Category: Entertainment

If you’re not careful, you can find out that it’s not clocking to you that you haven’t been standing on business by knowing all of the cultural trends that happened this year. That’s why we’re going over the memes, viral moments and trend-setting sensations that dominated the cultural landscape of 2025:

No one could get enough of Labubus this year. The collectible plush toys, which were created by Hong Kong illustrator Kasing Lung, are fluffy monsters with pointy teeth, large ears and a playful look on their face. They’re exclusively sold by the retailer Pop-Mart, although knockoff versions of the product, known as Lafufus, also took the world by storm. While most people don’t usually get to pick which color Labubu appears in their blind box, TikTok user Lilzbullzmarbella infamously showed off her gold one. “I have the one and only 24 carat gold Labubu,” she says in a video that went viral.

Here’s one that we’ll do our best to explain, but you may want to consult your youngest family member for more. The phrase 6-7, pronounced six seven, was completely unavoidable this year. YouTuber Cam Wilder posted a video in which a young boy named Maverick Trevillian is seen yelling, “Six seven,” while doing a hand gesture moving upward-facing palms up and down. Video edits of Maverick doing this went viral, and the phrase, which has no fixed meaning, became a meme popular with Gen Alpha.

It was the video we all cringed at but couldn’t look away from. A couple, locked in an intimate embrace, were caught allegedly cheating on their respective spouses while on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert this summer. Former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and its head of human resources, Kristin Cabot, immediately pulled apart from each other just as Coldplay’s Chris Martin said, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy.”

A video of Justin Bieber speaking to the paparazzi sparked an internet phenomenon this year. “You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” Bieber asks the photographers. The phrase became so popular that Bieber himself referenced it in his SWAG track “STANDING ON BUSINESS.”

Finally, the TikTok audio referred to as “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday,” which featured an old advertisement for the Jet2 airline mixed with the 2015 song “Hold My Hand” by Jess Glynne, took the world by storm. Everyone was using the cheerful audio to ironically post disastrous videos from vacations gone wrong.

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Somehow, Steve Rogers returned.

Marvel has publicly released the first teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, and it stars Chris Evans back in his role of the former Captain America, Steve Rogers. This teaser trailer, which was released Tuesday, arrives after footage leaked of it playing in theaters ahead of early screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

The trailer finds Steve riding a motorcycle up to a farmhouse where he presumably lives. We see a close-up of his hand, showing off that he wears a wedding band on his ring finger. As the Avengers main theme plays, Steve then heads inside the home, where he cradles a newborn baby close to his chest.

He also pulls his Captain America suit out of storage to give it a nostalgic once-over.

The teaser ends with a black screen and text that reads, “Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday.”

Directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo took to Instagram to share the new teaser, writing, “The character that changed our lives. The story that brought us all here together. It was always going to come back to this.”

Evans has not appeared as Steve Rogers in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, where he passed the title of Captain America on to his close friend, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie).

Avengers: Doomsday will arrive in theaters on Dec. 18, 2026.

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The wife of The Wire actor James Ransone is remembering her late husband following his death at age 46.

Jamie McPhee posted a tribute to Instagram on Sunday remembering her husband, who died by suicide on Dec. 19, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

“I told you I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again,” McPhee wrote in the post’s caption, alongside a photo of her and Ransone.

“You told me – I need to be more like you and you need to be more like me – and you were so right. Thank you for giving me the greatest gifts – you, Jack and Violet. We are forever,” she added, referencing the couple’s children.

Ransone, a Baltimore native, was best known for playing Chester “Ziggy” Sobotka, a Baltimore dock worker and criminal, in season 2 of The Wire.

In addition to The Wire, Ransone played a variety of roles in shows including Treme, Low Winter Sun, How to Make It in America, Bosch and Generation Kill. He also took on an array of film roles in titles such as It Chapter Two, Inside Man, In a Valley of Violence, and Sinister and Sinister 2.

Ransone had previously spoken about the difficulties he faced in his personal life over the years.

In 2016, the actor discussed his past substance abuse issues and getting sober in his 20s in an interview with Interview magazine.

“I woke up at 27 after being on heroin for five years. It was like I sobered up and I realized, ‘My job is being an actor. This is crazy!'” he said at the time.

Tributes for Ransone poured in following his death from high-profile directors like Spike Lee and Sean Baker, with whom Ransone had worked in the past.

“Rest In Peace To My Dear Brother, MR. JAMES RANSONE. We Rocked Together On RED HOOK SUMMER And INSIDE MAN,” Lee wrote in an Instagram post featuring him and Ransone.

