๐ฌ Na Hong Jin returned after a decade โ and took two-thirds of Korea with him
"Hope," his sci-fi survival thriller, opened Jul. 17โ19 with $11.3 M from 1.5 M admissions โ a 66% market share. Cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Fassbender, and Vikander. Cumulative gross: $16 M. The overall weekend market jumped to $17.1 M from $8.2 M the week prior.
One film doubling a national market isn't a release โ it's a weather event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkKiiaCxeD4
Source: Variety
"Hope," his sci-fi survival thriller, opened Jul. 17โ19 with $11.3 M from 1.5 M admissions โ a 66% market share. Cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Fassbender, and Vikander. Cumulative gross: $16 M. The overall weekend market jumped to $17.1 M from $8.2 M the week prior.
One film doubling a national market isn't a release โ it's a weather event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkKiiaCxeD4
Source: Variety
YouTube
HOPE Official Trailer (2026)
HOPE Official Trailer (2026) Na Hong-jin, Action, Sci-Fi
ยฉ 2026 - Neon
ยฉ 2026 - Neon
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๐ฌ Marvel lost Blade โ and Feige is saying so out loud
Announced in July 2019, the Mahershala Ali Blade went through two directors, five-plus writers, and quietly vanished from Marvel's release calendar in fall 2024.
Feige called himself "a gigantic loser and failure" over it. His diagnosis: the Disney+ overexpansion era, when quantity beat quality "for the very first time ever." When standards tightened, Blade didn't make the cut.
Ali still wants the role. Marvel didn't want to just put him in leather. So nobody went anywhere.
Source: Variety
Announced in July 2019, the Mahershala Ali Blade went through two directors, five-plus writers, and quietly vanished from Marvel's release calendar in fall 2024.
Feige called himself "a gigantic loser and failure" over it. His diagnosis: the Disney+ overexpansion era, when quantity beat quality "for the very first time ever." When standards tightened, Blade didn't make the cut.
Ali still wants the role. Marvel didn't want to just put him in leather. So nobody went anywhere.
Source: Variety
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๐ Your book is on Apple Books โ you just didn't write it
Joanna Stern published *I Am Not a Robot* and found ten AI clones on Apple Books within days โ same cover palette, $9.99โ$20.99 each. Removed them; three more appeared.
NYT's Kashmir Hill found a fake biography of herself on Amazon. The "author" published ten such bios in one week; his photo was a stock image. One creator admitted: a few hours in ChatGPT per book.
The platforms are losing to a problem 2005 spam filters would've caught.
9to5Mac
Joanna Stern published *I Am Not a Robot* and found ten AI clones on Apple Books within days โ same cover palette, $9.99โ$20.99 each. Removed them; three more appeared.
NYT's Kashmir Hill found a fake biography of herself on Amazon. The "author" published ten such bios in one week; his photo was a stock image. One creator admitted: a few hours in ChatGPT per book.
The platforms are losing to a problem 2005 spam filters would've caught.
9to5Mac
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๐ EV batteries barely degrade โ says the used-EV dealer
Top electric cars retain 95%+ capacity after 100,000 km, claims a new study. Kia e-Niro leads at 97.25%; Tesla Model 3 drops to 88.2% on Panasonic cells vs 93.3% on CATL.
Nearly 10,000 checks, Sweden, 2022โ2026 โ solid until you notice the study comes from Carla, a used-EV retailer. Methodology unpublished, sample skews toward top models, Sweden's climate is unusually mild.
Peer review wanted.
Top electric cars retain 95%+ capacity after 100,000 km, claims a new study. Kia e-Niro leads at 97.25%; Tesla Model 3 drops to 88.2% on Panasonic cells vs 93.3% on CATL.
Nearly 10,000 checks, Sweden, 2022โ2026 โ solid until you notice the study comes from Carla, a used-EV retailer. Methodology unpublished, sample skews toward top models, Sweden's climate is unusually mild.
Peer review wanted.
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๐ ะัะพะณะธ ะดะฝั ยท 23.07
๐ธ Apple fans are buying less as prices bite hard
๐ฌ Na Hong Jin's comeback swallowed two-thirds of Korea's box office
๐ฆ Feige admits Blade was Marvel's most spectacular slow-motion failure
๐ AI clones are flooding bookstores with books you never wrote
๐ EV batteries hold up great โ according to the EV sellers
Someone you know had a long day and missed all of this โ their loss, your forward button
๐ธ Apple fans are buying less as prices bite hard
๐ฌ Na Hong Jin's comeback swallowed two-thirds of Korea's box office
๐ฆ Feige admits Blade was Marvel's most spectacular slow-motion failure
๐ AI clones are flooding bookstores with books you never wrote
๐ EV batteries hold up great โ according to the EV sellers
Someone you know had a long day and missed all of this โ their loss, your forward button
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๐ฌ X-Men are in the trailer. Still not in the MCU.
