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What are America’s favorite Christmas movies?

64% of Americans are planning on watching one this year.

Tom Jones

Whether you’re into so-bad-they’re-good Christmas movies, anti-Christmas Christmas movies, or even semi-horrifying Christmas movies, there seems to be something out there for even the least festive film fans once the holiday season rolls around. Perhaps that’s part of the reason that a full 64% of US adults say they plan on sitting down to watch one this year, per a new YouGov survey.

However, as anyone who’s managed to get halfway through a particularly bad (which is really saying something) Hallmark holiday movie can attest, not all Christmas flicks are created equal, with the same YouGov poll revealing America’s favorites.

Christmas movie ranking chart
Sherwood News

“Home Alone,” the 1990 home invasion comedy classic starring a 9-year-old Macaulay Culkin, sits atop the tree, with some 56% of respondents who’d seen the movie saying they loved it. The film hauled a mightily impressive ~$286 million when it was released some 35 years ago, meaning it’s not only the most loved American Christmas film, but also the top-grossing, per Box Office Mojo figures.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” from 1965, with its soft-jazzy soundtrack, which has become a favorite among vinyl-hoarding music aficionados the world over, sits in second place, while other decades-old movies like “White Christmas” (1954) and, maybe controversially, “Die Hard” (1988) round out much of America’s list of favorites.

Indeed, you have to get down as far as “The Holdovers” from 2023 in 10th place to find the first holiday movie made in the last 20 years, suggesting that it takes quite an effort to break into America’s Christmas movie royalty.

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Disney is no longer considering spinning off ESPN, reports Business Insider

Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is said to have decided against spinning off sports giant ESPN, according to reporting by Business Insider.

The House of Mouse may still seek other partners to take minority stakes in ESPN, per the report. The NFL gained a 10% stake in the company last year in a deal that saw ESPN acquire NFL Network.

There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”

Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.

There’s been an ongoing push for several years to spin off ESPN, both inside Disney and from analysts and activist investors. Earlier this year, ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro downplayed rumors that emerged amid D’Amaro’s takeover, saying he’s heard the rumor since “the day [he] started at ESPN eight years ago.”

Disney shares were essentially flat in after-hours trading following the report.

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Saleah Blancaflor

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” strutting toward a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Gird your loins. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” the highly anticipated sequel from Disney and 20th Century Studios starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, comes out this week.

Over the past few months, the studio ramped up its marketing, so you may have seen the fictional Runway magazine with Blunt’s Emily Charlton on the cover at a newsstand pop-up, or come across brand partnerships with L’Oréal Paris, TRESemmé, Tweezerman, or Diet Coke — the list goes on. The global press tour has also taken over social media, with the main cast — and their outfits — traveling across Mexico City, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, New York City, and London to promote the movie. Hathaway and Tucci even appeared throughout a Jeopardy! category on Monday night.

But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.

AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”

Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.

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(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

But what do critics think of the movie? While the embargo for formal reviews lifts on Wednesday, April 29, at 12 p.m. ET, the embargo for social media reactions has already lifted, and according to critics from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, AwardsWatch, and other publications, the general consensus seems mostly positive.

AwardsWatch Editor-in-Chief Erik Anderson posted on X that the sequel “has no right to be as good as it is.” He added, “Just the right kind and number of callbacks and earned nostalgia, Anne Hathaway continues to be our most vibrant star.”

Meanwhile, THR Senior Editor Alex Weprin referred to it as “a biting media parody wrapped up in high fashion,” while Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay called it “the perfect sequel that exceeded all expectations.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while “The Devil Wears Prada 2” hits theaters in only a few days, prediction markets are currently pricing in odds that the movie will score above 65% on the site. That’s all.

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(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

culture
Saleah Blancaflor

Justin Bieber’s music keeps surging on streaming after Coachella

You better belieb it. After Justin Bieber headlined the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California, Billboard reports the pop star is experiencing the biggest non-Super Bowl catalog bump this year, with his music tripling in streams just days after his first set on April 11.

Following Biebers performance on Weekend 2 at Coachella on April 18 (which included appearances from Billie Eilish and SZA), his streams climbed even higher.

On Monday (April 20), Biebers streams reached a new high for the year, amassing 32.4 million official on-demand US streams, according to Luminate, which is a 12% increase from his total the previous Monday (just over 29 million) and a 5% gain from the previous Tuesday (30.9 million), his previous high-water mark for 2026.

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(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Since the Coachella bump, hes had a total of six days with at least 30 million streams, compared with only four days in all of 2025, when he released his “Swag album.

Spotify reported that following Biebers first Coachella set, the pop star reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Top Artist chart, with his catalog surpassing 77 million streams in a single day, which marked his biggest streaming day of the year.

While prediction markets currently show that Bruno Mars is in the lead at 74% for the artist with the most monthly Spotify listeners at the end of April, Bieber could slowly catch up with a week left in the month. The Baby singer is currently in second place, with his odds at 27%.

On Monday (April 20), Biebers streams reached a new high for the year, amassing 32.4 million official on-demand US streams, according to Luminate, which is a 12% increase from his total the previous Monday (just over 29 million) and a 5% gain from the previous Tuesday (30.9 million), his previous high-water mark for 2026.

Loading...
 

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Since the Coachella bump, hes had a total of six days with at least 30 million streams, compared with only four days in all of 2025, when he released his “Swag album.

Spotify reported that following Biebers first Coachella set, the pop star reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Top Artist chart, with his catalog surpassing 77 million streams in a single day, which marked his biggest streaming day of the year.

While prediction markets currently show that Bruno Mars is in the lead at 74% for the artist with the most monthly Spotify listeners at the end of April, Bieber could slowly catch up with a week left in the month. The Baby singer is currently in second place, with his odds at 27%.

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