Hollywood movies just had their worst performing summer season since 1981 when adjusting for inflation and excluding the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, the movies released during this time brought in $3.67 billion, the lowest total not counting 2020 and 2021, and adjusting numbers for inflation. 
The summer began on a high note with a strong Memorial Day weekend performance led by “Lilo &amp; Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” But by summer’s end, the momentum was gone, and Labor Day weekend was a disaster from a financial standpoint.
Entertainment commentators are blaming this on a whole host of problems, with none agreeing on a single cause. But one thing that’s not up for debate is that lately, the movie industry is struggling in a big way.
Underperforming titles released this summer, which The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/business/media/box-office-collapse-hollywood.html">described</a> as playing to “near empty auditoriums,” include “After the Hunt,” starring Julia Roberts, Sydney Sweeney’s boxing biopic “Christy,” and “Die My Love,” led by big-name stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson.
These movies aren’t just bombing with fans &#8212; they’re also costing the studios millions. “After the Hunt” cost $70 million to make and brought in a paltry $3.3 million, the outlet noted. “Christy” also flopped hard with an abysmal $1.3 million opening weekend. The sports film had a more modest budget of $15 million, but after <a href="https://ew.com/sydney-sweeney-christy-sets-record-for-worst-drop-in-second-weekend-11853251">dropping to 900 screens</a> in its second week and collecting a $90-per-theater average, it’s safe to say the film won’t be recouping even that.
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A lot of the blame is being put on a shortened theater-to-streaming timeframe, which is currently 17 days compared to the old standard of 90 days. This disincentivizes moviegoers to visit theaters, especially for genres like comedy and romance that don’t require large screens and surround sound to get the full effect.
While audiences complain at the overabundance of remakes, franchise films, and superhero movies, which on the whole aren’t performing as well as they used to, industry insiders point to the numbers as proof of why these are still being made. Original films are some of the worst performing of the bunch. This makes it a risky proposition for studios to even try.
One Variety critic <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/columns/where-have-all-the-indie-hits-gone-bugonia-after-the-hunt-1236570489/">mentioned</a> some other factors, like Netflix “rob[bing]” theaters of films which could have potentially drawn people to theaters and television shows taking the place of indie movies.
In August, an unnamed studio executive <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/global-summer-box-office-overseas-2025-domestic-1236357631/">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter they are “very, very nervous for the future” of the industry based on the results and said they “don’t think there is enough of an audience” for future theater openings.

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Hollywood Just Had Its Worst Summer Box Office In Over 40 Years

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President Donald Trump pushes ahead with a potential war-ending deal in Ukraine,  Democrats spend big on a House race in red Tennessee, and Wicked: For Good casts a spell on audiences, leaving some hope for Hollywood after a disastrous year of earnings.
It’s Monday, November 24, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251124-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan</h2>
Topline: President Trump is offering Russia and Ukraine a new peace deal, and ramping up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign on.
Peacemaker-in-chief: President Trump has relished his role as peacemaker since regaining the White House, brokering an end to a number of conflicts. But despite his best efforts, the war in Ukraine continues to rage.
But the White House is out with a new 28-point plan that they’re confident will benefit both sides. The plan seems more favorable to Russia, which, from a geopolitical standpoint, makes sense. Regardless of whether they’re the &#8220;bad guys,&#8221; the reality is they have the upper hand militarily. This is a war of attrition, and Moscow is much better suited to endure.
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The White House is urging the Ukrainians and others to be realistic and understand that Putin will not sign onto any deal that leaves him empty-handed, and that means making some painful concessions.
Ukraine’s concessions: Ukraine would be forced to give up on NATO membership and “enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO.” It would also bar NATO troops from being stationed in Ukraine in the future and limit the size of Ukraine’s military to 600,000 personnel.
Perhaps most importantly for Zelensky, it would give Russia nearly all of the land it has seized in Eastern Ukraine, and even some it hasn&#8217;t. Specifically, it calls for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk Oblast region, a strip of land that was home to a quarter million Ukrainians before the war. That region would be turned into a demilitarized zone to serve as a buffer between the two countries.
All parties involved in the conflict would be granted amnesty under the deal, and the U.S. would begin immediately lifting sanctions on Moscow, bringing them back into the international economy.
Finally, it would require Ukraine to hold nationwide elections within 100 days of signing.
What Ukraine gets: The biggest reward would be an end to the conflict. There’s also a promise to allow them to seek membership in the European Union, and a plan for $100 billion in frozen Russian assets to be invested in a fund to rebuild Ukraine.
As far as security guarantees, one of Zelensky’s main demands, there’s not much beyond vague assurances that Europe and the U.S. would coordinate a military response and reimplement sanctions if Russia were to invade again.
What the U.S. is hearing: Ukraine and the rest of Europe are generally not happy. The headline this weekend on one of Ukraine’s largest newspapers read, “New U.S. peace plan pushes Ukraine toward capitulation.”
Elsewhere, Ukrainian military and political leaders expressed anger that they were not consulted beforehand, accusing Trump of giving Putin his wishlist. In a speech over the weekend, Zelensky seemingly implied that the U.S. had threatened to withdraw support unless they signed onto the agreement, telling his people, “Now, Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Over the weekend, Zelensky held calls with European allies, including France and the U.K., and they offered a unified front, telling the White House in a joint statement the deal “would leave Ukraine vulnerable to attack” and “requires additional work.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Tennessee Special Election</h2>
Topline: An important special election in Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District will take place on December 2 to replace former Republican Congressman Mark Green. Democrats are pouring big money into the race, hoping to flip the seat. In 2024, the reliably red district backed Trump with 60% of the vote.
All eyes on TN: This is for a crucial seat in the House, as all seats now are, since the GOP majority is so thin. Also, Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District is important as it represents parts of the Nashville metropolitan area.
Democrats are eager and see it as a pick-up opportunity following off-year election victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia earlier this month. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/21/house-democratic-super-pac-drops-1-million-on-tennessee-special-election-00664768?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHogrquGjqh20iTwQ6dUzCymZZpN20Ifc4YfHQ1_eafcdb9uyMSsEtcPs6kEu_aem_h0OvKIWh4pdNncH8LWPpBQ">Politico</a> reports that the Democrats’ House Majority PAC has poured $1 million into advertisements for the race. <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/tennessee-house/2026-tennessee-house-analysis-music-city-mayhem">Cook Political Report</a> ranks the race as “Likely Republican,” but the focus and money has some Republicans a bit nervous.
The Republican: The GOP candidate is Matt Van Epps, the former commissioner of Tennessee’s General Services Department. Van Epps is a West Point graduate and a combat veteran, and he has the crucial endorsement of President Trump.
Morning Wire spoke to Van Epps about his views on Trump’s agenda and how it aligns with his own goals for Tennessee.
“I&#8217;m an America First conservative. What we&#8217;re hearing quite a bit as we&#8217;re out across the Tennessee 7th Congressional District is cost of living and working to decrease inflation,” said Van Epps. “We&#8217;re working really hard to connect with a lot of folks to address that and put plans in place to do that from housing, energy, keeping taxes low, cutting regulations, health care, [and] child care.”
The Democrat: Most of the attention in this race has focused on the Democrat, state Rep. Aftyn Behn, touted by some Democrats as a rising star and “Tennessee’s AOC.” Behn even had former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Jasmine Crockett campaign for her.
But she’s also caused quite a stir, partly from her social media posts. For example, she has <a href="https://x.com/RepOgles/status/1924882174865502306">filmed</a> herself openly bragging about trying to bully law enforcement from carrying out its federal operations.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">&#8220;Wicked: For Good&#8221; Saves The Box Office</h2>
Topline: In one of the worst years in Hollywood history, one film waved a magic wand this weekend to bring audiences back to theaters. &#8220;Wicked: For Good,&#8221; the follow-up to last year&#8217;s smash hit musical, is shattering records. But is it any good?
The numbers: The numbers are nothing short of dramatic. According to early estimates, &#8220;Wicked: For Good&#8221; opened globally in the neighborhood of $228 million.
Final numbers are not out yet, but in the domestic market alone, the film is projected to debut at around $151 million, making it the biggest opening ever for a Broadway-musical-inspired feature.
Beyond that, the film had already pulled in the highest earnings this year, around $31 million, in domestic preview screenings. It also had the highest pre-sales for a PG movie ever. It’s definitely on its way to being one of the highest grossing films this year.
The critics: So far, critics aren’t as positive about the sequel as they were about the original. On Metacritic, &#8220;Wicked: For Good&#8221; has only a 59% positive rating. The first movie averaged 73%. The same story is taking place on Rotten Tomatoes. The first movie was 88% positive. The new release is 70%.
DW’s take: That decrease in enthusiasm isn’t too surprising. The first film largely followed the path of the stage production. Even though Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s performances didn’t seem to match the energy and wit that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth brought to Broadway, powerhouse ballads like “Defying Gravity” (so good Disney ripped it off for &#8220;Frozen&#8221;) and comical ditties like &#8220;Popular&#8221; and &#8220;Loathing&#8221; were still very entertaining.
The problem is the most compelling parts of the musical were covered in the first film.
&#8220;Wicked: For Good&#8221; is 20 minutes shorter, but feels about an hour longer because there’s simply not a lot of the actual story left to tell. There is a lot of padding to fill out a sequel that could have been wrapped up in 30 minutes. There are some new songs, but they don’t boast either that sly humor or moving poetry of the originals. The performances are, overall, somewhat flat, though Jonathan Bailey as love interest Fiyero is an <a href="https://x.com/wickedcomfort/status/1985635639060992190?s=20">exception</a>.
While a handful of sequences are impressive, &#8220;Wicked: For Good&#8221; doesn’t offer the entertainment value of the first entry. But when you’re the only holiday blockbuster extravaganza in town …

