WARNER BROS. SETS EVENT TO PROMOTE THE BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN, MORE: San Diego’s Comic-Con has been tabled due to coronavirus, so Warner Bros. is going virtual. The studio will kick of DC FanDome, which will stream for free August 22 beginning at 10 am PST. Peeks at Matt Reeves' The Batman, James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984, are promised. Wonder Woman 1984 is set to land October 2ndafter having its release date bumped twice. "With DC FanDome, we’re able to give fans from around the world an exciting and unparalleled way to connect with all their favorite DC characters, as well as the incredible talent who bring them to life on the page and screen," Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff said in a statement.
DISNEY SILENT ON SPLASH MOUNTAIN: As calls for Disney to rebrand its classic ride Splash Mountain, based on the disavowed and racist 1946 film Song of the South, the House of Mouse has been silent, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s notable especially as NASCAR recently banned the use of the Confederate flag, and Lady Antebellum rebranded as Lady A.
APPLE TV+ BOARDS TEHRAN: Apple TV+ is joining the Israel-Iran espionage thriller Tehran. The eight-part series follows Israeli’s Niv Sultan playing Tamar Rabinyan, a Mossad computer expert taking on her first mission in Tehran, where she was born. She has been tasked with disabling a nuclear reactor, with implications for the entire world. Tehran also stars Iron Man actor Shaun Toub and Homeland's Navid Negahban.
NON-POLITICAL ADS TO FALL 13%: Advertising is headed for a nosedive in the decade following coronavirus, media agency GroupM is predicting. In a mid-year forecast released Tuesday, GroupM predicted that total ad spend without politics would reach $207.9 billion, a decline of 13% from 2019. Still, compared to the 16% downturn during the 2009 financial crisis, it’s not that bad, Group M noted.