Culture
Box Office: ‘West Side Story’ Heads for Worrisome $10M-$11M Opening
Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed West Side Story posted a subdued opening day gross of $4.1 million from 2,820 theaters at the Friday (Dec. 10) box office for a disappointing domestic opening in the $10 million to $11 million range. The good news: if those projections hold, the 20th Century and Disney film will claim the No. 1 spot on the chart ahead of Disney Animation holdover Encanto. West Side Story had hoped to clear at least $13 million in its start. Musicals face a huge challenge in the pandemic era since they rely on older adults, and particularly older females. So far, moviegoers over the age of 35 are the leeriest in terms of returning to theaters. The movie earned an A CinemaScore from audiences, while the largest quadrant were ticket buyers over the age of 55 (26 percent...
Charles Oliveira’s Historic Path to a UFC Championship May Never Be Repeated
UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira took the long route to the top of what is largely considered mixed martial arts’ most competitive division. Nearly 11 years and 27 fights after first entering the UFC in 2010, “Do Bronx” finally earned the championship belt with a second-round TKO of Michael Chandler in May. The victory marked the completion of a lifelong goal for the Brazilian-born fighter, who’s been viewed by many as a perennial underdog ever since he began training in martial arts at 12 years old. As a child, Oliveira was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and a heart murmur, which meant his dreams of becoming a professional soccer player were efficiently out the window. After earning his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in under a decade, Oliveira joined the UFC with an undefeate...
Kanye West, Sinead O’Connor, TikTok Documentaries to Premiere at Sundance 2022
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the slate of feature films, indie episodic and New Frontier selections that will screen at the 2022 edition of the Park City festival from Jan. 20-30 – and several music-related documentaries are in the mix, including films centered around controversial pop icons Kanye West and Sinead O’Connor. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Perhaps the most attention-grabbing of the newly announced selections is jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, a documentary described as “an intimate and empathetic chronicle featuring never-before-seen footage from 21 years in the life of a captivating figure.” Directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah – who have jointly directed multiple music videos for the star now known as Ye – th...
Banana Split Duo Talk Making It to ‘Masked Singer’ Finals & The Song You Didn’t Hear
Consider Banana Split officially melted. After making an impressively delicious run on this season of The Masked Singer that included showstopping performances of everything from Michael Bublé‘s take on the Julie London classic “Cry Me a River” to Lady Gaga‘s “Poker Face,” the dynamic duo with the powerhouse voice and smooth piano stylings were eliminated during the Group B Finals on Wednesday night (Oct. 8). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Following their shocking elimination after covering “Singin’ in the Rain,” the season’s front-runners were unmasked and revealed to be [SPOILER ALERT] American Idol alum Katharine McPhee and her husband, 16-time Grammy winner David Foster. In fact, in a season that boasted a combined 85 Grammy nominations, 2...
Out With The Racist, In With The New: Charlottesville Robert E. Lee Statue To Be Melted Down By Black Museum
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: The Washington Post / Getty A Virginia statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is set to be melted down into new artwork after being recently removed from the city park where the “I heart negroes in chains” military commander was immortalized in the 1920s. Oh, we’re not talking about the Lee monument in Richmond, Va., that was finally removed last year, but that’s an easy mistake to make since, apparently, a lot of Virginians just really love their 30-foot odes to white supremacy. But this one was in Charlottesville—you know, the city where a bunch of angry and probably sexually frustrated white men marched around with tiki torches until some deranged neo-Nazi killed a woman with his car. Apparently, they’re the types who also love sculpted slavery memo...
Nicki Minaj Celebrates 39th Birthday in Her Birthday Suit: See the Pics
Even though Nicki Minaj rapped “Errday my birthday” on 2008’s “Young Money Ballaz,” Wednesday (Dec. 8) actually is the superstar MC’s big day. Minaj, who just turned 39, took to social media to celebrate her special day with some photos — appropriately dressed in her birthday suit, with a couple of shots revealing she’s only draped in a pink bejeweled chain and thong, plus perfectly swooped pink hair. She posed with a small birthday cake holding star-, heart- and rainbow-shaped candles while also nestling up to a giant teddy bear her 1-year-old son Papa Bear would surely love. “Say Happy Birthday to da Bad Guy,” she captioned the trio of festive shots. And a lot of stars did just that in the comments section, including Minaj’s frequent collaborators Big Sean, Soulja Boy and Juicy J as well...
