Open Thread

Variety reports: Apple CEO Tim Cook today boasted of a new milestone for the world’s biggest tech company: It now has more than 1 billion paid subscriptions across all apps and services, up 150 million year over year. During the quarter, sales in Apple’s services unit grew 8.2%, to $21.21 billion. The services segment includes the App Store, Apple Pay, …

Deadline Hollywood reports: There’s no stopping Warner Bros. Barbie as sources tell us the Greta Gerwig movie has a shot at hitting the billion mark this Sunday worldwide, if not Monday. Stateside she’s eyeing a third weekend around $55M, -41%, give or take, and she’ll cross the $400M stateside mark by Thursday, her 15th day of release. That’s faster than …

Billboard Magazine reports: Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” rises to No. 1, from its No. 2 debut, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The single, released in May, reigns amid buzz after CMT pulled its video, which premiered July 14, from rotation after three days, resulting in a surge of attention. The song, released on Macon/Broken …

Variety reports: Celebrities are taking to social media to pay tribute to actor Paul Reubens, best known for creating and starring as the beloved comedy character Pee-wee Herman. He died Sunday night at the age of 70 after a private battle with cancer. His career spanned from the stage to the screen, and he starred as Pee-wee in multiple films …

Variety reports: After two weeks on the big screen, “Barbie” has generated $351.4 million in North America to stand as the fourth-biggest domestic release of the year. Globally, the Warner Bros. film has grossed more than $750 million and ranks as the third-largest film of the year. Meanwhile, “Oppenheimer” has earned $174 million at the domestic box office and $400 …

Billboard Magazine reports: Kylie Minogue is headed to Las Vegas. The “Padam Padam” singer announced on Thursday (July 27) that she has scheduled her first-ever residency at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas’ Voltaire this fall. The gigs for the first headliner run at the 1,000-seat cabaret-style space at the Venetian are slated to kick off on Nov. 3, with tickets …

Variety reports: Randy Meisner, the retired American singer and co-founding member of the Eagles, died on July 26 in Los Angeles due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a statement shared by the band on their website. He was 77. Meisner, along with Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon, formed the Eagles in 1971. He …

Variety reports: “Drag Race” fans rejoice. Full 90-minute episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 15 are headed to Paramount+. From Aug. 9, fans will be able to tune in and relive Sasha Colby entering the “Drag Race” werk room and slaying her way through the season to her crowning glory during the season finale when she became “America’s Next Drag …

Deadline reports: Jason Aldean stood by the footage used in his controversial video for “Try That in a Small Town.” However, the video has since been edited to remove clips from Black Lives Matter protests in Atlanta. The country singer in the middle of backlash over the lyrics of his song and imagery in his video is accused of being …

Billboard Magazine reports: Following a satire site posting a story that Luke Bryan, in solidarity with his friend Jason Aldean, has asked CMT to pull his music videos from the channel, posters on social media have run wild with the untrue story. On Friday (July 21), satirical website Uplifting Today posted a story with the headline, “Luke Bryan pulls his …

Variety reports: “Barbie” ended up with $162 million in its first weekend of release, above Sunday’s already record-breaking estimate of $155 million. The Warner Bros. film, starring Margot Robbie as the plastic, fantastic doll, declined just 9% from Saturday to bring in $43.7 million on Sunday. “Barbie” added $182 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to …

Billboard Magazine reports: Sales and streams of Jason Aldean‘s single “Try That in a Small Town” have surged, following controversy that erupted this week surrounding the song and its corresponding music video. After selling around 1,000 copies of the song each day from July 14 through July 17, according to preliminary reports from Luminate, sales rose after Billboard’s July 18 …

Variety reports: After scoring $22.2 million on Thursday, the highest preview ticket sales of the year, the big screen bonanza about Mattel’s marquee doll kept the superlatives going on Friday, adding another $48.2 million from 4,243 theaters. That’s a $70.5 million total — the biggest opening day of the year, blasting past the $51.8 million earned by “Spider-Man: Across the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Barbenheimer has begun. With Warner Bros’ Barbie and Universal’s Oppenheimer rolling out globally this weekend, we’ve got the first numbers for both from their various international box office markets through the first two days of release. Barbie is eyeing $68M-70M today, including last night’s previews, for what’s shaping up to be the best opening of the year …

Variety reports: AMC Theatres is scrapping its plan to charge moviegoers more money for a better view of the screen. The company announced it is no longer moving forward with “Sightline at AMC,” a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within the auditorium. The proposed system, which was announced in February, involved customers paying a few extra dollars for …

The Verge reports: Netflix says its password-sharing crackdown is working. In its second quarter earnings report posted on Wednesday, the streamer says it saw the addition of 5.9 million subscribers globally, with the US and Canada making up 1.17 million new members from April to June. Now, Netflix will start to address password sharing in all its remaining countries. The …

Variety reports: “Barbenheimer” is officially here, and the battle between the bomb and the bombshell is about to ignite the box office. Greta Gerwig’s cotton candy-colored “Barbie,” starring Margot Robbie as the plastic, fantastic doll, is expected to generate a huge $95 million to $110 million from 4,200 North American theaters over the weekend. “Barbie” will claim the top spot …

Variety reports: Taylor Swift commands the Hot 100 with all 22 songs from her latest “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” occupying spots on the singles chart. Impressively, this means three singles from three different Swift albums are in the top 10 this week: “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” a new release from “Speak Now,” leads the pack …

Variety reports: Jane Birkin, the beloved British-French actor and singer who spent most of her life in France and is known for a tumultuous relationship with French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, died on Sunday at her home in Paris, according to Le Parisien newspaper. She was 76. No cause of death has yet been confirmed. Birkin was best known internationally for …

Variety reports: James Cameron has visited the wreckage of the Titanic more than 30 times and directed an Oscar-winning romance about the doomed vessel — but he’s not planning on exploring the latest disaster connected to the ship that couldn’t sink. The director has denied rumors that he is in talks to helm a feature about the OceanGate submarine that …