By Jeremy Fuster

A lot of the conversation at CinemaCon 2025 has been about trying to find the elusive answer to the question of how to get audiences back in theaters for films that aren’t franchises and horror…the sort of offerings that made up the vast majority of Universal’s CinemaCon presentation on Wednesday afternoon.

The presentation, which kicked off with an elegant, 50-piece live orchestra playing iconic Universal film scores and showcased everything from “Wicked: For Good” to “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” was a notable departure from Warner Bros.’ focus on risky original titles and Lionsgate’s attempts to strike a balance on expanding their franchises and offering some low budget originality. Universal’s message was about stability, offering titles that audiences know and which will likely provide reliable box office while the industry as a whole tries to figure out how to effectively bring variety back to the big screen in a way that the masses will buy tickets for.

By Sean Burch

Amazon is making a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. The bid comes as ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, is fast approaching the April 5 deadline to sell its U.S. business or face being banned.

Interestingly, The Times reported “various parties” involved “do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously.” That stands out, considering Amazon is the fourth biggest company in the world, with a market cap of more than $2 trillion.

By Loree Seitz

Netflix spent its first decade as a TV producer establishing itself as something different from what was on linear networks and cable. The service gained acclaim with prestige, star-studded shows like “House of Cards” and “The Crown,” and when it came to comedy, even the streamer’s “lighter fare,” like “Orange Is the New Black,” had an air of prestige — hourlong, unfiltered and wildly emotional.

Now, having asserted its dominance in not just the streaming space but TV as a whole, Netflix is finally hitting its stride with something else entirely: feel-good comedies.