Several of the most popular TV series this year have been established favorites like "The Big Bang Theory," "The Voice," and "NCIS."

But the surprise hit of the year is ABC's reboot of "Roseanne," a program that drew many millions of viewers each week along with controversy from its firebrand, Trump-supporting lead, Roseanne Barr. That controversy ultimately led to the show's cancellation.

The "Roseanne" spin-off, "The Conners," premiered this week to 10.5 million viewers. That's a far cry from the "Roseanne" premiere in March, which attracted 18 million viewers, but it's still a hit for ABC.

To find out which shows were the most popular this year so far, Nielsen estimated the average number of US viewers tuning in to regularly scheduled programming.

ABC's massive success with "Roseanne," along with CBS' high ratings across numerous shows on this list, demonstrates how broadcast networks remain the heavyweights in overall viewership — even in the age of streaming.

Here are the 10 most popular TV shows of 2018 so far, according to Nielsen's ratings:

SEE ALSO: 'The Conners' premiere fell well short of 'Roseanne' in ratings, but it's still a hit for ABC

10. "The Voice" (NBC) — 12.5 million

Series run: 14 seasons (2011-present) 

Summary: "Singers square off for a coveted recording contract in this reality talent contest from the producers of 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor.' Four vocal coaches mentor the contestants."

9. "NCIS: New Orleans" (CBS) — 12.7 million average viewers

Series run: 4 seasons (2014-present) 

Summary: "A drama about the local field office that investigates criminal cases involving military personnel in The Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence."

8. "Blue Bloods" (CBS) — 13.2 million average viewers

Series run: 8 seasons (2010-present)

Summary: "A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement."

• Rubik's Cube is one of the most popular toys of all time — but not everyone can solve it.
• The colorful brain teaser was invented in the 1970s by Erno Rubik.
• Rubik was teaching architecture and design in Hungary when he created the cube to illustrate spatial relationships in 3D to his students — it took him more than a month to solve his own cube.
• In the video above, Rubik explains how the cube works.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: This is the iconic Rubik's Cube.

A 22-year-old in Australia can solve it in a record 4.22 seconds. Others might spend hours, days, weeks, or even months trying to get all the colors to match up.

So, who do you have to blame for all that frustration?

Erno Rubik: My name is Erno Rubik. I made it.

Narrator: Rubik was teaching architecture and design when he came up with the idea. Rubik: It was 1974, in Hungary, behind the Iron Curtain.

Narrator: And he created the cube as a way to illustrate spatial relationships in 3D to his students.

Rubik: Wake up their creativity, reminding their childhood. Complex things, if you don't understand them, it seems complicated. If you understand them, and we know how to handle it, it became simple.

Narrator: And how it works is fairly basic. At least, according to Rubik.

Rubik: In my view it's very simple. There are axises, to turn the axises the faces, it contains 27 different pieces. What you can see is only 26, because there is one in the middle.

Narrator: There are actually 43 quintillion possible combinations. It took Rubik more than a month to solve his own cube.

Rubik: It was, for me, it was important to prove it's possible. I can't say that the optimal one, but I was able to manage it and I was able to show it to people.

Narrator: Rubik didn't consider the cube a toy at first.

Rubik: I'm calling the cube, it's a piece of art. At the same time it's an intellectual task as well.

Narrator: It also wasn't originally called the Rubik's Cube.

Rubik: I didn't give that name, the Rubik's Cube, and I called it Magic Cube because it's magic.

Narrator: He was eventually able to trademark his name because it was so unique.

Commercial Narrator: There's never been a puzzle quite like Rubik's Cube!

Narrator: But early on, it wasn't easy to get people to think of the cube as a toy that people would want to buy.

Rubik: First for us, it was difficult to find partners at all because they say it does not look like a toy. It's not a traditional one. And as a puzzle, it's very difficult. So why people buy something what they are not able to achieve?

Commercial Narrator: Warning! Once you get your hands on Rubik's Cube, you may never be able to put it down!

Rubik: The market is two-sided. Partly they are keen for something new, and they are afraid about new.

Narrator: The cube was shown at various international toy fairs. Eventually, it was picked up by Ideal Toy Company and toy marketer, Tom Kremer. More than 450 million have been sold since its official launch in 1980. Rubik says he was a bit surprised by its success.

Rubik: The level of it.

Narrator: It's been featured in numerous films and TV shows.

Marge Simpson: Ooh, a Rubik's Cube! Let's all work it together!

Rockhound: Piece of cake.

Narrator: And there are competitions all over the world where people try to solve the cube in seconds.

Rubik: That's what speed cubers are doing nowadays. So they are practicing hours, and hours, and days, and days, and years, and years.

Narrator: Feliks Zemdegs of Australia set the most recent world record of 4.22 seconds at a competition in May 2018. Later that year, Red Bull held the Rubik's Cube World Championship. With a prize of $30,000 and diamond rings for the winners.

You can find guides all over the internet, if you wanna see how it's done, or try it for yourself.

But the cube is not just fun and games. It's also being used in classrooms. And it's still popular, despite the rise of video games and smart phones. Pulling in $250 million dollars in sales in 2017.

Rubik: The cube is approximately, it's around the same age as the internet, and in that time we had no personal computers, yet. We had no smartphones, yet, and many other things, so, new generation now probably can't believe it was possible to exist without this equipment, but it was, I can say.

Commercial Narrator: Sir Isaac Newton unraveled the mysteries of gravity, but could he have unraveled the mysteries of Rubik's Cube? Three weeks ago, Judge Smith retired to her chambers with Exhibit A: Rubik's Cube. She hasn't been seen since!

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Halloween is just around the corner, and the latest "Halloween" movie is set to be a box-office smash this weekend. It's just the latest movie to rake in big bucks for the horror genre, following the success of last year's "Get Out" and "It," and this year's "A Quiet Place" and "The Nun."

The genre seems to be the only one that is consistently reliable at the box office (besides superhero blockbusters, of course). The biggest horror movies even stretch back to the 1970s. 

We rounded up the highest-grossing horror movies of all time, and ranked them by how much they made in the US after being adjusted for inflation (based on figures from Box Office Mojo). We also included the original domestic and worldwide grosses when available. 

For movies such as "Alien" and "The Exorcist," we based their rankings on the original theatrical release, as opposed to total gross from re-releases.