MRN_251124_V2

Morning Brief: Trump Eyes Ukraine Peace Deal, Tennessee’s 7th In Focus, & ‘Wicked’ Sweeps Hollywood

Morning Brief: Trump Seeks Peace In Ukraine, All Eyes On TN’s 7th, And A ‘Wicked’ Hollywood Weekend

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President Donald Trump is stretching the “politics make strange bedfellows” saw to the breaking point.
Celebrity Nation leans aggressively to the Left, and anyone defying that groupthink puts their career at risk. Actor Zachary Levi said it out loud after he praised President Trump last year, calling the move <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/zachary-levi-endorsing-trump-lifeline-career-1236026923/">“career suicide.”</a>
That wasn’t the case in 2009, however, when celebrities flocked to President Barack Obama following his historic 2008 election. They pledged <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/celebrities-pledge-oath-obama/">to do whatever he told them to do</a>.
Different party, of course.
This past week, President Trump had recording artist Nicki Minaj indirectly singing his praises for drawing attention to a humanitarian crisis. The rapper took Trump’s side after the president called out the shocking slaughter of Christians in Nigeria.
Minaj, in connection with the administration, spoke before a UN event about the shocking headlines coming from the African nation.
<div id="attachment_1002653" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1002653" class="size-large wp-image-1002653" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-864x576.jpg" alt="Nicki Minaj" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nicki-Minaj.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images</div>
&#8220;In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted … Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart &#8230; simply because of how they pray.&#8221;
She also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nicki-minaj-nigeria-christians-trump-be7b03a3f1d4e43747fa26e600be5d3f">thanked the president</a> for leading the way on the matter to “combat extremism and to bring a stop to violence against those who simply want to exercise their natural right to freedom of religion or belief.”
Trump critics contend that multiple religions have been targeted during the violence spree, and that the nation has sadly been the source of extreme violence for some time.
Minaj’s appearance understandably rocked pop culture, but it wasn’t the first time.
For starters, Trump’s second term features former Democrats like Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., his Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Health and Human Services, respectively.
Journalist Megyn Kelly, who Trump once blistered during an early Q&amp;A, stumped for his presidency in the waning days of the 2024 campaign.
It’s Trump’s pop culture connections, though, that raise eyebrows the highest. Think Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Bill Maher, and others who famously linked arms with the president in the past.
It started during the President’s first White House foray. Rapper Kanye West hopped aboard the Trump Train, meeting with the world leader at Trump Tower in 2016 following an extended concert speech praising the real estate mogul.
Two years later, West wore a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/snl-kanye-west-gave-pro-trump-speech-maga-hat-1148092/">red MAGA</a> hat on “Saturday Night Live” and praised Trump, but the artist’s string of antisemitic rants and emotional meltdowns caused his fame to curdle into its current, sorry state.
West’s former wife, Kim Kardashian, has arguably had a more productive relationship with Trump. The reality show starlet teamed with Trump on prison reform measures. Kardashian, ignoring a celebrity culture that raged against all things Trump, made the trek to the White House to personally push for her pet cause.
The wannabe lawyer and Trump <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51744918">discussed reform measures</a> aimed at first-time offenders and those she felt were treated unfairly. That public relations coup led to the 2018 release of three young mothers — Crystal Munoz, Judith Negron, and Tynice Hall, all tied to drug-related charges.
<div id="attachment_1004231" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004231" class="size-large wp-image-1004231" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-864x576.jpg" alt="U.S. President Donald Trump, right, listens as reality star and activist Kim Kardashian West speaks about a second chance hiring and re-entry initiative at an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday June 13, 2019. Kardashian West took a star turn at the White House on Thursday to promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1149706439.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
She also played a role in the <a href="https://time.com/5486560/prison-reform-jared-kushner-kim-kardashian-west/">2018 bill</a> that expanded the criminal reform initiative, allowing prisoners to earn credits for early release among its measures. Kardashian wasn’t the only player who made that happen, but she became its public face via her social media empire.
Trump’s second term has seen more of the same, right from the jump.
Rapper Snoop Dogg infamously starred in a 2017 music video in which he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/trump-hits-back-at-snoop-dogg-assassination-video-idUSKBN16O04V/">“shot” a clownish Trump stand-in</a>.
Future Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39268735">blasted the clip</a>, telling TMZ at the time that, &#8220;If the wrong person sees that and gets the wrong idea, you could have a real problem.&#8221;
It was part of Hollywood’s collective wish for the real estate mogul to <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/celebrities-wished-trump-dead/">leave this mortal coil</a> during his first term.
The rapper/actor/pitchman apparently had a change of heart over time. By 2025, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43733/snoop-dogg-trump-perform-inauguration">Snoop Dogg performed</a> at a pre-inauguration gala dubbed the Crypto Ball alongside Rick Ross and Soulja Boy. That’s despite previously calling anyone who performed for Trump during his first term “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPGvbw4jnvn/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again">Uncle Toms,” in a stereotypical, Stepin Fetchit-style voice</a>.
<div id="attachment_1004233" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004233" class="size-large wp-image-1004233" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-864x576.jpg" alt="SNL50: THE HOMECOMING CONCERT -- Pictured: (l-r) Snoop Dogg at Radio City Music Hall on Friday, February 14, 2025 -- (Photo by: Arturo Holmes/Peacock via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2199697788.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Arturo Holmes/Peacock via Getty Images</div>
The rapper even stood up to social media critics who trashed him for his about-face.
“Y’all can’t hate enough for me, I love too much,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BdjP-n8rIs">he told his critics</a>, via Entertainment Tonight. “We gotta pick each other up instead of putting each other down.”
