Actor Russell Crowe had some words of condemnation for the film “Gladiator 2,” which he says was missing a crucial component compared to the first one.
“I think the recent sequel that, you know, we don’t have to name out loud is a really unfortunate example of even the people in that engine room not actually understanding what made the first one special,” Crowe said while speaking with Australia’s Triple J. “It wasn’t the pomp. It wasn’t the circumstance. It wasn’t the action. It was the moral core.”
Crowe won an Oscar for his portrayal of Maximus in the first “Gladiator” (2000). The sequel was released nearly a quarter of a century later, in 2024.
The actor said he was instrumental in keeping the “moral core” of Maximus while filming the original, saying it was important to him because it fit the character.
“The thing is, there was a daily fight on that set. It was a daily fight to keep that moral core of the character,” Crowe went on. “The amount of times they suggested sex scenes and stuff like that for Maximus, it’s like you’re taking away his power. So you’re saying at the same time he had this relationship with his wife, he was f***king this other girl? What are you talking about? It’s crazy.”
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Many commenters on the interview agreed that the second movie did not live up to the caliber of the first.
“It was an awful sequel that in no way lived up to its predecessor,” one person wrote.
“100% agree with his take and this is one of the many reasons Maximus is one of my favorite movie protagonists,” another person agreed. “One of the few stories who the hero is fueled by revenge for their love that was taken from them and they actually stay loyal and honor the memory of that person they’re on this crusade for.”
One of the issues Crowe seems to have with “Gladiator 2” was that its premise included Maximus having had an affair which resulted in the birth of a son, who was the protagonist in the film.
This isn’t the first time the “Gladiator” star brought up the issue of morality in the films. He said in 2024, “I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one — because, of course, I’m dead and I have no say in what gets done. But a couple of the things I’ve heard I’m like — no, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character. But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place.”
The Australian actor also said at the time that he was fed up with people asking him about the film when he had no say in it.
“They should be f***ing paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in,” Crowe said in 2023.
“It has nothing to do with me. In that world, I am dead. Six feet under. But I do admit to a certain tinge of jealousy, because it reminds me of when I was younger and what it meant for me, in my life.”

Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe Blasts ‘Gladiator 2’ For Lacking ‘Moral Core’ That Made The First One Great

Russell Crowe Blasts 'Gladiator 2' For Lacking 'Moral Core' That Made The First One Great

Entertainment

Hollywood

Movies

“Wicked: For Good” European Premiere – Arrivals

The Real Reason Hollywood Keeps Turning Villains Into Heroes

actors

Cartoon

Disney

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Propaganda

Wicked

Woke Culture

The actress who played the villain in the mystery horror thriller “Weapons” said that the gay and drag communities have really connected with her character.
Amy Madigan, who plays the child-snatching witch Aunt Gladys in the film, made the comments during a newly published <a href="https://variety.com/lists/ariana-grande-michael-b-jordan-react-golden-globe-nominations/chase-infiniti/">interview</a> with Variety.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Weapons | Marcus Meets Gladys | Movie Clip | Warner Bros. Entertainment" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FbLRYXXTz0A?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“People actually like Aunt Gladys,” the actress said of the character. “They kind of want to hang out with her. I’m very, very happy and grateful that the gay community and the drag community have really accepted Gladys. The people that I’ve talked to have said, ‘We’re the other. We’re the outsider, and we’re not supposed to fit in, and Gladys does in a weird way.’ And now they have really helped her spread her magic around.”
The Golden Globes just nominated Madigan for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture. In the film, her character uses witchcraft to possess both children and adults, using their life force to keep herself young.
“Weapons” director Zach Cregger discussed some of his motivations for the film, including the character of Aunt Gladys with her bright red hair and garish makeup. 
&#8220;I had written another script many years ago that was kind of the Gladys story,&#8221; Cregger <a href="https://ew.com/weapons-aunt-gladys-origins-revealed-shelved-script-voodoo-book-song-11821481">told</a> Entertainment Weekly in an interview published in October. &#8220;It was told from a child&#8217;s perspective, and this crazy woman picks him up at school and takes him home and has subsumed his parents. It&#8217;s about him trying to figure out how to get out from under her oppression.&#8221; 
He said the character was inspired by a non-fiction book by Wade Davis called &#8220;The Serpent and the Rainbow&#8221; and a song called &#8220;Dancing in the Head&#8221; by the British punk band The Mekons.
There were many reactions on social media about Aunt Gladys being embraced by the LGBT crowd. 
“Uhhh, she&#8217;s a hideous, murderous monster who tortured children,” one reply <a href="https://x.com/shoveitjack/status/1998171762643947526">said</a>. “Come to think of it, yes, it makes sense that the alphabet cult would embrace her.”
“Extraordinary. Once again siding with an unsympathetic and irredeemable villain who preys on children,” another person <a href="https://x.com/lord_of_paradox/status/1998480103337005517">said</a>. 
“The gay and drag community loves a witch who kidnapped and enslaved children, lol, I can’t believe she just straight up said it,” <a href="https://x.com/GPIngersoll/status/1998434480869236820">echoed</a> a third.

