American airlines planes are seen at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on September 15, 2022.
Tayfun Toskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
American Airlines is getting rid of its traditional frequent flyer award chart as the carrier moves toward dynamic pricing for mileage redemptions, the latest shift in its lucrative AAdvantage loyalty program.
Starting late Wednesday, the carrier will publish starting levels for how many frequent flyer miles are likely required to redeem for a ticket in certain regions — for example, 7,500 for a one-way ticket within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada. Previously, the chart showed redemption levels that were static.
American in December said it would get rid of different redemption categories, MileSAAver and AAnytime awards, which have set minimum rates. The new redemption level will be called “Flight Awards” and the chart will serve as a reference guide.
“Just like cash tickets, these are going to float based on demand,” Chris Isaac, American’s director of loyalty, said in an interview.
American introduced dynamic pricing for award tickets in 2019, meaning the number of miles required to redeem for a ticket fluctuate based on supply and demand.
“This product has become the product that our members have gravitated to,” Isaac said. That category required the same number or fewer miles than the awards that were set in the chart “up to85% of the time over the last few years,” American said.
Previously the chart looked like this:
American Airlines’ old frequent flyer award ticket chart
American Airlines
Now it will look like this:
American Airlines’ new frequent flyer award ticket chart
American Airlines
Award tickets on American and other airlines can also vary based on the time of year.
For example, it cost 126,000 frequent flyer miles for a roundtrip ticket in standard economy on American between New York and Rome between June 1 and June 8, during the high season, but only 89,500 miles from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8, during the lower-demand season.
“What I think is good about this, it aligns the award chart where American is today. To tell [travelers] that an award ticket is going to cost them a certain number of miles is no longer accurate,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry consulting firm.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media during a press conference as part of the 2022 All-Star Weekend at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 19, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jason Miller | Getty Images
The NBA will have labor peace for years to come.
The league and its players came to an agreement early Saturday on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement, the NBA announced. It is still pending ratification, though that process is almost certainly no more than a formality.
The deal will begin this summer and will last at least through the 2028-29 season. Either side can opt-out then; otherwise, it will last through 2029-30.
Among the details, per a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press: the in-season tournament that Commissioner Adam Silver has wanted for years will become reality, and players will have to appear in at least 65 games in order to be eligible for the top individual awards such as Most Valuable Player. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the National Basketball Players Association released specifics publicly.
Another new part of the CBA will be a second luxury tax level that, when reached, will keep teams from using their midlevel exception to sign players. That was a clear compromise, given how some teams wanted the so-called “upper spending limit” that would have essentially installed an absolute ceiling on what can be spent each season and help balance the playing field between the teams that are willing to pay enormous tax bills and those who aren’t.
Not in the CBA is a change to the policy that would allow high school players to enter the NBA draft. It was discussed and has been an agenda item for months, but it won’t be changing anytime soon — probably not for at least the term of the next CBA.
“We also appreciate that there is a lot of benefit to really having veterans who can bring those 18-year-olds along,” NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said in February during an NBPA news conference at All-Star weekend. “And so, certainly anything that we would even consider, to be quite honest, would have to include a component that would allow veterans to be a part of it as well.”
Silver said Wednesday, at the conclusion of a two-day Board of Governors meeting, that he was hopeful of getting a deal done by the weekend. He also said there had been no consideration — at least on the league’s part — of pushing the opt-out date back for a third time.
The current CBA, which took effect July 1, 2017, came with a mutual option for either the NBA or the NBPA to opt out after six seasons — June 30 of this year. The sides originally had a Dec. 15 deadline to announce an intention to exercise the opt-out, then pushed it back to Feb. 8, then to Friday.
The league and the union continued talking after the midnight opt-out deadline passed, and a deal was announced nearly three hours later.
The agreement doesn’t end the process, though it’s obviously a huge step forward.
The owners will have to vote on what the negotiators have hammered out, and the players will have to vote to approve the deal as well. Then comes the actual writing of the document — the most recent CBA checked in at around 600 pages containing nearly 5,000 paragraphs and 200,000 words. Much of it will be the same; much of it will need revising.
A renovated apartment in New York City after The Expert consultation sessions with designers Jessica Gersten and Athena Calderone.
The Expert
Aside from bingeing Netflix, creating the picture-perfect home may have been the pandemic’s most popular habit.
Whether it’s organizing a pantry or adding on a home office, gym or spa-like bathroom, homeowners have been upgrading and expanding their spaces at record rates for over two years.
Although Americans are no longer sheltering at home, the recent rise in mortgages rates has encouraged more people to stay put and renovate rather than relocate.
Even in the face of inflation, ongoing supply chain issues and other factors, the vast majority of homeowners are proceedingwith their planned home improvement projects in 2023, according to a Houzz survey of nearly 4,000 homeowners conducted in October.
At the same time, Instagram and other social media platforms have raised the bar by presenting an endless array of covetable spaces.
For most people, decorating is a daunting task, yet hiring a pro is out of reach.
Few Americans can afford the high-end look depicted online, which often comes with the help of an A-list designer and hefty budget. The average cost to hire an interior designer can vary greatly depending on the region and scope and whether it’s based on a flat rate, hourly fee or percentage of the project, although well-known designers easily charge in the five or six figures.
“It’s a time-consuming and overwhelming process for a lot of homeowners,” said Wayne Gao, co-founder and CEO of Australia-based Furnishd, which offers virtual consultations for $850 per room or $3,250 for the whole house. “It also costs a fortune.”
That’s where virtual services can add value at a fraction of the cost, added Leo Seigal, co-founder and CEO of The Expert. “It’s almost like insurance to make sure you are making the right decision.”
The Expert was started by Seigal and Los Angeles-based interior designer Jake Arnold in early 2021. The service offers one-on-one consultations with over 150 big-name decorators including Arnold, Martin Brudnizki, Brigette Romanek, Ashe Leandro and Rita Konig. Prices range from $250 for a 25-minute call to up $2,000 for an hour.
Of course, online design help is not new. Even before 2020, there were services like Havenly and Homepolish. Retailers such as West Elm and Restoration Hardware offer those services, as well. However, now A-list decorators are getting into the game.
“The pandemic turbocharged interior design and created the environment to get the designers to do this in the first place,” Seigal said.
Americans are also prepared to shell out more based on what they see on sites like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Consumers are now conditioned “to believe they can get whatever they want, whenever they want,” according to an analysis by McKinsey & Company.
However, home upgrades are another level of spending altogether.
“Any renovation has the potential to get really expensive,” Seigal said. “You can’t really afford to make a mistake.”
For consumers who want help but may not have the means or access to a full-service design firm, “we are bridging the gap,” he said.
The pandemic turbocharged interior design and created the environment to get the designers to do this.
Leo Seigal
co-founder and CEO of The Expert
Other top designers, too, have spun off their own virtual consulting service to meet the demand for a less expensive and more accessible option.
Marianne Brown, the principal designer and owner of W Design Collective, also now offers virtual design help starting at $500 for a one-hour call, in addition to the high-end remodels and full-service projects she’s known for, which cost substantially more.
“I couldn’t even afford myself,” she said, referring to the latter.
More recently, however, Brown said she’s wrestled with the effect that the constant stream of home upgrades on social media has on homeowners and women, in particular.
“At least when Vogue tells you your skinny jeans are ‘out’ you are only donating a $50 pair of jeans to Goodwill,” she said. “But when Architectural Digest tells you white kitchens are ‘out,’ you are hiring a painter for $8,000 to repaint your kitchen cabinets.”
