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Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone to Headline Coachella 2025

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: Lady Gaga performs before Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during the closing rally of her campaign at the base of the iconic "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on November 05, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: Lady Gaga performs before Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during the closing rally of her campaign at the base of the iconic "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on November 05, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone to Headline Coachella 2025

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: Lady Gaga performs before Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during the closing rally of her campaign at the base of the iconic "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on November 05, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - NOVEMBER 05: Lady Gaga performs before Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during the closing rally of her campaign at the base of the iconic "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on November 05, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Lady Gaga, Green Day and Post Malone will headline 2025's Coachella music and arts festival, organizers said Wednesday, while Travis Scott will play a special guest slot.

Missy Elliott, Charli XCX and Megan Thee Stallion will also feature at the major event in the California desert that kicks off the music festival circuit, AFP reported.

Coachella takes place over two three-day weekends in the spring, this year April 11-13 and 18-20.

The line-up reveal came months earlier than usual, one day after Post Malone slipped in his own tour schedule release that he'd be playing concerts during the anticipated festival dates in Indio.

Scott's performance will come four years after he was slated to headline the 2020 festival, which was ultimately scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

South Africa's Tyla will perform at the 2025 edition after pulling out last year due to an injury.

Other acts of interest include famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel along with the LA Philharmonic, along with a return to the desert for Brazil's Anitta and electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk.

Last year's festival was headlined by Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator. It also featured a special reunion performance from No Doubt.

Taylor Swift was also an overwhelming presence at the grounds flanked by the San Jacinto Mountains in 2024 -- although as a spectator, not a performer.

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Entertainment

Gl-icked? Movie Theaters Pin Hopes on Big 'Wicked,' 'Gladiator' Weekend

'Gladiator II' has benefited from a long, expensive marketing campaign. Chris DELMAS / AFP
'Gladiator II' has benefited from a long, expensive marketing campaign. Chris DELMAS / AFP
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Gl-icked? Movie Theaters Pin Hopes on Big 'Wicked,' 'Gladiator' Weekend

'Gladiator II' has benefited from a long, expensive marketing campaign. Chris DELMAS / AFP
'Gladiator II' has benefited from a long, expensive marketing campaign. Chris DELMAS / AFP

US movie theaters are hoping the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of last year's "Barbenheimer" phenomenon can strike again this weekend, with the simultaneous release of two of 2024's most hyped films: "Wicked" and "Gladiator II."
"Wicked" is the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, starring pop sensation Ariana Grande, while "Gladiator II" marks Ridley Scott's return to ancient Rome, 24 years after his epic original won the best picture Oscar.
Whether audiences will embrace the tongue-in-cheek "Glicked" (or "Wickiator") memes being hopefully circulated by marketing departments -- or even dress up in witch hats and togas -- remains to be seen.
But cinema lobbies and shopping malls across the country are being daubed in the pink-and-green shades of the "Wicked" witches, and kitted out with cardboard miniature Colosseums, ahead of a period that analysts say will be crucial for the industry, AFP said.
"I am certain that this is going to be the biggest Thanksgiving the industry has ever seen," said Jordan Hohman, an executive at Phoenix Theatres.
"Wicked" alone is "the biggest opening film in terms of advance sale tickets" in the US chain's 24-year history, currently pacing 63 percent ahead of "Barbie," added president Cory Jacobson.
While rival Hollywood studios have traditionally been wary of launching two major films on the same weekend, the record-breaking summer of 2023 showed it can be mutually beneficial -- with the right movies.
Like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," the female-skewing "Wicked" and male-focussed "Gladiator II" are "oriented to different audiences," said analyst David A. Gross, of Franchise Entertainment Research.
"Wicked" has inspired promotional tie-ins like a makeup line and a cupcake kit, while "Gladiator" ads have been ubiquitous during NFL telecasts.
"There is zero issue in terms of stepping on each other's feet," said Gross.
Still, matching the heady heights of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" will be a tough ask. Those films took $245 million combined on their opening weekend in North America alone.
"Barbenheimer was an example of two films massively over-performing... an unexpected best-case scenario," cautioned Daniel Lora, senior VP of content strategy for Boxoffice Media.
But part of the industry's current bullishness comes from another massive film, Disney's "Moana 2," which will join "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" in multiplexes just a week later.
"I don't think this is a two-picture experience. I think it's a three-picture experience," said Jacobson.
Marketing blitz
Should the next few weeks live up to hopes, it will come at a much-needed time for Hollywood.
Despite a profitable summer featuring hit sequels like "Inside Out 2" and "Deadpool & Wolverine," 2024 has been a mixed bag for an industry still dreaming of a return to pre-pandemic numbers.
The first five months of the year were hampered by a thin release schedule, stemming from the production delays caused by Hollywood strikes and Covid.
The fall has also been a disappointment, with box office dud "Joker: Folie A Deux" foremost among a series of flops and middling releases.
But the early signs for this weekend look promising.
"Gladiator II" opened in dozens of other countries last week, taking a whopping $87 million overseas. Paramount will be hoping for similar numbers in the US this weekend.
"Wicked," from Universal, the studio behind "Oppenheimer," is predicted to take north of $100 million this weekend in North America alone.
Both movies have benefited from long, expensive marketing campaigns.
At a major Las Vegas movie theater convention in April, Paramount began their annual presentation with an executive riding into the Caesars Palace arena on a chariot flanked by Roman soldiers.
Universal's presentation ended with thousands of plastic flowers held aloft by audience members to create a giant green-and-pink "Wicked" themed electronic lightshow.
Eight months later, both studios will learn if those strategies have converted into ticket sales.
"When something really catches fire, and it's not just a marketing campaign flogging it, honestly it can just take off and go higher than anybody can predict," said Gross.
"So let's see what happens."