As the Trump Administration targets NPR’s federal funding, the network and three Colorado stations are fighting back in court with a First Amendment lawsuit. Meanwhile, Hollywood is seeing signs of life at the box office. Memorial Day weekend pulled in $326 million (a huge jump from last year’s $132 million) driven by a crowded slate of new releases. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the biggest stories coming out of the holiday weekend.
Public radio v. the president? As President Trump moves to cut NPR’s federal funding, the network and three Colorado stations hit back with a First Amendment lawsuit. “Objectively speaking, I think this is a good strategy,” says Masters. “It seems to me that the lawsuit, I would hope, has every chance of success as many such lawsuits against this administration … are succeeding, at least in the early going.”
We are so back? Memorial Day weekend provided some relief for studios and theater owners alike, bringing in $326 million at the box office compared to last year’s $132 million. “According to The New York Times, there have been 20 movies in wide release in April and May, which is a 25% increase from the same period a year ago,” says Belloni. “That's what the difference is. There are more movies coming to the box office, and when you have more movies, you have more chances for hits.”
Nobody gets left behind? The biggest driver of this year’s box office surge is Disney’s decision to move the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch from streaming to theaters. “Lilo and Stitch was initially envisioned as a direct to Disney+ movie,” Belloni notes. “They reconfigured it, put it in theaters, and it opened to over $180 million domestic.”