Bad Bunny, Blackpink, Frank Ocean Headlining Historic Coachella

Puerto Rican rapper-actor Bad Bunny attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Bullet Train" at the Regency Village theater in Westwood, California, August 1, 2022. (AFP)
Puerto Rican rapper-actor Bad Bunny attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Bullet Train" at the Regency Village theater in Westwood, California, August 1, 2022. (AFP)
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Bad Bunny, Blackpink, Frank Ocean Headlining Historic Coachella

Puerto Rican rapper-actor Bad Bunny attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Bullet Train" at the Regency Village theater in Westwood, California, August 1, 2022. (AFP)
Puerto Rican rapper-actor Bad Bunny attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Bullet Train" at the Regency Village theater in Westwood, California, August 1, 2022. (AFP)

Hundreds of thousands of revelers were descending on California's Coachella Valley for the premier desert arts festival that kicks off Friday, which for the first time won't feature a white headliner.

Reggaeton titan Bad Bunny, K-pop superstars Blackpink and the influential but reclusive R&B artist Frank Ocean will top the 2023 edition of Coachella, the mammoth event that takes place over two three-day weekends and traditionally kicks off the year's summer concert circuit.

It's set to be a history-making weekend, with Bad Bunny -- the globe's most-streamed artist -- as the first Spanish-language and first Latin American act to headline.

And K-pop group Blackpink of South Korea is the first Asian act to receive a top billing at the festival.

Both acts debuted at Coachella in 2019 to great fanfare, teeing up an eventual headlining slot.

Ocean was originally booked as a top-billed act for the 2020 edition, which organizers postponed and eventually scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The acclaimed R&B artist, who hasn't released an album since 2016's "Blonde," is anticipated to debut new work at this year's festival.

The headliners -- in particular Puerto Rico's Bad Bunny, who is by most measures the world's biggest contemporary artist -- are some of the buzziest in years, since Beyonce shut down the stage in 2018 with her revered "Homecoming" show.

But despite their undeniable star power there was some surprise among industry-watchers and fans that Bad Bunny or Blackpink nabbed the top slots.

That take is misguided according to Vanessa Diaz, a professor at Loyola Marymount University who teaches the course "Bad Bunny and Resistance in Puerto Rico."

"They're surprised because they don't view this as mainstream American culture," she said.

"People were in disbelief because this seems so not a representation of mainstream American popular music in the way that Coachella has represented that before."

'Public demand'

The weekend is set to host perhaps the most international lineup Coachella has ever booked, including Spanish phenomenon Rosalia, Iceland's Bjork and Nigeria's Burna Boy.

Belgium's Angele is slated to make her Coachella debut, as France's Christine and the Queens, who has been performing under the name Redcar, will also return after wowing audiences in 2019.

And the elusive electronic producer Jai Paul will play his first public performance ever.

Domi and JD Beck, the rising jazz duo comprised of a French keyboardist and American drummer, will also take the stage, months after they made a splash in Los Angeles as Grammy nominees.

Diljit Dosanjh will become the first Punjabi singer to perform at Coachella, as Pakistani singer, songwriter and composer Ali Sethi will also play a set.

For CedarBough Saeji, a professor of Korean and East Asian studies who specializes in K-pop, the festival lineup emphasizing the hottest acts from across the globe is long overdue.

"The American music industry, the American decision-makers, are not necessarily the biggest risk-takers," she told AFP. "They want to follow clear indication of public demand, as opposed to sticking their necks out."

English virtual band Gorillaz will also perform, as will New Wave pioneers Blondie and the American indie rock supergroup boygenius, which includes Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker.

Beyond the supernova that is Bad Bunny, the weekend will once again see a strong showing from Latinos, including but not limited to Los Angeles native Becky G, rapper Eladio Carrion, Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and the Grammy-winning Kali Uchis.

Coachella will take place over two three-day weekends, from April 14-16 and 21-23.

And OG rock fans will get a special treat: Blink-182 announced just this week it will play a set Friday, the first time the pop punk group will perform with its original lineup in nearly a decade.



‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Bites Off $318 Million at the Global Box Office

This image released by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment shows Scarlett Johansson in a scene from " Jurassic World: Rebirth." (Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment shows Scarlett Johansson in a scene from " Jurassic World: Rebirth." (Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment via AP)
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‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Bites Off $318 Million at the Global Box Office

This image released by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment shows Scarlett Johansson in a scene from " Jurassic World: Rebirth." (Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment shows Scarlett Johansson in a scene from " Jurassic World: Rebirth." (Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment via AP)

Dinosaur fatigue may be a theme in “Jurassic World Rebirth,” but moviegoing audiences don’t seem to have that reservation. The newest installment in the “Jurassic World” franchise ruled the Fourth of July holiday box office with a global, five-day launch of $318.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Universal Pictures release, directed by Gareth Edwards, opened on Wednesday and earned $147.3 million in its first five days in 4,308 North American theaters. An estimated $91.5 million of that comes from the traditional “three day” weekend, which includes the Friday holiday, Saturday and projected Sunday ticket sales.

Internationally, it opened in 82 markets including China, adding $171 million to the opening total. According to the studio, $41.5 million of that came from China alone, where it played on 65,000 screens, 760 of which were IMAX. It's the country's biggest MPA (Motion Picture Association) opening of the year.

“Rebirth,” starring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey, is the fourth movie in the “Jurassic World” series and the seventh since Steven Spielberg’s original Michael Crichton adaptation stormed theaters in the summer of 1993. The new film received mixed reviews from critics, carrying a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, and B CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences, The Associated Press reported.

Factors like the holiday weekend, inflation and post-COVID moviegoing realities make it difficult to fairly compare the “Rebirth” launch to the other films in the “Jurassic World” franchise, the first of which opened to $208 million domestically in 2015. The other two, “Fallen Kingdom” and “Dominion” opened to $148 million and $145 million respectively.

“Jurassic World Rebirth” introduced a new main cast to the series and brought back a familiar voice in “Jurassic Park” screenwriter David Koepp to guide the story about a dangerous hunt for dinosaur DNA (not for making dinosaurs this time, but for curing heart disease). It cost a reported $180 million net to produce, not including marketing and promotion costs.

The campaign was far reaching, including a global press tour, with stops everywhere from London to Seoul, integrated marketing across NBC Universal platforms and brand tie-ins with everything from Jeep and 7-11 to Johansson’s skincare line.

No major new films dared go up against the dinosaurs, who left last week’s champion, the Brad Pitt racing movie “F1,” in the dust. “F1” fell a modest 54% in its second weekend with $26.1 million, helping bring its domestic total to $109.5 million. It continues to play on IMAX screens with accounted for $7.6 million of the North American weekend ticket sales. Globally, it's nearing $300 million with a running total of $293.6 million.

Third place went to Universal's live-action “How to Train Your Dragon,” which earned $11 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $224 million. Disney and Pixar's “Elio” landed in fourth place with $5.7 million. Globally, “Elio” has just crossed $96 million in three weekends.