind of mid level IP for that
• 6:02
  sustained established appeal. And it's arrived nearly six
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  years after the original. It continues the story of that
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  family, Gerard Butler and Marina Bekaran, searching for survival
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  after a comet devastates Earth. Six years is a long time between
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  films. It is, and revisiting this IP
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  after such a long hiatus suggest studios are actively hunting for
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  that durable, established audience.
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  The one that showed up six years ago and we'll come back for a
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  concept they already know. Even if it's not part of a mega
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  franchise machine, they're confirming the enduring value of
• 6:33
  mid tier IP that has inherent traction rather than constantly
• 6:37
  trying to invent new properties from scratch.
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  Which is. Way riskier.
• 6:41
  So much riskier. So if we piece it together,
• 6:43
  Avatar gives the market stability, Primate shows
• 6:46
  successful budget efficiency under that compression and
• 6:49
  Greenland too demonstrates it's the durability of non superhero
• 6:52
  IP. Exactly.
• 6:54
  And this whole dynamic, it sets the stage for what's coming
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  next. We're looking ahead at Sony's 28
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  Years Later, the Bone Temple and MGM's Mercy in the coming weeks,
• 7:03
  right? So the crucial question for the
• 7:05
  market is whether these next wave releases can successfully
• 7:08
  leverage the stable market Avatar has created.
• 7:11
  Or if that anchors, gravity will just diminish the space and
• 7:14
  attention available for everything else.
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  It's the key tension. But for the studios, the ability
• 7:20
  of Avatar to sustain buzz far beyond its initial release
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  window confirms it. The old model of the aggressive
• 7:28
  box office spike is decisively evolving into a model of box
• 7:32
  office persistence. This idea of persistence, of a
• 7:35
  sustained signal, it leads us directly into marketing
• 7:38
  strategy. And this is where it gets really
• 7:40
  interesting. We talked about how the start of
• 7:42
  the year usually means muted, quiet marketing, but this year a
• 7:47
  single December release, Avengers Doomsday, is actively
• 7:52
  shaping consumer behavior well into January.
• 7:55
  And it's doing it with a strategy that feels almost
• 7:57
  surgical. It does.
• 7:58
  This campaign is already a textbook case study in the new
• 8:00
  rules of entertainment marketing.
• 8:02
  It's a dramatic shift from the traditional.
• 8:04
  Which was what? Just throwing noise at people.
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  Massive amounts of undifferentiated noise at the
• 8:08
  consumer? Yeah, this is something else
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  entirely. It's built on precision,
• 8:11
  deliberate pacing, and long term momentum.
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  So what broke the pattern first? What was the first sign this was
• 8:16
  different? It was the initial structure of
• 8:18
  the campaign instead of dropping a massive trailer just to
• 8:21
  completely dominate the news cycle.
• 8:23
  And burnout quickly. Right.
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  Instead of that, the campaign started with a structured cast
• 8:27
  announcement. It wasn't about chasing
• 8:29
  immediate attention, it was about setting a deliberate tone
• 8:32
  and establishing control over the narrative timeline.
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  And that control is essential when you're playing the long
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  game. Absolutely.
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  Then came the sequencing of the trailers.
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  We're seeing these tightly focused, deliberate teasers
• 8:45
  released a full year ahead of the film.
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  A whole year. A year most major campaigns
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  would panic. They depress all the excitement
• 8:53
  into a short, high pressure 3 month burst.
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  Avengers Doomsday is doing the exact opposite.
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  It's patiently pacing the momentum.
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  Avoiding market saturation while ensuring the signal remains
• 9:05
  constantly active in the periphery.
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  But isn't pacing it out a year in advance a huge gamble?
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  I mean, in a world of constant content leaks and spoilers,
• 9:13
  doesn't that patients actually increase the risk that something
• 9:16
  external will kill the puzzle before the big reveal?
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  That's a valid strategic tension, for sure, but the
• 9:22
  campaign mitigates that risks through its confidence in its
• 9:25
  own product and, crucially, through the 3rd and most
• 9:28
  innovative layer. The coded countdown.
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  The coded countdown, the release date of the first full trailer,
• 9:34
  is hidden in plain sight, embedded directly into the
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  teasers themselves. Can you tell us more about the
• 9:40
  mechanics of this? Because this isn't just a fun
• 9:42
  little Easter egg for fans, is it?
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  No, it is far more than novelty, and this is critical to
• 9:47
  understand from a marketing data perspective.
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  This functions as scaled audience participation.
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  Scaled audience participation. The studio isn't just speaking
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  at the fans asking them to consume, they are inviting them
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  to actively decode the campaign itself.
