#SpiderManNoWayHome crushed box office expectations, generating a mammoth $253 million in North America. After only three days, the release is already the highest-grossing film of this year bit.ly/3mdngeX
#NoWayHome is zooming past opening weekend tickets sales for behemoths like "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Jurassic World" and "Black Panther." It is the eighth film to cross $200 million in ticket sales at the domestic box office in a single weekend bit.ly/3mdngeX
#SpiderManNoWayHome captured $334 million overseas and $587 million globally, ranking as the third-biggest worldwide opening weekend ever bit.ly/3mdngeX
“This weekend’s historic results reaffirm the unmatched cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve,” says Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman and CEO bit.ly/3mdngeX
#SpiderMan is turbo-charging the box office because superheroes sell. Its performance doesn’t reverse fortunes for the beleaguered theater business. Rather, it punctuates the reality that multiplexes are more reliant than ever on big-budget spectacles bit.ly/3mdngeX
For better or worse, #SpiderMan landed on the big screen in the nick of time. The film’s remarkable performance coincides with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which is already leading to closures in N.Y. bit.ly/3mdngeX
So far, any fears over developing variants haven’t made a dent in #NoWayHome. Unless moviegoing confidence takes a sudden nosedive, box office analysts expect the film to play and play… and play in theaters, well into the new year bit.ly/3mdngeX
Singer-songwriter-guitarist David Crosby, a founding member of two popular and enormously influential ’60s rock units, the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash (later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), has died. He was 81 years old. bit.ly/3IZEj02
His wife released a statement to Variety, saying, "Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music." bit.ly/3IZEj02
With bandmates Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, Crosby set down the template for ’60s L.A. folk-rock in the Byrds during his stormy 1964-67 tenure in the group. bit.ly/3IZEj02
After two years of going virtual, Sundance Film Festival is back in person. Here are 13 films that could have buyers writing big checks: bit.ly/3CXksLo
DRIFT
Cynthia Erivo plays Jacqueline, a refugee who flees war-torn Liberia for the safety of a Greek island. Through her friendship with a tour-guide (Alia Shawkat), she begins to find a way to move past the violence and trauma she has endured. bit.ly/3CXksLo
CAT PERSON
Emilia Jones ("CODA") and Nicholas Braun ("Succession") team up for the film adaptation of the viral New Yorker short story that instigated fiery discussions about gender, sex and "first date" social pressures. bit.ly/3CXksLo
Austin Butler + Janelle Monáe
Cate Blanchett + Michelle Yeoh
Viola Davis + Jennifer Lawrence
Jamie Lee Curtis + Colin Farrell
Eddie Redmayne + Ana de Armas
From #TheDropout to #Euphoria to #Andor, our chief TV critics sifted through an avalanche of shows to pick their favorites from this year. See which ones they chose here: bit.ly/3Bh9ob4
"Abbott Elementary"
"Quinta Brunson’s ABC comedy about a hardworking, charismatic group of Philadelphia teachers was so immediately realized...that it feels like it’s been on for years rather than months." – Caroline Framke bit.ly/3Bh9ob4
"Barry"
"The drama and the jokes were operating at their highest level yet in this year’s third season. Barry’s journey into unrepentant inner darkness was played beautifully by Bill Hader, but the season belonged to Sarah Goldberg." – Daniel D'Addario bit.ly/3Bh9ob4
Kirstie Alley, a two-time Emmy-winning actor who rose to fame with her role as Rebecca Howe in the NBC comedy series “Cheers,” has died after a battle with cancer. She was 71. bit.ly/3UELFbr
Alley’s death was confirmed through her official social media presence, which shared a statement from her children. bit.ly/3UELFbr
“To all our friends, far and wide around the world… We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” reads the statement. bit.ly/3UELFbr