Business

Netflix added 5.9 million subscribers in the quarter and forecast a similar gain next quarter.
The company hardly mentions its fledgling video game business at all in its shareholder note.
Netflix boosted its yearly free cash flow estimate to $5 billion.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 12: CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos attends Netflix’s FYSEE event for “Squid Game” at Raleigh Studios Hollywood on June 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)
Charley Gallay | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

The main takeaway from Netflix’s second quarter earnings is business is … good.
That’s right. A large media and entertainment company’s fundamental business is just fine.

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Netflix added 5.9 million subscribers in the quarter, a sign that its two primary 2023 initiatives — cracking down on password sharing and launching a cheaper $6.99 per month advertising tier — are bringing in new subscribers. Netflix added 1.2 million subscribers in the United States and Canada in the quarter — its largest regional quarterly gain since 2021.
This is not the story for the rest of the media industry. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have spent the year slashing content from its streaming services to avoid paying residuals and saving on licensing fees. Both companies have laid off thousands of employees over the past 12 months to boost free cash flow. Paramount Global and Comcast’s NBCUniversal both said 2023 will be the biggest annual loss ever for their streaming businesses.
Meanwhile, Netflix boosted its free cash flow estimate to $5 billion for the year. Previously, the company had estimated it would have $3.5 billion, but the actors and writers strikes will cut down on content spend. That means Netflix will actually have even more cash than it previously expected.
Next quarter, Netflix forecast subscriber gains will be about 6 million again. The company said revenue will accelerate in the second half of the year as it sees “the full benefits” of its password-sharing crackdown and steady growth in its ad-supported plan.

Back on track

Last year, Netflix’s valuation dropped by 60% as streaming subscriber growth came to a halt. The company spent ample time on earnings conference calls focusing and explaining its new video game business, introduced in the middle of 2021, to help start a new growth narrative.

This quarter’s shareholder letter barely even addresses video games.
Why? Because unlike the rest of the media industry, Netflix doesn’t need a new narrative. The old one still works. Streaming is growing. Cash piles are rising. Advertising has investors excited. Netflix has a steady pipeline of international content and a deep library to weather an extended writers and actors strike.
“The lack of references to video games in its shareholder’s letter suggests advertising is the shiny object that most commands the company’s focus,” said Ross Benes, an analyst at research firm Insider Intelligence.
Netflix shares dropped 5% after hours. That’s more a symptom of profit taking after Netflix’s big gains this year (up more than 62% as of Wednesday’s close) than anything to be angry about in its initial quarterly numbers.
After a precipitous fall last year, the company is back on track. And it didn’t even need to switch trains.
Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
– CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this article. More

Pfizer on Wednesday said its experimental vaccine targeting the potentially deadly bacterial disease Group B Streptococcus returned strong mid-stage clinical trial results.
The pharmaceutical company’s single-dose shot is administered to expectant mothers, who pass vaccine-induced antibodies to fetuses that may provide meaningful protection against the disease after they’re born. 
Pfizer is among several drugmakers racing to develop the world’s first shot targeting Group B strep disease, which is linked to nearly 150,000 infant deaths worldwide each year. 

Streptococcus agalactiae bacteria, responsible for vaginal and urinary tract infections and newborn infections including meningitis and septicemia. Optical microscopy view.
Cavallini James | BSIP | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Pfizer on Wednesday said its experimental vaccine targeting the potentially deadly bacterial disease Group B Streptococcus returned strong mid-stage clinical trial results, a promising step as the drug inches toward potential approval.
Pfizer is among several drugmakers racing to develop the world’s first shot targeting Group B strep disease, which is linked to nearly 150,000 infant deaths worldwide each year, especially in lower-income countries.

The Food and Drug Administration in September granted breakthrough therapy designation to Pfizer’s vaccine, which is intended to expedite the development and review of the shot. 
Pfizer’s single-dose shot generated antibodies that may provide infants with meaningful protection against the disease, according to the data released Wednesday from a phase two clinical trial.
The jab is administered to expectant mothers, who pass vaccine-induced antibodies to their fetuses. One of the company’s vaccines targeting respiratory syncytial virus also uses that maternal vaccination method. 
Pfizer’s encouraging phase two trial results provide hope that maternal vaccination against the disease, also known as GBS, could help prevent thousands of cases in babies. 
The results will also help the company plan its phase three clinical trials on the shot, which are typically required before the FDA approves a drug.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which supported the phase two trial, provided an additional $100 million grant to Pfizer last year that will fund late-stage trials and help facilitate the delivery of shots to lower-income countries following a potential approval.

