Entertainment

With hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness raking in the dough in theaters, it’s safe to say movie fans are back after the dark days of the pandemic.

With that in mind, Fandango polled 2,500 U.S. moviegoers about the second-biggest attraction at their local theaters: the concession stand.

Eighty-three percent of those polled say movie theater popcorn just tastes better than eating it at home, according to the company’s Concession Confessions Survey. In fact, 76% say they usually only eat popcorn at the movies.

And apparently, they can’t get enough: 66% of respondents say they order large or extra large sizes of popcorn every time — and 47% wish there was a “bottomless bucket” option at their local theater.

However, sometimes popcorn just isn’t enough: Nearly half of those polled mix in concession candy with their popcorn, with moviegoers confessing to dumping everything from M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces and Raisinets to Goobers and Milk Duds into their buckets or bags.

And while everybody gripes about the prices at their concession stand, they’re not doing without: 47% say they’ll wait in line even if they’re late for their movie.

However, there could be drama ahead — even before you take your seat. A recent report in the Wall Street Journal noted that supply chain issues and other economic factors are making popcorn harder to come by. Suppliers have noted they’re paying more just to ensure farmers keep planting corn to pop.

Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor has responded to trolls’ racist messages that were reportedly sent to his co-star Moses Ingram, who plays Jedi hunter Reva.

As reported, Ingram, who’s Black, posted some of the messages she’d received online, leading the franchise — and fans — to support her.

McGregor began his online message with a spot of good news, saying, “This weekend, Star Wars fans made Obi-Wan Kenobi the most-watched Disney+ premiere of all time. And for that, I would say a big thank you, and it just goes to show what this family can do when we all pull together.”

“However, it seems that some of the fan base…have decided to attack Moses Ingram online, and send her the most horrendous, racist DMs,” McGregor continued. “I heard some of them this morning and it just broke my heart.”

The actor added, “Moses is a brilliant actor, she’s a brilliant woman, and she’s absolutely amazing in this series. She brings so much to the series, she brings so much to the franchise, and it just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this had been happening.”

McGregor concluded, “I just wanted to say as the leading actor to the series and executive producer that we stand with Moses, we love Moses. If you’re sending her bullying messages, you are no Star Wars fan in my mind.”

For her part, Ingram had said, “I think the thing that bothers me … is…that feeling inside of myself … that I just have to…just grin and bear it.” She added defiantly, “But I’m not built like that.”

Moses also thanked fans who have shouted her out for her portrayal of Reva, declaring that it “means the world to me.”

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Lionsgate has tapped West Side Story actor Rachel Zegler to star in The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The prequel movie will reportedly focus on Coriolanus Snow at age 18, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem. As previously announced, Billy the Kid and The Gilded Age actor Tom Blyth will play the young Snow. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is due in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023…

Charles Siebert, the actor best known for playing the snooty Dr. Stanley Riverside II on all seven seasons of CBS’ MASH spinoff Trapper John, M.D., died May 1 of COVID-19-related pneumonia at University of California San Francisco Medical Center, his daughter, Gillian Bozanic, tells The Hollywood Reporter. He was 84. Siebert’s other TV roles included three guest-starring stints on All in the Family, and he appeared on other shows including Kojak, Police Woman, The Rockford Files, The Incredible Hulk, Maude, FBI and Murder, She Wrote. He also appeared in such films as The Other Side of Midnight, And Justice for All and Eight Men Out…

Kaley Cuoco, who stars and executive-produces the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant, warns fans not to get their hopes up for a third season. Following Thursday’s season two finale, Cuoco tells People that while there’s been interest in a third season, “I think for me, at this moment, the plane has landed.” However, the 36-year-old Big Bang Theory alum admits she “could possibly get back in it,” but “needs a minute.” “I think the writers and the team did a really beautiful job in tying it up in a pretty bow…But if you had to open the bow, it would be okay,” she adds…

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The new series Pistol, which debuted Tuesday on Hulu, is all about explosive rise and tragic fall of the Sex Pistols.

Based on founding member and guitarist, Steve Jones’ memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the series follows “a band of spotty, noisy, working-class kids with ‘no future,’ who shook the boring, corrupt Establishment to its core, threatened to bring down the government and changed music and culture forever.”

