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    Google’s Android apps are coming in 3D via Xreal as competition with Apple’s Vision Pro heats up

    Games and movies on Google Play Store apps can now be viewed in three dimensions via a new Android mobile device from augmented reality glasses maker Xreal, the Alibaba-backed startup said Tuesday.
    “We’re hoping this one can finally became the hero product that people gonna really like,” Chi Xu, founder and CEO of Xreal, told CNBC in an interview.
    The Beam Pro comes with two cameras that can capture pictures and videos for three-dimensional viewing in AR glasses.

    Xreal, an augmented reality glasses maker, has launched a connected Beam Pro mobile device that allows users to capture spatial video and 3D images.

    BEIJING — Games and movies on Google Play Store apps can now be viewed in three dimensions via a new Android mobile device from augmented reality glasses maker Xreal, the Alibaba-backed startup said Tuesday.
    The Beam Pro, the company’s latest product, is a smartphone-like device that can be used with AR glasses as a virtual mouse, and links the headset to Google Play Store apps including those for gaming, movie streaming and social media.

    Augmented reality imposes digital images over the real world, giving someone wearing AR glasses the impression of being in a 3D virtual space.
    Xreal’s latest product launch is an indication of how Alphabet is keeping afoot in the headset space after retiring Google Glass, even as Apple launched its widely anticipated VR offering this year.
    Apple’s Vision Pro allows users to see apps and a digitally captured version of the real world using what the company calls spatial computing technology.
    Xreal sells a range of AR glasses, some as light as 72 grams (2.5 ounces), that can display the screen of a connected laptop, smartphone or gaming console. The Beam Pro, which connects to the glasses via a cord, is set to begin U.S. deliveries by August and has a starting price of $199.
    “We’re hoping this one can finally became the hero product that people gonna really like,” Chi Xu, founder and CEO of Xreal, told CNBC in an interview.

    “I think this actually [is] gonna be the new category standard,” he said, adding some smartphone makers might “actually want to go this route.”
    Xu said part of the challenge for wider AR glasses adoption has been the lack of content, and the inability to incorporate user-generated images.
    That’s starting to change this year. The Beam Pro has two cameras that can capture pictures and videos for three-dimensional viewing in AR glasses, similar to Apple Vision Pro’s advertised ability to capture “3D spatial photos and videos.”
    Xreal said the Beam Pro uses Nvidia CloudXR technology for image rendering and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon spatial computing platform. The startup said it is also collaborating with Amazon Web Services to explore ways for improving the product’s processing power and functions.
    According to IDC Research, Xreal had the largest market share in global AR headsets in 2023.
    “Companies such as XREAL and Rokid demonstrated that there is an audience for AR glasses to consume gaming and multimedia content without spending thousands of dollars, and this will no doubt attract the attention of other companies seeking to do the same,” Ramon T. Llamas, research director with IDC’s Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality team, said in a report in April.
    A pair of Xreal AR glasses costs around $200 to $400, depending on the model and sales promotion.
    That means a set of Xreal AR glasses and Beam Pro costs significantly less than $1,000. Apple charges $3,500 for its Vision Pro.

    Different glasses by user

    Xu said Xreal has sold “really close to 400,000” AR glasses since the company launched in 2017. He said average weekly usage is about 4 hours, with the top 15% exceeding 10 hours a week.
    The company said in January it had shipped 350,000 AR glasses. Around the same time, Xreal said it received a $60 million injection that valued the startup at more than $1 billion.

    I think this one [is going to] bring the cloud gaming to the next level.

    founder and CEO, Xreal

    Xu said he expects tech glasses will evolve in three directions at the same time, ranging from a heavier and pricier virtual reality headset to a light-weight frame that can be worn all the time.
    “Unfortunately, we won’t see the kind of iPhone moment where everybody is converging to just one point,” he said, noting the variety of headset experiences. “I believe different people find different kind of flavor and combination there. But all of them haven’t taken off yet.”
    It’s unclear how many Vision Pros Apple has sold since it launched in the U.S. earlier this year. The headset is due to launch outside the U.S. on June 28, beginning in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
    The Beam Pro launched in China in late May. As of June 12, it had reached just under 5,000 orders, Xu said, adding he hoped that by the end of a mid-June promotional period, orders would reach about 10,000.

