Box office weekend news… ‘New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash’… Jay-Z’s Times Square casino bid… Lizzo shows off her weight loss… and Shyne speaks on Diddy’s recent arrest

 

In a huge upset, with $26M in receipts, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice held on to No. 1 at the box office this weekend, beating the new Transformers One by just one million dollars. Analysts expected the CGI-animated Transformers One to open between $30M-$35M, but it took in only $25M for a second place finish. The weekend’s other two new releases didn’t do so great. Halle Berry’s Never Let Go placed fourth with $4.5M….Demi Moore’s The Substance opened in sixth with $3.1M.

We’ve got 38 days until Halloween…93 days until Christmas….99 days until NYE…and 1913 days until Big Al leaves radio. But let’s go back to NYE! Kane Brown and Jelly Roll will headline CBS’ 2024 New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash. This thing is five freaking hours long! More performers will be announced as we get closer to year’s end. After you see the ball drop in NYC, you can see the Music Note drop at midnight Central at Music City’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. No announcement yet from Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025, but they do have a cool countdown clock on the official website.

Jay-Z really wants to open a casino in Times Square. Page Six has learned that Jay-Z and Roc Nation have committed more than $250 million in grant money for Hell’s Kitchen IF they land the bid to create a Caesars Palace Times Square casino. Jay-Z’s Roc Nation-led group would give an initial $15 million to the local community — plus regular grants based on .5% of the casino’s performance. Jay-Z released a statement saying, “Any proposal that wins a gaming license will undoubtedly profit. Our vision is to give back to New York and ensure that the Broadway community, Hell’s Kitchen, and the surrounding businesses and areas all benefit. And not just for a minute, but for the long-term.”

Last week, Lizzo shared clips on social media of her putting in the work at the gym, along with some before-and-after shots of her weight loss journey while sporting her Yitty shape wear. Then on Friday, she posted a video of her sighing into the camera, captioning it, “When you finally get Ozempic allegations after 5 months of weight training and calorie deficit.” Her carousel also included a screenshot of one particularly rude follower who asked, “Did she use Ozempic or did she snort coke,” to which Lizzo asked, “whyyyy do u follow me?”

Back in 1999 there was a nightclub shooting involving Diddy and his then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez. But a rapper named Shyne ended up being sentenced to 10 years in prison over it, while Diddy was acquitted. Shyne — who is now a politician in Belize — held a press conference saying he defended Diddy back then, only to be betrayed by him, and that Diddy destroyed his life. However, Shyne said he did reconcile with Diddy for the sake of of Belize, hoping it would bring investments and scholarships to his country. In the meantime, Diddy has at least one defender — besides his paid attorney. Ray J was a guest on CUOMO and he said the allegations against Diddy are hurtful and confusing for those who have looked up to him all these years. But in the 10+ years they’ve been friends, Ray J said he’s never witnessed any of these “freak off” parties and abuses people are talking about. He said, “I’ve never been in those rooms that people are talking about, and I didn’t even know they existed.” And while he didn’t name names, Ray J said many in the industry say they haven’t witnessed any of that stuff, either. So why aren’t they speaking up?

 

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