Millie Munro, of independent representation company Munro & Co, and Bryan Shrednick, formerly of Shortlist Management, have joined forces on bueno, a talent management company. Originally started by Shrednick in 2015 after a wandering sabbatical of several months, bueno now launches hand-in-hand with the Munro & Co. client roster to create a tailored offering of companies and artists in production, postproduction, and digital, ranging from Stink USA and Human to new wave integrated outfits such as m ss ng p eces, Bullitt Branded and Alldayeveryday. From 2010–2014, Munro was executive producer at music and sound design studio Human, where she opened the company’s London office before relocating to Los Angeles three years ago. Simultaneously, she worked alongside indie rep Brent Novick, representing his roster of talent before venturing on her own to begin Munro & Co in 2014. Munro previously launched Moxie Pictures London in 2005, where she remained as head of sales, representing and growing the company’s roster of directors for over five years. As for Shrednick, prior to shortlist, he served as director of business development at design and digital production studio Royale, leading its sales and marketing efforts across the U.S. and Europe….Cinematographer Tuomo Virtanen, active in commercials and music videos, has joined Dattner Dispoto and Associates for representation. Also coming aboard the Dattner Dispoto roster is costume designer Kathleen Detoro whose credits include Breaking Bad (AMC; High Bridge Productions). Dattner Dispoto has also booked films for several of its DPs, including Bojan Bazelli, ASC, who’s set to lens the Gore Verbinski-directed Cure For Wellness, Rachel Morrison for director Rick Famuyiwa’s Confirmation, Giles Nuttgens for director David Mackenzie’s Comancheria, and Jason McCormick for director Si & Ad’s Shovel Buddies. Also landing Shovel Buddies’ gigs are a couple of other Dattner Dispoto artisans–production designer Ariana Nakata, and costume designer Kameron Lennox….
Lessons From A Theater Near You; What The Box Office Taught Us In 2024
Movie ticket sales took a bit of a hit in 2024. The annual domestic box office is expected to end up at around $8.75 billion, down more than 3% from 2023, according to estimates from Comscore.
It's not as dire as it was in the pandemic years, but it's also not even close to the pre-pandemic norm when the annual box office regularly surpassed $11 billion.
This is the year the business felt the effects of the Hollywood strikes of 2023, the labor standoff that delayed productions and releases and led to a depleted calendar for exhibitors and moviegoers. And yet it's not as bad as it could have been, or at least as bad as analysts projected at the start of the year.
"This has been a really incredible comeback story for the industry," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "Just a couple of months ago it was a question of whether we would even hit $8 billion for the year."
Hollywood continues to learn lessons about what moviegoers really want, what works and what doesn't. Here are the biggest takeaways from 2024.
The strike fallout was real
The Hollywood strikes might have ended in 2023, putting productions back into full swing and sending stars out on the promotional circuit again — but the ripple effect of the work stoppages and contract standoffs showed their real effects on the 2024 release calendar.
The first two quarters were hit hardest, with tentpoles pushed later in the year ("Deadpool & Wolverine," for one) or even into 2025 (like "Mission: Impossible 8"). With no Marvel movie kicking off the summer moviegoing season, the box office was down a devastating 27.5% from 2023 right before "Inside Out 2" opened in June.
"It's an unpredictable business but it... Read More