Charlie Chaplin famously rereleased his 1925 silent classic The Gold Rush in 1942 with new narration and edits, believing it would connect better with modern audiences. Now, thanks to film archivists and AI, the silent masterpiece has been painstakingly restored. The 4K version just premiered at Cannes and hit 250 theaters worldwide.
Dinner and a movie? Not in 20 years
Even with better food, sound, and service, theaters are still on the decline. Execs say the classic night out has an expiration date.
🍿 Movie theater ad bloat: I saw F1 last night. It was pretty good but 70 minutes longer than it should have been, courtesy of 25 minutes of commercials. AMC is stuffing up to 30 minutes of ads to plug revenue holes, and movies will start later than the listed time. Order dessert, your seat’s not going anywhere.
$293 million
That’s the global box office haul for Apple’s biggest movie ever … so far.F1: The Movie beat out Napoleon to take the top spot in Apple’s box office history. About 1 in 5 tickets sold were in IMAX alone, making it the coziest way to feel like you’re inside an F1 car. Popcorn included.
Your Echo knows movies: Planning your next movie night? Just say, “Alexa, tell me about the movie [title].” She’ll give you a quick rundown on the plot, director and cast without spoiling anything. It’s an easy way to help decide what to watch.
$144 million
That’s how much the new F1 racing movie made globally on its opening weekend. It’s Brad Pitt’s biggest debut ever, beating World War Z’s $112 million. This thrill ride cost $200 million to $300 million to make. I’m definitely going to see this movie!
$40 million
That’s how much brands shelled out to plaster their logos on a fictional Formula 1 team in F1: The Movie. Brad Pitt’s race suit is just fire-resistant, fully monetized and stitched up with sponsors like Mercedes, IWC and Expensify. Basically NASCAR meets Paris Fashion Week, and every logo is paying rent.
🚨 Fake CAPTCHAs: You know those little tests that ask you to prove you’re not a robot? Scammers are planting fake ones on sketchy sites (like free movie pages) that ask you to press keys or download software. Some even redirect you to a browser extension or tell you to run a command. Plot twist: It’s malware.
🤖 Blocky box office: A Minecraft Movie is exclusively hitting HBO Max this Friday. It’s got Jason Momoa, Jack Black, even a villain named Malgosha, all in one magical cube-based world. It’s already earned $951M+ worldwide since its March debut, becoming the top-grossing film of 2025. You and your kiddos will love it.
Make your own travel movie with Google Earth
It’s not just for maps. You can build a visual scrapbook of your trips, complete with photos, notes, and slideshows.
16
That’s how many times Tom Cruise jumped out of a helicopter with his parachute on fire. Why? Because regular Mission: Impossible movie skydiving is for interns. To break a Guinness World Record, he lit his chute, bailed midair and deployed a backup like it was just another Tuesday.
🌀 Bricks, bots and bad intel: When ICE protests broke out in L.A., social media broke with it. Old conspiracy theories, fake Obama quotes and a still from a 1983 helicopter movie (paywall link) all got reposted like it was open mic night at the misinformation improv club. Even a Malaysian brick company got dragged into the chaos. PSA: Verify before you share.
Reel look: Want to bring movie magic home? Turn on your TV’s Filmmaker Mode to tweak the color, contrast and frame rate to match the director’s vision. You can find it on Hisense, LG, Philips, Samsung and Vizio. Head to your picture settings and select picture mode. Don’t forget the popcorn.
☁️ Your cloud library: Ever rented a movie digitally, only to find the DVD buried in your closet? Libib helps you catalog all your physical media like movies, music, books and games. Just scan the barcode and the app (iOS, Android) fills in the info. Their free plan lets you track up to 5,000 items in the cloud.
🐓 Cluckin’ wild: The Minecraft movie is meh, but Jack Black’s unhinged chicken ballad, “Steve’s Lava Chicken,” shot up to # 78 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s now the shortest song ever to hit the famed list, clocking in at 34 seconds, making it both a record and maybe a cry for help for our attention spans. Listen here, you have been warned.
Trapped in a Waymo — May 3rd, Hour 3
Mike Johns got stuck in a robotaxi on the way to the airport. I talk to him about what happened. Plus, why kids are losing it over the Minecraft movie, how AI just took over prompt engineering, and new updates on Kim Kardashian’s 2016 robbery.
🍿 Minecraft mayhem: Minecraft meets real-life survival mode. Teens are going wild for the new Minecraft movie, shouting, tossing snacks, spraying lotion on seats and someone even let live chickens loose. Why? Many kids got hooked on the game during the pandemic. Now they’re letting all that nostalgia loose in the form of chaos. Talk about a block party!
🍿 Sup, movie buffs: Wanna dish about your favorite films? Say hello to Letterboxd. It’s like Goodreads but for cinephiles. This free site lets you rate, review, keep a diary of your watch list, and even follow friends to see what they’re loving (or hate-watching).
💔 Tinder swindler alert: A Portland woman lost over $40,000 after falling for a scammer she met on the app. They talked for a week before he asked for money, saying he had no family to help, sealing the con with a fake photo of himself in a hospital bed. Tinder’s basically a financial thriller with worse dialogue than a Lifetime movie.
$301 million
What A Minecraft Movie raked in over its opening weekend. It’s the biggest debut ever of a video game adaptation, even surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Critics are split, but with numbers like these, it’s a blockbuster.