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Lindsay Lohan Comes Full Circle with ‘Freakier Friday’ 

Lindsay Lohan, left, and Jamie Lee Curtis pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Freakier Friday" on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in London. (AP)
Lindsay Lohan, left, and Jamie Lee Curtis pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Freakier Friday" on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in London. (AP)
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Lindsay Lohan Comes Full Circle with ‘Freakier Friday’ 

Lindsay Lohan, left, and Jamie Lee Curtis pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Freakier Friday" on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in London. (AP)
Lindsay Lohan, left, and Jamie Lee Curtis pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Freakier Friday" on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in London. (AP)

Lindsay Lohan says she drew upon her own experiences of motherhood for "Freakier Friday", the highly-anticipated sequel to her hit 2003 movie "Freaky Friday".

Lohan, 39, welcomed her first child in 2023, a year before the Disney movie was filmed.

"It felt full circle for me, and also the timing was pretty impeccable considering that I'm a new mom and I was able to bring being a mom into the character," Lohan said at the film's London premiere on Thursday. "It's the first time I'm able to do that on screen."

"Freaky Friday", with a reported budget of $26 million, was a surprise hit, making over $160 million worldwide and obtaining a cult following.

The 2025 follow-up sees Lohan and actress Jamie Lee Curtis reprising the roles of mother and daughter duo Tess and Anna Coleman. Twenty years on, Anna is a single parent to tomboy teen daughter Harper, played by Julia Butters.

Their relationship comes under stress when Anna falls for Eric (Manny Jacinto), the father of Harper's new British classmate Lily (Sophia Hammons), and they decide to get married. The future stepsisters, with a mutual dislike for one another, decide to intervene.

While the 2003 film saw a body swap between Tess and Anna, things get "freakier" this time around with Tess and Anna switching bodies with Lily and Harper.

Before signing on to the sequel, Lohan ensured that Anna returned as a multi-faceted and relatable character.

"It was important to me that we explained who Anna is today and how she's evolved and the dynamic between her and her daughter as she's a single working mom. There are some basic points that I wanted to get across because I want people to see the movie and find a piece of it that they can grab onto and be like, 'okay, I get that'," she said.

Directed by Nisha Ganatra, the movie also sees actor Chad Michael Murray reprising the role of young Anna's love interest, Jake.

Shooting the sequel was a "lovefest", said Murray.

"It was the same, but better. It felt very much like connective tissue to the first movie. Everyone loved going to work and no one wanted to go home."

"Freakier Friday" marks Lohan's big screen return.

"It's obviously nerve-wracking because you want it to be great and you want people to love what you do," she said. "As long as people are enjoying what I'm doing and it's making them happy, then I feel like I'm doing my job and that's what I'm here to do."

"Freakier Friday" begins its global cinematic rollout on August 6.

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Entertainment

Demi Moore Joins Cannes Festival Jury

US actress Demi Moore attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US actress Demi Moore attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Demi Moore Joins Cannes Festival Jury

US actress Demi Moore attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US actress Demi Moore attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

American actress Demi Moore, still riding high from the late-career boost of her Oscar-nominated turn in "The Substance", will join the jury for the Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off next week, organizers announced on Monday.

The film extravaganza on the French Riviera, one of the world's most important annual cinema events, hands out a host of prizes, including the prestigious Palme d'Or for best film, decided by a nine-person jury.

Moore, 63, along with Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao, whose films from "Nomadland" to "Hamnet" have become awards-season favorites, will add some A-list sparkle to the jury, which also includes Ivorian-American actor Isaach de Bankole, who is set to play in the upcoming third installment of the "Dune" franchise.

As previously announced, the jury will be headed by arthouse South Korean director Park Chan-Wook ("Oldboy").

The other jury members are Irish-Ethiopian actor Ruth Negga, Belgian director Laura Wandel, Chilean director Diego Cespedes, Irish screenwriter Paul Laverty and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard.

The Cannes Festival runs from May 12 to 23.

Entertainment

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Struts to 1st Place with $77 Million Debut

People walk below an electronic billboard advertising the movie "The Devil Wears Prada 2" at a shopping mall in Beijing on May 2, 2026, on the second day of a five-day national May Day holiday. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
People walk below an electronic billboard advertising the movie "The Devil Wears Prada 2" at a shopping mall in Beijing on May 2, 2026, on the second day of a five-day national May Day holiday. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
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‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Struts to 1st Place with $77 Million Debut

People walk below an electronic billboard advertising the movie "The Devil Wears Prada 2" at a shopping mall in Beijing on May 2, 2026, on the second day of a five-day national May Day holiday. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
People walk below an electronic billboard advertising the movie "The Devil Wears Prada 2" at a shopping mall in Beijing on May 2, 2026, on the second day of a five-day national May Day holiday. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)

Twenty years after the original, the sequel to “The Devil Wears Prada” made a splash in its first weekend in theaters.

Driven largely by women, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” earned $77 million in the US and Canada, and $156.6 million internationally, according to studio estimates Sunday. It easily topped the box office and bumped “Michael” to second place, though the musical biopic held well in its second weekend, falling only 44%.

The Walt Disney Co.’s 20th Century Studios opened “The Devil Wears Prada 2” in 4,150 locations in North America. Women made up about 76% of the ticket buyers, according to PostTrak exit polls; 74% said they would “definitely recommend” the movie to friends.

According to The Associated Press, critics were a bit mixed on the sequel, which finds Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs working once more for Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly at the fictional “Runway” magazine in a much-depleted media landscape.

