The Witcher has everything it needs to be Netflix’s next success: popular source material, a massive marketing campaign, a well-received performance by Henry Cavill, and an iconic meme in the form of the hit song “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher.” Yet, while certainly popular, it doesn’t seem like The Witcher is going to become “must see” television like other recent hits, such as The Mandalorian on Disney+ or Watchmen on HBO. At least part of the reason why is how Netflix released it: in a single, all-you-can-eat drop — like almost all of its other shows — instead of a more traditional weekly rollout.
Weekly releases have numerous benefits for fans: continued and focused conversation every week around the latest episode, a chance to digest and process events, and fewer demands on viewers’ time upfront.
By dropping every episode at once, Netflix is sacrificing weekly discussions around The Witcher for a short burst of popularity, after which it trickles off into the void as people’s attentions are quickly grabbed by the next big thing. That extra time between episodes would let viewership build over time, as more people hear about the show or proselytize it to their friends.
Compare that to a weekly release, like The Mandalorian, which captured a burst of attention with each new Baby Yoda GIF, or the weeklong discussions and theorizing that would fill the time between episodes of Watchmen. Not everyone may have been on board with The Mandalorian at first, but when everyone else on the internet started talking about it and sharing GIFs, they may have been willing to give it a shot.
Weekly releases (at reasonable hours) also transform streaming shows into the kind of appointment television that viewers flock to and watch together, reacting in real time. The weekly release schedule means everyone is roughly at the same place in the series; for the most part, no one is confused about why the song from the bard is a big deal because they haven’t gotten up to that episode yet.
A weekly release also makes it less of a slog to actually watch a show. Give someone one episode, with the promise of more, and you’ve given them something to look forward to without demanding too much time upfront. Netflix dumps hours of content on viewers at once, demanding that they watch it all in a binge session that the site used to be famous for.
It’s not that The Witcher isn’t popular, either: at least one data firm says it’s more popular than The Mandalorian, at least for its first weekend debut, per Business Insider. But even if that number is correct, it’s just a single week, compared to the months that The Mandalorian dominated the conversation. How long can The Witcher keep that success going with no new episodes to drive viewers back and plenty of other new content waiting in their queues?
None of this is to say that Netflix’s traditional “dump it all in a single day” strategy isn’t always effective. Some of its original series — the three seasons of Stranger Things, for example, The Umbrella Academy, or any of the various Marvel shows it used to make — are filmed and designed as what amounts to a single 10-or-so-hour-long movie that just happens to have convenient episode breaks. While weekly releases still might make more sense, at least from a mindshare perspective, the release strategy there is at least understandable given the nature of the content.
There was a time when Netflix’s approach was seen as a breath of fresh air, especially compared to the bloated, 24-episode and months-long seasons that dominated traditional broadcast. Netflix’s strategy killed the cruft, and promised an almost cinematic-like experience where the entire show hit at once. But hours-long TV show seasons aren’t movies, and trying to force episodic stories into a cinematic box just doesn’t work.
Even among Netflix’s shows, though, The Witcher in particular feels designed for a weekly release, given the literal “monster-of-the-week” style plotting that (at least for part of the season) sees Geralt go somewhere and fight something in fairly self-contained chunks. Add in the twisting timelines and developing storylines, and you’ve got a show that’s almost tailor-made for today’s Game of Thrones / Westworld / Watchmen-style cottage industry that loves to theorize and debate over shows. It’s hard to have a Witcher podcast series, for example, when all the discussion happens over the course of a weekend.
Game of Thrones style juggernauts are few and far between, even as more and more companies try to hit whatever magic combination of popularity and quality makes a show so hyped. Not every show will be the next Game of Thrones or Mandalorian — take Apple TV Plus’ See, which had a weekly release, huge budget, and star-studded cast but still flopped by virtue of not being very good.
The Witcher probably won’t be the next Game of Thrones. It’s probable that no show ever will be: the success of Thrones looks increasingly like a once-in-a-generation type of occasion. But Netflix’s release strategy isn’t giving its best shows the chance to even try, with the service choosing to burn off all its content in a single shot instead of a slower burn that could see it rise to greater heights.
