عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

Netflix Subscriber Numbers Drop Two Quarters in a Row

A smartphone with the Netflix logo lies in front of displayed "Streaming service" words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
A smartphone with the Netflix logo lies in front of displayed "Streaming service" words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
TT
TT

Netflix Subscriber Numbers Drop Two Quarters in a Row

A smartphone with the Netflix logo lies in front of displayed "Streaming service" words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
A smartphone with the Netflix logo lies in front of displayed "Streaming service" words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Netflix reported losing subscribers for the second quarter in a row Tuesday as the streaming giant battles fierce competition and viewer belt tightening, but the company assured investors of better days ahead.

The loss of 970,000 paying customers in the most recent quarter was not as big as expected, and left Netflix with just shy of 221 million subscribers.

"Tough in some ways, losing a million and calling it success, but really we are set up very well for the next year," the company's co-chief and founder Reed Hastings said in an earnings presentation.

The company said in its earnings report that it had expected to gain a million paid subscribers in the current quarter.

Netflix shares were up slightly in after-market trades -- a sign that investors were remaining faithful.

According to AFP, analysts noted that the results, even if not as poor as feared, were still troubling.

"Netflix's subscriber loss was expected but it remains a sore point for a company that is wholly dependent on subscription revenue from consumers," said analyst Ross Benes.

Benes added that "unless it finds more franchises that resonate widely, it will eventually struggle to stay ahead of competitors that are after its crown."

Netflix executives have made it clear the company will get tougher on sharing logins and passwords, which allow many to access the platform's content without paying.

"It's great that our members love Netflix movies and TV shows so much they want to share them more broadly," director of product innovation Chengyi Long said Monday in a blog post.

"But today's widespread account sharing between households undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve our service."

Long said that an "add a home" subscription feature that Netflix in March began testing in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru will be expanded to Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Netflix said it is aiming to have an account-sharing payment system deployed broadly by next year.

Meanwhile, Netflix is working with Microsoft to launch a cheaper subscription plan that includes advertisements, which The New York Times has reported could launch by the end of this year.

Netflix opted to develop the lower-cost offering after a disappointing first quarter in which it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade -- and after years of resistance against the very idea of running ads.

Microsoft will be responsible for designing and managing the platform for advertisers who want to serve ads to Netflix users.

"These earning results buy them time, and they need time to focus on stopping the bleeding," analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group told AFP.

"Netflix is facing a significant amount of competition; to hold on as well as they have is an example of how resilient they are but they are not out of the woods."

Most Viewed

 
 
Entertainment

In ‘Pressure,’ the Story of the Meteorologist Who Helped Save D-Day

Anthony Maras, left, director/co-writer of the film "Pressure," poses with cast members Brendan Fraser, center, and Andrew Scott on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Anthony Maras, left, director/co-writer of the film "Pressure," poses with cast members Brendan Fraser, center, and Andrew Scott on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
TT
TT

In ‘Pressure,’ the Story of the Meteorologist Who Helped Save D-Day

Anthony Maras, left, director/co-writer of the film "Pressure," poses with cast members Brendan Fraser, center, and Andrew Scott on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Anthony Maras, left, director/co-writer of the film "Pressure," poses with cast members Brendan Fraser, center, and Andrew Scott on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

D-Day was supposed to happen on June 5, 1944. The story of why it ultimately took place on June 6 is one that has been a bit lost to history, consumed by the larger events surrounding it.

One day might not seem like much in the grand scheme, but it was a seismic delay in plans for the unprecedented and daring invasion, which would deploy nearly 160,000 Allied troops in Normandy.

Ultimately it came down to a recommendation from a shrewd Scottish meteorologist, Group Capt. James Stagg, who had to tell everyone, including Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Allied leadership, something they didn’t want to hear: The weather was going to be catastrophically bad. And no, he wasn’t certain about it.

The tense 72 hours before the invasion are brought to life in "Pressure," in theaters May 29, on the eve of the operation’s 82nd anniversary. An adaptation of David Haig’s acclaimed stage play, the film sheds light on this bit of history that would effectively change the course of the second World War.

Filmmaker Anthony Maras assembled a unique group of actors for the task at hand, calling on Brendan Fraser to play Eisenhower and Andrew Scott to play Stagg.

"I didn’t think I was an Ike Eisenhower when Anthony Maras sent me the script," Fraser said. "I got on a Zoom call and he said, ‘You gotta do this man.’ Me? Why? ‘It’s because he’s you, he’s like you. He’s just a regular guy.’ Really? I mean, I thought Eisenhower was this, you know, stern, staunch, something on coin."

Fraser went deep in his preparation, reading and listening to everything he could get his hands on to help him understand the man who would ultimately have to make the decision. The research even continued on set. Maras laughed that right before they shot Eisenhower’s famous "soldiers, sailors and airmen" speech, something that they’d rehearsed many, many times, he looked up and saw Fraser reading yet another biography. But he appreciated that the Oscar-winner was passionate about knowing everything he possibly could to get it right.

"He cared intensely for his troops," Fraser said. "It was my responsibility to honor their memory and to comport myself in a way that puts a human face on the seemingly academic decisions that go into an operation as massive as this."

Scott was the opposite in terms of how he approached his role. Yes, he read Stagg’s book and wanted to have a working understanding of the metrological jargon he’d have to be spouting. While history was important, for him, character was king. And he liked that Stagg is not the most immediately likable person, but he has integrity.