Earlier this year, longtime Trump critic Bill Maher made the trek to the White House to break bread with his ideological foe. Maher got roasted for his trouble, including a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/opinion/larry-david-hitler-dinner.html">seething New York Times op-ed</a> from Larry David of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame.
Maher even suggested recently he’d like a second dinner with Trump while continuing to roast his leadership.
<div id="attachment_1004247" style="width: 1028px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1004247" class="size-large wp-image-1004247" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-1018x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: ClubRandom/YouTube.com" width="1018" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-1018x576.jpg 1018w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-300x170.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-768x435.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock-1536x870.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Club-Random-maher-kid-rock.jpg 1793w" sizes=" (max-width: 1018px) 100vw, 1018px" />Screenshot: ClubRandom/YouTube.com</div>
How did the initial Maher-Trump dinner happen in the first place? Singer Kid Rock, a repeat guest on Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, arranged for the unlikely meetup.
The wildest part of the dinner? Maher had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EwqzHsSEZY">Trump sign a list</a> of all the insults the president had thrown the comedian’s way over the years. Maher considers it a prized possession, one he has shown to his “Club Random” guests.
It took courage for stars to align with Trump during his first term.
Now, with a few more celebrities bucking conventional wisdom, the president’s “bedfellows” are looking a little less strange.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
* * *
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United Nations

With this summer’s blockbuster season ranking as the least attended since 1981 and the October box office notching its lowest monthly total ever, Hollywood is in desperate need of a magic wand to save the industry from its slump. Right now, all eyes are turning to Oz as analysts predict that Wicked: For Good will reverse the trend and become the highest grossing of film of 2025.
That’s going to be a heavy lift, since the film&#8217;s two leads seem determined to do everything they can to alienate half the country. During the press tour for the first Wicked film, Ariana Grande (Glinda the Good Witch) and Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West) not only appeared startlingly emaciated, but gave bizarre, politically-charged interviews sure to turn off anyone to the right of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Erivo obnoxiously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wicked-actress-flips-over-movie-poster-edited-by-fans-calls-it-most-offensive-thing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decried innocent fan art</a> that redesigned the movie poster to look more like the Broadway Playbill, complaining that it “degrade[d]” and “erased” her. Then, in response to a reporter’s question about the stage production, she <a href="https://www.out.com/out100/2024/artists/cynthia-erivo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described it</a> as part of “queer canon,” a sentiment Grande <a href="https://x.com/JDunlap1974/status/1988346601891373471?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">echoed</a>.
“Oz has always been a queer place, a safe place for queer people for every different color of the rainbow,&#8221; Grande said. &#8220;The gayer the better.”
And yet, despite their red-carpet politicking, Wicked has always been a conservative fable. Yes, that’s correct: Wicked is thematically right-wing. Whether or not the creative team recognizes it, the narrative is built around skepticism of centralized power, distrust of media manipulation, and a fierce defense of objective truth.
The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) is a foreign invader who arrives in Oz and consolidates control over its disparate regions through deceptive displays of strength, embodying the archetype of the globalist technocrat. He leverages a compliant, dishonest press to create false narratives that will reshape public opinion so he can impose top-down authority over communities that once enjoyed self-rule. His regime suppresses dissent, persecutes politically disfavored classes (in this case, the sentient Animals), and relies on the notion that “truth is what we agree upon,” a relativism that Elphaba vigorously rejects. She, by contrast, argues that truth and morality are unchanging, regardless of whether anyone else agrees.
Elphaba’s story arc is not, as we have seen with other villain rehabilitations like 2014’s Maleficent, an attempt to excuse evil by blaming painful formative experiences. Instead, the official Oz account was fake news all along, the cover circulated by a corrupt government — aided and abetted by a complicit media — to deflect attention away from Elphaba’s crusade to restore individual rights. She is targeted precisely because she stands between the establishment and the ordinary citizen. Elphaba is not redeemed — she is vindicated.
Unfortunately, conservative is not the same as entertaining. There, unfortunately, Wicked: For Good (rated PG for action violence and a slightly suggestive romantic scene) fails to live up to its title.
The first film largely followed the path of the stage production. So, even though Erivo and Grande’s performances didn’t come near to matching the energy and wit that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth brought to Broadway, powerhouse ballads like &#8220;Defying Gravity&#8221; (so good Disney ripped it off for Frozen) and comical ditties like &#8220;Popular&#8221; and &#8220;What Is This Feeling?&#8221; still managed to entertain. And the pageantry of scenes like Elphaba and Glinda’s arrival to the Emerald City was visually arresting enough to hold attention through the long 2-hour-and-40-minute run time.
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Wicked: For Good is 20 minutes shorter but feels about an hour longer. The plot is padded to fill out a sequel that could have been wrapped up in 30 minutes. The new songs from Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz boast none of the sly humor or subtle poetry of the originals, and the few original songs remaining to this second half of the story are performed with little apparent recognition of their meaning.
A prime example is Glinda’s “Thank Goodness.” On stage, Chenoweth turns the song into a miniature nervous breakdown, in which the audience can hear the exact moment she rejects self-awareness and doubles down on delusion. Grande sails through the same lyrics with a pretty smile and zero outward acknowledgment of the subtext in expression or voice. MacGuffins also abound. Something that is initially presented as a dire plot point, like what will become of those bejeweled shoes, is later shrugged off as unimportant.
Just like the ruby slippers, Wicked: For Good is still a candy-colored spectacle and a handful of sequences are impressive, but the substance is as ephemeral and weightless as that bubble Glinda travels around in.
By the time you get to the end, you’re simply ready for it to pop.
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Untitled design (72)

Wicked 2 Is More Conservative Than Its Stars Admit. That Doesn’t Make It Good.

Ariana Grande

Film Reviews

Wicked

Celebrities spent years singing “love yourself” from the stage and lecturing all of us about radical body acceptance. But then, a funny thing happened: weight loss drugs hit the scene.
Now, some members of Hollywood have lost half their body weight and have been scrubbing the evidence from their feeds, rewriting the script about what “self-love” actually looks like. It’s all been very revealing for fans who fell for their lies about being happy at any weight. Because the second a quick-fix, injectable weight loss solution came along, these celebs dropped the “fat can be beautiful” act like a loaded baked potato.
One prime example is Amy Schumer. The comedian recently wiped her Instagram clean, deleting every pre-transformation post and replacing it with a single shot of her newly thinned-down physique, which included the caption, “Who’s proud? I’m feeling good and happy. Deleted my old pics for no reason.”
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The Instagram sweep came on the heels of a very public weight-loss journey and candid interviews about her struggles with GLP-1 drugs. Schumer <a href="https://pagesix.com/2025/03/22/celebrity-news/amy-schumer-back-on-weight-loss-drugs-after-horrible-experience-with-wegovy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> having a “horrible experience” when she tried Ozempic at first, saying the shots left her bedridden and vomiting.
The comedian said while Ozempic was a no-go, she had very different results after switching to another popular drug, Mounjaro.
Fans complained, saying it was one thing to be outspoken about your health journey, but that deleting those old photos felt like trying to erase the past.
Schumer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ-SUGFDkpb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addressed</a> the controversy by insisting she was justified in scrubbing her socials.
“I didn’t delete my old photos because they were pre me losing weight. That’s a narrative you created. I’m proud of how I’ve looked always,” she insisted.
“I have been working to be pain-free and I finally am,” the comedian explained. “My endometriosis is better. My back is healing. I no longer have Cushing syndrome so my face went back to normal. I am grateful to be strong and healthy especially for my son.”
But the social media purge itself said something different. No matter how she tried to play it, deleting those photos sent a clear message: Who I was before is not who I am now. All praise Mounjaro!
Perhaps the most egregious example of this phenomenon is pop singer Meghan Trainor, who built her whole career around worshipping her curvy body and rejecting the thin-is-best messaging. Her 2014 hit single “All About That Bass” includes the line, “Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two.”
But then Trainor discovered weight loss drugs and with it, a newfound appreciation for, well, being a size two. During a performance in May 2025, Trainor swapped that lyric for “I got some new boobs” and received a ton of heat for rejecting her status as a curvy role model for the masses.
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<section><a title="@1027kiisfm" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@1027kiisfm?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@1027kiisfm</a> <a title="MeghanTrainor" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/MeghanTrainor?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#MeghanTrainor</a> is playing ALL the hits!!! 😍🙌✨ <a title="WangoTango" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/WangoTango?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#WangoTango</a> <a title="iheartradio" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/iheartradio?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#iheartradio</a> <a title="♬ original sound - 102.7 KIIS FM" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7503222033334848287?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound &#8211; 102.7 KIIS FM</a></section>
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Like Schumer, she’s openly discussed using weight loss drugs.
“I’ve been on a journey to be the healthiest, strongest version of myself for my kids and for me,” Trainor <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DH4nStgyl_p/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a lengthy Instagram post. “I’ve worked with a dietician, made huge lifestyle changes, started exercising with a trainer, and yes, I used science and support (shoutout to Mounjaro!) to help me after my 2nd pregnancy. And I’m so glad I did because I feel great.”
Fans were annoyed, and as she stated recently, the pop singer could not understand why.
One popular TikTok comment under the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@1027kiisfm/video/7503222030515375390?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> of Trainor singing the new version of her hit song said, “‘Big is beautiful until you’re rich enough to change it.’ — story of the entertainment industry.”
Another person agreed, writing, “She has every right to change and nobody is hating on her. But because her body was a little more relatable it hit with a specific audience. Now it doesn’t hit the same. No shade just is what it is.”
Trainor spoke about the backlash during a conversation with iHeartRadio’s Kayla Thomas on November 14.
“I’m getting a lot of hate online just posting who I am. Everyone’s just being like, ‘Why are you thin now? You were ‘All About That Bass’ girl,’” she said.
“I was 19 when I came out with that song, and I’ve been on a fitness journey since I got healthy,” Trainor added. “It started when I was pregnant. I had gestational diabetes. I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta learn about health and fitness. If I wanna tour forever, I wanna be at my strongest. If I wanna lift up my kids from their crib and not pull out my back.’”
“So now I’m strength training three times a week in the gym and I am so focused on health,” she went on. “But I got a lot of hate for being thinner. That confused me, rattled me, so I wrote the song ‘Still Don’t Care,’” she added.
The phrase “fitness journey” keeps coming up. While these celebrities admit to using Mounjaro, they credit the weight loss to good habits and better workout schedules.
Lizzo’s case is different, but also egregious. She’s the most vocal pop star version of the body positivity movement, with many songs praising her voluptuous figure. When rumors first started circulating that she’d used Ozempic following some noticeable weight loss, she pushed back publicly, but what she said wasn’t exactly a denial.
“I’ve tried everything,” Lizzo said. “It’s just the science, for me, calories in vs. calories out. Ozempic works because you eat less food.”
“It makes you feel full. So, if you can just do that on your own and get mind-over-matter, it’s the same,” she added.
Interestingly, Lizzo also credited eating meat after being vegan as helping her shed pounds. “What did it for me was — actually it was not being vegan,” Lizzo said, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lizzo-says-ditching-vegan-diet-for-beef-helped-her-lose-weight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “Because when I was vegan, I was consuming a lot of fake meats. I was eating a lot of bread. I was eating a lot of rice, and I had to eat a lot of it to stay full. But really I was consuming like 3,000 to 5,000 calories a day.”
“So for me, when I actually started eating whole foods and eating, like, beef and chicken and fish, I was actually full and not expanding my stomach by putting a lot of, like, fake things in there that wasn’t actually filling me up,” she continued.
Lizzo addressed some of the backlash in a May 2023 TikTok video.
“Once I started working out for mental health, to have balanced mental health or endorphins, so that I don’t look at myself in the mirror and feel ashamed of myself, and feel disgusted with myself, exercise has helped me shift my mind, not my body,” she said at the time. “My body is gonna change, everyone’s bodies change. That’s life.”
Shaming people for making healthier choices is never a good idea. But when celebrities build their brands on body positivity and then do an about-face after discovering drugs that promote weight loss, it’s fair to call out the gap between what they said and what they’re doing.
The central complaint from fans is about consistency. If “body positivity” means unconditional acceptance of fatness, then it’s not fair to start slimming down and pretending their past selves never existed.
Right or not, fans absorb messages from influencers and pop stars. These public figures oscillating between “love the body you’re in” and “I changed my body for confidence” lead to frustration for their followers, who believe whatever they say.
One solution is just being honest from the start and admitting that being overweight is not an ideal to aspire to. Then, when weight loss happens, everyone can celebrate the accomplishment instead of being mad at the blatant hypocrisy.