Peter Morgan's third season will be up for best television drama series at next week's coveted Hollywood awards ceremony, while Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies - who have taken over as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh - are up for best actress and actor respectively.
Helena Bonham Carter rounds off the show's nominations with a nod in the best supporting actress category for playing Princess Margaret.
Netflix's top 10 most popular releases of 2019 in the UK
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
6 Underground
Murder Mystery
The Witcher
The Irishman
After Life
Stranger Things 3
Our Planet
Sex Education
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes: Limited Series
The list is thought to be based on the number of UK accounts that have watched at least two minutes of a title during its first 28 days on release this year. Netflix does not usually release exact numbers.
But in July, the streamer did release the figures for the third instalment of Stranger Things after it broke the service's record, with more than 40 million households around the world watching the show in its first four days.
Ricky Gervais's latest effort After Life appeared to have had more enduring appeal in the UK, listed as the second most popular series release this year behind US fantasy show The Witcher.
Responding to the news, Gervais wrote on Twitter that he "still can't quite believe" his show, about the emotional journey of a grieving husband and journalist, beat the latest edition of Millie Bobby Brown and co's slick sci-fi horror series and US psychological thriller show You.
Netflix's top 10 most popular series releases of 2019 in the UK
Williams, who recently split with musician Phil Elverum, was spotted with director Thomas Kail, 42, in London where she is filming “Venom 2,” according to People magazine.
A source told the publication that Matilda, Williams’ 14-year-old daughter with the late Heath Ledger, set up the two lovebirds and that they eventually decided to marry.
The actress was also spotted buying baby clothes, the magazine said.
Williams and Elverum — who performs folk music under the moniker Mount Eerie — divorced eight months ago.
Kail directed the 39-year-old actress in the F/X drama Fosse/Verdon, where Williams plays dancer Gwen Verdon.
In addition to “Hamilton,” Kail also directed the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical “In the Heights” on Broadway.
Stone, 61, best known for starring in 1992 drama "Basic Instinct", said she was locked out of her account after other users claimed it was fake.
"I went on the @bumble dating sight [sic] and they closed my account," she wrote in a Twitter post.
Stone said other users thought the profile "couldn't possibly be me!!"
She added, "Hey @bumble, is being me exclusionary? Don't shut me out of the hive."
Bumble, which describes itself on Twitter as "bringing good people together," later restored her account.
"There can only be one 👑 Stone. Looks like our users thought you were too good to be true," the company wrote on Twitter. "We've made sure that you won't be blocked again. We hope that everyone in our community takes a sec to verify their profiles. (Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct gets a pass today!)"
Bumble's editorial director, Clare O'Connor, added that she hoped it would now be easier to " find your honey."
In 1984 Stone married producer Michael Greenburg but the pair split three years later.
Her second marriage was to journalist Phil Bronstein in 1998, which lasted until 2004 when their divorce was finalized.
In 2018 she told Grazia magazine she has high expectations for the men in her life. "I was just not that girl who was told that a man would define me," she explained. "I was told that if I wanted to have a man in my life, it wouldn't be an arrangement, it would be an actual partnership. And those are hard to find."
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Madonna and her 25-year-old BF aren't exactly rushing to the altar ... but all signs point to them taking things to the next level cause his dad tells us SHE dropped the L word!!!
So, here's the deal ... the rumors have been swirling for months about Madonna dating Ahlamalik Williams ... one of her backup dancers. Williams' father, Drue, tells TMZ ... his son and Madge are 100% definitely an item ... and it's gotten serious.
For starters ... Drue says us his son's been dating Madonna for a little over a year now. Drue says they first met back in 2015 when his son auditioned for Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour ... and Madonna personally picked Ahlamalik out of the group.
SplashNews.com
Fast-forward to September ... Madonna met her boy toy's parents in NYC after one of her shows. And, just last month ... Madonna hosted Ahlamalik's parents at one of her Ceasar's Palace shows. And, get this ... Drue says Madonna invited them to her suite ... where Madonna's personal chef cooked them all dinner.
Drue says the 61-year-old singer told them she loves their son unconditionally and wants to take care of him. Drue says, "Love has no age." He added, "My son is livin' la Vida Loca, and I'm just happy for him."
