What's news: Bill & Ted Face The Music to hit VOD and theaters at the same time, AMC Theatres delays reopening, AT&T says HBO Max has 4 million subscribers as pandemic hits earnings, John Stankey explains Warners' theatrical strategy, Twitter growth explodes, SAG-AFTRA members approve TV/theatrical deal, Michael B. Jordan launches #ChangeHollywood initiative. Plus: The Prom, Big Brother, Love Island set return-to-production plans, Taylor Swift is about to drop a surprise album. --Alex Weprin

 HBO Max Has 4 Million Subscribers

►HBO Max's muted launch. WarnerMedia's streaming service was very different than competitors like Peacock and Disney+, building off of a successful existing service in HBO. AT&T EO John Stankey said on the company's earnings call that HBO Max had 4.1 million subscribers, of which 3 million were "retail" subscribers (as opposed to subs bundled through AT&T wireless plans). HBO and HBO Max combined had 36.3 million subscribers, with the company still on track for its 50-55 million subscriber target by 2025. The story.

+Stankey's thoughts on theatrical: "I think theatrical has an absolutely important role going forward, there will be some content more enjoyable in theaters than in the living room." He added that he "would be very surprised" if tentpoles like Wonder Woman or Tenet went straight to streaming, but that some projects "on the margins" will. More.

+Earnings: AT&T detailed a roughly $830 million hit to quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and a roughly $2.8 billion revenue impact after in the first quarter having mentioned a $433 million earnings and a $600 million revenue hit. Its investment in streaming service HBO Max accounted for a roughly $400 million hit to quarterly earnings, the company said. More.

+Twitter earnings: Twitter posted a second-quarter loss on Thursday, but the social media giant's stock rose on higher user growth amid the coronavirus pandemic. The social media company, led by CEO Jack Dorsey, reported an adjusted loss of $1.39 cents per share owing to a COVID-19-related non-cash tax allowance of $1.1 billion. That fell short of a Wall Street forecast of earnings at 3 cents per-share, according to a Zacks Consensus estimate. But Twitter saw its daily active user (DAU) base, a new metric for the social media company, rise to 186 million users, up 34 percent from 139 million users in the year-ago period and 166 million users as of the end of the first quarter. The story.

+Pandemic's media and telecom M&A impact "has been more muted": study. Amid the "massive upheaval to the economy" from the novel coronavirus pandemic, it has "undeniably had an impact" on mergers and acquisitions in the media and telecommunications industries, but it "has been more muted, with digital and telecom assets proving to be attractive assets in the COVID-19 era," PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a Thursday report. More.

That being said...

+The New York Times acquires Serial Productions. The deal will allow the studio, which will continue to commission and edit its own stories, to produce more projects than it did previously. Since Serial launched in 2014, it has released three seasons. More.

 'Bill & Ted' Go VOD, AMC Delays Reopening

►Bill & Ted break the window. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Bill & Ted Face the Music will bypass a traditional theatrical route and debut simultaneously on premium VOD and in any cinemas willing to play the threequel on Sept. 1. Orion Pictures confirmed the shift early Thursday when releasing a second trailer in advance of a virtual Comic-Con panel set to take place this weekend.

--Bill & Ted 3, an acquisition title for Orion, is the latest Hollywood studio film to opt for a non-traditional release and make itself available on premium VOD or streaming amid the ongoing pandemic and theater closures across the U.S. and globe. Comparable titles include Judd Apatow's The King of Staten Island and Jon Stewart's Irresistible. The story.

+AMC Theatres pushes opening until August. The largest movie theater circuit in the U.S. said Thursday that it would postpone the reopening of its cinemas from the end of July to "mid to late" August due to the continued coronavirus pandemic. "This new timing reflects currently expected release dates for much anticipated blockbusters like Warner Bros.' Tenet and Disney's Mulan, as well as release dates for several other new movies coming to AMC's big screens," the company said in a statement. The story.

►SAG-AFTRA members vote to approve new TV/theatrical deal. Amid a notable rift between competing factions within the union, SAG-AFTRA members ratified its new three-year TV/theatrical deal with producers as voting ended on July 22.

--In a vote of 74.22 percent in favor to 25.78 percent opposed, the performers' union approved the agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The turnout for the vote, which was significantly higher than in the 2017 national vote, was 27 percent of an estimated 160,000 members that are represented by the union. The story.



