Business
More workers needing food banks – Wolverhampton support group
BBC News, West Midlands
Anna-Mhairi KaneThe founder of a support group says she feels more working people and volunteers are facing “desperate times” amid the cost of living crisis.
During the pandemic, Leanne McDonald, from Wolverhampton, set up Simple Acts of Kindness in a bid to help people who were in difficult financial situations.
The group helps up to six or seven families every week across the city, Birmingham, and the Black Country, by distributing donated household items, including furniture and clothing, and acting as a signpost for other services.
Ms McDonald said she was seeing more people coming to them who were in employment, including full-time workers, seeking help.
Among them were teachers and nursing staff, many of whom were asking where they could access food banks.
“They’re highly skilled but unfortunately the wages just aren’t there…it was a surprise to me that many are struggling to feed their families,” she said.
“I feel that we are in quite desperate times at the moment.”
Stuart AndersonMs McDonald, who runs the charity alongside her full-time job at a training academy, said it was especially frustrating to her that teaching staff could not afford to pay for essentials like food and household goods.
“It’s really disheartening to see because we’re relying on these people to teach our children and provide care and support to families,” she added.
The rising cost of living also had an impact on the support group itself, Ms McDonald said, with volunteer numbers dropping from about 10 to three.
She said this was partly down to some taking on extra paid work after struggling with finances themselves.
Simple Acts of Kindness currently does not have a base and is mostly run from Ms McDonald’s family home, while she rents a storage space for donated items.
Despite the extra pressure from the demand and decreasing number of volunteers, Ms McDonald said she would persevere as the support was “still needed”.
“I’ve had to find a good balance – my family are really understanding,” she said.
“My children live in a house where we have constant people dropping items off or collecting items.”
In a bid to try and raise more funds to cover the group’s costs, Simple Acts of Kindness has organised a fun day, at the Golden Bar and Grill in Wolverhampton, on 30 August.
‘Breaking point’
Ms McDonald’s comments came after Citizens Advice warned people on the lowest incomes were “running out of options” in the face of rising bills.
A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research in March showed households in the lowest 10% for income spent about 41% of their earnings, after housing, on water, energy, broadband and car insurance.
That compared to 11% for those on middle incomes, with those in the top 10% of earners spending 5%.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “For those on the lowest incomes, these unavoidable costs are already eating away at their finances, leaving their budgets stretched beyond breaking point.”
Mercedes-Benz and two other lenders are set to challenge the financial watchdog’s compensation scheme for motorists mis-sold car loans.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) faces a legal battle over its redress programme, as a consumer group has also lodged an appeal.
This development follows days after several of the UK’s biggest lenders opted not to pursue similar challenges.
A spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz said: “Given that this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment further.”
The German carmaker is exposed to the car finance mis-selling saga through its financial services arm.
The FCA also confirmed that two other lenders were appealing. It did not name the firms but reports have said that Volkswagen Financial Services was one of the companies involved, according to Sky News.
A spokeswoman for the FCA said: “We have received challenges from three lenders in addition to the challenge from Consumer Voice, represented by Courmacs Legal.
“We are considering our approach and will set out more later this week.”
Earlier this week, it appeared that the watchdog had a clearer path to proceed with the compensation plans after the main industry body joined major lenders in backing out of any legal challenge.
The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) said it had “concerns” about the programme but that it was choosing not to raise a challenge, while Santander, Barclays and Lloyds had also decided to accept the scheme as it is.
The FCA estimates that payouts are due on 12.1 million mis-sold car finance deals from an array of lenders, expected to result in compensation totalling around £7.5 billion.
The deadline for companies to lodge legal challenges to the watchdog’s scheme passed on Monday.
While the lenders are likely to be resisting the billions of pounds of compensation that they are required to pay, the FCA is also being challenged on the other side of the coin by a group representing consumers.
Consumer Voice has applied to the Upper Tribunal for a review of the scheme over concerns that it could leave millions of consumers out of pocket by several hundred pounds per claim.
The consumer group said it supports the need for an industry-wide scheme but argued that it should “fairly reflect” the harm drivers have suffered, with “properly calculated compensatory interest”.
Business
Paramount CEO David Ellison wants to release 30 films annually. History and Hollywood say it’s unrealistic
CEO of Paramount Skydance David Ellison speaks on stage during the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 16, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images
Paramount CEO David Ellison is trying to do something that no other studio has done in the modern age of cinema — release 30 films annually.
Ellison once again promised this theatrical feat in front of thousands of exhibitors at CinemaCon earlier this month. Applause erupted from the crowd after he made the pronouncement.
But privately, movie theater operators have expressed concerns and skepticism about the proposed future slate of films. While a massive string of releases would help cinemas, companies doubt he will be able to follow through on the promise.
His 30-film plan would hinge on Paramount receiving regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which the latter company’s shareholders approved last week. Ellison noted that each studio would produce 15 films a year.
However, Ellison has not provided many details about those 30 releases, and it’s not clear how he would hit the ambitious goal. Representatives for Paramount did not reply to CNBC’s request for comment.
It’s unclear if all of the films would have wide releases (meaning they eventually play in at least 1,500 theaters, though the typical benchmark is 2,000). It’s also not certain whether the company will count films it distributes but doesn’t produce as part of this figure, or how many of those proposed titles will be considered tentpole blockbusters.