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  That's a. Huge difference.
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  It is this level of active engagement creates deep
• 10:07
  investment. It fundamentally turns
• 10:08
  consumption into a cooperative puzzle.
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  The fan gained status by being in the know, essentially
• 10:14
  becoming a decentralized, highly engaged marketing channel for
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  the studio. So when you follow that encoded
• 10:20
  pattern, the consensus conclusion is that the first
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  official massive trailer for Avengers Doomsday is engineered
• 10:28
  to debut on the Super Bowl. And that choice isn't just about
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  buying the most expensive ad slot available.
• 10:35
  No, it's about something more. It's about cultural gravity.
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  It's about reclaiming the idea of a true event trailer in a
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  fragmented media landscape where constant content drops have
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  devalued the spectacle of the reveal.
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  By embedding the launch date as a puzzle, the reveal becomes the
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  shared, earned reward for the audience.
• 10:54
  Exactly. The moment is maximized because
• 10:57
  the audience helps build the anticipation.
• 10:59
  What stands out to me about this campaign as we jackets buzz
• 11:02
  through the source materials, is just how restrained and
• 11:04
  confident the whole approach feels.
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  It feels designed specifically for an audience that actively
• 11:09
  enjoys decoding signals and appreciates narrative control,
• 11:12
  which is, I mean, that's incredibly typical of the core
• 11:15
  dedicated superhero fan base. And that restraint is the key.
• 11:19
  So what here? The result isn't just excitement
• 11:21
  for the new film itself. When you analyze the secondary
• 11:24
  data, we see it translating into rising buzz and growing interest
• 11:28
  across adjacent Marvel characters, storyline lines,
• 11:31
  even older catalog titles. So this is strategy shaping the
• 11:35
  entertainment calendar. Not just promotion filling a
• 11:37
  space, they are driving the Halo effect, intentionally ensuring
• 11:42
  that momentum for one major title lifts the entire
• 11:45
  ecosystem. This is the definition of
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  sustained signal being strategically manufactured over
• 11:52
  mere temporary noise. We've established that momentum
• 11:55
  isn't resetting, it's traveling, and nowhere is that more
• 11:58
  powerfully evidence than in streaming.
• 12:00
  Absolutely. This is where that franchise
• 12:02
  Gravity, isn't only holding attention to the central title,
• 12:05
  but actively redistributing it across music, talent, other
• 12:08
  platforms entirely. Let's start with the absolute,
• 12:11
  unshakable dominance of Stranger Things on Netflix, OK?
• 12:15
  The release of his final episode delivered an astronomical
• 12:17
  performance. The data shows it drove over 500
• 12:20
  million hours watched globally. And that figure is across across
• 12:24
  all seasons, right? All seasons.
• 12:25
  That's the key. 500 million hours, That's just a
• 12:28
  breathtaking number. Yeah, it confirms the show is
• 12:30
  not merely popular, it's it's a durable attention engine.
• 12:35
  It is. This wasn't just a fan cohort
• 12:37
  tuning in for the peak. This sustained engagement is
• 12:41
  pulling in lapsed viewers and completely new discovery
• 12:43
  simultaneously. Reinforcing its role as this
• 12:46
  perpetual cultural engine. And that engine keeps turning,
• 12:49
  providing cover for other crucial series.
• 12:52
  While Stranger Things commanded the peak attention, other
• 12:55
  consistent performers are also showing sustained visibility,
• 12:58
  which is so important for audience retention.
• 13:01
  So shows like Runaway Culinary Class Wars, Emily and Paris.
• 13:05
  They all held meaningful visibility across multiple
• 13:07
  markets, and these shows are strategically important.
• 13:10
  Culinary Class Wars, for instance, leverages a very
• 13:13
  reliable reality TV formula. It might have a lower ceiling
• 13:17
  than a blockbuster drama, but it has a high, predictable floor
• 13:20
  that makes it essential for a routine, sticky audience
• 13:23
  retention throughout the year. Now moving to the film site on
• 13:26
  Netflix, we're seeing consistency in genre
• 13:28
  reliability. True crime always a safe but.
• 13:31
  An absolutely safe and reliable bet for high engagement.
• 13:35
  The new documentary Evil Influencer The Jodi Hildebrandt
• 13:38
  Story delivered over 25,000,000 hours watched.
• 13:42
  And hit #1 in nearly 20 countries.
• 13:44
  That kind of global reach just confirms the genres Universal
• 13:48
  poll. And we also tracked the
• 13:50
  franchise debut of Wake Up Dead Man.