Aunt Gladys

‘Weapons’ Actress Brags That Drag Community Loves Her Child Snatching, Witch Character

'Weapons' Actress Brags That Drag Community Loves Her Child Snatching, Spell Casting Character

Drag Queens

Horror Movies

LGBT

Netflix is being dragged hard for the storyline of its upcoming series, “Queen of Coal,” which is so woke it sounds made up.
The Spanish-Argentine series will be released in America on December 19 and is making the rounds on social media for its ultra-leftist storyline. Per the <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81728098">logline</a>, it’s about “a trans woman [who] dreams of working the coal mines — but in a town steeped in superstition and patriarchy, Carlita must fight to earn her place underground.”
The series stars Lux Pascal, a trans-identifying man who is the brother of Hollywood star Pedro Pascal.
Reactions on social media were mostly negative, especially in light of current events. Netflix just made a deal to acquire Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion, which is subject to approval by the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Critics are concerned about Netflix’s level of control over the entertainment industry.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="MISS CARBÓN • Tráiler oficial" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yb6RMRrXnJ8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Is this a joke?” one person <a href="https://x.com/darrengrimes/status/1997984951539527853?s=43">wondered</a> about “Queen of Coal.” 
“‘Why are you so against Netflix buying Warner Bros. and HBO?’ HERE’S WHY: Their upcoming film ‘Queen of Coal’ is about a man who transitions, then has to fight against his ‘conservative small-town community’, shown as hostile and evil, to keep his dream job in the mines,” conservative podcaster Benny Johnson <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1998141787979096238">wrote</a>.
“It’s front and center on Netflix. They’re not even hiding it. If they take over Warner Bros. and HBO, this agenda goes everywhere,” he continued. “For now, you have the simple option to cancel Netflix and keep your kids away from it. But, once they own all the studios and platforms, you can’t. They’ll put the same message in every show, every movie, every classic. Cancel Netflix, block the deal, protect the children.”
“‘Queen of Coal,’ a movie about a man pretending to be a woman fighting the ‘patriarchy,’ is set to release on Netflix this month,” Libs of TikTok <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1998126962196525260">wrote</a>. “If you haven&#8217;t already, now would be a good time to CANCEL NETFLIX.”
Concerned Women for America (CWA) released a <a href="https://concernedwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CWA-Netflix-Report.pdf">report</a> Monday that found that 41% of children’s content on Netflix contained LGBT themes. While this movie isn’t meant for kids, it does highlight the company’s broader agenda of aggressively mainstreaming LGBT content.

Lux Pascal

Netflix Mocked For Film About Trans-Identifying Coal Miner Fighting The Patriarchy

Netflix Mocked For Film About Trans Coal Miner Fighting The Patriarchy

Netflix

Transgender

U.S.

One Battle After Another

Ultra-Woke ‘One Battle After Another’ Leads Golden Globes With 9 Total Nominations

Ultra-Woke 'One Battle After Another' Leads Golden Globes With 9 Total Nominations

