Latest news with #AppleOriginal
The Market Online
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Market Online
Cineplex sees month-over-month box office growth for first time since 2019
Canada's top theatre chain, Cineplex (TSX:CGX) reported box office revenues of C$158.4 million in Q2 2025, a 138 per cent jump over Q2 2024's $114.4 million June's performance was led by the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon , which has already surpassed the domestic box office total of the original animated film within weeks of release , which has already surpassed the domestic box office total of the original animated film within weeks of release 76.7 per cent of its opening weekend revenue came from premium formats, a sign of the growing popularity of enhanced viewing experiences Cineplex stock (TSX:CGX) last traded at C$11.47 Canada's top theatre chain, Cineplex (TSX:CGX) reported box office revenues of C$158.4 million in Q2 2025, a 138 per cent jump over Q2 2024's $114.4 million. This content has been prepared as part of a partnership with Cineplex Inc. and is intended for informational purposes only. By the numbers: April C$51.3 million (176 per cent over C$29,183 in Q4 2024) May C$33.9 million (163 per cent over C$33,936 in Q4 2024) June C$51.3 (101 per cent over C$51,359 in Q4 2024) Cut to the chase! June's performance was led by the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon , which has already surpassed the domestic box office total of the original animated film within weeks of release. Also making waves was F1: The Movie , which set a new record for the biggest opening of any Apple Original film and delivered the largest global opening weekend of Brad Pitt's career. 76.7 per cent of its opening weekend revenue came from premium formats, a sign of the growing popularity of enhanced viewing experiences. Go big or go home, right? Looking ahead, Cineplex is optimistic about the third quarter. July is already off to a strong start with the release of Jurassic World: Rebirth . The momentum is expected to continue with a high-powered lineup including Superman , I Know What You Did Last Summer , and Fantastic Four: First Steps . Rebound in focus? This news follows its earlier Q2 2025 numbers, where revenues amounted to C$63.1 million. For a deeper dive on Cineplex's growth since the COVID pandemic, check out the latest episode of the Stockhouse podcast, The 5 Minute Investor – 'Theatre stocks post-COVID: Recovery, or just for show?'. Cineplex Inc. is a household Canadian brand active in the film entertainment and content, amusement and leisure and media sectors. It operates more than 169 movie theatres and entertainment venues across the country. Cineplex stock (TSX:CGX) closed Wednesday trading 1.87 per cent higher at C$11.47. Since the year began, CGX has fallen 5.98 per cent, but since this time last year, it has risen 35.42 per cent. Join the discussion: Find out what the Bullboards are saying about Cineplex, and check out Stockhouse's stock forums and message boards. Stockhouse does not provide investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made based on your own research and consultation with a registered investment professional. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein. For full disclaimer information, please click here .
Cision Canada
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
Cineplex Reports June Box Office Results
TORONTO, /CNW/ - (TSX: CGX) Cineplex, Canada's leading entertainment and media company, reported box office revenues of $51.8 million for June 2025. For the first time since 2019, Cineplex delivered a quarter in which box office revenues exceeded $50 million in each month, reflecting the strength of the film slate and the continued appeal of the theatrical experience. A steady stream of blockbuster titles, combined with strong consumer demand for our premium formats drove sustained attendance and revenue growth throughout the second quarter. June was a strong month, led by the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon, which has already surpassed the domestic box office total of the original animated film in just a few weeks. F1: The Movie also made a powerful impact, setting a record for the biggest opening of any Apple Original film and delivering the largest global opening weekend of Brad Pitt's career. The film resonated particularly well with audiences, with 76.7% of its opening weekend box office generated through premium formats. Looking ahead, Q3 is already off to a roaring start with Jurassic World: Rebirth. The momentum continues through July with a high-powered slate including Superman, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Fantastic Four: First Steps. Cineplex (TSX: CGX) is a top-tier Canadian brand that operates in the Film Entertainment and Content, Amusement and Leisure, and Media sectors. Cineplex offers a unique escape from the everyday to millions of guests through its circuit of 172 movie theatres and location-based entertainment venues. In addition to being Canada's largest and most innovative film exhibitor, the company operates Canada's favourite destination for 'Eats & Entertainment' (The Rec Room), complexes specially designed for teens and families (Playdium), and an entertainment concept that brings movies, amusement gaming, dining, and live performances together under one roof (Cineplex Junxion). It also operates successful businesses in cinema media (Cineplex Media), digital place-based media (Cineplex Digital Media or CDM), alternative programming (Cineplex Events) and motion picture distribution (Cineplex Pictures). Providing even more value for its guests, Cineplex is a partner in Scene+, Canada's largest entertainment and lifestyle loyalty program. Proudly recognized as having one of the