Below are 19 of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time, ranked by domestic box office:

SEE ALSO: 'Halloween' is poised to have the biggest horror movie opening of the year, and has already broken a record

19. "Get Out" (2017)

Adjusted domestic total: $181,689,400

Original domestic total: $176,040,665

Worldwide total: $255,457,364

18. "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992)

Adjusted domestic total: $181,749,000

Original domestic total: $82,522,790

Worldwide total: $215,862,692

17. "A Quiet Place" (2018)

Adjusted domestic total: $183,213,500

Original domestic total: $188,024,361

Worldwide total: $338,563,752

• Rockstar Games came under fire earlier this week after cofounder Dan Houser claimed employees were working 100-hour weeks to finish the company's upcoming game, "Red Dead Redemption 2." 
• While the game has received positive early buzz, Rockstar has been accused of taking part in "crunch culture," or pushing staff to work overtime. 
• Overworking staff is an ongoing problem for video game studios, and the tech industry at large.
• Houser has since said Rockstar doesn't force anyone to work extra-long hours. 
• Now, Rockstar employees have taken to social media to express their feelings about the studio’s work environment.

The most anticipated video game of 2018, "Red Dead Redemption 2," will be released next week, marking the culmination of seven years of work from developer Rockstar Games.

And while the game has received positive early buzz, Rockstar itself has faced controversy in recent days. 

In an interview with New York Magazine's Vulture last week, Rockstar's cofounder Dan Houser praised staff members for working multiple 100-hour weeks to finish the game, invoking a fierce backlash from fellow game developers, who accused the company of abusing its employees.

"Red Dead Redemption 2" is expected to be one of the most expansive video games of all-time, with a main campaign that could last more than 60 hours and a script surpassing 2,000 pages. With seven years to work on the game and a huge budget funded by the success of "Grand Theft Auto," critics have questioned why the studio still has workers putting in so much overtime.

In an effort to quell the most recent criticism of the studio, Houser released a follow-up statement to attempt to clarify. Houser told Kotaku he was only referring to the senior writing team of "Red Dead Redemption 2," which consists of four people, including himself.

While "Red Dead Redemption 2" has been in production for seven years, Houser said the team spent three intensive weeks trying to finish the process. He said that other members of the game’s development team also chose to commit extra time, but that no one was forced to work long hours.

Part of Houser's statement to Kotaku reads, "Across the whole company, we have some senior people who work very hard purely because they're passionate about a project, or their particular work, and we believe that passion shows in the games we release. But that additional effort is a choice, and we don't ask or expect anyone to work anything like this."

The culture of 'crunch'

Overworking staff, sometimes called "crunch culture," is an ongoing problem for video game studios and the tech industry at large. Rockstar is best known for the massively successful "Grand Theft Auto" series, and the company has come under fire for similar tactics in the past.

In 2010, just months after the release of the original "Red Dead Redemption," a group of Rockstar employees' spouses published an open letter calling attention to abusive work practices at Rockstar San Diego. The group accused management of withholding bonuses and pushing employees to the brink.

Workers throughout the video game industry have been vocal about crunch culture and predatory studio practices in recent weeks. Developers have shared horror stories about studios taking advantage of their personal passion for an upcoming game to justify reckless work schedules:

The issue goes beyond video games — the tech industry as a whole has long been critiqued for pushing employees to the brink. Tech firms like Apple, Lyft, and Uber have all at some point espoused the virtues of being a workaholic, and founders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk have been lauded for sleeping at work overnight.

'I haven't worked a 100 hour work week in my life'

Now, in an effort to change the narrative about Rockstar's work environment, the company is letting employees discuss their jobs on social media. Rockstar has told employees to be honest without fear of repercussions. 

So far, those who have made public statements have defended Rockstar's overall work environment, while acknowledging that overtime isn't unusual:

Rockstar has also provided The Guardian with self-reported statistics from company employees.

Based on employees’ self-reported hours across all studios from January 8th to the end of September 2018, the average working week was between 42.4 and 45.8 hours. During the studio's busiest week, employees averaged 50.1 hours and 20% of employees reported working 60 hours or more. 

SEE ALSO: I played 2018's most anticipated game, 'Red Dead Redemption 2' — here are the 12 most interesting things I learned

READ MORE: Fans who paid for the final season of 'The Walking Dead' video game are upset that the studio may shutdown without an ending

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NOW WATCH: An aerospace company reintroduced its precision helicopter with two crossing motors

• John Krasinski revealed during a Q&A at the Silver Screen Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday that he is currently writing the sequel to "A Quiet Place" after initially telling the studio, Paramount, to move forward without him.
• "I had this small idea for a sequel, but I didn't think it would go anywhere," he said.
• But then he added, "And then I thought, 'This might really work.'"
• "A Quiet Place" is one of the year's biggest hits, making $338 million worldwide with only a $17 million production budget.

"A Quiet Place" is one of 2018's biggest hits, raking in over $338 million worldwide with only a $17 million production budget. The horror movie was bound to get a sequel, but writer, director, and star John Krasinski wasn't positive if he'd return.

But he's finally made up his mind. Krasinski revealed during a Q&A at the Silver Screen Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday that he is working on the script for the sequel after initially telling the studio, Paramount, to move forward without him. 

"I had this small idea for a sequel, but I didn't think it would go anywhere," he said. "So, I said to the studio, 'Just go do the movie with somebody else.' They heard some pitches, and I told [producer] Drew [Form] about this little idea. And he told me to think about it a little longer. And then I thought, 'This might really work.' So, I'm currently writing the sequel."

"A Quiet Place" starred Krasinski and his real-life wife, Emily Blunt, as a couple with two children trying to survive in a world where aliens who hunt by sound have invaded. The family tries to stay as silent as possible, using sign language to communicate and walking on sand. The problem? Blunt's character is pregnant.

Krasinski has the full backstory behind the movie in his head, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and it's laid out on a board that Krasinski's character keeps in his basement. But don't expect any of that to be in the sequel. 

"I have the whole backstory, I know exactly where they're from and what day and where it happened," Krasinski said. "But I want to only tell it on this board."

The sequel to "A Quiet Place" arrives in theaters May 14, 2020.

SEE ALSO: The 19 biggest horror movies of all time, ranked by how much money they made at the US box office

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NOW WATCH: How actors fake fight in movies

• MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson is being investigated by the New York Attorney General, who is probing whether the firm misled investors.
• Helios and Matheson denied any wrongdoing to Business Insider.
• A half dozen Helios and Matheson investors expressed positive sentiments about the investigation to Business Insider, with several saying they felt misled about the company's financial situation.

On Wednesday, news broke that the New York Attorney General had launched an investigation into whether Helios and Matheson Analytics, the owner of movie-ticket subscription service MoviePass, had misled investors.

Many investors weren’t surprised, they told Business Insider. In fact, some wondered why it had taken so long.

One retail investor, who asked not to be identified discussing his personal financial information, said he’d been "sending information to every agency trying to get them to look."

Helios and Matheson denied misleading investors in a statement to Business Insider.

"We are aware of the New York Attorney General's inquiry and are fully cooperating," the company said. "We believe our public disclosures have been complete, timely and truthful and we have not misled investors."

Unlike most startups, which are backed by venture-capital money, Helios and Matheson has covered the hundreds of millions of dollars in MoviePass losses by selling new shares of its Nasdaq-listed stock to the public. This has caused massive dilution for an army of passionate shareholders, many of whom have seen their stakes fall over 99% in value, with multiple telling Business Insider they had lost more than $100,000. According to Nasdaq, 99.96% of shares are held by non-institutional investors.