Anora director Baker also shared a photo of himself with Ransone. “I’ll miss you dearly my friend,” Baker wrote.

ABC News has reached out to Ransone’s representative for comment.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide — free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988.

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The final trailer for season 4 of Industry has arrived. The upcoming, eight-episode fourth season of the drama series premieres on Jan. 11. It will debut new episodes weekly on HBO and HBO Max. Myha’la stars alongside Kit Harington and Marisa Abela in the new season …

The Smashing Machine is smashing onto HBO Max next month. The drama film starring Dwayne Johnson makes its streaming debut on Jan. 23. Benny Safdie directed the biopic about UFC heavyweight champ Mark Kerr, which also stars Emily Blunt …

Disney has changed the premiere dates of several of its upcoming theatrical releases. Deadline reports that the horror sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come has moved up its debut, now set to premiere on March 27. Ridley Scott‘s next film The Dog Stars, which features Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce and Margaret Qualley, will now debut on Aug. 28. Additionally, the Pixar animated feature Gatto is now going to make its theatrical release on March 5, 2027 …

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The finale of Apple TV’s Pluribus, about an alien virus that connects almost everyone in the world to an exceedingly cheerful hive mind, airs Wednesday. Karolina Wydra, who plays Zosia on the show, says it will leave you shook — and wondering what’s next.

“I think there’s gonna be a lot of questions raised. I think people are gonna be surprised,” she tells ABC Audio. “I think they’re gonna be shocked. I think people are going to be left with a big ‘what?’ question mark.” 

Referring to the final moments of the episode, she adds, “When I read it, I went, ‘What the hell?’ Like, ‘What is happening? What?’ We all did!”

Pluribus has become Apple TV’s most-watched series ever — bigger than Ted Lasso and Severance. “I think our show is so original and it’s never been done before. And I think people want original stories,” Wydra explains.

It’s also a show where, as she puts it, “You actually have to lean in and listen and observe and be present. And I think people are enjoying that. And also that it’s coming out weekly and people have to wait for it and have something to look forward to.”

In last week’s episode, Zosia and Carol, played by Rhea Seehorn, become lovers. But since Zosia is part of the hive mind — or as the actors call it, The Collective — does Zosia have actual feelings for Carol?

“The Collective … really love[s] her unconditionally. They have genuine love for her, and I think for them, sex is an expression of true love. It’s not an act, but just sharing oneself with another,” Wydra explains. She adds, “I mean, we would laugh because we would say she basically just had an intimate moment with the rest of the world!”

But though Zosia is part of The Collective, Wydra still has questions about how it all works.

“I’m very curious still to find out, when you’re born, do you automatically become full of knowledge, and a two-year-old can perform open-heart surgery?” she muses, wondering, “…[D]oes innocence still exist?”

Pluribus has been renewed for season 2.

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Turner Classic Movies has set a day to honor the life of the late filmmaker Rob Reiner.

The TV network is going to honor the legacy of Reiner’s life and career with a programming tribute featuring a slate of his movies on Jan. 28, 2026. It will be headlined by the network’s special premiere presentation of The Princess Bride.

The day of programming, which will be billed as TCM Remembers Rob Reiner, will also feature his films When Harry Met Sally…, Stand by Me and This Is Spinal Tap.

According to a press release from TCM, Reiner was a longtime friend of the network who passionately advocated for film preservation. His career started with his Emmy-winning performance on the sitcom All in the Family. He went on to direct films that spanned multiple genres.

“With This is Spinal Tap Rob began an extraordinary 11-year run that rivals the finest directors in Hollywood history: He made The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, and The American President,” TCM host Ben Mankiewicz said in a statement. “The profound sense of loss we’re all feeling is heightened by Rob’s lofty standing in Hollywood, he was universally loved inside the entertainment industry.”

While Mankiewicz said he didn’t know Reiner as well as he would have liked, “he always made me feel like we had been pals for decades. Rob’s character was defined by the qualities we see in those films: kindness, decency, humor, compassion, and most of all, a belief in humanity.”

Reiner and his wife Michele Singer were found dead Dec. 14 in their Los Angeles home. Their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested for their murders. 

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This isn’t an enchantment from a siren: the official trailer for Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey has arrived.

Universal Pictures shared the brand-new trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Homer‘s epic poem on Monday.

The trailer, which is just under two minutes, finds Matt Damon starring as Odysseus.

