The Odyssey For The Odyssey

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Happy Thursday, Future Party. Here’s what’s likely the first of many — a strike due to robot labor. South Korean workers at a Hyundai factory went on partial strike because their union didn’t approve of having a new humanoid robot called Atlas join them on the production line. None of those workers want to be displaced by titanium that won’t ask for a raise or need a lunch break. This is one to keep an eye on.

Stripe and PE firm Advent International are offering over $53 billion to acquire PayPal.

Why It Hits: The deal for PayPal would be the largest fintech M&A transaction ever and one of the few times a venture-backed firm has acquired an S&P 500 company, per Axios. Combining Stripe’s merchant expertise with PayPal’s consumer products could create the undisputed leader in digital commerce, processing roughly $3.7 trillion in payments annually.

Behind The Offer: While PayPal was once valued at a massive $360 billion in 2021, its worth has fallen back to Earth and is now about a tenth of that.

So, Stripe is trying to buy the dip, according to Reuters.

Final Deal: While everyone knows PayPal, it’s not as big a player as it used to be, especially as Apple and Google have rolled out their own digital payment products. Additionally, the company has faced competition from a growing number of BNPL platforms, such as Affirm and Klarna.

Still, William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey said, “We do not think PayPal’s new CEO will likely embrace what could be viewed as a low-ball offer. If the current offer is an opening salvo, Stripe and Advent could go as high as $70 per share.”

In other words, this transaction could be as complicated as trying to reverse a PayPal charge.

Prediction: If Stripe and PayPal combine, be on the lookout for a new digital banking powerhouse that could rival traditional institutions like Chase and Bank of America for new customers.

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Moviegoers are on a literal odyssey to see Christopher Nolan’s latest epic this weekend, especially in the filmmaker’s preferred IMAX 70mm format.

The Big Picture: Nolan was already the most popular filmmaker in the world after Oppenheimer made nearly $1 billion at the box office and swept the Oscars just a few years ago, so the hype for The Odyssey has been sky-high. But given the movie’s outsized demand — even by Nolan’s already lofty standards — The Odyssey further cements the idea that auteur-driven, big-event movies remain arguably the most dominant cultural art form in the world.

Behind The Mission: Cinemas across the globe are telling themselves, “We’re gonna need a bigger theater.”

Last Leg: Beyond the typical excitement of seeing a new Nolan movie, the fact that The Odyssey is the first movie ever shot entirely in IMAX is piquing a lot of interest. IMAX and other premium large-format offerings have become the go-to way for people to see a movie, especially blockbusters, and now contribute a huge percentage of many films’ overall box office. It’s why studios fight over the limited number of IMAX screens and even use the format as a major marketing tool.

While The Odyssey is expected to make over $200 million at the global box office this weekend, that number could end up being much higher.

Coming Soon: There are only 39 true IMAX 70mm theaters worldwide, so expect screenings at those locations to remain nearly sold out for as long as the movie is in theaters.

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44.2% of you voted Yes, many times in yesterday’s poll: Have you ever put together IKEA furniture before?

“And it is an easy task.”

“And it never gets less confusing.”

“Are you even a millennial if you didn’t sit on your tiny apartment floor surrounded by furniture pieces and Allen wrenches?”

“Nothing tests a relationship quite like putting together a RIMFORSA workbench or SEKTION/MAXIMERA cabinet. If you can survive that, you can survive anything.”

“During my early divorce years, Ikea was an awesome place to bring my kids to play and eat. The store was so kid-friendly, with tons of affordable children’s pieces. My girls slept in their Ikea bunk bed until they were teenagers. I still fondly remember some of the cute ladybug and bumblebee Ikea chairs they had.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🎥 European media giants Banijay and Mediawan are exploring a partnership to make an offer for Lionsgate.

📺 Versant is planning to overhaul Fandango into a FAST streaming service like Tubi and Pluto TV.

🚗 IMAX is coming to self-driving cars in China. The only question: Can The Odyssey be seen in one?

🤖 Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines released its first AI model, Inkling.

🚀 SpaceX’s stock has fallen below its IPO price of $135 per share.

⌨️ OpenAI has released a mini keyboard for controlling Codex AI agents, which will only be available until it sells out.

🛒 Whatnot has acquired machine learning startup Shaped, which automates real-time recommendations.

👕 Bottega Veneta has recruited former LVMH fragrance chief Romain Spitzer as its new CEO.

👟 Travis Scott wore an unreleased signature Nike shoe to The Odyssey premiere, hinting at a new Cactus Jack collab.