Brown advises homeowners to resist the urge to keep up with the Joneses. Rather, she says consider how you will use the space and make sure it reflects your personality. “What have I always loved? Where do I come from and where have I traveled? Stay true to who you are.”
Girl watching a comedy movie at the cinema with her friend.
Rgstudio | E+ | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — The movies are still big. It’s the multiplexes that are getting smaller.
Since 2019, the number of total screens in the U.S. have decreased by around 3,000 to just under 40,000.
This consolidation was a direct result of the Covid pandemic, which shut down theaters for a time and triggered a surge in streaming subscriptions. A number of regional chains have shuttered for good, while others were left to reevaluate their financial footing. For many, that meant closing locations or selling off leases.
“Think about retail out there in general, it’s repositioning itself, you don’t have as many of the same branded stores in the marketplace,” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “Consumers are a lot more selective, and I think that for the economics that are necessary, you’re not going to see these 30-plexes anymore.”
Rodriguez said that most newly built locations will range between 12 and 16 screens and those with larger, preexisting footprints will look to repurpose some space for supplementary activities for moviegoers, like arcades, bowling alleys or bars.
Theaters have been forced to innovate, even as Hollywood production returns to normal and studios offer more movies for release than they were able to during the earlier stages of the pandemic.
As the space contracts, cinema operators are investing in the basics, improving sounds, picture quality and seating as well as in bolstering its food and beverage offerings, events and alternative programming. The aim is to improve the baseline experience for moviegoers regardless of the type of ticket they purchase.
“We do better when people get in the habit of seeing,” said Larry Etter, senior vice president at family-owned regional chain Malco Theatres. “And I think that’s what’s going to happen. I think we’re going to recreate the habitual effect that on Friday nights or Saturday nights or whatever it is, we’re gonna go to the movies.”
Already, the industry is seeing improvements in ticket sales. Through Monday, the 2023 box office has tallied $958.5 million in ticket sales, up nearly 50% compared to last year and down just 25% from 2019, according to data from Comscore.
This is a marked improvement from the meager $98.7 million box office tally during the same period in 2021.
Foot traffic has also improved, but continues to linger behind pre-pandemic levels. In the two decades before the pandemic, the industry sold an average of 1.1 billion tickets per year, according to data from EntTelligence. Even as Covid restrictions were lifted in 2022, just more than half that number of tickets were sold for the year. And ticket sales should rise in 2023 as studios release more films.
While cinema operators are pleased that studio production has increased, they are no longer taking audiences for granted.
To that end, operators have started with upgrading projectors. Over the last few years, movie theater operators have been removing traditional digital projectors and installing laser units, citing cost savings over time and a better picture quality for moviegoers.
“It’s a little bit expensive, but it will produce a better product on the screen,” Malco’s Etter said. “The more light you have the clearer everything is and the easier it is to see. And it will be much more economical. It’s sustainable because you are going to use about 60% of the utilities that you did before.”
Etter explained that traditional digital bulbs need to be replaced after around 2,000 hours and produce so much heat that theaters have to pay more to air-condition the projector rooms. And laser components last for 20,000 hours so they can go years without being replaced.
Many theater operators told CNBC they are planning similar upgrades to sound systems, saying they have partnered with companies like Dolby to bring quality speakers into their auditoriums.
“We’ve invest in Dolby Atmos, we’ve invested in new screens, we’ve invested in laser projection,” said Rich Daughtridge, president and CEO of Warehouse Cinemas. “To me, that’s baseline. I feel like you have to create the best sound and picture experience you can create to get people motivated to spend money to come out to the cinema.”
General atmosphere during the IMAX private screening for the movie: “First Man” at the IMAX AMC Theater on October 10, 2018 in New York City.
Lars Niki | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Across the industry, theater chains big and small are also replacing outdated stadium seating with recliners in a bid to improve the overall cinema experience.
“[We are] really looking at our theaters and making sure all of them are amazing,” said Shelli Taylor, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. “So if they don’t have recliners, we’re going in and we’re upgrading. We’re giving face-lifts where needed and just really refreshing and making sure that we continue to deliver that premium experience which people grow to love and expect from Alamo.”
In 2022, 15% of all domestic tickets sold were for premium screenings, with the average ticket costing $15.92, according to EntTelligence data. A standard ticket costs an average of $11.29.
So far in 2023, that premium ticket average is higher — $17.33 each — because so many moviegoers saw Disney’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” in premium formats and 3D.
Big blockbusters have always been a driving force of ticket sales for cinemas. Before the pandemic, theater owners relied predominantly on studio advertising — trailers, TV spots and posters — to promote content and drive moviegoers to cinemas. Now, they are putting more in that mix.
Loyalty programs, direct marketing and special events are some of the recent tactics operators have employed to bring in audiences. AMC launched its first-ever advertising campaign in 2021 featuring Nicole Kidman with the tagline “We make movies better.” The company invested around $25 million in the campaign.
Budget-conscious smaller chains have to be a little more creative.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with distributors just talking about better and more efficient ways to market their films,” Warehouse’s Daughtridge said. “Often, that is data marketing and paid social, better trailer placements and [putting] tickets on sale at the right time.”
“I think there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit,” he said of email lists, loyalty programs and social media for personalized marketing.
Warehouse, which will soon open its third location, has also run promotions that range from offering margaritas with movie tickets to special “daddy-daughter” date night showings. Mid-pandemic, Warehouse Cinemas capitalized on the release of Solstice Studio’s “Unhinged” by hosting a car smash event during the film’s fifth week in theaters.
More recently, the chain held “pajamas and popcorn,” a promotion that entitled customers who wore PJs to the cinema a free popcorn. During that promotion, the company showed an Indiana Jones film and the classic animated dinosaur film “The Land Before Time.” Tickets were $5 each.
“The Land Before Time” showings sold 1,400 tickets, Daughtridge said.
“It was one of those events that just popped off,” he said. “We didn’t expect it to do that much business.”
For big chains like AMC, Regal and Cinemark, alternative programming has come in the form of live events, with cinemas setting up streams for concerts, sports and even Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.
Mid-sized chains like Alamo Drafthouse are even delving into the whimsical. When Oscar favorite “Everything Everywhere All at Once” played in cinemas, the theater chain passed out hot dogs to ticket buyers who went to its “feast” event to mark the famous hot dog fingers scene in the film.
Still from A24’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
A24
The company also worked with the Lincoln Zoo ahead of the opening of its new location in the Chicago neighborhood of Wrigleyville to do an outdoor screening of “The Lion King” in the lions’ den at the zoo.
Alamo isn’t the only chain innovating with food and beverages. Concessions have long been a staple at the cinema, but in recent years theater owners have expanded on the traditional popcorn and soda fare.
Cinepolis, which operates more than two dozen cinemas in eight states, is a luxury dine-in theater chain that offers a wide variety of food and beverages, ranging from chicken wings to lobster tacos. Cinepolis hosts “movie and a meal,” a specialized dinner that is catered to a specific new film release.
“For us, the food is crucial for local experience,” Cinepolis CEO Luis Olloqui said, noting how more people have big high-definition TVs at home, coupled with the ability to order out from top notch restaurants.
This trend isn’t likely to slow down, and industry insiders are optimistic about the future of the movie theater business.
“I think we, unfortunately, had some very bad public relation aspects through the course of Covid,” said Rodriguez of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “And now we have to kind of rebuild that muscle with the consumers and remind them, ‘Hey, you know, that’s behind us. Theaters are fine.’”
