Subtext: Younger generations are increasingly turning on subtitles

8/13/23 7:00PM

Whatenheimer?

‍Despite grossing nearly $650 million at the global box office, receiving stellar reviews from a variety of outlets, and becoming the highest-grossing World War II movie of all time, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been somewhat dogged by audiences complaining about inaudible dialogue.

While Nolan explained away the quieter moments in the film as an “artistic choice”, some muffled speaking scenes may have had moviegoers wishing they could switch subtitles on for the big screen in the same way many do on their own TV.

‍Subs split

‍At-home audiences have increasingly toggled subtitles “on” in recent years, though some demographics are more inclined to add the descriptors than others. While traditionally seen as a tool to assist the hard of hearing, a factor that could lead one to assume that older generations are behind the boom, it’s actually Gen Z reportedly driving the subtitle surge, owing to the “starkly different” viewing habits of the younger generation.

A new survey from YouGov supports that theory, revealing that 51% of US adults aged 18-29 are watching TV with subtitles “always” or “most of the time”. That figure becomes even more striking when compared to just 18% and 20% of those aged 45-64 and over 65s, respectively, who said the same. Subtitle users reported a variety of factors behind their preference, though enhanced comprehension and the ability to better understand accents lead the way, with 40% of respondents equally citing each reason.

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As the Powerball jackpot has stretched to $1.8 billion, users are flooding into DraftKing’s Jackpocket lottery app.

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American flag design pillow. USA Flag Throw Pillow. Patriotic concept

Max Knoblauch

9/2/25

Paramount and Microsoft’s Activision agree to partner on a “Call of Duty” movie

Less than a month after forming, Paramount Skydance has landed another major piece of intellectual property. The studio said it’s signed a deal with Microsoft’s Activision to create a live-action “Call of Duty” film.

The competitive shooter is one of the most popular gaming franchises in the world and has been the US’s bestselling series for the past 16 years. The next title in the 22-year-old franchise, “Black Ops 7,” will debut in November.

Paramount, which closed its merger with Skydance in August, has had a summer of big deals. It acquired UFC broadcast rights in a $7.7 billion deal with TKO last month, following a $1.5 billion deal for “South Park” rights in July. The company also lured “Stranger Things” creators away from Netflix last month for a four-year film and TV development deal.

Paramount & Activision Team For ‘Call Of Duty’ Movie

Tom Jones

9/1/25

“Blinding Lights” just officially hit 5 billion streams on Spotify

Over the weekend, The Weeknd’s biggest hit crossed over the impressive threshold, with Spotify marking the feat with an Instagram post that the artist shared to his story.

According to Spotify data collated by Kworb, the song now has a staggering 5,000,010,581 streams on the platform, and is racking up nearly 1.5 million streams each day at the time of writing.

Blinding Lights crosses 5 billion chart — Sherwood News

While Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” released about two years before “Blinding Lights,” looks like it’ll be the next song to hit the 5 billion boundary, “Starboy,” another song from The Weeknd, might not be too far behind.

Besides those two megahits, The Weeknd has 26 other songs that have been streamed more than 1 billion times on Spotify — more than any other artist on the platform.

The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” is about to hit 5 billion streams on Spotify

Besides those two megahits, The Weeknd has 26 other songs that have been streamed more than 1 billion times on Spotify — more than any other artist on the platform.

$30B

Nia Warfield

8/29/25

Americans are set to gamble a record $30 billion on the NFL this season, according to estimates from the American Gaming Association.

For context, that’s the same price tag as all US sports broadcasting rights combined. Leading sportsbooks like DraftKings, Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel, Caesars Entertainment, and MGM’s BetMGM are positioned to cash in, with each battling for market share through promos, partnerships, and increasingly sticky mobile apps.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are ramping up efforts to crack down on illegal sportsbooks: this month, 50 attorneys general urged the Justice Department to take action against unlicensed gambling, warning that states are losing roughly $4 billion in tax revenue.