country's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, Cineplex employs over 10,000 people in its offices and venues across Canada. To learn more, visit Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and/or information in this news release (identified by words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "forecast", "objective" and "continue" (or the negative thereof)), and words and expressions of similar import, and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions made by Cineplex and is subject to risks and uncertainties which may be beyond Cineplex's control. A comprehensive discussion of risks that may impact Cineplex can be found in Cineplex's public reports and filings, including those described in Cineplex's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2023 ("AIF"), and the management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024 ("Annual MD&A"), which are available under the Company's profile on Sedar+ ( The foregoing list of factors that may affect future operations and results is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements as actual operations and results may vary materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. Cineplex does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law
NBC News
04-07-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Apple scores big victory with ‘F1,' but AI is still a major problem in Cupertino
Apple had two major launches last month. They couldn't have been more different. First, Apple revealed some of the artificial intelligence advancements it had been working on in the past year when it released developer versions of its operating systems to muted applause at its annual developer's conference, WWDC. Then, at the end of the month, Apple hit the red carpet as its first true blockbuster movie, 'F1,' debuted to over $155 million — and glowing reviews — in its first weekend. While 'F1' was a victory lap for Apple, highlighting the strength of its long-term outlook, the growth of its services business and its ability to tap into culture, Wall Street's reaction to the company's AI announcements at WWDC suggest there's some trouble underneath the hood. 'F1' showed Apple at its best — in particular, its ability to invest in new, long-term projects. When Apple TV+ launched in 2019, it had only a handful of original shows and one movie, a film festival darling called 'Hala' that didn't even share its box office revenue. Despite Apple TV+ being written off as a costly side-project, Apple stuck with its plan over the years, expanding its staff and operation in Culver City, California. That allowed the company to build up Hollywood connections, especially for TV shows, and build an entertainment track record. Now, an Apple Original can lead the box office on a summer weekend, the prime season for blockbuster films. The success of 'F1' also highlights Apple's significant marketing machine and ability to get big-name talent to appear with its leadership. Apple pulled out all the stops to market the movie, including using its Wallet app to send a push notification with a discount for tickets to the film. To promote 'F1,' Cook appeared with movie star Brad Pitt at an Apple store in New York and posted a video with actual F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, who was one of the film's producers. Although Apple services chief Eddy Cue said in a recent interview that Apple needs the its film business to be profitable to 'continue to do great things,' 'F1″ isn't just about the bottom line for the company. Apple's Hollywood productions are perhaps the most prominent face of the company's services business, a profit engine that has been an investor favorite since the iPhone maker started highlighting the division in 2016. Films will only ever be a small fraction of the services unit, which also includes payments, iCloud subscriptions, magazine bundles, Apple Music, game bundles, warranties, fees related to digital payments and ad sales. Plus, even the biggest box office smashes would be small on Apple's scale — the company does over $1 billion in sales on average every day. But movies are the only services component that can get celebrities like Pitt or George Clooney to appear next to an Apple logo — and the success of 'F1' means that Apple could do more big popcorn films in the future. 'Nothing breeds success or inspires future investment like a current success,' said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. But if 'F1' is a sign that Apple's services business is in full throttle, the company's AI struggles are a 'check engine' light that won't turn off. Replacing Siri's engine At WWDC last month, Wall Street was eager to hear about the company's plans for Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features that it first revealed in 2024. Apple Intelligence, which is a key tenet of the company's hardware products, had a rollout marred by delays and underwhelming features. Apple spent most of WWDC going over smaller machine learning features, but did not reveal what investors and consumers increasingly want: A sophisticated Siri that can converse fluidly and get stuff done, like making a restaurant reservation. In the age of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini, the expectation of AI assistants among consumers is growing beyond 'Siri, how's the weather?' The company had previewed a significantly improved Siri in the summer of 2024, but earlier this year, those features were delayed to sometime in 2026. At WWDC, Apple didn't offer any updates about the improved Siri beyond that the company was 'continuing its work to deliver' the features in the 'coming year.' Some observers reduced their expectations for Apple's AI after the conference. 