Halo Infinite is the Long-Awaited Halo Continuation The Series Deserves
Halo is back. For fans of Xbox’s signature series, it’s been nearly a half-decade since the release of underwhelming spinoff, Halo Wars 2, and over 6 years since the last title in the main series (the divisive Halo 5). But with Halo Infinite, Master Chief is finally back to blast and smash his way back into everyone’s consoles, PCs and hearts. While the monetization system for the multiplayer has been predictably criticized, Halo Infinite is generally a return to form for the series, with the gameplay, narrative, and environment that fans have come to expect from one of the most recognizable video game franchises in history. Halo Infinite also marks a pair of significant anniversaries for the franchise, with the original launch of the first game coming 20 years ago last month and the remas...
Travis Scott, Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ & More Crown Google’s Top Searches of 2021
Google unveiled its 2021 Year in Search list on Wednesday (Dec. 8), where Travis Scott lands on top of its top trending searches for musicians in the U.S. Meanwhile, Olivia Rodrigo‘s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “drivers license” is the No. 1 top trending search for songs. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Google’s top trends reflect the searches that experienced a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2021 compared to 2020. The Houston rapper is also listed as No. 4 on the top trending searches for people, behind Kyle Rittenhouse, Tiger Woods and Alec Baldwin. Scott’s name has been seen in recent headlines over the past two months since his disastrous hometown Astroworld Festival in November left hundreds injured and 10 people dead. An...
Jada Pinkett-Smith Returns as Niobe In ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Trailer: Watch
Get ready to step into the Matrix one last time — on Monday (Dec. 7), HBO Max released the second official trailer for The Matrix Resurrections, the fourth and final chapter of the wildly popular science-fiction movie series, which sees Neo (Keanu Reeves) coming to terms with choices he made in The Matrix Reloaded. “We can’t see it, but we’re all tapped inside these strange repeating loops. Billions of people just living out their lives, oblivious. But this is the moment for you to show us what is real,” characters can be heard saying as current memories and flashbacks of his love interest, Trinity, from the past three Matrix movies play. As Neo grows increasingly doubtful of his surroundings, Morpheus — now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II instead of Laurence Fishburne — says, “They taught...
Will Barack Obama Tie This Presidential Grammy Record?
Barack Obama may be headed for his third Grammy win at the 64th annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31. Obama’s A Promised Land is nominated for best spoken word album (includes poetry, audio books and storytelling). He previously won in the category twice as a U.S. Senator – with Dreams From My Father (2005) and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2007). If he wins again, he’ll tie Jimmy Carter as the U.S. president with the most Grammy Awards. Carter won three Grammys in the spoken word category long after leaving the White House in 1981. He won for Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis (2006), A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety (2015) and Faith – A Journey For All (2018). Explore See latest videos, charts and news The only other president to win a Grammy is...
Cardi B Debuts Boozy Whipped Cream Partnership During Miami Art Week
Jumping on the celeb-back booze train, Cardi B is now peddling liquor, but her “authentic” spirit isn’t tequila or rum — it’s vodka-infused whipped cream. Whipshots by Cardi and Starco brands are available on Whipshots.com in 500-can-per-day Whip Drops, and the three launch flavors — vanilla, caramel and mocha — have been selling out in under four minutes daily since Dec. 1. Explore Explore Cardi B See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I’m not really a hardcore liquor-drinking person. And I like things that are sexy and tasty. It’s going to be a party in every can,” Cardi tells Billboard. “At one time I was planning to do margaritas, but this is more fun.” On Dec. 4, Cardi debuted Whipshots with a sweets-themed party at Pharrell and David Grutman’s The Good...
Box Office: ‘Encanto’ Leads Quiet Post-Holiday Weekend
Walt Disney Animation’s original musical animated adventure Encanto led a quiet post-Thanksgiving session at the box office, which is always quiet the weekend following the holiday. This year was further complicated by the ongoing pandemic and concerns about the new omicron variant. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Encanto, featuring original songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, grossed $12.7 million from 3,980 theaters in its second weekend for a domestic total of $58 million and $58.1 million overseas — where omicron is more of a concern — for a global cume of $116.1 million. The pic is setting records in parts of Latin America, where it has earned $5.9 million in Colombia, the film’s No. 1 foreign market behind France ($6.5 million). Sony’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife followed closely i...
