Category: News

How it normally works with blockbusters is this: They have a huge opening weekend, grossing over $100 million. Then the second weekend, the rabid anticipation drops and so does the money it rakes in. But something funny has happened with Top Gun: Maverick: People keep going to see it in droves.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the long-delayed, very belated sequel to the top grosser of 1986 dropped a mere 32 percent in its second weekend. When it opened over Memorial Day weekend, it Hoovered up $126.7 million in the first three days alone, and another $33.8 million on the holiday itself — by far the biggest opening of star Tom Cruise’s career. This weekend, it grossed a whopping $86 million.

That means Maverick has broken another record: the lowest second weekend dip for a movie that opened to over $100 million, according to THR. For context, consider that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which opened bigger than Maverick, with $187.4 million, dropped to $61.7 million its second weekend.

The news is pretty much the opposite of what befell Morbius, the Jared Leto-starring comic book movie, which was given a slight re-release in theaters after becoming a jokey social media meme sensation. On its first day back in theaters, it grossed a mere $85,000. That same day, Top Gun: Maverick made $25,00,000, or almost 300 times what Morbius made. Poor Morbius.

(Via THR)

After going more than four years without a project, Lorde returned last summer with her third album Solar Power. The project was a departure from the sound that many expected from her, but with it being almost a half-decade since they received 2017’s Melodrama, it’s no surprise that Lorde decided to switch things up. However, as Lorde tells it, that change isn’t permanent. Saturday night, during the third and final night of her residency at London’s Roundhouse, Lorde thanked fans for their support over the last decade and also revealed that she’s been “thinking about bangers.”

“It’s so interesting to me how writing a big, bright pop song has been the thing that’s defined my life,” she said according to NME. “This thing I started trying to do when I was 14-years-old because I would turn on the radio and love that feeling, what it did to me. It became like an addiction, I just wanted to keep trying to construct the perfect thing that would hit you in the heart emotionally, over three-and-a-half minutes.” She continued:

“But I never thought a pop song would be the thing that changed my life. I was informed today that it’s the nine-year anniversary of ‘Royals’ coming out. I remember sitting in my parent’s kitchen, pressing upload on Soundcloud. I was in my school uniform.

And nine years ago, you started to change my life. And you told me I wasn’t crazy for being obsessed with pre-chorus melodies and hooks. That actually, it was a worthwhile endeavor for me

Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to share in those moments with you because, in my opinion, a banger is not created until the audience participates. You can write a good pop song but you are the ones that turn it into that thing that we all know to be a banger.”

Lorde went on to say that while big pop songs are “the guiding force in my life, the north star to which I move towards, it’s not always the season. You don’t always have the banger in you.” She continued, “We’ve had a really difficult, painful, lonely few years and artists take that, and they process it and they make something that’s maybe quieter, or more private,” which seemingly referenced her Solar Power album.

“But the banger will always be on the horizon,” she concluded. “I want to say thank you for being so welcoming and wonderful on this tour. I’m getting nearer to that zone again, where all I’m going to write is those sort of songs for us all to dance to, and to feel in our hearts. Thanks for changing my life.”

The United Kingdom is currently going full tilt boogie for the Platinum Jubilee, which rings in Elizabeth II’s 70th anniversary as Queen. There are days of celebration. There have been Daleks and Danger Mouse. Her Majesty even got tea and talked marmalade sandwiches with Paddington. What it’s missed, for the most part, is the Queen herself, who has appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace but skipped out on everything else. But those in charge found a creative — and pretty bizarre — way to get her involved.

During a street pageant in London, a hologram of the younger Elizabeth II could be seen in the Gold State Coach, a 260-year-old carriage commissioned by King George III in 1760 and finished two years later. It’s rarely used, for obvious reasons, but it has been used at the coronation of every monarch since — including Elizabeth II in 1953. The hologram was made of footage from that occasion, presenting people today with the illusion that they were waving at the twentysomething Queen.

And wave they did. Yes, the people of England waved at a hologram.

Of course, Queen Elizabeth II is 96 years old, so that may explain why she has been AWOL during much of the celebration honoring her seven-decade reign. In that time, she’s accomplished so much. She even helped Snoop Dogg. And, at least in 2017, she did rather a lot of drinking.

