The Town with Matthew Belloni

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The Biggest Winners and Losers of 2026 So Far Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to select their winners and losers in the entertainment industry so far this year, from actors with surprise hits, studio heads with embarrassing flops, CEOs of struggling companies, and producers that made huge swings that paid off.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

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Why Attendance Tells a Better Story Than Box Office Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by Steve Buck, chief strategy officer at EntTelligence to discuss how many people are actually going to the movies and clarify the difference between admission versus box office. Steve reveals whether rising box office grosses are matched by actual attendance, if ticket price increases and premium large format screens are actually juicing box office totals, the demos and genres that are overindexing, and some surprising political affiliations of moviegoers (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Minions & Monsters' (29:52).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Steve Buck

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will the Comcast-NBCU Split Lead to Another Huge Hollywood Deal? Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the news that NBCUniversal is splitting off from Comcast into a standalone company, the details of the deal, why this is happening now, and whether this opens the floodgates for more M&A (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Sony’s $100M investment in Cosm (26:45).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

After false reports of Deborah's death, she and Ava return to Vegas. Watch now.

The Ringer is committed to responsible trading. Please visit https://fanduel.com/predicts to learn more about the resources and helpline.

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How Larry Ellison’s Trump Bromance Is Helping WarnerMount Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by WSJ reporter Emily Glazer to discuss her fascinating new piece highlighting Larry Ellison’s private friendship with Donald Trump and the impact it had on the Paramount M&A saga. Emily explains why Larry and Donald seem to get along so well, why Larry is bankrolling the WarnerMount deal, and how we got here in the first place (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Supergirl’ (28:32).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Emily Glazer

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

After false reports of Deborah's death, she and Ava return to Vegas. Watch now.

The Ringer is committed to responsible trading. Please visit https://fanduel.com/predicts to learn more about the resources and helpline.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon Won’t Release Its Sam Altman Movie. Will Anyone? Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by Keach Hagey, a journalist at The Wall Street Journal and author of 'The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future,' to discuss Amazon abandoning Luca Guadagnino’s movie ‘Artificial’ and looking to sell it to another studio to distribute. They talk about why Amazon made this movie in the first place, its relationship with OpenAI, their thoughts on the script and how it portrays Altman, whether any major studio will buy this movie, and how big tech has influenced Hollywood’s decision-making strategy (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the legendary Clive Davis pre-Grammys party (27:17).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Keach Hagey

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

After false reports of Deborah's death, she and Ava return to Vegas. Watch now.

Alan Cumming hosts the hit series THE TRAITORS. Streaming on Peacock.

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The Secret Industry That Makes Movies Go Viral Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by journalist Lane Brown from New York Magazine to discuss his latest article digging into the insidious world of online clipping and narrative campaigning. Lane explains how virality and popularity are manufactured and engineered to resemble the improvised enthusiasm of human strangers, the companies behind these simulated trends, which movies, shows, bands, and viral moments were influenced by these tactics, how prevalent this is in media, how AI will play a role, and what to expect in the future (02:28). Matt then finishes the show with a couple of predictions about ‘Shrek 5’ and ‘The Social Reckoning’ (28:51).
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Lane Brown
Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
Read Lane’s piece HERE
After false reports of Deborah's death, she and Ava return to Vegas. Watch now.
Landman Season 2: for your Emmy consideration in all Drama Series categories. Visit http://ParamountFYC.com.

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Have Platforms Unseated Content as King in Hollywood? Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by John Mass, president of Content Partners, to discuss the massive value of owning distribution in modern Hollywood in comparison to years past, when content seemed to be the most important piece of the pie. They talk about why becoming the gatekeeper in Hollywood is so important in 2026, Fox acquiring Roku, and more (2:55). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for 'Toy Story 5' (27:33).
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: John Mass
Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
After false reports of Deborah's death, she and Ava return to Vegas. Watch now.
The Madison: for your Emmy consideration in all Drama Series categories. Visit http://ParamountFYC.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fox Is Buying Roku for $22B. Is It Now a Streaming Power Player? Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of Roku, why this happened, how connected TV devices are the secret gatekeepers to streaming, how this will affect the consumer, and what this says about the larger deal landscape in Hollywood (2:11). We finish the show with an update on the 2026 Box Office Draft (28:30).
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Lucas Shaw
Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
In this darkly comedic series, a love triangle ends in death. Watch now.
The Madison: for your Emmy consideration in all Drama Series categories. Visit http://ParamountFYC.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonus Episode! Matt Risks His Life Eating Wings With Sean Evans of ‘Hot Ones.’ Jun 14, 2026

Show notes

Live from Hollywood, Matt turns the tables on 'Hot Ones' host Sean Evans. Matt eats hot wings and risks his intestinal fortitude while interviewing Sean at the 'Hot Ones' FYC event. Yes, he tries Da Bomb.
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Sean Evans
Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
In this darkly comedic series, a love triangle ends in death. Watch now.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Obsession’ Windfall and How Indie Hits Pay Out Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

Matt is joined by film producer Mynette Louie, a cohead of creative producing and assistant professor at Columbia University, to explain how the money is distributed when an indie film is a big hit. They use Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’ as an example to discuss how the financial waterfall flows, who profits the most and the least, and the state of indie film distribution (03:14). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about '24 Jump Street' (34:18).
Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Mynette Louie
Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
In this darkly comedic series, a love triangle ends in death. Watch now.

Landman Season 2: for your Emmy consideration in all Drama Series categories. Visit http://ParamountFYC.com .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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