Ethan Hawke stars in Blumhouse and Universal’s “The Black Phone.”
Universal
The world of video games is about to get scarier.
Blumhouse, the powerhouse horror movie and TV production company, said Tuesday that it is launching Blumhouse Games.
“For some time we have been looking to build out a team to start accessing the growth opportunity in interactive media,” said Abhijay Prakash, president of Blumhouse. “When we sat with Zach and Don they articulated an approach that resonated with Blumhouse’s model and we knew it was a perfect place for us to start our push into the interactive space.”
Blumhouse Games will partner with independent game developers and target indie-budget games of under $10 million. This is a similar strategy to how the company handles its filmed content production. Blumhouse typically operates under small production budgets and then sees large gains at the box office.
The company has revolutionized the horror genre in the last decade, turning small budget flicks into huge box-office hits. The studio has been responsible for the profitable and popular “Paranormal Activity” films as well as the Academy Award-winning “Get Out.”
“Paranormal Activity,” which was released in 2009, had a budget of just $15,000 and went on to make more than $107 million in the U.S. and nearly $200 million worldwide.
The company plans to invest in horror-themed games for consoles, PCs and mobile devices.
To lead Blumhouse Games, the company tapped video game industry veterans Zach Woods as the group’s president and Don Sechler as chief financial officer.
Wood has been a video game producer for more than 25 years and published games on every platform including Game Boy, Playstation and Xbox. He has worked on indie projects like “Sound Shapes” and “Hohokum” as well as bigger projects like “Prey: Mooncrash” and “Redfall” for Arkane and Bethesda.
Sechler, who will head the finance department, has previously worked for Sony and helped reform PlayStation’s relationship with third party game creators.
Blumhouse is also working to merge with “The Conjuring” director James Wan’s Atomic Monster production company. The deal is expected to close this summer.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal has a distribution deal with Blumhouse.
A sign for hire is posted on the window of a Chipotle restaurant in New York, April 29, 2022.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Job cuts are rising at some of the biggest U.S. companies, but others are still scrambling to hire workers, the result of wild swings in consumer priorities since the Covid pandemic began three years ago.
Tech giants Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, along with companies ranging from Disney to Zoom, have announced job cuts over the past few weeks. In total, U.S.-based employers cut nearly 103,000 jobs in January, the most since September 2020, according to a report released earlier this month from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Meanwhile, employers added 517,000 jobs last month, nearly three times the number analysts expected. This points to a labor market that’s still tight, particularly in service sectors that were hit hard earlier in the pandemic, such as restaurants and hotels.
The dynamic is making it even harder to predict the path of the U.S. economy. Consumer spending has remained robust and surprised some economists, despite headwinds such as higher interest rates and persistent inflation.
All of it is part of the Covid pandemic’s “legacy of weirdness,” said David Kelly, global chief strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release its next nonfarm payroll on March 3.
Some analysts and economists warn that weakness in some sectors, strains on household budgets, a drawdown on savings and high interest rates could further fan out job weakness in other sectors, especially if wages don’t keep pace with inflation.
Wages for workers in the leisure and hospitality industry rose to $20.78 per hour in January from $19.42 a year earlier, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“There’s a difference between saying the labor market is tight and the labor market is strong,” Kelly said.
Many employers have faced challenges in attracting and retaining staff over the past few years, with challenges including workers’ child care needs and competing workplaces that might have better schedules and pay.
With interest rates rising and inflation staying elevated, consumers could pull back spending and spark job losses or reduce hiring needs in otherwise thriving sectors.
“When you lose a job you don’t just lose a job — there’s a multiplier effect,” said Aneta Markowska, chief economist at Jefferies.
That means while there might be trouble in some tech companies, that could translate to lower spending on business travel, or if job loss rises significantly, it could prompt households to pull back sharply on spending on services and other goods.
Some of the recent layoffs have come from companies that beefed up staffing over the course of the pandemic, when remote work and e-commerce were more central to consumer and company spending.
Amazon last month announced 18,000 job cuts across the company. The Seattle-based company employed 1.54 million people at the end of last year, nearly double the number at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic, according to company filings.
Microsoft said it’s cutting 10,000 jobs, about 5% of its workforce. The software giant had 221,000 employees as of the end of June last year, up from 144,000 before the pandemic.
Tech “used to be a grow-at-all-costs sector, and it’s maturing a little bit,” said Michael Gapen, head of U.S. economic research at Bank of America Global Research.
Other companies are still adding employees. Boeing, for example, is planning to hire 10,000 people this year, many of them in manufacturing and engineering. It will also cut around 2,000 corporate jobs, mostly in human resources and finance departments, through layoffs and attrition. The growth aims to help the aerospace giant ramp up output of new aircraft for a rebound in orders with large sales to airlines like United and Air India.
Airlines and aerospace companies were devastated early in the pandemic when travel dried up and are now playing catch-up. Airlines are still scrambling for pilots, a shortage that has limited capacity, while demand for experiences such as travel and dining has surged.
Chipotle is planning to hire 15,000 workers as it gears up for a busier spring season and to support its expansion.
Businesses large and small are also finding they have to raise wages to attract and retain workers. Industries that fell out of favor with consumers and other businesses, such as restaurants and aerospace, are rebuilding workforces after shedding workers. Walmart said it would raise minimum pay for store employees to $14 an hour to attract and retain workers.
The Miner’s Hotel in Butte, Montana, raised hourly pay for housekeepers by $1.50 to $12.50 for that position in the last six weeks because of a high turnover rate, Cassidy Smith, its general manager.
Airports and concessionaires have also been racing to hire workers in the travel rebound. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has been holding monthly job fairs and offers some staff child-care scholarships to help hiring.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where schedules by seats this quarter has grown 48% from the same period of 2019, has launched a number of initiatives, such as $1,000 referral bonuses, and signing and retention incentives for referred staff.
The airport also raised hourly wages for airport facilities representatives from $16.47 in 2022 to $20.68 in 2023.
“Austin has a high cost of living,” said Kevin Russell, the airport’s deputy chief of talent.
He said employee retention has improved.
Electricians, plumbers and heating-and-air conditioning technicians in particular, however, have been difficult to retain because they can work at other places that aren’t 24/7 and at at higher pay, he said.
Many companies’ new workers need to be trained, a time-consuming element for some industries to ramp back up, even if it’s gotten easier to attract new employees.
“Hiring is not a constraint anymore,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said on an earnings call in January. “People are able to hire the people they need. It’s all about the training and ultimately getting them ready to do the sophisticated work that we demand.”
— CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this article.
Paul Rudd is Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, alongside Johnathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror in “Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania.”
Disney
Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” scored an estimated $104 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend.
The 31st Marvel Cinematic Universe film kicked off phase five of the 15-year-old franchise and established the next overarching villain for the series — Kang (Jonathan Majors). The character was first seen in the Disney+ series “Loki.”
“Quantumania’s” domestic haul is nearly double what the first standalone Ant-Man film opened to in 2015 and marks the 31st consecutive MCU release to debut at number one at the domestic box office.
“Marvel has perhaps been more under the microscope in post-Endgame times than they’re used to with several films and streaming series occasionally not registering as well with critics and/or audiences as the brand is used to, which made this release even more important as it promises to kickstart Phase 5,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
“Although some critics didn’t take to the third Ant-Man entry, audiences still turned out for the film in strong numbers to the tune of more tickets sold on opening weekend than for any prior Ant-Man release,” he said.