(Via Sky News)

Paul Schrader is many things: a legendary screenwriter, a beloved film director — and a DGAF crank on Facebook. The author of Taxi Driver, who’s had a resurgence of late with First Reformed and The Card Counter, loves to go on the social media service and speak his mind, not caring who he offends. His latest target: the TV adaptation of one of his greatest films, 1980’s American Gigolo.

Showtime is behind the reboot, which stars the mighty Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye, a perpetually well-dressed male escort who gets embroiled in some shady goings-on. Richard Gere played Kaye in the original, and it turned him into a megastar and sex symbol. It could do the same for respected and always-welcome character actor Bernthal. But Schrader won’t even be watching it.

“After the Showtime trailer appeared online I’ve been asked if I am involved,” Schrader wrote in his post. “The answer is no.” When they told him about it, he told them exactly what was on his mind.

“I replied that I thought it was a terrible idea–times had changed, internet porn had redefined male sex work, viruses, etc. I couldn’t imagine Julian Kay working a Hen Party,” Schrader wrote. “I thought that was the end of it.”

Still, he did take the money, and he explained why. “They did not want my involvement. Here were my options: (1) take $50G and not be involved (2) take $0 and not be involved (3) threaten an expensive and futile lawsuit and not be involved,” wrote Schrader. “I took the $50G.”

Schrader also said he would not be watching it, saying there was no way he “could be objective about it and, even if I could, it’s too much agita.”

Bernthal has never worked with Schrader before, but he was incredible in The Wolf of Wall Street, by Schrader’s frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. Schrader did direct one of the show’s other stars, Gretchen Mol, in 1999’s Forever Mine.

The American Gigolo show currently has no release date.

(Via Deadline)

For the last two weeks, Morbius was trending on Twitter. The Jared Leto-starring comic book movie, about a scientist who accidentally turns himself into a vampire, didn’t do so hot when it hit theaters in April. But all of a sudden it was the talk of the internet. It wasn’t exactly because people adored it. It just became a joke, and even its star got in on the action. Amidst the hullabaloo, Sony decided to give it a little re-release. But just because something’s a hit on social media doesn’t translate into a hit in movie theaters.

Sure enough, as per Forbes, the Morbius Mulligan did not go so well. On Friday, the day the film was re-dropped in theaters, it grossed a mere $85,000. For some perspective, on the same day Top Gun: Maverick, the movie everyone’s seeing, grossed $25,000,000. Morbius couldn’t even break the $100,000 mark.

Granted, the Morbius reissue may have never stood a chance. Most theaters were only playing it once, often in mid-evening time slots, during the 9 o’clock hour. Still, its $270 per screen average — the lowest in the top 20 — doesn’t suggest the throngs were hungry for more Morbius. Oh well. We’ll always have those Morbius memes.

(Via Forbes)

Grand slams are cool. Inside-the-park home runs are cool. Thanks to a minor league game on Saturday night, we got to see both of those things happen at the exact same time, as a line drive to right center ended up with the bases getting completely cleared and four runs scoring.

Nathan Lukes of the Buffalo Bisons, the triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning against the Rochester Red Wings. The lefty slapped a fastball high in the zone into right field, but because of where the outfielder was standing, he didn’t really have a great way to approach this one.

As such, he tried to make a driving catch and failed, which allowed the ball to roll all the way to the wall. It let everyone score, while Lukes was able to slide into home and hit one of the more impressive homers we’ll see this baseball season.

The fun part is that this is the second inside-the-park grand slam we’ve seen in two days. During the regional round of the College World Series on Friday, Louisiana Tech catcher Jorge Corona didn’t even need to slide after hitting a ball to center field that cleared the bases.

Baseball players cannot stop hitting inside-the-park grand slams, and I think it’s pretty good.

It’s been more than 100 days since WNBA star Brittney Griner was first detained in Russia over allegations of having cannabis oil in her belongings while going through an airport. While the American government, NBA, WNBA, and plenty of other have stated that they’re working to get the All-Star center back to the United States, there has not been any sort of resolution regarding her situation.

There have been numerous shows of support for Griner, who the government believes is being wrongly detained, among those in the basketball world. The latest example of this came on Saturday afternoon, when members of the Boston Celtics wore “We Are BG” t-shirts.

Jaylen Brown was asked about the shirts as he sat down with the media and explained that the effort was led by one of his teammates, Grant Williams.

“Came from the Players Association, led by Grant Williams, but as a collective, wanted to come out and show our support for Brittney Griner,” Brown said. “She’s been over there for an extended amount of time, and we feel like enough is enough.”

The QR code on the back of the shirts links to a petition calling for Griner’s swift and safe return back to the United States. As of this writing, it’s received signatures from more than 240,000 people.

Just before the one-month anniversary of his sophomore album Come Home The Kids Miss You, Jack Harlow arrived with a video for one of the album’s most popular songs. “Churchill Downs,” which is highlighted by a stellar guest feature from Drake, got the visual treatment in the best way that the song could. Jack and Drake brought their talents to Kentucky’s Churchill Downs, the famed horse racetrack in Louisville, which is Jack’s hometown. The visual captured scenes from last month’s Kentucky Derby and its scenes from it that are the source of criticism that Jack and Drake recently received from PETA.

“Jack Harlow and Drake have chosen to glamorize horseracing with their new ‘Churchill Downs’ video,” the animal rights group wrote in a statement according to HotNewHipHop. “In response, PETA is calling on Harlow to donate the song’s proceeds toward caring for Thoroughbreds discarded by the industry, which exports 7,500 of them for slaughter every year.”

PETA’s Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo added, “Jack Harlow’s glamorized portrayal of horse racing is missing the whips, drugs, and deaths that run rampant in the industry. “Profiting from the abuse of others is never acceptable, and PETA is calling on Jack Harlow to pony up and pay for the care of American Thoroughbreds who would otherwise be shipped to foreign slaughterhouses. The only sure thing in horse racing is that the horses always lose.”

Earlier this year, Kanye West and The Game were criticized by PETA for the cover art of their “Eazy” collaboration.

You can revisit the video for “Churchill Downs” here.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Paddington is arguably more popular now than he’s ever been. The marmalade-loving, raincoat-wearing bear who relocates from Peru to England is now a movie star, battling the leads in The Undoing and, in the case of the sequel, getting a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Until we know who he (gently, politely) fights in the third installment, he’s taking a break to have some afternoon tea with the Queen.

On Saturday, to celebrate Elizabeth II’s platinum Jubilee, a video was released showing Her Majesty sitting down with the CGI bear voiced by Ben Whishaw. Naturally Paddington makes a faux pas: He starts gulping from the teapot before his host has had a sip. He gets back on track by talking marmalade sandwiches, prompting the Queen to open her handbag, revealing where she stores her own backup food. Paddington also accidentally sprays an éclair onto a palace footman.

The Jubilee honors the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s coronation, which even brought back Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who decamped for the United States amidst accusations of racism among the Royal Family. Their return sparked boos from some in the crowd on Friday. But for now, let’s take a brief respite with a nice bear talking tea and fruit preserves.

(Via Deadline)

The Golden State Warriors led by as many as 15 points in the second half of Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals. As we’ve seen so many times over the years — especially when they’re playing big games at home — Golden State is excellent at landing a few haymakers and completely taking the opposing team out of a game.

That didn’t happen in Game 1. The Boston Celtics were able to withstand a flurry from the Warriors, compose themselves, and blow them away in the fourth quarter en route to a 120-108 win. On Saturday, Klay Thompson spoke to the media about what exactly happened and expressed his belief that Golden State got a little too comfortable upon opening up a big lead.

“I thought we got comfortable when we went up 15, including myself, our team, the fans,” Thompson said. “We’ve done it so many times, we probably expected we were just gonna win. But then I reminded myself the playoffs are about being uncomfortably until you complete the mission. So, it was a harsh reminder, but it was something we needed to go through, including myself, and it’s about how we respond tomorrow, which I’m very excited for.”

Thompson scored 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting in Game 1 and hit three of his seven attempts from deep. The Warriors will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday night.