• 13:52
  Right. It premiered with 1.3 billion
• 13:55
  minutes of viewing. Now that is objectively solid.
• 13:58
  It's highly franchise driven, but it notably landed below
• 14:01
  Glass Onions 2022 opening. And that data point is vital.
• 14:06
  It is. It suggests that while
• 14:07
  established HIP works, the peak of an event movie on streaming
• 14:11
  is incredibly high, and it's hard to replicate instantly.
• 14:14
  The market requires careful pacing, even for established
• 14:17
  brands. It hints at potential franchise
• 14:19
  fatigue if the releases are too compressed.
• 14:21
  Exactly. Meanwhile, the film His and Her
• 14:24
  with Tessa Thompson and John Bernthal is climbing fast.
• 14:27
  It's already hit #1 in over 70 countries.
• 14:29
  Which shows the power of pure star wattage and high quality
• 14:33
  mid budget dramatic offerings. OK, now let's look at the other
• 14:36
  major platforms, starting with Disney.
• 14:38
  Unsurprisingly, Avatar continues to dominate here as well.
• 14:42
  You have The Way of Water leading the viewing, then the
• 14:45
  original Avatar and then the behind the scenes look.
• 14:47
  Avatar Fire and Ash special look.
• 14:50
  So they're clearly leveraging that gravitational anchor we
• 14:53
  analyzed earlier, maximizing the cross-platform value of the
• 14:56
  theatrical run. Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:57
  But Disney Plus also had a major premiere Tron Ari's hit #1 in
• 15:03
  more than 70 countries pretty quickly after its midweek
• 15:06
  release. And that performance was in line
• 15:08
  with projections. It demonstrates that targeted,
• 15:11
  high profile IP can still make an immediate, impactful debut on
• 15:15
  streaming, especially when it's tied to the kind of cultural
• 15:18
  nostalgia that a franchise like Tron carries.
• 15:21
  But you said what's increasingly interesting is the external lift
• 15:24
  we're seeing. Yes.
• 15:25
  You mean the awards season impact?
• 15:27
  Precisely, films like 1 Battle After Another and Begonia are
• 15:30
  seeing significantly elevated performance levels simply
• 15:34
  because the external buzz, the nominations, critical
• 15:37
  discussions, industry chatter is pushing audiences to either
• 15:40
  discover these titles or rewatch them.
• 15:42
  So that external validation acts as a powerful discovery
• 15:45
  mechanism. It translates directly into
• 15:48
  viewership. It does, and that cross-platform
• 15:51
  momentum is vital for the health of the whole content EGO system.
• 15:54
  Yeah, we are seeing familiar deep catalog performers return
• 15:58
  to prominence on other platforms.
• 16:00
  Like the How to Train Your Dragon titles re entering the
• 16:03
  top ranks on HBO Max? And DreamWorks Animation
• 16:05
  continuing its steady performance on Peacock.
• 16:08
  Simultaneously, new series launches like The Pit on HBO Max
• 16:12
  and The Night Manager and Beast Games on Prime Video are seeing
• 16:15
  clear lift. Why is that?
• 16:17
  It's often because the talent involved is also driving new
• 16:19
  cycles elsewhere, or because the concepts align with current
• 16:22
  trends. It's all connected.
• 16:23
  Let's zoom out to the overall US cross-platform data for the week
• 16:27
  ending December 14th, because this is where the sheer scale of
• 16:30
  sustained attention becomes truly quantifiable.
• 16:33
  Stranger Things LED all titles with over 3 billion minutes.
• 16:37
  Watch 3. Billion.
• 16:38
  Billion. Yeah, That's a sustained
• 16:40
  attention span that requires incredible commitment from the
• 16:43
  audience. And it wasn't alone in that long
• 16:46
  form engagement. Netflix's documentary Sean
• 16:48
  Combs, The Reckoning and Paramount Plus is Land Man each
• 16:53
  surpassed a billion minutes viewed.
• 16:55
  Which confirms that audiences are willing to invest heavily in
• 16:57
  content that offers depth and cultural relevance, regardless
• 17:01
  of whether it's scripted drama or true life documentary.
• 17:04
  We also saw that compressed Windows success model at work
• 17:07
  with Percy Jackson and The Olympian Season 2 on Disney
• 17:10
  Plus. Yes, 508 million minutes
• 17:13
  watched. But that was based on the
• 17:14
  midweek release of just the first two episodes.
• 17:17
  That is a staggering density of attention.
• 17:20
  It shows that releasing high demand content strategically and
• 17:23
  sequentially still drives immediate, measurable audience
• 17:27
  focus. It's less about binge dropping
• 17:29
  everything at once. And more about scheduling
• 17:31
  intentional viewing events. Exactly.
