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PRESENTED BY MASTERWORKS

It’s already Friday, FutureParty fam. If you woke up tired after a long Halloween night, just know that a weekend of rest is simply a short day of work ahead. Heck, if you’re remote, you could work in bed all day. Just please put on a shirt for the Zoom meeting.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

Universal Plots Year-Round Haunted Houses

NBCUniversal is building a permanent haunted-house destination in Las Vegas’ new AREA 15 entertainment district.

The Big Scare: Interactive destinations are all the rage for media companies these days as fans want to deepen their engagement with the IP they love. Considering horror’s cultural dominance and the success of Halloween Horror Nights, NBCUniversal could conjure a reliable revenue stream.

Between The Hauntings: Universal is starting to build attractions outside its flagship theme parks in Florida and California.

• The company’s new Vegas destination will be called “Universal Horror Unleashed.”

• It’ll feature four haunted houses based on popular IP: Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Universal Monsters, and Scarecrow: The Reaping.

• Horror Unleashed will also include immersive experiences outside the haunted houses and feature themed food and drinks, merch, and other attractions.

• Additionally, Universal will program other seasonal events at the destination. (A Purge-themed experience during the next election, perhaps? Terrifying.)

Climax: Universal is really doubling down on horror — Horror Unleashed isn’t the only scary experience the company is planning outside its theme parks. It also has a weekend-long vacation destination in partnership with Blumhouse and Peacock called “Overnightmare.” Each of these experiences could prove to be invaluable launchpads for new films and shows from the company’s studio division — turning every project into a scary event.

Together With Masterworks

Billionaires Wanted It But 66,930 Everyday Investors Got It First

When incredibly valuable assets come up for sale, it’s typically the wealthiest people who end up taking home an amazing investment. But not always…

One platform is taking on billionaires at their own game, buying up and securitizing some of the most prized blue-chip artworks for its investors.

It’s called Masterworks. Their nearly $1 billion collection includes works by greats like Banksy, Picasso, and Basquiat. When Masterworks sells a painting — like the 23 it’s already sold — investors reap their portion of the net proceeds.

In the last few years, Masterworks investors have realized net annualized returns like +17.6%, +17.8%, and +21.5% (from three illustrative sales held longer than one year).

Now, you can skip the waitlist with OUR EXCLUSIVE LINK.

_{^{**The content is not intended to provide legal, tax, or investment advice. No money is being solicited or will be accepted until the offering statement for a particular offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers may be revoked at any time. Contacting Masterworks involves no commitment or obligation. Contemporary art data based on repeat-sales index of historical Post-War & Contemporary Art market prices from 1995 to 2023, developed by Masterworks. There are significant limitations to comparative asset class data. Indices are unmanaged and a Masterworks investor cannot invest directly in an index. “Net Annualized Return” refers to the annualized internal rate of return, or IRR, net of all fees and costs, to holders of Class A shares from the primary offering, calculated from the final closing date of such offering to the date the sale is consummated. A more detailed breakdown of the Net Annualized Return calculation for each issuer can be found in the respective Form 1-U for each exit. The 3 median returns above represent the ones closest in percentage to the median of the 12 exits with holding periods over 1 year. Net proceeds distributed back represents the total liquidation proceeds distributed back to investors, net of all fees, expenses, and proceeds reinvested in Masterworks offerings, of all works Masterworks has exited to date. See important Reg A disclosures at (masterworks.com/cd](http://masterworks.com/cd).}}

YouTube Serves Analog Scares

For Halloween, YouTube highlighted the enduring power of an influential subgenre of content on its platform — “analog horror.”

The Big Picture: As the creator economy goes mainstream, breaking out on YouTube has become harder than ever — there’s just a lot of content. But creators who have mastered a genre that feels perfectly attuned to the weirder corners of social media can build a following far beyond one platform.

Behind The Scenes: Analog horror — lo-fi narrative content, cursed fake-product commercials, and freaky news reports — has quietly gained cult status.

And now YouTube is paying respects.

• The company tapped Spencer Lackey, the creator behind analog series a/s/l, to create a 10-minute video that reviews and pays homage to other popular analog-horror creators — such as Kane Pixels, nana825763, and Midwest Angelica.

• YouTube is highlighting the genre because analog-horror short films, ongoing series, and other videos have logged 500 million views in 2024 alone.

• That’s amazing, considering YouTube doesn’t make it easy for horror content to monetize and break out on the platform. It’s possible that YouTube now recognizes the issue.

Closing Credits: Analog horror is the natural extension of classic found-footage horror masterpieces like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity and the early internet terrors of creepypasta stories like Slenderman. The genre takes those influences and mixes them with surrealism and absurdity that’s both nostalgic and forward-thinking. With Kane Pixels already getting tapped by A24 to create a big-screen version of his viral The Backrooms series, expect analog horror to soon usher in a new Hollywood horror subgenre.

DEEP DIVES

• Read: GQ explores how the Criterion Closet — Mecca for cinephiles — has gone viral.

• Watch: Bloomberg details how Taiwan is the central hub powering the AI revolution.

• Listen: WSJ chats with Precision Neuroscience CEO Michael Mager and Chief Science Officer Benjamin Rapoport about the future of brain-computer interfaces.

61.2% of you said No in yesterday’s poll: Did you listen to Halloween-themed music this month?

“I’m hopefully not that plugged in!”

“Not a Halloween fan.”

“Yes! It goes well with the black Halloween tree. Then again, I listen to dark and creepy music all year round.”

“Now bring on the Christmas music!”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

🎮 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — the first installment offered on Xbox Game Pass — scored the franchise’s biggest launch weekend.

📺 Comcast is considering spinning off its cable business — which includes Bravo and USA — into a standalone company as the assets decline.

🏀 NBA star Anthony Edwards’ Three-Fifths Media struck a deal with Wheelhouse to launch “Wheelhouse Sports.”

→ Technology

🤖 OpenAI embedded its AI-powered search engine into ChatGPT, with the feature first open to paid subscribers.

🎥 The Russo Brothers’ AGBO hired Dominic Hughes, who recently led AI development at Apple, as its first Chief Scientific Officer.

🦾 Meta developed a robotic hand with sensor firm GelSight and South Korea’s Wonik Robotics that can “feel” touch.

→ Transportation

🚗 Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous-driving unit is now valued at $45 billion after a fresh fundraising round.

🛞 Tesla has a specialized test-driving unit, dubbed “Project Rodeo,” that’s pushing the boundaries of self-driving technology.

⏰ Speaking of Tesla, if you paid $50,000 to reserve the Roadster seven years ago, keep waiting.