Internationally, “Quantumania” took in $121 million, bringing its estimated global haul for the three-day spread to $225 million.
“The power of the Marvel brand to drive moviegoers to the multiplex is undeniable and the excitement surrounding phase five of the MCU makes ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ essential viewing for any fan looking to jumpstart their enthusiasm for this new era in the ongoing Marvel saga,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
The film is expected to drive more than seven million patrons to theaters this weekend, according to data from EntTelligence. That’s more than double what Sony’s “Uncharted” lured in during last year’s Presidents Day weekend.
“This Presidents weekend boasts the first true blockbuster opener of 2023,” said Comscore’s Dergarabedian. “‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ sets into motion what looks to be week after week of solid moviegoing and creates momentum for a solid summer movie season.”
Additionally, 28% of ticket buyers opted for premium format theaters, paying an average of $4.29 more per ticket.
Higher foot traffic and higher ticket spending are good signs for the overall movie theater industry, which suffered considerably during the pandemic and is still recovering.
“We often talk about dates circled on the calendar as potential inflection points, and this weekend was the latest for the movie industry,” said Robbins of BoxOffice.com. “After a brief dip in tentpole releases following the holidays, a better-than-expected January and this healthy result from ‘Quantumania’ pave the way for a significant pick-up in high-profile theatrical content once March begins.”
“All told, 2023 is still in its infancy but is thus far living up to expectations as a year theaters and studios can be enthused about,” he said.
A general view of the “SUPER NINTENDO WORLD” entrance at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 16, 2023 in Universal City, California.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Enter the iconic green warp pipe and snake your way into Universal Studios Hollywood’s newest theme park land: Super Nintendo World.
Nearly a decade in the making, this expansion to Universal’s California-based park is part of a broader partnership with video game company Nintendo that encompasses movies and merchandise. The area, a carved out section beyond Universal’s Jurassic World and Transformers areas, opened Friday to the general public.
Super Nintendo World features an augmented reality Mario Kart ride, a Toad-inspired restaurant and a stocked-up merchandise hub filled with shirts, hats, plush and themed popcorn canisters. There are also meet-and-greets with Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach.
The land, sequestered away from other parts of the park, is small, but packed with eye candy and the constant ding of parkgoers tapping question mark adorned bricks. Part of Universal’s lower studio lot was demolished to make room for the new world and new soundstages were erected or relocated to other areas on the expansive backlot.
“What we were able to do was actually have the size work for us,” said Jon Corfino, vice president of Universal Creative. “If you take a look around, I think we are successful at creating this very immersive, enclosed and yet intimate environment where you really feel like you’ve stepped into the game. Because you don’t really see anything else around you and you’re totally contained.”
Mario poses at the “SUPER NINTENDO WORLD” welcome celebration at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 16, 2023 in Universal City, California.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
It’s unclear how much Universal invested in the project, which opens less than two months before the company’s movie studio releases its animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” but it seems confident in its launch.
“The parks business … it’s never been better for us,” NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said in January. “We had a record year last year.”
Shell noted that growth is slow domestically, but that the company has “found our footing” in Japan, where it opened a Super Nintendo World in March 2021. Last December, Shell told investors during a UBS conference that the Nintendo land in Japan was driving a lot of attendance to the international park and that those results are encouraging considering the big bets the company made for several Nintendo lands, including the one in Universal Studios Hollywood.
The company has plans to bring similar lands to its much-anticipated Epic Universe in Florida and Universal Studios Singapore in 2025.
Here’s a look at Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Super Nintendo Land:
As guests exit the warp pipe, they find themselves inside Princess Peach’s Castle. The area is mostly a photo opportunity, but also sets the backdrop of the encased and immersive land.
Across the way, for about $40 parkgoers can purchase power-up bands that can be used to play mini-games within the land and unlock digital coins and badges on the Universal Studios Hollywood app.
Princess Peach’s castle in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
The bands come in six styles based on major characters from Super Mario Bros. — Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Toad and Princess Daisy. The band character you choose coincides with with “team” you are on during your time in the land and all of your digital coin collection goes towards your own personal score and the team score.
The bands are an extension to the land and not required for guests to enjoy the ride or dining options within the park.
Essentially, the story line is that Bowser Jr. has stolen golden keys from the Mushroom Kingdom and guests need to collect three in order to gain access to a final boss battle with the little Koopa. Guests can participate in physical mini-games to get these keys including: Goomba Crazy Crank, Koopa Troopa POWer Punch, Piranha Plant Nap Mishap and Thwomp Panel Panic.
Collecting three keys allows guests to enter into Bowser Jr.’s lair and compete in a special mini-game.
The main attraction in Super Nintendo World is Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.
To get to the ride, parkgoers must pass through Bowser’s Castle. The queue winds through different corridors and showcases a collection of trophies, memorabilia and Bowser’s plans to defeat Team Mario in the upcoming race.
Universal Studios Hollywood employees await guests outside Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in Super Nintendo World.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
The ride itself is multifaceted. At its most basic, it is a race of Team Mario vs. Team Bowser. Layered over a traditional racing coaster is an augmented reality shooter game.
Racers are prompted to turn the steering wheel to navigate the racing course and encouraged to shoot shells at rival racers and obstacles. Pay attention to the pre-show which indicates the racers you should target and the ones you should let breeze by on the raceway.
Statue of Bowser in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
Corfino explained that the team decided to use AR technology because it was more of a social experience. Guests could wear clear plastic visors on the ride and see their friends and family as well as the immersive animation of the Nintendo racers.
He called the AR “transparent technology,” something that would disappear and allow guests to be completely immersed in the experience.
Pre-show animation guides guests on how to wear a specialized Mario visor that will be used during the ride. There is a toggle on the back to tighten or loosen the apparatus.
Mario Kart visors from Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge at Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
For the most part, the experience is seamless. Racers turn their head to see fellow racers, question-mark boxes filled with shells and upcoming obstacles.
However, those with glasses may find it difficult to see throughout the ride. The visor fits snuggly to the forehead. There isn’t a lot of room for eyewear between the visor and the plastic shield that attaches in the ride vehicle.
View of onboarding for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
Additionally, Universal has faced criticism for size restrictions on several of its theme park rides domestically. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, too, saw some blowback for guidelines that stated the right may be unsuitable for riders with waistlines over 40 inches.
Merchandise available at 1-UP Factory inside Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
Riders exit through the gift shop filled with Nintendo character merchandise.
Super Nintendo World’s signature restaurant is called the Toadstool Cafe and its entryway is shaped like a giant red-capped mushroom.
Chef Toad oversees the kitchen which makes a collection of themed salads and burgers as well as spaghetti and meatballs and a short rib special.
Toadstool Cafe located insider Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Sarah Whitten | CNBC
Guests order their food, receive their drinks and are whisked away by the dining team to their seats.
There are video screens throughout the space that act as windows into the Mushroom Kingdom. Throughout your stay you may see multi-colored Mushroom People pass by the frames or battle it out in the skies against enemy invaders.
Toadstool Cafe during a media preview of Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Bloomberg | Getty Images
The restaurant’s signature drink is called the Super Star Lemon Squash. It contains honey lemon soda and tropical boba with mango stars on top.
For dessert, guests can choose from a question block shaped tiramisu, a Mr. Beanpole cake, which is a twist on an Italian cake, or a Princess Peach cupcake.
A Princess Peach cupcake inside Toadstool Cafe during a media preview of Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Bloomberg | Getty Images
Super Nintendo World is open to the general public and will not require advanced virtual queuing in order to enter.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
Consumers in China plan to pay up when it comes to hotels, a Morgan Stanley survey found in late January.