GBS risk

GBS disease is caused by a common and usually harmless bacteria that many adults carry in their bodies.
But an expectant mother can pass that bacteria to a newborn during labor and delivery, which can cause severe infections during the baby’s first few weeks or months of life.  
About 1 out of every 4 women carries GBS bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
Infants with GBS infections can experience symptoms including fever and difficulty breathing.
Some infants can experience invasive GBS infections, which cause more serious complications such as pneumonia, infections in the bloodstream, and meningitis, or the inflammation of tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
There are 10 different GBS serotypes, meaning distinct variations of the bacteria that causes the disease. Pfizer’s vaccine targets six of the most prominent serotypes, which collectively account for 98% of GBS disease cases worldwide. 

Trial results and safety

Pfizer’s trial followed 360 healthy pregnant individuals in South Africa. The mothers were randomly assigned to receive a single shot at three different dosage levels, with or without a specific adjuvant, or a placebo. 
The trial found that Pfizer’s shot generated robust antibodies against the six GBS serotypes in mothers. Those antibodies were “efficiently transferred” to infants at ratios between 0.4 and 1.3, depending on the dose. 
That means some infants received only a fraction of antibodies from their mothers, while others received higher antibody levels than even what their mothers had. 
Pfizer said those antibody transfer levels are associated with a reduced risk of GBS disease. That conclusion was based on a parallel natural history conducted in South Africa.
The safety profile for both mothers and infants appeared to be similar between the vaccine and placebo groups, according to the trial results, suggesting that the shot was generally well tolerated during the phase two trial.
Reactions among mothers following vaccination were generally mild or moderate and short in duration. Between 2% to 8% of participants who received the shot reported fever, compared with 5% in the placebo group, according to the results. 

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Around 45% to 70% of pregnant individuals who received the vaccine experienced more adverse reactions such as headache and vomiting. But the placebo group wasn’t much different, with more than 60% of expectant mothers experiencing those adverse events. 
About 62% to 75% of infants in the vaccine group and 74% of those in the placebo group experienced adverse events, including upper respiratory tract infection. There were three infant deaths in the vaccine group and two in the placebo group.
The study authors determined that no adverse events or deaths among infants were related to the vaccine.
The results come as Pfizer braces for a continued decline in Covid-related sales this year. 
Pfizer also faces a patent cliff, or the loss of market exclusivity for several blockbuster drugs like cancer medicines Xtandi and Ibrance. That is expected to deal an additional blow to Pfizer annual revenues by 2030.
To counteract a sharp fall in sales, the company is shifting its focus toward a new drug pipeline and M&A.  More

United’s second-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts’ expectations.
Shares rose roughly 3% in extended trading following the report.
United executives will hold a call with analysts and media at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

A United Airlines airplane flies in front of the Empire State Building and One Vanderbilt in New York City as it comes in for a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, Dec. 3, 2021.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

United Airlines on Wednesday posted record quarterly earnings and forecast a strong third quarter due to an unrelenting travel boom, led by a return of international travel.
The airline lost some of its capacity during the second quarter because of flight disruptions at its Newark, New Jersey, hub. But its quarterly results and forecast still surpassed analysts’ estimates due to strong demand.

Shares rose roughly 3% in extended trading following the report.
United is the second U.S. carrier to report results for the recent quarter, echoing Delta Air Lines’ upbeat travel demand outlook. American Airlines reports earnings before the market opens Thursday.
United and other carriers have been expanding their international service to capitalize on strong bookings after a years-long pandemic slump. The airline’s revenue for international flights made up about 40% of its total sales but is growing faster than domestic sales.
Here’s what United reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, based on average estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

Adjusted earnings per share: $5.03 vs. an expected $4.03
Total revenue: $14.18 billion vs. an expected $13.91 billion

United reported net income of $1.08 billion or $3.24 per share, compared with $329 million, or $1 per share, during the same period last year. Adjusting for items, including a pilot bonus as part of a new preliminary labor deal, the company earned $1.67 billion, or $5.03 per share.

A 26% lower fuel bill helped boost United’s bottom line.
Meanwhile, revenue per available seat mile dropped 0.4% from a year earlier. Capacity was up 17.5% from the second quarter of 2022, a percentage point below what United planned to fly, before the Newark disruptions.
United’s CEO Scott Kirby earlier this month said the company will have to reduce flights at Newark Liberty International Airport. A series of early-summer thunderstorms derailed United’s operation at the airport, disrupting thousands of flights and displacing passengers and crews.
“The United team persevered through an unprecedented series of events at the end of last month,” Kirby said in an earnings release Wednesday. “They are the best in the business, and we’re focused on the important changes we can make, especially in Newark, to serve our customers even better.”
Kirby said earlier this month that the airline will have to cut back on flying at the hub, which serves the New York City area, to avoid disruptions when flights get backed up at the congested airport.
Still, United expects to grow capacity in the three months ending Sept. 30 about 16% over last year and with estimated revenue growth of as much as 13% during the same period in 2022. United expects to post adjusted earnings per share of between $3.85 and $4.35 for the third quarter, far above analysts’ estimates of $3.70 a share, according to Refinitiv.
Separately over the weekend, United and its pilots’ union said they reached a preliminary labor deal that would give pilots raises of as much as 40% over four years, a deal that comes after years of talks.
The union estimates the deal is worth $10 billion. It still needs to be ratified by United’s 16,000 pilots but could end years of negotiations as United seeks to increase its pilot ranks amid a shortage of aviators.
The airline’s executives will hold a call with analysts at 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, when they are likely to face questions on both topics. More