The Material Girl and her man's parents clearly got along ... 'cause Drue says Madonna's invited them to her shows in London and France in early 2020. Drue says they've already booked their flights. Bitch ... she's Madonna!!!
Another year, another Star Wars film that has divided fans and critics so intensely that it’s created an internet flame war that threatens to burn us all alive.
Ironically, it’s the opposite of the last battle we had two years ago. Back then, critics loved Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi while many fans absolutely loathed it. Critics were calling it one of the best Star Wars entries ever while other fans were declaring it the worst.
Now, it’s flipped. Rise of Skywalker now has some critics calling JJ Abrams’ finale effort one of the worst in the series, oftentimes even more so than the dreaded prequels. In contrast, a good chunk of fans seem to enjoy the finale and think it’s a fitting end to the series, and “fixes” much of what went wrong from with The Last Jedi.
You can actually see this play out in the numbers. I went through and measured the critic score versus the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes for every Star Wars film. And here’s what I found:
Rise of Skywalker – 55% critics V. 86% audience (+31% gap)
Return of the Jedi – 82% critics V. 94% audience (+12% gap)
The Phantom Menace – 53% critics V. 59% audience (+6% gap)
Rogue One – 83% critics V. 86% audience (+3% gap)
The Empire Strikes Back – 93% critics V. 96% audience (+3% gap)
A New Hope – 93% critics V. 96% audience (+3% gap)
The Force Awakens – 93% critics V. 86% audience (-7% gap)
Solo – 70% critics V. 63% audience (-7% gap)
Attack of the Clones – 65% critics V. 56% audience (-9% gap)
Revenge of the Sith – 80% critics V. 66% audience (-14% gap)
The Last Jedi – 91% critics V. 43% audience (-48% gap)
As you can see, the biggest gap in favor of fan approval, by a huge margin, is Rise of Skywalker, with fans rating it a full 31% better than the critical average. And then it’s no surprise to see The Last Jedi on the other end of the spectrum, with critics rating it 48% higher than fans. In general, if we add up all the changes, fans are actually a little harsher than critics in most cases, especially when it comes to the prequels (including Solo), and they were a more skeptical of JJ Abrams’ initial effort with The Force Awakens as well.
The Mandalorian
Disney
Want to know what the least controversial Star Wars property is on the list? Well, it’s not even on the list. That would be The Mandalorian, with only a 1% difference between critic reviews (94%) and audience reviews (93%).
But what’s going on here, really?
To me, the impression I’m getting is that critics have overreacted to Rise of Skywalker’s flaws just like fans overreacted to the problems with The Last Jedi. Neither of these films are even close to the worst Star Wars film in the grand list. Critics are insane to say that Rise of Skywalker is worse than movies like Attack of the Clones or Phantom Menace, so much so that it almost seems spiteful to try and make that case. And the same goes for The Last Jedi haters who would rate it as the worst Star Wars move in history by a 13% margin under the worst prequel, Attack of the Clones. Just…absolutely no way.
To sum up what happened, fans were mad that The Last Jedi took traditional Star Wars arcs and shattered them, ignoring questions like the mystery of Snoke and Rey’s origins, and that the film turned Luke from shining hero to grumpy sacrificial lamb. And that’s exactly what critics liked about the film, that it broke away from tropes and tried something new.
That’s why those same critics are so mad now, because JJ Abrams did everything possible to undo so much of what Johnson did in The Last Jedi, providing specific answers to those questions that Johnson said weren’t important. Abrams sidelines lambasted characters like Rose, he mocks Last Jedi moments like the Holdo maneuver or Luke throwing away his lightsaber. It’s such a complete rewrite of The Last Jedi it actually feels vengeful.
The Last Jedi
Disney
But fans like it A) because they got those Last Jedi “fixes” they were looking for and B) it was specifically…made for fans. The film is rife with fan service, which is often viewed as a negative by critics, but you know who likes fan service? Fans. And that’s what’s happened here. Rise of Skywalker doesn’t care about erasing tropes, it embraces them, and gives us an ending that is pretty much an exact replica of Return of the Jedi. And it’s an admittedly satisfying end to the saga, albeit not a terribly original one. But it’s enough to satisfy most fans who felt burned by The Last Jedi, so here we are, with these wildly different takes on two movies that I would say, are both pretty great in their own ways, despite each of them having flaws.