    Cloud gaming potential

    By late August or early September, Xu expects the Xreal Beam Pro will be able to use 5G cellular networks in addition to Wifi.
    Xu said 5G support creates new opportunities for the development of cloud gaming, and that Xreal is already in talks with major global cloud gaming companies.
    “I think this one [is going to] bring the cloud gaming to the next level because, honestly, if you only play cloud gaming on a cell phone, the size of the screen didn’t make that much sense, but [when] you can put AR glasses there, you have a massive screen,” Xu said.
    Cloud gaming relies on remote servers and an internet connection to offer people a smooth gaming experience with just a small file download.
    As for non-gaming applications, Xu said Xreal’s strategy is to build on people’s existing technological habits using smartphones and changing that slowly into a 3D space.
    “We’re not trying to change people’s way of using technology dramatically, right?” he said. “We’re trying to take small steps and make that faster.” More

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    FDA approves Merck vaccine designed to protect adults from bacteria that can cause pneumonia, serious infections

    The Food and Drug Administration approved Merck’s vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia.
    An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot, called Capvaxive
    Some analysts view the jab as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda.

    Arrows pointing outwards

    Merck’s new pneumococcal vaccine.
    Courtesy: Merck

    The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck’s new vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and a lung infection called pneumonia, the drugmaker said.
    Merck’s shot, called Capvaxive, specifically protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease that can spread to other parts of the body and lead to pneumonia. It’s the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed specifically for adults and aims to provide broader protection than the available shots on the market, according to the drugmaker.

    Healthy adults can suffer from pneumococcal disease. But older patients and those with chronic or immunocompromising health conditions are at increased risk for the illness, especially the more serious or so-called “invasive” form. 
    Invasive pneumococcal disease can lead to meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation in the area surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and an infection in the bloodstream called bacteremia. 
    “If you have chronic lung disease, even asthma, you have a higher risk of getting sick with pneumococcal disease, and then being in the hospital, losing out on work,” Heather Platt, Merck’s product development team lead for the newly cleared vaccine, told CNBC in an interview. “Those are things that have a real impact on adults and children, their quality of life.”
    Around 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year, Platt said. Death from the more serious form of the disease is highest among adults 50 and above, Merck said in a release in December.
    Even after the FDA approval, the company’s single-dose vaccine won’t reach patients just yet. An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on June 27 to discuss who should be eligible for the shot.

    Platt said Merck will support the committee’s decision and is ready to supply the vaccine by late summer. 

    Merck’s competitive edge

    Some analysts view Capvaxive as a key growth driver for Merck as it prepares to offset losses from its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which will lose exclusivity in the U.S. in 2028. 
    The market for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is currently around $7 billion and could grow to be worth more than $10 billion over the next several years, according to a November note from Cantor Fitzgerald analysts. 
    Merck’s newly approved shot could boost its competitive edge in that space, which includes drugmaker Pfizer. Merck currently markets two pneumococcal shots, but neither is specifically designed for adults. For example, the company’s existing shot Vaxneuvance is approved in the U.S. for patients 6 weeks of age and older.
    Pfizer’s single-dose pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar 20, is the current leader in the market for adults. But Merck expects its new shot to capture the majority of market share among adults, Platt said. 
    “We do expect there to be rapid uptake of” Capvaxive, she said, adding that the company is confident that data on the shot will “really resonate” with clinicians and policymakers. 
    Merck’s pneumococcal vaccine protects against eight strains of the bacteria that are not included in any other approved shot for the disease. Those eight strains account for roughly 30% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in patients 65 and above, according to a release from Merck, citing CDC data from 2018 to 2021. 
    The 21 strains included in Merck’s shot account for roughly 85% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in adults 65 and above, Merck, citing the CDC data. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s Prevnar targets strains that only account for roughly 51% of cases in that age group, based on the same CDC data. 
    The FDA’s approval is partly based on Merck’s late-stage trial called STRIDE-3 that pitted the vaccine against Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 in adults 18 and up who had not previously received a pneumococcal vaccine.
    Correction: This story has been updated to reflect 150,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia each year. More

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    GameStop closes more than 12% lower after annual meeting fails to offer details on firm’s strategy

    The meme stock closed lower by about 12%, as GameStop’s rescheduled shareholder event wrapped up with no detailed remarks about the company’s strategies.
    No shareholders got to ask their questions during the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes.
    In brief introductory remarks, CEO Ryan Cohen reiterated the company’s plans to focus on cutting costs and boosting profits and intimated that more store closures could be on the horizon.