Oddity Tech closed at $47.53 per share, giving it an approximate market valuation of $2.7 billion. 
The shares priced at $35 per share, above a previously given range of $32 to $34.
Oddity and its shareholders, which include L Catterton, raised about $424 million in the offering.

Courtesy: Oddity

Oddity Tech, the beauty and wellness company that uses AI to develop cosmetics and has former Israeli defense officials on staff, debuted on the public markets with a 35% pop Wednesday as the IPO market heats up. 
The direct-to-consumer platform behind the Il Makiage and Spoiled Child brands saw its stock close at $47.53 per share after pricing its IPO at $35 per share Tuesday night. That was above a previously set range of $32 to $34 per share.

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The company sold 12.1 million shares and as of end of trading Wednesday had an approximate market valuation of $2.7 billion. 
Oddity and its shareholders, which include private equity powerhouse L Catterton, raised about $424 million in the deal. 
The stock trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ODD.” 
“We are taking the company public because I want to build something huge, otherwise I would sell the company. So this is just another milestone,” co-founder and CEO Oran Holtzman told CNBC. “Meeting so many investors in the past two weeks and … seeing them getting what we do and connecting to our vision after so much hard work, I think that’s what makes me so happy and so grateful.” 
Launched in 2018 by Holtzman and his sister Shiran Holtzman-Erel, Oddity aims to disrupt the legacy beauty market and replace the in-store experience by using data and artificial intelligence to develop brands and make tailored product recommendations.

At the heart of Oddity’s business model is its proprietary technology — including tools developed by a former Israeli defense official — and the billions of data points it has collected from its millions of users.
The company stands out compared with other direct-to-consumer retailers that went public in 2021 because it has grown while achieving a profit. 
“We are unlocking online for one of the most attractive and lucrative [total addressable markets] on the planet,” said Lindsay Drucker Mann, Oddity’s global CFO and a former Goldman Sachs executive. “We have delivered a playbook that supports a financial profile that has, up to this point, been elusive in direct-to-consumer and certainly elusive in beauty and wellness. It’s only enabled by our unique model, which has technology at the center and is based on data.”

Profits at IPO

Oddity stands out as a rare DTC brand with both impressive growth and profits already on the books. That’s been a key driver of investor interest as the IPO market rebounds from a lull.
When interest rates were at record lows two years ago, companies that could demonstrate hyper growth were able to win over investors even if they weren’t yet profitable. But as the macroeconomic backdrop has worsened, that’s no longer the case, and investors are laser-focused on earnings.
Michael Farello, a managing partner of L Catterton’s growth fund, said Oddity’s ability to achieve growth, scale and profitability is what made the company a unique and attractive investment.
“They still have tremendously high growth so yes, it’s profitable, but they’ve really demonstrated that they can do both, it hasn’t been a trade off of one versus the other,” Farello, whose firm first invested in Oddity in 2017, told CNBC. “They’ve been growing at extraordinary clips and the fastest in the category online. At the same time as that, they’ve been profitable from a very early stage and that message resonated extraordinarily well with investors.”
In the three months ended March 31, the company saw $165.7 million in revenue, up from $90.4 million in the year-ago period. It reported net income of $19.6 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with about $3 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.
In fiscal 2022, Oddity brought in $324.5 million in sales and saw net income of $21.7 million, or 39 cents a share. In the year prior, the retailer saw $222.6 million in revenue and net income of $13.9 million, or 26 cents a share.
In 2020, it saw $110.6 million in sales and net income of $11.7 million, or 22 cents a share.
In the three months that ended March 31, its gross margins were 71%, up 4 percentage points from 67% in the year-ago period. 
On average, Oddity’s gross sales have doubled each year since 2018, the company has said.
In a regulatory filing, Holtzman touted the company’s workforce and said 40% of its global head count is comprised of technologists, many of whom were recruited from the Israeli Defense Forces’ best technology units.
In late April, Oddity announced it was investing more than $100 million to acquire biotech startup Revela and open a U.S.-based lab so it could create brand-new molecules, using AI, that it can use in its cosmetics brands and future lines.
Looking ahead, Oddity plans to launch more brands and will use the proceeds from its offering to invest more into its data and technology and create products it says are backed by science.  More

Macy’s plans to launch private brands, make over some existing brands and ditch others.
The department store chain, which has cut its financial expectations for the year, unveiled its new brand as its stock struggles.
As part of a turnaround plan, Macy’s has sought to steady the ship in recent years.

