Chris Pratt makes ‘Avatar’ cry ‘Mercy’ as his new sci-fi film tops box office

Chris Pratt makes ‘Avatar’ cry ‘Mercy’ as his new sci-fi film tops box office
Chris Pratt makes ‘Avatar’ cry ‘Mercy’ as his new sci-fi film tops box office
Chris Pratt stars as Chris Raven in ‘Mercy.’ (Justin Lubin)

After five weeks, Avatar: Fire and Ashs reign at the box office has finally been extinguished: Chris Pratt‘s new sci-fi film Mercy has replaced James Cameron‘s sci-fi threequel at #1.

The movie, about a political detective being tried by an AI judge for the murder of his wife, took in $11.1 million, according to Box Office MojoAvatar: Fire and Ash fell to #2 with a weekend take of $7 million, while Disney’s Zootopia 2, the highest-grossing animated Hollywood film of all time, remains at #3 with $5.7 million.

The only new movie to make the top 10 was Return to Silent Hill, in at #7 with a $3.3 million gross.

Variety notes that overall, it was the lowest-earning weekend of the year at the box office, due to the winter storms sweeping through the U.S. that forced multiple theaters to close.

Here are the top 10 films at the box office:

1. Mercy — $11,1 million
2. Avatar: Fire and Ash — $7 million
3. Zootopia 2 — $5.7 million
4. The Housemaid — $4.2 million
5. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple — $3.6 million
6. Marty Supreme — $3.5 million
7. Return to Silent Hill — $3.3 million
8. Hamnet — $2 million
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — $2 million
10. Primate — $1.6 million

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Delroy Lindo opens up after receiving 1st Oscar nomination at 73

Delroy Lindo opens up after receiving 1st Oscar nomination at 73
Delroy Lindo opens up after receiving 1st Oscar nomination at 73
Academy Award nominee Delroy Lindo on “Good Morning America” on Jan. 23, 2026. (ABC News)

Acclaimed actor Delroy Lindo is opening up about receiving his first Oscar nomination at the age of 73.

“It feels terrific,” Lindo said on Good Morning America Friday. “I’m still processing, if I’m really honest, but it’s wonderful. And part of my response has to do with how positive everybody else’s response has been. A lot of support, a lot of love. It feels really good.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated Lindo on Thursday for best supporting actor for his role as blues musician Delta Slim in the Ryan Coogler horror film Sinners.

Although Lindo has been acting for over five decades, he said playing Delta Slim didn’t come easy for him.

“The musical aspect — the piano, the keyboard and the harmonica — it’s a different side of the brain,” Lindo said about playing the musician. “So I would be at the keyboard practicing, and I had some incredible musicians who helped me, but I was aware — sometimes the mind and the fingers, they don’t line up well.”

Ahead of the Oscar nominations this week, Lindo said the buzz was hard to ignore but he tried to do so anyway.

“I was trying to maintain a certain distance, because I was not sure of what would happen,” Lindo said. “It’s difficult to not have it on your mind. But I was trying as much as I could to just let it be what it was going to be.”

Sinners received a record-breaking 16 nominations on Thursday, the most in Oscars history. Lindo said he “had no idea” the movie would resonate with audiences so much.

He added that he was in bed when he found out he had been nominated.

“My son called me. I was in bed,” Lindo recounted. “I was kind of halfway between being asleep and waking, and the phone rang, and I picked it up, and my son was on the other line, and it’s perfect that I got the news from him.”

“Ryan and I had a long talk, and in true Ryan fashion, he just wanted to talk about me,” Lindo said.

Coogler is nominated for several awards, including best director and best original screenplay, for Sinners.

Coogler, his wife, Zinzi Coogler, and frequent collaborator Sev Ohanian are also up for the best picture Oscar.

Lindo expressed his excitement for the director.

“I don’t have the words to articulate how thrilled I am for [Coogler], because from the very first time I read the script, I saw what he was trying to do, and it’s extraordinary that audiences have embraced it and embraced his vision,” he said.