    Traders work at the post where GameStop is traded on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 12, 2024. 
    Brendan McDermid | Reuters

    GameStop shares slid on Monday after the company’s highly anticipated annual meeting failed to offer any concrete updates on the video game retailer’s future plans.
    The meme stock ended the session lower by 12.1%, as the company’s rescheduled shareholder event wrapped up with no detailed remarks about its strategies. No shareholders got to ask their questions during the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes. Shares were down as much as 17% at $23.79.

    Stock chart icon

    In brief introductory remarks, CEO Ryan Cohen reiterated the company’s plans to focus on cutting costs and boosting profits and intimated that more store closures could be on the horizon.
    “Revenues without profits and prospects of future cash flows are of no value to shareholders. This means a smaller network of stores with an expanded assortment of higher value items that fit into our trade-in model,” he said.
    Cohen didn’t provide more specifics on the company’s future growth strategies. He spoke about the importance of having a “strong balance sheet” and called it a “strategic advantage” — especially in times of economic uncertainty. As of May 4, GameStop had about $1 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet.
    “While the future is always uncertain, the last decade’s monetary and fiscal policies both within the U.S. and globally are historic anomalies. Exiting from an ultra-low interest rate environment is likely to have unforeseen reverberating effects across the economy, as seen with inflation hitting 40-year highs in 2022,” Cohen said.
    “Under the current interest rates, an investment made in today’s economic climate must bear a higher return threshold,” he added. “As my father always said, actions speak louder than words. We are focused on building shareholder value over the long term. We are not here to make promises or hype things up, we’re here to work.”

    The event was disrupted by computer problems and postponed on Thursday as servers crashed due to overwhelming interest in the stream.
    GameStop came into the limelight again as Reddit ringleader Roaring Kitty, whose legal name is Keith Gill, stirred up another trading frenzy. Gill gained notoriety in the online trading realm in 2021 for touting his large positions in GameStop, both in common shares and risky options. Since coming back on the scene, his position has topped 9 million shares in GameStop after exiting a gigantic call option position before expiration.
    The stock has gained seven out of the past eight weeks after more than doubling in May. Year to date, it’s up about 44%.
    GameStop is still struggling with a transition to online gaming and away from brick-and-mortar video game purchases, with investors banking on Cohen to eventually reinvent the company.
    The retailer recently raised more than $2 billion in an at-the-market equity sale as the video game company took advantage of the revived meme rally. GameStop said it intends to use the money for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and investments. More

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    How Eli Lilly is managing soaring demand for GLP-1s, according to outgoing CFO Anat Ashkenazi

    Watch CNBC’s Changemakers Special Program ON DEMAND

    Eli Lilly has more work it wants to do with the hard-won success from its weight loss and diabetes drugs, Zepbound and Mounjaro, outgoing CFO Anat Ashkenazi told CNBC.
    The company is working to ramp up manufacturing, expand patient access to the treatments and change long-held misconceptions about obesity.
    She will step in as the new chief financial officer of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, on July 31.

    A pharmacist holds boxs of Eli Lilly & Co. Mounjaro brand tirzepatide medication arranged at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, US, on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. 
    George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Skyrocketing demand for a class of weight loss and diabetes treatments has lifted Eli Lilly to new heights over the last year. But the drugmaker has much more work it wants to do with that hard-won success, outgoing Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi told CNBC. 
    Ashkenazi, who will step in as the new CFO of Alphabet on July 31, has been key to managing the windfall in revenue and wave of investor optimism from Eli Lilly’s diabetes injection Mounjaro and recently launched obesity drug Zepbound. Ashkenazi took over as CFO at Eli Lilly in 2021 after roughly two decades with the pharmaceutical giant. She was included on CNBC’s inaugural Changemakers list earlier this year.