We do not know what comes next for Star Wars. It seems that Disney has learned a few lessons here, namely that one person should be in charge of an entire film series, and it shouldn’t be split by director. And that maybe we don’t always need a trilogy, and stories should be as long as they need to be (technically JJ Abrams’ Force Awakens and Rise of Skywalker could have just been a two-film set, given how much of The Last Jedi was flat-out erased).
My guess is that we will see more Mandalorian-type content that pleases everyone and less hyper controversies like this, now that we’re moving on from the Skywalkers, Solos, Vaders and Palpatines. It’s time to write new stories, or at the very least, adapt different old ones.
Twin brothers who starred in TLC's "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" are dead after an apparent joint suicide.
The 32-year-old siblings, Bill and Joe Smith, were found hanging in a tree in Sevenoaks, England ... this according to law enforcement.
"Celebrity Big Brother" winner Paddy Doherty confirmed the news on Facebook, calling it a "terrible, terrible tragedy," adding, "I'm very sorry for their troubles from the bottom of my heart. May God look after them, may God have mercy on them, they are two angels, harmless, they were unbelievable."
Channel 4
Bill and Joe starred in the 3rd season of the hit show. When they started they were 24 years old and working as gardeners.
"My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" followed the lives of and traditions of Irish traveler families for 3 seasons from 2011 to 2015.
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths, but cops seem confident they were suicides.
Ron Perlman was the driver of the out-of-control truck plowing through an indie movie set, injuring crew members and nearly setting the entire area ablaze ... and TMZ has the video.
Multiple sources tell TMZ ... the "Hellboy" star is behind the wheel in the footage, which shows a truck barreling into the camera department and video village tent on the set of "The Last Victim" last month at the Okanagan Indian Band in British Columbia.
Our sources say Ron, who stars as the local sheriff in the neo-western, ran over several propane heaters in the tent, where the script supervisor, director and producer were hanging out, wedging the heaters under the truck. We're told the heaters were lit, and it sounds like a miracle the propane didn't ignite!!!
We first reported on the scary car crash earlier this month, which left one person with a minor foot injury, but at the time it wasn't clear who was driving ... and now we know it was Ron.
In the video, you hear people screaming after the truck crashes, with some folks shouting, "Ron, stop!!!" Our sources say the only thing stopping the vehicle from continuing its wild ride was all the camera and gear grip Ron ran over.
It's pretty crazy ... we're told the accident happened on the first take of the day, and Ron complained about being uncomfortable driving in his size 14 cowboy boots before the scene. Our sources say he was also wearing an ankle brace, but we're told the first assistant director ignored Ron's issues, scrapped a rehearsal and instructed cameras to roll.
Sounds like Ron's concerns over his cowboy boots were warranted ... we're told his foot got stuck on the accelerator because of the humongous footwear.
TMZ.com
And, get this ... we're told the crash happened on what was supposed to be the last day of filming, and producers tried to continue shooting after the accident but the crew was pissed.
In additional video and audio, obtained by TMZ, a crew member is heard quitting. We're told producers finally relented and canceled filming for the day, telling the crew they'd pick up the following day.
We reached out to Ron and movie producers ... no word back, so far
The government of the United Kingdom apologized Saturday after it published a list of 1,000 celebrities and notables that included some personal information, such as addresses.
The New Year Honours 2020 list, which recognizes societal achievements and contributions by bestowing more than 1,000 honorees with terms of achievement, including knighthood for some.
The 2020 list of recipients, unveiled Thursday, included Sir Elton John (Companion of Honour), Olivia Newton-John (damehood) and director Sam Mendes (knighthood).
"The information was removed as soon as possible," the Cabinet Office said in a statement. "We apologise to all those affected and are looking into how this happened."
The office said that those whose addresses were revealed were being contacted.
The U.K. privacy group Big Brother published on Twitter remarks of its director, Silkie Carlo. She said the exposure was "inexcusable" and that government "doesn't have a basic grip on data protection."
Dennis Romero
Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.