In August, numerous investors told Business Insider they had felt misled about the financial situation of MoviePass both by Helios and Matheson management and by the "buy" analyst ratings of two Wall Street firms whose banks made fees selling the stock (both have since suspended coverage).

"I think the New York Attorney General launching an investigation into the matter is a very good thing," one investor said Thursday. "Thousands of people lost a great deal of money in this financial gimmickry, and it should be investigated."

This sentiment was echoed by all the half-dozen investors contacted by Business Insider after the news broke.

"Seeking justice is a good thing," another said. "The collapse of HMNY deserves to be investigated. If convicted of fraud or other crimes, responsible parties deserve to be punished accordingly. That's all we can hope for at this point." He said he’d lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on the stock.

Several investors expressed hope that the company could move forward if current management was removed, though some acknowledged that was still a slim possibility.

"Maybe it can get [Helios and Matheson CEO Ted Farnsworth] and his toxic friends out of there but I doubt it," one investor said. Most believed their investment was lost for good.

"To be honest, I do not blame HMNY management anymore," one said. "To expect good things from bad people is insanity. I blame myself for investing in HMNY even after knowing Ted's past."

SEE ALSO: The strange story of how MoviePass' owner was created by an Indian company accused of massive fraud

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• YouTube struck a deal on Thursday with Eventbrite, the event and ticketing service.
• This comes nearly a year after YouTube signed a similar deal with Ticketmaster and after the European Union made serious changes that could greatly affect YouTube's copyright protections there. 
• The deal also helps YouTube stay abreast with Spotify and Facebook who also provide users the ability to connect to ticketing services.  

YouTube is flexing its muscle in the music business, but it's learning how to use its power as an enticement — and not a threat — to the artists and labels in the industry. 

The video site's new partnership with Eventbrite, the event and ticketing service, is a good example of this new strategy. 

The partnership, announced on Thursday, will let YouTube users rocking out to their favorite music click straight from the video clip to Eventbrite's site, and buy tickets to hear the artist live. YouTube signed a similar deal with Ticketmaster nearly a year ago.

Financial terms of the Eventbrite deal were not released, so we have no idea whether the partnership is directly contributing to YouTube's top line. Nonetheless, we can conclude that if YouTube assists in prompting some of its nearly 2 billion monthly logged-in users to buy concert tickets, that's likely to make music artists happy.  

YouTube, which is owned by Google, generates billions of dollars in ad revenue every year, analysts estimate. A big chunk of YouTube's success is due to the music users listen to on the site. Though the music industry has long seen YouTube as a frenemy, it's clear YouTube wants to improve the relationship. 

Record labels don't see a cent from live performances. But by steering its users to live concerts, YouTube could give a nice shot in the arm to artists, who have emerged as an important constituency YouTube needs to court. 

A peace mission that could pay dividends

In years past, artists were reluctant to speak out on copyright issues for fear of alienating fans, many of whom were snatching pirated copies of songs from file-sharing services. They're not afraid anymore. 

In 2016, a legion of them, including Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Garth Brooks and Katy Perry, publicly lashed at Google and YouTube in a letter to European regulators. They claimed that the companies weren't paying enough for the right to host their songs.

This year, in a stunning defeat for YouTube, the European Union reformed copyright rules in an attempt to force YouTube and similar sites to share more of the revenue generated from songs, books, and movies with creators. This only affects copyright law within EU countries, but YouTube probably isn't very keen to find out if similar changes could happen in the US.

Thus, YouTube has embarked on a peace mission with the music industry.

The company has enlisted Lyor Cohen,a former top record-label executive, to serve as YouTube's global music chief and to lead the charm offensive. 

The big record labels are in love with streaming services that charge monthly subscription fees, a la Spotify and Apple Music — so YouTube launched its own for-pay music streaming service. One record label executive recently raved to Business Insider about how pleased he has been to see YouTube Music ads "everywhere" he goes in New York City.

The labels don't like seeing links to pirate sites or to services that rip copies of songs from YouTube videos, so YouTube is cracking down (although still not to the full extent the labels want).

And with the live concert tie-ins, YouTube is making sure that the artists appreciate its ability to make it rain.

Sure, YouTube needs to offer concert ticket tie-ins to match the competition, since rivals like Facebook and Spotify also have features that let users find live performances. And YouTube Music's subscription streaming service is still struggling to get the kind of traction that Apple and Spotify have. 

But after years of conflict with the music industry, YouTube now wants to play a new tune.  

SEE ALSO: Music industry honcho Lyor Cohen reinvented himself as a YouTube exec — here's his message to the haters

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Apple took another subtle jab at Facebook during its iPhone XS event

• Helios and Matheson, the parent company of MoviePass has hired a second firm to help it solicit and collect votes on a plan to reverse split its stock.
• The company, which has been losing hundreds of millions of dollars, now expects to spend $109,000 on proxy solicitors, which is more than 10 times what it planned to spend initially.
• The announcement is the latest sign that it's struggling to convince shareholders to back the proposal.

The parent company of MoviePass gave another indication Thursday that it's struggling to convince shareholders to back its plan to reverse-split its stock for the second time in four months.

Helios and Matheson, which bought a controlling stake in the subscription movie ticket service last year, has hired a second firm to help it collect investor votes, it announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company hired Alliance Advisors and will pay the firm $60,000 plus expenses.

Helios and Matheson, which burned through $210 million in cash in just the first six months of this year, is now spending around $109,000 on two different firms to solicit shareholder votes. That's an unusually large amount of money. When the company prepared for a shareholder vote in July on its first reverse split, it only hired one proxy solicitation firm and expected to pay just $9,000 plus expenses. Apple, meanwhile, expected to spend only $15,000 on soliciting votes for its shareholder meeting earlier this year.

The movie ticket subscription company originally planned to spend just $9,000 soliciting votes for this vote too. But it announced earlier this week that the amount it would spend with its first proxy solicitor had risen to $49,000.

Company representatives did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Helios and Matheson has massively diluted shareholders

MoviePass' parent, which is in danger of having its stock delisted from the Nasdaq national market because it's been consistently trading at less than $1 a share, is asking investors to approve the reverse-split scheme to boost its share price. The company plans to trade investors one new share of its stock for anywhere from two to 500 current shares, with the expectation that its stock price will go up in reverse proportion to the reverse-split ratio.

But because the move will only affect the number of shares it has outstanding and not the total number it can issue, the split would have the effect of giving Helios and Matheson room to issue billions of new shares. The company's track record indicates it would be sure to take advantage of that.

Just in the last year, its share count has gone up nearly 3,900,000%, adjusting for its first reverse split. Indeed, after its first reverse split in July gave it more room to issue shares, it massively flooded the market with them, sending its stock spiraling downward. It now trades at 1.7 cents.

