This episode of The Town is presented by 20th century studios, Avatar, Fire, and Ash.

Don't Miss the movie Critics Are Raving is epic and exciting and gorgeous and heartbreaking,

and stands as one of the greatest films ever made.

It's got incredible visuals, jaw-dropping action, and a cinematic achievement.

Avatar, Fire, and Ash, now playing in theaters, and now nominated for the Academy Awards

for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design. It is Monday, February 23rd. It's shaping up to be

a nice rebound year for the Sony Pictures movie studio.

After a 2025 with only one movie that grows more than $100 million worldwide,

this year they've got a new Spider-Man, a Jumanji, a Resident Evil with Zach Greger directing.

And last weekend, they successfully opened Goat, an original animated movie.

Sony's at the center of a bunch of industry trends.

We talk about a lot on this show.

Remember, that the only major studio that does not own its own general interest streaming platform,

that might seem like a big weakness in modern Hollywood.

In some ways, it is, but it turns Sony into an attractive partner for the big streamers.

They sell a lot of shows to the streamers, and Netflix just re-uped its pay-one deal.

That's the first pay TV window for Sony's movies. That went for more than $7 billion worldwide. And of course, Sony produced K-pop Demon Hunters, which is now the biggest movie ever on Netflix. Running the film studio for more than a decade now is Tom Rothman. He's got a rich history as a top executive in Hollywood. He was at Fox for 20 years. He founded the Fox Searchlight Specialty Unit and he ran the big Fox studio. And since 2015, he's been the chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, where he's made and released movies like the Spider-Man and Spider-Verse franchise. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, anyone but you, and it ends with us.

Yes, he lived through that one.

Sony doesn't have as much IP in its stable as rivals like Disney or Warner Brothers, so it has to be a little bit more creative. They're developing a Laboo Boo Boo movie, but they're also betting on more originality, Rothman says. We wanted to get him on the show for a while. He's always got strong opinions, and he's definitely willing to fight me, which I appreciate.

So I'm happy to say he joined us last week at the AFF. We wanted to get him on the show for a while. He's always got strong opinions, and he's definitely willing to fight me, which I appreciate.

So I'm happy to say he joined us last week at the AFI Conservatory for a live show in front of a crowd of students.

The first of our little film school tour we're doing.

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