'Current expectations for Apple Intelligence to kickstart a super upgrade cycle are too high, in our view,' wrote Jefferies analysts this week. Siri should be an example of how Apple's ability to improve products and projects over the long-term makes it tough to compete with. It beat nearly every other voice assistant to market when it first debuted on iPhones in 2011. Fourteen years later, Siri remains essentially the same one-off, rigid, question-and-answer system that struggles with open-ended questions and dates, even after the invention in recent years of sophisticated voice bots based on generative AI technology that can hold a conversation. Apple's strongest rivals, including Android parent Google, have done way more to integrate sophisticated AI assistants into their devices than Apple has. And Google doesn't have the same reflex against collecting data and cloud processing as privacy-obsessed Apple. Some analysts have said they believe Apple has a few years before the company's lack of competitive AI features will start to show up in device sales, given the company's large installed base and high customer loyalty. But Apple can't get lapped before it re-enters the race, and its former design guru Jony Ive is now working on new hardware with OpenAI, ramping up the pressure in Cupertino. 'The three-year problem, which is within an investment time frame, is that Android is racing ahead,' Needham senior internet analyst Laura Martin said on CNBC this week. Apple's services success with projects like 'F1' is an example of what the company can do when it sets clear goals in public and then executes them over extended time-frames. Its AI strategy could use a similar long-term plan, as customers and investors wonder when Apple will fully embrace the technology that has captivated Silicon Valley. Wall Street's anxiety over Apple's AI struggles was evident this week after Bloomberg reported that Apple was considering replacing Siri's engine with Anthropic or OpenAI's technology, as opposed to its own foundation models. The move, if it were to happen, would contradict one of Apple's most important strategies in the Cook era: Apple wants to own its core technologies, like the touchscreen, processor, modem and maps software, not buy them from suppliers. Using external technology would be an admission that Apple Foundation Models aren't good enough yet for what the company wants to do with Siri. 'They've fallen farther and farther behind, and they need to supercharge their generative AI efforts' Martin said. 'They can't do that internally.' Apple might even pay billions for the use of Anthropic's AI software, according to the Bloomberg report. If Apple were to pay for AI, it would be a reversal from current services deals, like the search deal with Alphabet where the Cupertino company gets paid $20 billion per year to push iPhone traffic to Google Search. The company didn't confirm the report and declined comment, but Wall Street welcomed the report and Apple shares rose. In the world of AI in Silicon Valley, signing bonuses for the kinds of engineers that can develop new models can range up to $100 million, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. 'I can't see Apple doing that,' Martin said. Earlier this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent a memo bragging about hiring 11 AI experts from companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google's DeepMind. That came after Zuckerberg hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to lead a new AI division as part of a $14.3 billion deal. Meta's not the only company to spend hundreds of millions on AI celebrities to get them in the building. Google spent big to hire away the founders of Microsoft got its AI leader by striking a deal with Inflection and Amazon hired the executive team of Adept to bulk up its AI roster. Apple, on the other hand, hasn't announced any big AI hires in recent years. While Cook rubs shoulders with Pitt, the actual race may be passing Apple by.
CNBC
04-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Apple scores big victory with 'F1,' but AI is still a major problem in Cupertino
Apple had two major launches last month. They couldn't have been more different. First, Apple revealed some of the artificial intelligence advancements it had been working on in the past year when it released developer versions of its operating systems to muted applause at its annual developer's conference, WWDC. Then, at the end of the month, Apple hit the red carpet as its first true blockbuster movie, "F1," debuted to over $155 million — and glowing reviews — in its first weekend. While "F1" was a victory lap for Apple, highlighting the strength of its long-term outlook, the growth of its services business and its ability to tap into culture, Wall Street's reaction to the company's AI announcements at WWDC suggest there's some trouble underneath the hood. "F1" showed Apple at its best — in particular, its ability to invest in new, long-term projects. When Apple TV+ launched in 2019, it had only a handful of original shows and one movie, a film festival darling called "Hala" that didn't even share its box office revenue. Despite Apple TV+ being written off as a costly side-project, Apple stuck with its plan over the years, expanding its staff and operation in Culver City, California. That allowed the company to build up Hollywood connections, especially for TV shows, and build an entertainment track record. Now, an Apple Original can lead the box office on a summer weekend, the prime season for blockbuster films. The success of "F1" also highlights Apple's significant marketing machine and ability to get big-name talent to appear with its leadership. Apple pulled out all the stops to market the movie, including using its Wallet app to send a push notification with a discount