Highly anticipated movies "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" are being released on the same day and come shortly ahead of "Moana 2," setting up what could be a record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend for the movie theater industry . What Happened : "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" open in domestic movie theaters on Nov. 22, in a move that some compared to the release of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on the same day last year. While "Glicked" or whatever acronym you want to use for seeing both movies the same day didn't catch on as big as last year's "Barbenheimer" did previously, expectations remain high for both movies. "Wicked," which comes from Comcast Corp CMCSA unit Universal Pictures, is expected to post a domestic opening weekend total in the range of $125 million to $150 million, as reported by Deadline. "Gladiator II," which comes from Paramount Global PARA PARAA , is expected to have a domestic opening weekend of more than $60 million. Deadline reports strong initial audience scores for "Wicked" from those who saw early screenings of the film and pre-sales that are "through the roof." As an R-rated movie, a total of $60 million or more could help "Gladiator II" become the highest-grossing R-rated film in November. Read Also: Airbnb Says ‘Are You Not Entertained?’ New Roman Colosseum Experience Coincides With Gladiator Sequel Why It's Important: The strong expected opens for "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" could be good news for AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC and Cinemark Holdings CNK and other movie theater operators in the U.S. Along with those two movies, movie theaters could also benefit from the release of "Moana 2" from Walt Disney Co DIS , which comes next Wednesday, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The three movies could help the domestic box office pass $300 million and hit all-time records for the holiday five-day weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. With three strong movies all released shortly before Thanksgiving, estimates predict a strong domestic box office next week, which could be another bright spot in the post-COVID-19 recovery for movie theaters and movie companies. A total of over $300 million, with most coming from the three films, could come close to the record. Here's a look at the current top-grossing five-day domestic Thanksgiving weekends and the highest-grossing film during the time period: 2018 : $315.6 million, "Ralph Breaks the Internet" ($84.8 million) 2013 : $294.2 million, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" ($109.9 million) 2017 : $270.5 million, "Coco" ($72.9 million) 2019 : $263.4 million, "Frozen II" ($125.0 million) 2016: $260.0 million, "Moana" ($125.0 million) The report said current tracking predicts "Moana 2" will gross between $125 million and $150 million for the five-day holiday weekend domestically, which would break records for the time period. The early Wednesday opening could contribute to the strong expectations for "Moana 2" as not all blockbusters haven't done this same holiday release window previously, the report added. While the strong opening expectations for the three films could help the movie companies behind them, the big winners will likely be the movie theaters as they could see many customers coming in more than once during a period that might have only drawn one visit in past years due to this year's strong lineup. Read Next: Elon Musk Predicts Gladiator Sequel Will Be ‘Painfully Bad. Embarrassingly So’: Film’s Star Says Movie Takes ‘New Direction’ Photo: Movie posters via IMDb © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.After-hours movers: GM, Stitch Fix, Dave & Buster's, GME and moreABSOLUTELY NOT! Democratic Senator Peter Welch Wants to Restore Funding for Terror-Loving UNRWA
The USF Bulls (6-6) and San Jose State Spartans (7-5) meet Tuesday in the Hawaii Bowl at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's college football odds around the USF vs. San Jose State odds , and make our expert college football picks and predictions . The Bulls were tripped up 35-28 in the regular-season finale at Rice Nov. 30, failing as 5.5-point favorites with the Over (54) cashing. USF is 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in the past 5 games, while cashing the Over in 3 in a row, and in 5 of the past 6 games. USF QB Byrum Brown has been sidelined since Sept. 28 in a blowout loss at Tulane. He suffered a lower leg injury, but Brown is getting healthier and might be able to play in this bowl game. That would be a huge lift for USF. As far as the transfer portal or opt outs, the Bulls haven't been terribly affected going into this game. For San Jose State, it lost CBs Michael Dansby to Arizona and DJ Harvey to USC. WR Nick Nash has opted out to get ready for the 2025 NFL Draft, too, so that's a big loss for the Spartans offense. Nash had 104 receptions, 1,382 yards and 16 TDs -- all team-highs -- while the rest of the receivers had 13 TDs combined. San Jose State scored a 34-31 win over Stanford in its regular-season finale, covering as a 2.5-point favorite with the Over (55) hitting. Still, the Spartans are 2-6 ATS in the past 8 games, with the Under going 5-2 in the past 7 outings. Rankings - US LBM Coaches Poll : Conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports Stream select live college football games and full replays: Get ESPN+ USF vs. San Jose State odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of college football odds. Lines last updated Monday at 6:08 p.m. ET. USF vs. San Jose State picks and predictions Prediction USF 32, San Jose State 29 Moneyline USF (+ 125 ) is a strong play as moderate underdogs as long as Brown is able to start for the Bulls. All indications are that it is going to be the case. San Jose State (-150) would be an attractive play if Nash was going to play, even with Brown starting. However, the best player will not be on the field for this bowl game and the Spartans offense should be a shell of itself. Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now ! Against the spread If you're on the conservative side, USF +3 (- 115 ) is a decent play catching the points. The Bulls were impressive in the Boca Raton Bowl last season, roughing up Syracuse 45-0 -- USF was a 3-point underdog. The Bulls have won 3 of their past 4 bowl games dating back to 2016. San Jose State is just 1-2 ATS in the past 3 games as a favorite, while going 2-6 ATS in the past 8 outings. Over/Under UNDER 63.5 ( -110 ) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at most. For San Jose State, the Under has cashed in 3 straight games off campus, and again, the offense should take a hit with Nash not being a part of the team. The Over has hit in 3 straight games for the Bulls, so that's where the risk comes in. However, San Jose State has a serviceable defense, and it should be able to slow USF somewhat. Want to play some games of your own? Play for free at the best social casinos and enjoy lots of slots, blackjack, video poker, roulette and more. You can even earn real prizes! For more sports betting picks and tips , check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW . Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X . Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook . College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group: Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Duke / Florida / Florida State / Georgia / Iowa / Kentucky / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / UCLA / USC / Washington / Wisconsin / Recruiting / Transfer portal / College Football Playoffs / College Sports Wire / High School More NCAA College Football Picks and Predictions! Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State, picks and predictions Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA odds, picks and predictions College Football Playoff: Tennessee at Ohio State odds, picks and predictionsAP Trending SummaryBrief at 5:24 p.m. EST
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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A police officer responding to a report of a man with a gun inside a North Carolina supermarket was fatally shot Monday and a suspect was later taken into custody, authorities said. Police announced the death of Greensboro police officer Michael Horan at a news conference, saying Horan was responding to the report when he was shot shortly before midday at a Food Lion store in Greensboro in the central part of the state. Ramona Miller told WGHP-TV she was shopping with her 6-year-old granddaughter when she heard shots being fired. “We were on our way out and I was purchasing a lottery ticket and I was just sitting there and heard a ‘pop-pop’ and then ‘pop-pop-pop.’ I think I heard five shots,” Miller said. “At first I didn’t know it was a shooting ... but an employee yelled out, ‘Shooting! Shooting!’ ” Miller said she and her granddaughter left the store and that police arrived soon afterward. Authorities said Monday afternoon that the circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation and they did not immediately release further details about how it unfolded. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the state's lead law enforcement agency, is continuing the investigation. Horan was hired in 2017 and became a sworn Greensboro Police Department officer in early 2018, Assistant Police Chief Milford J. Harris said. Horan served in the department’s patrol bureau. He also was a U.S. Coast Guard member since 2000, according to his LinkedIn profile. “He was an excellent officer. He had an outstanding reputation inside the department and in the community,” Harris said at the news conference. Gov. Roy Cooper said he was monitoring the day's developments. Cooper said on the social media platform X that his office had sent a “significant” number of state law enforcement officers to aid the emergency response in Greensboro. A heavy police presence was spotted outside the grocery store in Greensboro. The store will remain closed while authorities continue their investigation, Food Lion said in a statement, adding it was providing resources to its affected workers. It directed all questions to local law enforcement and said it was cooperating with the investigation. The shooting was another reminder that state lawmakers should strengthen resources and improve safety for law enforcement officers, said Democratic state Sen. Michael Garrett, who represents part of Guilford County where Greensboro is located. “During what should be a time of joy and celebration, another brave officer has been shot in the line of duty. Another family’s holiday season forever changed,” Garrett said in a Facebook statement.
