The 2026 Box Office Draft

The 2026 Box Office Draft

Author: The Ringer January 19, 2026 Duration: 38:03
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to conduct the fourth annual box office draft. Matt and Lucas each draft seven blockbuster movies set to be released in 2026 with the goal of making the most money possible against the production budget. Plus, an added twist that allows each person to saddle the other's team with a movie they believe will flop. Follow along with Matt and Lucas here! For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wonder what Hollywood executives are really arguing about in their private meetings, or how the fate of a billion-dollar franchise gets decided over a tense lunch? That’s the kind of access you get with The Town with Matthew Belloni. Hosted by Puck founding partner Matt Belloni, this isn't just industry gossip-it's a direct line to the mechanics of entertainment, powered by exclusive reporting and decades of insight. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the stories behind the stories, whether it's the strategy of the latest streaming war or the creative battles inside a Marvel movie. Several times a week, Belloni sits down with the major players themselves: the dealmakers, studio heads, and journalists who are shaping what we watch. Their conversations cut straight to the core of what’s getting made and why, pinpointing who’s winning and who’s losing in real time. Listening to this podcast feels like having a front-row seat to the most important conversations in show business, the ones that happen after the cameras stop rolling. For anyone fascinated by the intersection of power, money, and creativity in culture, The Town delivers the unfiltered context that turns headlines into understanding.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Town with Matthew Belloni
Podcast Episodes
The Townies, Part 2: Who Won the Year in Hollywood? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:27
In Part 2 of podcasting's biggest night, Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw hand out the Executive Fail of the Year Award; the Savviest PR Move Award; the Mea Culpa I Was Wrong Award; the Suck It Haters, I Was Right Award;…
The Townies: Hollywood’s Best and Worst of 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:46
It’s podcasting’s most exclusive event of the year: the fourth annual Townies! Join Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw as they recap the year in Hollywood with exciting and hilarious categories like Biggest Flex, Most Destr…
Paramount Isn’t Giving up Warner Bros. to Netflix Just Yet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:09
Matt is joined by Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital, to discuss Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros., why their bid is superior to Netflix’s bid, Larry Ellison and the Middle East's involvement…
Why Iger Gave OpenAI the Keys to Disney’s Vault [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:53
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Disney entering a licensing agreement with Sora and investing $1 billion in OpenAI. The deal allows OpenAI to use characters from Disney’s deep pocket of popular IP in…
Ariana in Wicked and How to Cast a Billion-Dollar Movie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:04
Matt is joined by casting director Tiffany Little Canfield (‘Wicked’) to discuss casting major franchise roles that draw thousands of auditions like Elphaba and Glinda in ‘Wicked,’ the challenges of casting stars vs. unk…
The Ellison Empire Strikes Back: Paramount Goes Hostile [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
Matt is joined by Peter Supino from Wolfe Research to discuss Paramount launching a hostile takeover of Warner Bros., days after they agreed to a deal with Netflix. Peter maps out the differences in each bid and makes th…
Netflix Buys Warner Bros. Emergency Pod!!! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:03
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to break down every angle of Netflix agreeing to buy the Warner Bros. film and streaming business. They dig into why Netflix made this deal, why David Ellison and Paramount lost o…
Is Film School Still Worth It? With a Top Dean. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:20
Matt is joined by Stephen Galloway, the dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, to discuss the state of film school education in 2025, how it has evolved, and the increasingly high tuition cost…