Universal and Illumination's animated release "Minions and Monsters" recorded a soft domestic debut over the July 4th holiday weekend, taking $36 million to mark the lowest opening in the "Despicable Me" franchise's history. While Variety's Rebecca Rubin attributed the result partly to franchise fatigue, she stressed it was not a financial disaster: the film cost a relatively modest $85 million and has already earned around $160 million worldwide thanks to strong overseas showings. By contrast, Angel Studios' independently produced George Washington biopic "Young Washington" impressed with a $20 million opening, winning over the values-driven, heartland audiences the studio targets and earning an A grade from cinemagoers.

The article also covers Comcast's Sky agreeing to buy UK broadcaster ITV for $2.1 billion, a deal reported by Variety's London-based K.J. Yossman. Comcast would acquire ITV's linear broadcast network and the ITVX streaming platform, while ITV Studios remains a separate publicly traded company. The move is seen as a sign of pressure on UK broadcasters struggling to compete alone against American tech and streaming giants such as Netflix, YouTube and Meta. Yossman suggests the UK government is likely to support such mergers to keep public service broadcasters viable, and links the deal to Comcast's recent plan to separate its cable and technology assets from NBCUniversal and Sky, with ITVX seen as the key prize.