Oscars 2025: Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo open the Oscars with ‘Wizard’-ly classics
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Ariana Grande had the honor of opening the 97th Oscars on Sunday night.
After a montage of films set in LA, which ended with the message “We love LA,” Ari appeared wearing a sparkly red gown to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which Judy Garland sang in The Wizard of Oz. Since Ari is nominated for Wicked, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the choice was fitting.
Her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo, wearing a huge white gown with a purple floral accent, then took the stage to sing “Home” from The Wiz, another take on L. Frank Baum‘s classic tale.
The two then came together center stage to sing “Defying Gravity,” their big number from Wicked. Cynthia, of course, nailed every note, including the final battle cry, and both earned a standing ovation.
Sweet Magnolias has been renewed for season 5 at Netflix. The show about three lifelong best friends from Serenity, South Carolina, will return for a fifth season, the streaming platform confirmed Wednesday. This time around, the girls are going farther than their hometown, as one of them lands a high-profile publishing job in New York City …
House of the Dragon is getting three new cast members. The Game of Thrones prequel series has added Tom Cullen, JoplinSibtain and Barry Sloane to the season 3 cast. House of the Dragonconfirmed the news by reposting a casting announcement shared by Variety to the social platform X. Cullen will take on the role of Ser Luthor Largent, while Sibtain will play Ser “Bold” Jon Roxton and Sloan will take on the role of Ser Adrian Redfort …
Charles Melton and Sophie Thatcher are set to star in the upcoming film Her Private Hell. Neon confirmed the news in a post shared to the social platform X. Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn will helm the film, which is being described as “something groovy.” Kristine Froseth and Havana Rose Liu will also star …
Novocaine debuted at #1 during a slow weekend at the box office.
According to Box Office Mojo, the action film, starring Jack Quaid as a man who can’t feel pain, brought in $8.7 million in its opening frame, which was good enough to fend off the competition.
Former #1 Mickey 17 dropped down to #2 with $7.51 million earned its second week, followed closely by the spy thriller Black Bag, which took the #3 spot with $7.5 million.
The top five also included Captain America: Brave New World at #4 with $5.48 million and the Looney Tunes movie The Day the Earth Blew Up at #4 with $3.17 million.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office:
1. Novocaine – $8.7 million 2. Mickey 17 – $7.51 million 3. Black Bag – $7.5 million 4. Captain America: Brave New World – $5.48 million 5. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – $3.17 million 6. The Last Supper – $2.83 million 7. Paddington in Peru – $2.78 million 8. Dog Man – $2.5 million 9. The Monkey – $2.47 million 10. Last Breath – $2.3 million
Ryan Gosling is set to join the Star Wars galaxy, landing the lead role in a new standalone film titled Star Wars: Starfighter, Lucasfilm announced Friday.
Star Wars fans cheered when they learned of the news at Star Wars Celebration 2025, a three-day fan event running through April 20 outside Tokyo, Japan.
Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy, who also directed Deadpool & Wolverine, broke the news to the legions of fans gathered at the Makuhari Messe convention center. Gosling himself made a surprise appearance.
“One of those rumors I heard that I do need to dispel, is, I had heard at one point that my movie was going to star Ryan Gosling and believe me, that would be a dream come true for me,” Levy said on stage. “So today, I just wanted to tell you here in this room that that rumor is 100% true.”
Gosling said he’s excited to join the all-new Starfighter project.
“I think the reality is that this script is just so good,” he said. “It has such a great story with great and original characters. It’s filled with so much heart and adventure. And there just really is not a more perfect filmmaker for this particular story than Shawn [Levy]. So it’s something I just really, really wanted to do.”
According to Lucasfilm and Levy, Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled to begin filming this fall. The movie takes place five years after the events of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, which was released in 2019.
Star Wars: Starfighter will open exclusively in movie theaters on May 28, 2027.
Disney is the parent company of Lucasfilm and ABC News.
