Hollywood is living in a strange double reality right now. On one hand, this Thanksgiving brought in record-breaking box office numbers. Yet, studios are losing out on millions and cutting budgets left and right. Read more about how Hollywood’s sending out mixed signals as one of the highest grossing industries figures out its footing inside.

This Thanksgiving, Moana 2 crushed it at the box office with $221 million earned, domestically. Wicked and Gladiator II crossed $300 million globally. Don’t be fooled though, because these massive wins come from pre-pandemic and pre-strike Hollywood. Back when studios could throw money at huge projects and plan strategic holiday releases with ease. While these blockbusters prove that audiences still love big-screen moments, the bigger picture isn’t as pretty: overall box office revenues are still 40 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

On the flipside, production companies are bleeding cash. LeBron James’ SpringHill Company lost a wild $30 million last year, even with $104 million in revenue. It’s not just them. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine is missing profit targets, Kevin Hart’s team is scrambling to shake things up, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions is feeling the heat from high-budget, low-profit projects like Red One.

So, what’s going to happen next for American entertainment? This mix of big box office wins and financial flops shows Hollywood’s real struggle: the cost of doing business is skyrocketing, and the streaming gold rush is drying up. The hits we’re seeing now are from a different era. Meanwhile, the future looks quite murky.

The question isn’t if Hollywood will survive but what it’ll look like on the other side of this. Will studios double down on mega-movies? Will celebrity-backed companies like SpringHill find their groove? Or is there a whole new game plan coming?

One thing’s certain: Hollywood’s next chapter is about to be a plot twist no one saw coming.

Comment your thoughts about the evolving industry below.