Numlock News: March 16, 2026 • Sesame Street, Doctor Who, One Battle After Another

Mar 16, 2026

By Walt Hickey

Sesame Street

Sesame Street Workshop is suing SeaWorld in Manhattan federal court in order to end a 45-year relationship, claiming that the park operator has withheld royalties and is undermining the brand. Sesame Workshop licensed out its characters to the parks to make themed attractions, and alleges that SeaWorld cut off royalties as a pretext of ending the relationship. I, for one, would love to see which litigant a jury finds more sympathetic — the beloved children’s educational brand with decades of intergenerational Muppet entertainment, or the first result on Google when you search “orca jail florida.”

Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

Oscars

The Oscars ended with big nights for both Best Picture winner One Battle After Another, which went home with six Oscars, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn. The same goes for Sinners, which got awards in Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan and Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler. History was made when Sinners’ Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win in Best Cinematography, breaking one of the last glass ceilings at the Oscars.

Hilary Lewis, The Hollywood Reporter

Doctor Whomst?

Before Doctor Who was a totemic and iconic science fiction franchise, and it was just a science fiction show that a couple of nerds at the BBC were attempting to shoot for cheap while sneaking past the censorship of the ’60s. This means that while the show today is prized by millions, some of those early episodes are just missing, with the masters disposed of or taped over. Sometimes, those old lost episodes get discovered, usually because a Whovian managed to track down a dusty tape exported to Australia or Nigeria or something during the original run. On Friday, a film charity revealed the discovery of two previously lost episodes from the 1960s found among the possessions of a deceased collector — “The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet.” The BBC restored them and will be uploading them to streaming next month, bringing the total number of missing episodes down to 95.

Jill Lawless, The Associated Press

Cars

The proportion of available cars sold for less than $20,000 in 2010 dollars (about $30,000 in 2025 dollars) is lower than it has been in ages. In 2010, there were 243 vehicle models available that cost more than $20,000, and 25 models sold for under $20,000. As of 2025, there are now 328 vehicle models available that cost more than the inflation-adjusted $20,000 figure, and only 20 models below that number. Many of those now-discontinued car lines had lower profit margins.

Nora Eckert and Kalea Hall, Insurance Journal

Colleen Hoover

Reminders of Him, which anyone who has been to a cinema in the past six months will recognize as the melodrama trailer that gave away every single plot point, made $18.2 million domestically. It beat expectations of $10 to $12 million, plus made another $10 million abroad — a solid start given its $25 million budget. The film is an adaptation of hit author Colleen Hoover’s book, and marks the third release based on her work (after It Ends With Us in 2024 and Regretting You in 2025) that beat expectations. However, it didn’t beat Pixar’s Hoppers, which made $28.5 million in its second weekend, but did make a solid entrance.

Rebecca Rubin, Variety

Can It

In 2022, 69 percent of craft beer came in aluminum cans and 31 percent was sold in glass bottles. By 2025, aluminum accounted for 78 percent of packaged craft beer, while glass was down to 22 percent. It’s not obvious how the aluminum share climbed so much higher; costs to switch materials are high, tariffs have jeopardized the availability of affordable aluminum and some regions have been very reluctant to shift sales. In Rhode Island, aluminum cans account for 92 percent of craft beer sales; in states like Mississippi and Louisiana, can share remains steady at around 58 percent or lower.

Maria Rachal, Food Dive

Cels

Animation cels were considered keepsakes for animators at best or just trash at worst for animation studios in Japan, a byproduct of cartoon or film production. Now, with collectors — many overseas — expressing high levels of interest in those art assets, there’s a boom in animation cels sales from Japan to the rest of the world. There’s plenty to go around — a typical episode of television might demand over 3,000 cels — but frames from key moments are in particular demand. At Buyee, a proxy service for selling Japanese products online to overseas customers, cels and key animation drawing sales are up 70 percent since 2021. Dealer for hobby goods, Mandarake, said sales are up 50 percent.

Reika Mihara, Nikkei Asia

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