In interviews with Business Insider and postings on Twitter and message boards, company shareholders have expressed anger at the company and opposition to the reverse-stock plan. Earlier this week, the company announced it would delay the vote, which was set for Thursday, by two weeks, another indication that it was struggling to get support for the plan.

Now read:

• Investors seem to be balking at MoviePass' parents' plans to reverse split its stock again — and for good reason
• MoviePass' parent company just freed up some room to sell more stock — after already increasing its share count by 80,000% since July
• MoviePass' parent company says the $65 million in new funding it just raised isn't exactly 'new'
• MoviePass' parent company has boosted its share count by an unbelievable 80,000% since July — but it's run out of room to issue new stock

SEE ALSO: Even after massively diluting its stock, MoviePass' parent company could issue billions of more shares, and there's little investors can do about it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a $1,000 phone that's actually worth it

• Video game sales should be robust this holiday season, UBS analyst Eric Sheridan predicts in a new report.
• More consumers say they plan to buy this year's versions of top game franchises than previous iterations, according to the report.
• Significant portions of consumers plan to spend on extras, such as premium version of the games, UBS said.

This holiday season is shaping up to be a merry one for video-game makers, particularly for industry giants Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts.

Sales of this year's versions of top games look set to exceed last year's, UBS financial analyst Eric Sheridan, who covers the game industry, said in a new report. And significant numbers of gamers polled by the financial firm say they're intent on spending extra money for premium editions of particularly titles or on downloadable content, Sheridan said.

The "data points to a strong holiday season for video games," he said.

Part of what's driving Sheridan's bullishness is the large portions of consumers who say they've either purchased or plan to buy some of the top titles this holiday season. A whopping 40% of gamers surveyed said they're at least "somewhat likely to buy" "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4," the latest title in Activision's long-running franchise. Some 37% plan to buy Ubisoft's "Assassins Creed: Odyssey," and 36% "Red Dead Redemption 2" from Take-Two Interactive's Rockstar Studios.

Sheridan's report was based on UBS's surveys of more than 5,000 consumers in five key markets — the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and China. Those surveyed all ranged in age from 18 to 44; play games on consoles, dedicated handheld gaming devices, or PCs; and have played at least one game in the last six months.

In many cases, more gamers are saying they plan to buy this year's installment of particular game franchises than previous ones. Just 23% of gamers said last year they planned to buy "Call of Duty: WWII" — 17 percentage points less than this year's version. Some 34% of gamers said they plan to buy EA's "FIFA 19;" last year, just 22% said last year that they planned to buy "FIFA 18." And 23% say they'll pick up a copy of the company's "Madden 19," while just 13% said a year ago they planned to buy "Madden 18."

Gamers say they'll spend more for downloadable content

What's also spurring Sheridan's optimism is consumer's willingness to spend extra on games.

On average, more than half of the gamers who said they've already bought or planned to buy at least one of 15 top games this year planned to purchase downloadable content for the game. Downloadable content can range from inexpensive virtual items like new clothes for a character to more expensive things such as expansion packs.

With some games, the vast majority of their players intend to buy such extras. Some 76% who said they play or plan to play "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" said they've already purchased or plan to buy downloadable content for it.

Meanwhile, on average more than a third of consumers who said they planned to buy one of those 15 games said they expected to pay extra for a premium version of that title. For example, some 39% of gamers who plan to get "NHL 19," say they'll spend up for one of the more expensive versions of the title. 

It could be a big year for "Call of Duty"

Taking into account such data, Sheridan forecast that several of this year's top games will see stronger sales than previous installments. 

Activision should sell about 24 million copies of "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4," compared to about 20 to 21 million copies it sold of last year's "Call of Duty: WWII," he said. Sales of the company's "World of Warcraft: The Battle for Azeroth" should hit 10 million copies; Activision sold about 8 million copies of 2016's "World of Warcraft: Legion," he said.

EA should similar similar gains with its biggest titles, Sheridan said. Sales of its "FIFA 19" are likely to hit 22 million copies, up from around 20 million for "FIFA 18," he said.

As part of his report, Sheridan reiterated his "buy" rating and price targets on Activision and EA. His price target for Activision is $88 a share; for EA, it's $166 a share.

Activision closed regular trading Thursday down $6.49, or 8.3%, to $71.81. EA was off $2.99, or 2.8%, to $105.80.

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NOW WATCH: Apple's entire iPhone XS event in 8 minutes

• Elizabeth Banks is an actress, a director, and a producer.
• She recently hosted a series of podcasts and films featuring mid-cap companies that are re-inventing themselves in the face of business challenges. These spots were part of the series Crazy Enough to Work, created by State Street Global Advisors.
• Banks said her best negotiation strategy is to know when you're willing to walk away.
• Some negotiation experts agree with this advice; others don't exactly.

Elizabeth Banks has built a career as an actress, a director, and a producer. Which means that, like any other, albeit less glamorous, business person, she's sometimes had to petition her managers for more money.

In an interview with Business Insider, Banks shared her approach to salary negotiations: "It's just all about what you're willing to walk away from. You have no leverage if you're not willing to walk away."

Banks has appeared in the TV series "30 Rock," the film "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and the "Pitch Perfect" franchise, which she developed and produced through Brownstone Productions, the production company she runs along with her husband. Right now she's directing a reboot of "Charlie's Angels," slated to hit theaters in 2019.

Recently, Banks also hosted a series of short films and podcasts created by State Street Global Advisors, called Crazy Enough to Work, interviewing mid-cap companies that are reinventing themselves in the face of business challenges.

Banks has said before that money is important to her, both as a symbol of her achievements and as a means to a more lavish lifestyle.

"I also like money, and that is OK," she told The New York Times in 2017, describing her path to becoming a director and a producer. Earlier in her career, she told The Times, she wanted to buy a home where her kids wouldn't have to share a room.

And when she asked other actresses for career advice, Banks told The Times, they said, "It's actually OK to want money in the way that your male colleagues want money."

Setting a walk-away point can be useful, but can also backfire, experts say

Banks' approach — setting your walk-away point — has been touted by some negotiation experts. In an article for The Muse, attorney Victoria Pynchon wrote: "If you act as if you're prepared to walk away from a deal unless you achieve your desired goal, your bargaining partner will be far more incentivized to meet your requirements or make serious problem-solving efforts to create enough value so that both of you get what you want."

And on Forbes, Alexandra Dickinson, founder of consulting company Ask For It, writes that even if you're at a seeming disadvantage — like if you're an employee negotiating a raise — it's still important to set your walk-away point in advance.

If that point is 10% and you're offered 5%, instead of thinking that's better than no raise, "you can go back to the negotiating table, or you can consider starting a job search to look for a better opportunity."

