Film & TV Briefing: Friday 3 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
Huge second week keeps ‘Toy Story 5’ top of UK and Ireland box office (Screendaily)
Paramount to quit Universal UIP venture as part of EU approval for merger (Variety)
POTUS made $10.7 million from Hollywood in 2025 (Hollywood Reporter)
'Michael' movie is highest-grossing biopic ever (BBC)
US satellite distributor Dish Network files for bankruptcy protection (Deadline)
Film archivists hope to finish Orson Welles' 'Don Quixote' thanks to collaborator blessing (Guardian)
No upfront influencer screenings for Nolan's 'The Odyssey' (Indiewire)
Increased Nordic footprint for StudioCanal from bigger Sam Productions stake (Episode)
Paramount secures linear TV licensing deal for 'Harry Potter' and ‘Fantastic Beasts’ movies (Hollywood Reporter)
Cap French content investment rules, says Netflix (Variety)
Videoland inks €142m deal to acquire Viaplay’s Dutch operations (Broadcast)
BFI issues statement on National Lottery funding in face of UK Government’s consultation (BFI)
Canada joins 2027 Eurovision Song Contest (BBC)
Comcast spin off NBCUniversal and Sky as separate businesses (Guardian)
YouTube and NBCUniversal launch Peacock ad-free tier (Deadline)
Authentic Brands acquires ‘Care Bears’ IP (Variety)
Getty Images and Shutterstock $3.7 Billion merger abandoned (Hollywood Reporter)
US Director Guild ratifies deal with studios and streamers (IMDB)
Features and commentary
A24 studio addresses audience concerns on DeepMind collaboration (Wired)
How New York's film and TV production bounced back in 2026 (Indiewire)
Industry announcements
BFI board welcomes six new governors (BFI)
Legal updates
UK Government set to intervene on Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger (Deadline)
Blake Lively files for $8m legal bill in Justin Baldoni action (Guardian)
