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  Today is the 25th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history, which took the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001. Commemorative events are taking place across the country to honor the victims, as the nation reflects on the tragedy that transformed American society, politics, and national security. President Trump will participate in a ceremony at the Pentagon, Vice President Vance will attend a memorial event at ground zero in NYC, and other administration officials will pay tribute to United Airlines Flight 93 victims in Shanksville, PA. For the first time… the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero will add a moment of silence for those who succumbed to illnesses caused by toxins in the rubble from the Twin Towers, who outnumber those who died on 9/11. Earlier this week, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani released 170,000 pages of documents suggesting that city officials knew that the air around ground zero was toxic following the attacks, whil...

  Construction of the church that’s taking longer than even your landlord’s effort to fix that leaky faucet is nearly finished. Pope Leo XIV is visiting Barcelona today to inaugurate the Sagrada Família’s 566-foot Tower ⁠of Jesus Christ, the completion of which recently made it the world’s tallest church. Today’s date marks 100 years since the death of the mastermind behind the basilica’s funky design, the legendary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. He took over the project shortly after construction began in 1882, envisioning its ornate towers with intricate sculptural compositions and natural motifs as a stone embodiment of the Bible. After decades of construction delays due to the Spanish Civil War and funding shortfalls, it now stands as Spain’s most recognizable landmark, helping power the country’s tourism boom. But there are earthly concerns Not everyone thinks crowds of Gaudí-stanning gawkers are a godsend: Some locals complain that the surrounding neighborhood has become to...

  Tomorrow marks the release date of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister , about the late Princess of Wales. The author, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, is Lady Diana’s younger brother. He memorably delivered the eulogy at her funeral in September 1997. He chose the title because he considers this his final public account of his sister’s life and untimely death. Spencer described the new book as “a brother’s simple tribute to an extraordinary sister.” A Spare moment? Swan Song is being published by Penguin Random House (PRH), which released Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare , in 2023: That tome broke the record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book ever, with 1.4 million copies sold on its first day. It went on to sell over 6 million copies. PRH’s revenue jumped 13.2% the year Spare came out compared to the prior year, helped largely by that memoir. Zoom out: There’s been plenty of royal drama leading up to the new release, and advance copies were stolen out of a truck in the Net...

  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a wig on this weekend, and barely anyone was around to see it. The latest Moana botched its debut and became one of Disney’s lowest-opening live-action remakes ever. How far it didn’t go: Moana made $95 million at the global box office, a “brutal” start considering the film cost $350+ million to make and market, per the New York Times. Domestically: Moana made $43 million, missing Disney’s goal of $60+ million. In comparison, the animated Moana and Moana 2 opened to ~$57 million in 2016 and ~$140 million in 2024, respectively. Cause of flop: CGI-heavy, shot-for-shot visuals that made Moana feel like “a glossy digital clone of the original,” per Polygon. It was also poor timing: Disney typically waits 27 years on average for live-action remakes of its animated classics, according to film consultant David A. Gross, but the new Moana waited only a decade. It also shared the weekend with Minions & Monsters and Disney’s own Toy Story 5 . Zo...

  Only the joy of seeing Penelope reunite with Odysseus on IMAX is equal to what AMC Theaters is feeling right now. The world’s biggest cinema chain posted record quarterly earnings yesterday after several recent blockbusters convinced people to return to the movies. The overpriced popcorn purveyor reported that: Q2 revenue rose 14% compared with last year to nearly $1.6 billion, while adjusted earnings grew 70%. It had an adjusted EBITDA (basically profit without considering the interest on its massive debt) of $320.6 million…but it still actually lost money in part due to interest payments and other debt-related costs. AMC’s stock popped almost 27% yesterday as investors applauded its recovery from a yearslong audience slump. Audiences return for the magic must-watch movies Attendance at AMC’s theaters rose 12% in the US and 18% abroad last quarter compared with the same time last year thanks to a parade of Hollywood hits. Blockbusters like Toy Story 5 and the breakout horror ...

  If at first you don’t succeed, take out the game, blow into the cartridge, and try again. That’s what Hollywood did after its mostly forgettable attempts at adapting video games for the big screen in the 1990s. Now, video game adaptations are big business, and the entertainment and gaming industries are fully in co-op mode. Collecting coins: In its never-ending quest for strong intellectual property, Hollywood has found that nostalgia for familiar video game characters can sell a lot of tickets, bringing in both gamers and people who wouldn’t know the difference between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man (it’s the bow). Per Box Office Mojo: The fifth-highest-grossing film of the year so far is The Super Mario Galaxy Movie , which raked in more than $1 billion worldwide. Last year, A Minecraft Movie also landed in the No. 5 spot, grossing $960 million worldwide. The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has also made more than $1 billion at the global box office since 2020. The commercial and crit...