On the other hand, in the Harvard Business Review, attorney and consultant Jay A. Hewlin writes that having a "walk away" outcome can backfire. Instead, you should focus on your mutual dependence with your negotiation partner.

Hewlin writes: "Focusing on mutual dependence draws your attention toward inquiry and exploration, advancing the conversation from: "How much can I get out of this deal above my best alternative?" to ‘In how many ways can I demonstrate my company's value to this person based on their need(s)?'"

As for Banks, another piece of negotiation wisdom that she's been following since high school is less controversial: "You don't get what you don't ask for," Banks told Business Insider, "You can't complain later that you didn't get if if you didn't ask for it. People are not mind-readers."

SEE ALSO: Actress Elizabeth Banks spoke to a Dunkin' Donuts exec about why the company is changing its name, and took away a career lesson anyone can use

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NOW WATCH: I woke up at 4:30 a.m. for a week like a Navy SEAL

• "The Haunting of Hill House" director Mike Flanagan's next project is an adaptation of Stephen King's 2013 novel, "Doctor Sleep," which is a sequel to "The Shining."
• The movie stars Ewan McGregor as a grown-up Danny Torrance and comes to theaters in January 2020.
• King praised "The Haunting of Hill House" this week and called it "close to a work of genius."

If you loved Netflix's new horror series, "The Haunting of Hill House," the director's next project should entice you.

Mike Flanagan is one of the biggest horror filmmakers working today, having also made "Gerald's Game," Ouija: Origin of Evil," "Hush," and more before adapting Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" 1959 novel. Flanagan won't be straying from horror in the future, as he's set to direct an adaptation of Stephen King's 2013 novel, "Doctor Sleep," which is a sequel to "The Shining."

The movie stars Ewan McGregor as a grown-up Danny Torrance, the son of Jack Torrance, who terrorized Danny and his mother in King's original novel and Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film. Flanagan was confirmed to be the "Doctor Sleep" director in January, two years before the movie comes to theaters.

King is already a fan of Flanagan's, and praised "The Haunting of Hill House" on Twitter this week.

"I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great," King said. "Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure."

"Doctor Sleep" comes to theaters January 24, 2020.

SEE ALSO: Stephen King loves Netflix's new horror series, 'The Haunting of Hill House,' and called it 'close to a work of genius'

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• Elan and Jonathan Bogarín's debut movie "306 Hollywood" is part documentary, part art exhibit.
• The two siblings cope with the passing of their grandmother by going into her house and using the things she left behind to celebrate her life.

Every weekend we pick an indie movie currently playing in theaters we think is definitely worth your time and money, and this week's is "306 Hollywood."

Annette Ontell lived seven decades in the same house at 306 Hollywood Avenue in Hillside, New Jersey, in which she was everything from a housewife to a fashion designer. So how do you celebrate someone who has lived such a full life? You explore what was left behind. 

Ontell's grandchildren, Elan and Jonathan Bogarín, use their directing debut to commemorate their late grandmother with the beautifully touching and creatively told "306 Hollywood." The two take us into Ontell's home to not just marvel at the knickknacks, clothes, and keepsakes that are inside but flesh out the memories they had with her to examine what Ontell's life meant to them.

But Elan and Jonathan go into the house as if they are on an archeological dig. They give every item in the house (down to the paper clips and toothbrushes) a respect that it didn't have when Ontell was alive.

However, that's the beauty of the movie: its almost insane attention to detail to celebrate Ontell while also understanding who she was as a person — not just their grandmother. 

"306 Hollywood" is part documentary and part art exhibit that will make you think about your own mortality, that you really need to call your grandmother more often, and that you really, really need to clean your place.

See where "306 Hollywood" is playing near you.

Our indie movie picks from previous weekends:

• "Eighth Grade"
• "Blindspotting"
• "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"
• "BlacKkKlansman"
• "Support the Girls"
• "Sorry to Bother You"
• "Operation Finale"
• "Lizzie"
• "Assassination Nation"
• "The Sisters Brothers"
• "The Old Man & the Gun"
• "Beautiful Boy"

SEE ALSO: "Am I mature enough to lead a group of people?": Jonah Hill opens up about the anxieties and triumphs in his 4-year journey to make his acclaimed directorial debut, "Mid90s"

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• Jonah Hill's directorial debut is a beautifully authentic look at a kid trying to find acceptance in LA.
• If you're a fan of '90s music, get ready for this soundtrack.

We’ve seen Jonah Hill evolve from playing the comedic roles to impressive dramatic performances, and now we are about to witness his latest evolution: being a director.

With the release of "mid90s" (opening October 19), Hill has created one of the most heartwarming movies of the year as we follow the life of young teen Stevie (Sunny Suljic), as he tries to find the acceptance and love that he can't get at home.

Set in the (you guessed it) mid-1990s, Stevie is an LA 13-year-old who spends most of his time wanting to gain the acceptance of his older brother, Ian (Lucas Hedges), but instead gets beat up by him. With his mother (Katherine Waterston) never around, Stevie spends most of his time away from home and that hunger for friendship finally lands him at a skate shop.

There friends Ray (Na-kel Smith), F---shit (Olan Prenatt), Ruben (Gio Galicia), and Fourth Grade (Ryder McLaughlin), spend their days skating and teasing each other.

Stevie is instantly drawn into their world and finally finds acceptance when, while hanging to the side while they all skate, Ray asks him, "Go fill up this jug of water." Stevie grabs the plastic jug and races to the faucet to fill it as quickly as he can. That simple sequence sets the tone for the entire movie. That one small gesture of recognition proves to Stevie that someplace in this world he actually belongs.

Now that's not to say that "mid90s" doesn't have a little edge to it, because it certainly does. Hill is introducing us to the skate culture, not the Boy Scouts. We watch as Stevie drinks and smokes with the guys, hooks up with a girl, and takes a really nasty fall off a roof while trying to show off his skating skills. And then there are his troubles at home, which get really dark at one point. But through it all, Hill brings it back to friendship and how even when things are at their most dark, friends are there to pick you up.

Hill has an incredible eye for talent, as he casts an unknown group of actors to play his leads, and all of them give a very improvisational feel.

And then there's the authenticity of the movie itself. Shot on Super 16mm with a 4:3 aspect ratio (meaning the screen is going to be narrower than most movies you see in theaters), it beautifully captures an era when smartphones and social media were on no one's minds. And the music of the era is everywhere, from the Wu-Tang Clan to Seal's "Kiss From A Rose."

Though there have been many comparisons to Larry Clark's iconic 1995 movie "Kids" when talking about "mid90s," in actuality this is the anti-"Kids" movie. Though both look at young kids in a don't give an f--- culture, Hill sets his apart by making it so inclusive. His characters just want to have a good time.

It's one of those rare stories these days that looks at the beauty of life, rather than the parts that suck.