Meghan Trainor

Body Positivity For Thee, Ozempic For Me: Slimmed Down Celebrities Ditch The Self-Love Narrative

Body positivity

Fat Acceptance

Ozempic

weight Loss

Actor Kevin Spacey says he is homeless and is living out of Airbnb rentals and hotels after a sexual abuse scandal destroyed his career.
The 66-year-old Academy Award-winner detailed his struggles in a recent <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/19/kevin-spacey-interview-cancelled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with The Telegraph, saying he lost his Maryland residence, where he had lived for 12 years, and is no longer a property owner.
“I’m going where the work is,” Spacey told the outlet. “I literally have no home, that’s what I’m attempting to explain.”
The actor has faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations, including a high-profile civil lawsuit from actor Anthony Rapp. A New York jury found him not liable in 2022. Spacey was also charged with nine counts of sexual assault involving four men, citing incidents between 2001 and 2013, but he was acquitted of all charges in 2023. Several other cases were dropped or dismissed. 
Despite Spacey never being convicted, his career was destroyed, and he’s been complaining about financial struggles recently.
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“The costs over these last seven years have been astronomical,” the actor said. “I’ve had very little coming in and everything going out.”
“You get through it. In weird ways, I feel I’m back to where I first started, which is I just went where the work was,” Spacey added. “Everything is in storage, and I hope at some point, if things continue to improve, that I’ll be able to decide where I want to settle down again.”
The “American Beauty” actor said he just wants to return to acting and is hoping a major Hollywood player steps in to help him relaunch his career.
“We are in touch with some extremely powerful people who want to put me back to work,” Spacey told The Telegraph. “And that will happen in its right time. But I will also say what I think the industry seems to be waiting for is to be given permission – by someone who is in some position of enormous respect and authority.”
“So, my feeling is if Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino call [manager] Evan [Lowenstein] tomorrow, it will be over,” he went on. “I will be incredibly honored and delighted when that level of talent picks up the phone.”
Spacey received a lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. During his acceptance <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsQQrL-c_5w">speech</a>, he said he had “come out the other side of these last few challenging years not angry, not bitter, not resentful, but more present, more loving, more understanding and more forgiving than I ever have been in my life.”

Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey Says He’s Homeless Following Sex Abuse Scandal

MeToo

Sexual Misconduct

The director of the original “Naked Gun” movie starring Leslie Nielsen said the producer of the 2025 reboot, Seth MacFarlane, “missed the mark.”
David Zucker made the remarks during a recently published <a href="https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/movies/what-naked-gun-creator-david-zucker-really-thinks-about-the-reboot-exclusive">interview</a> with Woman’s World. 
“My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style … and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently,&#8221; he told the outlet. 
&#8220;People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new ‘Naked Gun,’&#8221; Zucker continued. &#8220;He totally missed it.”
Zucker explained how “there’s a certain method to the madness” that’s difficult to replicate. “We had our 15 rules, and I’m teaching them in the hopes that if anybody tries to do a movie like this again, they’ll do it right.”
Zucker is best known for directing “The Naked Gun” (1988), “The Naked Gun 2½” (1991), and for writing “The Naked Gun 33⅓” (1994). He also directed the popular spoof comedy “Airplane!” (1980). 
He took issue with the film’s budget, for one thing.
&#8220;You shouldn’t spend too much money on comedies, and one of our rules is about technical pizzazz. Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new ‘Naked Gun,’ you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style,” he went on.
Zucker <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/naked-gun-david-zucker-reaction-reboot-liam-neeson-1236337047/">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter when MacFarlane&#8217;s version hit theaters in August that he wasn’t planning to see the reboot.
&#8220;I’ve told [director Akiva Schaffer] that I have no intention to see it,” he continued. “He actually invited me to come see an early cut of it, but I told him there’s nothing I could do to help because it really isn’t what I would have done.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s not to say that he didn’t actually end up doing a good movie. But I don’t think I could help with that,&#8221; Zucker said.
The filmmaker also said that he was offered an executive producer credit on MacFarlane’s version, but said he turned it down because he didn’t want to “take credit on anything that I didn’t work on from the beginning.&#8221;
MacFarlane’s new version of “The Naked Gun” grossed $102.1 million worldwide and currently has an 88% critic’s score and 73% audience score on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_naked_gun_2025">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. 
The movie stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the late Nielsen&#8217;s character Frank Drebin. Pamela Anderson also starred in the film, leading to rumors of a real-life romance between her and Neeson.

