Bloomberg Businessweek USA – September 2026
Summary
"The Year We Went Back to the Movies" — Bloomberg Businessweek's September 2026 Screentime Issue opens with the news that the first weekend of August was the highest-grossing in US movie history, powered by The Odyssey and Spider-Man. The 96-page issue, priced at a cover photo illustration by Ines Pagniez using Plasticine, covers Hollywood's comeback, Studio Ghibli, Suno's AI music tool, and the romantasy book boom.
The cover package runs from P33 to P74: "Hollywood Cheats Death — Again" (P34), "Studio Ghibli Will Make a New Movie When It's Ready" (P40), "Suno Lets You Channel Your Inner T-Swift. It Has Its Haters" (P50), "Romantasy, Where Magic Shells Meet Heavy Breathing" (P56), "Forget Imax. The Future of Film Is in Your Pocket" (P64), and "Why Watching Your Team on TV Is a Nightmare" (P74). In Context leads with teens and GLP-1 drugs: roughly 33,000 prescriptions for Wegovy and Zepbound were written for people under 18 last year, per Komodo Health data. Pursuits covers camo on the runway, secondhand couture, Pebble Beach and the Beatles.
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Content Guide
▸ Screentime / Cover Package
P34 · Hollywood Cheats Death — Again
Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Thomas Buckley report on how the movie industry defied predictions of its demise. The first weekend of August set an all-time US box-office record, led by The Odyssey and Spider-Man. Studio executives should benchmark their 2027 slates against the genre mix that drove this recovery.
P40 · Studio Ghibli Will Make a New Movie When It's Ready
A rare look inside the legendary Japanese animation house. The piece resists the usual "when is the next film coming?" pressure and instead examines how Ghibli's production rhythm defies the Hollywood release calendar. Any creative business leader will recognise the tension between patience and investor expectations.
P50 · Suno Lets You Channel Your Inner T-Swift. It Has Its Haters
The AI music-generation platform Suno has thrilled casual users and alarmed the recording industry. The article weighs creative democratisation against copyright risk. Music-rights lawyers should study the arguments laid out here for their next fair-use brief.
P56 · Romantasy, Where Magic Shells Meet Heavy Breathing
Bloomberg reporters Madison Muller and Hannah Miller covered BookCon and read eight romantic fantasy novels to explain the genre's commercial explosion. Publishers and booksellers should use the reader-behaviour data here to plan Q4 merchandising.
P64 · Forget Imax. The Future of Film Is in Your Pocket
Photographer Anna Moltke documented a DramaBox microdrama set, capturing the collision between old-Hollywood production values and the vertical-video format that is drawing billions of views in Asia.
P70 · You Are Probably Playing Candy Crush Right Now
A look at the endurance of casual gaming and its revenue model. The piece explains why King's decade-old title still prints money while would-be competitors struggle.
P74 · Why Watching Your Team on TV Is a Nightmare
An analysis of sports-broadcast blackouts, streaming fragmentation and rising cable costs that make following a single team harder than ever.
▸ In Context
Teens Are Thrust Into the Ozempic Era
Alexandra S. Levine and Madison Muller report on the 33,000 prescriptions for Wegovy and Zepbound written for US patients under 18. One in eight American adults now takes a GLP-1 drug. School counsellors and paediatricians should read the first-person accounts from teenagers who describe the social pressure as pervasive and damaging.
Is Canada Facing a Quebexit?
An analysis of renewed Quebec sovereignty sentiment and the economic consequences of a potential split.
With Gas Prices Up and EVs Stalled, Hybrids Are Hot
The sales data shows hybrids as the compromise consumers actually choose.
▸ Pursuits
P77 · How Camo Went From the Woods to the Runway
Fashion-history piece tracing camouflage from military utility to luxury fashion statement.
P84 · The Thriving Market for Secondhand Couture
The economics of resale luxury: price data, authentication challenges and the platforms competing for supply.
P90 · The Beatles Are Still Here, There and Everywhere
A cultural retrospective timed to a new release, arguing the band's commercial afterlife is a business case study in rights management.
P91 · What to Read, Watch and Stream in September
Curated recommendations across film, television and books.
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Editor's Take
This is the strongest Bloomberg Businessweek issue of the third quarter — the Screentime package is coherent, visually distinctive and genuinely newsworthy (the box-office record broke while the issue was being edited). The GLP-1/teens piece in In Context is the best-reported story in the issue, with original Komodo Health data that will be cited elsewhere for months. The Pursuits section feels padded — a fashion story, a watch column and a CEO Diet page that do not connect to the Screentime theme. Best for entertainment-industry executives, media investors and anyone tracking the GLP-1 cultural spillover. The Plasticine cover by Ines Pagniez is the most memorable Businessweek cover of 2026 so far.
Strengths
• Box-office record broken during production, giving the package real-time news value
• GLP-1/teens story with original Komodo Health prescription data
• Ines Pagniez Plasticine cover is visually distinctive
Weaknesses
• Pursuits section lacks thematic connection to Screentime
• CEO Diet page feels tacked on
Verdict: Essential — The GLP-1 data story and Screentime box-office package make this a keep-for-reference issue.
