In brief: ‘Mortal Kombat II’ gets streaming date and more
Sydney Sweeney is headed to Sleepy Hollow. Deadline reports the actress will star in Hollow, a new retelling of the Sleepy Hollow story, for Sony Pictures. The film will be based on Lindsey Anderson Beer’s debut novel. It will be directed, produced and adapted by Beer …
Mortal Kombat II is headed to streaming. The New Line Cinema film will make its global streaming debut on HBO Max on July 24. It will debut on HBO linear on July 25. The film stars Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle and Lewis Tan. It follows the fan-favorite champions and Johnny Cage pitted against each other in a battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn …
Brett Gelman, Rob Morgan and Kevin Nealon are set to star in Mini War. Deadline reports the actors have joined the comedy film also starring Luke Wilson, Vanessa Hudgens and Nick Swardson. The movie follows a likable stoner who inherits a mini golf course from his late uncle. Swardson and Allen Covert wrote the script while Joel David Moore is directing …
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in the film ‘Michael.’ (Lionsgate)
Michael reclaimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, dethroning previous two-week champ The Devil Wears Prada 2.
The Michael Jackson biopic brought in $26.1 million in its fourth weekend of release. That brings its total domestic gross to $283 million.
The Devil Wears Prada 2, starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep, fell to the #2 spot with an $18 million haul, while the weekend’s new horror release, Obsession, debuted at #3 with $16.1 million.
Mortal Kombat II and The Sheep Detectives round out the top five with $13.4 million and $9.3 million, respectively.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office this week:
1. Michael — $26.1 million 2. The Devil Wears Prada 2 — $18 million 3. Obsession — $16.1 million 4. Mortal Kombat II — $13.4 million 5. The Sheep Detectives — $9.3 million 6. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie — $4.5 million 7. Project Hail Mary — $3.9 million 8. Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick (2026 rerelease) — $3.1 million 9. In the Grey — $3 million 10. Is God Is — $2.2 million
Glen Hansard performs with The Frames at the Sydney Opera House on March 25, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Irish singer Glen Hansard, Oscar winner for the song “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once, has died, the singer’s management confirms to ABC Audio. He was 56.
“With broken hearts we announce the passing of Glen Hansard in the early hours of this morning,” reads a statement from ATC Management. “We are still dealing with the shock of it all, so we kindly ask that the privacy of Glen’s family, colleagues and friends is respected at this difficult time.”
According to The Irish Times, Hansard was killed in a motorcycle crash in Dublin.
Hansard, who quit school in his teens to busk on the streets of Dublin, was the founder of the Irish rock band The Frames, who released their debut album, Another Love Song, in 1991. That same year, Hansard had a role in the Alan Parker-directed film, The Commitments, playing guitaristOutspan Foster.
The Frames would go on to release seven studio albums, including 2004’s Burn the Maps, which would hit #1 in Ireland, and 2006’s The Cost, which hit #2.
In 2007, Hansard starred opposite singer Czech singer Markéta Irglová in the John Carney-directed film Once, about two struggling musicians in Dublin. The pair wrote many of the songs on the soundtrack, including the ballad “Falling Slowly,” which would go on to win an Academy Award for best original song.
Hansard and Irglová, who briefly dated, formed the band The Swell Season, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2006. Their follow-up, Strict Joy, peaked at#15 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. They released their last album, Forward, in July 2025.
In 2011, Once was turned into a musical, featuring the music of Hansard and Irglová. It opened on Broadway in 2012, and won eight Tony Awards, including best musical. It also earned Hansard a Grammy for best musical theater album.
Hansard launched a solo career in 2012, with the release of Rhythm and Repose, which hit #21 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. He released his most recent solo album, All That Was East Is West of Me Now, in October 2023. A natural storyteller, Hansard was known for his magnetic live performances, and released the live album, Don’t Settle (Vol. 2 Transmissions West), in June.
Hansard was also the organizer behind what became known as the Christmas Eve Busk, impromptu Christmas Eve performances on Grafton Street in Dublin to raise money for the homeless community. Started in 2010, over the years he would be joined by several of his fellow Irish musicians, including U2 frontman Bono.
In 2021, when Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder released his third solo album, Earthlings, Hansard became a member of Vedder’s backing band, dubbed The Earthlings. The pair became good friends when Vedder reached out to Hansard after a concertgoer committed suicide at a Swell Season show in Saratoga, California, in August 2020. Hansard would go on to open for Vedder several times on his solo tours, and opened for Pearl Jam on tour, as well.
In October 2022, Hansard became a first-time father, when he and his partner, poet Maire Saaritsa, welcomed a son.
The trailer for the upcoming Starz series Fightland has just been unveiled.
It opens with Duke Kilroy, played by Howard Charles, securing a victory as a heavyweight boxing champion, before shifting to Kingsley Marshall, played by Nicholas Pinnock, promoting his company Marshall Promotions.
“Marshall promotions is a major force in the boxing game,” he says, prompting a reporter to ask, “What do you say to allegations that Marshall Promotions is a front to launder drug money?”
In Fightland, Duke is out for revenge after going to prison following his brother’s death, which he believes Kingsley was responsible for. Upon his release, Duke says, “Eight years ago, I had everything I wanted and in one minute, Kingsley took everything from me. Now I’m gonna take everything away from him.”
As the story goes on, Kingsley eventually disappears. He leaves his children to take over the family business, which takes a few financial losses, partially due to Duke. “Duke begins a high-risk game to infiltrate Kingsley’s empire and destroy it from within,” according to the synopsis. “And when Kingsley returns, Duke will take his revenge.”
Fightland, executive produced by 50 Cent, premieres July 31 on Starz.