Macy’s launch event for its new private brand, On 34th, also marked one of the first public appearances by Tony Spring (left) since he was named incoming CEO. Spring is CEO of the company’s higher-end department store chain, Bloomingdale’s. He will succeed Jeff Gennette (right) in February.
Melissa Repko | CNBC

NEW YORK — Macy’s, the 165-year-old department store chain, is looking for ways to keep up with the newer kids on the block.
The retailer faces slumping sales, and its stock has struggled in a good year for the market. Now, it’s banking on a wave of new and refreshed private brands to attract shoppers, especially as some flee to popular direct-to-consumer brands, online giants like Shein and Amazon, and big-box players like Target.

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On Wednesday, it showed off its newest private brand, On 34th, at its Macy’s Herald Square flagship. The brand, named after the legacy store’s Manhattan location, is made of up of women’s clothing and accessories. The brand is designed for women ranging from 30 to 50 who want modern, versatile and easy-to-wear looks.
The new brand is hitting store shelves and Macy’s website at a challenging time for the company and much of the retail industry. Consumers have cut back on discretionary spending at stores as they’re pinched by steeper grocery bills and rent, while they spend on experiences like concerts and summer vacations. The department store operator cut its full-year outlook last month, after seeing consumers pull back on purchases of clothing and other items.
On 34th is the first of four new private brands that Macy’s plans to launch by the end of 2025. It also plans to refresh some existing labels and phase out others.
Macy’s Chief Merchandising Officer Nata Dvir said On 34th’s debut comes after more than two years of customer research.
“They cared about fit, quality and value and had a tremendous amount of passion around what they were putting on every single day,” she said. “And they deserved better.”

The kickoff event previewed another piece of Macy’s future, too: It marked one of the first public appearances of Tony Spring, since he was named its next CEO. Spring, who currently leads the parent company’s higher-end department store Bloomingdale’s, will succeed Jeff Gennette in February.
Gennette said Wednesday that consumers’ financial stress continues to show up in the company’s sales trends.
Macy’s significantly cut its financial expectations in June. The department store operator, which includes Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury, said it expects comparable owned-plus-licensed sales to drop by 6% to 7.5% for the year. It expects earnings per share of $2.70 to $3.20 for the year.
Shares of Macy’s have reflected investors’ concerns. Macy’s stock was down more than 20% so far this year as of Wednesday. The S&P 500, by comparison, is up 19% this year.
Some of Wall Street’s worries are company-specific, as investors question whether the legacy department store can keep up with shoppers’ changing tastes.
Macy’s has sought to steady the ship in recent years while battered by other fast-changing dynamics. Led by Gennette, the department store kicked off a three-year turnaround plan in February 2020, about a month before the start of the Covid pandemic. It called for shuttering lagging stores, investing in its higher performing locations and stepping up online growth.

Macy’s is leaning into private brands to drive growth. Its newest brand, On 34th, is designed to be both fashion-forward and easy to wear. It ranges in price from $19.50 for a tank top to $299.50 for a leather jacket.
Melissa Repko | CNBC

Private brands are a common way that retailers offer lower-priced and exclusive merchandise to customers. The labels tend to be more profitable, since the companies have direct control, fewer middlemen and scale when making the items. Plus, since the items can’t be found anywhere else, the retailer isn’t going head to head on price with a competitor.
Macy’s sells a mix of private brands and national brands, including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Levi Strauss. It has about 25 private brands that cut across categories like apparel and home goods, including On 34th.
In the most recent fiscal year, private brands drove approximately 16% of sales. Yet Macy’s would like to get that closer to about 20%, a level that it hit in the past.
But the strategy comes with risks. Target is the poster child of private label success, after hatching and expanding many billion-dollar brands including children’s apparel brand, Cat & Jack, and activewear brand, All in Motion. On the other hand, some investors have pinned the downfall of now-bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond in part to its expensive and aggressive rollout of private brands that customers didn’t want.
Gennette said Macy’s has been thoughtful about the push. It’s gathering customer input while developing the apparel and even made tweaks in recent weeks while testing the brand with customers at two New Jersey stores. Plus, he added, Macy’s has had years of experience selling private brands with a following, such as women’s apparel brand I.N.C. and home goods brand Hotel Collection.
The company has poached talent from retailers known for strong brands, too, including Emily Erusha-Hilleque, a 23-year veteran of Target, as its senior vice president of private brands. It also hired Bryan Riviere, previously of Gap-owned Banana Republic, Levi Strauss, Lululemon and Nike, as its senior vice president of private brand sourcing, product development and production.
Along with providing fresh looks, Macy’s wanted to step up the quality and fit of its clothing. Over the past three years, it has cut the number of factories and mills that it works with by about half, Riviere said. By working with fewer partners, it has the scale to negotiate better prices, savings to invest in better fabrics and knits and more buy-in from the factories that it works with.
It also worked with a technology company to standardize sizing across all Macy’s private brands. Universal sizing makes shopping less of a guessing game for customers and returns less likely, Erusha-Hilleque said.
On 34th will officially debut in mid-August with about 750 items that range from a basic tank top at $19.50 to a leather jacket for $299.50. Its shoe collection will launch in spring 2024. More

