Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ follow-up revealed, ‘Yellowstone’ finale ratings: Today’s Top Stories
Gold Derby rounds up today’s top stories in entertainment for Dec. 23, 2024.
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer follow-up revealed: The Odyssey
Universal Pictures revealed in a recent social media post, “Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.” So we still have a year and a half to wait for the extravaganza. It’s set to begin filming in the first half of 2025.
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The film will star Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron. It will be Nolan’s first film since Oppenheimer, which won seven Oscars, including the first ever prizes for the popular filmmaker: Best Picture and Best Director. Overall, Nolan has earned eight Oscar noms spanning 22 years for films including Memento, Inception, and Dunkirk.
Yellowstone finale ratings bonanza
The Paramount drama series Yellowstone went out with a bang. The Dec. 15 series finale episode drew 13.1 million viewers over three days, according to the cable network. That makes it the most watched episode in the series’ history on Paramount and CMT, where it was simulcast. That doesn’t count airings on CBS or encore broadcasts, though. When you include those, the mid-season premiere beat it with 16.4 million viewers. Still, those were sky-high figures for the show, which proved to be a massive popular hit for Paramount throughout its run.
So far Yellowstone has spawned two prequel spinoffs: 1883 starring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. Both shows explore characters and events in Dutton family history. A second season of 1923 is scheduled to premiere Feb. 23, 2025. Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the Yellowstone universe, has also launched several other Paramount shows, including Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lioness, and most recently Landman starring current Golden Globe nominee Billy Bob Thornton.
Mariah Carey achieves her longest-running No. 1 song with “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
Mariah Carey’s holiday standard “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spends its third week in a row at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart dated Dec. 28. When you add up its time atop the chart over the past several holiday seasons, it has now achieved 17 weeks at No. 1. That makes it her longest-running chart-topper in history, inching past “One Sweet Day,” her 1995 duet with Boyz II Men which spent 16 weeks at the head of the pack. It’s also the third longest-running No. 1 single in history, behind Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus‘ “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” both of which achieved 19 weeks in the lead position.
Overall, Carey has had 19 No. 1 hits in her career, just one behind all-time record holders The Beatles with 20. But she has spent more cumulative weeks at No. 1 than any other artist in history (96 and counting), a record she continues to extend every year at Christmastime.
DC’s Creature Commandos gets a second season on Max
Season 1 of the animated series Creature Commandos doesn’t conclude until Jan. 9, but it has already been renewed for Season 2 on Max. The series follows a team of incarcerated monsters enlisted for missions that are too dangerous for humans to undertake. It was created by James Gunn, the co-chair of DC Studios. Gunn also writes and executive produces the series. He and fellow co-chair Peter Safran took over the DC universe for Warner Bros. in 2022. Gunn also wrote and directed the upcoming 2025 Superman live-action feature film starring David Corenswet.
Gunn and Safran said in a statement, “We’re thrilled to team up with Max for another season of Creature Commandos mayhem. From our spectacular first season of Peacemaker to the astonishing run of The Penguin to the record-breaking launch of Creature Commandos, Max has consistently delivered above industry expectations and beyond our wildest imaginings. Thank you, Casey, Sarah, Pia, Sono and the entire team for your tremendous support of DC Studios. We are proud to call Max home.”
SEE‘The Diplomat’ star Rufus Sewell on that deadly explosion’s ‘elemental’ impact on Hal and Kate
New Year’s Rockin’ Eve adds Jeannie Mai, Rob Gronkowski, Jungle
ABC will ring in 2025 for the 20th year with Ryan Seacrest hosting New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the event made famous by legendary broadcaster Dick Clark, and now Dick Clark Productions and MGM Resorts International have announced a new partnership that will bring the best of Las Vegas to the program. The Vegas festivities will be hosted by Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski and feature performances by Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Lenny Kravitz, and Thomas Rhett. The Blue Man Group will also appear, as will hip-hop dance crew Jabbawockeez, and the cast of “Lío,” which is coming soon to the Bellagio.
Additionally, Jeannie Mai will host the party on the west coast, and there will be a special performance by British band Jungle. Previously announced performers for Rockin’ Eve include Alanis Morissette with special guest Reneé Rapp; Dasha; DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Live! starring Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Slick Rick, and Doug E. Fresh; Ernest; HARDY; Kesha; Laufey; Natasha Bedingfield; and T-Pain.
Note: Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.
Zero Day trailer: Robert De Niro makes his Netflix television debut
Monday is Zero Day for Netflix. The streaming platform premiered the first teaser for its upcoming limited series starring Oscar-winner Robert De Niro in his first major television role. Other costars include Angela Bassett, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Joan Allen, Connie Britton, Dan Stevens, and Matthew Modine.
Here’s the plot summary, courtesy of Netflix: In the wake of a devastating cyber attack, a former President (Robert De Niro) is tasked with finding the perpetrators and seeking truth when another attack is imminent — but is the greatest threat a foreign power, or from within?
“Zero Day is about the aftermath of a devastating cyberattack that kills thousands of people and threatens to push a nation already on the precipice over the edge,” co-creator Eric Newman told Netflix about the show.
Co-creator Noah Oppenheim added, “The show also looks at the cost of power for those who are asked to take on these enormous challenges — what it means for them personally, and what it means for their families.”
Watch the trailer below.
Stray Kids debut at No. 1 … again
The K-pop band Stray Kids have achieved their sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with their latest release, Hop. They’re the first act in history to reach number one with their first six chart entries. They previously claimed the top spot with Oddinary and Maxident in 2022, Rock-Star and 5-Star in 2023, and Ate in 2024. So they have achieved this feat within just three years. Hop racked up 187,000 equivalent album units based on its combined album sales, individual track sales, and online streaming performance.
The rest of the top five consists of familiar faces. Kendrick Lamar‘s GNX is steady at No. 2. Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department drops to No. 3 after two more weeks in the top spot, giving it 17 total weeks in the lead. Sabrina Carpenter continues her strong run, up one spot to No. 4 with Short n’ Sweet. And Michael Bublé‘s Christmas is the week’s top holiday collection, up two spots to No. 5.
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Billboard‘s Global No. 1s celebrates world chart-toppers
Billboard has completed its Global No. 1s series highlighting artists from around the world, from British pop star Dua Lipa to Mexican songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera and Filipino girl group BINI. Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp said in a statement, “It’s a thrill to showcase this incredibly diverse mix of chart-topping artists from around the world and an honor to get to tell their stories on our global platform. Our inaugural Global No. 1s series is a powerful demonstration of Billboard’s global reach, relevance, and impact, and we can’t wait to celebrate next year’s No. 1s as we launch our historic brand in more major music markets in 2025.”
The other nine artists included in the series were Creepy Nuts (Japan), KUN (China), Ana Castela (Brazil), IU (Korea), Geolier (Italy), Valentino Merlo and the La Planta (Argentina), Diljit Dosanjh (Canada), Giorgi Gigashvili (Georgia), and Abdul Majeed Abdullah (Arabia).
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