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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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 ofDisney+’s The Mandalorian, as were the stars of other upcoming small-screen adventures likeAndor, 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.
Tom Cruise earned his first 100 million dollar domestic opening weekend with the estimated $124 million debut of Top Gun: Maverick, over the three-day weekend — almost doubling his previous best. It’s projected to hit $151 million by the end of the holiday weekend, just shy of the Memorial Day Weekend record holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which took in 153 million.
The sequel to 1986’s Top Gun — which also stars Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Jon Hamm, and Jennifer Connelly, added an estimated $109.6 million overseas, bringing its worldwide opening tally to $260.6 million.
That knocked last week’s box office champ, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, to second place with an estimated $16.4 million between Friday and Sunday and $21.1 through Monday. That brings its four-week domestic box-office total to $375.5 million. Overseas, the film grabbed another $497.9 million, for a worldwide total of $873.4 million.
Coming in third was the week’s other new major release, Bob’s Burgers, opening with an estimated $12.6 million over the three-day and $15 million after Monday.
Downton Abbey: A New Era came in fourth with an estimated $5.9 million between Friday and Sunday and $7.5 million over the four-day weekend. Its current North American take now stands at $30.1 million after two weeks. Overseas, A New Era has delivered $40.5 million, bringing its global tally to $70.6 million.
Rounding out the top five was Universal’s The Bad Guys with an estimated $4.6 million for the three-day weekend and just under $6.2 million through Monday.
There was just no telling how far Auli’i [owl-LEE-ee] Cravalho would go after her star-making role as the titular Disney heroine in 2016’s Moana, but now we all know the answer: far, indeed.
In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Cravalho reflects on the legacy of the role that started her career.
“Moana shaped me, first and foremost,” she tells ABC Audio. “I will always be grateful for her character traits of strength and resilience, and her adventurous nature. And I take them with me wherever I go.”
Cast in the role at age 14 and only 16 when the film was released, Cravalho has quite literally grown up as a Disney princess. Now 21, she understands how important it is for children to see “a young Polynesian heroine that doesn’t have a love interest.”
Cravalho was also given the opportunity to rerecord the film in Olelo Hawai’i, the official Hawaiian language. “Hawaiian is a dying language,” she said. “So, to have that representation, and to hear my cousins who are in Hawaiian immersion school – they [are able to] use that as a teaching aid for language.”
Nielsen consistently reports Moana at the top of its streaming charts. Although the film premiered three years before Disney+ was around, it was made available to stream on the service the day of its launch on November 12, 2019. When Nielsen released its Streaming Unwrapped 2021 data, Moana ranked #2 on the 2021 Top 10 Streaming Movies list.
That’s right – a film that was released in 2016 beat out movies that were released in 2021 – popular titles like Red Notice and Jungle Cruise.
“Moana lives on in so many different ways,” Cravalho said. “And I can just only sit back and be just as grateful for it.”
Closing arguments in the high-profile dual defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard began Friday.
The trial began April 11 in Fairfax, Virginia, and was presided over by Judge Penney Azcarate.
Depp, 58, sued Heard, 36, for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018. In the piece, she wrote about surviving domestic abuse without identifying her alleged abuser by name. Heard filed a $100 million countersuit against Depp in response.
In their respective testimonies during the trial, both Heard and Depp claimed the other abused them. The former couple, who met while filming 2011’s The Rum Diary and were married from 2015 to 2017, denied each other’s claims of abuse.
Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, began Depp’s closing arguments. She described Heard as “violent,” “abusive” and a “deeply troubled person.”
“What is at stake in this trial is a man’s good name,” Vasquez said. “Even more than that, what is at stake in this trial is a man’s life — the life that he lost when he was accused of a heinous crime, and the life he could live when he is finally vindicated.”
Ben Chew, another member of Depp’s legal team, ended the closing arguments for Depp’s side of the case by saying this trial has never been about money or “punishing Ms. Heard” and instead is “about Mr. Depp’s reputation and freeing him from the prison in which he has lived for the past six years.”
Ben Rottenborn, one of Heard’s lawyers, began closing arguments by asking jurors to think about the “message” he said Depp and his legal team are sending to Heard and victims of domestic violence.
“If you didn’t take pictures, it didn’t happen. If you did take pictures, they’re fake. If you didn’t tell your friends, you’re lying…,” he said in part. “And if you finally decide that enough is enough — you’ve had enough of the fear, enough of the pain and you have to leave to save yourself — you’re a gold digger. That is the message that Mr. Depp is asking you to set.”
Rottenborn added that jurors should also consider the First Amendment: “It’s about freedom of speech. Stand up for it and reject Mr. Depp’s claims against Amber.”
Elaine Bredehoft, another member of Heard’s legal team, asked the jury to hold Depp “legally responsible for his actions and to fully and fairly compensate Amber for what he has done by creating this concept of a hoax for the defamation that he has committed.”
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind / EPCOT – Walt Disney World Resort (Kent Phillips)
It’s save the galaxy time with Starlord and company! Only this time you’ll have to do it in central Florida. This weekend, Disney Parks debuts its ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind’ attraction at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT — based on the Guardians of the Galaxy films. It’s one of the longest enclosed roller coasters in the world and took almost six years to complete.
“We start you off feeling like you’re on a very conventional, roller coaster-type experience,” says Disney imagineer Tom Fitzgerald, telling ABC Audio it’s a far cry from the typical theme park ride, launching backward and catapulting riders into a 360-degree spin. “Without you even realizing it, we very subtly turn all the vehicles around and suddenly, if you’re in the first car, you’re in the back car!”
There’s also that trademark Disney storytelling attached as you board the ride. “Our hook is Peter Quill [Starlord] came to EPCOT when he was a kid, back in the ’80s,” says Zach Riddley, lead creative executive for EPCOT. “The Xandarians say, ‘Hey, we want to bring a message of our culture, technology to Earth. What’s the one place?’ And they went to Starlord and he said, ‘EPCOT.’”
And it wouldn’t be Guardians without a killer soundtrack. Six songs are showcased on Cosmic Rewind, including Blondie’s “One Way or Another” and Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September.” Choosing the playlist was no small feat, imagineer Spencer Lynn tells ABC Audio. But a fun one nonetheless. “We tested over 100 songs — we would watch the cast members operating the attraction and if they were dancing, we were like, ‘Let’s keep that one, it’s probably going to be good in the long run!’”
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opens May 27 at EPCOT. Disney is the parent company of Disney Parks and ABC News.