What a Babu Frik’in weekend this is for a galaxy far, far away. Just a few short days after J.J. Abrams brought the entire Skywalker Saga to a pretty divisive close with The Rise of Skywalker, Jon Favreau and Co. closed out the first season of the first-ever live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian. Now, Rise of Skywalker has the clear advantage in the amount of lines rendered unnecessarily horny by Billy Dee Williams, but I feel like The Mandalorian was the more satisfying conclusion overall; “Redemption” was an action-packed family affair directed by Taika Waititi that opened up more than a few avenues into season 2, but also answered its fair share of questions. First and foremost: Who is the Mando under the mask?
Image via Disney+
Surprise! He looks just like Pedro Pascal and his name Din Djarin. (Which, hilariously, Pascal himself accidentally revealed like two months ago, the scamp.) Mando’s past was revealed in grand fashion by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), season 1’s ultimate big bad who seems to know everything except that “until nightfall” is an absurdly long time to let captives hang around when it’s only like, 3 in the afternoon. The massive Wild West shootout on Navarro was The Mandalorian‘s fieriest set-piece so far, but things only took a turn for the emotional once the action moved into the sewers. Mando’s clan is mostly gone, routed by the Empire after they jet-packed their way into the public eye back in episode 3, but The Armorer (Emily Swallow) stuck around to harvest all that sweet, sweet Beskar left behind. She gives Mando a sigil, the Mudhorn—ensuring that every day Din Djarin can proudly look to his armor and remember the time an alien rhinoceros just absolutely fucked his entire day up—and a new mission: Return Baby Yoda to his home planet, wherever that may be.
IG-11 (Waititi), reprogrammed to protect Baby Yoda at all costs, valiantly braves a lava river and activates his self-destruct protocol to kill a squad of Stormtroopers, clearing the way for Mando, Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), and Cara Dune (Gina Carano) to walk right into a TIE fighter attack courtesy of Moff Gideon. One genuinely thrilling jet-pack altercation later and Gideon’s ship is in the dirt. Din Djarin and his beautiful green son blast off into the cosmos to find out how Baby Yodas are made, and we’re set up for an already-greenlit season 2.
But first! “Redemption” ends on an image that got Dave Filoni fans a-screamin’ and opened up a few dozen questions as we leave season 1 behind. Such as:
Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley in Walt Disney and Lucasfilm's 'Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker'
Walt Disney and Lucasfilm
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker has passed $300 million domestic and $600 million worldwide, and it’ll likely end the weekend neck-and-neck with The Last Jedi’s $368 million ten-day domestic cume.
Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker earned $26.2 million on Friday, soaring past $300 million in North America and $600 million worldwide. The film fell 71% from its $90 million Friday, which neither an emergency nor exceptionally strong. Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi dropped 76% on its second Friday, while Rogue One fell 67% on its second Friday and J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens dropped 58% on Friday number two, which just happened to fall on Christmas Day. As presumed for awhile now, The Rise of Skywalker opened well below Last Jedi but is having stronger post-debut legs. Which is, not to brag, exactly what I’ve been saying would happen for two years.
Credit the “straight from opening weekend to holiday break” scheduling, an advantage that Rogue One and Last Jedi did not have but Force Awakens did. Wonder Woman 1984 and No Time to Die moving to 2020 didn’t hurt either. Rise of Skywalker grossed $316 million domestic in eight days, essentially neck-and-neck with The Last Jedi’s $321 million eight-day cume after a $220 million opening weekend. It could gross around $31 million today, giving it a nine-day total of around $346 million, or just below Last Jedi’s $350 million nine-day domestic cume. Barring a fluke in either direction, we can expect a $78 million second-weekend gross, down a “meh” 56% from its $176 million opening weekend.
That’ll give it around $140 million for the Wed-Sun holiday frame and $368 million in ten days of domestic release. If this all comes to pass, J.J. Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker will become the third-biggest opener not to drop over $100 million in its second Fri-Sun weekend, after The Force Awakens and Black Panther. It’ll also put Rise of Skywalker neck-and-neck with Last Jedi’s $368 million ten-day total. So, about that “The Last Jedi ruined Star Wars!” thing? There is still a decent chance that The Rise of Skywalker will earn about as much, if not a bit more, in North America than The Last Jedi, exactly as the Emperor (and I) had foreseen!