The Naked Gun

Original ‘Naked Gun’ Director Slams Seth MacFarlane-Led Reboot

Comedy

Seth MacFarlane

Before director James Cameron became <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-cameron-reflects-king-of-the-world-titanic-oscars-speech-2023-3">&#8220;king of the world&#8221;</a> he sat on the hottest of hot seats.
Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic” arrived with enough bad buzz to sink a battleship. Time magazine ran a cover story on the bloated, $200 million affair with the words, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/titanic-trailer-james-cameron-bad-buzz-blockbuster-1236552019/">“Glub, Glub, Glub” as the tag line.</a>
All signs suggested the headstrong director behind “Terminator” and “True Lies” had bitten off far more than he could chew, and Hollywood was ready to rub his nose in an epic failure.
What happened next? “Titanic” became the biggest blockbuster of all time, at least up until he dethroned himself (twice) with 2009’s “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022).
One man is responsible for three of the most popular American films in U.S. history. This Cameron fella knows what he’s doing and, more importantly, what moviegoers crave. He better, since Hollywood is banking on his latest film to give theaters one last jolt before 2025 wraps.
And, up until now, it hasn’t been a blockbuster year for movies. Can Cameron save Hollywood with “Avatar: Fire and Ash?”
The December 19 release is the third film in the enviro-friendly franchise. Once again, Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang bring the world of Pandora to life, along with endless zeroes and ones. The CGI-heavy franchise slathers recognizable stars with endless digital effects.
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The latest “Avatar” installment finds the Sully clan dealing with a new threat along with a familiar foe. A violent Na’vi faction dubbed the Ash People has aligned with the evil Colonel Quaritch (Lang), setting up more action-packed sequences in the bustling saga.
That’s roughly all we know about the film. Team Cameron knows less is more when it comes to movie marketing.
Plenty is riding on the film, including the saga’s future. Cameron has said if “Fire and Ash” underperforms, <a href="https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/10/3/james-cameron-says-avatar-3-has-to-make-a-lot-of-money-for-the-franchise-to-continue">parts 4 and 5 could be in jeopardy</a>. He’s betting “Fire and Ash” will come close to replicate his past successes, partially based on early box office predictions. The film is expected to rake in <a href="https://boxofficetheory.com/6-week-box-office-tracking-wicked-for-good-and-zootopia-2-check-ins-plus-other-updates/">at least $110 million</a> in its opening frame.
He’s not alone in wishing for the best.
The box office isn’t the same as it once was, not even when “The Way of Water” helped theaters bounce back from the pandemic shutdowns three years ago. For every “A Minecraft Movie” or “Sinners,” there are many 2025 films that either flopped or dramatically underperformed in 2025.
“Christy.” “The Alto Knights.” “Good Fortune.” “Snow White.” “Elio.” “Tron: Ares.” Even some hits have been misses. “One Battle After Another” is approaching $70 million at the U.S. box office, but the film’s price tag (a reported $130 million) means it’ll lose plenty for Warner Bros.
One report suggests <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/one-battle-after-another-lose-100-million-dollars-theaters-1236552914/">that figure could be $100 million.</a>
Variety reports that this year is <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/october-box-office-record-low-ticket-sales-smashing-machine-tron-ares-flop-1236567987/">currently 2.9 percent ahead</a> of 2024, hardly a boastful account. Stateside revenues are still more than 22 percent behind 2019. That’s the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered movie houses and sent patrons scrambling to streaming services.
That, plus the continued rise of social media, video games, and streaming platforms, leaves cinema uniquely vulnerable as 2026 approaches.
<div id="attachment_1000763" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1000763" class="size-large wp-image-1000763" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-1024x424.jpg" alt="“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS - Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="1024" height="424" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-1024x424.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-300x124.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-768x318.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-1536x636.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS &#8211; Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB.</div>
There’s something else about Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise that isn’t discussed enough. Do people actually care about the saga and its heroic figures? How many Halloween costumes have been inspired by the series? Does “Avatar” merchandise sales spike when a new film hits theaters?
Comic-Con Nation genuflects to “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” the MCU, and other geek-friendly IPs. Does “Avatar” hold sway over that demographic in a similar fashion? Are names like Neytiri, Jake Sully, and Miles Quaritch as recognizable as Han, Luke, and Leia? What about Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy?
Hardly.
Cameron has spent much of his career defying the odds, and his “Avatar” films do so in another remarkable way. The phrase, “get woke go broke” finally pierced the Hollywood bubble in recent years. The industry has dialed back on its progressive messaging, realizing audiences would rather be entertained than lectured.
Yet the “Avatar” saga is unabashedly pro-environment and, on more than a few occasions, anti-human. We’re meant to root for the Na’vi, not Colonel Quaritch and his human foot soldiers.
<div id="attachment_1000753" style="width: 792px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1000753" class="size-large wp-image-1000753" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-782x576.jpg" alt="“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, James Cameron. Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS - Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="782" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-782x576.jpg 782w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-300x221.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-768x566.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-1536x1131.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px" />Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS &#8211; Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB.</div>
The director’s green activism infects every frame of his “Avatar” films, and he makes no apologies about it. That hasn’t impacted the franchise’s box office receipts, though. Not yet, at least.
Cameron’s undeniable skills can take eco-lectures and dress them up in clear-eyed action sequences and relatable themes. The pro-family sentiment of “The Way of Water,” for example, was impossible to miss.
Look past the director’s progressive streak and you’ll find a populist lurking in plain sight.
And while most filmmakers have wisely left 3D technology behind, Cameron clings to the format while pushing cinema technology forward. Each new “Avatar” film represents a leap in what’s possible on the big screen.
Who knows what “Fire and Ash” will deliver come December.
Boy, could the industry use another Cameron miracle to christen the New Year’s box office dreams and, in theory, prove the “rising tide lifts all boats” axiom anew. It wouldn’t be the first time Cameron defied the odds, but they haven’t been stacked so tall in ages.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

“L’Art De James Cameron – The Art Of James Cameron” Exhibition At La Cinematheque

Can James Cameron Save Hollywood Again?