• 17:32
  Which brings us to maybe the biggest surprise and the most
• 17:35
  literal translation of franchise Gravity, the music charts
• 17:38
  Disruption. I love this part.
• 17:40
  Of all the data points, I find the success of Joe Kiri's
• 17:43
  musical persona the most compelling.
• 17:45
  It's phenomenal. Joe Kiri, a key character actor
• 17:48
  in Stranger Things, suddenly topped the global charts under
• 17:52
  his music moniker. Dijo, his track End of the
• 17:55
  Beginning took the number one global spot with over 55,000,000
• 17:59
  streams. That is one of the strongest,
• 18:02
  most authentic crossover moments we've seen between scripted TV
• 18:05
  visibility and music consumption in this current cycle.
• 18:09
  The audience didn't just watch the finale, they immediately
• 18:12
  followed the talent into their adjacent creative pursuits.
• 18:15
  It confirms that if the core signal is strong enough,
• 18:18
  attention will redistribute horizontally.
• 18:20
  And the Halo effect wasn't just limited to that one track.
• 18:24
  Dido became the biggest gainer on Top Artists Global.
• 18:27
  He jumped 122 spots to #41 It proves that when a finale lands
• 18:33
  with that much cultural weight, attention doesn't collapse.
• 18:36
  It aggressively redistributes into adjacent interests and
• 18:39
  properties. And we see that redistribution
• 18:41
  reflected directly in the talent metrics across social platforms.
• 18:44
  9 of the top 10 most searched and discussed talents were
• 18:47
  directly tied to Stranger Things.
• 18:49
  Yeah. Millie Bobby Brown led the pack,
• 18:51
  followed closely by Jamie Campbell Bauer and Sadie Sync.
• 18:54
  Sadie Sync in particular has this unique strategic momentum
• 18:57
  right now. She does.
• 18:59
  Her visibility is being amplified by broader franchise
• 19:02
  interest tied to her upcoming roles in Spider Man, Brand New
• 19:05
  Day and, crucially, Avengers Doomsday.
• 19:09
  So this is a textbook example of a talent maximizing a core
• 19:12
  success. And immediately translating that
• 19:15
  momentum into future high profile roles and other massive
• 19:19
  blockbuster conversations. We also have to highlight Nell
• 19:21
  Fisher, who remained firmly in the top five.
• 19:24
  Her sustained placement was driven by her breakout
• 19:27
  performance, the late season character elevation of Holly
• 19:30
  Wheeler. And this is proof of concept for
• 19:32
  writers and show runners. A strong narrative payoff,
• 19:35
  elevating a character toward the end of the run, translates
• 19:38
  rapidly into individual talent, interest, and sustained
• 19:40
  searches. It's an immediate feedback loop
• 19:43
  from narrative success to talent momentum.
• 19:46
  Showing that narrative strategy is a crucial part of the
• 19:48
  marketing plan. It all connects, whether it's
• 19:50
  talent following the music or awards buzz elevating older
• 19:54
  titles. This section just confirms that
• 19:56
  the sustained signal is the strategy.
• 19:58
  It's all about building these interconnected, mutually
• 20:01
  reinforcing ecosystems. OK, shifting gears now to the
• 20:04
  creator economy and social media metrics, because the same
• 20:08
  principle that sustained signal over raw spikes is governing
• 20:12
  authority here too. And we can confirm the constant
• 20:16
  Jimmy Donaldson, Mr. Beast holds the top spot in Favicon's Top
• 20:19
  Creators ranking based on social authority.
• 20:22
  He remains the immovable object. He is the gravitational center,
• 20:24
  absolutely. But the crucial observation in
• 20:27
  this week's report is the momentum underneath that leader.
• 20:30
  The structural shift is happening lower down the ranks,
• 20:33
  OK, And it emphasizes that engagement quality is becoming
• 20:36
  the decisive factor, not just the raw follower count.
• 20:40
  So we're talking about authority defined by depth, not breadth.
• 20:43
  The textbook case for this quality engagement is Dua Lipa.
• 20:46
  Yes, she surged to the number two spot.
• 20:49
  Driven almost entirely by her activity on Instagram.
• 20:52
  Her follower growth has been steady, but her authority is
• 20:55
  defined by signal strength and consistency.
• 20:58
  Crucially, her engagement rate averages 1.9%.
• 21:02
  And what does that mean for a follower base her size?
• 21:04
  It translates to roughly 7 million engagements per post and
• 21:09
  average views around 51 million. That 1.9% figure is an
• 21:14
  incredibly high conversion. It indicates true audience
• 21:17
  investment. The opposite of viral
• 21:19
  volatility. Exactly.
