Variety

“Squid Game��� Season 2 finally has a premiere date at Netflix, with the streamer also announcing that the hit Korean drama has been renewed for a third and final season.⁠ ⁠ Season 2 will drop on Dec. 26, while the third season will premiere in 2025. The premiere date and final season announcement were made via a video.⁠ ⁠ Watch the video and get the details here: https://lnkd.in/g8KZJkxN

Lior Raz, the star and one of the series' creators of "Fauda" joined Variety Responsible Storytelling Presented by OneFamily. Go inside the event here: bit.ly/3So4Kk5 

EXCLUSIVE: The long-gestating reboot of “Battlestar Galactica” is no longer in development at Peacock.⁠ ⁠ The project was first announced back in 2019 ahead of Peacock’s official launch as part of the streamer’s initial slate of original programming. It was never formally ordered to series, though, and has been in development ever since. Exact story details never emerged, but the show was said to be set in the same continuity as the 2003 “Battlestar Galactica” series.⁠ ⁠ Get the details here: https://lnkd.in/gRBgHDpB

An anti-human trafficking operation at San Diego Comic-Con resulted in 14 people being arrested, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday. From July 25 to July 27, the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a human trafficking sting “aimed at recovering victims of sex trafficking and targeting sex buyers using the San Diego Comic-Con Convention to seek out potential victims,” according to a release from the California Department of Justice. Ten victims were recovered and offered services. Get the details here: https://lnkd.in/gPQ2R_gi

The entertainment industry has united in support of a bill to outlaw digital deepfakes and create the first-ever federal right to one’s voice and likeness. A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, introduced a revised version Wednesday of the No Fakes Act, which would make it illegal to create an AI replica of someone without their consent. Details here: https://bit.ly/4fujNCw

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is unquestionably the biggest tour in the history of popular music. One source close to the production said early that her average gross each night is $14 million. Others believe that is a highly conservative estimate, with a possible total that on at least some nights edges closer to $17 million. The numbers are fuzzy because Swift’s camp does not release grosses from her shows, unlike nearly every other artist at the stadium or arena level. Many industry experts believe the gross will approach or even surpass $2 billion. What is known for certain — even without a confirmation from Swift World — is that she broke the all-time tour-gross figure when she hit the $1 billion mark, whenever exactly that might have been. Read the full cover story here: https://lnkd.in/gt2tMKE5 

Venue owners for film exhibition are increasingly looking to content beyond films, such as the Olympics and other live sports, to generate incremental revenue.

Netflix’s new rom-com “Find Me Falling” and a resurgent “Hillbilly Elegy” led Luminate's streaming originals film chart for the July 19-25 period.⁠ ⁠ "Find Me Falling" took the top spot with 634.3 million minutes watched and about 8 million total views. The No. 2 spot was taken by "Hillbilly Elegy," the 2020 drama based on the memoir of JD Vance, Donald Trump's GOP running mate. The film generated 573.8 million minutes watched and 4.9 million views.⁠ ⁠ Read the full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/ggZC9bpP

Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” and Peacock’s “Love Island USA” topped the Luminate streaming originals TV series charts for the July 19-25 period.⁠ ⁠ The Season 6 debut of “Cobra Kai” delivered 1.1 billion minutes viewed in the show’s first full week of availability, following the July 18 premiere of the first half of its final season. The July 21 season finale of relationship reality show “Love Island” drove that show to rack up 1 billion minutes viewed, down only slightly from the previous week’s 1.1 billion minutes watched.⁠ Read the full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/ggZC9bpP

Sources say Marvel is plunking down $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” and “significantly more” for Downey to tackle uber-villain Doctor Doom in the two tentpoles. The Russos’ deal doesn’t include back-end compensation, but it does contain performance escalators that kick in at the $750 million and $1 billion thresholds. For Downey, who helped catapult Marvel into a money-printing machine thanks to his turn as Tony Stark in the first “Iron Man” film in 2008, his deal also is filled with perks that include private jet travel, dedicated security and a whole “trailer encampment” for the newly minted Oscar winner. Get the details here: https://bit.ly/46pimBc