Hello, N2K’ers!

We’ve got a new “business of movies” feature this week written by Grant Keller, and you can pick the winner of this week’s world famous News Haiku^TM theme in today’s poll below! 👇🏻

Now, let’s talk about the news you Need2Know?

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Business of movies: Why doesn’t Netflix want peopl …

• Mystery over $1.2 billion detention camp contract

• Al Sharpton leads pro-DEI march on Wall St.

• Let’s dive deeper into Nvidia’s results

• Ford recalls more than 355,000 pickup trucks over …

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.32% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.16% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.53% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$NFLX ( ▲ 0.65% )  $DIS ( ▼ 0.38% )  $WMT ( ▲ 0.03% )  $TGT ( ▼ 1.17% )  $COST ( ▼ 0.48% )  $NVDA ( ▼ 0.79% )  $MSFT ( ▲ 0.57% )  $AAPL ( ▲ 0.9% )  

Business of movies: Why doesn’t Netflix want people to see its films in theaters?

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos often claims he loves movie theaters. He’d love films to have long, healthy runs at the box office, but audiences don’t want that. They want to watch movies at home, and he’s going to listen to what the consumer wants. Is that actually what the consumer wants? The answer is, apparently, “not really.”

The latest example of this is “KPop Demon Hunters,” an animated movie musical quietly released on Netflix in June. Since then, it’s become a phenomenon and just passed “Red Notice” to become Netflix’s most watched movie ever. A one-weekend sing-along special edition of the movie snagged the top spot at the box office. With the film readily available on Netflix at home, people still chose to go out and spend money for the collective experience of the movie theater.

Viewers also pushed Netflix to make “Happy Gilmore 2” available in theaters, but the firm only put it out at very few theaters and with zero publicity. Sold out theatrical showings of “KPop Demon Hunters” and people demanding “Happy Gilmore 2” are only the most recent examples of consumers clamoring for more streaming content on the big screen. They got a one-week theatrical run of “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” in 2022, which generated $15 million at the box office.

Fellow streamer Disney $DIS ( ▼ 0.38% ) granted its audience’s wishes by turning their “Moana” streaming series into a theatrically released film that ended up grossing over $1 billion worldwide. Will Netflix actually listen to its audience and give upcoming films theatrical releases? Despite the extra millions of dollars it could bring in, all signs point to no because Sarandos says “driving folks to a theater is just not our business.”

–by Grant Keller

Song of the day: Stella Cole, ‘Til There Was You’

“I always try to lead with what I truly love, and this song, combined with the incredible strings, ended up being a favorite,” says Stella Cole, explaining why this is the first single off her new album. Critics like her, too:

Mystery over $1.2 billion detention camp contract

The recent awarding of a $1.2 billion U.S. Army contract to build and operate the largest immigration detention center in the country has raised alarm bells and eyebrows across the nation. The contract, awarded to Virginia-based Acquisition Logistics LLC, is shrouded in secrecy — and controversy. Notably, the small company has no discernible experience operating detention facilities and lacks a functional website, prompting concerns over its qualifications.

“It’s far too easy for standards to slip,” said Representative Veronica Escobar, whose district includes the Fort Bliss site where the camp is under construction. Escobar voiced concerns about entrusting such a massive project to a firm that may prioritize profit margins over proper standards.

Legal and government watchdogs have also raised questions. “The lack of transparency about this contract leads to legitimate questions,” said attorney Joshua Schnell, pointing out the absence of evidence that the company can manage such a sophisticated facility.

The detention camp, named Camp East Montana, is being rapidly constructed, with current plans to house up to 5,000 migrants. Critics have compared the secretive project to past notorious detention centers. “Less access and oversight creates the potential for even more abuse,” warned Setareh Ghandehari of Detention Watch.

Today on the ‘gram: Dragon drone

Post of the day: I mean, we’ve all done it…

Quote of the Day

Al Sharpton leads pro-DEI march on Wall St.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is taking the fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion straight to the doorstep of corporate America. Yesterday the civil rights leader led a protest march through Manhattan’s Financial District, urging corporations to resist efforts to roll back DEI initiatives. The march coincided with the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. 

Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation,” highlighting the stakes of ongoing efforts to end discrimination in workplaces and society. His organization, the National Action Network, has encouraged boycotts of companies scaling back DEI policies — such as Walmart $WMT ( ▲ 0.03% ) and Target $TGT ( ▼ 1.17% ) — and “buy-cotts” to support companies like Costco $COST ( ▼ 0.48% ) that have maintained their commitment. “Corporate America wants to walk away from Black communities, so we are marching to them to bring this fight to their doorstep,” Sharpton said.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

No harm in missing a day, is there?

Let’s dive deeper into Nvidia’s results

Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 0.79% ) continues to cement its position as a major driver of the stock market and a key player in the AI revolution. The tech giant reported a 56% year-over-year increase in revenue for its fiscal second quarter, totaling $13.51 billion, with net income soaring 59%. However, a slight miss in Wall Street expectations for its core data center division led to a dip in after-hours trading.

Still, Nvidia’s influence on the market remains undeniable. The company has been a cornerstone of the rally in the S&P 500 this year, contributing to its record highs alongside other AI beneficiaries. Astonishingly, Nvidia’s market capitalization reached $4.429 trillion as of Wednesday, dwarfing even tech giants like Microsoft $MSFT ( ▲ 0.57% )  ($3.767 trillion) and Apple $AAPL ( ▲ 0.9% )  ($3.421 trillion).

The company's forward momentum shows no signs of slowing. For its fiscal third quarter, Nvidia projects revenue of $54 billion, reinforcing investor confidence. Notably, Nvidia has returned $24.3 billion to shareholders in stock buybacks and dividends in the first half of fiscal 2026.

CEO Jensen Huang, worth $157.7 billion according to Forbes, has helmed Nvidia’s meteoric rise. Somehow, he still can’t afford a stylist to tell him it’s a bad idea to wear that stupid leather jacket, it seems.

Ford recalls more than 355,000 pickup trucks over dashboard failures

Ford Motor Company $F ( ▼ 1.68% ) is recalling more than 355,000 pickup trucks across the U.S., citing a dashboard failure that prevents critical information — such as warning lights and vehicle speed — from appearing on the instrument panel. The affected models include certain Ford F-150 trucks from the 2025 model year as well as several “Super Duty” trucks, including the F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 from the 2025–2026 model years.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which published the recall documents, noted that the issue stems from the instrument panel cluster potentially failing during startup, leaving drivers with a blank screen. "Drivers may not be able to read critical 'safety-related telltales and gauges,' increasing the risk of a crash," the report said.

While Ford has received 95 warranty claims related to the defect, the company confirmed it is not aware of any crashes or injuries. To resolve the issue, Ford is providing a free IPC software update, which can be installed at dealerships or delivered via an over-the-air update.

Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer, remarked that the uptick in recalls reflects the company’s commitment to quickly address concerns: “Our strategy prioritizes finding and fixing issues to help protect customers,” he said, trying to sound like this whole thing was intentional from the get-go. Top marks.

Poll of the Day: It’s time to pick the winning News Haiku this week!

Our theme this week, you’ll recall, is that ChatGPT-5 is “warmer” and “friendlier” than its predecessors. Here are the top five for you to pick from:

Poll of the Day: You’re not a fan of ‘socialism.’

We asked: Do you think it's a good idea for the U.S. Government to take a 10% stake in Intel?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No. It's not. It's also ideologically inconsistent and seems "socialist." (357)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes. It is a good deal for America. I don't care so much about ideology, but results. (67)

424 Votes via @beehiiv polls