Golden Globes

Television

A recent article in The New York Times puzzles over the bad news at the Hollywood box office. An occasional hit like “Wicked: For the Good” may keep the industry afloat, but for the most part, no one’s going to the theater.
“25 Movies, Many Stars, 0 Hits: Hollywood Falls to New Lows,” says the Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/business/media/box-office-collapse-hollywood.html?searchResultPosition=6">headline</a>. And the subhead: “It has been a brutal three months for dramas and comedies.”
The article goes on to blame the pandemic, the internet, streaming, and so on. My witty friend Stephen Green over at PJMedia made a better <a href="https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2025/11/17/dear-hollywood-have-you-tried-not-sucking-n4946090">suggestion</a>: “Dear Hollywood. Have you tried not sucking?”
Stephen’s right, of course. But The New York Times can’t see the problem, because The New York Times embodies the problem.
An example.
Another friend of mine, the very talented rebel writer-director Cyrus Nowrasteh, recently directed the film “Sarah’s Oil,” which he co-wrote with his also talented wife, Betsy. Based on a true story, the film tells the tale of a black girl in Jim Crow Oklahoma fighting against bigotry to find and keep the oil on her land. The picture is well-made, touching, and inspiring.
Given a smallish release, the film surprised the industry by doing excellent business. It has an 83% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a stunning 98% rating from actual human beings.
But here’s an excerpt from one of its few bad reviews in — you guessed it — the New York Times. Natalia Winkelman writes:
<blockquote>Sarah’s Oil is a movie that will surprise nobody. Viewers might even make out a regressive strain reinforcing the feel-good mood: Let alone the incidental worship of fossil fuel… the movie’s emotional core is a Black girl’s belief in her white protector.</blockquote>
Horrors!
Could there be a more small-minded, small-souled reaction to a poignant story of a child’s triumph over prejudice? Miss Winkelman could just as easily have written: “No opinions allowed in the arts but my opinions! No ideas but those approved by the cultural establishment!”
<a href="https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1010467 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/New-Jerusalem-slug-1024x191.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="191" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/New-Jerusalem-slug-1024x191.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/New-Jerusalem-slug-300x56.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/New-Jerusalem-slug-768x143.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/New-Jerusalem-slug.jpg 1100w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
But those ideas are not just anti-art, they’re anti-human. No women who act like feminine women. No men who act like manly men. No stories that explore themes of freedom, individualism, traditional marriage, motherhood, fatherhood or faith.
As a result, you get films like “Nosferatu,” a gorgeous and talented remake that falls apart because it can’t include the God who makes vampire stories make sense; “Frankenstein,” a gorgeous and talented remake that falls apart because it can’t stick to Mary Shelley’s superior plot and its theme of rebellion against God and womanhood; “Running Man,” a gorgeous and talented remake that falls apart because it can’t point to what’s ailing society because imagine what Miss Winkelman would say about that!
No new stories. Just good old stories ruined by bad new ideas. The human spirit yearns to hear tales of freedom and male-female love and faith. The querulous clerisy only wants to wallow in their own dyspeptic imaginations.
You want good movies? Break these losers’ monopoly on the arts.
* * *
This article was originally posted on “<a href="https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New Jerusalem</a>” on Substack.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Why Hollywood Sucks

Andrew Klavan

Box Office

Film Reviews

The New York Times

Some members of Congress on Friday deemed Netflix&#8217;s $82 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery&#8217;s studios and streaming unit an antitrust &#8220;nightmare&#8221; for consumers and creatives, while the company touted the deal as driving value for viewers, workers and shareholders.
Netflix said the deal would create jobs and give its 300 million subscribers &#8220;more bang for their buck&#8221; by adding content at a time when President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration is focused on lowering prices.
Nevertheless, Republicans in Congress have warned of potential antitrust problems with Netflix absorbing HBO Max and Warner Bros&#8217; content rights. Democrats including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren also criticized the transaction.
