Worldwide box office is $1.05B which makes Sony’s No. 2 film of all time, behind only Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.13B). No Way Home is also the No. 1 title of the year worldwide — and one of the only movies of the modern era to ever reach $1B without China. - Deadline
A YouGov poll of 1,000 Americans found that roughly 56% of 18-to-44-year-olds weren't deterred by the new, rapidly spreading coronavirus variant, with only between 20% and 27% actively deterred. That latter figure among those aged 45 to 64 is 39%, with another 37% neutral. - The Hollywood Reporter
A set of young New Yorkers seems to have decided that the Met is cool. Sure, many of them appear more interested in the dress-up-drink-Champagne-and-be-fabulous aspect than in the art, but that's been true for centuries — and others are finding they like opera. - The New York Times
Not sequels: people obviously love new installments in a franchise. The difference seems to be that fans want the characters they already know in new situations, not new actors as the characters they know. (Exception: when the previous version didn't work, as with Dune.) - The Guardian
Ballet companies count on the income from parents bringing the kids to Nutcracker; same with the Met Opera's English-language children's versions of classics; many museums have shows timed for school vacation. And, at last, the younger set can get vaccinated. Fingers are crossed. - The New York Times
Maybe not, but the performers are eager not to replicate last year's cancellations and lack of revenue. And yet ... a thousand screaming children in the audience? Well, technology helps. - BBC
The concert hall in London is feeling the pain - and asking the British government to make masks and proof of vaccination required for venues its size. - BBC
The COVID-caused cancellation comes at an terrible time for the performers and staff. Many other shows are canceling for the weekend or week as well. In November, the NYT published an article about the workers' worries about Radio City's COVID-19 protocol. - The New York Times
Studio executives and box-office pundits expected audiences to show up for In the Heights, Dear Evan Hansen and West Side Story, and not just fans of the movie musical but general audiences, as well. After a year without movies, audiences would crave the spectacle. It didn’t happen. - The Guardian
"The Met is the first major performing arts organization in the city to announce a booster-shot mandate that will apply to audiences as well as staff members; the new rule will take effect Jan. 17." - The New York Times
The site has no paywall; the model is like that of public radio in the US: convince visitors to contribute. Now more than 1 million people worldwide make recurring donations, nearly double the number three years ago. (The Guardian also has 100,000 print subscribers.) - Axios
"Nathan Pearce from theatre ticket agency Seatplan said: 'As soon as Omicron was reported as a serious threat we saw a 30% drop in sales almost overnight. And when Boris made his announcement we saw another 40% drop.'" - BBC
