Creators are crashing through Hollywood, but there’s a ceiling

July 16, 2026 Creators aren’t replacing Hollywood stars, but they are leveraging their brands and views to get Hollywood-style representation, or build new production pipelines around IP with a built-in audience. That’s enticing for both struggling studios and advertisers looking for safer bets. But there is still a ceiling on how far most creators can climb. Advertisement TOP STORY The Creator Economy Creators are crashing through Hollywood, but there’s a ceiling Hollywood is tapping creators for hit horror films, unique IP, and cameos, but there are limits to their star power in its current state. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Join us on Thursday, July 23, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. for an evening of networking, insights and conversation at the New York City offices of Crossmedia, a leading independent agency. Together, we’ll explore the unique opportunities and challenges facing independent agencies today. Agentic readiness means getting the fundamentals right. When a brand’s loyalty and promotions data foundations are in place, connecting to agentic commerce platforms becomes a straightforward integration, not a replatforming effort. Partner insights from Talon.One. When AI operates in a unified system, business gains aren’t theoretical. After implementing a single operational layer — which didn’t involve a better creative tool or smarter bidder — one travel advertiser saw incremental bookings rise 34%. Partner insights from Clinch. THE BUSINESS OF AI Member exclusive Media Briefing: AI visibility is becoming publishers’ newest currency Publishers are embracing AI visibility as the next must-have metric, using their prominence in AI answer engines to attract advertisers. The Programmatic Marketer Stagwell is building its own AI media curation marketplace The challenger holdco is developing an AI-powered pool of curated ad inventory for clients. Here’s how it’s supposed to work. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM OPTABLE A self-assessment and step-by-step guide to agentic readiness To prepare for adopting agentic AI technology the right way, this agent readiness self-assessment helps organizations determine where they stand and what they need to prioritize to establish an agentic-informed organization. THE CREATOR ECONOMY The Creator Economy Why a once-anonymous creator unmasked herself to build a bigger media brand  Kristi Cook used to YouTube anonymously. Once she revealed her face, her account became wildly popular. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CELTRA Live session: Tools and tech needed for highly regulated industries Register for this live case study on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. ET for insights into how fast-moving, highly regulated industries — Crypto.com and OG — pulled off campaigns at speed, from brand launch to major sporting moments. Advertisement PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PAYPAL ADS The leader of a friend group is the influencer who moves money Social influencers change what people think. But another kind of influencer — the leader of the friend group — is visible only in payment data and changes what people spend. That’s the audience worth competing for. ICYMI The Creator Economy To manage 300,000 creators, Unilever automates everything but the relationship Unilever is using AI to vet creators and automate workflows as it scales a 300,000-creator network without handing over creative decisions. Member exclusive Future of TV Briefing: The M&A match game (summer 2026 edition) This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at the M&A deals that should be in the offing after an active first half of 2026. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy