Guilty Pleasures
By Associated Press
Is ‘Glicked’ the new ‘Barbenheimer’? ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ collide in theaters
“Barbenheimer” was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to make “Glicked” — or even “Babyratu” — happen.
The counterprogramming of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, “Saw Patrol” ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation “Wicked” opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic “Gladiator II.” Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: “Wickiator,” “Wadiator,” “Gladwick” and even the eyebrow raising “Gladicked” have all been suggested.
“’Glicked’ rolls off the tongue a little bit more,” actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of “Gladiator II” this week. “I think we should all band around ‘Glicked.’ It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it.”
As with “Barbenheimer,” as reductive as it might seem, “Glicked” also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging muscles.
Both films topped Fandango’s most anticipated holiday movie survey, where 65% of respondents said that they were interested in the “Glicked” double feature. Theaters big and small are also pulling out the stops with movie-themed tie-ins. B&B Theaters will have Roman guards tearing tickets at some locations and Maximus popcorn tubs. Marcus Theaters is doing Oz photo ops and friendship bracelet-making. Alamo Drafthouse is leaning into the singalong aspect (beware, though, not all theaters are embracing this) and the punny drinks like “Defying Gravi-Tea.”
“Rather than it being in competition, I think they’re in conversation,” “Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal said. “This industry needs a shot in the arm. Those films gave it last year. We hope to do it this year.”
And the hope is that audiences will flock to theaters to be part of this moment as well. It’s a sorely needed influx of could-be blockbusters into a marketplace that’s still at an 11% deficit from last year and down 27.2% from 2019, according to data from Comscore.
“Competition is good for the marketplace. It’s good for consumers,” said Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “Having two great movies coming out at the same time is simply a multiplier effect.”
“Glicked” is currently tracking for a combined North American debut in the $165 million range, with “Wicked” forecast to earn around $100 million (up from the $80 million estimates a few weeks ago) and “Gladiator II” pegged for the $65 million range.
“Barbenheimer” shattered its projections last July. Going into that weekend, “Barbie” had been pegged for $90 million and “Oppenheimer” around $40 million. Ultimately, they brought in a combined $244 million in that first outing, and nearly $2.4 billion by the end of their runs.
It’s possible “Glicked” will exceed expectations, too. And it has the advantage of another behemoth coming close behind: “Moana 2,” which opens just five days later on the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday. “Glickedana” triple feature anyone?
“These are 10 important days,” O’Leary said. “It’s going to show the moviegoing audience that there’s a lot of compelling stuff out there for them to see.”
There are infinite caveats to the imperfect comparison to “Barbenheimer,” as well. “Wicked” is a “Part One.” Musicals carry their own baggage with moviegoers, even those based on wildly successful productions (ahem, “Cats”). “Gladiator II” got a head start and opened internationally last weekend. In fact, in the U.K. it played alongside “Paddington in Peru,” where that double was pegged “Gladdington.” “Gladiator” reviews, while positive, are a little more divided than the others. And neither directors Ridley Scott nor Jon M. Chu has the built-in box office cache that Christopher Nolan’s name alone carries at the moment.
The new films also cost more than “Barbie” ($145 million) and “Oppenheimer” ($100 million). According to reports, “Gladiator II” had a $250 million price tag; “Wicked” reportedly cost $150 million to produce (and that does not include the cost of the second film, due next year).
The narrative, though, has shifted away from “who will win the weekend.” Earlier this year, Chu told The Associated Press that he loves that this is a moment where “we can root for all movies all the time.”
Close behind are a bevy of Christmas releases with double feature potential, but those feel a little more niche. There’s the remake of “Nosferatu,” the Nicole Kidman kink pic “Babygirl” and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” The internet can’t even seem to decide on its angle for that batch of contenders, and none exactly screams blockbuster. Sometimes the joy is just in the game, however. Some are sticking with the one-name mashup (“Babyratu”); others are suggesting that the fact that two of the movies feature real-life exes (Timothée Chalamet and Lily-Rose Depp) is enough reason for a double feature. And getting people talking is half the battle.
When in doubt, or lacking a catchy name, there’s always the default: “This is my Barbenheimer.”
Jussie Smollett’s conviction in 2019 attack on himself is overturned
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. | Actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police was overturned Thursday over prosecutorial issues in an Illinois Supreme Court decision that did not address his claim of innocence.
The state’s highest court found that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for him forfeiting his $10,000 bond and conducting community service.
Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, spouted racial and homophobic slurs and tossed a noose around his neck, leading to a massive search for suspects by Chicago police detectives and kicking up an international uproar. Smollett was on the television drama “Empire,” which filmed in Chicago, and prosecutors alleged he staged the attack because he was unhappy with the studio’s response to hate mail he received.
“We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the court’s 5-0 opinion. “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the state was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.”
Smollett’s attorneys argued that the case was over when Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office dropped an initial 16 counts of disorderly conduct. The deal prompted immediate backlash, with then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling it “a whitewash of justice.” A special prosecutor was appointed, and a grand jury restored charges, leading to Smollett’s 2021 conviction on five counts of disorderly conduct.
“This was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive persecution and such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system,” Smollett’s attorney, Nenye Uche, said in a statement. Uche said “rule of law was the big winner today” and thanked the court for “restoring order to Illinois’ criminal law jurisprudence.”
The special prosecutor, Dan Webb, said he disagreed with the court’s ruling while noting that it “has nothing to do with Mr. Smollett’s innocence.”
“The Illinois Supreme Court did not find any error with the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett orchestrated a fake hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as a real hate crime, or the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was guilty of five counts of felony disorderly conduct,” Webb said.
