Bad Infinity

“Bad Infinity” traces the current crises in Hollywood megafranchise production to two underappreciated factors: first, the postpandemic end of the price stability and low interest rates that had fostered long-term slate planning; second, the persistence of franchise-planning skills among key executives and across major studios even after that macroeconomic environment changed. The essay looks ahead to the malign effects of the second Trump administration in which weakened antitrust, new “transactional” tariff regimes, and increasingly brutal immigration regimes will likely further upend the industry.