The research points to growing demand for high-end and luxury hotels in China now that the country has ended domestic travel restrictions — and a Covid wave has passed.
“Consumers appear more willing to increase spending on hotel accommodation for their trips vs. pre-Covid, with 20% citing it as their top travel expense compared to 17% each in 2017 and 2020,” Morgan Stanley analysts said.
The report released Tuesday cited a proprietary survey from Jan. 29 to 31 of about 2,000 consumers across China’s larger cities in 19 provinces.
The report said that “37% of the consumers prefer higher star-rated hotels, up from 18% in 2020, with higher-income consumers showing even stronger appetites for luxury hotel stays (47% vs. 31% in 2020).”
“Mentions of budget hotels and mid-range hotels fell universally.”
Consumers’ penchant to save soared to record highs during the pandemic. Retail sales lagged overall economic growth in China in the face of uncertainty about future income.
Morgan Stanley said the survey found a similarly muted appetite for shopping, despite it ranking as the top expense for travelers. The shopping budget for travelers was 9,405 yuan ($1,387), slightly higher than in 2020 but still well below the 2017 level of 13,782 yuan, according to surveys over the past few years.
“The majority of the consumers expect to keep their overall spending unchanged in the next six months (70% vs. 73% last month),” the report said.
But 24% of respondents said they planned to spend more to “upgrade their lifestyles” — an attitude that typically results in buying higher quality products. That’s up from 20% a month ago, the report said.
“The increase in the number of consumers looking to upgrade their lifestyle with higher spend is universal.”
On leisure spending in China: “We don’t see them slowing down.”
Christopher J. Nassetta
CEO, Hilton Worldwide
Per capita disposable income in China grew by 2.9% in 2022 to 36,883 ($5,439) when excluding price factors, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. For urban households, disposable incomes rose more than $1,000 above the national level, the data showed.
Back in September, UBS analyst Xin Chen and a team said they expected that after Covid passed, people in China would pay up for hotels.
“The growing mid-/high-income population in China will fuel continued growth in demand for upscale hotels,” the UBS report said. “At present, the number of upscale and luxury hotel guest room contribution and brand penetration rate in China are both lower than in North America.”
It may be an opportunity for international brands.
“We believe it will be challenging for China hotel groups to enter the upscale market,” UBS said.
“China’s hotel groups are still exploring the upscale hotel market, and we think acquisition of established overseas upscale brands may be their best option, and that founding joint ventures with real estate developers could provide property management resources for expansion into the upscale hotel market.”
InterContinental Hotels Group announced this week it signed two hotel deals in Shanghai, including the first hotel in Greater China under its luxury Vignette Collection brand. The hotels are set to open in the first half of 2024, according to a release.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings said in its fourth-quarter earnings report overnight that an industry measure of revenue for China showed business was still down by 37% compared to 2019 levels. China’s Covid controls also prevented the company from expanding as much as it had planned in the fourth quarter.
Read more about China from CNBC Pro
“You’re already starting to see significant travel within China in terms of uptick,” Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher J. Nassetta said in an earnings call.
“And we expect, particularly in the second half of the year, you’re going to have a big tailwind from that,” he said, according to a StreetAccount transcript.
“There continues to be broader pent-up demand across all segments. I mean, you could argue in the leisure side … people have been doing a lot of it, but we don’t see them slowing down.”
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
More than half of smartphone users in the U.S. are sending money via some sort of peer-to-peer payment service to send money to friends, family and businesses.
Stocks of payment services like PayPal, which owns Venmo, and Block, which owns Cash App, boomed in 2020 as more people began sending money digitally.
related investing news
Zelle, which launched in 2017, stands out from the pack in a few ways. It’s owned and operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, which is co-owned by seven of the big banks and it’s not publicly traded. The platform serves the banks beyond generating an independent revenue stream.
“Zelle is not really a revenue-generating enterprise on a stand-alone basis,” said Mike Cashman, a partner at Bain & Co. “You should think of this really as a little bit of an accommodation, but also as an engagement tool versus a revenue-generating machine.”
“If you’re already transacting with your bank and you trust your bank, then the fact that your bank offers Zelle as a means of payment is attractive to you,” said Terri Bradford, a payment specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
One limitation of PayPal, Venmo and Cash App is that users must all be using the same service. Zelle, on the other hand, appeals to users because anyone with a bank account at one of the seven participating firms can make payments.
“For banks, it’s a no-brainer to try to compete in that space,” said Jaime Toplin, senior analyst at Insider Intelligence. “Customers use their mobile-banking apps all the time, and no one wants to cede the opportunity from a space that people are already really active in to third-party competitors.”
Watch the video above to learn more about why the banks created Zelle and where the service may be headed.
Beyoncé performs on stage headlining the Grand Reveal of Dubai’s newest luxury hotel, Atlantis The Royal on January 21, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Mason Poole | Getty Images
Beyoncé is taking her “Renaissance” global — the superstar will start a world tour in Sweden in May with stops throughout Europe and the United States.
The highly anticipated tour announcement she made on Instagram and her website Wednesday comes days before the Grammy Awards on Sunday, where the global superstar is the most nominated artist and could make Recording Academy history.
Beyoncé, the most decorated woman in Grammy history with 28 wins, could break the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record for most awards won if she wins four awards.
Her 2022 album “Renaissance” is a celebration of dance music and is nominated for album of the year. Her tour will make stops in London, Paris, Barcelona and Toronto before ending Sept. 27 in New Orleans.
There were hints that she might tour again after she performed an invite-only show in January in Dubai at the Atlantis The Royal Resort, her first show in four years. Her last solo tour was in 2016, but she went on tour with her husband Jay Z in 2018.
Ticketmaster said in a release that sales will begin Feb. 6 and fans will need to register through their Verified Fan system. Sale times will vary based on city.
BEIJING — China’s consumption recovery from zero-Covid is getting off to a solid start – after a depressing fourth quarter.
When Michelin-starred restaurant Rêver reopened Thursday from a Lunar New Year break, it was fully booked, said Edward Suen, chief operating officer of the Guangzhou venue. Reservations for the next three days were near capacity, he said.
He’s hopeful business improves this year – and allows Rêver to recoup the roughly 35% in revenue it lost last year. Guangzhou city was one of the hardest hit by China’s Covid controls in late 2022, before Beijing abruptly ended most measures in early December and a wave of infections hit the country.
“Last Christmas, it was the first time in three years we didn’t run a full house, because quite a lot of people made reservations but then they got infected,” Suen said. He co-founded Rêver in June 2020.
In a down-to-earth Chinese city known worldwide for its Cantonese cuisine, Rêver is exploring a new market by serving modern French cuisine, with a multi-course dinner priced at 1,280 yuan ($183) or 1,680 yuan.
For the year ahead, “we try to be a little bit conservative on how things go,” Suen said. “Because everything’s changed so fast and so sudden in these days.”
In 2022, China saw one of its slowest years of economic growth in decades. Within a retail sales slump of 0.2% to 43.97 trillion yuan ($6.28 trillion), catering sales dropped by a steeper 6.3%.
More recent data show Chinese consumers are starting to open their wallets again, especially for travel.
During the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday that ended Friday, national tourism revenue surged by 30% from last year to 375.84 billion yuan, according to official figures. But that was still short of 2019 spending.
