THR Illustration; images: Adobe Stock, Michael Buckner Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on Reddit Post a Comment Share on Whats App Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Print the Article Share on Tumblr YouTube decimates TV. Netflix buys Warner Bros. Bob Iger ties Disney to a boundary-pushing AI startup. Donald Trump picks which media moguls rule, gets broadcast newsrooms to pay him massive legal settlements and strong-arms studios to drop inclusion and diversity efforts. Given the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction year we just lived through, forecasting 2026 may be a fool's errand. But, below, The Hollywood Reporter's journalists have a few educated guesses and smart takes about what the next year may have in store for the entertainment industry. Disney + Taylor Swift Disney's next big acquisition will shock the world in 2026. The purchase? Taylor Swift - for a cool $4 billion, the same price it paid for Lucasfilm in 2012. Well, not quite Swift herself, but a 360-degree Swift production and live event company that encompasses touring, film, TV, merchandising, experiential and future IP. Something with a catchy name (Evermore Entertainment, SwiftCo., etc) over which the ultimate showgirl will retain full creative control and veto power. In exchange, Disney+ will become the exclusive home to Swift content - an ever-expanding universe of concert docs, songwriting rooms and other behind-the-scenes exclusives. The deal will also see the "Fate of Ophelia" singer moving into scripted entertainment with a slate of interconnected streaming series and theatrical features - the Swift Cinematic Universe (SCU). Disney's consumer products division will take over her merchandising, lending quality control to the process while overseeing vault drops timed to album releases and premieres (available only at Disney theme parks). The only Swift-related thing Disney won't own? The music itself. That's hers forever - but Disney will get first dibs at sync rights across all its properties. And, of course, bragging rights to releasing the first animated movie musical featuring all Taylor Swift songs. - Seth Abramovitch Microdramas Will Bid for Male Viewers It will shock no one who has ever downloaded a microdramas app that women are often cited as the main consumers of these bite-sized, melodramatic and often romantic tales. But companies are making efforts - set to ramp up in 2026 - to expand their audience. First there's a top player in the U.S., ReelShort, whose recent diversification of its genre offerings has resulted in the marksman series American Sniper: The Last Round and the Navy-themed drama Callsign: Legacy. In June CEO Joey Jia told THR that men made up 35 to 40 percent of ReelShort's viewership - a figure that might change with the company's plans to expand into "high-concept sci-fi, action thrillers, and elevated fantasy" next year, per Sophie Xiong, its global head of content. Then there are new companies like the startup MicroCo, which plans on producing crossover stories in horror and anime. Could a bro comedy along the lines of Neighbors be next? With more experienced Hollywood players getting in the game and comedy remaining a genre that can tolerate verticals' ultra-low budgets, don't count it out. - Katie Kilkenny Box Office Will Rebound to $9.8 Billion We've been here before. Remember in 2024 when bullish box office observers, including one very outspoken AMC chief Adam Aron, declared that 2025 domestic revenue would near $10 billion for the first time since the pandemic? Um, think again. If anything, 2025 will finish on par with 2024's $8.8 billion, thanks to lingering pandemic/strike delays and fewer all-audience pics. The coming year is another matter; even the most circumspect Hollywood execs believe there will be substantial improvement - think in the $9.8 billion range due to a better slate. And research firm Gower Street believes global ticket sales, fueled by more robust Hollywood fare, could clear $35 billion (including $11.4 billion domestically). These predictions certainly look good on paper; let's just hope they are not fantastical thinking amid the siege on theatrical in the post-COVID world. - Pamela McClintock The New Mogul Era Arrives At a moment where the entertainment industry is facing an AI reckoning and a rush to consolidate, 2026 will be the year the next generation of moguls make their mark. David Ellison intends to take big swings at Paramount (and possibly Warners!); Lachlan Murdoch will seek to put his stamp on Fox, now free of meddling from his siblings; A new leader will rise at Disney, but who they are and what their priorities are will speak volumes about the company's future; And Mike Cavanagh will join Brian Roberts atop Comcast, and he will have to figure out how what had been one of the biggest companies in media can compete when it is suddenly dramatically smaller than the rest. Meanwhile, the