"The thing with Stagg is that he’s just not interested in charm ... or being liked at all," Scott said. "I think that’s to be admired actually, because he’s just there to do a job. So I like the fact that at the beginning of the movie, you’re like, whoa, this guy is not pleasant."

Maras said that for Scott, it was all about the inner, emotional life of the character, which was essential for a part that would require so much internal conflict.

"With Andrew, he has a quality to him where he can seemingly be doing very little — he’s sitting down, rearranging his tie, he can be reading a phone book — and you can’t look away," Maras said.

In the shadow of ‘Saving Private Ryan’

The actors weren’t the only ones feeling pressure of the assignment: Maras also had a behemoth looming in attempting to stage, however briefly, the D-Day invasion.

"You’ve kind of got to be crazy maybe to attempt it, given that Spielberg did it so masterfully," Maras said.

But unlike "Saving Private Ryan," which focused on the men storming the beach, "Pressure" is about the ones making the decisions. It’s a different perspective. Still, once they make the call to go, there would have to be at least some of the operation shown to juxtapose with the "bloody tense, wire-type atmosphere of the control room," Maras said.

Inspired by Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old," and the existence of dozens of hours of pristine 35 mm black and white film from the event, Maras decided that perhaps archival footage, colorized, would be the way to go. It was a different way to present D-Day that gave it immediacy, he said, as opposed to looking like history.

Ultimately, "Pressure" isn’t just a history lesson, or even a character drama with big personalities and even bigger stakes: It’s a portrait of leadership and ego clashing with facts and science. And its relevance to the present day is the reason Maras wanted to make the film in the first place.

"How do you bring your best self to the table to make the decision? How do you have the humility to acknowledge when you don’t know something? And how do you have the wisdom to determine who to trust? ... Eisenhower in the end showed that he was a maestro at that," Maras said.

"What I love about the Stagg character is he’s someone who feels compelled to tell someone something that they don’t want to hear, that they violently don’t want to but they need to hear. The world needs more of that."

Years later, John F. Kennedy, on the way to his own inauguration, asked Eisenhower what gave them the edge on D-Day. His response? "We had better meteorologists than the Germans."

"When life or death depends on you understanding the facts, it probably has a way of like cutting up the BS and getting to it," Maras said. "It’s a very clear example of a time where the Allied worlds’ future was at stake and they listened to someone who knew what he was talking about and they did all right."

Entertainment

Amazon Greenlights AI-Generated Shows for Children

A message reading "AI artificial intelligence," a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
A message reading "AI artificial intelligence," a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Amazon Greenlights AI-Generated Shows for Children

A message reading "AI artificial intelligence," a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
A message reading "AI artificial intelligence," a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday it has greenlit the first three children's shows that were created under a new initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) in content development.

The GenAI Creators Fund pays filmmakers, digital creators and startups to use AI to develop their projects in a short time frame.

"Punky Duck" series director Jorge Gutierrez said he is used to spending two years making a pilot, but his new show was greenlit to run on Amazon after just two months.

Two more projects -- "Diana Music Hunters" from Albie Hecht and "Cupcake & Friends" from Buzzfeed Studios -- were also greenlit in a couple of months, reflecting a new approach from major studios.

Hollywood's unions and artists have raised concerns about the use of AI, with creatives, writers and actors fearing they could be replaced by digital facsimiles.

AI Studios chief at Amazon MGM Albert Cheng told the conference that the technology won't eliminate jobs, it will actually reduce costs and timelines to make it possible to increase the number of productions.

But Cheng acknowledged "AI is addictive," adding that it's important for humans to make sure they don't "succumb and let our brains go to waste."

Entertainment

Louvre Heist to Be Turned into Film

The Louvre Museum seen in Paris, France, November 17, 2025. (Reuters)
The Louvre Museum seen in Paris, France, November 17, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Louvre Heist to Be Turned into Film

The Louvre Museum seen in Paris, France, November 17, 2025. (Reuters)
The Louvre Museum seen in Paris, France, November 17, 2025. (Reuters)

Last year's brazen robbery of the Louvre -- when thieves made off with jewellery worth some $100 million -- is set to become a movie, a publisher said on Tuesday.

French director Romain Gavras -- whose work includes 2025 Hollywood film "Sacrifice" starring Anya Taylor-Joy and music videos including most recently a hypnotic schoolboy choreography for GENER8ION -- will draw inspiration from the investigative book "Main basse sur le Louvre" (literally "A grab at the Louvre").

Film rights to the book about the October 19, 2025 heist had been sold to the production company Iconoclast, the Flammarion publishing house said.

The book, written by three journalists, from French dailies Le Parisien and Le Monde, and weekly glossy magazine Paris Match, is to hit bookstores on Wednesday.

According to trade magazine Le Film Francais, the movie project is in development, though neither the title nor the cast has been announced.

The Louvre heist sent shockwaves around the world and sparked a security crisis within the world-famous museum that ultimately led to the replacement of its director, Laurence des Cars.

After seven months of investigation, and despite the arrests of the main suspects, the jewels have still not been found.

The authors said their apparent disappearance "has become a dense mystery, a puzzle that has plunged investigators into deep confusion".

The heist illustrates how "the theft of artworks has become a business like any other for many criminals", they say. "The criminal underworld has found a new cash cow."