Star Wars grossed $309 million in its initial theatrical release in 1977, while Empire Strikes Back earned $209 million in 1980 and Return of the Jedi earned $252 million domestic in 1983. 16 years later, The Phantom Menace earned $431 million domestic, followed by Attack of the Clones ($310 million) in 2002 and Revenge of the Sith ($381 million) in 2005. To the extent that Rise of Skywalker may have been rejiggered in order to placate the “Last Jedi was terrible!” folks, well, that might have been a case of preventing a field goal by allowing a touchdown. The immediate reception to Rise of Skywalker still puts the franchise on the defensive come December 2022.
That’s for another day. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still playing like a Star Wars movie. 20 years ago, The Phantom Menace opened slightly below expectations ($64 million Fri-Sun/$105 million Wed-Sun) but kept up momentum for a strong holiday-infused second-weekend gross ($66 million Fri-Mon) for a then-record $207 million 13-day cume. We’re seeing history repeat itself. The Rise of Skywalker is not quite as leggy as The Force Awakens (2.17x its opening weekend by day ten) or Aquaman (2.6x its opening weekend by the end of weekend two), but its projected 2.09x weekend-to-day-ten multiplier is slightly above both Hobbit prequels. Both of those films went on to earn over 3.53x their opening weekends.
That would give Rise of Skywalker a domestic finish above The Last Jedi’s $620 million cume. If it earns 50/50 worldwide, it’ll gross around $1.24 billion worldwide. That’s below Last Jedi’s $1.333 billion cume, but not a Jurassic Park III-level downturn overseas (nor a Matrix Revolutions-level downturn in North America). Since it could be tied with Star Wars VIII domesticallyas of Sunday, the question will be whether its second Mon-Thurs frame, also part of the holiday break, will be strong enough compared to Last Jedi’s second Mon-Thurs frame, which was its first holiday week, to break out in terms of day-to-day cumes. Find out tomorrow whether it will join the $100 million losers club.
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After the series finale of “The Mandalorian” yesterday, fans are pining for even more Baby Yoda to cope. (Don’t worry, Season 2 will be airing next Fall!) Now they can cozy up with Baby Yoda in this amazing new Spirit Jersey, which has finally hit the shelves at Walt Disney World.
The seafoam green Spirit Jersey features Baby Yoda perched and peeking out from the top, almost as if he was in some sort of baby carrier.
Do note that it’s a graphic of Baby Yoda (“The Child”) and not a still from the series.
On the back, big puffy letters show off the show’s logo in dark blue. Mando is seen in the “A”.
The Spirit Jersey retails for $69.99. We found it inside MouseGear at EPCOT, so if you’re looking in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you may want to have your tracker fob checked, or you’ll never collect this bounty!
Kevin Hart has shared his life with ultimate transparency and his new Netflix docuseries, Don’t F**k This Up, is no different. The six-part series follows the comedian and CEO over a year span and takes viewers on an inside look into the behind the scenes moments of his hectic tour and film schedule – and his life as a husband and a father. The show also chronicles the fallout from two of the biggest scandals of his career.
Kevin Hart and Eniko Hart 2017 | JB Lacroix/ WireImage
One of the scandals documented is the media frenzy that ensued when the tabloids reported he cheated on his very pregnant wife, Eniko Hart. Eniko painfully recalled the moment she experienced the unimaginable heartbreak and how she was able to ultimately forgive her husband.
Kevin Hart marries Eniko Hart
Kevin and Eniko met in 2009 at a nightclub in D.C. She spoke about their first meeting in the Netflix special and beamed when she detailed how Kevin serenaded her on stage. The attraction between the two was instant, with Eniko recalling how she fell in love with the comedian because of his ability to make her laugh.
Source: Instagram
Kevin took Eniko with him on the road as he toured as a stand up comic. After getting the approval of his friends, Eniko passed the ultimate test after she met his two children from his previous marriage. Eniko’s ability to ignore the noise surrounding when and how the began dating – as he wasn’t officially divorced when they met – was an indicator to Kevin that she was the one.
