The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Tue, 29 Apr 2025
The trade war inadvertently created a $1K Baby Tax… So we predict a “family exemption.”Star Wars re-released Ep 3, bringing in $42M this weekend… Re-releases can save theaters.UNC is teaching athletes how to become D1 Influencers… The key: “you don’t have to dance.”Plus, the untold origin story of… the Frappuccino (spoiler: Starbucks acquired it)$DIS $NFLX To make a donation to Daniel’s cause in honor of his son Jack, click here: ItHasBeenAPleasure.comWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… 🥤Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed.Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Susper Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What is the $1K Baby Tax and how did it come about?
Yetis, one trend we expect to see if the trade war continues is this word, exemptions. Specific industries or products will be strategically excluded from tariffs. If a product is important to a politically important demographic, it'll probably get an exemption.
President Trump already made a carve-out for electronics like iPhones because $2,000 iPhones would have been particularly angry for voters. Well, if these tariffs remain in place, we expect lots of exemptions, many more to come. But there's no more sympathetic demographic than new parents. And Trump, he says his administration's goal is to increase the birth rate.
Well, the entire kid-baby economy is made in China, which currently has the highest tariffs of 145%. So if this trade war continues without a deal, it must continue with exemptions. And the exemption on the baby tariff or the family tax, we expect that will be the first. Don't do it for the babies. Do it for the parents.
For our second story, the Star Wars 20-year anniversary re-release was such a success this past weekend, it's a lesson to all of modern cinema. We think the re-release can save the movie theater. And we got the numbers to back it up. But Jack, first, allow me to read this long thing. Are you going to do the opening credits thing?
Jack, this past weekend, in a theater far, far away, the force was strong in 2,800 movie theaters across North America. Yeah, it is 20 years after premiering in the year 2005. The final prequel of Star Wars came back to theaters this past weekend. That's right, Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. And it was the number two film at the box office this past weekend.
And now, Jack, when you say number two film, can you please sprinkle on some numerical context for us what that means? $25 million of tickets sold domestically plus $17 million abroad is a $42 million haul. Ching, ching, ching. Now, Disney takes half of that, but the theater, they get to keep the rest.
Translation, a 20-year-old Star Wars movie just made Disney $21 million of pure profit in just three days. Two and a half million Americans paid 10 bucks each to see Star Wars in theaters. Even though you've been able to watch it for free on Disney Plus for like seven years. That tension made us realize there is something going on here.
It shows that the demand for in-real-life collective fan experiences is more powerful now. than the greatest force in the galaxy. Basically, you'd rather watch Star Wars with a bunch of dudes dressed up as droids plus one woman dressed up as droids. Yeah, dressing up as Chewbacca is a lot more enjoyable if you're not the only one doing it. That yet is.
If this weekend's re-release was Luke Skywalker, then 1997's re-release of the first Star Wars was Yoda. That's right. Here's what Jack and I find fascinating. Back in 1997, the 20-year re-release of the original first Star Wars, Episode IV, brought in 50% more revenue in its reopening weekend.
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