actors

Film

James Cameron

Congress gears up for a fight over the fate of Obamacare, Hollywood suffers a monstrous slump, and a federal contracting program aimed at minority-owned businesses fields fraud accusations.
It’s Friday, November 14, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251114-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/obamacare-battle-brews-hollywood-suffers-slump-11-14-25/id1576594336?i=1000736722424" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Lawmakers Prepare For Battle Over Obamacare</h2>
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Topline: With the shutdown finally ended, the fight between Democrats and Republicans over healthcare subsidies and the fate of Obamacare is only ramping up.
Obamacare subsidies were expanded in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. The subsidies, which are technically tax credits, were supposed to last only 2 years, but Democrats extended them through the end of this year.
Currently, about 24 million Americans are on Obamacare plans, up from 11 million at the start of the pandemic. It’s a considerable increase, mainly due to subsidies. It’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-would-eliminating-0-marketplace-premiums-affect-insurance-coverage/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">estimated</a> that about 42% of 2025 Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollees pay less than $10 a month, with a vast majority paying nothing at all. Notably, Democrats removed the income cap on subsidy eligibility, so people earning over 400% of the federal poverty level qualify for these subsidies, too.
The cost: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that extending the subsidies through 2035 would increase the federal deficit by about $358 billion.
Democrats’ message: Democrats reportedly want to make the midterms about healthcare. Their message is that inaction from Republicans will drive up healthcare costs for millions of Americans.
Morning Wire spoke to Ryan Long, a Senior Research Fellow at Paragon Health Institute, to explain all of this. He said that if these subsidies expire as scheduled, people on ACA plans will once again return to paying something, even if it’s just a small amount, instead of having access to $0 plans. Those $0 plans, he said, have actually led to widespread fraud and abuse.
GOP’s message: Republicans generally want the subsidies to expire when the Democrats scheduled them to expire. They argue that Obamacare is a failure and needs serious reforms or a complete overhaul. Premiums, for example, rose <a href="https://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/forms-reports-and-other-resources/downloads/uninsured-affordability-in-marketplace.pdf">143%</a> in the first six years after the ACA took effect. Next year, premiums are set to rise another <a href="https://www.kff.org/quick-take/aca-insurers-are-raising-premiums-by-an-estimated-26-but-most-enrollees-could-see-sharper-increases-in-what-they-pay/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">26%</a>.
As for the fate of Obamacare, President Donald Trump has ramped up calls to move on from the “Obamacare madness.”
&#8220;I am calling today for insurance companies NOT to be paid. But for this massive amount of money be paid directly to the people so they can buy their own healthcare,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1988810290767548793?s=20">said</a> Trump.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Hollywood’s Serious Slump</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000673" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Hollywood is in a major slump, with October marking the worst box office revenues in nearly 30 years. Even Halloween weekend, usually a horror cash machine, failed to draw audiences.
With the exception of the COVID-19 shutdown year of 2020, when theaters were closed, October was the worst box-office month since 1997. Halloween weekend had the worst earnings in 31 years. The biggest culprit appears to be the lack of must-see content.
The numbers: Disney’s &#8220;Tron: Ares&#8221; opened to $38 million — the franchise’s worst debut. A24’s &#8220;The Smashing Machine&#8221; with Dwayne Johnson got $11 million. The Bruce Springsteen biopic earned $9 million. The total October take was $425 million.
The first couple of releases of November aren’t faring any better. &#8220;Christie,&#8221; starring Sydney Sweeney, came out last week and was a major flop. Some are suggesting politics played a role, but given Sweeney’s popularity, that isn’t very likely. The most probable explanation is that Sweeney’s young male fan base wasn’t especially interested in seeing her look nothing like herself playing a boxer.
Expert says: Veteran Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1489424842344237">told</a> finance outlet, Cheddar News, that a couple of Japanese anime movies outperformed expectations, and without them, the story here would be even worse.
“There was just nothing commercially exciting enough to mainstream audiences to drive them in huge numbers. And you know, last year, there was a Venom movie that opened at $50 million in October. We didn&#8217;t have that this year. And so I think that definitely hurt the box office,” said Dergarabedian.
The deeper issues: The ongoing disruption of streaming and social media is always at play, but not necessarily in the way typically thought. Many veteran filmmakers are starting to talk about the problem of what gets greenlit — they say studios are playing it safe and aren’t willing to gamble on creative, out-of-the-box ideas, so audiences are getting tired of seeing the same old thing.
Directors like Michael Bay and James Cameron are warning that something bigger may be broken. In an interview a few months ago, Bay voiced frustration over what he called “a system afraid of risk.” Now, he’s the king of big-studio blockbusters, but he said he’s moving into independent filmmaking so he can be more creative.
And he said that Cameron told him that no individual executives are empowered to greenlight anything anymore. The result is too many sequels, too few original ideas, and a growing reliance on algorithms to decide what gets made.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Crackdown On Minority Contracting Fraud</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000671" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Trump administration is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-crack-down-on-minority-contracting-schemes-d-c-s-worst-kept-secret">turning</a> its eye on a long-running DEI program that may be one of Washington’s most corrupt. The federal government awards a percentage of contracts to companies whose owners are “socially disadvantaged.” But they might not even be the ones doing the work. 
At issue is a process known as 8(a) contracting or “set-aside” contracting, where certain contracts, which could be for tens of millions of dollars, are either given to one company with no competition, or limited so that only “disadvantaged” companies are eligible to compete – essentially, racial minorities and women-owned companies.
This way of contracting is likely behind much of the poor performance in government, such as websites seeming old-fashioned and broken. But this has been the way Washington works for decades. Typically, GOP-favored interest groups such as disabled veterans and Alaskan native corporations have gotten a share. And then big, non-minority-owned companies end up doing much of the actual work as subcontractors.
ATI: One company, ATI Government Solutions, seemed to admit to the cozy dealmaking in an <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1981042870460252398">expose</a> put out by undercover activist James O’Keefe last month.
ATI is a company that gets contracts because it’s owned by Native Americans, though on ATI’s website, all the executives listed appear to be white.
The website is almost entirely focused on selling the idea that it’s easier for government officials to skip holding a competition to find the best company for a job. Meanwhile, big companies can get a shortcut to a government contract by working with ATI, which essentially has an automatic in because it’s partly owned by an Indian tribe.
Seems sus: Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration, said there’s a “full review of the 8(a) program” underway that has found “institutionalized abuse” to the tune of billions.
Loeffler said ATI’s CEO, Firmadge Crutchfield, had a network of seven companies, all of which had been suspended from receiving new contracts, and that their names were provided to law enforcement. 
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, said the Biden administration tripled the goal for minority set-asides from 5% to 15%, and did little to make sure they were actually doing the work, instead of serving as pass-throughs. 
“Small business contracting programs were never intended to function as welfare systems for favored classes or give no-bid contracts to do-nothing companies,” Ernst said, adding that over the decades, “penalties against rulebreakers have not been swiftly and resolutely imposed.”

MRN_251114_V1

Morning Brief: Obamacare Battle Brews, Hollywood Slump, & D.C.’s DEI Rackets

Kelly Loeffler

Obamacare

Small Business Administration

Sydney Sweeney

Washington D.C.

Actress Ruby Rose, who was allegedly passed over for the lead role in the boxing biopic “Christy,” came out swinging with a derogatory social media post against Sydney Sweeney.
The sports drama about competitive boxer Christy Martin was a massive flop at the box office, earning just $1.3 million from 2,011 theaters.
“The original Christy Martin script was incredible. Life changing. I was attached to play Cherry,” Rose <a href="https://www.threads.com/@rubyrose/post/DQ5-UJnDSE7">posted</a> on Threads. 
“Everyone had experience with the core material. Most of us were actually gay. It’s part of why I stayed in acting. Losing roles happens all the time,” the “Orange is the New Black” star went on. 
“For her PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the ‘people’. None of ‘the people’ want to see someone who hates them, parading around pretending to be us. You’re a cretin and you ruined the film. Period. Christy deserved better.”
Rose was referencing comments Sweeney made following the film’s lackluster opening weekend. The actress defended the film being a flop, saying she was still “proud” of her work and insisting that art films didn’t need to make a lot of money.
“[T]hank you to everyone who saw, felt, and believed and will believe in this story for years to come. if Christy gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded,” Sweeney <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sydney_sweeney/p/DQ4OYqPEeN1/">wrote</a> on Instagram Monday. 
“So yes I’m proud. why? because we don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. and christy has been the most impactful project of my life. thank you Christy. i love you,” she concluded.
Sweeney recently made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sydney-sweeney-praised-for-keeping-her-cool-as-gq-reporter-tries-to-shame-her?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Sydney+Sweeney+Praised+For+Keeping+Her+Cool+As+GQ+Reporter+Tries+To+Shame+Her">headlines</a> for refusing to take the bait when a liberal journalist tried to force her into apologizing for how her viral American Eagles ad campaign was perceived.
“I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear,” the actress said, shutting down the conversation. 
It was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-delighted-to-learn-sydney-sweeney-is-a-republican-now-i-love-her-ad">reported</a> this summer that Sweeney is a registered Republican.

