inflation Archives

AppWizard

June 3, 2025

Weekend Box Office: Lilo & Stitch Repeats, but Can It Catch Minecraft?

Lilo & Stitch grossed .0 million, with a 10-day total of 0.1 million, despite a 56.9% drop in earnings. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning earned .3 million, with a global total exceeding 0 million. Karate Kid: Legends debuted with .0 million, significantly lower than the .6 million opening of the 2010 version, and has grossed .0 million worldwide. Final Destination: Bloodlines earned .8 million, bringing its total to .7 million. Bring Her Back opened with .0 million. The Phoenician Scheme grossed ,000 in six theaters, with a per-theater average of ,000.

AppWizard

May 26, 2025

A Roblox farming game made by a teenager ‘in like three days’ had 8.9 million players online at the same time—Steam peaked at 11.5 million across all games on the same day

In 2025, the Roblox game "Grow a Garden" experienced a peak of nearly 9 million concurrent players, surpassing the previous record held by Player Unknown's Battlegrounds on Steam by almost threefold. The game reached a peak of 5 million concurrent users just a weekend prior to this achievement. It was developed by a teenage creator in three days and has gained significant popularity, with a player count that surpassed the population of New York City. Despite initial skepticism about player counts, investigations confirmed the game's genuine popularity, driven by strong user retention and community engagement. A Roblox spokesperson noted that the growth is attributed to an authentic community rather than artificial inflation.

AppWizard

May 10, 2025

Box Office Warner Bros. Milestone: ‘Sinners’ Crosses $200 Million, ‘Minecraft’ Digs Up $900 Million Globally

Ryan Coogler's film, Sinners, has surpassed the 0 million threshold at the domestic box office, with a cumulative total of 9.8 million. The film features Michael B. Jordan in a dual role and is set in the Jim Crow South of the early 1930s. Warner Bros. celebrates a double victory as A Minecraft Movie crosses the 0 million mark globally, making it the second-highest grossing video game adaptation of all time, unadjusted for inflation. Minecraft and Sinners are the top two grossing films of the year domestically. Minecraft is the leading Hollywood film of 2025 at the worldwide box office, followed by Captain America: Brave New World with 6 million and Sinners at 9.8 million. Thunderbolts is projected to earn million or more in its second weekend, surpassing the 0 million mark globally. Sinners has resonated well with Black audiences and has also appealed to white and Latino viewers.

AppWizard

May 3, 2025

Movie Theaters Are Making A Comeback. Here’s Why.

In April, two major film releases revitalized interest in theaters: “A Minecraft Movie” grossed 3 million globally during its opening weekend, while Ryan Coogler’s horror film “Sinners” debuted with a solid million and has surpassed the 0 million mark worldwide. The success of “Sinners” has been supported by IMAX screenings and a limited re-release in select theaters. Despite competition from streaming services and inflation affecting consumer spending, studios like Warner Bros. are optimistic about maintaining momentum, with upcoming releases such as Marvel’s “Thunderbolts,” “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” and Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” AMC CEO Adam Aron expressed cautious optimism for recovery, noting a promising second half of the year and projections for a stronger 2026. Cinema United President Michael O’Leary advocates for a 45-day baseline window for films in theaters, while AMC plans to open 40 new Dolby Cinema auditoriums by 2027. The recent successes indicate that innovative storytelling and compelling cinematic experiences are crucial for attracting audiences back to theaters.

AppWizard

April 14, 2025

’Minecraft’, Jesus Lead Box Office Resurgence

Rory McIlroy won The Masters, achieving his career Grand Slam. Paramount is experiencing a strong start to Q2, with Cooper Flagg helping Duke achieve an 8-year ratings high and the men's championship game attracting 18.1 million viewers. The Naked Gun debuted successfully at CinemaCon, and MI:8 is projected for a record opening. 60 Minutes is performing well despite political challenges, and MobLand garnered 8.8 million global viewers in its first week on Paramount+. WBD paid its top 5 executives over million in compensation in 2024, while its stock was down approximately 7%. The source of autism is expected to be discovered by September, according to RFK Jr. Cosmopolitan is launching a sports content outlet called Cosmo Sports, and OpenAI is offering free ChatGPT Plus to college students through May. Disney is discounting at Disney World this summer, likely due to the upcoming opening of Universal's Epic theme park. Director Don Mischer passed away at the age of 85.

