Saturday, December 27, 2025
Home Blog Page 347

Box Office: “The Marvels” Drops Nearly 80% in 2nd Weekend, “Priscilla” as Dead as Elvis, “Hunger Games” Starved for Attention

0

It wasn’t a great weekend at the box office.

First of all, the new “Hunger Games” came in at $44 million. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was a movie no one really wanted in the first place. The last “Hunger Games” movie had an opening weekend of $100 million in 2015. This one had none of the original cast and not too much publicity. The cast — it’s a weird, eclectic mix of people selected at random.

“The Marvels” dropped between 78% and 80% from its opening weekend. Now it’s an official disaster for Marvel and Disney. After its long run at number 1, Marvel is truly in some trouble. No Marvel has had a second week failure like this one. Disney overlords have reason to worry as their animated film, “Wish,” may need prayers as well.

A24’s “Priscilla” from Sofia Coppola has also expired. It’s as dead as Elvis. After four weeks, “Priscilla” has banked just $17 million. It’s off more than 50% from last week. I do think the audience for an Elvis movie without his songs and just a year after the huge hit, “Elvis,” was too much for “Priscilla.” I haven’t see it (A24 doesn’t show me their movies) but the Presley audience doesn’t want to see their idol as an abuser.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” — which will reap lots of awards action — is up to $62 million which isn’t bad considering how it’s been marketed and distributed. Also, it can’t be compared to “Oppenheimer,” which fed off the “Barbie” connection. The “Oppenheimer” box office was a fluke. The film will battle “Flower Moon” for Oscars.

Who gets the last laugh? Taylor Swift? The Eras Concert Tour movie is up to $175 million. Playing through New Years it will hit $200 million easily. No muss, no fuss. Travis Kelce better put a ring on that finger fast.

Great News: FDA Finally Puts a Halt to Balance of Nature Diet Supplement Company, Orders All Sales to Stop Immediately

0

I’ve told you in the past about Balance of Nature, the dietary supplement company that was fruitier than their pills.

On Thursday the Federal Drug Administration finally put an end to this long aborning scam. The FDA announced that the company’s distributor, manufacturer, and two executives have been ordered by a federal court to stop producing and selling their products until they come into compliance with federal regulations and requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

It’s great to know this has at last been stopped. Balance of Nature spends millions on radio and TV advertising luring gullible people into believing their supplements can take the place of actual fruits and vegetables. The ads should stop now, too, which will cause a problem for the stations that depended on this money. But Balance of Nature has been the subject of many legal battles.

Here’s the whole press release.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division has entered two consent decrees of permanent injunction against Evig LLC, of St. George Utah, and the company’s CEO, Douglas Lex Howard, as well as Premium Production LLC, of St. George, Utah, and its Manager, Ryan Petersen. 

Balance of Nature products are marketed as dietary supplements, with labeling that rendered them unapproved new drugs and misbranded drugs. The FDA has not approved Balance of Nature products for any use, despite the company’s claims that its products could be used to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent diseases such as cancer, heart disease, cirrhosis, diabetes, asthma, and COVID-19. In addition, Evig LLC violated current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements, which rendered its products adulterated dietary supplements. Evig distributes Balance of Nature dietary supplement products through Amazon, Walmart, and its own online store at www.balanceofnature.com. 

Premium Production LLC and Mr. Petersen manufactured Balance of Nature products in violation of multiple CGMP requirements, such as failing to establish ingredient and finished products specifications for identity, purity, strength, and composition, which rendered them adulterated dietary supplements. 

“This FDA action ensures that dietary supplements distributed to American consumers are appropriately labeled, lawfully manufactured, and prevents products that potentially put people’s health at risk with unproven claims to cure, treat or prevent a serious illness,” said Michael C. Rogers, the FDA’s Acting Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. “We previously warned Evig LLC and Premium Production LLC, but they have demonstrated repeated violations of manufacturing requirements, and the public cannot have confidence that their products are what they purport to be. The FDA will continue to protect the U.S. public health by taking appropriate actions when companies violate the law.”

Taylor Swift Postpones Tonight’s Show in Rio After Fan Dies from Extreme Heat Last Night

0

Taylor Swift has postponed tonight’s show in Rio because of the extreme heat.

Last night a 23 year old fan in the front of the stadium died from cardiac arrest. The temperature was officially around 108 degrees and feels like 137 degrees.

Someone should have stopped last night’s show but it’s too late to undo everything that happened.

Right now it’s 92 degrees. But the extreme heat will break tomorrow, Monday at the latest.
No such thing as climate change? Guess again.

David Letterman Will Make First Appearance on “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” November 20th

0

Stephen Colbert is really amping up his November sweeps.

First he had his very good Barbra Streisand exclusive interview.

Next he’s welcoming his predecessor, David Letterman, back to the Ed Sullivan Theater this Monday, November 20th. Letterman’s own talk show ended in 2015. The Colbert began his nightly show right after Letterman signed off.

This should be some conversation between these two funny intellectuals. And The National will be the musical guest.