• 21:21
  She isn't chasing trends, she's driving them consistently within
• 21:24
  her carefully curated aesthetic. That consistency is authority.
• 21:28
  And then we have this compelling contrast provided by Neymar
• 21:30
  Junior, who is new to the top 15.
• 21:32
  And he highlights what we call the platform fit paradox.
• 21:35
  So he's gaining followers across platforms, but his success is
• 21:39
  highly dependent on where he posts and how he posts.
• 21:41
  It's a perfect illustration the metalatform, specifically
• 21:44
  Instagram, remains his strongest ecosystem.
• 21:47
  Here, he averages 27,000,000 engagements and close to 80
• 21:51
  million views. Uh, OST.
• 21:52
  And that audience is highly optimized for his specific
• 21:55
  content, right? High production static images,
• 21:57
  lifestyle videos. Which works natively on
• 21:59
  Instagram, yes. But his TikTok presence tells a
• 22:02
  radically different story, even though he has, what, 35 million
• 22:05
  followers there? A huge following but his TikTok
• 22:08
  engagement is severely limited. It averages .02% with average
• 22:13
  views around 168,000. That's a massive disparity.
• 22:16
  It is, and it confirms that raw scale is a meaningless metric if
• 22:20
  your content style or frequency doesn't align with the native
• 22:23
  audience behavior of that platform.
• 22:26
  So if you're a creator or a brand, you need to re evaluate
• 22:29
  your metrics. You do.
• 22:31
  A small, high quality, high engagement following on the
• 22:34
  right platform is far more valuable than a massive passive
• 22:38
  following on the wrong one. We're seeing positive momentum
• 22:41
  for other major names too. Billie Eilish, Jenny Kim,
• 22:44
  Killian Boppy and Millie Bobby Brown.
• 22:46
  All benefiting from sustained visibility tied to ongoing
• 22:49
  projects, music releases, sports cycles and of course that ever
• 22:52
  present franchise driven press activity we discussed earlier.
• 22:56
  And looking at platform leadership specifically?
• 22:58
  We see I show speed and Chris Hemsworth seeing lifts on
• 23:02
  Instagram. On TikTok, after the top three,
• 23:05
  you've got Nicole Figueroa, Brooke Monk and Kenya O's
• 23:08
  leading the ranks. And YouTube.
• 23:10
  Beyond Mr. Beast, it's authority is led by the Stokes twins and
• 23:14
  Alejo Igoa. LinkedIn, predictably, remains
• 23:17
  dominated by institutional influence.
• 23:19
  Bill Gates, Barack Obama. Gary Vaynerchuk.
• 23:22
  Which reflects a different professional definition of
• 23:24
  authority completely. And even on the brand side, the
• 23:27
  shifts are incredibly telling. Yeah, FC Barcelona moved into
• 23:31
  the top position, actually overtaking Instagram as a brand
• 23:35
  authority. Account and Formula One climbed
• 23:37
  to 3rd place. Why does FC Barcelona overtaking
• 23:40
  Instagram matter symbolically? What does that tell us?
• 23:44
  Well, it demonstrates that audience gravity is shifting
• 23:46
  towards entities that provide cultural community and a
• 23:49
  persistent real world narrative. I see Instagram as a platform
• 23:53
  account offers a utility. FC Barcelona and Formula One
• 23:57
  offer a narrative identity and a constant year round source of
• 24:00
  shared enthusiasm and sustained relevance.
• 24:02
  The audience wants to follow the story, not just the utility.
• 24:05
  It's it exactly? So what does this all mean for
• 24:07
  the overall influence landscape? What's the big take away?
• 24:11
  The take away is clear. Authority is increasingly being
• 24:14
  shaped by sustained engagement, movement quality, specific
• 24:17
  platform strength, and deep cultural relevance.
• 24:21
  Follower counts are just the initial entry fee.
• 24:23
  The starting point. True influence requires A
• 24:25
  deeper, more consistent signal. You can't just be big and
• 24:29
  fleeting. You have to be sticky and
• 24:31
  essential to the audience's identity.
• 24:34
  This focus on controlling momentum it extends directly
• 24:37
  into how major studios are strategically planning their
• 24:40
  slates. Absolutely.
• 24:41
  Specifically regarding sequel speed, franchise investment, and
• 24:44
  some very high stakes casting. It's all about maintaining
• 24:47
  franchise value and ensuring creative clarity above all else.