Munching popcorn, a crowd of glamorous movie people and somewhat less glamorous journalists gathered in a London cinema on July 13th for the premiere of “Oppenheimer”, a new film from Universal Pictures. As the audience waited for the entrance of the movie’s stars—Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and others—they were greeted instead by an apologetic Christopher Nolan, the film’s director. His cast had just gone home, he announced. “They’re off writing their signs, to join the picket lines.”The strike called moments earlier by America’s Screen Actors Guild, which coincides with one by the Writers Guild of America that began in May, has detonated a nuclear blast under America’s entertainment industry. The fallout will travel much farther: nine of the ten biggest box-office hits worldwide last year were American-made, and American streaming services now reach into living rooms everywhere. As the stars face off against the studios, the world’s great entertainment machine has ground to a halt.The last time writers and actors went on strike together Ronald Reagan was president—not yet of the United States, but of its actors’ union. The argument then, in 1960, was about television, and how big-screen actors should be compensated when their work was replayed on the small screen. Today’s confrontation is also about new technology.One concern is artificial intelligence. Writers and actors want guarantees that it won’t be used to churn out scripts or clone performers. The bigger argument is over streaming. The “streaming wars” have seen a surge in content spending, as century-old studios compete for subscribers with deep-pocketed new rivals like Apple and Amazon. Worldwide, TV and film companies spent more than $230bn on programming last year, nearly double their expenditure a decade earlier, estimates Ampere Analysis, a research firm. Jobs in American show business are growing about twice as fast as the workforce overall. Some “talent” still feel short-changed. Streamers make generous upfront payments, but they offer a smaller share in their projects’ future success. So whereas an appearance in a flop is much better paid than it was a decade ago, being part of a smash hit no longer means being set up for life. And although the streamers’ output tends to be creatively fulfilling, with more potential for awards than broadcast TV, their shorter seasons make work precarious. Actors and writers want higher minimum wages and a success-based payment when shows are released.On the face of it they are in a strong position. Without writers, the creative pipeline is empty. Without actors, works-in-progress like Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel have been shut down. Even completed films will struggle without stars to promote them. Disney had to rustle up entertainers in Mickey and Minnie costumes to walk the red carpet at the premiere of “Haunted Mansion” on July 15th. The Venice film festival next month will be a lonely affair. The Emmy awards, in September, could be derailed; some wonder if the strike might even last until the Oscars, next March. Unsurprisingly, the striking stars are also proving better at communicating their concerns than the suits in the studios. Fran Drescher, current president of the actors’ union, drew on her years starring as “The Nanny” to scold “disgusting” studio chiefs for their fat salaries. Bob Iger, Disney’s boss, responded with an interview from a Sun Valley getaway known as “billionaires’ summer camp”; around the same time news leaked that he recently commissioned a new yacht.Yet the stars will struggle more than they did when Reagan was in charge. Strikes are less disruptive to TV schedules now that there is no longer a schedule to disrupt. The on-demand era means viewers face a sea of choice on opening their apps; any gaps are less obvious. Streaming has also made Hollywood less reliant on America, both in terms of its audience and in terms of production. Netflix is the most extreme example: more than two-thirds of its 230m subscribers live overseas, and nearly two-thirds of the shows it commissioned in the past 12 months are being made abroad, according to Ampere Analysis. (It may even be happy to shift its viewers’ consumption away from expensive American productions and towards to these lower-cost shows, speculates one sometime rival.)In a world dominated by franchises, actors also wield less economic clout than they used to. Last month Warner Bros replaced its Superman; Sony has fielded multiple Spider-Men (the most recent is animated). As Anthony Mackie, who plays Captain America, has put it: “The evolution of the superhero has meant the death of the movie star.” And as audiences tire of superheroes, studios are finding new franchises. This year’s highest-earning movie so far is Universal’s animated reboot of “Super Mario Bros”.Cut! Cut costs!Above all, the distressed state of the entertainment business means studios are in no shape to increase their outgoings. Big titles like “Indiana Jones” continue to fizzle at the box office, which this year is expected still to be a quarter lower than before the pandemic. The broadcast and cable-TV businesses are in terminal decline. In his Sun Valley interview Mr Iger was frank about their future: “The business model that forms the underpinning of that business, and that has delivered great profits over the years, is definitely broken,” he said. Wall Street has begun to demand that streamers deliver not just growth but profit, causing an almighty rush to trim costs. Even before the strike, projects were being cancelled. Last year Warner Bros canned a completed “Batgirl” film. The industrial action provides helpful cover for more cost-slashing: “A lot of shareholders and executives are happy to clean up their balance-sheets,” says one former streaming executive. The actors are delivering Oscar-worthy performances at the picket lines. This time, they face a tough crowd. ■ More

Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” open this weekend.
Dubbed “Barbenheimer” the two films are expected to collectively boost the domestic box office.
“Barbie” is expected to tally upwards of $140 million in ticket sales and “Oppenheimer” set to grab as much as $60 million.

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer and Margot Robbie as Barbie
Julien De Rosa | AFP | Getty Images; Stuart C. Wilson | Getty Images

This weekend at the box office is all about atomic bombs and blonde bombshells.
Typically when two big movies from two different studios hit theaters at the same time, it’s a competition for ticket sales. That’s not the case with Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer.”

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Dubbed “Barbenheimer,” the dual release of these potential blockbusters is more complementary, with many moviegoers planning a double feature trip to cinemas
“Ever since we knew that these two films were going to open on the same weekend there’s just been instantly a pop culture phenomenon,” said Erik Davis, managing director at Fandango. “It’s been the most anticipated weekend of the year.”
The two films couldn’t be more different, with “Barbie” centering on the iconic Mattel doll navigating life outside of Barbie Land, and “Oppenheimer” documenting how the father of the atomic bomb crafted the first nuclear weapons.
Yet, audiences have gravitated towards both titles. This excitement is much needed for the domestic box office after a string of recently released big-budget flicks fell short of expectations.
Heading into the weekend, “Barbie” is expected to capture at least $90 million in domestic ticket sales, with some box office analysts projecting the film could tally upwards of $140 million. Meanwhile, “Oppenheimer” appears destined to snare between $40 million and $60 million.

The two films could together generate $200 million over their opening frame. With additional ticket sales from “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “Sound of Freedom,” it could be the highest-grossing weekend of the year so far.
Major movie chains have indicated that ticket sales are strong for both films this weekend and additional shows have been added to accommodate demand.
Some 40,000 AMC Theatre loyalty program members have purchased tickets to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day and the National Association of Theatre owners project that more than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings of the two films.
“Going into this weekend anticipation has been very high for both ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer,'” said Jeffrey Kaufman, chief content officer at Malco Theatres. “Media coverage and the public embrace of the #Barbenheimer tag shows awareness and excitement for both releases.”
And much of the appeal comes from the films’ celebrated filmmakers.
Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird,” “Little Women”) has only a few films under her belt as a director, but she’s already solidified a place among Hollywood’s famed auteurs. Her films center on women and feature witty dialogue and a strong emotional core. Gerwig is one of only seven women to be nominated for best director at the Academy Awards.
Audiences got their first taste of Gerwig’s take on the iconic Barbie doll back in December with a minute-long teaser trailer that spoofed Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” This would not be your typical Barbie movie.
Future trailers showcased the bubblegum pink Barbie Land that kids and kids at heart have known for more than 60 years and revealed the film’s plot. After an existential crisis, Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) head to the real world for some answers.