    “You have to be a really good student of the business and understand it inside and out and understand the industry,” she told CNBC in an interview before her departure announcement. “Only when we understand the full system, can we navigate it well so that we bring value to it…That’s my role as CFO.”
    Her tenure hasn’t come without challenges: Eli Lilly and rival Novo Nordisk have both struggled to manufacture enough supply of their treatments to meet unprecedented demand, causing nationwide shortages of those drugs. 
    Their weekly injections are part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, which mimic certain hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar. Some analysts expect the market for those drugs to be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade. 
    Eli Lilly’s boom in revenue has allowed the company to invest heavily to scale up manufacturing, which will eventually get more medicine into patients’ hands, Ashkenazi said. 
    “As we start selling product and we get the revenue in and cash flow associated with that sale,” the company wants to “funnel that cash flow back to the business to invest in those manufacturing facilities,” she said. 

    Eli Lilly does not expect to match the pace of demand this year and maybe not even in 2025, Ashkenazi said at a conference in March. But the pharmaceutical giant has made encouraging progress so far. 

    An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is pictured in Branchburg, New Jersey, on March 5, 2021.
    Mike Segar | Reuters

    Ashkenazi said Eli Lilly has several manufacturing sites either under construction or “ramping up,” including two locations in North Carolina, two in Indiana, one in Ireland and one in Germany, along with a seventh site the company recently acquired from Nexus Pharmaceuticals. Eli Lilly late last month also said it would invest another $5.3 billion in its manufacturing plant in Lebanon, Indiana. 
    Those facilities add to the company’s “existing, very large” manufacturing footprint across the U.S. and Europe, Ashkenazi said. Since 2020, Eli Lilly has spent more than $18 billion to build, expand and purchase manufacturing plants in those regions, the company said in May.
    Ashkenazi noted that Eli Lilly is also tackling another barrier to patient access: limited insurance coverage for weight loss drugs in the U.S. 
    Some employers and other health plans are still reluctant to cover GLP-1s for weight loss due to their hefty price tags, which they say could significantly strain their budgets. Insurers also have other questions, such as how long patients actually stay on the treatments. 
    Still, Ashkenazi said coverage of Zepbound by U.S. commercial insurers is improving, with about 67% commercial coverage as of April 1. Eli Lilly is working to build that access for the remainder of the patients, she noted. 
    “It’s not enough to have a highly efficacious, safe drug that can truly change people’s healthcare – but also make it accessible,” Ashkenazi said. 
    She also hopes that patients enrolled in the federal Medicare program will eventually see increased coverage for weight loss drugs as Eli Lilly and other drugmakers demonstrate their ability to treat a wide range of obesity-related conditions. 
    Eli Lilly is studying tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro, in patients with obesity and fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease and heart failure, among other health conditions. 
    Under new guidance issued in March, Medicare Part D plans can cover obesity treatments that receive regulatory approval for an additional health benefit. Medicare prescription drug plans administered by private insurers, known as Part D, currently cannot cover those drugs for weight loss alone.
    A bigger issue at hand is a long-held misconception that obesity is a “lifestyle choice” rather than a chronic disease, according to Ashkenazi.
    Eli Lilly is trying to change that. 
    “Our goal is to ensure that society, the health-care system and patients themselves actually view this and understand that it is a chronic disease…and therefore should be treated as such,” Ashkenazi said.  More

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    Activist Starboard amasses Autodesk stake, weighs suit over delayed probe disclosure

    Activist Starboard Value has a $500 million stake in software maker Autodesk and is weighing legal action over the company’s delayed disclosure of an internal investigation into accounting malfeasance.
    Autodesk moved its chief financial officer to a new role after an internal probe found that executives reversed a shift in billing structure to inflate the company’s free cash flow and operating margin numbers.
    Those two metrics determine executive pay and measure company success.
    Starboard is concerned that Autodesk delayed disclosing an internal probe until shortly after the nominating deadline for the company’s board, which would potentially limit a shareholder’s ability to nominate its own candidates in a contested fight.

