The Wizard Of Vegas

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Happy Tuesday, Future Party. Despite public reassurances to the contrary, Google admitted in court that “the open web is already in rapid decline.” The culprit: AI. Chatbots now surface information from across the internet, eliminating the need for people to actually visit websites. That collapse in traffic is gutting ad revenue and making business unsustainable. Publishers are scrambling to stop the bleeding… but the genie’s already out of the bottle. Thank goodness for email newsletters, am I right?

The Sphere’s 4D, AI-enhanced, 70-minute version of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is shaping up to be the most successful repertory theatrical run in history.

The Big Picture: The narrative around James Dolan’s Sphere in Las Vegas has quickly shifted from a big gamble to a runaway hit, attracting millions of visitors to its state-of-the-art concerts. But it may ultimately be movies that drive long-term revenue as the company expands its footprint worldwide — especially with demand for immersive and PLF screenings continuing to skyrocket.

Behind The Screens: Wolfe Research compiled data on just how successful the classic The Wizard of Oz has been at the world’s most cutting-edge theater.

Final Credits: Sphere spent nearly $100 million retrofitting The Wizard of Oz for its venue, so the investment seems like money very well spent. And while music residencies will account for roughly $200 million in revenue this year, Sphere projects $400 million from movie screenings, including four million tickets sold for Darren Aronofsky’s Postcards From Earth.

What makes that gap even more striking is the margin: Sphere reportedly keeps about 70% of movie revenue. In other words, while concerts may be the marquee headliners, movies could be what truly makes the Sphere wildly successful.

Coming Soon: Expect every studio to want in on the Sphere action — especially as a vehicle to turn fandom-driven IP like Star Wars, Avatar, and Jurassic Park into exclusive, theme park-style events.

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Montana is rolling out new rules that make it the easiest state for pharmaceutical companies and biohacking startups to operate in and test experimental drugs at scale.

Why It Hits: The Trump administration’s stance on alternative medicine has become notably relaxed under Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while biohacking procedures like CRISPR have recently notched key successes. Together, that may be the perfect concoction for Montana to emerge as the experimental-medicine mecca of the US.

Behind The Therapies: Montana is expanding its “Right to Try” laws — measures that are “designed to ease patients’ access to therapies not approved by the Food and Drug Administration,” per The WSJ.

Risk Assessment: Unsurprisingly, medical professionals and FDA veterans aren’t thrilled with the new law — especially given the potential risks for patients treated as guinea pigs. After all, only 8% of drugs that enter clinical trials ever make it to FDA approval.

But it’s exactly that wealth of data that has healthcare and pharmaceutical businesses rearing for the mountains. A reported 20 companies are eyeing operations in Montana.

Prognosis: With the rise of longevity and health-and-wellness startups, Montana could become a Silicon Valley of experimental healthcare — a hotbed of investment, job growth, and wealthy patients from all across America.

88.1% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Do you think any CEO should be eligible for a trillion-dollar pay package?

“Only if they’re fully taxed at 30%.”

“Why does anyone need that much money — imagine if instead that package was spread amongst the employees who actually make it all happen.”

“There is a ceiling to the positive outcomes of capitalism. In a world where 700 million humans don’t have access to clean water, but 1 human has a trillion dollars, that is the ceiling.”

“If you have the skill set and the foresight, you deserve the pay. You get what you pay for. This is not a normal, business-as-usual kind of hire. This guy (Musk) is a genius.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, 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.

🎞️ Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother won the grand prize at the Venice Film Festival, so expect it to be in the Oscar conversation.

🍿 The Conjuring: Last Rites nabbed $194 million at the global box office this past weekend — making it the biggest debut ever for a horror movie.

🎙️ SmartLess is hosting a live show at the Hollywood Bowl in November — the first time the LA landmark has hosted a podcast recording.

🎥 OpenAI is backing the animated movie Critterz, which is mostly being made with AI tools.

💰 Meta expects to spend roughly $600 billion in American infrastructure projects like data centers between now and 2028. Does Zuckerberg have unlimited money?

📡 SpaceX is purchasing EchoStar’s spectrum licenses for $17 billion, which will give Boost Mobile customers access to Starlink’s satellite-cell service.

📈 Robinhood and AppLovin are joining the S&P 500, which popped their stocks.

💸 Stubhub is eyeing a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange at a $9 billion valuation.

🪣 The most fashionable item in America right now: the Oasis bucket hat.