Weekend number two was just as joyous for "Inside Out 2."
The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a new record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters. The previous best second weekend for an animated title was the $92 million for "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." Only six movies ever have had better second weekends.
Full StoryA new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza.
Jerry Seinfeld, Elon Musk, Michael Douglas, former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are a few who have visited, at times posing for photos in front of burned-out homes. Many Israelis, including soldiers and security officials, are also visiting on organized trips.
Full StoryTaylor Swift fans enjoy parsing the singer-songwriter's lyrics for references to her romantic life and insights into her state of her mind.
But the pop superstar's fans in the U.K. didn't have to listen closely to her latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," to get the sense that Swift had soured on the country's capital city after long making it a regular hangout and then her second home. The record's fifth track is titled "So Long, London."
Full StoryRetired Italy star Roberto Baggio was robbed at gunpoint at his home while watching the national team's game against Spain at the European Championship.
At least five armed robbers burst into Baggio's villa near the northern city of Vicenza at around 10 p.m. on Thursday, according to Italian media reports. One struck Baggio on the head with the butt of a gun when the former soccer player confronted them.
Full StoryNot content with merely taking a victory lap after winning his battle against fellow rap superstar Drake, Kendrick Lamar turned his Juneteenth "Pop Out" concert at the Forum into a cathartic livestreamed celebration of Los Angeles unity.
Lamar curated a three-hour concert featuring a mix of up-and-coming LA rappers and stars including Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG. When it was his turn to take the stage, the 37-year-old rapper powered through a set with Black Hippy collaborators Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, performed his Drake diss songs "Euphoria" and "6:16 in LA," then was joined on-stage by Dr. Dre.
Full StorySince the beginning of time or, at least, pop music, only a few have earned the designation of "song of the summer."
These are the earworms that lodge deep into the brain, pushing past genre preferences and reminding listeners: A hit is a hit. With so much variety, though, it's getting harder to crown a single song of the summer. So The Associated Press is offering 2024 predictions across categories — with past winners for reference.
Full StoryA comet must have landed at the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The members of R.E.M. had joked only hours before it would take "a comet" to get the band to perform together one last time. Yet there they were, reunited during the gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City Thursday night.
The annual event celebrated a talented group of songwriters that included R.E.M., Steely Dan and Timbaland, who conducted a medley of his massive hits.
Full StoryPope Francis on Friday clowned around with over 100 top global comedians including Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock and Jimmy Fallon before leaving to address a summit of G7 leaders in Italy.
"Instead of reading my speech, I'll just do this", the grinning 87-year-old said, as he stuck his thumb in his ear and wiggled his fingers at a room full of humorists.
Full StoryDeath has taken many forms in cinema. It's been Bengt Ekerot. Ian McKellen. John Cleese. Even Brad Pitt with blonde highlights. But in " Tuesday," filmmaker Daina O. Pusić's bold, fantastical and affecting debut, death looks like a lot like a macaw that's seen better days.
Covered in a thick layer of grime and oil with patches of feathers missing, "Tuesday's" Death can be as big as a room or as small as an ear canal. Its booming, gravelly voice (that of actor Arinzé Kene) sounds ancient and otherworldly. And it all adds up to something profoundly unsettling. Not exactly a comforting welcome into the afterlife, or whatever comes next.
Full StoryFrançoise Hardy, a French singing legend and pop icon since the 1960s, has died. She was 80.
Her son, musician Thomas Dutronc, announced her death on social media, sharing a poignant photo of himself as a child with his mother. Hardy had lymphatic cancer since 2004 and died Tuesday.
Full Story