The movie cost a reported $100 million to produce — a significant boost from the first movie’s $35 million production budget. But as filmmaker David Frankel told AP recently, “As it turns out, you know, by the time you finish paying all the biggest movie stars in the world, you still end up with basically the same budget for making the movie as we did the first one.”

Stars Streep, Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci have been on a fashion-forward global publicity blitz for weeks, with glamorous stops in Tokyo, London and New York. Even Anna Wintour, the inspiration for the Prada-clad devil, has been involved this time, appearing with Hathaway on the Oscars stage and with Streep on the cover of “Vogue.”

The first movie opened in June 2006 and would go on to earn over $326 million worldwide, not adjusted for inflation. And perhaps more importantly, it firmly became part of the culture thanks in part to its ever-quotable likes (“gird your loins,” “groundbreaking,” “that’s all”).

Legacy sequels are never a sure thing, but this time anticipation was high: According to Nielsen, streaming viewership for “The Devil Wears Prada” was up 428% from March 2026 to April 2026.

Second place went to Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael,” which made $54 million in its second weekend in North America, where it’s playing on 3,955 screens. Its running worldwide total is already $423.9 million.

Universal Pictures is handling the international release.

This weekend marks the start of Hollywood’s summer movie season, a crucial 18-week corridor that runs through Labor Day and often accounts for around 40% of the annual box office. There are often Marvel blockbusters programmed as the season's kickoff, but the combined power of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “Michael” wasn't a shabby substitute.

“This is a really solid weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Comscore. “It’s this irresistible combination that more than makes up for the fact that there’s not a Marvel movie to kick off the summer movie season.”

“Prada” alone actually did better business than last year’s summer kickoff Marvel movie, “Thunderbolts.” There were several other new films in theaters this weekend as well, including the Adam Scott-led horror movie “Hokum,” Andy Serkis’s animated adaptation of “Animal Farm” and the Aaron Eckhart- and Ben Kingsley-led survival movie “Deep Water.”

They all opened behind “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which made $12.1 million in its fifth weekend, and “Project Hail Mary,” which made $8.6 million in its seventh weekend. Neon's “Hokum” led the newcomers with $6.4 million, rounding out the top five, followed by the very poorly reviewed “Animal Farm” with $3.4 million. “Deep Water” opened to $2.2 million.

In the top four movies, Dergarabedian has noticed a trend: “Over the past couple of months, moviegoers have really embraced pure, escapist entertainment,” he said.

The annual box office is currently running about 14% up from last year, with about $2.8 billion in domestic ticket sales to date.

Entertainment

Shakira Thrills Crowd of 2 Million with Free Concert on Brazil's Copacabana Beach

Colombian singer Shakira (C) performs during a concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2026. EPA/ANDRE COELHO
Colombian singer Shakira (C) performs during a concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2026. EPA/ANDRE COELHO
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Shakira Thrills Crowd of 2 Million with Free Concert on Brazil's Copacabana Beach

Colombian singer Shakira (C) performs during a concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2026. EPA/ANDRE COELHO
Colombian singer Shakira (C) performs during a concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2026. EPA/ANDRE COELHO

Colombian superstar Shakira gave a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, an event that the city's mayor said drew 2 million people to one of the world’s most iconic waterfronts.

The performance followed similar shows by Madonna in 2024 and Lady Gaga last year, which also were attended by huge crowds that danced on the sprawling sands.

For Shakira, it was part of her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” or “Women No Longer Cry,” world tour named after her 2024 album.

Shakira's set kicked off around 11 p.m., more than an hour after the scheduled slot, to her fans screaming with excitement and frantic applause as skywriting drones flew overhead, spelling out in the sky, “I love you Brazil” in Portuguese.

The megastar spoke fondly about the first time she came to Brazil, some three decades ago.

“I arrived here when I was 18 years old, dreaming about singing for you,” Shakira told the crowd shortly after coming on stage. “And now look at this. Life is magical.”

The much-loved pop star sang fan favorites such as “Hips Don’t Lie,” “La Tortura” and “La Bicicleta." She ended with “BZRP Music Sessions #53/66,” which followed her separation from Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué.

She also took the time to celebrate women’s resilience during the show. “Us women, every time we fall we get up a little wiser,” she said.

People attend a concert by Colombian singer Shakira on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2026. EPA/ANTONIO LACERDA

According to The Associated Press, Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said on X that 2 million people attended the performance. “The She-Wolf made history in Rio,” he posted, referring to Shakira's 2009 hit.

When Shakira first performed in Brazil in the 1990s, she established an amazing connection with the Brazilian public, according to Felipe Maia, an ethnomusicologist pursuing a doctoral degree in popular music and digital technologies at Paris Nanterre University.

That success in Brazil “has a lot to do with the fact that she comes from Colombia, a country whose culture has many similarities with Brazil,” Maia said, adding that Saturday’s performance “crowns the relationship she has had with Brazil for a very long time.”

Erica Monteiro, a 38-year-old accountant, said she has listened to Shakira since childhood.

“For me she represents the strength of our Latino community,” Monteiro said ahead of the concert. “We’re treated as if we were inferior but in fact we have much more strength.”

Heading home after Saturday's show, Hellem Souza da Silva said Shakira's performance, like Bad Bunny's concerts in Sao Paulo in February, helped consolidate Brazil's Latino identity.

These artists “are making it clear that Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and other countries are part of Latin America. And that America is not the United States,” she said.