AP National Entertainment News

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer “Five Nights at Freddy’s” has powered up the box office once again. The sequel opened in 3,412 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend and far surpassed expectations with $63 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Seemingly immune to widely negative reviews, “Five Nights at

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Rafael Ithier, a beloved musician and a founder of the legendary salsa band El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, whose hits have inspired Bad Bunny and other icons from the U.S. territory and beyond, has died. He was 99. An attorney for the Ithier

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Sylvester Stallone, Kiss and Gloria Gaynor are among the luminaries being celebrated Sunday at the annual Kennedy Center Honors, with Donald Trump hosting the show, the first time a president will command the stage instead of sitting in an Opera House box. Since returning

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled. This year’s recipients are actor

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Prominent American playwright and actor, Jeremy O. Harris, known for his Tony-nominated “Slave Play,” was arrested in Japan on suspicion of smuggling the psychedelic drug ecstasy, officials said Saturday. Officers at Naha Airport on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa arrested Harris on Nov. 16 for an alleged

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to three more months in prison Friday for violating the terms of his supervised release in a New York gang case by assaulting a man and possessing drugs. The 29-year-old artist from Brooklyn, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, admitted to the violations during a hearing

By JOHN ROGERS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Frank Gehry, who designed some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed and achieved a level of worldwide acclaim seldom afforded any architect, has died. He was 96. Gehry died Friday in his home in Santa Monica after a brief respiratory illness, said Meaghan Lloyd, chief

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix’s $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. studio and its film and television operations drew quick reactions Friday. Film and television industry entities including guilds and the lobbying group for movie theater owners criticized the deal, warning it would harm consumers and cinema owners. In announcing the deal, Warner Bros.

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s anti-money laundering office has frozen the bank accounts of the Mexican co-owner of Miss Universe as part of an investigation into drugs, fuel and arms trafficking, an official said Friday. The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit, which oversees the fight against money laundering, froze Mexican businessman

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer Darlene Love will never stop thinking of her holiday classic, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” At this time of year, she couldn’t if she tried. “The post office, grocery store, elevator,” she says with a laugh, listing a few locations where she keeps hearing the song. “It just feels

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MATT OTT AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix struck a deal Friday to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max, in a $72 billion deal that would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s White House is taking on the role of media critic and asking for help from “everyday Americans.” The White House launched a web portal it says will spotlight bias on the part of news outlets, targeting the Boston Globe, CBS News, The

By BERNARD McGHEE Associated Press The death of Pope Francis brought change to the Catholic Church, which counts 1.4 billion adherents and is now led — for the first time — by an American pope. The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he spoke before a crowd horrified many and prompted somber conversations

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Police said Friday they have recovered a James Bond-inspired Fabergé pendant after six days of closely watching the man accused of swallowing the jewelry in an Auckland store. They said the pendant was recovered Thursday night after it exited the suspect’s gastrointestinal tract

By GONZALO SOLANO Associated Press JATUN RUMI, Ecuador (AP) — High in the mountains of the Ecuadorian Andes, a group of young Otavalo Indigenous people is using anime to inspire pride in their ancient culture and language, especially among Otavalo children. They produced an animated short film titled “We’re Aya” that follows the adventures of

By BARAA ANWER Associated Press JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The fifth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival, one of the Middle East’s largest film festivals, opened Thursday in the coastal city of Jeddah, marking a significant moment for the kingdom’s growing film industry. Running from Dec. 4 to 13, the Red Sea

By COREY WILLIAMS and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — RoboCop has finally found a permanent home in Detroit. A statue looming 11 feet tall (3.3 meters) and weighing 3,500 pounds (1,587 kilograms) has been drawing fans since it began standing guard over the Motor City on Wednesday afternoon, after about 15 years in

ROME (AP) — Creative director Dario Vitale is leaving Italian fashion brand Versace only eight months after he was appointed, the company said in a statement Thursday. Vitale’s exit comes just two days after Prada Group finalized its $1.375 billion cash acquisition of Versace, starting a new era for the brand. “We would like to

By LINDSEY BAHR and JAKE COYLE AP Film Writers The bean counters might say otherwise, but 2025 was a good year for movies. Filmmakers working in and out of the studio system managed to make bold, personal, wildly imaginative and singular works. Some of them even broke through to the mainstream — how extraordinary that

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press A few years ago, Kurt Neesley of Redondo Beach, California, was brainstorming where to put his family’s Elf on the Shelf for his three kids to find the next morning. He decided to make it look like the doll, named Elfie, had painted on their kitchen wall. Neesley used Tootsie

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer George Clooney is not Jay Kelly. That much he is sure of. But when a famous movie star of a certain age decides to take on a role as a famous movie star of a certain age, full of regrets and realizing that he’s missed out on so much

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The first full-length book by Pope Leo XIV to come out in the U.S. will be published next year. HarperOne announced Wednesday that it had acquired world rights to “Peace Be with You! My Words to the Church and to the World,” scheduled for release

PRAGUE (AP) — Theodor Pištěk, a Czech costume and stage designer and painter who won an Academy Award for his work on the 1984 film “Amadeus,” has died. He was 93. His death was announced on Thursday by the town of Mukařov, just east of Prague, where he lived and was confirmed by his family

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Pentagon, attempting to overturn new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have led to most mainstream media outlets being banished from the building. The newspaper said the rules violate the Constitution’s freedom of

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — From the election of Zohran Mamdani to the intrigue surrounding the jewel heist at the Louvre, keeping up with this year’s news also left some Americans struggling with pronunciations. That’s put both the name of New York City’s incoming mayor and the famed Paris museum on a

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Steve Cropper, the lean, soulful guitarist and songwriter who helped anchor the celebrated Memphis backing band Booker T. and the M.G.’s at Stax Records and co-wrote the classics “Green Onions,” “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” and “In the Midnight Hour,” has died. He was

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — If there were any doubt, the first few days of Hollywood’s year-end awards has already made it abundantly clear: Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is the Oscar front-runner. On Monday, “One Battle After Another” won best film at the 35th Gotham Awards. On