Sinners was released in April 2025 and returned to theaters in the fall for Halloween. The movie is coming back to theaters again amid awards season, returning to select IMAX 70mm locations the weekend of Jan. 30, according to an IMAX spokesperson.

The 98th Academy Awards will be held March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The awards will be televised live on ABC and streamed live on Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

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DC Studios shares first look at Jason Momoa as Lobo in ‘Supergirl’

DC Studios shares first look at Jason Momoa as Lobo in ‘Supergirl’
DC Studios shares first look at Jason Momoa as Lobo in ‘Supergirl’
Milly Alcock stars in ‘Supergirl.’ (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Our first look at Jason Momoa in character as the antihero Lobo has arrived.

DC Studios co-head James Gunn posted a new video teaser showing off Momoa’s take on Lobo, whom he portrays in the upcoming film Supergirl, to Instagram on Friday.

The video finds Momoa on set of the new movie, which stars Milly Alcock as the titular Supergirl/Kara Zor-El. Momoa exits his trailer with a cigar in his mouth, where he is then asked if he has any comments about playing Lobo.

“Finally,” Momoa says.

The video then shows off several scenes of Momoa as Lobo in the film to the tune of Blondie‘s “Call Me,” which also played in the film’s official teaser trailer.

Craig Gillespie directs the superhero movie about Clark Kent’s cousin from a script written by Ana Nogueira.

The movie follows what happens “when an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home,” according to its official synopsis. “Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.”

In addition to Momoa and Alcock, the film stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham.

Supergirl flies into theaters on June 26.

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Kermit, Miss Piggy and Sabrina Carpenter star in ‘The Muppet Show’ official trailer

Kermit, Miss Piggy and Sabrina Carpenter star in ‘The Muppet Show’ official trailer
Kermit, Miss Piggy and Sabrina Carpenter star in ‘The Muppet Show’ official trailer
‘The Muppet Show’ stars Sabrina Carpenter and the original Muppet cast. (Disney/Mitch Haaseth)

Muppet fans, rejoice.

Disney+ has released the official trailer for The Muppet Show special event that’s coming to the streaming service and ABC on Feb. 4.

Along with the new trailer, the highly anticipated special has added Maya Rudolph as a guest star. Rudolph joins the cast that also includes special guest star Sabrina Carpenter, and the show’s executive producer and guest star Seth Rogen.

Fans can expect the special to feature beloved Muppets like Miss Piggy and Kermit back for this brand-new event. “Music, comedy, and a whole lot of chaos are bound to ensue when The Muppets once again take the stage of the original Muppet Theatre with their very special guest, Sabrina Carpenter!” according to the event’s official synopsis.

The trailer finds Kermit walking through the backstage areas of The Muppet Theatre before settling down at his desk with a cup of tea. All the while, his friend Rowlf plays the piano beside him.

“Rowlf, have you been playing this whole time?” Kermit asks.

“Well, what did you think it was? Some kind of sentimental montage in your head? We’re doing the show again, frog!”

We then see Miss Piggy interacting with Carpenter. The pop star tells Miss Piggy she is her idol.

“I grew up watching you, my parents grew up watching you, their parents grew up watching you,” Carpenter says, before Miss Piggy makes an annoyed scream.

The original The Muppet Show series was created by Jim Henson and ran from 1976 to 1981. 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the original Muppet Show, which has all five seasons available to stream on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News, Disney+ and The Muppets Studio.

