Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo recognized in UK’s New Year’s Honours List 2026
Cynthia Erivo at The Academy Awards on March 2, 2025. (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
Idris Elba and Cynthia Erivo are among the stars on King Charles III‘s New Year’s Honours List 2026. The honors system recognizes figures from across British society for their public achievements, and commitment to serving and helping the U.K.
Idris has been awarded a knighthood for his services to young people, while Cynthia has been made an MBE for services to music and drama.
Idris has worked with the youth via his Elba Hope Foundation, which supports education, among other things. He previously launched the Don’t Stop Your Future anti knife advocacy campaign and teamed with the King’s Trust (formerly known as the Prince’s Trust) to provide youth with hands-on training, mentoring and direct pathways into in music, creative media and more.
As for Cynthia, her services in music and drama include acting and/or singing in Broadway’s The Color Purple, Wicked and its sequel, Harriet and Genius: Aretha. She’s also shared her expertise with other artists via a master class at the American Theatre Wing.
Catherine O’Hara attends a red carpet for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at on Aug. 28, 2024, in Venice, Italy. (Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage via Getty Images)
Actress Catherine O’Hara has died. She was 71.
The Emmy Award winner was best known for her roles in beloved shows and films like Schitt’s Creek, Beetlejuice and Home Alone.
O’Hara’s manager confirmed the news of her death Friday. Details surrounding her death are not known.
O’Hara’s long career saw her take on more than 100 roles across TV and film, most recently for her Emmy-nominated roles in The Studio and The Last of Us in 2025.
She also recently starred in Schitt’s Creek as Moira Rose, a grandiose actress who is blissfully detached from reality. Her performance in Schitt’s Creek — which also starred Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy — earned her a Primetime Emmy Award in 2020, as well as a Golden Globe in 2021.
O’Hara first rose to widespread fame in 1988, starring as overdramatic artist and perfectionist Delia in Beetlejuice alongside Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder.
Her portrayal as mom Kate McCallister to a young Macaulay Culkin in the 1990 film Home Alone also revealed another side of O’Hara onscreen, as she warmed the hearts of audiences in a performance that provided a portrait of motherhood.
Catherine Anne O’Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, as the sixth of seven children, and the older sister to Canadian singer Mary Margaret O’Hara. She got her start in acting when she landed a role on the Canadian television sketch comedy show Second City Television in 1974.
According to the official Second City Television website, O’Hara had auditioned for SCTV two years prior and replaced Gilda Radner when the latter left in 1974.
While on SCTV, O’Hara showcased her range, impersonating figures like Meryl Streep, Brooke Shields and Lucille Ball. Her characters on the show included Lola Heatherton and Dusty Towne. She also contributed as a writer on the show and earned her first Primetime Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program in 1982.
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Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) in ‘Toy Story 5.’ (Walt Disney Studios)
2026 is shaping up to be a year filled with blockbusters and other big cinematic events. With sequels, animated family films and superhero movies looking to make an impact, here’s a look at some of the most-anticipated films of the upcoming year.
The summer starts off with the debut of Toy Story 5 on June 19. Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang of toys return for the fifth film in the Pixar animated film franchise. This time around, the toys are facing what could be their biggest obstacle yet — a modern technology takeover. Greta Lee voices the new character, Lilypad, a smart tablet that is taking over playtime. Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton helms the film from a script he wrote.
Also making a splash this summer is Christopher Nolan‘s epic The Odyssey. Releasing on July 17, the film is Nolan’s first since his Oscar-winning blockbuster Oppenheimer. Matt Damon stars as Odysseus in this movie adaptation of Homer‘s epic poem. Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson also star.
Swinging in to theaters on July 31 is Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This movie brings Tom Holland back in his fourth stand-alone film as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, also known as Peter Parker. It is the continuation of his story after the wildly successful 2021 film Spider-Man: No Way Home, which found all of Peter’s friends and family forgetting who he is. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon return as MJ and Ned, while SadieSink joins the franchise in a mystery role.
Audiences will return to Panem with the release of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on Nov. 20. The backstory of Haymitch Abernathy, who mentored Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, will be told in this adaptation of Suzanne Collins‘ bestselling prequel novel. Francis Lawrence returns to the franchise to direct the film that stars Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons and Elle Fanning, and is set to have Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson return as Katniss and Peeta.
Will the next Barbenheimer be Avengers: Dunesday? Two major films are set to release on Dec. 18 — Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three. The former finds brothers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo back at the helm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as they direct the next Avengers film, which stars Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Dr. Doom. The latter stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in the third part of DenisVilleneuve‘s space opera based on Frank Herbert‘s Dune Messiah.
Hello Kitty items on display at Hello Kitty’s 50th birthday celebration at the Supercandy Pop-Up Museum in North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne on Aug. 22, 2024. (Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Hello Kitty is saying hello to Hollywood.
An animated film based on the Sanrio character is planned to release in theaters on July 21, 2028. Warner Bros. made the announcement in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday.
“Hello Hollywood,” the studio’s caption reads. “#HelloKittyMovie is coming to theaters July 21, 2028!”
No plot details for the film have been released at this time. Director Leo Matsuda will helm the film for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and New Line Cinema. Wicked screenwriter Dana Fox is penning the script.
Matsuda took to his Instagram Story to share excitement over the project.
“So thrilled to get to work with Hello Kitty and the most incredible team of creatives and artists. Let’s go!!!” Matsuda wrote.
This marks the first time Sanrio has granted film rights to its flagship character.
Sanrio launched Hello Kitty in 1974. Yuko Shimizu created the main character of Kitty White, who is an anthropomorphized white cat that wears a red bow. The Sanrio brand includes other popular characters, such as Cinnamoroll, My Melody, Kuromi and Pompompurin.
