Summer Movies, AI in Art, and Other Entertainment News Trends

A look at the entertainment industry news from PR Newswire in May and June that you might have missed.

 

Entertainment News Trends, May-June 2023

 

By Cliff Moore | Published July 10, 2023

 

Heading into the summer months, PR Newswire was hot with entertainment releases – more than 2,400 industry releases hit the wire during that time.  And since summer is all about fun, the releases sent over the wire in May and June certainly capitalized on that notion.

Since March and April’s blog, which centered on music festivals, celebrity ad campaigns, and the metaverse, even more releases from those topics have been distributed.  However, as expected, May and June brought summer staples like upcoming blockbusters and the celebration of diversity and acceptance during Pride Month. An interesting surprise was the handful of releases that crossed the wire regarding AI in art.

But before diving into those, other stories that didn’t center around these trends garnered much attention over our network.  From PR Newswire’s entertainment list, take a look at the top press releases and trends noted over this two-month period.

Our Most Popular Entertainment Releases

The following 5 press releases garnered the most views and engagement over the wire in May and June of 2023.  Gaming and consumer electronics appear to be the clear trend with these most popular releases:

  • Sony Electronics and SQUARE ENIX, the developer of the wildly popular FINAL FANTASY franchise, announced a partnership.  The announcement highlighted both the videogame and its release on June 22, as well as Sony’s BRAVIA XR TV and why it complements the gaming experience.
  • In more video game news, KFC offered a promotion to Diablo IV fans to unlock exclusive in-game rewards for the highly anticipated game, released on June 5.
  • Build-A-Bear Workshop released an online exclusive Red Dragon plush and t-shirt in collaboration with Dungeons & Dragons, the roleplaying tabletop game.
  • Telly launched as “the first Dual Screen Smart TV” and “the ultimate free television upgrade for the living room.”
  • COLECO answered requests to bring back their beloved Mini Arcade Machines, dubbed the Revival Series. The machines will return in limited runs. 

 

 

Entertainment News Trends

Over the past two-month period, notable trends emerged outside of our 5 most popular entertainment releases that are worth highlighting.  Here’s what May and June trends delivered:  

Summer Movie Season

As expected, the wire was infiltrated with press releases building hype for this summer’s movie season. During May and June, more than 300 film-related press releases were distributed.

According to Comscore, summer accounts for 40% of a year’s domestic box office. Pre-pandemic, that was $4 billion+.  Last year, it was $3.4 billion. Even though the number of US movie screens decreased from 41,172 in 2019 to 39,007 in 2022, moviegoers are still showing up. “The number of wide releases in 2023 is more than 40% higher than 2022 and approaching the number of wide releases in 2019,” said Jack Brenneman, president of the Cinema Foundation.

PR Newswire issued a number of stories highlighting the season’s most anticipated movies. Some have already been released as of this blog, and others are building momentum for their own releases later this summer. 

These movies also seem to have a trend of their own – nostalgia, or childhood favorites.  Who didn’t have a toy or article of clothing with one of these heroes on it?

From "The Little Mermaid" and "Barbie" to "Spider-Man" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," these releases successfully amplified their messages:

Pride Month

Since 1970, well before being “officially” recognized by President Bill Clinton in June 1999, Pride Month has been celebrated in the US. The month-long celebration honors the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and spotlights the LGBTQIA+ community through nationwide events, activism, and education. 

According to GLAAD, Pride is “an opportunity for the community to come together, take stock and recognize the advances and setbacks made in the past year. It is also a chance for the community to come together and celebrate in a festive, affirming atmosphere."

From Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, it seems that the vast majority have a message to put out about Pride. The following list displays some of the best Pride material in the realm of entertainment for May and June:

Artificial Intelligence and Art

If you’ve been on social media at all since late 2022, your feeds have most likely been inundated with captivating, painting-like portraits of your friends. And at first, you probably wondered how they got such incredible photos of themselves. But then you found out that these images were created using artificial intelligence through apps like Lensa, and you too could have your own portraits created.

AI art is becoming increasingly accessible to nearly everyone through mobile apps that are easily downloadable. It just take a few simple steps to create useful, instantaneous art.

There are even art exhibits based around AI artworks, and people are winning awards for these pieces over traditional methods.

The topic has sparked plenty of debates regarding ethical and legal issues, but it has created even more products and services that will only continue to exponentially grow. 

As the technology grows, so does the number of press releases related to it. In May and June, the number of art-related press releases that mention "artificial intelligence" grew by more than 170% compared to the same period in 2022. Here are the most engaging press releases about AI in art through May and June 2023:

Conclusion

As summer presses on, it will be entertaining in itself to see which summer movie will reign supreme at the box office and in movie reviews.  Domestically, as of June 25, 2023, "The Little Mermaid" has made around $270 million and "Spider-Man" has brought in $317 million. Let’s hope those numbers can rise even higher and restore even more faith in the reemerging movie industry. As for "Barbie" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," we’ll have to wait and see. 

While the end of June marks the end of Pride Month, Pride is celebrated every day, especially in the entertainment industry.  July and August will surely bring forth LGBTQIA+ entertainment content on the wire, but in what ways?

And as for art and AI?  Well, that’s certainly a developing landscape that’s only going to get more and more complex as the industry adapts.  Is it a disruptor or a blessing? Or maybe it’s both?

 

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About the Author

Cliff Moore headshotCliff Moore is a Senior Customer Content Specialist in PR Newswire's Customer Content Services Department and has been with the company since 2013. When not assisting clients with their press release needs, he enjoys all things pop culture, plants, hosting gatherings, and playing any game you can think of.