• 24:51
  Let's first look at the speed of reaction, what we call the fast
• 24:54
  follow model. Lionsgate is moving quickly on
• 24:56
  the House made secret. The sequel to The Housemaid,
• 24:59
  right? Following its stronger than
• 25:00
  expected box office performance. And what makes this decision so
• 25:04
  strategic is the alignment. Sydney Sweeney is returning as
• 25:07
  Millie Calloway and crucially, she's stepping into an executive
• 25:11
  producer role. That signals A profound
• 25:14
  alignment between the star, the studio and the brand's creative
• 25:18
  direction. And Paul Feig is returning to
• 25:20
  direct the adaptation of the second novel by Freda McFadden.
• 25:24
  Production is expected to begin in 2026.
• 25:27
  This timeline is absolutely intentional.
• 25:30
  It's positioned as a fast follow designed to sustain the momentum
• 25:34
  generated by the first film, rather than waiting so long that
• 25:37
  they have to reboot the entire public awareness.
• 25:39
  Which can cost 10s of millions in marketing alone.
• 25:42
  Of course, they're banking on the current signal strength and
• 25:46
  the continued popularity to source material.
• 25:48
  It's a calculated risk to strike while the IP is hot.
• 25:51
  Maximizing the current cultural currency of the original film
• 25:54
  success. Exactly.
• 25:55
  Meanwhile, over at DC, the construction of The Batman Part
• 25:58
  2 is happening with a similar sense of deliberate, almost slow
• 26:02
  burn control. Industry chatter is pointing
• 26:04
  towards Sebastian Stan being in talks for Harvey Dent for Two
• 26:09
  Face. And this potential casting
• 26:11
  choice, it just reinforces director Matt Reed's
• 26:13
  foundational strategy, a character first, slow burn
• 26:17
  approach. He's building the Gotham
• 26:19
  Ensemble, led by Robert Pattinson, with Scarlett
• 26:22
  Johansson also attached with weight and deliberation.
• 26:25
  They aren't seeking immediate headline spectacle.
• 26:28
  They're investing in the emotional foundation of the
• 26:30
  franchise by adding profound character depth through these
• 26:34
  casting choices. It's about trust in the
• 26:36
  narrative over chasing instant hype.
• 26:38
  That's it. Which brings us to a major
• 26:42
  bellwether for Disney the highly anticipated live action update
• 26:46
  of Tangled. Right.
• 26:47
  The casting announcement of Tegan Croft as Rapunzel and Milo
• 26:51
  Manheim as Flynn writer reveals exactly where Disney is focusing
• 26:55
  its live action strategy for future success.
• 26:57
  And this was not an easy decision.
• 26:59
  The process was highly competitive.
• 27:01
  It involved extensive auditions and chemistry reads in London
• 27:04
  late last year. The sources confirm multiple
• 27:07
  performers were tested for Rapunzel right, including Sarah
• 27:10
  Katherine Hook, Olivia Mai Barrett and Freya Sky.
• 27:13
  And Freya Sky generated significant fan interest due to
• 27:15
  her strong musical background. That level of testing, it just
• 27:19
  signals the incredibly high stakes involved here.
• 27:22
  The consensus among executives and partners is that Tangled is
• 27:25
  not a project where casting can afford to rely on surface appeal
• 27:29
  or short term star power. Precisely.
• 27:32
  Rapunzel specifically, has to carry three things
• 27:34
  simultaneously authentic emotional intimacy, undeniable
• 27:38
  musical credibility, and sufficient cultural reach.
• 27:42
  A failure in any one of those areas can undermine the entire
• 27:45
  adaptation. And the lessons learned from
• 27:47
  previous Disney live action films confirm this.
• 27:49
  The ones that achieve sustained success are the ones that
• 27:52
  respected the emotional spine of the original and updated the
• 27:55
  execution through strategic casting and music.
• 27:57
  And if that clarity weakens, the whole momentum struggles.
• 28:00
  It's a key lesson learned from past less successful adaptations
• 28:04
  where the casting just felt disaligned.
• 28:07
  Tegan Croft was ultimately chosen because she offered a
• 28:09
  grounded emotional presence with the theatrical range needed to
• 28:12
  scale the role. It was about fit over novelty.
• 28:15
  And the pairing of Croft and Mannheim is highly intentional.
• 28:19
  Very they have established Gen. Z recognition without being
• 28:22
  overexposed, they're comfortable in franchise ecosystems.
• 28:26
  And critically, they demonstrate the ability to navigate the
• 28:29
  modern intense press cycle without creating triction.
• 28:33
  So this pairing is designed to lower the friction across the
• 28:36
  entire launch window. So Disney isn't just seeking
• 28:39
  talent, they're seeking strategic partners who can
• 28:41
  ensure the signal remains sustained and positive.