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In brief: ‘Invincible’ season 4 official trailer and more

In brief: ‘Invincible’ season 4 official trailer and more
In brief: ‘Invincible’ season 4 official trailer and more

The official trailer for Invincible season 4 has arrived. Prime Video has shared the trailer for the fourth season of the animated adult superhero series, which premieres on March 18. The show, which is based on the award-winning comic book, features the voices of Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh and J.K. Simmons

In need of a new hockey show to watch after Heated Rivalry? Hulu has announced that season 5 of Shoresy will premiere on Feb. 21. All six episodes of the new season will debut at once. Additionally, Hulu has renewed Shoresy for season 6, which is set to premiere in 2027 …

Marty Supreme is coming to the biggest screen imaginable. The film, which recently picked up nine Oscar nominations, including best picture, is getting an IMAX release. Fans of the film will be able to watch it on IMAX screens starting Jan. 30 …

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Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson on humans playing AI in ‘Mercy’

Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson on humans playing AI in ‘Mercy’
Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson on humans playing AI in ‘Mercy’
Chris Pratt stars as Chris Raven in ‘Mercy.’ (Justin Lubin)

Chris Pratt is a police officer on trial before an AI judge in the new film Mercy.

The film, which was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, arrives in theaters on Friday.

Rebecca Ferguson co-stars as Judge Maddox, an AI being in a future dystopia tasked with determining whether Officer Raven (Pratt) killed his wife or if he is innocent. Judge Maddox has a little over an hour to make the decision, and if Raven is found guilty, he dies instantly.

Ferguson told ABC Audio about how she approached playing an AI character.

“I think it was quite good to keep her as automated as possible — as simple as possible — and then work within where the cracks lay in the foundation,” Ferguson said. “AI is supposed to copy human beings. And that was an interesting aspect of it for me.”

Ferguson said that her character has sentenced many people before Raven, but saw something different in him.

“Rather than going into victimization of himself, he was starting to see the flaws within her. So he was starting to question her behaviorism. He was seeing something that she wasn’t prepared for,” Ferguson said.

Pratt said he believes there is a part of Raven that thinks he may have actually committed the crime. This, he says, helps Judge Maddox develop intuition.

AI beings “are not intuitive, they’re just mimicking human behavior,” Pratt said.

“She’s starting to understand that she’s becoming a little bit more sentient, and a little bit more aware and a bit more human, but also is protecting herself from being reset,” Pratt continued. “She’s actually fighting, in a way, for her own life, so that her agency in this thing that she’s developed and who she’s become can be preserved.” 

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Fire and ice: ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to be torchbearers for Winter Olympics

Fire and ice: ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to be torchbearers for Winter Olympics
Fire and ice: ‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to be torchbearers for Winter Olympics
Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams attend the premiere of ‘Heated Rivalry’ at TIFF Lightbox on Nov. 24, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Harold Feng/Getty Images)

Heated Rivalry is heading to the Olympics.

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play hockey rivals to lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander on the hit series, will be among the torchbearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

The Olympic torch relay begins in Greece, where the first Olympics took place, and makes its way to the host city. The torch is currently in Trieste, Italy, and will visit 13 more cities in the country before the opening ceremony in Milan on Feb. 6.

No word yet on where or when Storrie and Williams will be picking up the torch.

In the show’s second episode, titled “Olympians,” their characters compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Season 1 of the steamy romance is available on HBO Max in the U.S., and the show has already scored a season 2 renewal.

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‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord’ gets teaser trailer, release date

‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord’ gets teaser trailer, release date
‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord’ gets teaser trailer, release date
Maul (Sam Witwer) in ‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord.’ (Disney+)

Darth Maul takes center stage in the upcoming animated series Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord.

Disney has announced that the new show will premiere on Disney+ on April 6. The teaser trailer and poster for the series also debuted on Thursday.

The show is set after the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and follows Maul as he plots to rebuild “his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire,” according to an official synopsis. “There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who could be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge.”

Two episodes will premiere every week, with the final two episodes debuting on, what else, May the 4th — Star Wars Day.

“We have all been made to suffer,” Maul says in the teaser trailer. “We survive but do not live.”

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord was created by Dave Filoni, who recently took on the role of president and chief creative officer of Lucasfilm after Kathleen Kennedy stepped down in January 2026. It is based on characters created by George Lucas.

