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Futures-
Yesterday at CineEurope, our Chief Strategy Officer, Adam Cunningham, delivered the opening keynote, unveiling how the cinema landscape has fundamentally shifted. In an era where capturing audience attention is the make-or-break factor for box office success, AGM's cutting-edge AI solutions are redefining audience engagement. We track cultural ignition at its earliest stages, well before traditional metrics can catch up, transforming initial audience interest into sold-out screenings and maximized revenue. In the attention economy, we help you stand out and sell out.
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TL;DR
In a hurry? Here's our pick of the top news items of the week.
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Just a few days after Nintendo released its Switch 2, Microsoft announced its own long-rumored handheld console—the Xbox Ally—set to launch this holiday season. (The Guardian)
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Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to separate the company into two publicly traded entities focusing on streaming and studios, and global networks, respectively. (Media Play News)
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Apple announced new AI features at WWDC 2025 including Visual Intelligence and live translation, but delayed major Siri AI upgrades until next year. (TechCrunch)
Audiences
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Over 80% of Gen Z in the US want to unplug, sparking demand for tactile brand moments like print catalogs, unboxing rituals, and pop-ups that feel more authentic than scrolling. (EMarketer)
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A Roku and Dentsu study found that 72% of US consumers pay more attention to ads reflecting their interests, with shoppable TV ads delivering 58% higher brand recall than standard video ads. (Advanced Television)
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Almost a third (32%) of US and UK game players actively ignore in-game ads, while the same number finds them helpful. (Emarketer)
Platforms
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Instagram announced that it will finally allow users to rearrange their grid and is testing a way for users to quietly post to their profile without having the content appear in followers' feeds. (TechCrunch)
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Meta is now making the first of their AI-powered video editing tools available in both the Meta AI and Instagram Edits apps, with a new “restyle” option enabling users to completely alter the context of their video clips. (Social Media Today)
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According to TikTok, the app now serves over 30M UK users, marking its single biggest European user market. (Social Media Today)
Content
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Warner Bros. Discovery is set to launch HBO Max in a dozen countries, mostly in Europe and some in Asia, in July to bring the streamer to a total of around 90 territories. (THR)
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Sky Sports is launching a dedicated pop-up channel "Sky Sports The Lions" during Test weekends for the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour, featuring live matches in 4K and an all-star punditry lineup. (Advanced Television)
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Star Wars series "Andor" topped streaming charts with 931M viewing minutes for its finale week, marking its fourth consecutive series high and helping boost "Rogue One" onto the movie rankings. (THR)
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Universal's "How to Train Your Dragon" live-action remake looks to unseat the three-week box office reign of Disney’s "Lilo & Stitch," with $78M in projected ticket sales across North American screens. (Media Play News)
Tech &
AI-
Google's AI chatbots are replacing traditional search and slowing site traffic, eliminating the need to click on blue links and tanking referrals to news sites. (WSJ)
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French AI lab Mistral launched its first family of reasoning models called Magistral, which delivers answers at 10x the speed of competitors but underperforms on key benchmarks against rivals like Gemini 2.5 Pro. (TechCrunch)
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Meta's AI app is accidentally making users' private conversations public, exposing sensitive queries about tax evasion, personal addresses, and embarrassing questions due to confusing share settings. (TechCrunch)
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Amazon's AI video generator is now available to all US advertisers, delivering 30% higher click-through rates than text-only campaigns. (Marketing Dive)
Location-based
entertainment-
"The Wizard of Oz" is coming to Las Vegas' immersive Sphere venue starting August 28th, with tickets available starting at $150 for the 16K resolution screening experience. (THR)
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Saudi Arabia’s entertainment and amusement market is expected to reach $6.1B by 2033, up from $2.5B in 2024. (Economy Middle East)
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Live Nation Entertainment is planning to invest $1B into building and revitalizing live music venues in the US, helping to bring more major concerts to smaller cities. (Ticketing Business)
Travel &
hospitality-
Four airlines—Air New Zealand, Qantas, Jetstar, and Singapore Airlines—have now confirmed they will operate from the new Western Sydney Airport, due to open in 2026. (Karryon)
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Australia’s travel and tourism industry is predicted to inject $210B USD into the national economy in 2025, representing 11.4% of Australia’s GDP and a near one-third leap from pre-pandemic levels. (Global Travel Media)
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Marriott became the first major hotel group to launch a commerce media network on its mobile app, websites, and hotel guestroom TVs, serving ads to guests and loyalty program members. (Skift)
Gaming
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At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled Apple Games, an all-new destination for games and playing with friends on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. (Apple)
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Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console set a new record for the company, selling 3.5M units in the first four days after its launch. (THR)
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SAG-AFTRA called an end to the nearly year-long video game actors strike after reaching a tentative deal with major video game companies. (Variety)