^#ChangeHollywood: Michael B. Jordan, Color of Change launch roadmap to inclusion. The new initiative provides concrete steps that can be taken by studios, production companies and agencies to invest in anti-racist content, authentic Black stories and Black talent.

--“This roadmap is just the beginning of the journey to racial justice. We are all accomplices in the fight to transform Hollywood, and we invite content creators and industry leaders to join us in working together to #ChangeHollywood,” says Jordan, CEO of Outlier Society. “We look forward to including a variety of voices in doing what we do best: telling authentic stories, bringing people together, partnering with influential artists, and changing the rules of the game.” The story.

On Wednesday, AMC scored a huge post-trial win in the high-stakes profits battle over The Walking Dead when a Los Angeles judge ruled that the entertainment company had correctly interpreted contracts on the key issue of license fees for the highest-rated television series in cable history.

--The decision was a setback for Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman along with executive producers Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Charles Eglee and Glen Mazzara. The five have been fighting for greater profits since filing a breach-of-contract lawsuit in 2017. Their legal action followed a similar case in New York from Frank Darabont (who first developed Kirkman's comic book) and his agents at CAA. Darabont's separate suit remains active after seven years and is set to go to trial next year. The story.

+Facebook adds $100 million to privacy settlement in bid to satisfy skeptical judge. The legal tab for using facial recognition technology to "tag" Illinois citizens is now $650 million. More.

+Academy argues ex-prosecutor's testimony is irrelevant to Roman Polanski's expulsion. The director is fighting to get back into the Academy, and continuing his quest to get a 2010 deposition transcript unsealed to support his longstanding allegations of judicial misconduct. The story.

+Clint Eastwood sues CBD retailers for deceptively using his name. Eastwood has filed a pair of lawsuits over the way that CBD retailers are using his name to promote their products online. The complaints lodged Wednesday in California federal court take issue with everything from allegedly fabricated news articles to the use of metadata. The story.

+New York legislature passes bill to protect free speech from frivolous lawsuits. On Wednesday, the state legislature voted to give local judges the ability to pause court proceedings and weigh the merit of legal claims whenever First Amendment activity on an issue of public interest is on the line. If signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the legislation may also deter so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) by shifting a defendant's legal costs to losing plaintiffs. More.

►IATSE Stagecraft safety plan calls for COVID-19 compliance officers, daily symptom screening. The union is calling for measures similar to those taken by the film and television industry, such as employer-provided PPE, ventilation and staggered break times. The details.

 More HBO Max News...

►HBO renews Perry Mason. The drama starring Matthew Rhys has been picked up ahead of its season one finale. Originally billed as a miniseries, the adaptation of sorts has drawn favorable reviews from critics — and its premiere episode has already reached, per HBO, 8 million viewers. The story.

+Gomorrah moves to HBO Max from Netflix. WarnerMedia's HBO Max has acquired the Italian crime show based on Roberto Saviano's best-selling crime novels, which previously ran on Netflix. More.

+Chris Redd scores stand-up special at HBO Max. The special is one of a set of stand-up specials produced by Conan O'Brien's Team Coco. The first two, featuring comedians Beth Stelling and James Veitch, will debut in August on the WarnerMedia-owned streamer. Specials from Redd and Moses Storm will film later. More.

In other TV news...

►Rodham: Sarah Treem adapting Hillary Clinton fictional novel as Hulu series. The potential series is currently in the development stage at Disney-backed Hulu, meaning it would still need a formal series order before it is to move beyond the script stage. Published in May, Rodham imagines an alternative history where Hillary Rodham never marries Bill Clinton and asks what would have happened to her life and our country, if she had made a different choice. The story.

+Big Brother all-star season a go in August on CBS. The network will mount an all-star season of the long-running reality competition starting Aug. 5. The show will kick off with a two-hour live episode as the contestants move into the house and stick to its three-times-a-week air schedule with episodes on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. There will be COVID protocols in place, including tests and quarantines. The story.

+Ryan Murphy's The Prom to restart production in Los Angeles. The movie, starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and James Corden — is starting up production again on Thursday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. The project, which had two days left of shooting when the pandemic forced an industry-wide shutdown, is slated to film for the next four days. Not all of the stars are expected to be on set, however, as some had already wrapped their parts. More.

+Chicano drama from Eva Longoria, Forest Whitaker in the works at ABC. The network has ordered a script plus additional material and put a financial penalty on the project (meaning producers would be paid a fee if the drama does not move forward). The details.