Source: Instagram
Kevin proposed to Eniko on her 30th birthday. They married in a lavish ceremony in August 2016.
Reports surface that Kevin Hart cheated on his wife
Things with Kevin and Eniko seemed to be going well and the couple announced they were expecting their first child together on Mother’s Day 2017.
Source: Instagram
Rumors swirled that Kevin was unfaithful for months before it was confirmed that he’d stepped out on his wife. A few weeks prior to the public finding, a secret video of Kevin in a vehicle with a woman who was not his wife surfaced. Though it wasn’t clear that anything was taking place, Kevin was caught in a compromising position.
Several weeks later, he posted a video to his social media hinting that he’d done something wrong outside of his marriage. He also warned that more details were to come and he’d explain when the time was right. Kevin ended the video by apologizing to his wife and kids.
Source: YouTube
It was later confirmed that Kevin was intimate with a woman named Montia Sabbag and it was all caught on video. After a wild night in Vegas, Kevin said that he screwed up majorly but cheating on Eniko. He later revealed that a close friend tried to extort him and was the culprit behind releasing the tape. Sabbag later sued him and his former friend for $60 million.
Eniko Hart reveals how she found out Kevin Hart was unfaithful
Eniko didn’t find out about Kevin’s infidelity from him directly. Instead, she received a notification on social media. She recalled the discovery in part three of the docuseries.
Source: Instagram
“How I found out was a DM,” Eniko began. “I don’t know who it was, sent me an edited video of Kevin and another woman….I opened my phone and immediately I just lost it. I called him crying, I’m like pissed. Right then and there I kept saying, ‘How the f–k did you let that happen?’”
She says that she was humiliated and the commentary on social media didn’t help. Kevin’s poor choice led to daily arguments for the couple and she threatened to leave if he didn’t clean up his act.
Being so close to giving birth to her first child, Eniko believes she was able to get through the rough experience because of their unborn son. She focused on having a healthy remainder of her pregnancy.
Source: Instagram
Kevin says that the immediate aftermath of the scandal and having difficult conversations with Eniko about his indiscretion was the hardest part of the experience. Knowing how badly he hurt her, he says it made him want to do better and never put himself or his family in the same predicament.
Ultimately, Eniko’s desire to raise their son in a two-parent household and keep her family together is what drove her to forgive Kevin. Their son Kenzo was born shortly after the hiccup and Eniko says the experience made Kevin a better man.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married, the whole world seemed as smitten with the couple as they were with each other. It’s a fairy tale story when a member of the royal family marries a “commoner.” And it seems like an actress from America couldn’t be any more different from royalty.
But it didn’t take long for the public to start picking at the beautiful couple, and what began as a fairy tale soon became a bitter story for them. What went wrong, and can they look forward to turning things around in 2020?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a beautiful beginning to 2019
In many ways, 2019 seems like a wonderful year for Prince Harry and Markle.
In May, a year after their wedding, they welcomed their first baby, a beautiful son named Archie. They were both clearly besotted with their little boy, and it seemed as though things were perfect for the little family.
They had plenty of other triumphs in the year also. They went on a tour of Africa that meant a great deal to them. Not only were they able to highlight a number of charities that are dear to their hearts, but they also honored the memory of the late Princess Diana.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also launched their own charitable foundation. There seemed to be plenty of positive events in their life.
The public opinion started to turn on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Meghan Markle |JEREMY SELWYN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Shortly after the birth of Archie, the couple moved out of Kensington Palace and into Frogmore Cottage. Soon rumors began to circulate that the reason for the move was that there was a falling out between Prince Harry and Prince William — perhaps over Prince William’s feelings that the couple rushed into marriage.
Whether it was a fair assessment or not, people blamed Duchess Meghan for the estrangement between the brothers. Soon the press was relentlessly criticizing the couple, especially Markle.
They claimed the Duchess of Sussex treated the staff rudely and pointed out every tiny detail they could find that seemed to show she was not royal enough. She was even mocked for how she held Baby Archie.