Then there is Christopher Nolan, who has cultivated an ardent fandom from films like “Memento,” “The Prestige,” “The Dark Knight,” “Interstellar” and “Dunkirk.”
Nolan’s films are known for their complex storytelling, bombastic sound and imagery designed for the biggest screens.
“Oppenheimer” is a three-hour opus centered on physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he relentlessly works to develop the first atomic bomb during World World II.
“‘Barbie’ has emerged as the frontrunner to claim first place over the weekend with its massive brand appeal courting an underserved female audience, but ‘Oppenheimer’ should have a long fuse to burn as Christopher Nolan’s films typically do,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com
“Oppenheimer” will get a boost from premium format ticket sales, as audiences opt to watch the film on the biggest screen possible. Nolan’s flick is expected to control around 70% of all premium showings, which includes screens like IMAX, Dolby Cinema and ScreenX, this weekend. These tickets average around $17 a piece, according to data from EntTelligence.
General admission tickets, which include premium and standard digital showings, are expected to average around $14 each.
For “Barbie,” general average ticket price is slightly lower, at around $12, as the film will play in fewer premium auditoriums over the weekend.
These two films arrive in theaters following a slew of adult-aimed blockbusters that have underperformed at the box office.
“Unfortunately, the last three blockbusters — ‘Flash,’ ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Mission Impossible’ — all were by forecast estimates, underperformers,” said Kaufman. “This trend along with news cycle coverage of the Guild strikes and the loss of cast members availability for promotion stops may dampen things.”
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” likely won’t take a hit from a lack of publicity. Both films’ marketing campaigns were in full swing just ahead of the strike and both casts were able to participate, at least partially, with film premieres.
Viral videos of the pink-clad “Barbie” actors promoting the film and discussing their “Kenergy” have been circling social media for weeks alongside bubblegum-colored merchandise tie-ins and an Airbnb Dream House.
The marketing for “Oppenheimer” has been a little more muted in comparison, with actors and director Nolan touting its recreation of a nuclear detonation without the use of CGI and the importance of exploring the life of Oppenheimer.
“Exhibition is navigating a very nuanced balancing act with respect to programming two incredibly high-profile films with ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer,'” said Steve Buck of movie data firm EntTelligence. “The winner is simple – the moviegoer.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

Hollywood A-listers are skipping out on San Diego Comic-Con this year as the SAG-AFTRA strike prohibits actors from promoting studio contracted work.
More than two dozen panels have been canceled at the annual comic convention.
Fans still plan to attend the event to enjoy comic panels, autograph sessions, unique con-exclusive merchandise and cosplay.

Visitors and cosplayers at a poster at San Diego Comic-Con.
Ullstein Bild | Ullstein Bild | Getty Images

San Diego Comic-Con will return to is roots this weekend, as Hollywood A-listers skip out on promotional panels and walk picket lines in Los Angeles.
Actors went on strike last Friday, effectively shutting down the film and television industry.

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As part of their strike, actors are not permitted to promote any work tied to TV or theatrical contracts with studios. That means no interviews, premieres, social media posts and no conventions.
“The timing of these strikes significantly impacts an important promotional event like Comic-Con,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “This is often the venue used as a launching pad for marketing machines behind some of the most anticipated fan-driven content coming up in theaters and across the entire media landscape.”
That means no Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya to hype up “Dune: Part Two,” no Quinta Brunson to chat all things “Abbott Elementary” and no Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell to preview the long-awaited “Good Burger 2.”
But, even without top talent, SDCC will still kick off Thursday.
“Comic-Con is not going away,” said Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University and a pop culture expert. “The show can still go on in San Diego. Comic-Con is so big that it’s even bigger than the biggest stars.”

Heading into the weekend, many of Hollywood’s studios had already decided to sit out of SDCC’s festivities.
Both Marvel and DC have shared their upcoming slates of comic book films and TV shows, leading both to bow out of marquee Hall H presentations this year. It will be the first time since 2011 that neither franchise studio will have hosted a panel in the coveted, marquee 6,500-seat space.
Now, with actors unable to promote their projects, more than two dozen panels have been canceled. That includes presentations from Amazon’s “Wheel of Time,” Freevee’s “Jury Duty,” ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and the 25th anniversary panel for “That ’70s Show.”
Typically, actor-focused panels make up between 25% to 30% of a regional comic-con’s programming. At San Diego Comic-Con that percentage can be as high as 40%, industry experts told CNBC.
“We share the disappointment that a resolution could not be reached that would have avoided the current situation,” a representative for SDCC said in an emailed statement. “We are excited that Comic-Con is only a matter of days away and we look forward to the expansive Exhibit Hall, the countless hours of programming, and the comradery that makes Comic-Con such a fun and unique community and experience.”

More than Hollywood

Of course, San Diego Comic-Con isn’t just about celebrity talent hawking their newest, nerdiest content. There’s a sprawling floor packed with merchandise from top pop culture retailers like Funko, Entertainment Earth, Hasbro, Gentle Giant and Loot Crate, an artist’s alley packed with artists selling original artwork, autograph stations, and themed on-site activations for popular movies and TV shows. And then there’s the cosplay.
“We’re big movie fans and that’s definitely a part of why we go to cons, to talk to the people involved in productions and hear about what’s coming up,” said Justin Wilder, 36, an assistant director of digital communications in Rhode Island. “It’s been a bit of a bummer to see the reports of different things being canceled.”
Wilder, who is attending his first San Diego Comic-Con this year, is also a panelist at the event for the X-Men Fandom Panel. He told CNBC that while his badge was comped by the convention, he paid out of pocket for his hotel and airfare, which tallied near $3,200 for him and his wife.

