🎥  Now playing: luxury

STARTING UP

A kinder glucose test might be right under your nose

❌  The problem: More than 38m Americans had diabetes as of 2021, but blood sugar monitoring is invasive. 

💡  The pitch: PreEvnt developed Isaac, a small device that can be worn like a necklace. Isaac measures compounds in the breath, like acetone, that are correlated with rising blood sugar levels. 

🚀  The outlook: The startup entered human clinical trials at Indiana University in 2025 and, after the trials are complete, will pursue FDA authorization to bring its needle-free monitor to market. Article link

NEWS FLASH

 

• Come on Barbie: Mattel Inc.’s latest Barbie is autistic, developed in partnership with nonprofit Autistic Self Advocacy Network. She comes with noise-canceling headphones, a fidget spinner, and a tablet akin to the devices some autistic people use to communicate. She joins a collection of dolls highlighting diversity and inclusivity.
  
  

• Your prescription is ready: Ohio-based digital pharmacy platform Gifthealth is expanding to Mesa, Arizona, with a new pharmacy that will create 200 jobs and process 28k+ medications per day. The additional staffers aren’t the only ones to thank: The company will use robotic assistance to expedite delivery times.
  
  

• Look up! Wing, the Alphabet-owned drone company, is expanding its partnership with Walmart to include 150 more delivery locations in LA, St. Louis, Miami, and more for a total of 270 locations by 2027. Wing says the top 25% of customers order drone delivery 3x per week. 

   

• Aurora Therapeutics, founded by Crispr co-inventor Jennifer Doudna, plans to scale gene-editing treatments for rare mutations after the FDA approved a new pathway for personalized therapies based on data from fewer patients.

MANAGE WITH CONFIDENCE

Be a remarkable manager

Shouts to every team leader who reads our newsletter. We know it’s not easy to always stay smiling, keep folks in check, and cobble together reports.

The job is daunting to some — but for heroes like you, who’ve mastered every key concept in our people management guide, it’s a welcome challenge. 

Lead with confidence: 

• Build a positive work environment
• Communicate effectively
• Develop teams and track performance
• Give (and get) great feedback
• Embrace work-life balance 

We’ll just leave this free ebook below, in case you’d like to brush up on your skills or make damn sure you’re killing it. 

You’re so thorough. It’s one reason why you’re the best.

Get the manager handbook

 

THE BIG IDEA

First-class seats are coming to a theater near you

 

For today’s moviegoers, it seems, overpriced popcorn and musty seats just won’t cut it. 

• Movie theater attendance is down 55% compared to prepandemic highs, and box office sales have failed to rebound, with US cinemas pulling in ~$8.6B in 2025, short of analyst expectations and far below 2019’s $11.4B haul, per Axios.
  
  
• Meanwhile, streaming and straight-to-streaming releases have made at-home viewing convenient and cheap, and moviegoing a harder sell. 

But with Imax ticket sales proving a bright spot for the industry, up 40%+ YoY in 2025, some theater operators are hopeful that premium offerings — like Champagne and seats as comfy as your couch — just might. 

 

To lure people back to the silver screen, luxury experiences are quickly becoming the new norm at a growing number of movie theaters, per The Guardian.

 

What that looks like

• Cinema chain Vue is rolling out 200 of its Ultra Lux seats, which have built-in Champagne coolers, every day across Europe, according to CEO Tim Richards, who told The Guardian Vue’s worst seat is a leather recliner that’s “amazingly comfortable.” 
  
  
• UK-based Odeon began offering premium seating in 2017, and has since introduced its Luxe Suite Pods, a “private cocoon” that’s good for date nights and families, and, more recently, front-row VIP Beds.
  
  
• Everyman, a luxe-theater pioneer founded in 2000, recently reported a surge in membership signups, alongside increasing revenue and attendance numbers. 

Pricing varies depending on factors like the time of the day, day of the week, and the tech in use. Vue’s luxe recliners range from ~$13 to $35, while Odeon’s run from ~$10 to ~$47. 

 

Getting creative

 

First-class concessions and seating aren’t the only ways theaters are innovating on the moviegoing experience.

 

Many theaters are enhancing screenings with themed dinners and events (e.g., Alamo Drafthouse’s 2023 Cocaine Bear party, which featured an obstacle course and gummy bears), and immersive effects like vibrating chairs and piped-in scents.

 

In a weirdly circular way, content made for at-home viewing, like sports games and TV shows — including streaming content — are also giving theaters a boost.

• The Stranger Things finale, which played at 620 theaters between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, brought in an estimated $25m+ for US theaters. 

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

Don’t take this advice: Experts take on the internet’s worst sales advice with real stories, unfiltered advice, and hot takes.

NEWSWORTHY NUMBER

Value of imports of Chinese peptide and hormone compounds in the first three quarters of 2025, up 2x from the same period in 2024, according to US customs data via The New York Times. Though personal use of these gray market pharmaceuticals is legal, none (aside from the GLP-1s) have been approved by the FDA, which warns that peptides can cause serious health risks, and most doctors advise against using them.

Still, that hasn’t stopped them from becoming the latest biohacking fad among experimental Silicon Valley types, who are using them for everything from weight loss to unproven benefits like improved focus and better sleep, and throwing peptide injection parties where they’re mixing up their own concoctions from vials labeled “For research use only” — because of course they are.

 

AROUND THE WEB

📆  On this day: In 1966, US President Lyndon Johnson appointed the first Black cabinet member: Robert C. Weaver, head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

📚  That’s cool: An encyclopedia of Europe’s cultural heritage.

🗞️  Newsletter: TheFutureParty delivers daily insights on entertainment, media, and culture.

🐙  Game: A Lovecraftian text adventure game.

🐱  Aww: So fluffy.

SHOWER THOUGHT

 You never see good news written in the fine print. SOURCE