Weekend news roundup 07/10: Joker 2 debut flop & NBA history made

Jonathan Victoria • 07 Oct 2024 News

Plus T20 World Cup, Super League Grand Final set and Netflix cancellation.

James duo officially makes NBA history

NBA history has been made as for the first time in the league's history, a father-son duo stepped onto the court together.

During this year's NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers made the somewhat predictable move of drafting Bronny James, full name Lebron James Jr., the son of one of the greatest players ever to grace the court, Lebron James.

During their pre-season loss to the Phoenix Suns, fans got a taste of what’s to come this year as the pair took to the court together for the first time, marking new ground that the NBA has never once seen before.

While there have been plenty of multi-generations in the NBA - possibly most notable Stephen Curry and his father Dell Curry - there had never before been a time when a father and son played together on the same team at the same time. 

It’s a milestone that James Sr has spoken about for a long time. Despite approaching 40 years old, Lebron James still continues to perform at the highest level, most recently leading Team USA to Olympic gold at Paris 2024. 

Joker: Folie A Deux flops, sets unwanted record

Credit: Joker: Folie À Deux | Official Trailer (Warner Bros. Pictures, YouTube)

It’s safe to say that Joker: Folie A Deux is a massive miss, with many fans and critics alike panning it after going to see it during its debut weekend.

Originally projected to earn $70m domestically in its opening weekend, the continual slew of bad reviews and comments for the film has seen it debut with just $40m. With the fact that it cost $190m to make, life is not looking so great for this highly anticipated sequel.

To make matters even worse, it has set an unwanted record, receiving the lowest CinemaScore rating for a comic book movie in history, being given a D rating. 

For context, CinemaScore is a respected publication and is fairly good at gauging audience reactions to films, representing a more accurate view of a movie's reception rather than the typical snobbery for comic book films that comes from critic reviews.

For even more context, CinemaScore gave fellow flops Morbius and Madame Web Cs, and the previous lowest was a C- given to 2015s Fantastic Four.

There are multiple reasons why Joker 2 has not been received well, with the general consensus stating factors such as a poor ending and the fact that it did not need to be made, at least not in the way it has been.

All together in the box office, Joker: Folie A Deux has made an estimated $121.1m worldwide in its first weekend. In the UK and Ireland specifically, it saw just £6m, down 52.4% on the £12.6m opening of the 2019 first film (which, to note, was given a B+).

England Women start with win at T20 World Cup

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (originally scheduled to take place in Bangladesh) got underway on Thursday, with England starting their campaign with a win over Bangladesh on Saturday.

Led by Danni Wyatt’s 41 from 40, England won by a firm 21 runs, keeping their opponents rather quiet when they took strike by only allowing two batters to reach double digits for runs.

The win plus a solid net run rate pits them in second in group B, with their second match of the group stage happening right now against South Africa.

A win would move them to the solitary top of the table, although the same goes for their opponents, and with the top two from each group going through to the semi-finals, a win today could be crucial.

Netflix cans That ‘90s Show season 3

Netflix has cancelled the planned season three of That ‘90s Show, the follow-up series to the beloved sitcom That ‘70s Show.

The reasoning behind the cancellation is likely due to a massive drop in viewership following the second season, which was released in two parts earlier this year.

The first part, released in June, only featured once in Netflix’s Top 10 charts, having less than two million views. The second part performed even worse, not even appearing once on the charts, meaning it drew in less than 1.6 million views in its first week. 

These numbers are considerably low for a Netflix show, particularly for one that has just released new episodes, hence why the cancellation. The show will now be shopped around to other streaming services to see if anyone will pick it up so they can round off the cliffhanger that was dangled at the end of season two.

Wigan Warriors aiming for Super League title repeat

The Wigan Warriors’ bid to successfully defend their Betfred Super League title has seen them enter the final stage as they advanced to the Grand Final over the weekend, easily dispatching Leigh Leopards 38-0 in their Semi-final.

The defending champions finished the regular season on top of the table and with a dominant victory to make it to the championship game, they head to Old Trafford as strong favourites.

Standing in their way of back-to-back titles is a first-time Grand Finalist in Hull KR, who managed to walk away victorious in a nailbiting fixture against Warrington Wolves, winning 10-8.

The pair have faced off three times already this season, with the Warriors winning twice to Hull’s one victory. 

However, previous results won’t matter when the two face on Saturday 12th October in the Grand Final for the chance to make history.