• 28:43
  Absolutely. And because this is a musical
• 28:45
  property, the stakes are doubly elevated, aren't they?
• 28:48
  They are. The ultimate success signal for
• 28:50
  Tangled will be how Disney chooses to position the music in
• 28:54
  their upcoming marketing. Because for a property like
• 28:56
  this, music is not just an enhancement.
• 28:59
  It is the fundamental mechanism that determines whether the film
• 29:01
  sustains gains attention beyond the opening weekend and earns
• 29:04
  its place in that live action success column.
• 29:08
  Every decision here, from the Fastfollow sequel to the
• 29:10
  calculated casting, shows major studios pivoting to a strategy
• 29:15
  centered on controlling their momentum rather than merely
• 29:18
  chasing short term noise. We've seen how momentum sticks
• 29:21
  to franchises and talent, but that sustained signal isn't
• 29:25
  limited to traditional film and streaming.
• 29:27
  Not at all. It's now the essential driving
• 29:30
  force behind how intellectual property or IP, is leveraged
• 29:34
  across completely disparate industries.
• 29:37
  Gaming, tech, fashion, even niche collectibles.
• 29:40
  And this phenomenon demonstrates that the strength of the EP and
• 29:43
  it's sustained signal determines its commercial utility across
• 29:47
  the market. It allows it to generate revenue
• 29:49
  and engagement years after its media debut.
• 29:51
  Which is essential for converting cultural equity into
• 29:54
  measurable commercial value. So let's start with IP meeting
• 29:57
  technology. Lego announced its new
• 30:00
  programmable Smart Brick platform.
• 30:02
  Which introduces lights, sensors and wireless connectivity
• 30:05
  directly into standard builds. This is a massive leap forward.
• 30:09
  And the first consumer rollout is set for early 2026, and it
• 30:12
  includes Star Wars themed sets. Right, this technology will
• 30:16
  enable custom sound effects, motion responses, app based
• 30:19
  interactions. Lego is positioning this as
• 30:21
  foundational technology. Moving far beyond simple
• 30:24
  aesthetic licensing. To truly integrate IP into a
• 30:28
  dynamic ongoing play experience, the IP provides the narrative
• 30:32
  context and the technology refreshes the IP, keeping it
• 30:36
  perpetually relevant to a new generation.
• 30:38
  It's future proofing IP integration.
• 30:41
  And in the gaming world, we see legacy crossovers driving
• 30:44
  sustained player demand. Confirming the durability of
• 30:47
  older franchises. Fortnite launched a limited
• 30:51
  crossover with South Park. Introducing themed locations and
• 30:55
  skins, all adapted to Fortnite's age rating, while retaining the
• 30:59
  signature visual elements. And perhaps more significantly,
• 31:02
  we have the example of Dead by Daylight reviving its
• 31:04
  partnership with Stranger Things.
• 31:06
  Yes, that collaboration had actually been removed previously
• 31:09
  due to licensing changes. But its return reflects the
• 31:12
  overwhelming sustained demand for that legacy crossover
• 31:16
  content within the game's dedicated player base.
• 31:18
  It does. The signal from Stranger Things
• 31:20
  is so strong it can literally resurrect expired commercial
• 31:23
  relationships, and it can command new and likely hired
• 31:26
  licensing fees due to its confirmed cultural weight.
• 31:29
  That's a direct, quantifiable measure of a sustained cultural
• 31:33
  signal. We're also seeing IP meet niche
• 31:35
  collectibles and commerce in interesting ways.
• 31:38
  MGA Entertainment Mini Verse partnered with Taco Bell,
• 31:41
  releasing miniature DIY kits replicating menu items focusing
• 31:46
  on craft and display collectibles.
• 31:47
  This taps into micro monetization and nostalgia,
• 31:50
  doesn't it? It does.
• 31:51
  It's not about mass consumption. It's about appealing to the
• 31:54
  highly engaged collector segment through a unique blend of craft,
• 31:58
  culture and brand nostalgia. And it's distributed
• 32:01
  strategically through retail and digital early drops to maintain
• 32:04
  excitement. And Hasbro's Transformers is
• 32:06
  tapping into a different niche with the NFL.
• 32:08
  Producing team branded collectible figures that combine
• 32:11
  transformer designs with NFL colorways and logos.
• 32:15
  Aimed directly at collectors and specialty retailers.
• 32:17
  It shows a strategic decision to monetize specific, highly
• 32:21
  engaged fan segments who overlap 2 separate powerful fan bases.
