Zillennials & Stitch

PRESENTED BY GUIDDE.

Happy Thursday, Future Party. Some people wake up from the sound of an alarm clock, but others wake up from the sound of a cargo ship nearly smashing into their waterfront house. That’s what happened to Johan Helberg in Norway when the NCL Salten came this close to ramming into his fjord-facing backyard last Thursday night after the captain fell asleep at the helm. Hilariously, it actually wasn’t the massive ship running aground literal feet from his house that woke him up… it was his neighbor ringing his doorbell to tell him about it. Talk about a deep sleeper.

Disney’s live-action remake of 2002’s Lilo & Stitch has become a ginormous box-office hit thanks to millennial and older Gen Z audiences who flocked to the theater for a sweet dose of nostalgia.

The Big Picture: While 80s and 90s nostalgia has fueled the box office over the past decade, Lilo & Stitch may signal a next chapter — Hollywood embracing nostalgia for properties that people around their 30s grew up with. Considering the film’s above-expectations debut, prepare for the greenlights on projects that speak to a similar audience to start flashing.

Behind the Scenes: The Zillennials have a soft spot for Lilo & Stitch.

End Credits: While the original Lilo & Stitch wasn’t a hit and came during a time not considered a “golden age” of Disney Animation (although, who doesn’t consider The Emperor’s New Groove a masterpiece?), the IP has grown in popularity due to a steady stream of direct-to-DVD sequels, low-budget shows, and video games — people kept falling in love with Stitch.

THR reports that even Disney execs in their 40s were astonished when employees in their 20s and 30s were psyched that Lilo & Stitch was getting a live-action re-imagining — showing that there was more love for the title than Disney classics like The Little Mermaid and Snow White.

Prediction: The Zillennial moviegoing wave could fuel August’s Freakier Friday into an unexpected hit… which would really demonstrate that blockbuster spectacle is no longer the main draw at the box office for young people.

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E.l.f. Beauty, one of the fastest-growing companies in the beauty industry, announced that it’s purchasing Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand, Rhode, for a deal valued at $1 billion.

Why It Hits: The eye-watering acquisition price for Rhode demonstrates that celebrity-backed beauty brands are some of the hottest commodities in the industry, as evidenced by the $2 billion valuation for Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty (which minted her a billionaire) and the $1.2 billion valuation of Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics (which sold to Coty for $600 million in 2019… but Jenner wants to re-acquire). The deal for Rhode makes Bieber similar royalty.

Behind the Makeup: E.l.f. went top shelf for its biggest-ever acquisition.

Last Looks: Rhode has been on a rocket ship since its founding three years ago — it has generated $212 million in sales over the past year with only ten products, primarily through ecommerce alone. The brand plans to expand to Sephora stores later this year.

According to CNBC, E.l.f. set its sights on Rhode for three reasons — Bieber’s celebrity status (which drove Rhode to the top spot in earned-media value), its desire to get more into skincare (it also acquired Naturium in 2023 for $355 million), and its ability to attract a higher-paying customer (E.l.f. products have an entry price point of about $7, while Rhode’s is at almost $30).

The partnership between the two could be… well… a seamless blend.

Prediction: We may officially be in the age of founders being both the best model and marketing for their own products.

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88.7% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Have hidden fees at checkout ever made you bail on a purchase?

“Absolutely. I’ll do some shopping-cart gymnastics to get over shipping minimums or qualify for a discount, but if added fees push the total past my perceived ceiling, I’ll walk away. In recent years, I’d estimate that I abandon cart more than half of the time.”

“I’ve been met with the ‘I’m-in-too-deep-to-back-out-now’ feeling, most recently when purchasing a used vehicle. It feels terrible, like I’ve been duped.”

“I routinely tell the seller, ‘I’m not sorry, you are.’”

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.

🎭 Broadway saw its highest-grossing season ever of $1.89 billion, thanks to Othello and Good Night, and Good Luck.

👔 Netflix founder Reed Hastings has joined the board of AI firm Anthropic.

📺 The American Music Awards averaged 4.73 million viewers on CBS — the highest since 2019.

🤖 xAI is paying Telegram $300 million to put its Grok chatbot on the platform for a year.

🤑 Meta is planning to open retail stores to boost sales of its hardware products.

🧐 Texas passed a law that requires Apple and Google to verify a user’s age before they can download an app.

👕 Jacquemus established a holding company, Jacquemus La Maison Mère, that’s already valued at $650 million.

👀 Madison Avenue giant GroupM is suddenly gone as its parent company rebrands it as an AI-powered, streamlined agency called WPP Media.

🔮 Discord is launching an in-app currency, “Discord Orbs,” that users can earn by interacting with ads.