A spokesperson said Foxx would be available to comment later Thursday. Eileen O’Neill Burke, the incoming Cook County state’s attorney who was elected this month to replace Foxx after she decided not to seek a third term, declined to comment.
Testimony at trial indicated Smollett paid $3,500 to two men whom he knew from “Empire” to carry out the attack. Prosecutors said he told them what slurs to shout, and to yell that Smollett was in “MAGA country,” an apparent reference to the Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan.
Smollett testified that “there was no hoax” and that he was the victim of a hate crime in his downtown Chicago neighborhood.
He was sentenced to 150 days in jail — six of which he served before he was freed pending appeal — and was ordered to pay about $130,000 in restitution.
Webb noted that Chicago officials can still pursue their civil case against Smollett that seeks to recoup the $130,000, the amount police say they paid in overtime to pursue Smollett’s accusations.
Smollett, a child actor who appeared in 1992 movie “The Mighty Ducks,” has credited his role as a singer on the hip-hop drama “Empire” for turbocharging his career. This year, he starred in the movie “The Lost Holliday” with Vivica A. Fox.
Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justice Joy Cunningham took no part in Thursday’s decision.
Simone Biles to join Snoop Dogg as a guest mentor for an episode on NBC’s ‘The Voice’
LOS ANGELES | Snoop Dogg and Simone Biles turned their Olympic bond from this summer’s Paris Games into a new challenge: The superstar tandem will team up on NBC’s “The Voice.”
Biles will join Snoop for an episode on the reality competition television series, airing Monday. As a coach on the show, the rap star enlisted Biles as a mentor in the playoff round to help advise five vocalists who are vying for a spot in the live shows.
For Snoop and Biles, their pairing was a superb match for the sports and music icons — who carried their effortless chemistry from the Olympics to the TV set of “The Voice.”
“We were able to riff off each other and give the artists the best insight going into the next round,” Biles told The Associated Press in a recent interview with Snoop after both finished filming the episode in Los Angeles.
“It was pretty easy, simple,” added Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all-time who won four medals — three of them gold — at the recent Olympics. “We’re both very mellow. But if we need to bring that energy up, then we can. For us, it was about instilling confidence going into the next week.”
Biles might be famous for her athletic prowess, but she was able to relate to the music contestants — from one competitor to another.
“These are the learning steps: Learn, process, go back in and work,” she said. “They all have the vocal talent. It’s about harnessing that, knowing when to bring it out and which songs to sing and which genre you fit in. And what you want your legacy to be. This is truly a special show as well as the judging. They don’t get to see the physical appearance first. It’s all off of ears, listening and putting their craft together as well.”
Despite having different career paths, Snoop and Biles share a mutual respect for each other’s ability to shine on the biggest stages.
“We have such diverse careers. But the things that we dealt with, they’re dealing with now,” said Snoop, the ultra-smooth entertainer who took on a starring role as a special correspondent in NBC’s record-breaking coverage. He’s a coach on “The Voice” along with Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani, with each attempting to discover and coach the next singing phenomenon.
Snoop said they felt the need to instill wisdom and confidence in each participant.
“We have the best experience and knowledge to give to these performers,” he said. “She’s a performer. I’m a performer. We’ve performed under extreme conditions. We always do our best. But sometimes things happen behind closed doors that you don’t know about. So, we’re able to speak to those things and give them real reassurance.”
During the Olympics, Biles and Snoop had a few viral moments. Both caught up with each other to cheer on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone during her 400-meter hurdles race; he gifted Biles’ father, Ronald Biles, with a Death Row Records gold necklace for his 75th birthday; and he was spotted dancing in the crowd during the women’s gymnastics qualifying round as Biles and her teammate Jordan Chiles joined in.
While on set, Biles was often all smiles while watching Snoop in his charismatic element.
“I knew Snoop would stay true and authentic to himself here on ‘The Voice.’” she said. “It’s nice that you don’t have to fit a mold. There’s a space for everyone.”
Snoop said it made sense for both to work together on the episode.
“This is family. It feels good,” Snoop said. “(Biles) can do anything she wants to do. She picks and chooses what she wants to do. We’re at that point of our careers right now. It has to feel good. It can’t be forced or I’m not doing it. Period, point, blank.”
Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Camila Cabello to headline college football concert series in Atlanta
LOS ANGELES | Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Camila Cabello are gearing up to make their presence felt in a festive concert series leading up to college football’s national championship game.
The College Football Playoff announced Thursday that the hitmakers will headline the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! starting Jan. 18 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The two-night series will be held before the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 20, the same day as the presidential inauguration and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
“The incredible lineup at this year’s AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! will create unforgettable experiences in Atlanta, where sports and music thrive together,” said Mark Wright, vice president of media services and sponsorships at AT&T. “It’s the perfect way to kick off the championship weekend and keep the exhilaration alive for fans, no matter which team they’re rooting for.”
Hip-hop stars Lil Wayne and GloRilla will hit the stage Jan. 18. Singers Camila Cabello, Myles Smith and Knox are expected to perform Jan. 19.
Along with the concert series, country music artists Kane Brown and Ashley Cooke will perform at the Allstate Championship Tailgate, which will kick off game day festivities. The tailgate performance will take place outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Georgia International Plaza and The Home Depot Backyard.
Championship game ticket holders will have access to the tailgate concert.
Tickets for the Playoff Playlist Live! series will go on sale Nov. 25 at 10 a.m. ET.
Previous concert series performers include Lenny Kravitz, Jack Harlow, Latto, Saweetie, Pitbull, Doja Cat, Usher, Meghan Trainor and Sting.
—From AP reports
