State Champ Radio TV/Film
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The arrival of Travis Scott‘s newest album and a film are imminent. The “Sicko Mode” rapper took to Instagram on Tuesday (July 25) to share five album covers for Utopia, his fourth studio album, and his movie announcement. “THIS IS ONE OF THE COVERS FOR MY 4TH ALBUM UTOPIA. SHOT BY PIETER HUGO,” the rapper […]
The fourth and final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is hitting Disney+ next month, but the show isn’t saying goodbye without some of its OG Wildcats. In an exclusive clip of the opening number shared with Billboard on Tuesday (July 25), Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel and Kaycee Stroh take the […]
Warning: This post contains spoilers to Barbie, specifically in regards to its hilarious scene featuring Ryan Gosling’s Ken covering “Push” by Matchbox Twenty. Which, by the way, Rob Thomas thinks is hilarious.
In a recent interview, the singer recalled just how his band’s 1997 hit not only became part of the film, but turned into one of Barbie‘s biggest musical moments — toward the storyline’s climax, Ken sits down Margot Robbie’s Barbie in front of a campfire and attempts to impress her with his guitar-playing skills, singing “Push” for several hours straight. This all comes after Gosling’s character, feeling scorned by Barbie’s disinterest in him, has convinced the other Kens to embrace ideals of patriarchy and toxic masculinity — such as cornering women and expecting them to applaud the men’s mediocre acoustic performances of ’90s cool guy music and reward them with romantic or sexual favors, for instance.
“I want to preface this by saying that I thought it was hilarious,” Thomas told USA Today in a Sunday (July 23) interview. “But in Bring It On, [Kirsten Dunst’s character] has this douchey boyfriend. And there’s a scene where he was in his dorm room with a Matchbox Twenty poster in the background. There was a whole period during the ‘90s where the more successful we got, the bigger target we were. We were an easy takedown.”
“When I got the call for Barbie, they told me, ‘Ken’s by the fireside, he’s playing the song and it’s his favorite band.’ So I did this thinking I’d be the butt of the joke, and I was fine with that. I’m pretty thick-skinned. But Julie Greenwald [from Atlantic Records] came to the Hollywood Bowl a month or two ago. She had just seen the movie and was like, ‘You come out of it loving Ken and loving ‘Push.’’ And I was like, ‘Aww. All right, really good!’”
The film’s treatment of “Push” — which topped the Alternative Airplay chart in July 1997 — felt even better considering that Barbie director Greta Gerwig has been, as Thomas put it, “one of my crushes forever.” “The fact that it didn’t diminish my crush of Greta, that’s even better,” Thomas told the paper.
Gerwig herself also spoke about her decision to spotlight Matchbox Twenty’s music, revealing she’s been a fan of “Push” since childhood. “Growing up, I loved that song,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is my rock n’ roll, Dad. Enjoy The Who, but these are my guys.’ And it wasn’t until college that I actually thought, ‘What is that song about?’”
The Barbie soundtrack also showcases dozens of other songs, many of which are originals lended by Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj and more. Plus, the Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine” is featured as Barbie’s favorite car-ride tune.
Another dude-rock band championed by the Kens during their takeover is Pavement, with one Ken man-splaining the group’s influence and ties to the Velvet Underground to a disinterested Barbie. Pavement reacted to the namedrop on Instagram Stories, writing that “as a rule we are pro-Greta” and joking, “Not a sponsored post but CAN BE @barbiethemovie just DM us for Venmo.”
There seems to have been some confusion as to which patty-flipping yellow sponge has reportedly stolen Ariana Grande’s heart — and now the record has been set straight. For context, the “7 Rings” singer is reportedly dating Ethan Slater, who starred as SpongeBob in Broadway’s The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage. Ari is not dating […]
“Barbenheimer” didn’t just work — it spun box office gold. The social media-fueled fusion of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer brought moviegoers back to the theaters in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging exhibition business, amid the sobering backdrop of strikes.
Warner Bros.’ Barbie claimed the top spot with a massive $155 million in ticket sales from North American theaters from 4,243 locations, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie (as well as every Marvel movie this year) as the biggest opening of the year and breaking the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman. Universal’s Oppenheimer also soared past expectations, taking in $80.5 million from 3,610 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, marking Nolan’s biggest non-Batman debut and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama.
It’s also the first time that one movie opened to more than $100 million and another movie opened to more than $80 million in the same weekend. When all is settled, it will likely turn out to be the fourth biggest box office weekend of all time with over $300 million industrywide. And all this in a marketplace that increasingly curved towards intellectual property-driven winner takes all.
The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon may have started out as good-natured competition between two aesthetic opposites, but, as many hoped, both movies benefitted in the end. Internationally, Barbie earned $182 million from 69 territories, fueling a $337 million global weekend. Oppenheimer did $93.7 million from 78 territories, ranking above Barbie in India, for a $174.2 million global total.
The only real casualty was Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I, which despite strong reviews and a healthy opening weekend fell 64% in weekend two. Overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” glow as well as the blow of losing its IMAX screens to Oppenheimer, the Tom Cruise vehicle added $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $118.8 million.
“Barbenheimer” is not merely counterprogramming either. But while a certain section of enthusiastic moviegoers overlapped, in aggregate the audiences were distinct.
Women drove the historic Barbie opening, making up 65% of the audience, according to PostTrak, and 40% of ticket buyers were under the age of 25 for the PG-13 rated movie.
“It’s just a joyous time in the world. This is history in so many ways,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. “I think this marketing campaign is one for the ages that people will be talking about forever.”
Oppenheimer audiences meanwhile were 62% male and 63% over the age of 25, with a somewhat surprising 32% that were between the ages of 18 and 24.