*Avengers: Doomsday* brings back RDJ as Doctor Doom, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor X and Magneto, plus Channing Tatum's Gambit. The nostalgia is real.
So is the frustration. The MCU still hasn't made an actual X-Men film โ just cameos and crumbs since the Fox era ended.
Out December 18, 2026. Nobody teases like Marvel. Nobody makes you wait like Marvel either.
Collider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irVNGjRFZGk
*Avengers: Doomsday* brings back RDJ as Doctor Doom, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor X and Magneto, plus Channing Tatum's Gambit. The nostalgia is real.
So is the frustration. The MCU still hasn't made an actual X-Men film โ just cameos and crumbs since the Fox era ended.
Out December 18, 2026. Nobody teases like Marvel. Nobody makes you wait like Marvel either.
Collider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irVNGjRFZGk
YouTube
Avengers: Doomsday | Official Trailer | In Theaters December 18
Doomsday arrives December 18th.
Experience Avengers: Doomsday on bigger, brighter, & more immersive screens. Tickets are now on sale exclusively for Infinity Vision certified theaters: fandango.com/avengersdoomsday
โบ SUBSCRIBE to the channel to get notifiedโฆ
Experience Avengers: Doomsday on bigger, brighter, & more immersive screens. Tickets are now on sale exclusively for Infinity Vision certified theaters: fandango.com/avengersdoomsday
โบ SUBSCRIBE to the channel to get notifiedโฆ
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๐ธ The US Army's "unlimited" AI lasted six weeks
In May 2026, the DoD announced unlimited AI access for 3.5 million employees. By mid-June, the tokens were gone.
The Army runs Ask Sage โ Gemini, Llama, ChatGPT โ for official work. Users got 200K tokens/month with auto top-ups, and light users were nudged to spend more. Someone mathed that wrong.
"The whole Army burned through a year of tokens for one service," an employee told WIRED anonymously.
Unlimited was doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Ars Technica
In May 2026, the DoD announced unlimited AI access for 3.5 million employees. By mid-June, the tokens were gone.
The Army runs Ask Sage โ Gemini, Llama, ChatGPT โ for official work. Users got 200K tokens/month with auto top-ups, and light users were nudged to spend more. Someone mathed that wrong.
"The whole Army burned through a year of tokens for one service," an employee told WIRED anonymously.
Unlimited was doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Ars Technica
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๐ฌ Elon Musk will fix The Odyssey. With AI.
Musk has feuded with Nolan's epic since before it existed โ called Lupita Nyong'o's casting as Helen of Troy "an insult to Homer." Now he's promised Grok will release a "historically accurate" full-length Odyssey by year's end.
*Doctor Strange* director Scott Derrickson on X: "Musk doesn't know shit about cinema. His opinions on art are worthless."
Nolan's film: $264M opening weekend, sold out for months. Homer survives again.
Variety
Musk has feuded with Nolan's epic since before it existed โ called Lupita Nyong'o's casting as Helen of Troy "an insult to Homer." Now he's promised Grok will release a "historically accurate" full-length Odyssey by year's end.
*Doctor Strange* director Scott Derrickson on X: "Musk doesn't know shit about cinema. His opinions on art are worthless."
Nolan's film: $264M opening weekend, sold out for months. Homer survives again.
Variety
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๐ธ Sony is about to erase a $7 billion market
The global used game market was worth $7.2 billion last year, headed for $13.8 billion by 2034. Then Sony announced that all new PlayStation games go digital-only from January 2028.
Analysts at Morningstar and Wedbush are blunt: the pre-owned market will eventually disappear, physical retail is doomed. Sony's logic is equally blunt โ digital sales return 100% versus ~65% on disc.
A disc can be resold or played in 20 years. A licence can't. That's not nostalgia, that's ownership.
IGN
The global used game market was worth $7.2 billion last year, headed for $13.8 billion by 2034. Then Sony announced that all new PlayStation games go digital-only from January 2028.
Analysts at Morningstar and Wedbush are blunt: the pre-owned market will eventually disappear, physical retail is doomed. Sony's logic is equally blunt โ digital sales return 100% versus ~65% on disc.
A disc can be resold or played in 20 years. A licence can't. That's not nostalgia, that's ownership.
IGN
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๐ค The next big AI trade might not be Nvidia
While markets pile into chipmakers, Franklin Templeton and Circle are pointing elsewhere: blockchain as the infrastructure layer for the agentic AI era.
Agentic AI doesn't answer prompts โ it autonomously pays for API calls, buys compute, books services. Many transactions are fractions of a cent, which breaks traditional rails where fees exceed the transaction itself. Blockchain fixes this with programmable settlement and no intermediary.
