Unprecedented folly of misjudgment, bad timing and spectacular hubris is predicted to lose $245m. How did this happen?

The fanfare at Digger’s world premiere in London four weeks ago was literal. As the Prince and Princess of Wales took to the stage, their arrival was heralded by the band of the Irish guards’ fanfare team – bugles gleaming, epaulets shining, bearskin bonnets rippling under the lights.

Given the occasion, the band were not overdressed. Joining William (velvet tux) and Kate (chiffon gown, the late Diana’s earrings) to introduce the film was cinema’s longest-reigning monarch, Tom Cruise (Armani), along with a retinue including director Alejandro González Iñárritu and co-stars Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Jesse Plemons and Michael Stuhlbarg. Loyal courtiers filled the front rows: Salma Hayek, Hannah Waddingham and no fewer than three Beckhams (David, Cruz and Romeo).

Tom Cruise’s latest film could lose $250m (£190m) – could one reason be that audiences are tired of Hollywood telling them what they already know about the super-rich?

It seems as if nobody can decide who should shoulder most of the blame for the recent box office flop of Digger.

Was it the ousted Warner Bros film executives Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, whose love of big-budget auteur cinema usually came with a hefty price tag? Or was it the marketing team, who were responsible for hiding the movie’s biggest swing from all trailers, ensuring many viewers would be left alienated from its early meta-reveal onwards?

After a windier road than expected, Paramount and Warner are now one, under the banner of Skydance, and the film industry is set for a shake-up

Hollywood’s big five have officially become the big four. Following a twist-filled saga that saw the century-old studio Warner Bros nearly acquired by the streaming giant Netflix, only to be outbid by Paramount owners Skydance, the company led by billionaire scion David Ellison. After facing legal opposition that ultimately crumbled, Warner Bros and Paramount are officially under the same corporate roof. They are divisions of Skydance, which joins Sony, Disney and Universal as the remaining major-studio players in Hollywood.

The merger goes beyond film production. Eventually, the streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+ will merge into a single entity, though a timeline has not been disclosed. The television channels HBO, Showtime, CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, TNT, TBS and CNN are among many now owned by a single corporation. The presence of CNN on that list has brought particular scrutiny, given the post-Skydance meddling with the once-respected CBS News, resulting in a rocky stewardship from Bari Weiss, who has overseen a dip in both ratings and prestige for the flagship program 60 Minutes. Weiss isn’t expected to add CNN to her purview; current chair Mark Thompson will remain in place for now, and Skydance has insisted that CNN will remain editorially independent. But given Ellison’s chumminess with Donald Trump, who has long ranted incoherently about CNN’s supposed biases, the presence of an oversight board with Ellison appointees has been cold comfort.

David Ellison and ex-Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz to oversee both film studios, HBO Max, CNN and CBS News as co-executives

Paramount completed its $111bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery on Tuesday, consolidating some of the world’s most recognizable studios and news outlets after a bidding war with Netflix and months of legal turmoil.

The new company, now called Skydance, will have David Ellison, the son of a billionaire tech mogul, at its helm, with the former CEO of Mattel, Ynon Kreiz, as co-executive. They will oversee Paramount and Warner Bros’ movie studios, HBO Max, CBS News and CNN.