Film & TV Briefing: Friday 8 May 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
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ debuts at number one at the UK and Irish Box Office (Guardian)
Trailer for ‘The Odyssey’ draws criticism over accents and contemporary language (The Independent)
Agreement reached as SAG-AFTRA and studios secure new deal (Deadline)
Publisher Hachette strikes novel adaptation pact with StudioCanal (Broadcast)
Pathe and Merit France launch English-language production company with Vendome Pictures (ScreenDaily)
Amazon owns biggest streamer in India following Prime Video and Amazon MX Player merger (Deadline)
Line up announced for BBC's ‘Celebrity Traitors’ 2026 (BBC)
Las Vegas Sphere screening of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ sells near 3million tickets (Deadline)
Bectu letter to DCMS on Paramount-Warner Bros. Discover merger (Bectu)
RTS London Convention 2026 announces first speakers (Royal Television Society)
CIISA, Bectu and Spotlight sign letter to UK government demanding on-set injury response (ScreenDaily)
AI actor platform Twinnin targets $3m in seed funding round (Deadline)
ITV announces return of Disabled Writers in Development programme (Televisual)
Literary scouting subscription for producers Bo-sco launches in UK (Deadline)
Sky renews ‘Saturday Night Live UK’ for second season (ScreenDaily)
Features and commentary
EY reports 34% of UK streaming customers to cancel a streaming service in 2026 (Broadcast)
When Oscars go missing (BBC)
Scripted financing takes longer to recoup - industry feels the squeeze (Broadcast)
Industry announcements
£1million allocated to UK independent film companies by DCMS UK Global Screen Fund (BFI)
Legal updates
Lively and Baldoni reach settlement in ‘It Ends With Us’ case (Hollywood Reporter)
‘Avatar' director James Cameron sued by indigenous actor for using facial features (Guardian)