Franklin Templeton's Sandy Kaul says investors are missing the infrastructure that will run machine-to-machine commerce. Circle CEO Allaire goes further โ agentic AI and blockchain are one shift, not two. Agents become economic actors; subscriptions die; pay-per-task wins.
An AI trade with zero Nvidia in it, via Business Insider.
CoinDesk
While markets pile into chipmakers, Franklin Templeton and Circle are pointing elsewhere: blockchain as the infrastructure layer for the agentic AI era.
Agentic AI doesn't answer prompts โ it autonomously pays for API calls, buys compute, books services. Many transactions are fractions of a cent, which breaks traditional rails where fees exceed the transaction itself. Blockchain fixes this with programmable settlement and no intermediary.
Franklin Templeton's Sandy Kaul says investors are missing the infrastructure that will run machine-to-machine commerce. Circle CEO Allaire goes further โ agentic AI and blockchain are one shift, not two. Agents become economic actors; subscriptions die; pay-per-task wins.
An AI trade with zero Nvidia in it, via Business Insider.
CoinDesk
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๐
๐ฌ X-Men crash Doomsday trailer but skip the MCU entirely
๐ธ US Army burned through unlimited AI tokens in six weeks
๐ค Musk wants Grok to rewrite Homer before New Year
๐ฎ Sony goes digital-only and quietly kills used game market
โ๏ธ Blockchain quietly positioning as the real AI infrastructure play
Forward this to whoever spent the day in meetings โ they missed a lot
๐ฌ X-Men crash Doomsday trailer but skip the MCU entirely
๐ธ US Army burned through unlimited AI tokens in six weeks
๐ค Musk wants Grok to rewrite Homer before New Year
๐ฎ Sony goes digital-only and quietly kills used game market
โ๏ธ Blockchain quietly positioning as the real AI infrastructure play
Forward this to whoever spent the day in meetings โ they missed a lot
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๐ธ OpenAI is building a city for AI
$750 billion through 2030 โ up 25% from earlier estimates. With Stargate losing steam, the company's next move is Project Camellia: 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah, Georgia.
๐ธ at least 3.2 gigawatts from Georgia Power
๐ธ 50% property tax break for 15 years
๐ธ power from 2028 โ first GPU could light up sooner
To lead construction, OpenAI hired Brett Mayo, who built xAI's Colossus in Memphis at record speed โ a site now facing an NAACP lawsuit over unpermitted gas turbines. As TechCrunch reports, neither company will say how Camellia gets powered.
"Green AI" remains a better slogan than a plan.
$750 billion through 2030 โ up 25% from earlier estimates. With Stargate losing steam, the company's next move is Project Camellia: 1,400 acres northwest of Savannah, Georgia.
๐ธ at least 3.2 gigawatts from Georgia Power
๐ธ 50% property tax break for 15 years
๐ธ power from 2028 โ first GPU could light up sooner
To lead construction, OpenAI hired Brett Mayo, who built xAI's Colossus in Memphis at record speed โ a site now facing an NAACP lawsuit over unpermitted gas turbines. As TechCrunch reports, neither company will say how Camellia gets powered.
"Green AI" remains a better slogan than a plan.
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๐ธ The exchange that invented the perpetual swap is shutting down
BitMEX โ the platform that created perpetual futures in 2016, now a fixture on every major exchange โ is closing after nearly 12 years. Its token marked the occasion with a 90% crash, from
By shutdown, BitMEX held just 0.08% of Bitcoin futures volume โ $84M a day. Owners had explored a $1B sale before choosing an orderly wind-down, per Cointelegraph.
The instrument BitMEX invented now drives billions across its competitors. The inventor closed with 0.08%. Crypto has a way of eating its own parents.
BitMEX โ the platform that created perpetual futures in 2016, now a fixture on every major exchange โ is closing after nearly 12 years. Its token marked the occasion with a 90% crash, from
$0.06 to $0.002, per CoinGecko. It started dropping an hour before the announcement. The market always knows.By shutdown, BitMEX held just 0.08% of Bitcoin futures volume โ $84M a day. Owners had explored a $1B sale before choosing an orderly wind-down, per Cointelegraph.
The instrument BitMEX invented now drives billions across its competitors. The inventor closed with 0.08%. Crypto has a way of eating its own parents.
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๐ธ The million-dollar pass
Weird Al Yankovic โ the parody legend โ already made headlines this month for rejecting an AI ad deal. Turns out that wasn't his only recent "no."
He told TribLive he was offered a seven-figure sum for a single show at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, a state-sponsored event under Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Chappelle, Burr and Louis C.K. all went; paydays reportedly reached
Turns out his price was zero.
Variety
Weird Al Yankovic โ the parody legend โ already made headlines this month for rejecting an AI ad deal. Turns out that wasn't his only recent "no."