Warren said the deal &#8220;would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market — threatening to force Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch, while putting American workers at risk.&#8221;
Both Warren and U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, who co-chairs the House Monopoly Busters Caucus, called the deal a &#8220;nightmare.&#8221;
&#8220;It would mean more price hikes, ads, &amp; cookie cutter content, less creative control for artists, and lower pay for workers,&#8221; she said in a post on social media site X.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said the &#8220;proposed deal, and any other, should be closely scrutinized.&#8221;
While Netflix won the bidding war for Warner Bros studio and streaming assets, it has been the political underdog compared with David Ellison-led Paramount Skydance, which has close ties with the Trump administration.
Paramount is considering making an alternative takeover offer directly to Warner Bros shareholders, who have yet to vote on the Netflix deal, CNBC reported on Friday. Reuters could not verify the report.
As the process played out, Republicans in Congress warned that a Netflix acquisition would reduce choice for consumers and give Netflix an unacceptably high share of the streaming market.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who leads the antitrust committee, said a Netflix buy of Warner Bros Discovery&#8217;s streaming assets &#8220;should send alarm to antitrust enforcers around the world.&#8221;
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&#8220;Netflix built a great service, but increasing Netflix’s dominance this way would mean the end of the Golden Age of streaming for content creators and consumers,&#8221; Lee wrote in a post on X.
Last month, Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas and Representative Darrell Issa of California also called on U.S. antitrust enforcers to scrutinize any possible Netflix-Warner Bros deal, saying it could lead to fewer movies in theaters.
The deal, given its size alone, is likely to face significant antitrust review by the U.S. Department of Justice, and also because it would eliminate competition between HBO Max, which has 128 million subscribers, and Netflix.
Netflix could counter by pointing to shifting media habits and the fact that Alphabet&#8217;s YouTube has recently been the most popular way for Americans to watch TV.
&#8220;We&#8217;re highly confident in the regulatory process. This deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, it&#8217;s pro-creator, it&#8217;s pro-growth,&#8221; Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said after the deal was announced.
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on Friday.
George Hay, a law professor at Cornell University, said the review will depend on how much of the content market Netflix would control after the deal, and whether or not it could be addressed by a partial sale of some assets.
&#8220;Warner Bros has a lot of content already in the can. So you can imagine spinning off some of that content to another supplier, maybe a Paramount or something like that as a way of ameliorating or diminishing the market share,&#8221; he said.
The deal will likely trigger intense antitrust scrutiny in the European Union due to the combined companies&#8217; market share. UNIC, the EU trade body representing cinema trade associations and operators covering 39 territories, said it will share its concerns and opposition to the deal with competition authorities.
The DOJ antitrust unit is led by Gail Slater, a former executive at Fox Corp and Roku. She was later an economic advisor to Vice President JD Vance.
Last month, Slater signaled that the &#8220;main thing&#8221; for her office is focusing on the average American&#8217;s biggest expenditures. Housing, transportation, food, healthcare and utilities lead the list, with entertainment in fifth place at 5% of household spending, according to a pie chart Slater posted on X.
But those entertainment costs have been rising. Netflix raised the price of its own standard ad-free plan by $2.50 to $17.99 a month in January. HBO Max followed suit, raising its ad-free service price last month by $1.50 to $18.49.
Trump has a history of getting involved in big media mergers and weighing in on one side. He actively lobbied the DOJ in his first term to stop AT&amp;T&#8217;s $85 billion purchase of Time-Warner, voicing concerns about media concentration and his own displeasure with Time-Warner&#8217;s CNN cable network. AT&amp;T ultimately won in court in 2018 and 2019.
Warren warned on Friday against political favoritism tainting the deal review process.
&#8220;The Justice Department must enforce our nation’s anti-monopoly laws fairly and transparently — not use the Warner Bros. deal review to invite influence-peddling and bribery,&#8221; she said.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York, Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Chris Sanders, Franklin Paul, Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Netflix-Warner Bros Deal Faces Bipartisan Political Pushback

