It’s a burger bust. One of the largest Wendy’s franchisees — Meritage Hospitality Group — is aiming to close down another round of restaurants after a year full of shutters and a Sept. 16 bankruptcy filing. The company operated 314 Wendy’s restaurants at the time. The Michigan-based brand is asking the court for approval to … Read more
Golden Corral insists its all-you-can-eat chain is booming, despite several abrupt closures over the past nine months. The comfort food buffet confirmed to USA Today that six new outposts are currently in the works, including shuttered spots being revived under new operators. The chain also projects further expansion through 2027 as all-you-can-eat buffets continue to … Read more
It’s dough-ver for another pizza icon. A Papa Murphy’s franchisor has announced that up to 50 locations will close down after a performance review of the company’s lagging brands. The Canadian franchisor and operator, MTY Group, said in an earnings call that 45 to 50 Papa Murphy’s spots will shut in the next six to … Read more
Dough deficit. While this popular pizza chain has recently opened dozens of new locations, the crust could not cover the costs for one franchisee. Last week, Rogue Fare LLC, which operates five Mountain Mike’s Pizza restaurants throughout the state of Oregon, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to court papers, the petition, which was filed in … Read more
movie review MINIONS & MONSTERS Running time: 89 minutes. Rated PG (violence, action, language and rude/macabre humor). In theaters. One of the best odes to Old Hollywood in a long time comes courtesy of … the Minions? Yes, somehow the funny yellow Tic Tacs, who heretofore clumsily served supervillains, are leading a smart and detailed tribute to Georges … Read more
movie review TOY STORY 5 Running time: 102 minutes. PG (some thematic elements, rude humor). In theaters. Long before Chat GPT was a household name, Hollywood had been making AI the villain for decades — from HAL 9000 to Skynet to Agent Smith. Yet the most emotionally involving spin on the terrors of tech in … Read more
A sweeping round of layoffs has rocked Marvel, gutting teams behind some of Hollywood’s biggest superhero hits as parent company Disney tightens its belt. Roughly 8% of the superhero brand’s workforce has been cut, impacting Marvel Entertainment in New York and Marvel Studios in Burbank. The layoffs stretch across nearly every division — including film and television production, … Read more
Taylor Frankie Paul was set to break through to the next level of fame with her run as “The Bachelorette.” But it all came crashing down after video surfaced of her hurling chairs at her partner, Dakota Mortensen, one of which hit her five-year-old daughter, Indy, who could be heard crying in a clip obtained … Read more
movie review SCREAM 7 Running time: 114 minutes. Rated R (strong bloody violence, gore, and language.) In theaters. In the middle of the stupefyingly bad seventh “Scream” movie, Sidney Prescott asks her daughter’s boyfriend, “Do you know anything about AI?” Oh, I screamed all right. Noooo! Anything but another slapdash horror film with a lazy plot that hinges on … Read more
Elijah Wood is sharing secrets from Middle-earth. The “Lord of the Rings” actor, 44, participated in a Q&A at a panel at Fan Expo Portland over the weekend and revealed that the famous line “All right then, keep your secrets” that Frodo (Wood) says to Gandalf (Ian McKellen) almost didn’t happen. “That scene was actually shot … Read more
There’s a new queen of Hollywood. Zoe Saldaña had a message for fans after she officially surpassed Scarlett Johansson as the highest-grossing actor of all time. “I just want to express my sincerest gratitude for the extraordinary journey that has led me to become the highest-grossing film actor of all time today,” Saldaña, 47, said in … Read more
Carrie Bradshaw may write again. The “Sex and the City” spinoff “And Just Like That” may have been met with swift backlash that lasted through its Aug. 14 series finale — but it might not be the end. “Well, she’s alive, so it could happen,” executive producer Elisa Zuritsky told TV Line of Sarah Jessica … Read more
Camp Walden’s finest are back! Fast forward 27 years, “The Parent Trap’s” Elaine Hendrix and Lindsay Lohan are reuniting on-screen — this time, in another body-swapping twist. Lohan, 39, returns as Anna Coleman in “Freakier Friday,” the sequel to the 2003 Disney hit “Freaky Friday.” Jamie Lee Curtis and Chad Michael Murray also reprise their … Read more
Can he be Frank? David Zucker, the director and co-writer of the 1988 spoof comedy “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!,” has a lot of gripes with the new reboot — from the casting of Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. to its similarities with his beloved original. But, the filmmaker … Read more
New sequel, new hook, new look. The Fisherman is back to terrorize another group of friends in the latest “I Know What You Did Last Summer” sequel, and with him is a fresh outfit to torment one more generation of scary movie fans. Mari-An Ceo, the costume designer behind the slasher villain’s new look, has … Read more
She knows what they did last summer. As the modern classic 1997 horror movie “I Know What You Did Last Summer” has gotten a 2025 revival (now in theaters), there have been rumors of a feud between original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, 46, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, 48. “I honestly remain still so confused by … Read more
Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt survived the original “I Know What You Did Last Summer” — but they can’t escape from new fan theories. Twenty-eight years after the 1997 slasher hit theaters, the movie returned with a sequel on July 18. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” fans speculate about the film. X Along … Read more
The giant blue aliens are back. And this time, they’re battling a sexy, non-human baddie. The first trailer for “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the third chapter in director James Cameron’s 16-year-old science-fiction franchise that hits theaters Dec. 19, was unveiled to the press on Monday at Disney’s offices in New York and LA. Neytiri is … Read more
Love is a battlefield. Buffy was torn between Angel and Spike. “Twilight” had warring camps of “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob.” Now, the popular Prime Video show, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” is back for its third and final season, following Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung), a teen girl torn between brothers Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) … Read more
Brolin, James Brolin. The 84-year-old Hollywood legend revealed in a new interview with People that he nearly played James Bond in his 40s, after Roger Moore “said he would never do another” film in the franchise before 1983’s “Octopussy.” “He was out, so I flew over and I met all the people,” Brolin recalled. “And … Read more