Nicole Kidman Announces a 3rd Season of Hit Emmy Winning HBO Series, “Big Little Lies”

0

Nicole Kidman says there will be a third season of “Big Little Lies.”

The HBO limited series has had two Emmy winning seasons.

No word yet on how the series will proceed since all the plotlines were wrapped up.

The show stars Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, and Adam Scott. Meryl Streep was a guest star in season 2, which was directed by Andrea Arnold. David E. Kelley is the writer and producer.

HBO is obviously going to keep “Big Little Lies” and “White Lotus” going well beyond their initial novelty. After all, it’s quality programming, with big Emmy helpings, and brand names.

Friday Box Office: New “Hunger Games” Gets $19.2 Mil Start, Eyeing $45 Mil Weekend

Everyone at Lions Gate is singing the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes this morning.

The new “Hunger Games” movies has made $19.2 million including Thursday previews. They’re looking at a $45 million weekend. More proof that a brand name can sell anything.

“Trolls Band Together” opened to a Thurs-Fri total of $9.3 million. The animated sequel to a sequel has also made $69.4 million abroad. It was very smart to release it overseas first. The movie relies heavily on Justin Timberlake and NSync. Their song from the movie, “Better Place,” is a stiff on the charts, however.

This is turkey week, and it looks like the biggest turkey may be the horror film, “Thanksgiving,” from Sony. It’s made just $3.825 million in its opening. Maybe it should have been stuffed with more mouth watering treats. “Thanksgiving” may be undercooked.

“The Marvels” from Disney was off by 87% from last Friday.

“SNL” Last Week with Timothee Chalamet, boygenius, Was a Hit, NBC Says, with 6 Million Total Viewers Over 3 Days

0

NBC was very slow to gather ratings for last week’s “SNL.”

Timothee Chalamet was the host, and boygenius was the musical act.

We still don’t know how many people watched on NBC at 11:30pm. But here are the NBC stats:

Second best episode this season on Peacock. 6.0 million (3-day delayed viewing) across linear, streaming and digital. Most viewed episode ever on social with 122 million views, including 72 million on Tik Tok.

Tonight, Jason Momoa and Tate McRae are on the show.

Taylor Swift “Devastated” By Fan Death from 108 Degree Sweltering Heat Just Before Packed Stadium Concert in Rio (Read Her Post)

0

A Taylor Swift fan died in the sweltering heat before a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Ana Clara Benevides, 23, fainted at the show and went into cardiac arrest at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos.

Swift swiftly posted a note to her Instagram stories saying she was “devastated” and “overwhelmed with grief.”

The heat index, a combination of temperature and humidity, shattered records in Rio de Janeiro with 108.5 degrees and a feel-like temperature of 137.3 F. The stadium can hold up to 44,661 fans.

Swift, 33, said on Instagram: “I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show. I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this.

“There’s very little information I have, other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”

Swift said her heart went out to the fan’s family and friends. “It was the last thing I thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”

Elon Musk’s Twitter X Ditched by Dozens of Key Advertisers Including Apple, Disney, NBC Universal, Lions Gate, IBM, Warner Bros., More

0

Elon Musk is on the run.

This time you’d think he wanted to run Twitter X into the ground.

Two days ago, Musk promoted antisemitic tweets on the platform, agreeing with them, as well.

Advertisers have now ditched him en masse. They include Apple, Disney, NBC Universal, Lions Gate, IBM, Warner Bros Discovery, and more.

Musk was denounced by the White House over his repeating antisemitic statements. He’s also accused of letting neo Nazi propaganda perpetuate all over the platform.

The loss of the advertisers at holiday time is particularly brutal. Being put on pause by Apple hurts even more if he’s removed from the App Store.

A White House spokesman said: “We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans.”

The effect on Tesla stock won’t be felt until Monday morning.

Musk, who doesn’t know how to undo this latest mess, tried to help himself tonight by posting:

keep refreshing for updates…

Mariah Carey Christmas Song Pushed to Number 5 By New Songs from Travis Kelce, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Fallon & Megan Trainor

0

Mariah Carey’s long run as the Queen of Christmas has been halted.

Carey’s perennial hit, All I Want for Christmas is You, has knocked to number 5 on the holiday charts.

The new number 1 is called Fairytale of Philadephia, sung by The Philly Specials with Travis Kelce and his brother Jason. NFL star Kelce is riding a crest of popularity right now as the boyfriend of Taylor Swift. “Fairytale” is at number 1 and 3 on the iTunes holiday chart. The Philly Specials also have a version of “AllI Want” at number 8.

Also on the chart before Carey: “Wrap Me Up” by Jimmy Fallon and Megan Trainor; and “Christmas Isn’t Christmas” by Bon Jovi. Next come up a bunch of staples from Brenda Lee and Nat King Cole. And hovering over all of this are Cher’s tracks from her new Christmas album including “Christmas Baby (Please Come Home”) with Darlene Love. The pair are performing on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting show November 28th and again on “The View” December 15th.

Mariah is never down for the count. She will fight back, I’m sure. But Travis Kelce may just be too much for her this year!