When the 2017 Oscar nominations were announced this week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences managed to avoid a third straight year of controversy over all-white acting nominees. Among this year’s honorees are six African American actors, setting a record for the most in a single year. Hopefully this is a sign more racially diverse films are being produced.
What the Academy did manage to overlook however, were films with huge audiences. Despite nominating nine films for Best Picture Oscars, not a single one has surpassed the $100 million mark (yet).
Meanwhile, in over in the music business, album sales have never mattered less. These days it’s all about music publishing, which can be a true goldmine. Just ask Paul McCartney who is suing Sony/ATV to regain the publishing rights to the Beatles catalogue.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Jerry Seinfeld’s new Netflix deal, the death of 3D television and NBC renews one of its biggest hits for two more seasons.

comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of January 22, 2017
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-january-22-2017-300394508.html
China Box Office: ‘Arrival’ Lands on Top of Deathly Quiet Weekend
http://variety.com/2017/film/asia/china-box-office-arrival-lands-on-top-of-deathly-quiet-weekend-1201966620/
Czech Box Office Reached Record Numbers in 2016
http://www.filmneweurope.com/news/czech-news/item/113907-czech-box-office-reached-record-numbers-in-2016
Weekend Box Office: ‘Split’ Trumps ‘xXx: Xander Cage’ With $40.2M
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/weekend-box-office-split-trumps-xxx-xander-cage-401m-967108
AMC Buys Nordic Cinema Group for $929 Million – Here Is What You Need to Know
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2017/01/23/amc-buys-nordic-cinema-group-929-million-need-know/
Sundance: Kumail Nanjiani’s ‘The Big Sick’ Nabbed by Amazon for $12M
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundance-kumail-nanjianis-big-sick-nabbed-by-amazon-12-million-960845
Oscar Nominations 2017: 14 for ‘La La Land,’ and 6 for Black Actors
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/movies/oscar-nominations-2017.html
‘La La Land,’ Diversity and the Return of Mel Gibson: The Highlights of the 2017 Oscar Nominations
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-oscar-nominations-main-news-story-20170124-story.html
Academy Awards 2017: Complete List of Nominations
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-oscars-2017-nominees-winners-list-20170123-story.html