“Consumer sentiment is better. Spending power is kind of back,” Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China digital consultancy ChoZan, said Friday. “But I don’t think that suddenly from one month to the next things are back … to 2019 or double 2019.”
Dudarenok said that heading into 2023 and the Lunar New Year, some smaller brands had turned more conservative on China and cut their marketing budgets for the country in half.
“Consumer sentiment was really down, nobody knew what was actually coming, and a lot of marketing budget and dollars went into 11.11 [Singles Day] and it was also not successful, so brands did not earn a lot over 11.11” and another shopping festival in December, she said. “Then suddenly China opened. Many people did not expect that [and were] quite startled by this swift development.”
Dudarenok does expect overall consumer trends to continue, whether it’s people in larger cities spending more “on feeling better” or people in smaller cities paying for higher-quality products.
Read more about China from CNBC Pro
Many analysts expect high levels of savings among Chinese consumers during the pandemic will translate to greater spending this year.
At the policymaker level, Chinese authorities say they’re prioritizing consumption. Premier Li Keqiang led the first post-holiday executive meeting of the State Council on Saturday, and “called for efforts to expedite consumption recovery and keep foreign trade and investment stable,” according to a readout. The meeting said policies to promote the consumption of cars and other big-ticket items would be “fully implemented.”
However, unlike the U.S., China has not distributed cash to consumers nationwide in the wake of the pandemic. Li told reporters in 2022 that policymakers would instead focus on supporting businesses and jobs.
“We believe that the most important factor influencing the consumption is the outlook on future income which ties to many factors,” Hao Zhou, chief economist at Guotai Junan International, said in a note. “That being said, the reduced policy and virus uncertainties will definitely help improve the sentiment.”
He expects 7% year-on-year growth in retail sales.
Hainan, a tropical province aiming to be a duty free shopping destination, announced a goal for 10% growth in retail sales this year. That’s after its retail sales fell by 9.2% last year.
Those holiday sales were more than four times what they were in 2019, the release said, reflecting the region’s growth and new mall openings over the last few years.
LVMH and Coach-parent Tapestry both signed deals in 2022 with local authorities to expand their business in Hainan, including the establishment of Tapestry’s China travel retail headquarters, according to government announcements. The two companies did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
Top executives from U.S. and European brands, among others, plan to visit Hainan this year now that Covid restrictions are relaxed, said Ruslan Tulenov, global media officer for Hainan’s Bureau of International Economic Development. He declined to say how many or when.
“Before I personally I had some few discussions with some top companies last year or two years ago, but at that time [there were] some Covid restrictions, difficulties coming to China,” he said. “Some companies, they even would like to take their private jets to fly to Hainan directly, but at that time there were some Covid restrictions.”
Brands in China have to adjust to changes not only in the Covid situation but also in the market.
Companies are moving more marketing dollars to ByteDance’s Douyin, the local version of TikTok, and away from Weibo, Dudarenok said.
While those brands were on Douyin for years, they were not part of the social conversation on the highly popular app, she said. For brands, she said the thinking now is that “China has changed, most important China has opened, and to get into that business we need to be part of that conversation.”
According to a report published in January by the World Travel & Tourism Council and Trip.com Group:
Nearly 60% of travelers have chosen more sustainable travel options in the last couple of years.
Nearly 70% are actively seeking sustainable travel options.
But finding companies that are serious about sustainability isn’t easy, said James Thornton, CEO of tour company Intrepid Travel.
“You see hotels saying they’re sustainable, and then you’re using these little travel bottles for shampoos and shower gels,” he said.
It’s all just “greenwashing,” he said, referencing the term that describes companies’ efforts to appear more environmentally sound than they are.
For a company to say they’re “100% sustainable” or they’re “eco-conscious” … doesn’t mean anything.
James Thornton
CEO, Intrepid Travel
The term has risen in popularity alongside the increase in demand for sustainable products and services.
The result is a mix of those who are truly dedicated to the cause — and those who sprinkle eco-buzzwords and photographs of seedlings, forests and other “green” imagery in their marketing materials, with no real action to back up their claims.
“For a company to say they’re ‘100% sustainable’ or they’re ‘eco-conscious’ … doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I would urge travelers to be very cautious when they’re seeing these words, and to really dig in and look in a bit more detail.”
Consumer interest in sustainable travel has changed considerably in the past two decades, said Thornton. He said when he joined Intrepid travel 18 years ago, “people would look at us like we’re a bit crazy” when the company talked about sustainability.
Now, many companies are doing it, whether they are serious, or not.
Thornton said he believes the travel industry is currently divided into three categories. One third have “incredibly good intentions, and [are] working very actively on addressing the climate crisis … and they’re making good progress.”
Another third have “good intentions but [aren’t] actually taking action yet. And often … they’re not quite sure how to take action.”
The final third “is just utterly burying its head in the sand and hoping that this thing is going to go away, and the truth of the matter is — it isn’t.”
To identify companies in the first category, Thornton recommends travelers look for three critical things.
To ascertain whether a company may be jumping on the eco-bandwagon, examine its history, said Thornton.
He advises looking for “a long history of association with issues of sustainability, or is this something that only just appeared?”
Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton.
Source: Intrepid Travel
If the messaging is new for the company, that’s not a deal breaker, he said.
“But that would then encourage the customer to probably want to look in a bit more detail to see if what a company actually does has rigor behind it,” he said, “Or whether it’s something that’s just being done for marketing sake — and therefore greenwashing.”
Next, travelers should see if the company measures its greenhouse gas emissions, said Thornton.
“The honest truth is that every travel company is ultimately contributing towards the climate crisis,” he said. “So the best thing any travel company can start to do is measure the greenhouse gas emissions it creates.”
“The Glasgow Declaration website lists the organizations that have agreed to actively reduce their emissions … and actually have a climate plan that shows how they’re doing that,” he said.
Signatories must publish their climate plan, which is monitored by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, he said.
“Consumers can use this as a way to check if the company they’re booking with is serious about decarbonization,” he said, adding that more than 700 organizations are on the list.
Thornton said travelers can also check the Science Based Targets Initiative, which is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Its website has a dashboard that details emission-reducing commitments made by more than 4,500 companies worldwide, including American Express Global Business Travel, the United Kingdom’s Reed & Mackay Travel and Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group.
“It took Intrepid three years to become a B Corp,” he said.
Other companies with B Corp status include Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, Aesop —and Patagonia, which Thornton called “arguably the most famous B Corp in the world.”
Bawah Reserve, a resort in Indonesia’s Anambas Islands, is applying for B Corp certification. The resort uses solar power and desalinates drinking water on the island.
Source: Bawah Reserve
Other travel eco-certifications are less exacting, said Graff.
“Many of them are just a racket to make money,” she said.
Bawah Reserve started the process to become B Corp certified in November of 2022, said Graff. “We anticipate it will take about a year to complete,” she said.
B Corp uses a sliding scale for its certifications fees, which start at $1,000 for companies with less than $1 million in annual revenue.
“The cost is fairly minimal,” said Thornton, especially “if you’re serious about sustainability.”
He said Intrepid pays about $25,000 a year for the certification.
Thornton also advised travelers to ask questions like:
Are you using renewable energy sources?
Is the food locally sourced?
Are employees from local communities?
Who owns the hotel?
He saidthere are places that are perceived to be sustainable but that are “actually owned by a casino.”
Lastly, Thornton recommends travelers look to online reviews.
“Often a little bit of research on Google … can give you a really good indication around whether a hotel or a travel experience is doing what it says it’s doing — or whether they’re actually greenwashing.”