Business

Warner Bros

Ratings are down. Cultural prestige? Sinking as we speak. Yet the Best Picture race is one even casual movie fans tend to track. It’s the night’s biggest honor, and having a Best Picture logo next to a film title still holds some sway in the culture.
That’s even though most people didn’t see, or can’t remember, the last few Best Picture winners.
And, each awards season, experts track which film has the best chance to win that Oscar trophy. It’s the ultimate horse race, with box office results, critical reviews, and cultural resonance influencing the outcome.
Is this year’s race over already, weeks before some Oscar-bait films have even reached theaters? It sure looks that way.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and has already won multiple honors, and the awards season has barely begun. The film swept the National Board of Review’s 2025 honors, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor (DiCaprio).
That’s in addition to best picture wins with the Atlanta Film Critics Circle, the Gotham Awards, and the New York Film Critics Circle. The film also scored big with Sight and Sound’s 2025 Best Films Of The Year List, topping its 2025 chart.
More will follow, no doubt.
<div id="attachment_1010711" style="width: 471px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1010711" class="size-large wp-image-1010711" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Movie-OBAA-461x576.jpg" alt="Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures - copyright Warner Bros. Pictures" width="461" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Movie-OBAA-461x576.jpg 461w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Movie-OBAA-240x300.jpg 240w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Movie-OBAA-768x960.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Movie-OBAA-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Movie-OBAA.jpg 1638w" sizes=" (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" />Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures &#8211; copyright Warner Bros. Pictures</div>
“One Battle After Another” stars DiCaprio as a bumbling protester who hangs up his revolutionary jacket to raise his mixed-race daughter (Chase Infiniti). His radical past comes back to haunt them when a racist, out-of-control Colonel (Sean Penn) tracks his daughter down for nefarious purposes.
It doesn’t take Peter Falk’s iconic Columbo to sleuth out why “One Battle After Another” is generating so much critical adoration. Yes, Anderson is a top-tier filmmaker, and some of the sequences in the film prove exhilarating.
The film’s political point of view is pure catnip to a community wedded to progressive ideals. The story’s heroes are anti-government radicals who will do whatever it takes to free illegal immigrants taken into U.S. custody.
If that means holding U.S. officials at gunpoint, setting off fireworks, or bombing buildings, so be it. The U.S. forces shown throughout the film are almost uniformly cruel, callous, or just plain evil. A subplot involving a White Nationalist group feels too extreme even for your average MS NOW anchor.
It wasn’t for movie critics, apparently. They’ve endlessly praised the film to the tune of a 94% “fresh” rating at RottenTomatoes.com. The general public liked it, albeit less, via an 85% “fresh” score.
Some scribes have tried to <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/columns/no-one-battle-after-another-is-not-a-left-wing-film-1236556461/">downplay the film’s far-Left politics</a>, a funnier take than any late-night monologue.
<div id="attachment_1010715" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1010715" class="size-large wp-image-1010715" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-864x576.jpg" alt="Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures - copyright Warner Bros. Pictures" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Leo-robe.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures &#8211; copyright Warner Bros. Pictures</div>
It helps that no other 2025 release has “Best Picture” written all over it. Director Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” is getting early raves, but the film has barely registered at the box office ($1.7 million to date) and offers a maudlin subject. The film imagines what William Shakespeare and his wife endured after the loss of their son.
The Boss biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” flopped in theaters and didn’t get enough critical love.
Art remains subjective, but Hollywood politics are another matter. Not only does “One Battle After Another” reflect the industry’s hard-Left embrace of open borders, it’s a thumb in the eye to both ICE and President Donald Trump.
The latter will be irresistible to Academy voters. And, chances are, the film’s key stars will lean into that sentiment during awards season.
The various arts honors do more than help predict which films and actors will emerge triumphant on Oscar night. They let the early winners test out their acceptance speeches, another unwritten part of their Oscar campaigns.
Uncork a few fiery “thank you… and” speeches, hitting all the “approved” targets along the way, and a star’s Oscar chances perk up.
Now, imagine what DiCaprio would say at the Oscar podium while collecting his second Best Actor statue for “One Battle After Another.” He used his 2017 podium time to promote his Climate Change agenda.
<div id="attachment_1010725" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1010725" class="size-large wp-image-1010725" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-645717450-798x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 26: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio speaks onstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood &amp; Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)" width="798" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-645717450-798x576.jpg 798w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-645717450-300x217.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-645717450-768x554.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-645717450.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" />Kevin Winter/Getty Images</div>
There’s less than zero chance he won’t blast President Trump’s attempt to enforce immigration laws in any 2026 speech. And he won’t be alone.
Recent Oscar ceremonies have dialed back, to a degree, on the hard-Left polemics. Even far-Left host Jimmy Kimmel hasn’t leaned into his progressive bona fides in recent years.
That will change in 2026 after a full year of President Trump’s return to the White House. Is there a better film to reflect that “resistance” than “One Battle After Another”? That’s rhetorical.
We still have a few more weeks before the year ends. Films like “Marty Supreme,” starring perennial Oscar-bait Timothee Chalamet, hit theaters on Christmas Day. Still, anyone who grasps Oscar culture knows a heavy favorite when he or she sees one.
There is one dark path forward that could derail “One Battle After Another.” The film’s gauzy framing of violence against immigration enforcement took an ugly turn when real attacks on ICE agents broke out close to the film’s release.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-illegal-immigrant-detainee-dies-after-dallas-ice-shooting">September attack on a Dallas-based ICE facility</a> didn’t kill any U.S. agents, but it did leave two illegal immigrants dead. The media complex didn’t connect the attack to “One Battle After Another,” but if similar events follow, the connection may be unavoidable.
Hollywood may want to shrug off any ties between the film and actual carnage, but it might be enough of a problem to coax Oscar voters to select another, less incendiary film.
* * *
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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Oscars Leo

Is the Best Picture Race Already Over?

