LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Starz Entertainment will pull its movies and shows from Netflix Inc starting next February, after talks on renewing a streaming agreement between the pay-TV operator and popular Internet video service fell through.

Pay-TV operator Starz, controlled by John Malone’s Liberty Media, said on Thursday it will stop distributing content from major studios such as Walt Disney Co and Sony Corp through Netflix when the current deal expires in February 2012.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Activist investor Carl
Icahn agreed to dump his stake in Lions Gate Entertainment Corp
(LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Tuesday, giving up on a lengthy battle for control
of the film studio and producer of television hit “Mad Men.”

Billionaire Icahn and his son, Brett, will sell up to 44
million shares of Lions Gate at $7 each, the Hollywood studio
said in a statement. The price is about equal to Icahn’s cost
of acquiring the shares.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The hard-working maids of “The Help” hung on to the top of a storm-battered box office over the weekend and beat a trio of new releases with $14.3 million in domestic ticket sales, studio estimates released on Sunday showed.

Hurricane Irene forced the closure of theaters in big markets such as New York and kept moviegoers home along a broad stretch of the East Coast. Domestic ticket sales came in 23 percent lower than the same weekend a year earlier, according to figures from Hollywood.com.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The maids of “The Help” proved far mightier than muscle-flexing “Conan the Barbarian” and three other new releases at the weekend box office, taking the top spot with an estimated $20.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales.

“The Help” rose from its second-place finish last week to the top spot with rave reviews and strong word-of-mouth buzz, distributor Walt Disney Co said on Sunday. The drama chronicles the relationships between white women in Mississippi and their black housekeepers in the 1960s.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A popular boy wizard, comic-book heroes and some foul-mouthed women are leading Hollywood toward a record-breaking summer despite the sour economy and high unemployment resulting in tightened consumer spending.

Underscoring the notion that movies are recession-proof, U.S. and Canadian ticket sales are expected to finish nearly 5 percent higher than a year ago thanks to the “Harry Potter” finale and other big-budget sequels plus raunchy adult comedies such as “Bridesmaids.”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Nothing could stop angry apes from tearing through the domestic weekend box office as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” took the lead with an estimated $27.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales plus $40.5 million internationally.

The revival of the classic sci-fi franchise beat four new releases to hang on to the top ranking at U.S. and Canadian theaters for the second straight week, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Civil Rights-era drama “The Help” finished a strong second with $25.5 million over three days, beating studio forecasts.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Shares of Walt Disney Co
(DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were hammered on Wednesday as Wall Street worried how
the company’s steady-growth media and resort businesses would
fare if consumers get pinched in a weak economy.

Disney shares closed 9.1 percent lower at $31.54 after
falling nearly 15 percent earlier in the session, one day after
the company’s quarterly results failed to inspire investors
already nervous about theme park revenue and the sustainability
of an advertising rebound.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s quarterly results surpassed cautious Wall Street expectations, but the media and entertainment giant now has to grapple with an uncertain outlook for consumer spending.

Investors had expected a strong performance after rivals like Time Warner Inc outperformed, and Disney delivered with growth at its ESPN sports network and other cable channels.

LOS ANGELES, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Investors scouring Walt
Disney Co’s (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) third-quarter earnings report are likely to
look past an advertising rebound and a strong box office and
instead zero in on the outlook for its sprawling theme park
unit as economic uncertainty grips consumers.

Disney, whose shares are down nearly 25 percent since a
rare earnings miss for the fiscal second quarter, is expected
to confirm trends established by Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Time
Warner Inc (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and CBS Corp (CBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which beat Wall Street
forecasts with a mix of content licensing deals, movie box
office receipts and strong ad growth. [ID:nN1E7720C2]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Wall Street investors may look past an advertising rebound and a strong box office for Walt Disney Co and instead zero in on the outlook for its sprawling theme park unit as economic uncertainty grips consumers.

Disney, whose shares are down nearly 25 percent since a rare earnings miss for the fiscal second quarter, is expected to confirm trends established by Comcast Corp, Time Warner Inc and CBS Corp, which beat Wall Street forecasts with a mix of content licensing deals, movie box office receipts and strong ad growth.