    Jeffrey Smith, CEO and chief investment officer at Starboard Value LP.
    David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Starboard Value, the activist fund run by Jeff Smith, has taken a sizable stake in graphics design firm Autodesk and has spoken with the company’s board in recent weeks over several serious concerns involving its disclosures around an internal investigation that led to the ouster of its chief financial officer.
    Starboard’s stake is valued at roughly $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The activist, which has a long track record of investing in the technology sector, is particularly concerned about the timing of Autodesk’s disclosure of an internal investigation. That investigation revealed that executives misled investors about the company’s free cash flow metrics and operating margins, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential information freely.

    After the probe results came out, Autodesk’s then-CFO Deborah Clifford was ousted from her role and moved to a different executive role within Autodesk. The probe found that executives manipulated reporting tied to the company’s contract billing structure, as Autodesk shifted back to upfront payments from annualized payments, to improve those metrics.
    Autodesk first disclosed in April that it had begun an internal investigation into disclosure issues around those metrics, almost a month after first beginning the investigation and informing the Securities and Exchange Commission about the probe into its financial reports. Autodesk shares slid 20% over the next few weeks. The company’s market cap now sits slightly below $50 billion.
    The delayed disclosure came a little more than a week after the deadline to nominate directors closed. The tight window and timing of the disclosure raised significant concerns inside Starboard, the people said, that Autodesk’s board deliberately chose not to inform shareholders ahead of its annual meeting. Such a delay would potentially limit a shareholder’s ability to nominate its own candidates in a contested fight.
    Starboard is weighing legal action in the Delaware Court of Chancery to compel the reopening of Autodesk’s nominating window and the delay of Autodesk’s annual meeting, the people said. Autodesk’s shareholder meeting is currently scheduled for July 16.
    The activist also believes that the company can drive actual margin improvement and improve investor communications to help bolster Autodesk’s stock, the people said.

    Starboard has built stakes in other major technology companies, including Marc Benioff’s Salesforce and Splunk, which was sold to Cisco in 2023 for $28 billion.
    News of Starboard’s stake and plans was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
    Autodesk has faced activist scrutiny before. In 2016, it settled with two activist investors at Sachem Head Capital Management and Eminence Capital to stave off a proxy contest.
    Autodesk disclosed earlier this year that it is facing probes from the Justice Department and SEC.
    An Autodesk spokesperson said the company welcomed “constructive input” from shareholders.
    “We are confident in our strategic direction, significant margin opportunity, and our corporate governance,” the spokesperson said.

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    Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trims its stake in Chinese EV maker BYD to 6.9%

    Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4, 2024.

    Berkshire Hathaway, an early investor in BYD thanks to the late Charlie Munger, continued to trim its massive stake in China’s biggest electric vehicle maker.
    Warren Buffett’s conglomerate has sold an additional 1.3 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD for $39.8 million, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The sale reduced Berkshire’s holding to 6.9%, from 7%.

    The conglomerate first bought about 225 million shares of Shenzhen-based BYD in 2008 for about $230 million. The bet turned out to be extremely lucrative as the EV market saw explosive growth in China and elsewhere.

    Arrows pointing outwards

    Berkshire had offloaded half its holding through sales in 2022 and 2023 after BYD skyrocketed nearly 600% to a record high in April 2022 from the start of 2008.
    Hong Kong’s rules only require a filing when a stake percentage crosses a whole number, so if Berkshire’s stake falls below 6%, there will be another filing.
    Munger’s influence
    Founded by Wang Chuanfu, BYD started making batteries for mobile phones back in the 1990s. By 2003, the company had pivoted to autos and has since become the top car brand in China, as well as a major producer of EV batteries.
    In the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD dethroned Tesla as the world’s top EV maker, selling more battery-powered vehicles than its U.S. rival.
    Buffett said in 2010 that Munger, the late vice chairman of Berkshire, “deserves 100 percent of the credit for BYD.” Munger was introduced to BYD by his friend Li Lu, founder of Seattle-based asset manager Himalaya Capital.

