Box Office Comeback: Why Movie Theaters Are Finally Feeling Optimistic

Jennifer Lopez has been living it up during her honeymoon since her surprising and instantly-viral Las Vegas nuptials to Ben Affleck, and their time together has just gotten sweeter!MORE: Why Ben Affleck's milestone birthday will be filled with emotionThe long-time couple promptly flew to Paris after their midnight wedding and fans have been non-stop gushing over their loved-up photos strolling the streets of Paris and spending time on a luxurious boat.Now their time in Paris has become even more special, as not only has Ben's daughter with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, Violet, joined in on the fun, but she has arrived just in time to celebrate J.Lo's 53rd birthday.WATCH: Bennifer finally wed in Las VegasMORE: Gwyneth Paltrow "so happy" for ex Ben Affleck and Jennifer LopezThe 16-year-old was spotted in the city of light leaving the fabulous Hôtel de Crillon in Place de la Concorde, tagging along as the three headed out to lunch.For the celebratory meal, the teen wore an adorable white mini dress with little black hearts as polka dots, paired with a classic navy blazer, sports sneakers and a black crossbody.Meanwhile, her dad looked hip with a navy button down worn over a white tee shirt, paired with gray blue pants and white Golden Goose sneakers. His new wife looked fabulous as always, donning a floral midi-length linen dress by Reformation featuring a corset-like bodice, which she accessorized with camel high-heeled sandals.

Mary Poppins would be proud. Jenna Johnson is prepared for anything that might come her way on her quest for the prized Dancing With the Stars mirrorball trophy, thanks to her trusty dance bag, which was a gift from a former partner.

Ellie Goulding has gone FULL pop – so, thankfully, CHVRCHES is giving us old school Ellie Goulding with How Not To Drown.

Yesterday, we saw Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige dish out a good amount of information about the studio’s upcoming plans for Phase 5-6. When it comes to Phase 6, it was confirmed we’ll be getting two more “Avengers” installments with “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” as part of the greater Multiverse Saga with Jonathan Major’s Kang The Conqueror assumed to be at the center of both films similar to Thanos.

Warner Bros and DC Entertainment brought thunder – and lightning – to San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday with an electrifying look at upcoming DC projects “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Black Adam.” Moderator Tiffany Smith opened proceedings with Shazam himself, Zachary Levi, to introduce a new trailer for the hotly anticipated sequel to 2019’s “Shazam! Continue reading Warner Bros Panel Recap: DC’s Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson Bring Down The House [Comic-Con] at The Playlist.

Jadon Sancho has had a wonderful summer so far, scoring three times in Manchester United’s four pre-season friendlies and being arguably the team’s standout player.

Your latest Manchester United news and evening headlines on Sunday, July 24.

Nearly two months after Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s heated defamation suit concluded in his favor, Kate Moss has reflected on her decision to speak up.

and HBO Max will all air Shark Week-inspired content or cross-promote the event, so I hope you all like these fascinating predators because they're about to be everywhere. On the scripted side, there's the new mystery drama The Resort airing later this week on Peacock starring Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper. The White Lotus season two doesn't premiere for a bit, but if you're creating drama and suspense in a tropical/resort-like setting, then The Resort will help fill that void.

Making a difference. The Good Place alum Jameela Jamil makes sure to use her platform to address important issues — and show off her sweet pup – and she exclusively invited Us Weekly to see her typical routine.

Team North! During Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s eldest daughter’s recent basketball game, North had a packed crowd of cheerleaders to watch the match.

Summer is in full swing in Hollywood! If you’re looking for a new zen-inducing drink or want to add a vegetarian eatery to your list of go-to spots after the beach, Us Weekly has you covered.

Father of the year! Oliver Hudson loves to goof around with his three kids — even if it sometimes causes conflict with his extended family.

Jim Goodwin has shot down Lee Johnson’s criticism of the Premier Sports Cup format and accused the Hibs boss of disrespect.

THE dumped Casa Amor stars from Love Island had a boozy reunion in Manchester this weekend. It was the Casa Amor girls that really put on a show, bringing their style A-game to the party.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Minions: The Rise of Gru” ruled the box office, collecting $108 million over the weekend. By the time that July 4th rolls around on Monday, the animated family film is expected to reach a sizable $127.9 million.Based on those estimates, “Minions: The Rise Of Gru” will smash the record for the highest film opening over Independence Day, overtaking Paramount’s 2011 blockbuster “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” ($115.9 million over four days).Ticket sales for the fifth installment in Universal and Illumination’s popular “Despicable Me” franchise are a comforting sign that family crowds haven’t entirely forgotten about movie theaters.

‘Top:Gun Maverick’ has had impressive success at the box office since premiering, achieving more than $1 billion dollars worlwide and making history as the first Tom Cruise film to make this happen.After breaking the record for biggest opening over Memorial Day weekend with an estimated $156 million dollars domestically during the four-day weekend, taking the place of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ in 2007, ‘Maverick’ has now crossed the $1 billion mark.Paramount reported that this is the second-highest-grossing film in their long history behind the 1997 film Titanic, in reference to domestic figures. “It’s rare to get the special kind of alchemy that creates a true event film, and we have been absolutely blown away by the global response,” Brian Robbins, Paramount Pictures‘ president and CEO, stated.Tom Cruise is currently enjoying the success of the film, as this is the first project in his long Hollywood career, reaching more than $1 billion worldwide.This is also the second movie to make $1 billion at the global box office post-pandemic, getting to the level of success as “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which was released in December 2021.The actor recently shared his excitement with fans at the Cannes Film Festival.

Tom Cruise's highly-anticipated film Top Gun: Maverick achieved another impressive milestone at the global box office this weekend as itcrossed the $1 billion mark.In addition to becoming the 59-year-old Risky Business actor's most successful film of all time, thesequel to 1986's Top Gun became the first movie of 2022 to reach that rare benchmark after just 31 days in theaters.With those ticket sales, the movie dethroned Marvel's superhero film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($943 million) as the highest-grossing movie of the year at the global box office. Nicely done! Tom Cruise's highly-anticipated film Top Gun: Maverick achieved another impressive milestone at the global box office this weekend as it crossed the $1 billion markIt's a particularly tremendous feat asthe COVID-19 pandemic effectively quashed traditional box office numbers after nearly a quarter of all American movie theaters were closed for 15 months.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Refresh for more analysis and chart In an amazing feat for an adult-skewing, 2 hour and 39 minute running movie at the box office, Warner Bros’ Baz Luhrmann directed Elvis is heading toward an estimated $31.5M opening, looking to truly top the box office.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterParamount’s blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” is still flying at sky-high altitudes, surpassing $900 million at the global box office.With $901.8 million in the bank, the sequel to Tom Cruise’s 1986 action flick “Top Gun” stands as the year’s second-highest grossing movie worldwide behind Disney’s Marvel adventure “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($943 million). At this rate, “Maverick” is poised to overtake the crown in the coming weeks.Even without playing in China or Russia, the $1 billion mark looks to be within reach.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterIt’s hard to escape the deflating sense that Disney’s “Lightyear” has remained stubbornly Earth-bound in its box office debut. At least, that’s the prevailing sentiment that’s greeted the latest Pixar film’s so-so $51 million opening weekend in North America.For industry analysts, those lackluster ticket sales were confounding because Pixar had been box office royalty and “Lightyear,” a spinoff of the cosmically successful “Toy Story” franchise, landed decent — though not euphoric — reviews.