SEE ALSO: 24 movies coming out soon that are major Oscar contenders

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• Lena Dunham's feminist newsletter Lenny Letter and its website are shutting down.
• The newsletter had interviewed Hillary Clinton. It also ran articles by Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Obama, as well as covering style, politics, and gender issues.
• The newsletter had grown to over 500,000 subscribers, but reports said it had struggled to secure ad revenue.
• In its final email on Friday, it wrote: "Please, continue to push forward the voices that need a platform, the untold stories that deserve to be heard, the diversity that the publishing industry claims to value but has never mastered."

Lenny Letter, Lena Dunham's feminist newsletter which ran articles by Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Obama, is shutting down.

Dunham, who founded the newsletter in 2015, intended for it "make the world better for women and the people who love them," according to the email the newsletter sent to new subscribers.

But in its email to subscribers on Friday, it said "today because this is Lenny’s final chapter."

The final issue encouraged subscribers to be politically active, to canvass and vote in the run up to the middterm elections.

It also urged subscribers: "Please, continue to push forward the voices that need a platform, the untold stories that deserve to be heard, the diversity that the publishing industry claims to value but has never mastered."

The newsletter said "there’s no one reason for our closure," but a report in Digiday said that the newsletter had always struggled to gain ad support. It signed a deal with Condé Nast to handle ads for the site in October. Condé Nast did not respond to requests for comment from the Post and Digiday.

The newsletter grew to over 500,000 subscribers, according to Digiday, but its growth on social media had slowed.  Nearly half of subscribers were still opening the emails in July 2017, sources told the New York Post.

The newsletter is sent by email twice a week and covers topics including feminism, style, politics, health.

"I think our ideal audience is anyone who considers themselves to be a progressive feminist who wants to live an inspired life," Dunham told Business Insider in 2015.

"Our goal isn't for you to read it at lunch. Our goal is for you to have a relationship with it and talk to your friends about it."

As well as discussions of topics like birth control, anxiety, gender issues, and activism, the newsletter includes interviews with "powerful female figures who get us excited."

It published pieces with women like actress Gillian Jacobs, New York Times best-selling novelist Jessica Knoll, and feminist thinker and activist Gloria Steinem.

Jennifer Lawrence wrote for Lenny about the Hollywood gender pay gap, and the newsletter interviewed Hillary Clinton when she was campaigning in the 2016 presidential election.

"In the three years since we began, the Internet has opened up for underrepresented writers in ways we wouldn’t have predicted or believed from our 2015 bunker," Friday's newletter said. "It was an honor to be part of that brigade, and we can’t wait to see how those who forged that path keep holding space after Lenny is gone."

Dunham, best known as the writer, star, and creator of HBO show "Girls," founded the newsletter with production partner Jenni Konner. It is unclear whether the sites' podcasts — "Women of the Hour" and "Lenny Says" — will continue.

SEE ALSO: Here's why Lena Dunham started 'Lenny,' her newsletter that launched in 2015

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NOW WATCH: What marijuana looks like under the microscope

• Barclays analysts think Disney has the assets to deliver a successful streaming service, but it's not a guarantee.
• The analysts see a number of potential hurdles Disney could face as it launches the service next year that could be issues for investors.
• Along with the new service, Disney will also be involved with ESPN+ and Hulu, which analysts see as "reductive" until Disney figures out pricing and bundling strategies. 
• Analysts also see Disney's licensing agreements as a possible problem, as the new service will likely not have Disney's full library of content at launch, particularly old "Star Wars" movies.
• On top of all of this, Disney will be launching its service during a "complex integration" after the Disney-Fox deal closes.

Disney is expected to roll out its own streaming service late next year to compete, primarily, with Netflix. With so much content at its disposal — Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Fox properties — it's bound to be a popular service.

But in a new report distributed Friday, Barclays analysts said those assets don't guarantee a home run.

When Disney launches its streaming service, it will likely be one of three video services Disney is involved with, along with ESPN+ and Hulu. Both Fox and Disney own 30% of Hulu, which means Disney will double its stake in the service once its merger with Fox is complete.

Barclays sees these offerings as "reductive."

"In our opinion, Disney’s approach to OTT in the form of three separate services is reductive and is akin to launching networks for different demographics on television which is now essentially being replicated on the internet," the analysts said. "This is likely to limit its market opportunity and increase its operating and capital costs over time relative to a simplified one service approach (at least for non-sports content)."

The analysts said that Disney will need to clarify its bundling and pricing strategy in the near future for investors, as well as its plans to acquire the 40% of Hulu it will still not own once the Disney-Fox deal is complete.

READ MORE:Morgan Stanley predicted how Disney's Netflix competitor will fare in the streaming wars — and said it could be a $6 billion business

During an earnings call in August, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that "a number of products" will be affected by licensing agreements, particularly "Star Wars," which means that the streaming service will not have Disney's full library of content at launch.

According to an August Bloomberg report, Disney had been trying to buy back the rights to old "Star Wars" movies, but receiving pushback from Turner Broadcasting.

Barclays analysts see that as a risk, and said that Disney will have to work through licensing agreements "in order to have enough critical mass of content." They also said that Disney needs to figure out global distribution, "neither of which are trivial challenges."

But not even a bulk of successful content guarantees success for the service, according to analysts. 

"Success in OTT is more about: (a) content aggregation rather than segmentation, which is Disney’s go to market strategy at present (b) technology skills (such as discovery and recommendation) and data rather than content and (c) experience," analysts said.

They added that legacy media organizations were more oriented to selling wholesale (to pay-TV distributors) rather than retail (to customers directly). "These differences need a big shift in cultural and organization orientation (especially reporting lines), in our opinion, which is not a trivial challenge," the analysts wrote.

On top of all of these possible complications, though, is the Fox deal, which is expected to close on January 1.

"The company’s pivot will happen during what is likely to be a complex integration culturally between Fox and Disney," analysts said.

But even considering the potential issues, Barclays analysts believe Disney has "the key mix of assets to be successful," and think its upcoming Investor Day should act as an opportunity to clarify questions and give investors a sense of the scale of Disney's ambitions.

SEE ALSO: Warner Bros. triumphed over Disney in public sentiment after hiring James Gunn for 'Suicide Squad 2'

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

• The director of the new "Halloween" movie, David Gordon Green, wanted to reshoot parts of the ending of the original 1978 movie and use it to open his movie.
• It would include a scene where Dr. Loomis is killed by Michael Myers.
• However, John Carpenter, the creator of the "Halloween" franchise who is also an executive producer on the 2018 sequel, told Green he should not do that because the "fans are gonna get pissed off."

Fans of the "Halloween" franchise are gearing up for a big weekend, as a new sequel to the original 1978 movie is opening on Friday with critics loving its fresh take on the John Carpenter classic.

But they all might have been feeling differently about it if Carpenter had not stepped in and put a stop to director David Gordon Green's early idea of how to open the movie.

