Will Smith

Between the barbecue and the fireworks - or instead of either or both of them - there is time for movies and TV series with 4th of July connections. It's a rich theme that has been embraced and referenced by filmmakers and stars in many ways throughout the years, with results as unique as their talents.

Action star. Rapper.

Will Smith offered some insight on Muhammad Ali – having spent time with the boxing champion during the shooting of Ali, directed by Michael Mann – when he spoke to the journalists of the Hollywood Foreign Press on the set in Miami in 2001, then in Los Angeles a few weeks before the film’s release. “Three or four days out of the month, Ali will come and hang out on the set, and he seems to be very happy up to this point.

Theaters were shuttered in China for the second weekend in a row as the country deals with the Coronavirus outbreak growing to over 18,000 reported cases and 362 dead. This drove global box office receipts to unexpected lows.

Sony jumped into a strong lead over the long Martin Luther King Day weekend with their action-comedy Bad Boys for Life taking first in the US with $73 million during the three-day weekend. It had the second biggest release for January of all time after American Sniper (which opened in December and went wide on MLK day) started with $107.

This weekend saw Joker laughing away maniacally at the top of the charts while serious new contenders fell by the wayside. Gemini Man, from Paramount, took the biggest hit among these with its $20.

Disney's Aladdin got all of its wishes and soared off to a $114. 3 million start over Memorial Day weekend in the US.