• 32:26
  It confirms that the strength of an IP allows it to be leveraged
• 32:29
  effectively even in highly specific specialized markets.
• 32:32
  And finally, we see IP meeting Fashion and Sports Authority on
• 32:36
  a global stage. SKIMS released an official
• 32:39
  apparel collection for Team USA ahead of the 2026 Winter
• 32:43
  Olympics. Continuing their multi year
• 32:45
  relationship, this covers loungewear, intimates and
• 32:48
  adaptive styles designed for off field and ceremonial use.
• 32:51
  So this partnership is leveraging the cultural
• 32:53
  authority of a fashion. Brand with the institutional
• 32:56
  authority of global sports positioning the IP for maximum
• 33:00
  visibility during a massive cultural event.
• 33:03
  And the digital landscape is being shaped by major sports IP
• 33:06
  as well. TikTok has been named an
• 33:07
  official digital content partner for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
• 33:12
  Which means TikTok will be providing short form highlights,
• 33:14
  creator integrations and behind the scenes content natively on
• 33:18
  their platform. Which reflects FIFA's
• 33:20
  increasingly sophisticated strategy.
• 33:22
  To distribute content natively across social platforms.
• 33:25
  Acknowledging that sustained engagement often happens outside
• 33:28
  of the traditional broadcast window, all these examples prove
• 33:31
  one thing. The moment a franchise creates a
• 33:33
  sustained signal, it becomes commercially viable and highly
• 33:37
  valuable across every possible adjacent industry, maximizing
• 33:42
  its total market footprint. What an extensive and detailed
• 33:45
  look into the new rules of entertainment.
• 33:47
  I mean, we have tracked attention from the box office
• 33:50
  gravitational anchor all the way through specialized programmatic
• 33:54
  collectibles. To summarize the key takeaways,
• 33:57
  the entertainment landscape is now defined by compression and
• 34:00
  momentum carryover, right? That cultural signal is not
• 34:03
  resetting at the end of the calendar year, it is persistent.
• 34:06
  And marketing success is fundamentally shifting.
• 34:09
  It's moving toward patience, precision, and scaled audience
• 34:12
  participation, as we saw so vividly with the coded countdown
• 34:15
  of Avengers Doomsday. Franchise success fundamentally
• 34:19
  redistributes attention not just into sequels, but into talent,
• 34:23
  music, and adjacent titles. That Halo effect is now a
• 34:27
  crucial measurable metric for total ecosystem success.
• 34:30
  And on social platforms, authority is demanding
• 34:32
  engagement quality and platform specific fit overriding the
• 34:36
  superficial value of raw follower scale.
• 34:38
  Which is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
• 34:41
  And finally, studio strategy is prioritizing clarity and
• 34:44
  control. They're casting for emotional
• 34:47
  and musical credibility, as we saw with Tangled, and using
• 34:51
  rapid sequels like The House Made Secret to control and
• 34:54
  sustain momentum rather than chasing it later.
• 34:57
  So let's connect this back to you, the listener.
• 34:59
  When you look at the content you create, or even just the content
• 35:02
  you consume, are you seeing those rapid, isolated spikes
• 35:06
  that were so common just five years ago?
• 35:08
  Or are you now seeing a sustained continuous signal
• 35:12
  built for long term engagement? It's a really important
• 35:15
  question. If you are a creator, this data
• 35:17
  means you need to re evaluate what true engagement looks like.
• 35:20
  If you're a marketer, this means focusing your energy on the
• 35:23
  platform where your quality resonates, even if the raw scale
• 35:27
  is lower elsewhere. Because the new goal of the
• 35:29
  industry is fundamentally to keep you perpetually engaged
• 35:32
  within the gravitational pull of their universes.
• 35:34
  The walls between consumption, windows, theatrical, streaming,
• 35:37
  gaming, music, They're collapsing because attention is
• 35:40
  traveling freely between them. If the new game is perpetual
• 35:43
  engagement, then every single studio choice, from casting to
• 35:47
  marketing, becomes a calculated step toward perpetual capture.
• 35:50
  Which brings us to our final thought.
• 35:52
  Freedom all over. If the most successful talent
• 35:55
  and IP are being defined by engagement, quality and their
• 35:58
  ability to sustain a signal within an existing, highly
• 36:01
  structured franchise universe, what long term impact will this
• 36:05
  pervasive pressure to be sticky have on the creation of truly
• 36:09
  novel or unconventional content that doesn't immediately fit
• 36:12
  into a pre-existing structure? Will the need for a sustained
• 36:16
  signal ultimately stifle the ability of the industry to take
• 36:19
  a risk on something completely and totally original?