Business

Disney’s Splash Mountain will reopen with a Princess Tiana theme
Business

Disney’s Splash Mountain will reopen with a Princess Tiana theme

More news - Recent news Tiana's Bayou Adventure uses the same trails as Splash Mountain, and riders continue to ride in vehicles made to look like hollowed-out logs. But everything else has been redesigned. Instead of a suspenseful story that sees Br'er Rabbit thrown into a field of brambles, the new attraction focuses on a Mardi Gras party: Tiana and her friend Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator, are on a quest to creatures to form a gang with. Midway through the film, the cheerful Mama Odie, a voodoo queen in "The Princess and the Frog" and now a "fairy godmother of the bayou," casts a spell, supposedly shrinking the knights to the size of fireflies. Tiana's Bayou Adventure also has a new slogan: "Everyone is welcome." While walking Tiana's Bayou Adventure with a reporter during ...
Sony Pictures Acquires Alamo Drafthouse in Lifeline to Cinema Chain
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Sony Pictures Acquires Alamo Drafthouse in Lifeline to Cinema Chain

Related media - Recent news Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sony bought Alamo from Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group, as well as the chain's founder, Tim League. Mr League said the cinema chain was “more than thrilled” with the deal. This comes at a time of financial difficulty for the Alamo and the film industry as a whole. Many of Alamo's franchised locations filed for bankruptcy and closed this month, making Sony's move a potential lifeline for the struggling chain. Alamo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021 before a private equity firm intervened. The theaters will continue to operate under the Alamo Drafthouse brand, Sony said, although they will be operated by a newly formed division at Sony led by Michael Kustermann, Alamo's chief executive. ...
TikTok’s Future in U.S. Depends on Bet on First Amendment
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TikTok’s Future in U.S. Depends on Bet on First Amendment

Associated media - Connected media TikTok takes its fight to court TikTok fired the latest broadside in its battle with Washington, suing to block a law that could force the company to split from ByteDance, its Chinese owner, or face a ban in the U.S. The company argues that the law violates the First Amendment by effectively killing an app in the U.S. that millions of Americans use to share their views. Another problem: a divestiture within 270 days is practically impossible, Sapna Maheshwari and David McCabe report for The Times. DealBook spoke with Maheshwari about the lawsuit filed yesterday and what happens next. Do legal experts think TikTok has a chance at winning? It could go either way. Alan Rozenshtein, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, says...
In a Surprise, Disney+ Becomes Profitable
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In a Surprise, Disney+ Becomes Profitable

Associated media - Related media When Disney reported robust earnings in February, the activist investors then circling the company essentially called it a stunt — a temporary, heat-of-battle effort to fend them off and not, as Robert A. Iger maintained, proof that a struggling Disney had finally “turned the corner.” The Disney chief’s argument just got a lot stronger. Disney blew past Wall Street’s expectations for a second consecutive quarter on Tuesday, in part because its flagship streaming service made money — a first. Disney+ had been expected to lose more than $100 million in the most recent quarter, widening losses since its 2019 arrival to roughly $12 billion. Instead, it swung to a $47 million profit. “Two quarters earlier than expected,” Hugh Johnston, Disney’s chief fina...
How a Pirate-Clad Pastor Helped Ignite Trump Media’s Market Frenzy
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How a Pirate-Clad Pastor Helped Ignite Trump Media’s Market Frenzy

Associated media - Connected media Mr. Nedohin raised his arms in celebration. A few minutes later, he cut to a video of a rocket blasting into the sky, with Mr. Trump photoshopped onto it. “We are holding Trump stocks,” he declared. “We are now financial investors in him.” Mr. Nedohin is one of hundreds of thousands of amateur investors who own shares of Trump Media, convinced that its sole platform, Truth Social, will become one of the world’s most popular and profitable social media sites. In recent months, tens of thousands of Trump fans have tuned into Mr. Nedohin’s webcasts, where he exhorts viewers to invest in the company, arguing that “Trump always wins in the long run.” The enthusiasm from Mr. Nedohin and other Trump supporters has turned Trump Media into the latest “meme s...
Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Is Said to Be Negotiating a Guilty Plea
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Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Is Said to Be Negotiating a Guilty Plea

Connected media - Related media A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Ohtani, referred to the player’s detailed explanation he gave to the media two weeks ago, when Ohtani said Mizuhara had stolen from him and he promised to cooperate fully with the federal and Major League Baseball investigations. “I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf,” Ohtani said. “And I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports. Up until a couple days ago, I didn’t know this was happening.” The allegations about the theft surfaced when the Dodgers were in Seoul to open the season with games against the San Diego Padres. Interest in the team has been intense since it signed Ohtani to a ...