When a tabloid used shady tactics to get their hands on a letter she wrote to her estranged father, Prince Harry had enough. He sued the tabloid and wrote a blistering statement about the underhanded behavior of the tabloids.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry try to defend themselves
During an interview for a documentary about their Africa trip, Markle made an emotional statement about how hard it was to be a new mom and face lots of criticism. Although many people empathized with her, especially mothers, it didn’t do much to bolster her image as a dignified member of the royal family.
The couple decided to take a break from all the drama and go to the U.S. for some respite. This has spawned a whole new crop of rumors that they are considering resigning from their royal duties and leaving England for good.
They haven’t made any statements responding to these rumors, but they do seem to be trying to protect their privacy a little more. They’ve recently changed their Instagram settings to prevent fans from tagging them in photos, so they don’t show up on their account.
Royal watchers wonder if their new cautious attitude is too little, too late. With the scandals that have rocked the royal family recently, everyone will have to do extra work to keep their image burnished.
With the somewhat erratic behavior of Prince Harry and Markle, people wonder if they will be able to step up and do what the Queen asks of them. If Prince Harry and Markle aren’t able to learn from the past year and be a little more careful in 2020, things might not get any easier any time soon.
Another big day for Disney’s Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker with a Dec. 26 estimated gross of $30.7M, -4% from Christmas Day. Industry sources are forecasting that through the ninth-quel’s first ten days by Sunday, the J.J. Abrams directed movie will hit $380.9M, pacing 3% ahead of Last Jedi at the same point in time. Pretty impressive for a pic we dinged for having a slow start. Skywalker‘s Dec. 26 bests that of Last Jedi‘s ($27.7M) and is just under Rogue One‘s $32M, which was on the Monday after a Christmas Sunday.
Sony’s Little Womenis doing great with a $6M Thursday, -6% from Christmas, on its way to a $27.8M 5-day. The Greta Gerwig-directed reboot of the Louisa May Alcott novel scored 5 stars on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak among both general audiences and parents (but kids under 12 were sleepy at 2 1/2 stars). General audiences made up 83% of Little Women‘s audience with 17% families. Females over 25 led the charge making up close to 50%, with men over 25 at 30%, females under 25 at 13% (who gave the pic a perfect score of 100%) and men under 25 at 9%. Diversity breakdown was 73% Caucasian, 15% Asian/Other, 7% Hispanic and 5% African American. Little Women played best on the coasts. As expected, Little Women is stealing females away from Cats which is expected to end its 10-day run on Sunday with $18.1M, 53% behind The Greatest Showman at the same point in time.
Fox/Disney/Blue Sky’s Spies in Disguiseearned an A- CinemaScore, and 3 1/2 stars from general audiences and parents and 4 stars from kids under 12. Industry estimates are $4.1M yesterday, -15%. Business is being driven by 62% males, with an audience that is 70% under 35 with 50% between 18-35 years old. Diversity demos were 42% Caucasian, 29% Asian/Other, 16% African American and 13% Hispanic. The Blue Sky movie performed the best in the South and the West.
A24’s Uncut Gemsposted $3.3M at 2,341, -44% from Christmas Day for a running total of $10.4M. The pic is racking up solid business, despite its C+ CinemaScore and 2 stars on PostTrak. Why those low scores? It depends on how you view the shocking ending. Males at 65% showed up with 67% under 35 with the largest quad being between 18-24 at 35%. Diversity demos were 65% Caucasian, 12% Asian/Other, 12% African American and 11% Hispanic. The Safdie Brothers movie played best on the coasts, however, much better in the East I hear.
Lionsgate/MRC’s Knives Outpassed the century mark yesterday.
Universal/DreamWorks’ 1917made an estimated $187K yesterday for a 2-day gross of $438K. Warner Bros.’ Just Mercyposted $37K last night, -54% for a 2 day take of $118K.
Updated industry estimates ranked by 5-day gross:
1.) Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (Dis) 4,406 theaters Wed $32M (+60%)/Th $30.7M (-4%)/3-day: $89.6M (-49%)/5-day: $154M/Cume: $380.9M/Wk 2
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What a Babu Frik’in weekend this is for a galaxy far, far away. Just a few short days after J.J. Abrams brought the entire Skywalker Saga to a pretty divisive close with The Rise of Skywalker, Jon Favreau and Co. closed out the first season of the first-ever live-action Star Wars series, 