In early drafts of the movie, Green's "Halloween" was to open with the 1978 ending. However, Green wanted to reshoot parts of it, in which Dr. Loomis (played by Donald Pleasence) rescues Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) by shooting Michael Myers, who then falls off a balcony to the ground. However, he survives, leading to decades of sequels.

In fact, Green wanted to change it in a major way. According to Bloody Disgusting, in the revision Loomis shoots Myers, then the doctor enters the room Myers goes into and is attacked by the villain, who then kills Loomis by choking him. Strode then shoots Myers off the balcony.

The site claims to have an early draft of the script and posted the portion where Myers (aka, "The Shape") kills Loomis:

“The Shape GRABS LOOMIS’ THROAT and throws him to the wall. Loomis drops the gun on the floor wheezing for breath. The Shape CHOKES Loomis, who struggles against the wall. 2. The Shape’s thumbs crush Loomis’ THROAT. He drops to the ground, DEAD. The Shape looks down at Loomis’ lifeless body.”

Green has said in the past that he planned to use a body double to play Loomis, as Pleasence died in 1995. There was even talk of doing a CGI double.  

Thankfully for all of us, the creator of the franchise, John Carpenter, stepped in and stopped the reshoot from happening. 

Carpenter is an executive producer on the new "Halloween," and according to Collider, told Green why changing the ending of his "Halloween" would be a bad idea.

"I thought, 'That’s a mistake. The audience won’t like that. That’s a revision I don’t think we should do.’ So that was my one big contribution," Carpenter said. "I thought the fans are gonna get pissed off at that."

We agree with Carpenter.

Instead, Green, who wrote the screenplay with Danny McBride, decided on opening the movie with a pair of podcasters who seek to find where Michael Myers has been since the events of the first movie. This inevitably launches Myers' new killing spree.

SEE ALSO: John Krasinski is writing a sequel to his hit horror movie, "A Quiet Place," after first telling the studio to move on without him

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NOW WATCH: How actors fake fight in movies

• The majority of an artist's revenue comes from touring, selling merchandise, licensing their music for things like television, movies, or video games, and partnerships or side businesses.
• Streaming is often thought of as the future of music and can provide artists with a nice source of income. But it isn't nearly as lucrative for artists as other revenue streams.
• The future of the industry is unclear, but analysts are optimistic about the ability of artists to thrive in the emerging landscape.

There's a common misconception about how major musicians earn their money: In short, it's all about having a hit song that breaks the top 40 music chart.

In reality, it's more complicated than that, and an artist's financial success often comes from  revenue streams outside of streaming or downloads.

"Where number of listens comes in handy is in the algorithms and in social proof," Zach Bellas, a professional musician and founder of SMB records, told Business Insider. "If an artist's song gets some attention in its beginning, the algorithms will suggest it to others, and as the view and play counts rise, it will gain more authority and social proof in people's minds, creating a cycle that pushes the song further into the top searches and suggested tracks."

But, as Bellas noted, "artists have always made the bulk of their money from live performances and touring." And for big names in the industry, the numbers back this assertion up.

Consider, for example, U2, which made $54.4 million and was the highest-paid musical act of the year in 2017, according to Billboard's annual Money Makers report. Of their total earnings, about 95%, or $52 million, came from touring, while less than 4% came from streaming and album sales. Garth Brooks (who came in second on the list), owed about 89% of his earnings to touring, while Metallica (ranked third) raked in 71% of their earnings in the same way.

"In the last several years, streaming revenue has increased, but it is still not enough on its own to financially support a career with longevity," said Erin M. Jacobson, a music-industry lawyer based in Beverly Hills, whose work involves negotiating record contracts on behalf of artists ranging from up-and-coming artists to Grammy-winning musicians.

Other common sources of revenue, according to Bellas, include sync licensing (for example, when an artist sells the right to play their song on a T.V. show, or in a movie or video game), and side-businesses, like fashion lines, as well as partnerships with brands. Think, for example, of Rihanna's makeup and lingerie lines, or the soundtrack to your favorite movie, or any ad campaign starring your favorite famous musician.

According to a recent Citigroup report, the music industry generated a record $43 billion in 2017, but recording artists saw just 12% of that revenue, or $5.1 billion, and the "bulk" of their revenues came from touring. Music businesses, including labels and publishers, took home almost $10 million, according to the report, which showed that artists are still grabbing a meager percentage of the increasing revenues in streaming, where music labels and streaming services act as intermediaries.

Artists also have to deal with the issue of copyright, where revenues for their music are further split among publishing companies, music labels, and songwriters.  

So, despite common belief, getting signed to a label isn't necessarily more lucrative for artists nowadays.

"Many artists think that they will make more money when signed to a label, and I have to educate them that this is not necessarily the case and explain to them that they have to pay back all the costs the label expends on their behalf," says lawyer Jacobson. "Artists still think fame and fortune is easy to come by, and that they will get high advances, which most companies are not giving now."

With the constant changes in the ways people listen to music, the future of the industry, and what artists stand to gain, is unclear.

Yet, a recent surge in music revenue paints an optimistic picture of where the industry is headed. According to the RIAA, music industry revenue has increased for two consecutive years. That's the first time it's happened since 1999.

SEE ALSO: Musicians only got 12% of the $43 billion the music industry generated in 2017, and it mostly came from touring

DON'T MISS: Spotify is disrupting the music industry. But don't expect it to displace the Big 3 music labels anytime soon — here's why

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NOW WATCH: How superstar DJ Steve Aoki built an empire by giving away his music

Netflix's new horror series, "The Haunting of Hill House," is an instant hit with audiences, critics, and horror fans alike.

The show has a 91% critic score on review-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, and a 93% audience score based on 785 user ratings. It's one of Netflix's best-reviewed shows of all time, and one of the best-reviewed shows of the year.

Even Stephen King, the master horror author of classic novels like "The Shining," "It," and "Carrie," gave the show a rousing review, and called it "close to a work of genius" this week.

But to get a better sense of just how big of a hit it is, we turned to data-science company Parrot Analytics. In data provided to Business Insider, collected from October 12 to 18, Parrot found that "The Haunting of Hill House" was the third most "in-demand" horror show among audiences. That's not bad, considering the show only debuted last Friday, and the top two have been on the air for nearly a decade.

If "The Haunting of Hill House" can compete with the likes of "The Walking Dead" and "American Horror Story" after such a short amount of time, then its popularity is bound to only go up. There's no word on a season two just yet, but judging by the response to the show, it wouldn't be surprising if it happened. In the meantime, fans can look forward to director Mike Flanagan's next project: a film adaptation of King's "Doctor Sleep," which is a sequel to "The Shining." 

To gauge the popularity of a show, Parrot calculates the total audience demand for a title, which reflects "the desire, engagement, and viewership weighted by importance" (a stream or download is a higher expression of demand than a reaction on social media). Some of the shows listed aren't on the air currently, but they are in-demand for audiences. 

