‘One Battle After Another’ Dominates Oscars & David Protein Lies About Calories?

What It Covers

One Battle After Another wins six Oscars including Best Picture while Hollywood faces declining theater attendance, fleeing production, and studio consolidation. David protein bars face a class action lawsuit over calorie mislabeling claims. Dick's Sporting Goods hits $14.1B in sales riding America's youth sports boom.

Key Questions Answered

• •Hollywood Production Flight: Zero of the 10 Best Picture nominees were primarily filmed on a Hollywood sound stage or studio lot. Film LA recorded a 16% decline in Los Angeles shooting days in 2025, nearly half the 2018 peak. Productions are relocating to lower-cost regions including Atlanta and overseas locations like Ireland to reduce expenses.
• •David Protein Bar Controversy: A class action lawsuit alleges David bars contain 83% more calories and 400% more fat than the 150-calorie, 28-gram-protein label claims. Founder Peter Rahal attributes the discrepancy to EPG (esterified propoxylated glycerol), a synthetic fat substitute that passes through the body undigested, meaning bomb calorimeter lab readings overstate absorbable calories.
• •Dick's Sporting Goods Growth Strategy: Dick's reached $14.1B in 2024 revenue, doubling over the past decade, by centering on America's $40B annual youth sports market. Its House of Sport megastores feature batting cages, climbing walls, and golf simulators to maximize customer dwell time, while its data-driven app optimizes inventory across regions and seasons.
• •AI-Assisted Cancer Treatment: An Australian engineer with no biology background used ChatGPT, Grok, and Google's AlphaFold to design a custom mRNA vaccine for his dog's cancer, paying $3,000 for DNA sequencing. The tumor shrank roughly 50% after the first injection in December. The process required a 100-page ethics document taking three months to complete.
• •Youth Moviegoing Trend: Despite North American theater attendance running at roughly half the rate of a decade ago, 59% of children born after 2013 prefer watching films on the big screen. YouTuber Mark Fishback's self-made film Iron Lung cost $3M and grossed $51M, demonstrating that creator-driven content can convert online audiences into theater ticket buyers.