for tickets to the film. To promote "F1," Cook appeared with movie star Brad Pitt at an Apple store in New York and posted a video with actual F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, who was one of the film's producers. Although Apple services chief Eddy Cue said in a recent interview that Apple needs the its film business to be profitable to "continue to do great things," "F1" isn't just about the bottom line for the company. Apple's Hollywood productions are perhaps the most prominent face of the company's services business, a profit engine that has been an investor favorite since the iPhone maker started highlighting the division in 2016. Films will only ever be a small fraction of the services unit, which also includes payments, iCloud subscriptions, magazine bundles, Apple Music, game bundles, warranties, fees related to digital payments and ad sales. Plus, even the biggest box office smashes would be small on Apple's scale — the company does over $1 billion in sales on average every day. But movies are the only services component that can get celebrities like Pitt or George Clooney to appear next to an Apple logo — and the success of "F1" means that Apple could do more big popcorn films in the future. "Nothing breeds success or inspires future investment like a current success," said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. But if "F1" is a sign that Apple's services business is in full throttle, the company's AI struggles are a "check engine" light that won't turn off. At WWDC last month, Wall Street was eager to hear about the company's plans for Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features that it first revealed in 2024. Apple Intelligence, which is a key tenet of the company's hardware products, had a rollout marred by delays and underwhelming features. Apple spent most of WWDC going over smaller machine learning features, but did not reveal what investors and consumers increasingly want: A sophisticated Siri that can converse fluidly and get stuff done, like making a restaurant reservation. In the age of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini, the expectation of AI assistants among consumers is growing beyond "Siri, how's the weather?" The company had previewed a significantly improved Siri in the summer of 2024, but earlier this year, those features were delayed to sometime in 2026. At WWDC, Apple didn't offer any updates about the improved Siri beyond that the company was "continuing its work to deliver" the features in the "coming year." Some observers reduced their expectations for Apple's AI after the conference. "Current expectations for Apple Intelligence to kickstart a super upgrade cycle are too high, in our view," wrote Jefferies analysts this week. Siri should be an example of how Apple's ability to improve products and projects over the long-term makes it tough to compete with. It beat nearly every other voice assistant to market when it first debuted on iPhones in 2011. Fourteen years later, Siri remains essentially the same one-off, rigid, question-and-answer system that struggles with open-ended questions and dates, even after the invention in recent years of sophisticated voice bots based on generative AI technology that can hold a conversation. Apple's strongest rivals, including Android parent Google, have done way more to integrate sophisticated AI assistants into their devices than Apple has. And Google doesn't have the same reflex against collecting data and cloud processing as privacy-obsessed Apple. Some analysts have said they believe Apple has a few years before the company's lack of competitive AI features will start to show up in device sales, given the company's large installed base and high customer loyalty. But Apple can't get lapped before it re-enters the race, and its former design guru Jony Ive is now working on new hardware with OpenAI, ramping up the pressure in Cupertino. "The three-year problem, which is within an investment time frame, is that Android is racing ahead," Needham senior internet analyst Laura Martin said on CNBC this week. Apple's services success with projects like "F1" is an example of what the company can do when it sets clear goals in public and then executes them over extended time-frames. Its AI strategy could use a similar long-term plan, as customers and investors wonder when Apple will fully embrace the technology that has captivated Silicon Valley. Wall Street's anxiety over Apple's AI struggles was evident this week after Bloomberg reported that Apple was considering replacing Siri's engine with Anthropic or OpenAI's technology, as opposed to its own foundation models. The move, if it were to happen, would contradict one of Apple's most important strategies in the Cook era: Apple wants to own its core technologies, like the touchscreen, processor, modem and maps software, not buy them from suppliers. Using external technology would be an admission that Apple Foundation Models aren't good enough yet for what the company wants to do with Siri. "They've fallen farther and farther behind, and they need to supercharge their generative AI efforts" Martin said. "They can't do that internally." Apple might even pay billions for the use of Anthropic's AI software, according to the Bloomberg report. If Apple were to pay for AI, it would be a reversal from current services deals, like the search deal with Alphabet where the Cupertino company gets paid $20 billion per year to push iPhone traffic to Google Search. The company didn't confirm the report and declined comment, but Wall Street welcomed the report and Apple shares rose. In the world of AI in Silicon Valley, signing bonuses for the kinds of engineers that can develop new models can range up to $100 million, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. "I can't see Apple doing that," Martin said. Earlier this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent a memo bragging about hiring 11 AI experts from companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google's DeepMind. That came after Zuckerberg hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to lead a new AI division as part of a $14.3 billion deal. Meta's not the only company to spend hundreds of millions on AI celebrities to get them in the building. Google spent big to hire away the founders of Microsoft got its AI leader by striking a deal with Inflection and Amazon hired the executive team of Adept to bulk up its AI roster. Apple, on the other hand, hasn't announced any big AI hires in recent years. While Cook rubs shoulders with Pitt, the actual race may be passing Apple by.