Both Barbie and Oppenheimer scored well with critics with 90% and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and audiences who gave both films an A CinemaScore. And social media has been awash with reactions and “takes” all weekend — good, bad, problematic and everywhere in between — the kind of organic, event cinema, watercooler debate that no marketing budget can buy.
“The ‘Barbenheimer’ thing was a real boost for both movies,” Goldstein said. “It is a crowning achievement for all of us.”
Oppenheimer had the vast majority (80%) of premium large format screens at its disposal. Some 25 theaters in North America boasted IMAX 70mm screenings (Nolan’s preferred format ), most of which were completely sold out all weekend — accounting for 2% of the total gross. Theaters even scrambled to add more to accommodate the demand including 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings, which also sold out.
“Nolan’s films are truly cinematic events,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution.
IMAX showings alone made up 26% of the domestic gross (or $21.1 million) from only 411 screens and 20% of the global gross, and Oppenheimer will have at least a three-week run on those high-demand screens.
“This is a phenomenon beyond compare,” said Rich Gelfond, the CEO of IMAX, in a statement. “Around the world, we’ve seen sellouts at 4:00 a.m. shows and people travelling hours across borders to see Oppenheimer in IMAX 70mm.”
This is the comeback weekend Hollywood has been dreaming of since the pandemic. There have been big openings and successes — Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water among them, but the fact that two movies are succeeding at the same time is notable.
“It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023,” said Michael O’Leary, President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “People recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it.”
And yet in the background looms disaster as Hollywood studios continue to squabble with striking actors and writers over a fair contract.
Barbie and Oppenheimer were the last films on the 2023 calendar to get a massive, global press tour. Both went right up to the 11th hour, squeezing in every last moment with their movie stars. Oppenheimer even pushed up its London premiere by an hour, knowing that Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy would have to leave to symbolically join the picket lines by the time the movie began.
Without movie stars to promote their films, studios have started pushing some falls releases, including the high-profile Zendaya tennis drama Challengers.
But for now, it’s simply a positive story that could even continue for weeks to come.
“There could be a sequel next weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The FOMO factor will rachet up because of this monumental box office event centered around the movie theater experience.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Jamie Foxx surprised fans on Thursday (July 20) when he posted a picture from Las Vegas in which the actor posed on a Formula 1 race car while promising some exciting upcoming projects. Foxx, who has rarely been seen in public since his daughter, Corinne, announced on April 12 that her dad had been hospitalized for an undisclosed “medical complication“; to date neither Foxx nor his family have provided any additional information on the illness or the status of Foxx’s recovery.
Dressed in a sharp dark green suit, Foxx posed on top of a gold Formula 1 race car, his right foot resting on one of the vehicle’s front wheels, with a gold band black helmet resting next to him. “Thankful for my @BetMGM family and a great few nights in Vegas,” Foxx wrote in what appeared to be a product promotion post.
It was the next bit that got fans talking however, with Foxx promising, “We got BIG things coming soon,” followed by a fox emoji. Check out Foxx’s photo here. It was unknown at press time what project Foxx was teasing with the post.
According to E! News, daughter Corrine shared another picture from what appeared to be the same campaign shoot on her Instagram Story, writing, “Year 4 of @betMGM in the books.” The post also found the 29-year-old wearing a black t-shirt and denim shorts while seated next to her dad on the car. “So proud of you always Dad.”
It was Corrine who announced to the world three months ago that her dad had suffered a medical issue. “Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery. We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers,” she wrote at the time. On May 12, the model provided an update, saying her dad had been discharged and was recovering at home. “In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday!” she said at the time.
On May 3, Foxx broke his silence, thanking fans in a note for their support. “Appreciate all the love!!! Feeling blessed,” Foxx wrote. The next day, friend Nick Cannon also provided an update on Foxx’s progress. “I gotta tell you, there would be no Nick Cannon if it wasn’t for Jamie Foxx,” said Cannon, who stepped in for Foxx on the set of the Fox network game show Beat Shazam. “I love this brother and in a real family-type way, man. He looked out for me when I didn’t have a place to sleep as a teenager. This brother let me sleep on his couch…It was good times and those good times will continue ’cause I am expecting that my brother is gonna just recover fully.”
Last week Foxx was spotted waving from the deck of a boat cruising on the Chicago River, though he did not appear to stand up or speak in a short video of the ride. A day later it was announced that Foxx and Colin Firth will co-produce the first-ever official documentary on beloved late R&B singer Luther Vandross.
It’s officially time to immerse yourself in Barbie World! Greta Gerwig’s long-awaited Barbie film has finally hit theaters on Friday (July 21), and along with the movie release came the official soundtrack. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Executive produced by Academy Award-winning songwriter and producer Mark […]
Outside of a few cameos, an SNL hosting stint, and her reality TV empire, Kim Kardashian has steered relatively clear of proper acting roles, until now. Today (July 20), the businesswoman and media personality appeared in the first official teaser for American Horror Story: Delicate. Serving as the twelfth installment in Ryan Murphy’s beloved Emmy-winning […]
Kim Kardashian is learning to hold on to the good stuff following her tumultuous divorce from Kanye West. In the Thursday (July 20) episode of The Kardashians, the 42-year-old reality star revealed that she is working on archiving the belongings of her ex-husband, even though the rapper previously requested she “burn his stuff” after their […]
Love is in the air — defying gravity, one could say — on the set of Wicked. According to multiple reports, Ariana Grande is dating her 31-year-old costar Ethan Slater following her recently reported split from husband Dalton Gomez. Slater, who starred on Broadway as the titular character in the SpongeBob SquarePants musical, is also […]