Academy Awards

Leonardo DiCaprio

Oscars

We’ve never had a pop culture force in the White House quite like President Donald Trump.
Yes, even the Gipper himself, President Ronald Reagan, didn’t grasp star power the same as Trump. Granted, Reagan’s Hollywood days gave him a unique take on culture and the arts and earned him the moniker, “<a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/evolution-great-communicator">The Great Communicator</a>.”
President Trump understands that realm, too, along with our new social media age.
Now, Trump is using his leverage to make movies great again. Or, at least, one franchise in particular.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pushes-for-rush-hour-comeback-and-hollywood-delivers-report">Reports say</a> Trump had a hand in the “Rush Hour” franchise revival at Paramount. The saga’s director, Brett Ratner — canceled during the MeToo movement for unproven sexual assault allegations — is also directing the upcoming Melania Trump documentary, &#8220;Melania&#8221; (January, 2026).
Those ties likely helped make a fourth “Rush Hour” film happen.
<div id="attachment_1008703" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1008703" class="size-large wp-image-1008703" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248407527-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 25: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the 78th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation in the Rose Garden of the White House on November 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump will pardon Gobble and alternate turkey Waddle, who were both raised in North Carolina and will live out the rest of their lives under the care of the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248407527-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248407527-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248407527-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2248407527.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Heather Diehl/Getty Images</div>
In an era when Hollywood studios cast a wary glance at right-leaning audiences, President Trump is using his bully pulpit to shape pop culture.
That gives him a golden opportunity to do more than revive a stalled franchise.
So, which other film projects are deserving of a presidential nudge?
It’s cinematically sacrilegious to remake “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” but what about a sequel starring a middle-aged Ferris? The sequel could find Matthew Broderick’s character saddled with a mortgage, two ungrateful kids, and a marriage to Sloan that has long lost its spark.
Yet, for one glorious day, the older Ferris finds his inner teen, goes on a grand adventure, and realizes the beauty lurking within adulthood. The only issue could be if the John Hughes estate would allow it – the late Hughes wrote and directed the 1986 classic. It’s still worth a try, if merely for the Reagan-era nostalgia.
<div id="attachment_1008711" style="width: 383px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1008711" class="size-large wp-image-1008711" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Ferris-Bueller-poster-373x576.jpg" alt="Paramount Pictures. 1986. " width="373" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Ferris-Bueller-poster-373x576.jpg 373w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Ferris-Bueller-poster-194x300.jpg 194w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Ferris-Bueller-poster.jpg 520w" sizes=" (max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px" />Paramount Pictures. 1986.</div>
The 1994 comedy “PCU” was both ahead of its time and, sadly, a box office misfire with <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0110759/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">under $5 million</a> from stateside theaters. The comedy skewered the growing “politically correct” movement in American universities, one that presaged a full-blown woke revolution 20 years later.
The comedy still landed some stingers, especially given the academia targets on display. Why not remake the film from today’s college prism? Could the material cover everything from absurd college courses on “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/01/02/taylor-swift-101-college-classes-about-singer/71976599007/">Swiftology</a>” to darker riffs on college antisemitism?
If a direct remake doesn’t make sense, what about a sequel to “Old School?” That frat-style comedy found grown men starting their own Greek-style fraternity. Maybe an “Old School” spin where characters try the same shtick today but run into a furious woke mob rebuffing their efforts to party like it’s 1999?
Comedy has struggled since woke took over Hollywood. Even Variety magazine <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/variety-accidentally-confirms-woke-killed-movie-comedies/">inadvertently admitted as much</a>. Signs suggest its stranglehold on the culture is waning. That gives Team Trump a chance to bring back bawdy, R-rated comedies to a film landscape in dire need of a laugh.
And while blockbuster films often struggle to make a profit due to their gargantuan budgets, screen comedies are infinitely cheaper to produce.
Trump is reviving Ratner’s career with the “Rush Hour” project. He also could reach out to “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips while he’s at it. Phillips famously said he stopped making comedies (he also directed “Old School” and “Road Trip”) <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/joaquin-phoenix-cover-story">due to woke’s censorious nature.</a>
Coax Phillips back into the comedy business and see what happens next.
We may not need-need a fourth “Rush Hour” film, but its existence is a thumb in the eye to the woke mind virus sufferers. The saga’s willingness to poke fun at cultural stereotypes typified a better time.
<div id="attachment_1006399" style="width: 997px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1006399" class="size-large wp-image-1006399" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Rush-Hour-987x576.jpg" alt="Rush Hour" width="987" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Rush-Hour-987x576.jpg 987w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Rush-Hour-300x175.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Rush-Hour-768x448.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Rush-Hour.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 987px) 100vw, 987px" />Hulton Archive via Getty Images</div>
If wisecracks about Asians and black people truly were offensive, stars Chan and Tucker might have said something mid-production, no? Earlier this year, USA Network got offended on behalf of those communities. The cable channel <a href="https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/7/4/rush-hour-trigger-warning">inserted a trigger warning</a> before the first “Rush Hour” feature:
<blockquote>We all love our buddy comedies, but this movie was created in a different time. FYI certain depictions, language and humor may seem outdated and at times offensive. </blockquote>
Do you understand <a href="https://tenor.com/search/do-you-understand-the-words-coming-out-of-my-mouth-gifs">the words</a> coming out of our mouths?
Which brings us to Phillips’ “Hangover” saga. Once again, the third installment showed the formula was wearing thin. Some franchises should call it a day, no matter how profitable they may be. That third “Hangover,” the weakest of the trilogy, made $362 million globally.
<div id="attachment_1009127" style="width: 399px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1009127" class="size-large wp-image-1009127" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Hangover-the-389x576.jpg" alt="Warner Bros. Legendary Pictures. Green Hat Films." width="389" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Hangover-the-389x576.jpg 389w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Hangover-the-202x300.jpg 202w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Hangover-the-768x1138.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Hangover-the-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Hangover-the.jpg 1382w" sizes=" (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" />Warner Bros. Legendary Pictures. Green Hat Films.</div>
A revival would do more than give its studio a boost. It would signal the woke era’s official collapse. After all, the film followed four straight white males who drank too much, ogled women, found themselves in deep trouble on multiple fronts, but ended up living happily ever after.
No lectures. No Girl Boss characters dressing them down. No forced diversity measures – co-star Ken Jeong stole scenes on his own, thank you. Just R-rated high jinks, the kind that used to power endless dumb but hilarious comedies.
And, yes, the usual media suspects would tsk-tsk these projects, telling us how problematic they are and why no one should laugh at them. And most Americans would give those articles a shrug, at best.
Some might even laugh out loud while reading them.
No one person can lift Hollywood out of its current, sorry state. At the very least, President Trump could Make Hollywood Funny Again.
* * *
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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Trump movies

‘Rush Hour 4’ Is A Go. What Else Can President Trump Greenlight?