Movie theater operators and industry experts are skeptical that Paramount would be able to sustain a 30-film slate after the initial merger. After all, part of the consolidation process is eliminating redundancies, which inevitably leads to layoffs as well as cost-cutting measures that often result in fewer productions.
“When it comes to traditional brand-new wide release films, 30 movies a year is a lofty plan given that most distributors are releasing on average anywhere from 10 to 15 wide releases each year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of market trends at Comscore.
In fact, in the last 25 years, no studio has released 30 films in a single year. The combination of 20th Century Fox and Searchlight came close in 2006 when the studios had 25 wide releases, according to data from Comscore.
The data also show that when studios have merged in the past, the result has been fewer theatrical releases, not more.
Prior to acquiring 21st Century Fox and its studio assets, Disney was averaging 12 films a year dating back to 2000. Meanwhile, the combined efforts of 20th Century Fox and Searchlight averaged 16 films during that same time. Not including 2020, in which theatrical releases were impacted by pandemic-related cinema closures, Disney has averaged around 13 films a year following the 2019 merger.
The line chart shows the annual film releases by Disney and 20th Century between 2000 and 2019 ahead of the two companies’ eventual merger.
“I don’t remember any instance with consolidation where one plus one equals two,” Eric Handler, managing director and senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, told CNBC.
Additionally, a combined Paramount and Warner Bros. slate would face some logistical issues in placing 30 films on a 52-week calendar, as well as competition for coveted premium large format theaters.
The wider Hollywood cohort has also balked at the merger, citing similar concerns about job losses and reduced productions. More than 4,000 A-listers, including Robert De Niro, David Fincher, Pedro Pascal and Florence Pugh have signed an open letter opposing the combination of the two companies.
At least one theater operator, however, is supportive of the merger. AMC CEO Adam Aron came out in favor of Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. during CinemaCon earlier this month.
“Of particular importance are David’s public commitments to expand film distribution by Paramount and Warner to at least 30 movies per year, and his vocal embrace of a 45-day exclusive theatrical window,” he wrote in a statement.
“I am confident that David Ellison is sincere as to his intentions, and truly believe that he in fact will wind up delivering on these commitments,” he added.
‘Empty seats and vacant screens’
However, Ellison’s target would not only be higher than any recent precedent — it would be significantly more.
“Historically, the max you’re seeing out of the studio is sort of 20 a year,” said Doug Creutz, senior research analyst at TD Cowen.
He noted that studios like Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. have the funds to make 30 films annually, but they don’t not only because is it not profitable to do so, but also because few studios have enough quality IP or original stories to put out in a year.
“If you had 30 good ideas, then I’d say do it, but you won’t,” he said. “Most studios don’t have 20 good ideas.”
“I think that the reality of it is that they’ll realize that, they probably realize it already, but they’re saying 30 because you’re trying to get the deal approved,” Creutz added. “I would say my guess is that there isn’t a year where Warner plus Paramount release 30 films unless the slates are already set pre-merger.”
This sentiment was repeated by industry analysts, movie theater owners and even rival studios during private conversations CNBC had at CinemaCon earlier this month. More so, there was an overwhelming sense of tension between studios and cinema operators, particularly when it came to the number of theatrical titles being offered up.
Theater companies would welcome more quality releases, but there has been a shortage of them following the Covid pandemic.
“I tell people that the only thing that exhibition has are empty seats and vacant screens until the studios step up and give us something to play,” one veteran movie theater executive, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, told CNBC. “We have no other alternative.”
The executive noted that re-released films, live sports and concert screenings “don’t pay the bills,” and even concession sales aren’t driving the same kind of revenue that they used to.
“We can’t survive without movies,” they said.
Movie theaters have struggled in the wake of the pandemic because of a lack of titles. Production was slowed due to Covid-related shutdowns and exacerbated when both the writers and actors guilds went on strike just a few years later. At the same time, streaming has become more prominent and studios are producing fewer titles for theatrical release.
Fewer films has led to lower domestic box office hauls. Prior to the pandemic, annual ticket sales routinely topped $11 billion in the U.S. and Canada, but in the years after, the combined efforts of the studios have yet to surpass $10 billion.
This year could break that trend, as the slate of films is significantly larger. However, if a merger does take place, the expectation is that the release schedule will once again shrink.
“We know what’s going to happen,” the veteran theater executive said. “We know that when Paramount eats Warner, it’s going to be exactly like Disney-Fox. There is no difference.”
Other theater operators echoed these sentiments when speaking anonymously to CNBC. They, too, questioned how the gaps in the slate would be filled if Paramount can’t deliver on its 30-film plan.
Amazon MGM has already stepped up to the plate in recent years and has promised at least 15 theatrical releases per year starting in 2027. The studio is on pace to have 13 releases in 2026. One of its recent films, “Project Hail Mary,” which arrived in theaters in March, has set box office records for the studio and delivered audiences to theaters.
However, Amazon’s 15-film annual addition to the overall slate was already replacing the films lost from the Disney-Fox merger. It wouldn’t be enough to also account for any losses in titles from a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.
“It’s not great for exhibition,” the cinema veteran said. “It’s a lose-lose proposition.”
Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, said that the impact of the war so far in the UK has been largely limited to higher petrol and diesel prices, but “every day that passes without a resumption of supply sees the risk of physical shortages and steeper price rises on a range of goods increasing”.
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