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Taylor Swift Racks Up Trophies at MTV Video Music Awards

US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift celebrates winning the Video of the Year award onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 2023. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift celebrates winning the Video of the Year award onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 2023. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)
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Taylor Swift Racks Up Trophies at MTV Video Music Awards

US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift celebrates winning the Video of the Year award onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 2023. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift celebrates winning the Video of the Year award onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on September 12, 2023. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP)

Pop superstar Taylor Swift dominated MTV's annual Video Music Awards on Tuesday, adding nine trophies to her collection as she claimed the top prize for her smash hit song "Anti-Hero.”

The first single from Swift's 2022 "Midnights" album, "Anti-Hero" depicts a litany of insecurities with a chorus declaring: "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me."

"This is unbelievable," the singer, on a break from her record-setting Eras Tour, said on stage as she held the Moon Person statuette for video of the year. "The fact this is a fan-voted award means so much to me."

It was the second straight win for Swift in the video of the year category. Last year, she won the prize for her 10-minute version of breakup song "All Too Well,” Reuters reported.

Swift's nine awards on Tuesday tied the record for the biggest VMA haul in one night, MTV said. Her accolades included song, artist and album of the year, bringing her lifetime VMA total to 23, second only to Beyonce.

At the start of Tuesday night's show at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the 33-year-old Swift gushed as she received the pop video award from members of 1990s boy band NSYNC, the group that won the same honor 20 years ago.

"I had your dolls!" Swift said to band members including Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake. "You are pop personified. So to receive this from your golden pop hands, it's too much."

Among other winners, rapper Ice Spice was named best new artist. Stray Kids, a band put together through a reality show, won the best K-pop award, and SZA scored best R&B video for "Shirt.”

Rema and Selena Gomez won the first VMA for Afrobeats music for their collaboration "Calm Down.”

Performers at the ceremony included Demi Lovato, Lil Wayne, Olivia Rodrigo, host Nicki Minaj and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, who received the Global Icon award.

Minaj, who won the best hip hop video trophy, also joined Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J and other rap luminaries for a multi-song celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop that concluded with Run DMC's "Walk This Way.”

Colombian pop singer Shakira was honored with the Video Vanguard Award for her 20-year career. After performing a bilingual medley of her hits including "Hips Don't Lie" and "Whenever, Wherever," the singer saluted her fans.

"Thank you so much for being my army and helping me fight all my battles," she said.

Later, she and fellow Colombian singer Karol G won best collaboration for "TQG.”

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‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)

With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed fresh life into a box office that has struggled lately, leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.

Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.” It’s also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, “Gladiator II” was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, “Gladiator II” has performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

Going into the weekend, box office was down about 11% from last year and some 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant this week's two headline films led a much-needed resurgence for theaters. With “Moana 2” releasing Wednesday, Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“This weekend’s two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

The collision of the two movies led to some echoes of the “Barbenheimer” effect of last year, when “Barbie" and “Oppenheimer” launched simultaneously. The nickname this time, “Glicked,” wasn’t quite as catchy and the cultural imprint was also notably less. Few people sought out a double feature this time. The domestic grosses in 2023 – $162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer” – were also higher.

But the counter-programming effect was still potent for “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” which likewise split broadly along gender lines. And it was again the female-leaning release – “Wicked,” like “Barbie” before it – that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for “Wicked” were female, while 61% of those seeing “Gladiator II” were male.

And while “Barbenheimer” benefitted enormously from meme-spread word-of-mouth, both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” leaned on all-out marketing blitzes.

Both movies pulled out all the stops in global advertising campaigns that spanned everything from “Wicked” Mattel dolls (some of which led to an awkward recall) to an Airbnb cross-promotion with the actual Colosseum in Rome. For “Gladiator II,” Paramount even took the unusual step of simultaneously running a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio station and digital platforms.

Though “Wicked” will face some direct competition from “Moana 2,” it would seem to be better set up for a long and lucrative run in theaters. Even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has had mostly stellar reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. The reception for “Wicked” has been strong enough that Oscar prognosticators expect it to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

Producers, perhaps sensing a hit, also took the step of splitting “Wicked” in two. Part two, already filmed, is due out next November. Each “Wicked” installation cost around $150 million to make.

“Gladiator II” has also enjoyed good reviews, particularly for Washington's charismatic performance. Audience scores, though, were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. “Gladiator II” will make up for some of that, however, with robust international sales. It launched in many overseas markets a week ago, earning $87 million before landing in North America.