Film & TV Briefing: Friday 24 July 2026
Welcome to this week’s round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past week.
If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
In the news
EU approves Paramount’s £80 billion Warner Bros takeover with conditions (The Guardian)
BAFTA allows films made with AI to win awards (Deadline)
‘The Odyssey’ enjoys $124 million opening weekend at box office (The Hollywood Reporter)
Paramount seeks hearing as US judge mulls preliminary injunction (Deadline)
Venice Film Festival reveals line-up for 2026 (IndieWire)
Disney cuts hundreds of jobs including at Pixar and National Geographic (Broadcast)
BBC considers blocking iPlayer for viewers who do not pay licence fee (Deadline)
Netflix’s top 100 shows account for fifth of all views, data shows (The Hollywood Reporter)
Sony Pictures eyes Ridley Scott’s ‘Treasure Island’ (Deadline)
Film Finances and Media Guarantors to merge and create global completion bond firm (Deadline)
Elon Musk vows to make “accurate” version of ‘The Odyssey’ using AI (The Hollywood Reporter)
YouTube enjoys double-digit growth in advertising revenue (Deadline)
France’s film board to reduce funding for productions that fall short on gender equality (Variety)
Features and commentary
Why Britain’s Culture Secretary could be set to make waves across Atlantic (Deadline)
What completion bond merger means for indie films (IndieWire)
Industry announcements
Broadcasters and production companies back work-life guidelines for freelancers (Broadcast)
BFI announces new director of Filmmaking Funds (Screen Daily)
Legal updates
Judge orders Donald Trump to hand over financial records in BBC defamation case (BBC)
Rebel Wilson wins defamation case brought against her by co-star (BBC)