Comedy

Donald Trump

Film

White House

After a string of high-profile failures, Disney finally scored a win with the animated sequel “Zootopia 2” over Thanksgiving weekend.
The movie broke records for the House of Mouse. It raked in over $559 million globally since its premiere on Wednesday, earning the highest international earnings ever for an animated film, and the highest international earnings for a sequel. “Zootopia 2” also earned the fourth-highest earnings among all films, according to <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/11/zootopia-2-box-office-records-1236631348/">Deadline</a>. 
The animated sequel boasted a $156 million estimated gross total domestically over the five-day holiday, putting it second in line behind “Moana 2,” which earned $225 million domestically in 2024. 
“Disney has made it an event that comes virtually every year over the Thanksgiving holiday,” Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore, said of the results, per <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/30/business/zootopia-sequel-thanksgiving-box-office">CNN</a>. “Families just embraced (‘Zootopia 2’) in such a profound way.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Zootopia 2 | Final Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5AwtptT8X8k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The analyst noted that the second-highest earner, “Wicked: For Good,” also performed strongly for its second week.
“They did not really detract at all from each other … This performance was born out of having a perfectly curated, perfectly strategized release of these two movies,” Dergarabedian added.
The original “Zootopia” was released in 2016. The story follows a bunny cop, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), who must work with sarcastic con artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to solve a mystery in a city full of talking animals. In the follow-up, Nick is Judy’s partner as they take on another case.
While Disney has been pushing the envelope with leftist themes and LGBT storylines, it’s worth noting that “Zootopia 2” didn’t necessarily follow that script. While some viewers pointed out how the plot of both movies could be seen as taking a progressive stance on topics such as racism and colonialism, there are no same-sex kissing scenes or LGBT-identifying characters. 
The film currently has a 91% critic score and 96% audience score on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zootopia_2">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. 
“‘Zootopia 2’ is pure delight, every bit as exciting and heartwarming and imaginative as the Oscar-winning original and maybe even funnier,” said film critic Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com.

