The Biggest Studio Bet of the Year is in a Swamp
→ If you’re in the first decade of your entertainment career, apply to The Ladder, a members-only subscription. The Biggest Studio Bet of the Year is in a SwampUniversal just opened the first major U.S. theme park in 24 years. This is why it matters more than you think
This week, Universal opened a new theme park in Orlando, Florida. That feels like such a familiar story that it’s not even worth noticing. Don’t Uni and Disney have parks and rides everywhere? Well, as a matter of fact, there hasn’t been a major theme park opening in the U.S. for 24 years; since Disney opened California Adventure in 2001. And that opening was something of a dud:
Although in the years since, after multiple makeovers and revisions, California Adventure has clawed its way to actual beloved status among park-goers. Anyway, these moments don’t happen every day, or seemingly any day, in 21st century entertainment — short-sighted and perpetually short on free cash. And of course, amusement parks aren’t what we artists here in showbiz like to talk about — that tawdry piece of brand exploitation we leave to crass salesmen like Bob Chapek, and the less they tell us about what they do the better. The trades probably gave more ink to the Oscar prospects of Anora or The Brutalist than they gave the parks divisions in the past decade. Which really tells you all you need to know about the Hollywood establishment’s relationship with the industry’s consumers. For all that, I came to Orlando; to see with my own eyes what will probably be the most consequential event to happen to studios this year. ... Subscribe to The Ankler. to unlock the rest.Become a paying subscriber of The Ankler. to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content. A subscription gets you:
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