A24 Scores $225 Million Equity Investment, $2.5 Billion Valuation

By Rory CarrollLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Boxing promoter Jake Paul has offered Will Smith and Chris Rock $15 million each to step in the ring and settle their differences after Smith slapped Rock during Sunday's Oscars awards ceremony. Smith strode on stage during the televised ceremony and struck Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smith's wife. "I got $15m for Will Smith and $15m for Chris Rock ready to go," Paul, who runs Most Valuable Promotions, wrote on Twitter.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterOscars viewership rose Sunday when 15.36 million sets of eyeballs tuned into the 94th Academy Awards on ABC. The Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes-hosted show was up 56% from last year’s historic low in audience size, per time-zone-adjusted fast-national numbers from Nielsen, and rose 68% in key demo ratings to a 3.2.Looking at last year in the same preliminary fast-national metric, the 2021 ceremony drew 9.85 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49.Final “Live + Same Day” Nielsen data for the 94th Academy Awards, which will show out-of-home viewing and live streaming, will be available Tuesday.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaThe rom-com may be showing signs of life.After being written off as a theatrical proposition, Paramount’s “The Lost City” appears to be scoring with audiences. The film, which puts a fresh coat of varnish on “Romancing the Stone” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” earned $2.5 million in Thursday previews.

Naman Ramachandran Global streamers are investing heavily in Scotland, with Amazon Prime Video investing £50 million ($65 million) across three series.The U.K. parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee is conducting a series of evidence sessions exploring the media landscape in Scotland.

League of Legends publisher and developer Riot Games will deepen its relationship with Fortiche Production, the studio behind its breakout Netflix animated series Arcane. Announced on Monday, Riot closed an equity investment under which the gaming company now holds a non-controlling stake in Fortiche.

**WINNER.FILM CATEGORIESBest Picture“Belfast”“CODA”“Don’t Look Up”“Dune”“King Richard”“Licorice Pizza”“Nightmare Alley”“The Power of the Dog”“tick, tick…Boom!”“West Side Story”Best ActorNicolas Cage – “Pig”Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Power of the Dog”Peter Dinklage – “Cyrano”Andrew Garfield – “tick, tick…Boom!”Will Smith – “King Richard”Denzel Washington – “The Tragedy of Macbeth”Best ActressJessica Chastain – “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”Olivia Colman – “The Lost Daughter”Lady Gaga – “House of Gucci”Alana Haim – “Licorice Pizza”Nicole Kidman – “Being the Ricardos”Kristen Stewart – “Spencer”Best Supporting Actor in a FilmJamie Dornan – “Belfast”Ciarán Hinds – “Belfast”Troy Kotsur – “CODA” — WINNERJared Leto – “House of Gucci”J.K.

The Oscar-winning indie studio behind such movies as Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, has secured a $225 million equity investment to fund its strategic growth plan.

A24 has received an equity investment of $225 million to fuel a strategic growth plan, and the distributor plans to use the capital to invest in and expand its production and distribution of global, original stories, as well as develop projects beyond the screen. The lead investor for the round is Stripes, and the company’s founder Ken Fox will now join A24’s board. Neuberger Berman, on behalf of client funds, co-led a group of investors in the round.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterHoly ticket sales, Batman!Robert Pattinson’s pitch-black superhero adventure “The Batman” collected a mighty $128.5 million in its box office debut, marking the best opening weekend of 2022 by a landslide. But what is more impressive: it’s only the second pandemic-era movie to cross the $100 million mark in a single weekend, a feat first achieved by “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which launched last December to a historic $260 million.Thanks to positive reviews, strong reception from ticket buyers and high levels of intrigue to see Pattinson’s moody take on the Caped Crusader, “The Batman” is shaping up to be a commercial winner for Warner Bros.

King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green, writer Zach Baylin, star Aunjanue Ellis and film editor Pamela Martin joined Warner Bros’ panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event.

Reese Witherspoon and her husband Jim Toth have put their Los Angeles mansion on the market for a whopping $25 million. Located in the upscale neighborhood of Brentwood, the sprawling 3-acre estate has seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a jaw-dropping chef’s kitchen, a chic spa and the most gorgeous pool. The couple — who have been married for over ten years — bought the pad for $16 million in March 2020. Talk about flipping a house!

Clayton Davis Aunjanue Ellis was content being a journeywoman actor in the business and providing for her family — but now the acclaim is pouring in.And yes, that includes an Oscar nomination for her role as Oracene ‘Brandy’ Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard.” On the latest episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we talk to Ellis about what it feels like to now be an Academy Award nominated actress, which she still can’t say out loud. She discusses her experience with working with double Oscar-nominee Will Smith (for best picture and actor) and the difference between his “lore” and the “good person” she was privileged to work with, in addition to her cast members.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRishi Malhotra has been tapped to lead Luminary as the subscription audio platform’s new CEO. In his new role, Malhotra, the founder and former CEO of the Indian online music streaming service JioSaavn, will reposition the company around a few key areas of content, bolstering Luminary’s sports, music and comedy programming.Malhotra replaces Simon Sutton, the former HBO president who joined the company two and a half years ago.

Bella Hadid and her boyfriend Marc Kalman are spending some quality time together!

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe California Film Commission announced the latest round of tax credits for film productions on Monday, and once again Netflix emerged as the big winner.The streaming giant was awarded $60.3 million in state credits, far outpacing Disney ($27.2 million), Warner Bros. ($16.2 million) and Amazon ($16 million).

Rita Ora is heating up Milan!

Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith make one picture perfect couple!

Gigi Hadid and her younger sister Bella are continuing to walk in the same fashion shows!