Zootopia 2

Disney Rebounds With ‘Zootopia 2,’ Breaking Box Office Records

Disney Rebounds With 'Zootopia 2' Bringing In $156M At Box Office

Animation

As families gather this holiday season, finding entertainment that is both edifying and enjoyable shouldn’t require a culture-war battle. For years, it has. Here’s the good news: Americans are winning.
As a religious-freedom advocate and mother of a large family, I live that struggle from both angles. In my work defending conscience rights, I see how culture shapes values. At home, I face the daily challenge of ensuring my children know their Christian faith and develop well-formed consciences in a world often working against them.
For families like mine — with kids at home in countless afterschool activities and others in college — Thanksgiving weekend offers rare time together. But finding wholesome entertainment that captivates everyone? That&#8217;s been the real challenge. Movie nights should be simple, not exercises in scrolling through endless streaming menus filled with questionable content.
Fortunately, the tide is turning. A new generation of filmmakers is proving that you can beat Hollywood at its own game by offering quality entertainment with uplifting messages. 
Two summers ago, in July of 2023, Angel Studios released “<a href="https://www.angel.com/press/sound-of-freedom">Sound of Freedom</a>,” earning over $250 million even though the Hollywood establishment tried to bury it. The film exposed international child sex trafficking while becoming a cultural phenomenon that rattled the entertainment elite. Then there are the <a href="https://kendrickbrothers.com/">Kendrick Brothers</a>, longtime producers of Christian films that inspire audiences by addressing marriage, online pornography addiction, and community rebuilding.
New on the scene is the <a href="https://www.thewonderproject.com/">Wonder Project</a>, a revolutionary enterprise producing its own original content for theaters as well as a subscription-based channel on the Prime streaming service offering over a hundred “value-driven” titles with classics like “The Sound of Music” and “Lincoln” alongside original productions like the “House of David” series. The platform also provides edited versions of popular films, making true co-viewing possible without scrambling for the fast-forward button.
I recently watched one of the Wonder Project&#8217;s original productions, “<a href="https://sarahsoilfilminspires.com/">Sarah&#8217;s Oil</a>,” at a nearby movie theater with my four youngest children, all close in age to the film&#8217;s 11-year-old protagonist. We witnessed something rare: a movie that held their complete attention while teaching profound lessons about courage and faith. The true story follows Sarah Rector, an African American girl in early-1900s Oklahoma, who believes oil lies beneath her barren land. She is proven right — becoming one of America’s first female African American millionaires at eleven.
What makes “Sarah&#8217;s Oil” exceptional is what it proves possible. A film tackling racial injustice and economic exploitation while remaining appropriate for children. No lectures about systemic racism. No victim narrative. Just an inspiring American story of perseverance, faith, and determination. It illuminates the good, the true, and the beautiful — something Hollywood has largely forgotten how to do.
In an age where every family member often retreats to their own screen and algorithm-curated bubble, shared cultural experiences have become almost revolutionary. Grandparents, parents, and children gathering around the same story. Laughing together, being moved together, is how values are shared across generations. It&#8217;s how family bonds are strengthened. When a film can captivate both an 80-year-old grandmother and a 9-year-old grandchild, it creates common ground for the kind of conversations that matter. These shared moments are the antidote to the isolation afflicting both young and old. Hollywood once understood this.
Counter-culture media initiatives like the Wonder Project have made smart business decisions by listening to families and giving them what they want: Content that unites, stories that inspire, heroes worth emulating.
Every family that chooses wholesome entertainment over progressive-left propaganda sends a market signal Hollywood can&#8217;t ignore. Every packed theater for a faith-based film is a referendum on the entertainment establishment. Every streaming subscription to values-driven content proves what Americans actually want.
This Thanksgiving weekend, make a statement. Choose entertainment that edifies and entertains. Be part of a movement for change that is winning. American families are taking back the culture, one movie or series at a time. Hollywood thought we wouldn&#8217;t care.
The market is proving them wrong. And we are just getting started.
* * *
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is director of the<a href="https://conscience-project.org/"> Conscience Project</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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Rear view of a family watching TV on sofa at home.

This Thanksgiving, Choose Movies That Will Bring Your Family Together

Amazon Prime

Angel Studios

Family Values

Thanksgiving

The popular “Rush Hour” film franchise will reportedly be resurrected at the request of President Donald Trump.
Paramount Pictures will distribute the fourth sequel of the action franchise starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, as Deadline <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/11/rush-hour-4-paramount-release-brett-ratner-1236628468/">reported</a>. It’s believed that both lead actors will return to join director Brett Ratner, who was also in charge of previous installments. 
Semafor <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/11/23/2025/how-trump-is-trying-to-remake-american-culture-starting-with-rush-hour">reported</a> that Trump was instrumental in getting the project off the ground because he was a fan of the franchise. He reportedly spoke with Paramount head David Ellison about it. Ellison&#8217;s father, Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, has a close relationship with President Trump and operates behind the scenes at Paramount.
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&#8220;Trump appears to want to revive the raucous comedies and action movies of the late 1980s to late 1990s,&#8221; the outlet <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/11/23/2025/how-trump-is-trying-to-remake-american-culture-starting-with-rush-hour">reported</a>. &#8220;He’s passionate, for instance, about the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme sports flick &#8216;Bloodsport.&#8217; A person directly familiar with the conversations told Semafor that the president of the United States has personally pressed the Paramount owner to revive another franchise from Ratner: &#8216;Rush Hour,&#8217; a buddy-cop comedy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker that blended physical comedy, martial arts and gags about racial stereotypes.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to Paramount and the White House for comment.
The big players in “Rush Hour” all have <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jackie-chan-on-trump-presidency-just-give-him-a-chance-004306732.html">previously</a> made positive <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/actor-chris-tucker-says-he-prays-for-trump-wants-him-to-be-great-president-227702/">remarks</a> about Trump, especially compared to most of TDS-infected Hollywood. Ratner directed a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/amazon-melania-trump-doc-release-date-1236396807/">documentary</a> about first lady Melania Trump which will be released in January. 
The “Rush Hour” franchise is a classic buddy cop action comedy series chronicling the chaotic adventures of LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) and Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) as they team up to take down international criminals. Their mismatched personalities, fun banter, and high-energy action sequences make them one of the most beloved pairings in the genre.
The first three “Rush Hour” films were huge hits, earning more than $850 million worldwide, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/25/trump-pushed-paramount-revive-rush-hour-4-reports-say.html">per</a> CNBC.
&nbsp;

Rush Hour

Trump Pushes For ‘Rush Hour’ Comeback — And Hollywood Delivers: Report

President Trump Pushes For ‘Rush Hour’ Comeback — And Hollywood Delivers: Report

Executive

Paramount

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