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Euronews Culture's Film of the Week: 'F1 The Movie' - if ‘Top Gun: Maverick' was in the pits
Stop me if you've seen this one before... A talented, reckless loner who has seen better days gets coaxed out of retirement for one last ride. Along the way, he'll butt heads with a cocky whippersnapper who still has plenty to learn. And wouldn't you know it, the initial frostiness between the two hunky men melts into mutual respect, and the grouchy veteran ends up learning something too as he finally walks into the sunset, having become richer for the experience. Yeah, that's what we're working with for this Apple Original, Lewis Hamilton-produced sports film which yearns to be an old-school, high-octane celebration of Formula One. To be fair, in this respect, F1 – or should that be, F1® The Movie, for algorithmic purposes you understand - succeeds. However, as a high stakes drama featuring three dimensional characters and a decent script that isn't just an excuse for cramming in as much product placement as humanly possible and showing off quite to what extent Brad Pitt still looks like a Greek God aged 61, F1® The Movie is a broadly enjoyable but soulless blockbuster that passes the time providing you like your macho loners roguish and watching cars go vroom vroom vroooooom. You really can't fault them for trying. Following the success of Netflix's hit documentary series Formula One: Drive To Survive, making a big budget ad with a sponsors-pleasing trademark symbol in the title seems like a sure-fire way to get bums in theatre seats. But when you have a reported $300 million budget to play with, the least anyone could have done was chuck a few quid in the direction of the writer's room. In F1® The Movie, we follow how veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is tempted back by former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem, charming as ever) to get behind the wheel of an F1 car, as a last-ditch attempt to save his flagging APXGP team from being sold by the shareholders. Along for the ride is Joshua Pearce (Damon Idris), a talented rookie in dire need of a mentor, and the team's technical director, Kate McKenna (standout Kerry Condon), who is tasked with turning the 'shitbox' car into a 'combat' machine. At least she's an age-appropriate love interest, because we all know where this leads. The team have nine races leading to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to turn it all around and show quite to what extent the world of Formula One is really terrific and not at all a problematic sport like so many others, la la la we can't hear you. Director Joseph Kosinski, cinematographer Claudio Miranda and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who previously collaborated on 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, are all reunited here to... well, do much of the same. Except this time, it's with Brad Pitt and not Tom Cruise. To their credit, Kosinski and Miranda manage to shoot cars like they did planes, and make the racing scenes immersive. By using shooting on real circuits with the full co-operation of the organisers and using new, smaller IMAX cameras that sit on the cars, this will be the closest you'll get to living the F1 experience. The Easter egg cameos from real F1 pilots like Max Verstappen and Hamilton also add an air of authenticity to the proceedings. The weak link is Kruger, whose formulaic screenplay underserves the talent and resumes itself to: macho bravado is great, and lines like: "I'm just as bad as I used to be" and 'Do we have the car?' / 'We have THE DRIVER!' Add the lazy exposition from voice-over commentators during the races ('This is not where he wants to be – last place' - oh, gee, thanks a bunch, scribe!) and there are genuinely moments when you want to wrap your lips around an exhaust pipe. But then again, this is the same Ehren Kruger who botched up Scream 3, gave us scripts for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction, as well as the much-maligned live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell... So let's not act too surprised about the generic nature of this underdog sports drama. For all the F1® The Movie bashing, this crowd-pleaser isn't a bad time at the talkies. Provided you can look past the formulaic plot and the fact F1® The Movie is often half a movie and half a blatant PR exercise brimming with distracting product placement, it has its moments. Condon is great; the score by the ever-reliable Hans Zimmer is strong; some nice (if obvious) needle drops from classic rock legends Queen and Led Zeppelin sit well alongside chart-toppers RAYE, Tate McRae and Doja Cat; and again, the race scenes deliver the rubber-burning goods. If only they'd spent a bit more time and money on avoiding clichés and crafting something that feels less like an expensive corporate promo... Then the pedal could have truly been put to the metal. is out in cinemas now.