He told TribLive he was offered a seven-figure sum for a single show at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, a state-sponsored event under Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Chappelle, Burr and Louis C.K. all went; paydays reportedly reached
$1.6M per show, with restrictions barring jokes about the government or religion."I don't need to take any amount of money if it makes me feel icky โ and that kind of did."
Turns out his price was zero.
Variety
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๐ First cows on the exchange
Banks discount livestock collateral by up to 60% โ a
Fazenda Engenho Velho pledged ten dairy cows against a
Cowmed tracks 100,000 cows across six countries and expects to tokenize 20% of that herd within two years, per Decrypt. Four more farmers are already in the pipeline.
RWA tokenization has cleared $10 billion in DeFi. Cows just joined the asset class. Hooves and all.
Banks discount livestock collateral by up to 60% โ a
R$20,000 cow becomes R$8,000 on a loan, because lenders have no reliable way to confirm the animal is alive. Brazilian startup Cowmed fixed that with AI sensor collars.Fazenda Engenho Velho pledged ten dairy cows against a
R$100,000 loan โ the first livestock collateral formally registered on Brazil's B3 stock exchange. The collars capture health and location data; Cowmed hashes it into a unique cryptographic ID for each animal. No farm inspection needed.Cowmed tracks 100,000 cows across six countries and expects to tokenize 20% of that herd within two years, per Decrypt. Four more farmers are already in the pipeline.
RWA tokenization has cleared $10 billion in DeFi. Cows just joined the asset class. Hooves and all.
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๐ค CEO as a mascot โ involuntarily
Robinhood launched its own blockchain earlier this month โ $700 million in assets, 300,000 daily active addresses, 10 million transactions in a day. Big numbers draw big crowds. Not all of them welcome.
On Thursday, someone hijacked CEO Vlad Tenev's X account to shill
Via CNBC.
CoinDesk
Robinhood launched its own blockchain earlier this month โ $700 million in assets, 300,000 daily active addresses, 10 million transactions in a day. Big numbers draw big crowds. Not all of them welcome.
On Thursday, someone hijacked CEO Vlad Tenev's X account to shill
$VLAD โ the supposed "official Robinhood Chain mascot" โ with a wallet address and a fake promise of in-app listing. Robinhood confirmed the hack, killed the post, and is working to restore access. The memes, it turns out, were not officially endorsed.Via CNBC.
CoinDesk
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๐ Daily Recap ยท Jul 25
๐๏ธ OpenAI is literally building a city in Georgia
๐ BitMEX invented perpetual swaps, then died with a 90% crash
๐ค Weird Al turned down seven figures to stay home
๐ Brazilian startup tokenized a live cow on the blockchain
๐ฌ Robinhood's CEO got his X account hijacked, awkward timing
Someone in your life missed every single one of these โ send it over
๐๏ธ OpenAI is literally building a city in Georgia
๐ BitMEX invented perpetual swaps, then died with a 90% crash
๐ค Weird Al turned down seven figures to stay home
๐ Brazilian startup tokenized a live cow on the blockchain
๐ฌ Robinhood's CEO got his X account hijacked, awkward timing
Someone in your life missed every single one of these โ send it over
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๐ฑ The newcomer they're already afraid of
Foldables are still a niche market โ Samsung leads, Huawei trails, everyone else picks up crumbs. Apple hasn't entered yet. Counterpoint Research went ahead and modeled what happens when it does.
Their 2026 forecast: one in four foldable smartphones shipped globally will be an iPhone Ultra. Straight to second place, ahead of Huawei, behind only Samsung.
๐ธ Samsung: drops from 40% to 32%
๐ธ Apple: debuts at 25%
๐ธ Huawei: slides from 30% to 24%
๐ธ Motorola: 8%, HONOR: 3%
The overall market is projected to grow 21% year-over-year โ largely on the strength of Apple's entry alone.
A fun wrinkle: Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold8 in a shorter, wider form factor โ exactly the shape rumored for the iPhone Ultra. Samsung's mobile chief told Joanna Stern the resemblance is purely coincidental. Sure it is.
9to5Mac
Foldables are still a niche market โ Samsung leads, Huawei trails, everyone else picks up crumbs. Apple hasn't entered yet. Counterpoint Research went ahead and modeled what happens when it does.
Their 2026 forecast: one in four foldable smartphones shipped globally will be an iPhone Ultra. Straight to second place, ahead of Huawei, behind only Samsung.
๐ธ Samsung: drops from 40% to 32%
๐ธ Apple: debuts at 25%
๐ธ Huawei: slides from 30% to 24%
๐ธ Motorola: 8%, HONOR: 3%
The overall market is projected to grow 21% year-over-year โ largely on the strength of Apple's entry alone.
A fun wrinkle: Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold8 in a shorter, wider form factor โ exactly the shape rumored for the iPhone Ultra. Samsung's mobile chief told Joanna Stern the resemblance is purely coincidental. Sure it is.
9to5Mac
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