Tech Optimizer

February 21, 2025

PostgreSQL 18: Part 2 or CommitFest 2024-09

September's CommitFest for version 18 has seen a wealth of accepted patches and new features, including: - Conflict detection and logging in logical replication - Removal of the constant 10000000000 in the planner to improve sequential scan cost assessment - Enhanced memory management and usage monitoring for temporary tuple storage - Asynchronous operations support in pg_upgrade for multiple databases - Speed improvements for Hash Joins - Faster text value processing in JSON - Optimized numeric-type multiplication and division - Introduction of ANALYZE ONLY and VACUUM ONLY commands - Improved checkpointer statistics - Normalization of SET commands in pg_stat_statements - Reporting of remote connection status in postgres_fdw_get_connections - Ignoring format conversion errors in file_fdw - New function has_largeobject_privilege - Functions crc32 and crc32c added - Client-server protocol updates to report search_path changes - Support for named prepared statements in psql - Integrity verification for tar backups in pg_verifybackup

AppWizard

February 13, 2025

Apple TV+ App to Be Offered for Android Devices

Apple TV+ will be available on Android devices starting February 12, marking the first time the app is accessible on Android platforms, specifically for devices running Android 10 or newer. Users can subscribe to Apple TV+ and the MLS Season Pass through the app. Prior to this, the app was compatible with various devices, including Roku and smart TVs. Apple reported .12 billion in revenue from its services sector in the fourth quarter, a 14% increase year-over-year, and has surpassed 1 billion subscriptions. In October, Apple TV+ was added to Amazon Prime Video's subscription options in the U.S. The streaming industry is facing challenges such as consumer dissatisfaction and rising subscription costs.

AppWizard

December 24, 2024

PC Gamer’s highest review scores of 2024

Concerns about "score inflation" in gaming reviews have been raised, with a score of 90% expected to represent an exceptional game. PC Gamer has not awarded a score higher than 98%, with Baldur's Gate 3 receiving the highest score of 97% in its UK edition. The 2024 Game of the Year Award winners are not included, but the year featured quality titles. Scores and their corresponding games include: - 89%: - Persona 3 Reload - Tekken 8 - Dragon's Dogma 2 - V Rising - Little Kitty, Big City - Lorelai and the Laser Eyes - 90%: - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 - Shogun Showdown - Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred - Satisfactory - Riven - Animal Well - Granblue Fantasy: Relink - 91%: - Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake - Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance - Wild Bastards - Balatro - 92%: - Destiny 2: The Final Shape - Factorio: Space Age - 94%: - Caves of Qud - 95%: - Not specified in the provided text.

AppWizard

November 28, 2024

The Big Indie Interviews: Hyena Hon on award-winning competitive game Crush!

The Very Big Indie Pitch competition at Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan allows developers to present their games to expert judges for feedback and potential prizes. Mostafa Harb from Hyena Hon showcased their game Crush!, a competitive party game for two players that evolved from a game jam project. Harb highlighted the challenges of indie game development in Lebanon due to economic instability, emphasizing the need for funding and stable employment. He described the positive reception of Crush! during the pitch, noting the valuable feedback received from both casual gamers and industry experts. Harb plans to expand Crush! with a unique art style and diverse gameplay mechanics, aiming for a Steam release. Additionally, he and co-founder Jawad Karaky have ideas for future projects, including an educational cooking game, a racing game, and a narrative-driven game for the visually impaired.

AppWizard

October 7, 2024

Ticker: Federal judge orders Google to open its Android app store to competition; Wall Street slides after Treasury yields climb

A federal judge has ordered Google to dismantle its protective barriers around the Android app store, requiring changes to the Play Store to allow the distribution of rival third-party app stores. This ruling aims to enhance competition and provide consumers with access to a broader selection of applications. In related market news, U.S. stocks fell, with the S&P 500 index down by 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining by 398 points (0.9%), and the Nasdaq composite dropping by 1.2%. This market downturn coincided with rising Treasury yields and follows a period of record-setting gains driven by optimism regarding the Federal Reserve's economic management.