“After years of war, no one could stand between my men and home. Not even me,” Damon’s Odysseus says in voiceover atop of scenes of Trojan War soldiers marching.

We then see Telemachus and Penelope, played by Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway, awaiting Odysseus’ arrival.

The star-studded ensemble cast of The Odyssey also includes Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron.

Universal describes the adaptation as “a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology,” which will bring the foundational, classic story to IMAX screens for the first time.

Homer’s The Odyssey, of course, tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus’ 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He is filled with interruptions in his quest to return home to his wife, Penelope, and his grown son, Telemachus, who fights off suitors who are desperate to steal his father’s throne.

Nolan wrote and directed the film, his first since the best picture Oscar-winning blockbuster Oppenheimer. He also produced the movie with his wife, Emma Thomas.

The Odyssey opens in movie theaters on July 17, 2026.

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If you haven’t watched the movie Bugonia yet, you’ll have an opportunity to do it at home very soon. The Yorgos Lanthimos-directed film arrives on Peacock for its streaming debut on Dec. 26. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons star in the psychological thriller that’s been nominated for three Golden Globe awards …

Nate Bargatze makes his feature film acting debut in the official trailer for The Breadwinner. The Sony Pictures film also stars Mandy Moore as a wife and mother who lands a coveted business deal after an appearance on Shark Tank. This leaves her husband (Bargatze) in charge of their three daughters as she goes away on business for an extended stretch. The movie arrives in theaters on March 13, 2026 …

Another actress has joined the cast of Dig. Deadline reports that The Good Doctor‘s Antonia Thomas has been added as a series regular in the upcoming Peacock comedy series starring Amy Poehler. The latter writes and executive produces the series alongside Mike Schur …

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We see you, Avatar: Fire and Ash, at the top of the box office.

The third film in James Cameron‘s epic sci-fi series opens at #1 with an $88 million haul in its debut weekend, Box Office Mojo reports.

While certainly a good start, Avatar: Fire and Ash has a ways to go if it hopes to catch up to its predecessors. The 20th Century Studios franchise has spawned the highest and third-highest grossing films of all time in the original 2009 movie and its 2022 sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, respectively.

Coming in second at the weekend box office is the animated Bible adaptation David, which brought in just over $22 million. It was followed by two other new releases: The Housemaid, starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, took #3 with $18.95 million, and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, notched #4 with $16 million.

The Disney sequel Zootopia 2 added an extra $14.5 million to round out the top five.

Here are the top 10 films at the box office:

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash — $88 million
2. David — $22.017 million
3. The Housemaid — $18.95 million
4. The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants — $16 million
5. Zootopia 2 — $14.5 million
6. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 — $7.25 million
7. Wicked: For Good — $4.3 million
8. Marty Supreme — $875,000
9. Hamnet — $850,000
10. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t — $600,000

Disney is the parent company of 20th Century Studios and ABC News.

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Ariana Grande returned to host Saturday Night Live for a third time on Dec. 20, and her appearance doubled as a farewell lap for her Wicked co-star and departing SNL cast member Bowen Yang.

Grande kicked off the show by poking fun at herself, noting that she’d last hosted about a year ago. “So many people have been asking me if I’m going to revisit any of my sketches from last time, like Domingo,” she said. “But I told them, ‘I don’t think so. When something is perfect, it doesn’t need a sequel.’ That’s why I just finished filming Meet the Parents 4.”

Grande did revisit one of her past characters, though: Antonio, the traumatized young castrato. She dressed up as him to introduce the second performance from musical guest Cher. The iconic singer stuck to holiday fare for her first appearance on the show since 1987, singing her 2023 hit “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” and then a cover of Chuck Berry‘s “Run Rudolph Run.”

The rest of Grande’s monologue was a parody of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” with lyrics changed to reflect the difficulty of buying Christmas presents for acquaintances. 

Her other sketches included one where she played Macaulay Culkin‘s Home Alone character Kevin McCallister. She also showed off her impersonation skills by singing as both Katy Perry and Celine Dion in a sketch called “Random Holiday Duets Spectacular.“

Grande and Cher came together in the final sketch to bid goodbye to Yang, who played a Delta employee doing his final shift serving eggnog in the airport lounge. Ari played his wife and Cher played his boss, and they sang “Please Come Home for Christmas” together.

“I just feel so lucky that I ever got to work here,” Yang said in character, choking back tears. “And I just wanted to enjoy it for a little bit longer. Especially the people. I’ve loved every single person who works here. Because they’ve done so much for me.”

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