A Boeing 747-8F operated by AirBridgeCargo takes off from Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Jan Woitas | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Boeing posted a $663 million loss for the fourth quarter as supply chain issues weighed on results despite a rebound in aircraft sales and deliveries that drove up revenue.
Airlines and aircraft manufacturers have benefited from a sharp recovery in air travel, one of the most affected industries from the Covid pandemic. But Boeing’s leaders have been hesitant to ramp up aircraft production until the supply chain has stabilized.
The company is producing 31 of its 737 jets a month and plans to increase that to about 50 per month in 2025 or 2026. It said it would raise what has been low production rate of the 787 Dreamliners to five each month toward the end of the year and to 10 per month in 2025 or 2026. Deliveries of those wide-body planes had been paused for around two years until this summer due to production flaws.
For the full year, Boeing had a loss of $5 billion despite a 7% increase in revenue to $66.6 billion.
Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter compared with analysts’ estimates complied by Refinitiv:
Adjusted loss per share: $1.75 vs. expected earnings per share of 26 cents.
Revenue: $19.98 billion vs. $20.38 billion expected.
Boeing generated $3.1 billion in cash flow in the fourth quarter, higher than analyst forecasts, and $2.3 billion for the year, the most since 2018, before the second of two fatal 737 Max crashes that sparked a yearslong crisis for the company.
Its commercial aircraft unit generated $9.2 billion in sales in the fourth quarter, up 94% from a year earlier as deliveries jumped, but it still produced a loss due to abnormal costs and other expenses such as research and development, the company said.
Boeing reiterated its expectation to generate between $3 billion and $5 billion in free cash flow this year.
“We’re proud of how we closed out 2022, and despite the hurdles in front of us, we’re confident in our path ahead,” CEO Dave Calhoun said Wednesday in a memo to employees. “We have a robust pipeline of development programs, we’re innovating for the future and we’re increasing investments to prepare for our next generation of products.”
Disney‘s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has topped $2 billion at the global box office, marking the second James Cameron film to reach this benchmark.
Only five other films have hit this metric — the original “Avatar,” “Avengers: Endgame,” Cameron’s “Titanic,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
As of Sunday, “The Way of Water” had tallied $598 million from domestic ticket sales and $1.426 billion from foreign markets. The film is the sixth highest-grossing film of all time and will likely move up in the rankings as its run in theaters continues.
“The film has now joined that very exclusive box office club and has made it look almost effortless,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
The box office has struggled to recover in the wake of the pandemic, as audiences shifted to more at-home viewing and fewer films reached the big screen. As the industry rebounds, films like “The Way of Water” have proven that moviegoers are eager to return for big blockbuster spectacles. And many are willing to pay for premium showings like IMAX or large format screens that often come with a higher price tag.
While “The Way of Water” has had a more muted showing than expected in China, the result of a spike in Covid numbers and hospitalizations due to the virus, it has generated strong ticket sales from France, Germany and Korea.
Reaching the $2 billion mark is a good sign for the Avatar franchise, which has three more installments slated for release over the next five years. It also meets the goal set by Cameron, who had previously said the film would need to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history just to break even.
“Keeping in line with Cameron’s ‘king of the box office world’ career trajectory it should come as no surprise that the justification for completion of the director’s vision for the world of Pandora is now undeniably assured and given the stamp of approval by enthusiastic fans around the globe,” Dergarabedian said.
It is unclear what the film’s production budget was, although estimates range from $250 million to $350 million, not including marketing costs.
“The Way of Water” should steadily continue to generate box office receipts as it has no direct competition in theaters until mid-February when Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is released.
If you don’t have health insurance for 2023, you may still be able to get it through the public marketplace.
Open enrollment for the federal health-care exchange ends Sunday, with coverage taking effect Feb. 1. If your state operates its own exchange, you may have more time.
Most marketplace enrollees — 13 million of 14.5 million in 2022 — qualify for federal subsidies (technically tax credits) to help pay premiums. Some people may also be eligible for help with cost sharing, such as deductibles and copays on certain plans, depending on their income.
So far, nearly 15.9 million people have signed up through the exchange during this open enrollment, which started Nov. 1. Four out of 5 customers can find 2023 plans for $10 or less per month after accounting for those tax credits, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
After the sign-up window closes, you’d generally need to experience a qualifying life event — i.e., birth of a child or marriage — to be given a special enrollment period.
For the most part, people who get insurance through the federal (or their state’s) exchange are self-employed or don’t have access to workplace insurance, or they don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid.
The subsidies are still more generous than before the pandemic. Temporarily expanded subsidies that were put in place for 2021 and 2022 were extended through 2025 in the Inflation Reduction Act, which became law in August.
This means there is no income cap to qualify for subsidies, and the amount anyone pays for premiums is limited to 8.5% of their income as calculated by the exchange. Before the changes, the aid was generally only available to households with income from 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level.
The marketplace subsidies that you’re eligible for are based on factors that include income, age and the second-lowest-cost “silver” plan in your geographic area (which may or may not be the plan you enroll in).
Actor Ezra Miller arrives at the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Justice League’ at Dolby Theatre on November 13, 2017 in Hollywood, California.
Axelle/bauer-griffin | Filmmagic | Getty Images
Ezra Miller agreed to a plea deal Friday to avoid jail time related to a May 2022 incident in which they allegedly stole alcohol from a neighbor’s home in Vermont.
“The Flash” actor pleaded not guilty to these charges in October, which could have carried a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Under the deal, Miller agreed to plead guilty to unlawful trespass, a misdemeanor, and will serve one year probation and pay a $500 fine. Their sentence of around 90 days is suspended for one year pending the competition of probation. As part of the agreement, Miller agreed not to consume alcohol and to continue their rehabilitation efforts centered on their mental health treatment.
“Ezra would like to thank the court and the community for their trust and patience throughout this process, and would once again like to acknowledge the love and support they have received from their family and friends, who continue to be a vital presence in their ongoing mental health,” attorney Lisa Shelkrot said in a statement on Miller’s behalf.
Miller has made headlines in recent years following a pattern of disturbing behavior and allegations of misconduct.
The first incident was in 2020 after a video surfaced showing them appearing to violently choke a fan. Incidents of impropriety escalated in 2022 when they were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment at a karaoke bar in Hawaii.
Soon after, Miller was arrested again after an altercation in which they were accused of throwing a chair and injuring a woman. Additionally, there were accusations of grooming against Miller.
Miller has been associated with the DCEU since the release of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016 and has been a key part of the Warner Bros.-produced “Fantastic Beasts” film series, which still has two movies left to film.
The DCEU is in flux regardless, as James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over direction of projects associated with the superhero universe. The duo is expected to announce official plans for future in early 2023.
Delta Air Lines Airbus A330neo or A330-900 aircraft with neo engine option of the European plane manufacturer, as seen departing from Amsterdam Schiphol AMS EHAM International airport.
Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines‘ fourth-quarter profit topped analysts’ expectations, and its revenue grew from three years ago, the latest signs of consumers’ willingness to shell out for air travel.
The airline generated $13.44 billion in the final three months of 2022, topping the $11.44 billion in sales it brought in three years earlier. High costs ate away at some of Delta’s profits, but its net income still totaled $828 million, down from $1.1 billion in the same three-month period of 2019.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a news release the carrier “rose to the challenges of 2022, delivering industry-leading operational reliability and financial performance.”
