Month: September 2025

The Conjuring: Last Rites is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $83 million in its first weekend of release — and making it the highest earning film debut in the ‘Conjuring’ franchise.

‘Last Rites’ is directed by Michael Chaves and is the sequel to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.  Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson once again reprise the roles of real-life paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, and the latest film based on the Warren’s investigation of the Smurl haunting in Pennsylvania. Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy also star in ‘Last Rites,’ which is billed as the ninth and final title in ‘Phase One’ of The Conjuring Universe — the top-earning horror franchise ever, after collecting more than $2.3 billion in global ticket sales.

Elsewhere at the box office this weekend, Hamilton took the No. 2 spot with $10 million, followed by Weapons at No. 3 with $5.4 million, Freakier Friday at No. 4 with $3.8 million, and Caught Stealing at No. 5 with $3.2 million.  The Roses came in at No. 6 with $2.8 million, The Fantastic Four: First Steps took the No. 7 spot with $2.8 million, The Bad Guys 2 came in at No. 8 with $2.5 million, Light of the World hit No. 9 with $2.4 million, and Superman rounded out the No. 10 with $1 million.

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Tony winner Billy Porter is immediately departing the Broadway revival of the musical Cabaret after being diagnoses with sepsis.

A post on X read “Come hear the music play. Final performance September 2. Due to a serious case of sepsis, Billy Porter must also withdraw from the production. His doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery but have advised him to maintain a restful schedule. Marty Lauter and David Merino will perform as Emcee for the final 2 weeks. Performance schedule to be announced.”

Porter, 55, was slated for a 13-week engagement in Cabaret that was supposed to run through Oct. 19. Porter and Marisha Wallace, who plays Sally Bowles, started in their roles on July 22 after playing the roles on London’s West End.

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The MTV VMAs aired live on Sunday from UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, hosted by LL Cool J. The show aired on CBS for the first time in addition to their longtime home on MTV and stream live on Paramount+

Lady Gaga dominated the 2025 VMAs with four wins, including ‘Artist of the Year;’ while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter both won a total of three awards. Grande won the night’s highest honor, ‘Video of the Year,’ for her song “brighter days ahead”; while Carpenter won the Best Pop Artist award.

Gaga went into the evening with 18 nominations, followed by Bruno Mars with 11, Kendrick Lamar with 10 and Sabrina Carpenter and ROSÉ both with 9.

Other winners were Rosé, who won song of the year for “APT.,” her collaboration with Bruno Mars; and KATSEYE, who won MTV Push performance of the year for “Touch.” Mars and Gaga also won best collaboration for “Die With a Smile.”

During the show, Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award, Busta Rhymes received the inaugural Rock the Bells Visionary Award, and Ricky Martin accepted the inaugural Latin Icon Award. All three artists also performed.

The most emotional performance of the night was a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, featuring Yungblood, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performing “Crazy Train,” “Changes” and “Mama I’m Coming Home.”

For the full list of winners, head HERE.

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Sony Pictures is previewing the film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, in theaters Sept. 19.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey marks Robbie’s first big screen role since she starred in the 2023 smash hit Barbie, and features her and Farrell, 49, taking a wild journey through each other’s lives and memories after they meet at a wedding. The pair, who play Sarah and David, are brought together further when David’s car GPS instructs him to pick up Sarah and invites the characters to take part in the movie’s titular big bold beautiful journey.

An official synopsis for the movie reads: “What if you could open a doorway and walk through it to re-live a defining moment from your past?” Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on A Big Bold Beautiful Journey – a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present…and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.”

The romantic fantasy film is written by Seth Reiss and directed by Kogonada (‘After Yang’).  It also stars Jodie Turner-Smith, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Billy Magnussen, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklate, and Kevin Kline.

See the trailer – HERE.

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Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91 in Milan, Italy.

The Armani Group announced in a statement posted to the designer’s Instagram: “With infinite sorrow, the Armani Group announces the passing of its creator, founder, and tireless driving force: Giorgio Armani. Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones. Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing and future projects ..Today, with deep emotion, we feel the void left by the one who founded and nurtured this family with vision, passion, and dedication. But it is precisely in his spirit that we, the employees and the family members who have always worked alongside Mr. Armani, commit to protecting what he built and to carrying his company forward in his memory, with respect, responsibility and love.”

Armani was born on July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, Italy and originally studied medicine at the university level for three years until he left to serve his two required years of military service in Italy. at a department store in Milan as a window dresser for La Rinascente department store. He moved up to work as a buyer before venturing into design in the mid-’60s, working for designer Nino Cerruti.

Armani met architect Sergio Galeotti while working for Cerruti, and the pair became romantic and business partners. The two co-founded the Giorgio Armani brand in 1975, with their first collection stocked at Barney’s New York in 1976, followed by a womenswear collection. Armani became synonymous with luxury and status after one of the brand’s suits was sported by Richard Gere in the 1980 film American Gigolo.. Armani became the sole shareholder of his company following Galeotti’s death in 1985 from complications linked to AIDS.

Armani’s death follows his absence from his brand’s show during Men’s Fashion Week in Milan, marking the first time he was not present to take a bow at the end of the presentation. The company said at the time that Armani was “recovering at home from an undisclosed condition,” but no further details were provided.

Armani is survived by his sister, nieces and nephew. A funeral chamber will be open to the public from Saturday, Sept. 6, to Sunday, Sept. 7, at Milan’s Armani Teatro; with a private funeral held afterwards, per the designer’s wishes.

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