Hollywood
Alibaba’s Tmall.com partners Disney to distribute movie merchandise
MUMBAI: China’s third-party B2C platform for brands and retailers Tmall.com, which is a part of the Alibaba Group, has teamed up with The Walt Disney Company as the first exclusive distributor of their Marvel Studio’s 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron merchandise.
This is the first time Alibaba Group has opened up its resources in connecting brands and filmmakers to establish a convenient model in developing a movie-related merchandise market made available online for movie fans.
By leveraging Alibaba Group’s strong foundation of merchants and user base, Tmall.com partners with Taobao ticketing platform to collaborate with more than 40 premium brands including Audi, Lego, Ecovacs, Hasbro, Li Ning, etc., to bring a selection of genuine Avengers: Age of Ultron merchandise to Chinese consumers as the movie opens yesterday in cinemas across China. These superhero themed merchandise are available on Disney’s flagship store on Tmall.com.
“We are pleased to be working with Disney and brands on Tmall to bring genuine movie merchandise to our online consumers. This marks another effort into further enhancing the collaboration between the participants within our platforms and to also fully utilize the resources we have across Alibaba,” said Tmall.com director of co-marketing Sherry Lang.
For the first time, Alibaba Group worked with Taobao ticketing platform and Tmall.com to establish a convenient connection between filmmakers and authorized intellectual property merchants on the website.
Avengers: Age of Ultron sequel topped US box office for the second weekend in a row with an estimated $77.2 million according to Rentrak as of 10 May, 2015. The movie opened in theatres in China yesterday.
Merchandise ranging from superhero themed t-shirts, gold pendants, cleaning robots, and special designed cars are available on Tmall.com.
Hollywood
David Zaslav could net up to $887m as Warner Bros Discovery sells up
Media mogul strikes gold as Paramount Skydance deal triggers massive windfall
NEW YORK: While the average office worker might hope for a nice clock and a round of applause upon leaving, David Zaslav is looking at a slightly more substantial parting gift. The chief executive officer of Warner Bros Discovery is positioned to receive a windfall of up to $887 million following the company’s blockbuster $110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance.
In a twist of corporate fate that feels scripted for the big screen, the deal marks the finale of a high-stakes bidding war. It comes after Netflix, once the frontrunner, decided to exit stage left and abandon its pursuit of the HBO Max parent company.
While most people receive a standard final paycheck, the filing released on Monday suggests Zaslav’s exit package is built a little differently. If the deal closes as expected in the third quarter of 2026, the numbers break down like this:
The cash out: A severance package of $34.2 million, covering his salary and bonuses.
The equity: $115.8 million in vested shares he already owns.
The future fortune: A massive $517.2 million in unvested share awards, essentially “future stock” that turns into real money the moment the ink dries on the merger.
Perhaps the most eye-catching figure is the $335 million earmarked for tax reimbursements. However, this particular pot of gold has an expiration date.
The company noted that these reimbursements are tied to specific tax-code rules that significantly decline as time passes. If the deal hits a snag and drags into 2027, that tax payout drops to zero. With hundreds of millions on the line, the chief executive officer likely has every incentive to ensure the closing process moves at double-speed.
