Entertainment This Week: Netflix–Warner Shock, Disney’s AI Leap and Swift’s Final Show
Suzan Seherin 
Streaming giants rewrote Hollywood’s map, pop megastars headed to Disney+, and horror and fantasy ruled the box office.
Streaming giants: Netflix–Warner megadeal shakes Hollywood
Netflix has agreed to acquire Warner Bros’ studios and streaming business in a deal valued at about US$82.7 billion.
The transaction would give Netflix control of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film studios and major franchises including Game of Thrones, DC, Dune and Harry Potter.
The takeover follows Warner Bros. Discovery’s plan to spin off its global networks arm into a separate company.
However, the deal still needs regulatory approval and faces heavy scrutiny over competition and media concentration in the US and Europe.
Rival bidder Paramount–Skydance has launched a hostile counter-offer, keeping pressure on the Warner Bros. board.
As a result, the battle for Warner Bros. is now the biggest media takeover fight in years.
Disney and AI: $1 billion OpenAI deal ignites debate
Walt Disney has announced a US$1 billion equity investment in OpenAI plus a three-year licensing deal for its characters.
The agreement lets OpenAI’s Sora video tool and ChatGPT users generate short-form content using more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters.
There are strict limits.
The deal does not allow the use of actors’ likenesses or voices, and includes guardrails to protect copyrights.
Supporters inside Disney say AI tools will help marketing teams and creators develop new interactive experiences and social clips.
Unions and some filmmakers, however, worry about job losses and further blurring between human and machine-made entertainment.
Disney will also roll OpenAI technology into Disney+ and internal workflows, becoming one of OpenAI’s biggest media customers.
Taylor Swift on Disney+: Eras Tour gets a final encore
Taylor Swift returns to streaming screens today in a massive Disney+ rollout.
The platform is premiering the first two episodes of The End of an Era, a six-part behind-the-scenes docuseries about her record-breaking Eras Tour.
At the same time, Disney+ is debuting Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show, a new concert film capturing the tour’s last night in Vancouver in December 2024.
The special includes songs from Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, plus an acoustic medley spanning five albums.
Episodes will drop in pairs each Friday through late December, turning the month into a rolling Swift event for subscribers.
Meanwhile, ABC is airing previews in prime time, underlining Disney’s push to use Swift’s global fandom to drive viewing and sign-ups.
Box office: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ scares up big numbers
At cinemas, horror is leading the early December box office.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 opened to about US$63 million in North America, a record post-Thanksgiving debut and well above expectations.
The sequel has already crossed US$128 million worldwide, quickly covering its mid-range production budget and break-even target.
Reviews have been poor, but loyal fans of the game series are still driving strong attendance.
Disney’s Zootopia 2 continues to perform strongly, passing US$915 million worldwide and setting records in China for a foreign animated film.
Meanwhile, musical sequel Wicked: For Good has topped US$300 million at the US box office, joining only a handful of 2025 films at that milestone.
As a result, December is shaping up as one of the strongest months of the year for cinema chains.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ lights up the Thames
James Cameron’s next sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, staged a dramatic marketing moment on London’s River Thames.
An 11-metre flaming sculpture of an Avatar banshee and burning “A” emblem was towed past Tower Bridge and ignited at dawn.
The structure used around a kilometre of steel piping, 60 flame bars and 100 fuel hoses, taking more than 1,000 hours to build.
Crowds gathered on the riverbanks despite the cold, with cast members and crew returning later for an evening relighting and premiere events.
The film, due later this month, focuses on the volcanic Ash People and is billed as the darkest entry in the franchise so far.
Cameron says the fire-and-water imagery symbolises the sequel’s themes and Pandora’s more dangerous new environments.
Together, these stories show an entertainment industry trying to balance spectacle, fandom and rapid technological change as 2025 winds down.
Featured image: Getty Images
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