Here’s how Delta performed in the fourth quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations based on Refinitiv consensus estimates:
Adjusted earnings per share: $1.48 vs. $1.33 expected.
Airlines have largely been upbeat about the fourth quarter, despite concerns about a recession and weakness from some retailers and other businesses. On Thursday, American Airlines hiked its revenue and profit forecast for the period, sparking a broad rally in the sector.
That was even after severe winter weather disrupted flights coast to coast over the year-end holidays, prompting mass cancellations. Southwest Airlines in particular struggled to recover and said its meltdown could cost it more than $800 million. American and Southwest report on Jan. 26.
Delta expects to earn 15 cents to 40 cents a share on an adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2023 and for its sales to increase 14% to 17% over the same quarter of 2019. It forecast full-year 2023 earnings of $5 to $6 a share.
Delta’s shares were down more than 4% in premarket trading.
Bob Iger poses with Mickey Mouse attends Mickey’s 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2018 in Los Angeles.
Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images
Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid employees on Monday they must return to corporate offices four days a week starting March 1, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
In the email, Iger stressed the importance of in-person collaboration.
“As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with,” Iger wrote. “As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”
During the pandemic many companies opted for work-from-home or hybrid work models that kept large gatherings of people, and thus the spread of Covid, to a minimum. As vaccination rates rose and cases and hospitalization rates fell, companies like Disney looked to bring staff back to offices and return to a more normalized pre-pandemic work environment.
Disney’s new policy comes less than two months after Iger returned to the helm of the company, promising a two-year stint that would spark renewed growth for the company and develop a successor to take his place.
Iger’s return in November came days after former CEO Bob Chapek said he planned to cut costs at the company, which had been burdened by swelling expenses at its streaming service, Disney+. Iger’s return also comes as legacy media companies contend with a rapidly shifting landscape, as ad dollars dry up and consumers increasingly cut off their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming.
Pope Benedict XVI pictured on February 28, 2013 in Rome, Italy.
Franco Origlia | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the Bavarian-born theologian whose conservative Roman Catholicism earned him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler” and who shocked his flock by suddenly resigning the papacy after just eight years, died Saturday, the Vatican said.
He was 95.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the statement said. No cause of death was provided.
Benedict was the longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in September 2020.
Benedict, the first pope to voluntarily give up the pontifical reins in nearly 600 years, spent his twilight years living at the Vatican in a refurbished monastery, rarely appearing in public with the man who replaced him, Pope Francis.
“We must think about what Pope Benedict said — ‘It’s the epoch of sin against God the Creator,’” Francis said at a gathering of Polish bishops.
Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in Marktl, in Germany, Benedict, the son of police officer Josef and Maria, grew up in a Germany infected by Nazism. Like his father, Benedict opposed Hitler. But at age 14, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth. And two years later, while still in the seminary, the future pope was conscripted into the German army and sent to the front.
With the Allies on the verge of victory, Benedict deserted and went home. After a brief stint in a POW camp, he returned to the seminary and, along with his brother Georg, was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951.
Unlike most priests, Benedict logged little time in parishes. Instead, he embarked on an academic career and found himself moving to the conservative right as German campuses moved to the liberal left in the 1960s.
Unlike the wildly popular John Paul II, Benedict was a stern and forbidding figure with little of his Polish predecessor’s charisma. He was seen more as a transitional pope — a keeper of John Paul’s flame.
Like John Paul, Benedict was a witness to the Holocaust and made it his mission to reach out to Jews and to fight antisemitism. In 2008, Benedict became the first pope to visit a Jewish house of worship in the United States when he prayed at the Park East Synagogue in New York City.
Benedict was considered a dominant intellectual figure in Roman Catholicism as he moved toward more conservative positions in the 40 years before he assumed the papacy. By 1981, he had become the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the council — known during the 16th century as the Spanish Inquisition — that promotes and enforces church doctrine.
His fierce resistance to what he saw as campaigns to secularize the church, promote women as priests, “normalize” homosexuality and encourage a liberal Latin American strain of Catholicism known as liberation theology led to his characterization as “God’s Rottweiler.”
Among his more consequential actions as prefect was to issue a formal letter in May 2001 that was widely interpreted as declaring that investigations into allegations of clergy sex abuse were confidential church matters not subject to review by civil law enforcement agencies. Critics — and attorneys for victims of such abuse — often pointed to the letter as proof that the church was seeking to cover up the burgeoning scandal.
The fallout dogged Benedict from the beginning of his papacy. In 2005, his first year as pope, he was accused in a lawsuit of having personally covered up a priest’s abuse of three boys in Texas. He avoided the lawsuit by requesting and receiving diplomatic immunity from the State Department.
“He could go around and minister to victims, which he did, and I think that was a brave and profound thing to do, but he couldn’t change the definitive elements of the Catholic Church that enable abuse,” said Michael D’Antonio, author of “Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and the Era of Catholic Scandal.”
Benedict asked for forgiveness in February for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report from a German law firm criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich.
Benedict’s conservatism extended to the church’s public face. In addition to his native German, he was fluent in Italian, French, English and Latin — the last of which he sought to revive in church ceremony.
Former Pope Benedict XVI presiding over a weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
In 2007, he issued an official document allowing performance of the Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass, in the European and North African countries whose histories had been shaped by Latin. The traditional Mass had been one of the prominent casualties of the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s, when Pope John XXIII liberalized the church’s practices, liturgy and relations with other denominations.
Benedict, who was often quoted rebuking more liberal theologians who argued that the reforms of the council were a rejection of the church’s previous practices, reinstituted many of the dormant symbols of the church’s power — he wore fur-lined vestments and jewel-laden rings, and he revived the papal tradition of wearing bright red leather shoes, symbolizing Jesus’ bloodied feet as he was sent to his crucifixion.
Such symbols were on par with the massive visual statement the church made through its majestic churches and cathedrals and its unequaled collection of great works of art, Benedict contended.
“All the great works of art, the cathedrals — the Gothic cathedrals and the splendid Baroque churches — are a luminous sign of God, and thus are truly a manifestation, an epiphany of God,” he said in 2008.
Benedict was 78 and already frail in 2005 when he became pope — the oldest pope elected in almost three centuries — and by Feb. 11, 2013, then 85, he had had enough.
“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he said at a Vatican meeting with his cardinals, referring to the Catholic doctrine of papal primacy. “Strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”
And with that, Benedict gave three weeks’ notice that he was stepping down at the end of the month.
Benedict took the title pope emeritus and continued to wear the papal white. But he returned the Ring of the Fisherman, which traditionally is ceremonially destroyed with a blow from a hammer after a pope dies. And he asked that he be addressed as Father Benedict.
The former pope also maintained a cordial relationship with Francis. Both men were beaming when they embraced Dec. 8, 2015, before opening the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the start of the Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee. In June 2016, Francis kissed Benedict on both cheeks to help celebrate the 65th anniversary of the former pope’s ordination.
Their relationship was fictionalized in the 2019 movie “The Two Popes,” an adaptation of Anthony McCarten’s play “The Pope.” The movie depicts Benedict summoning Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the liberal archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who would become Pope Francis, to the Vatican in secret to disclose that he intended to resign.
Over a series of conversations, Benedict, played by Anthony Hopkins, confesses that he can no longer hear God’s words and his belief that perhaps Bergoglio should succeed him as the only man who might be able to shatter the Vatican bureaucracy and reform the institution.
Change is needed, Benedict says, but “change is compromising,” and he is incapable of compromising. “For my entire life, I have been alone, but never lonely, until now,” he says.