Ruby Rose and Sydney Sweeney

Gay Actress Who Lost Role In Boxing Biopic Lashes Out At Sydney Sweeney, Calls Her A ‘Cretin’

Actress Who Lost Role In Boxing Biopic Lashes Out At Sydney Sweeney, Calling Her A 'Cretin'

“Star Wars” alum Oscar Isaac said he would be willing to return to the franchise if Disney stayed woke.
The actor played X-wing fighter pilot Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy that began with “The Force Awakens” in 2015. During a newly published <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/oscar-isaac-gq-cover-story-interview-men-of-the-year-2025">interview</a> with GQ, Isaac reflected on a comment he previously made about returning to “Star Wars” only if he “needed another house.”
“Yeah. That was a real likable quote. Jesus Christ,” he told the interviewer after it was brought up. “Y’know, people ask you things, you say stuff, you don’t really think about it that much. I said a slightly d***ish thing.”
Isaac had said he was done with Disney for years, but now claims to be “open to” returning, with stipulations.
“Although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney,” he told GQ. “But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great,” Isaac added.
The interview included an editor’s note, noting it was “conducted two days after ABC and Disney suspended production of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in response to comments Kimmel made following the death of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was back on the air four days after this conversation took place.”
Isaac appeared in several “Star Wars” franchise films, including “The Last Jedi” (2017) and “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019). He also voiced the character Dameron in the “Star Wars Resistance” animated series. 
Hollywood went into full-on meltdown mode following Kimmel’s suspension in September. Most celebrities blamed President Donald Trump for the suspension.
Kimmel’s remarks were taken to imply that Kirk’s killer was linked to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. Investigators say that the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked Kirk for his conservative views.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during the monologue in question.
When he returned following a brief suspension, Kimmel claimed that “it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”

Oscar Isaac

‘Star Wars’ Actor Says He’ll Work With Disney If It Passes His Woke Purity Test

'Star Wars' Actor Said He'll Work With Disney Only If It Doesn't 'Succumb To Fascism'

Disney

Fascism

Star Wars

Depending on who you ask, there are anywhere from seven to 20 different basic plots into which every story ever told fits. Kelsey Grammer thinks there may only be two or three — and one that matters more than the others.
“The reason we love the stories that we have about a central figure who is lost and then is found, that is basically a retelling of the Jesus story over and over again,” the actor told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.
“It’s always about sacrifice, about someone giving of themselves to save somebody else,” Grammer said. “These are the things we aspire to and are also drawn to, because they remind us that we have a purpose,” he said, “and it’s to have a relationship with God, and with one another.”
&#8220;Frasier&#8221; — the hit show in which Grammer played the titular character for 11 seasons, 13 if you count a recent reboot — is one of these stories, he says. The &#8220;Cheers&#8221; spinoff ultimately focused on a group of “people who loved each other who worked through our differences to get to the place where we realigned.”
So too is Grammer’s latest project. “Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring,” in theaters nationwide, tells the story of a military widow on a quest to find her family’s long-lost ring, an heirloom whose tale begins on D-Day. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with an antiques dealer. Grammer plays the dealer’s father, Howard, a lovable widower who, it turns out, may hold the key to the mystery of the ring.
The movie, Grammer says, “is not a reinvention of the wheel.” It’s “not a movie that’s going to change the world,” but a movie to remind us that “the world is actually okay.”
“It’s a romantic comedy, basically, about loss and love and finding new love and redemption and forgiveness and generosity, sacrifice, the things that come along for the ride when you celebrate the Christmas season.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u3PmNwiu_EE?si=4MtrYxcTapVM0pX3" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
But formulaic doesn’t mean bad, as Grammer is quick to point out. After all, we tell the same story each year on Christmas — the greatest story ever told.
“Into a world of Roman rule and infanticide and crucifixion, basically, God sent a baby to be cared for by humans, that we would discover our humanity,” Grammer says. “And that’s a pretty remarkable thing, and that story gets repeated every Christmas.”
“The Jesus story is, you know, always about finding love.”
Grammer is clearly happy to play roles in faith-forward movies. But he isn’t seeking them out exclusively — he reprises his role as the X-Man Beast in the forthcoming “Avengers” movie, he points out — nor is he trying to make some grand public pronouncement of his beliefs.
“I’m not a big proselytizer,” he says. “I’m not going to deny that I have faith and I’m a follower of Jesus, but I don’t walk around saying I’m gonna pray for you today.”
“But I say the Lord’s Prayer every night before I go to bed,” he adds. “My kids say it with me, and we try to walk towards God, towards a sense of faith, towards a higher purpose and a higher power, all these things that define your life by virtue of something outside of you.”
Grammer says he “was a Bible nerd” growing up, and while he “wasn’t a part of a church,” he “always thought” he “had a relationship with Jesus, in some way.”
The pull he’s felt throughout his life he now thinks others are feeling across the country.
“There is a movement back towards the idea that we live by faith and we are destined to do so,” he says. Even Hollywood “is catching on to the fact that there are maybe people like that who are willing to pay for a ticket, too.”
And while Grammer acknowledges that “not everybody” shares his beliefs, he’s quick to note that “even the ones who are on the other side reviling this sort of spiritual awakening” are still “our brothers and sisters.”
He hopes, though, that those on the other side of the road find their way to where he’s standing.
“It’s a real thing,” he says of America’s spiritual awakening. “And you can hate it or you can have the grace to go along with it.”
Faith, hope, and love. As a Bible nerd, Kelsey Grammer must realize these are the three things he’s mentioned most in our interview. St. Paul tells us that the greatest of these is love. And, while Grammer surely has no interest in rejiggering that order, it’s faith that he keeps coming back to — or at least what he speaks most eloquently about.
“We graduate into our humanity by the faith we carry,” he says, “And our belief in that is what unites us. Not human behavior — human behavior’s always going to let you down. But it’s God that teaches us to forgive that.”

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