Sam Witwer leads the voice cast as Maul. Newly minted Oscar nominee Wagner Moura also stars as Brander Lawson. The rest of the voice cast includes Gideon Adlon as Devon Izara, Richard Ayoade as Two-Boots, Dennis Haysbert as Master Eeko-Dio-Daki, Chris Diamantopoulos as Looti Vario, Charlie Bushnell as Rylee Lawson, Vanessa Marshall as Rook Kast, David C. Collins as Spybot, A.J. LoCascio as Marrok and Steve Blum as Icarus.

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Nicholas Galitzine is He-Man in ‘Masters of the Universe’ teaser trailer

Nicholas Galitzine is He-Man in ‘Masters of the Universe’ teaser trailer
Nicholas Galitzine is He-Man in ‘Masters of the Universe’ teaser trailer
Roboto (Kristen Wiig), Man At Arms (Idris Elba), Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), Teela (Camila Mendes) and Cringer in ‘Masters of the Universe.’ (Amazon MGM Studios)

The teaser trailer for Masters of the Universe has arrived.

Amazon MGM Studios released the first trailer for the upcoming live-action film based on Mattel’s franchise of the same name on Thursday.

Travis Knight directs the movie, which stars Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man and Camila Mendes as Teela. It arrives in theaters on June 5.

The trailer finds Galitzine’s He-Man away from his home world and living on Earth, known by the name Adam Glenn.

“All that stuff that only exists in legends and bedtime stories — talking tigers, spaceships and magic swords that can make a man as mighty as a god — where I come from, that stuff is real,” He-Man says in a voice-over.

Galitzine posted the trailer to his Instagram, captioning it, “Discover your true POWER! Masters of the Universe is out in theaters only, June 5th.”

The actor previously shared the first look at his He-Man transformation in June 2025, when he confirmed that production on the film had ended.

“Well, that’s a wrap on Masters of the Universe. It has been an honour shouldering the responsibility of playing Adam and He Man,” Galitzine wrote at the time. “It’s been the role of a lifetime and I put everything into it. There’s not much I can show you, but I am so proud of the movie we’ve made. Thanks to our amazing cast and crew for all your hard work.”

The Masters of the Universe cast is rounded out by Morena Baccarin, James Purefoy, Alison Brie, Charlotte Riley, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, Sam C. Wilson, Hafthor Bjornsson, Kojo Attah, Sasheer Zamata, Jon Xue Zhang and Christian Vunipola.

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Teyana Taylor says Oscar nomination is ‘beyond anything I ever allowed myself to fully believe was possible’

Teyana Taylor says Oscar nomination is ‘beyond anything I ever allowed myself to fully believe was possible’
Teyana Taylor says Oscar nomination is ‘beyond anything I ever allowed myself to fully believe was possible’
Teyana Taylor at the Disney Advertising Upfront (Disney/Jose Alvarado)

Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor has another chance to win a major award for her role in One Battle After Another. She’s been nominated for an Oscar in the category of best supporting actress.

“I fell asleep last night watching Pretty Woman, thinking about happy endings and how impossible they sometimes feel … and I woke up realizing I’ve been living in one that God has been preparing me for my own fairytale ending,” Teyana said in a statement, reacting to her first-ever Oscar nod.

“To be an Academy Award nominee is beyond anything I ever allowed myself to fully believe was possible. I am so deeply emotional, so humbled, and so grateful for every person who has walked this road with me & honored to be nominated alongside these amazing women in my category,” she continued. 

Teyana is up against Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, who are nominated for their work in Sentimental Value; Amy Madigan for her role in Weapons; and Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners.

Teyana said the nod is a “gentle reminder that dreams really do survive,” as her “career has been filled with battles, doubts, and moments of deep uncertainty.”

“It has felt like one long fight for space, for respect, and for opportunity. … Today feels like a soft, beautiful ‘yes’ from the universe,” Teyana said. “And as I always say … the wait was not punishment, it was preparation for what was already written.”

She also thanked director “Paul ‘Let Him Cook’ Thomas Anderson.”

“I am emotional. I am humbled,” Teyana said. “My heart is full. My life is forever changed, and I give all glory to God.”

One Battle After Another is up for best picture and best casting, among other categories.

The 2026 Oscars air March 15 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

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