Police became convinced they were investigating a crime in the disappearance of University of Mississippi student when they interviewed the man now on trial in his death, a top officer testified Tuesday. Lee had been missing for two weeks when officers arrested on July 22, 2022, said Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen. Authorities interviewed Herington twice that day, and he gave conflicting information about the hours before Lee vanished, the chief said. “From the moment that we gave Tim Herrington the opportunity to tell the truth and he couldn’t and he lied and we backed that up, we knew then,” McCutchen said. Herrington, 24, is being tried on a capital murder charge in the death of Lee, 20, a gay man who was well known in the LGBTQ+ community at Ole Miss and in Oxford. in Oxford, where is in its second week. Prosecutors and the defense both called their final witnesses Tuesday, and did not testify. Closing arguments are set for Wednesday. Lee’s body has never been found, but a judge has declared him dead. Herrington maintains his innocence and his attorney, Kevin Horan, told jurors last week that prosecutors have “zero” proof Lee was killed. Lee has not contacted friends or family, and his financial transactions and once-prolific social media posts have stopped since the day he went missing, investigators testified. Before officers interviewed Herrington, they had already obtained sexually explicit text messages exchanged between social media accounts belonging to Herrington and Lee in the early hours of July 8, 2022, when Herrington disappeared in Oxford, McCutchen said. Lee communicated with his mother daily, and sent his last message to her hours before he vanished to wish her happy birthday, according to earlier testimony. Google records obtained through a warrant showed that Herrington searched “how long does it take to strangle someone” at 5:56 a.m., University Police Department Sgt. Benjamin Douglas testified last week. The final text message from Lee’s phone was sent to a social media account belonging to Herrington at 6:03 a.m. from a spot near Herrington’s apartment, and cellphone tower in another part of Oxford last located any signal from Lee’s phone at 7:28 a.m., McCutchen said Tuesday. A security camera showed Herrington jogging at about 7:30 a.m. out of a parking lot where Lee’s car was abandoned, investigators testified earlier. “We’ve been looking for Jay Lee’s body for two years, and we’re not going to stop ’til we find it,” McCutchen said in court Tuesday. On the day Lee vanished, Herrington was also seen on security cameras buying duct tape in Oxford and driving to his own hometown of about an hour away, police have testified. Herrington is from an affluent family in Grenada, Mississippi, about 52 miles (83.7 kilometers) southwest of Oxford, testified Ryan Baker, an Oxford Police Department intelligence officer who was a detective when he helped investigated the case. Herrington’s grandfather is bishop of a church in Grenada, other family members work at the church and Herrington himself taught youth Sunday school classes there, Baker said. Herrington “was not portraying himself as gay” to family or friends, Baker said. During testimony Tuesday, Herrington’s father and grandfather both said Herrington had never spoken about having boyfriends. Herrington operated a furniture moving business with another man while they were students at the University of Mississippi, and they had a white box truck that Herrington drove to Grenada, Baker said. Security cameras at several businesses and a neighbor’s house showed Herrington and the truck in Grenada hours after Lee disappeared, Baker said. During McCutchen’s testimony Tuesday, Horan asked whether DNA tests on items taken from Herrington’s apartment and the truck showed “any trace evidence at all implicating my client.” McCutchen said they did not, but police first searched Herrington’s apartment two weeks after Lee vanished and they searched the box truck a few days after the apartment. Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee was pursuing a master’s degree. He was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee. Prosecutors have announced they do not intend to pursue the death penalty, meaning Herrington could get a life sentence if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping. Emily Wagster Pettus, The Associated Press