Below are the eight most popular horror shows right now, including "The Haunting of Hill House":

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'The Haunting of Hill House' director is making a sequel to Stephen King's 'The Shining'

8. "Castle Rock" (Hulu)

Average demand expressions: 13,954,114

Description: "A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock has figured prominently in King’s literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption are either set there or contain references to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is an original suspense/thriller — a first-of-its-kind reimagining that explores the themes and worlds uniting the entire King canon, while brushing up against some of his most iconic and beloved stories."

7. "Light as a Feather" (Hulu)

Average demand expressions: 14,240,632

Description: "An innocent game of “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board” goes wrong when the five teen girls who played start dying off in the exact way that was predicted, forcing the survivors to figure out why they’re being targeted - and whether the evil force hunting them down is one of their own."

6. "The Purge" (USA)

Average demand expressions: 14,973,182

Description: "During a 12-hour period when all crime -- including murder -- is legal, a group of seemingly unrelated characters cross paths in a city in an altered America. While the clock winds down, some will fight, some will hide, others will embrace what it means to Purge to its fullest extent -- whether for revenge, personal gain, protection, or unadulterated glee. As each character is forced to reckon with his or her past and plot how to better their futures, they soon discover how far they will go on Purge Night."

• In discussions about Disney's streaming future, its over-the-top service ESPN+ has been largely overlooked.
• But Barclays analysts say ESPN+ represents a huge opportunity for Disney in dominating the new landscape of sports digital media.
• To take advantage of this, ESPN+ will have to fundamentally change its business and become not only a curator, but also an aggregator of sports events that other companies have the rights to.

The media behemoths are making bets that direct-to-consumer streaming services (like Netflix) will rule the future, and none has made a more drastic swing in this direction than Disney.

In the not-so-distant future, Disney will control at least three major streaming services: An upcoming Disney-branded service (with content from franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar), Hulu, and ESPN+.

Because Disney’s battle against Netflix has been the subject of much of the streaming discussion, ESPN+ has fallen by the wayside a bit.

But in a research note distributed Friday, analysts at Barclays led by Kannan Venkateshwar outlined a huge opportunity the service presents for Disney.

“As we had highlighted many times in the past, we believe in an OTT world, achieving subscriber scale depends on the ability to serve as an aggregation platform to ease access and discovery,” Barclays wrote. “In this respect, we believe ESPN is in a unique position given that it is one of the only scaled media properties where the brand is synonymous with sports. This in effect makes ESPN+ one of the only services that can act as an aggregator for sports.”

Barclays thinks "aggregators" — or platforms that tie together tons of content, and pair it with navigation tools — will rule the over-the-top media landscape, and ESPN is one of the only brands that could step into that role for sports. But to become an aggregator of sports, ESPN has to drastically shift the business.

Right now, ESPN+ is essentially an add-on product that gives people access to sporting events that ESPN has the rights to broadcast, but isn’t running on its main channels. That means it has mostly sports like hockey, soccer, swimming, and so on. Even so, it has performed beyond Wall Street expectations so far, snagging over one million subscribers as of September (at $4.99 per month each), five months after launch.

But Barclays sees the potential for ESPN+ to be much more than an add-on service that brings in a little money. Barclays thinks it could make a play to become a main aggregator for sports in the digital TV world.

“However, in order to get to this end state, ESPN+ will have to morph its business model away from curation more towards aggregation and develop a technology stack and skill sets that are directed at this goal,” Barclays wrote.

It added:

“What this means is that in theory, consumers should be able to get sports through ESPN+ even if Disney does not have the rights to the games through plug-ins such as CBS All Access, MLB.TV, MLS Live, eSports events or any other venue with sports. This can be tiered from a pricing perspective with a base $4.99/month price for seasonal or small scale or regional events with up sells based on experience or access to various sports (for instance, a tier for football or basketball or Martial Arts).”

And if ESPN+ can get scale early, by binding together sports content and serving it up to the consumer, the analysts think that “could be a self-sustaining force, contingent of course on execution, as has been the case with Netflix thus far.” Once it gets going, who is going to stop that train? 

There are many would-be aggregators trying to dominate the future of digital media, but the good news for ESPN is that not many sports media companies have the name recognition, the backing of a giant like Disney, and the encouraging first signs in streaming adoption that it has.

If aggregators do indeed win the day, as Barclays suggests, ESPN is well-positioned for victory. But it needs to make the first moves now.

SEE ALSO: Wall Street analysts broke down the horrible math of the digital TV business, and it could have brutal consequences for some networks

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NOW WATCH: A top movie actor reveals how he learns different accents

If you have ever, for whatever reason, wondered what it'd be like to work at Walmart — well, now's your chance.

The retail giant has released a game for your smartphone that lets you live a day in the life of a Walmart manager. Over the course of your workday, you monitor inventory, stock shelves, adjust prices, and perform tasks to the satisfaction of your boss and customers alike.

The app, which Buzzfeed News first spotted, started out as a training tool for employees, Walmart spokesperson Michelle Malashock told Business Insider. The game, which is called Spark City, was piloted in a dozen Walmart stores over the summer before it was made public in Apple and Android app stores at the start of October. As of Oct. 16, the free app had around 60,000 downloads, Malashock says.

If you've ever played a Diner Dash-type simulation game (Sally's Spa, Cake Mania, Jane's Hotel to name a few), Walmart's Spark City works pretty similarly. I played through a (virtual) week of the game, which took about an hour.

I present to you, the exciting life of a Walmart retail worker in Spark City:

SEE ALSO: This card-sized smartphone may be world's thinnest and lightest ever made

Before you start work, you can customize your character.

The customization options for your avatar may not be as sophisticated as those in Sims, but you can pick your character's gender, skin color, clothing and general hair and face features.

Congrats, you work in Walmart's dry grocery department! Say hello to your boss Cynthia, who will be looking over your shoulder the entire game.

Like any good boss, Cynthia will be there throughout your workday to provide feedback and criticism. She also introduces you to a bunch of complicated acronyms about customer satisfaction, sales and shelf stocks, which are used to measure your success and guide you through your tasks. 

I forgot what Cynthia told me almost as soon as I started to play. You can pick up on the general idea of the terms as you play, although I can't guarantee you'll ever fully understand what's being measured and how you're evaluated.

You're provided with this handy (and useless) floor plan that shows the layout of the store.

You use the map, which sits in the corner of your screen, to switch between the places you need to perform tasks. You start each day in the back room, where you have to complete all your work before you can move into your assigned department.

I played through five workdays in the game, and in that time, the only locations that I needed to toggle between were the back room and the grocery section — so the floor plan seems kind of unnecessary. Walmart's spokesperson says that developers are in the process of adding a new level to the game that would take place in the "lawn and garden" section of the store.

If they really want to put the floor plan to good use though, Walmart's developers should consider adding a "Battle Royale" mode.