The groundbreaking punk rock band — which also included vocalist John Lydon, a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Sid Vicious, who replaced original member Glen Matlock — was very close to director and executive producer Danny Boyle‘s heart, coming along at time when he felt all the anger and disenfranchisement the band was feeding off of.

Boyle tells ABC Audio that punk rock movement “changed so much of Britain, which desperately needed changing. And it sustained a value that surprised everyone because it looked completely self-destructive, that it was going to burn itself out in a very short period of time. But it didn’t.”

And while their musical talents may have been questionable, Boyle thinks it’s their message that lives on today.

“Everybody went on about that they couldn’t play. They could play,” he insists. “More important than whether they could play or they couldn’t play, whether they were qualified or not, was that they had something to say. And that’s all you need.”

Boyle notes that in a misogynistic world. punk music “allowed women to surface and to make a big contribution.” A prime example, he says, were fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, “Queen of Punk” Jordan and, of course, Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde, who, “went on to sell more records than all the rest of them put together.” 

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The debut of the first part of Stranger Things‘ fourth season scored record numbers for Netflix.

The streaming service revealed nearly 286.8 million hours of the show were viewed just since Friday — the biggest premiere weekend for an English language TV series ever for Netflix.

Moreover, Stranger Things season 4 was the #1 title in 83 countries.

That previous record’s holder was Bridgerton season 2; it scored 193 million hours in its debut weekend during the week of March 21-27.

Stranger Thing‘s launch over the weekend bested that performance by nearly 50%.

Bridgerton‘s second season ended up attracting more than 627 million hours viewed worldwide in its first full week on Netflix.

It’s also obvious that fans were catching up with previous adventures in the Upside Down; season 1 attracted over 38 million viewing hours last weekend; season 2 scored more than 22 million hours viewed; and just under 25 million hours of season 3 were binged.

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As with a lot of shows, Stranger Things is no stranger to fan theories. One of those theories is speculation that Noah Schnapp‘s character, Will, is gay. So, what does the actor think?

Speaking with Variety, Schnapp shared his perspective on how the writers, which include series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, approach Will’s sexuality.

“I feel like they never really address it or blatantly say how Will is,” he says. “I think that’s the beauty of it, that it’s just up to the audience’s interpretation, if it’s Will kind of just refusing to grow up and growing up slower than his friends, or if he is really gay.”

Millie Bobby Brown, who also stars in the series as Eleven, chimed in, “Can I just say, it’s 2022 and we don’t have to label things. I think what’s really nice about Will’s character is that he’s just a human being going through his own personal demons and issues.”

She added, “So many kids out there don’t know, and that’s OK. That’s OK to not know. And that’s OK not to label things.”

Schnapp agreed, stating, “I find that people do reach to put a label on him and just want to know, so badly, like, ‘Oh, and this is it,’ He’s just confused and growing up. And that’s what it is to be a kid.”

Stranger Things premiered in 2016 and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. The first part of season four hit Netflix May 27, with the rest due out on July 1.

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Kevin Spacey said Tuesday he plans to “voluntarily appear” before British courts to defend himself against four charges of sexual assault authorized against the actor last week.

In a statement given exclusively to ABC’s Good Morning America, Spacey said he is “confident” he can prove his innocence against authorized charges brought by three men involving four separate incidents that are alleged to have happened as long as 17 years ago in the U.K.

According to a statement by Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Special Crime Division, two of the alleged incidents took place in March 2005 in London against one man, and a third sexual assault allegedly took place in August 2008 against a second man. The fourth sexual assault is alleged to have taken place in April 2013 in Gloucestershire against the third man, the agency said.

Spacey can only be formally charged upon his arrest in England or Wales, The Washington Post reported.

Through a spokesperson, Spacey told GMA the following: “I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.”

Unrelated sexual misconduct allegations first surfaced against Spacey in 2017 when Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused the two-time Oscar winner of making a sexual advance against him when Rapp was 14. On Twitter, Spacey said he did not recall the incident, but apologized. A civil suit by Rapp against Spacey was filed in 2020 and is still ongoing.

Other allegations against Spacey include violating the sexual harassment policy at MRC, the studio that produced the hit Netflix drama House of Cards. The studio fired Spacey in 2017 and continued for a final season without him.

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Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks can be seen literally wishing upon a star in the new teaser to Pinocchio, a live-action re-telling of the Disney classic that’s headed to Disney+ on June 8.

