Numlock News: October 22, 2025 • Catan, Heat, Ticket Fees

Oct 22, 2025

Hollywood Accounting

California’s expanded film tax credit program will dole out $332 million in incentives to 52 films for shooting in its state. The historic filmmaking capital of the world has recently been losing ground to states willing to pay productions to shoot locally. These 52 films are estimated to generate $1.4 billion in economic activity, but those calculations are always a bit wishy-washy anyway. The real news is that Heat 2 got $37.2 million to shoot in California. On one hand, that rules (we’re big on Heat here). On the other hand, come on, do you really think that anyone would allow the sequel to the single most Los Angeles movie of all time to be shot in, say, Atlanta?

Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter

Golf

Golfer Jack Nicklaus was awarded a $50 million verdict in a lawsuit that he filed against his former business partners helming the Nicklaus Companies. The legal spat stemmed from an information leak exposing the icon of the PGA tour, Nicklaus, for communicating with the startup LIV Golf League to negotiate a $750 million deal. The Nicklaus Companies have not indicated whether they intend to appeal, but one can certainly see why they might consider it. Straightforwardly, I cannot think of a single group of people in America more sympathetic to the interests of Jack Nicklaus than a South Florida jury. The guys who would be serving on a jury in South Florida have basically been Jack Nicklaus’ core constituency for decades, and I cannot think of a group of 12 people more likely to support him receiving $50 million than a group of his peers drawn from the Naples and Miami metropolitan areas.

Insurance Journal

Heists

The most interesting reaction to the Louvre jewel heist has been the response from some quarters insisting that no, this stuff literally happens all the time; we’ve been trying to tell you about the organized jewel theft syndicates operating in Europe’s underbelly for years now, but this is the first time you’ve bothered to listen. Indeed, a network of fences and off-the-books diamond cutting shops in Dubai and Delhi has been facilitating a massive international trade in stolen gemstones, with the United States losing an average of over $1.2 billion in jewelry thefts a year. One recent motivation for thefts of jewelry has been the spiking price of gold, which has increased 60 percent in the past year to $4,000 per ounce.

Kelly Crow, The Wall Street Journal

Waits

Disruptions to global trade caused by tensions between China and the United States have led to long wait times for vessels queued off the coast of China. In the week ending October 19, the average wait time rose to 2.66 days for a vessel to get a berth. That is up 17 percent week over week, due in part to the tit-for-tat fees announced by China and the U.S. on the other country’s ships.

Weilun Soon, Bloomberg

Religion

A new survey found that the percentage of Americans who think religion is gaining influence in American life has risen sharply. It has increased from 18 percent who said religion was gaining influence as of February 2024, up to 31 percent who said as much this year. That is still the minority opinion — 68 percent said that religion was losing influence in public life — but then again, that perception also saw a sharp reversal, indicating that there is at least some kind of shift afoot.

Chip Rotolo, Pew Research Center

Tickets

A new study from the National Independent Talent Organization, which represents the interests of smaller artists, found that in New York, fees alone accounted for 29 percent of ticket costs on the primary market. That number increases to 39 percent when buying tickets secondhand. Fees have increased 36 percent since 2016, when the original landmark study into ticketing fees published by the New York Attorney General’s office kicked off much of the debate about price-gauging in events.

Ethan Millman, The Hollywood Reporter

Catan

Netflix has secured the rights to adapt the game Catan into movies and television. The company is also reportedly developing ways to bring the classic strategy game into film, scripted television and even unscripted reality or game show television. Since its first release in 1995 as The Settlers of Catan, the dorm common room staple has sold 45 million copies and has been translated into 40 languages. The game is, in many ways, a perfect fit for Netflix, as the streamer is uniquely suited to adapt a game that you commit to for two sessions and then invariably cancel because you have other stuff to do. I mean, it perfectly lines up with Netflix's programming strategy.

Joe Otterson, Variety

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