Another week, another newsletter intro dedicated to Taylor Swift.

This past weekend, Taylor Swift: Eras Tour opened to $123.5 million globally during its opening weekend. The film had the 8th highest domestic box office opening of 2023 bringing in $92.8 million beating out Oppenheimer, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Fast X.

The Eras Tour has been a defining moment in how artists and creators can own a relationship with their audience. The countless TikToks of Swifties partying in movie theaters exemplify the power of fandom.

Happy Wednesday!

Are Physical Locations the Key to Unlocking the Netflix Flywheel?

Netflix is opening permanent retail locations starting with two unannounced locations in US cities with hopes of global expansion. Dubbed as “Netflix House” the venues will focus on retail, dining, and live experiences, giving fans a new way to interact with their favorite properties.

Netflix has already experimented with temporary pop-up locations in the past, the streamer has ran over 40 pop-up stores and restaurants worldwide for shows including Stranger Things and Bridgerton. Netflix views Netflix House as a way to promote its titles and build fandom over driving revenue.

Physical locations have been a key part of creating transmedia experiences allowing audiences to interact with media in the real world. Disney has effectively mastered this strategy with its movies and series driving fandom and engaging with audiences through theme parks and consumer products.

In 1957, Walt Disney famously penned the “Disney Synergy Map” effectively outlining Disney’s path toward growth and how the company interacts with consumers. Netflix’s announcement of Netflix House seems like a step in this direction.

With Netflix largely licensing the vast majority of their most popular Kids and Family content, including top preschool show Cocomelon, it will be interesting to see how Netflix is able to cater to families through brick-and-mortar locations. The rise of the Disney Adult shows the power of creating touchpoints around nostalgic content but only time will tell if Netflix can create similar nostalgia around its shows.

📰 In Other News

• Crunchyroll is launching a 24/7 anime channel

• Why do kids love the spooky content?

• These ARE the droids you’re looking for! Disney is testing new interactive robots in their parks.

• Former SuperAwesome CEO, Dylan Collins breaks down the investment opportunities in the Kids Media space.

• YouTube and CEO Neal Mohan released their principles for creating a safer space for Kids and Teens at YouTube.

🎬 Releases on my Radar

• 10/11 - 4EVER on Disney+

• 10/12 - LEGO Ninjago: Dragons Rising (S1 Part 2) on Netflix

• 10/13 - Goosebumps on Disney+ and Hulu

• 10/13 - Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in Theaters

• 10/16 - Oggy Oggy (S3) on Netflix

• 10/18 - Super Why's Comic Book Adventures on PBS Kids

• 10/19 - Peter & The Wolf on Max

• 10/19 - Bebefinn (S2) on Netflix

• 10/20 - Shape Island “Creepy Cave Crawl” on Apple TV+

• 10/20 - The Canterville Ghost in Theaters

• 10/23 - Princess Power (S2) on Netflix

• 10/27 - Five Nights at Freddy's on Peacock and in Theaters

• 10/27 - Curses on Apple TV+

• 10/27 - LEGO Marvel Avengers: Code Red on Disney+

• 10/30 - Lucas the Spider on Netflix

• 10/31 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on Netflix