As anyone familiar with the story can tell you, it’s the wish from Hanks’ Gepetto that brings to life the titular puppet, in the latest-retelling of Carlo Collodi‘s 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. Disney spun the tale into an animated classic in 1940.

Hanks’ Oscar-winning Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis re-teams with the star for the family film that stars Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as the voice of Pinocchio.

The teaser also shows Joseph Gordon-Levitt voicing Pinocchio’s pal and “conscience,” Jiminy Cricket, as well as Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy. Keegan-Michael Key plays “Honest” John, Lorraine Bracco voices Sofia the Seagull, and Luke Evans will appear as The Coachman.

The live-action Pinocchio debuts on Disney+ Thursday, September 8, which is this year’s Disney+ Day — a celebration of the streaming service that kicks off the Disney fan expo D23 in Anaheim, California that weekend.

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The Good Fight‘s upcoming sixth season will also be its last, Paramount+ announced on Friday. The season will find Christine Baranski‘s Diane Lockhart “feeling like she’s going crazy, struggling with an uneasy sense of déjà vu, with everything from Roe v. Wade, to voting rights, to Cold War aggressions returning,” according to the streaming service. “Meanwhile, the lawyers of Reddick & Associates wonder if the violence that they see all around them points to an impending civil war.” The cast also includes John Slattery, Sarah Steele, Michael Boatman, Nyambi Nyambi and Charmaine Bingwa, with Audra McDonald and Andre Braugher. Alan Cumming and Carrie Preston guest star. The Good Fight‘s sixth season premieres September 8…

Jurassic World: Dominion star Bryce Dallas Howard is directing an episode of season three of The Mandalorian, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It marks the fourth time she’s helmed a Star Wars series, having directed the season-one episode “Sanctuary” and the season-two episode “The Heiress.” She was also behind the camera for last year’s Mando-centric The Book of Boba Fett episode, “Return of the Mandalorian.” Season three of The Mandalorian began shooting last fall and is now in post production…

Deadline is reporting cast changes for several big series. Alycia Debnam-Carey is leaving AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead after seven seasons. Her exit follows news of her casting in the upcoming Hulu series Saint X, which was announced earlier this month. NBC’s drama The Blacklist is saying goodbye to two series regulars, including Amir Arison, who has played Aram Mojtabi for the past nine seasons. Also departing is Laura Sohn, who has portrayed FBI agent Alina Park for the past three seasons. Both characters’ exits were revealed at the end of Monday’s season nine finale. Finally, Alexis Bledel, who has played Emily/Ofglen on The Handmaid’s Tale since the Hulu series launched in 2017, is exiting ahead of the show’s upcoming fifth season. “After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid’s Tale at this time,” Bledel said in a statement obtained by the outlet…

Bo Hopkins, the actor who has appeared in such movie classics as American Graffiti, The Wild Bunch, Midnight Express and The Getaway, died Friday, according to his official website. He was 80. In addition to his work in film, Hopkins’ acting credits in TV include guest-starring on The Rockford Files, Charlie’s Angels and The A-Team. He was also featured on Dynasty in 1981…

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Thousands of Star Wars fans descended on the Anaheim Convention Center this past weekend for Star Wars Celebration, the annual expo of all things from that galaxy far, far away, with stars and producers offering tantalizing peeks at forthcoming projects.

Show creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were on hand to tease season three of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, as were the stars of other upcoming small-screen adventures like Andor, with Rogue One‘s Diego Luna, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, starring Jude Law.

Another Mando alumna, Rosario Dawson, also appeared to promote her spin-off, Ahsoka, a character she played in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. A teaser-trailer for Ahsoka was also shown, but only for the panel’s audience. However, the audience was treated to a trailer was dropped for the second season of the animated Clone Wars spin-off, The Bad Batch.

Harrison Ford himself also dropped by the con to tease another Lucasfilm property, the fifth Indiana Jones film. Entering to Indy’s iconic theme by John Williams — who wielded the baton in person — Ford said it was a “great pleasure” to be on hand. He also wished Williams a happy 90th birthday, which the multiple Oscar winner celebrated in February.

Ford added, “I told John…that music follows me everywhere I go. And…I’m happy about it.”

Also showcased was a first photo from Indy’s fifth adventure: The intrepid archeologist was shown on a rickety bridge, a flashlight cutting through the darkness. That movie debuts in theaters June 30, 2023.

Lucasfilm is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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