WaperA24’s You Can See Everything and Warner Bros.’
Film & TV8 items
Clayface are in a close Halloween box-office race, while Japan’s anime industry reached a record $28 billion in 2025. Elsewhere, The Celebrity Traitors set a BBC audience record and The Smurfs secured 52 new episodes.
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Japan’s anime industry reaches record $28 billion in 2025
Japan’s anime industry reached a record $28 billion in 2025, with growth in both foreign sales and the domestic market. The latest Demon Slayer movie’s global success helped drive the increase.
Why it matters: Growth at home and abroad reinforces anime’s commercial importance to studios, distributors and streaming buyers.
The Celebrity Traitors finale draws record 11.23 million overnight viewers
The BBC series averaged 11.23 million overnight viewers for its Friday finale, exceeding the previous finale high of 11 million. The 80-minute episode peaked at 11.6 million viewers.
Why it matters: The audience growth demonstrates the format’s continued strength as a major linear television event.
The Smurfs adds 52 episodes as season four enters production
Peyo Productions and Ellipse Animation are producing 52 new 11-minute episodes of The Smurfs, with William Renaud returning as director. The first half premieres at the end of 2027, with the remainder arriving in 2028.
Why it matters: The order extends the franchise’s production pipeline and supplies new children’s programming across two release years.
Angel Studios introduces stricter content standards and expanded parental controls
Angel Studios is implementing “The Angel Promise,” banning on-screen sex, nudity, the F-word and “misuse of God’s name.” The initiative also expands parental controls and gives paid subscribers a role in choosing films and television.
Why it matters: The standards formalize Angel’s positioning and shape which projects can fit its distribution strategy.
Cate Blanchett-led coalition challenges OpenAI in New York Times copyright case
A coalition led by Cate Blanchett filed a challenge to OpenAI in the New York Times copyright battle. Blanchett’s statement in the filing emphasized permission for use of her face, voice or image.
Why it matters: The intervention brings performers’ consent concerns into a copyright dispute with implications for Hollywood’s use of AI.
HBO Max releases surprise It: Welcome to Derry prequel special
HBO Max released a surprise 30-minute Halloween special titled A Story of Derry. The It: Welcome to Derry episode is set hundreds of years before the series’ events and Pennywise’s introduction.
Why it matters: The release adds an unannounced holiday programming event around an existing horror franchise.
Faisal Hashmi launches Spine Drop Pictures with three-film horror slate
Dubai-based director and writer Faisal Hashmi has launched genre-focused production company Spine Drop Pictures. Its inaugural slate comprises three horror features.
Why it matters: The launch adds a new genre producer and three feature projects to the independent film pipeline.
Follow-ups1
You Can See Everything narrowly leads Clayface in Halloween box-office race
A24’s documentary earned $3.56 million on its third Friday from 3,243 North American theaters, narrowly beating Warner Bros. and DC’s Clayface. Both films are estimated to make around $10.5 million over the weekend.
Why it matters: The documentary is sustaining competitive theatrical demand into its third weekend against a DC release.