+CBS' Love Island ramping up production for season 2 return in Las Vegas. The network and producer ITV Entertainment have started preproduction work at a Las Vegas resort, where cast and crew can be inside a bubble — a la the NBA in Orlando — during filming. The goal is to have the show back on the air by the end of summer. The story.

+Netflix's The Crown plans pause for season 5. The series will film its upcoming fifth season next year and not air it until 2022, a Left Bank Pictures spokesperson confirmed to THR. More.

+VH1 expands RuPaul's Drag Race franchise with Vegas Revue docuseries. The show follows drag queens — including Derrick Barry, Yvie Oddly and Vanessa "Vanjie" Mateo, among others — as they prepare to take on Sin City in a brand new RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! residency. More.

►Carla Hall can cook, but what she wants is to be the next Carol Burnett. "Not to say the Black Carol Burnett, because I love her and she is my hero, but if I could have some version of a Carol Burnett Show… that would be my dream," Hall tells Michael O'Connell. The interview.

►Edgar Wright, Simon Rich team for ghost story Stage 13 for Amblin. The Amblin Partners project is based on a short story from Rich, from his 2018 short story collection Hits and Misses, and follows a struggling film director that is hired by a studio executive to direct a fake movie to appease the ghost of a silent film star that has haunted a soundstage for decades. More.

►THR parent company to rebrand as MRC. The Beverly Hills-based firm previously known as Valence Media unveiled a new structure that will house its entertainment and media assets in six units. The story.

►TV review: Inkoo Kang reviews season 3 of Comedy Central's Corporate, writing that the show "may be the opposite of the comfort TV most of us are currently craving, but if you're in the mood for an icy splash of truth, it'll be waiting for you." The review.

►TV ratings: America's Got Talent aired a clip show Tuesday, and its ratings were predictably down from original episodes. It still, however, led the broadcast networks in adults 18-49 in primetime and kept the network's winning streak on the night alive. The numbers.

Revolving door: Nicola Bamford, CEO of Endemol Shine’s international operations, joins the crowd of executives heading for the door following the $2.2 billion acquisition of the group by Banijay... Entertainment and lifestyle multihyphenate Hannah Bronfman has signed with CAA for representation... CuriosityStream has named Bakori Davis to the newly created position of Managing Director and Head of International... Veteran industry executive Iris Grossman has been named president of GreenLight Women, the organization that advocates for professionals over the age of 40...

Obituary: Annie Ross, the dexterous jazz singer and leading practitioner of the art of "vocalese" heard on her signature song, "Twisted," has died. She was 89...

In other news...

--Taylor Swift recorded a secret album called Folklore, which will release at midnight tonight.

--The BBC has seen its global reach hit a new record in 2020, growing its worldwide audience 11 percent over 2019 to 486.2 million per week, the U.K. public broadcaster said on Thursday.

--Geena Davis' Bentonville Film Festival has unveiled plans for a hybrid online-physical model for its 6th edition, with 80 percent of its 68 competition selections — including narrative features, documentaries and episodic projects — coming from women directors.

--Inflight TV provider Global Eagle Entertainment has filed for bankruptcy protection as airline and cruiseline travel collapses amid the coronavirus pandemic.

--NBA all-stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade have joined forces to support the Black community with their new Social Change Fund. The fund created by the superstar athletes seeks to address issues directly affecting Black people, including public safety and criminal justice reform.

--Nick Cordero's legacy will live on in a live recording of his one-man show, Live Your Life, set to be released on Sept. 17, what would have been the late Broadway star's 42nd birthday.

--The inaugural rePRO Film Festival with a spotlight on movies about reproductive healthcare and rights is set to open with Erika Cohn's Belly of the Beast, a documentary about forced sterilizations in California's women's prisons.

--Alden Ehrenreich breaks down Peacock's Brave New World: "It's a thousand things at once."

What else we're reading...

--"Shark Week vs. SharkFest: Inside TV’s fiercest summer rivalry" [WSJ]

--"Roger Ailes was ousted from Fox News four years ago. His complicated legacy remains" [CNN Business]

--"Brady, Strahan and Chopra sports media venture raises $10 million" [WSJ]

--"Apollo, now a local TV giant, is ensnared in a fee spat with Dish" [Bloomberg]

Today's birthdays: Daniel Radcliffe, 31, Monica Lewinsky, 47, Slash, 55, Woody Harrelson, 59, Marlon Wayans, 48.