He said that even if he wasn’t scheduled on a panel, he would still have made the trip.
“There are plenty of activities that I’m interested in beyond film and TV that will still be happening” he said, noting that the Hellfire Gala, a costumed party based on a popular X-Men comic, was of particular interest.
Many attendees of the upcoming convention told CNBC that they still plan to go regardless of the canceled panels and smaller pool of celebrity appearances. After all, comic creators are still able to attend and promote their work.
San Diego Comic-Con, which launched in 1970, started with just 300 attendees and top comic book and science fiction names like Jack Kirby and Ray Bradbury. Over the decades, it has grown beyond comic books to encompass a larger range of pop culture genres like horror, fantasy, anime, toys and video games, and now exceeds 130,000 attendees annually.

Fewer lines, more crowding

“I used to be able to walk in Hall H in 45 minutes,” said Jason Chau, 46, a sales audit manager from Forest Hills, New York. “The popularity of Marvel, ‘Twilight,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Walking Dead’ made the demand on badges crazy.”
Chau has attended SDCC since 2008. He typically spends much of the convention photographing cosplay, attending comic panels and picking up an autograph or two. Chau’s costs to visit San Diego and attend the convention are similar to Wilder’s, but with the added $285 for a four-day badge.
He said that when the convention began to gain more attention from Hollywood, he avoided Hall H presentations, which often require attendees to wait in line over night in order to get a seat. So far, only one Hall H panel has been canceled in the wake of the actor’s strike, with Legendary Entertainment bowing out of the slot.
Still, with more than two dozen panels off the books, SDCC will need to contend with increased foot traffic. Part of the planning process for these types of conventions, is the idea that a certain percentage of attendees will always be standing in line somewhere.
“I’m concerned with all those big panels canceled, how that’s going to affect traffic flow in the exhibit hall,” Wilder said.
Wilder is no stranger to comic conventions, having attended New York Comic Con, Rhode Island Comic Con, Terrificon and Wicked Comic Con.
“For SDCC I’m just trying to keep a positive mindset,” he said.
Those selling merchandise on the show floor are a bit more optimistic about the possibility of larger crowds.
“I think it’s going to be great for fan interaction,” said Ashley Anderson, director of community and social at collectible company Super7. “I mean, you’re going to be able to really emphasize the fan more so than before.”

Pain for studios

The lack of celebrities is more likely to hit the studios themselves. After all, the publicity of having stars boycott promotional activities reflects directly back at Hollywood’s producers, who have already been lambasted in the press for purportedly underhanded tactics.
“Not having some of pop culture’s biggest names at Comic-Con or elsewhere to support their latest projects is a loss for the convention and for fandom in the short term,” Robbins said. “In the bigger picture, it highlights the industry’s fight for low-and-middle class wage earners.”
Several SDCC attendees told CNBC that they are disappointed that some panels have been canceled and some celebrities will not be attending the event, but understand why it is happening.
“It’s unfortunate timing, but what they’re asking for makes a lot of sense,” said Wilder of the strike. “AI technology has the potential to transform a lot about the film and TV industry and people are concerned with their job security. I don’t want people to blame the actors or writers for the con being different, they’re just trying to make sure they get a fair deal for their work and aren’t being taken advantage of.”

Coupled with potentially bad publicity, studios are also losing out on some major promotional opportunities at the convention. Sure, the companies can still play trailers, hang up billboards and sponsor interactive fan activations, but a lot of the viral social media moments come from having actors on scene doing interviews and publicly hyping up shows and films while interreacting with fans and each other.
“Comic-Con [is] one great big promotional infomercial for the big studios and the streamers,” said Thompson. ”
And studios need this marketing, especially after a softer-than-expected summer movie season.
“We’ve already seen several adult-aimed blockbusters underperform this summer during a time when, perhaps not coincidentally, some outlets such as talk shows weren’t airing or hosting guests to promote movies like ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Indiana Jones,’ and ‘The Flash,'” said Robbins.
Upcoming potential blockbusters like Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” had strong marketing campaigns ahead of the strike, and likely won’t feel pain from the actors strike, but others might not be so lucky.
“Studios and theaters are relying on a great deal of content to deliver strong box office results in the coming months and next year,” Robbins said. “Both will endure a period of revenue regression amid the broader post-pandemic recovery if these labor conflicts aren’t resolved soon, likely causing a domino effect of release delays and rushed or unfinished productions. Those are consequences theater owners really have no control over. Unlike Covid, however, Hollywood executives do.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. More