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    ‘Inside Out 2’ hits $155 million domestic debut, second-highest animation opening ever

    Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” debuted with an estimated $155 million domestically, the second-highest theatrical opening of an animated film.
    It is the first film since Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” to top $100 million during its debut.
    The film is expected to haul in $295 million globally for the weekend.

    In Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust meet new emotions.
    Disney | Pixar

    Disney and Pixar brought a big dose of joy to the box office this weekend.
    “Inside Out 2” debuted with an estimated $155 million domestically, the second-highest theatrical opening of an animated film and the first film since Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” to top $100 million during its debut.

    Of note, Disney does not consider its 2019 live-action remake of “The Lion King,” which generated $191.7 million during its debut, an animation film.
    “Inside Out 2” is expected to haul in $295 million globally for the weekend.
    “Let’s issue a collective ‘welcome back’ to Disney, Pixar, and the summer box office,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.”
    Both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation struggled to regain a foothold at the box office after pandemic restrictions lessened and audiences returned to theaters. Disney had opted to debut a handful of animated features directly on Disney+ and so parents were trained to seek out new Disney titles on streaming, not in theaters, even when they did return to the big screen.
    Compounding Disney’s woes, many audience members began to feel that the company’s content had grown overly existential and too concerned with social issues beyond the reach of children.

    “Many narratives have been written about the two studios and moviegoing in recent times, so this powerful debut by ‘Inside Out 2’ is a breath of fresh air,” Robbins said.
    The film is the fifth Pixar feature to surpass $100 million during its debut in North America and the second-biggest opening weekend ticket seller for the studio just behind 2018’s “The Incredibles 2,” which tallied $182.6 million. Around 12 million patrons flocked to cinemas to see the flick, according to data from EntTelligence.
    “This is clearly a big win for theaters,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It’s an even bigger win for Pixar.”
    The theatrical industry has struggled this year with fewer titles, as production shutdowns from the pandemic were exacerbated by a dual labor strike that closed movie sets for nearly five months last year. The result has been a 26% decline in ticket sales compared to 2023 and a 42% drop from 2019 levels, according to data from Comscore. Heading into this weekend, the domestic box office stood at $2.8 billion.
    While there have been some standout performances from films like Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part Two,” Warner Bros. and Toho’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” and Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4,” the 2024 box office has struggled to hit a consistent pace of releases and ticket sales.
    Missing from this year’s early summer slate for the first time since 2009 was a Marvel Cinematic Universe title. Typically, these films average $100 million to $200 million openings, with 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” hitting a record $357.1 million. Instead, this year, Universal’s “The Fall Guy” opened to $28 million.
    Fewer films and fewer blockbusters could push the summer box office down as much as $800 million compared with 2023, according to Comscore’s Dergarabedian, and have ripple effects for the whole year. After all, the key summer period, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, typically accounts for 40% of the total annual domestic box office.
    “Inside Out 2” is a bright spot for the industry. It boasts the biggest domestic debut of 2024, surpassing “Dune: Part Two” and its $82.5 million in opening weekend ticket sales.
    “Does this performance wipe away all concerns of evolving consumer behavior? Of course not, but it should stay the hand of those thinking Disney or Pixar had permanently lost their commercial gravitas after an overly aggressive streaming strategy and undercooked films which together eroded some of their audiences in the past few years,” Robbins said.
    And some heavy hitters are coming to close out the summer and finish up the year.
    “Deadpool and Wolverine,” Marvel’s first R-rated feature, is due in theaters in July and is expected to deliver a strong opening weekend as well as a steady stream of ticket sales throughout its run.
    Then “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” arrives in early September, “Joker: Folie a Deux” hits in October alongside “Venom: The Last Dance,” and November sees “Gladiator II,” “Moana 2” and “Wicked.” Additionally, December will have “Kraven the Hunter,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3″ and “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

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    Why house prices are surging once again

    Is a fresh housing boom under way? In April a house-price index for the world, excluding China, rose by more than 3% year on year (see chart 1). American house prices are 6.5% higher than a year ago, Australian ones are up by 5% and Portuguese ones are soaring. In other countries, the market looks surprisingly strong given years of high interest rates (see chart 2).Chart: The Economist More