Riteish Deshmukh's Warrior King Movie Just Shattered Marathi Box Office Records—By 50%

Riteish Deshmukh's Warrior King Movie Just Shattered Marathi Box Office Records—By 50%

Riteish Deshmukh stepped behind the camera for the first time on Raja Shivaji, a swords-and-sandals epic about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the king who defied the Mughal empire in 1600s India. The film hit theaters Friday, pulling in INR 43.66 crore ($4.6 million) over its opening weekend—beating the previous record holder Sairat from 2016 by a mile. That's 575,000 tickets sold in India alone, from Jio Studios and Mumbai Film Company, with Deshmukh also starring as the lead.

Deshmukh, known for Bollywood rom-coms like Housefull, poured years into this passion project, recreating massive battle scenes on horseback with 17th-century armor that gleamed under Mumbai floodlights. Marathi cinema, often overshadowed by Hindi blockbusters, suddenly has its biggest hit ever—$4.6 million dwarfs most regional openers, signaling audiences crave homegrown heroes over imported Marvel. Producers are already eyeing national expansion.

One director's history lesson just proved regional stories can outgross the giants.

Gobble's Take: Your next Netflix scroll just got a non-stop action pick from India's underdog cinema scene.

Source: Variety

Netflix's 'Lord of the Flies' Miniseries Has Kids Turning Savage—And Critics Calling It "Sumptuous"

Jack Thorne, the writer who turned teens feral in Adolescence, watched his Netflix adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies premiere with one brutal death scene that "found its animal." Four episodes drop kids on a paradise island—no adults, just conch shells and face paint—and they devolve into tribal war, Piggy's glasses sparking fire before everything snaps. Young actors nail the terror, with cinematography so lush it feels like a nature doc gone wrong.

Thorne told Collider the death hit harder than expected, echoing real kid chaos he scripted before. Hollywood Reporter praises it as "haunting" despite a few stumbles, while Collider calls the performances "phenomenal." It's Golding's 1954 nightmare reborn for streaming, proving classics still savage in 2026.

Netflix took 70-year-old boys-gone-wild and made it binge TV's next obsession.

Gobble's Take: If your group's summer trip feels tense already, this explains why no adults is a bad idea.

Sources: Collider · Collider · Hollywood Reporter

Met Gala Goes Full "Costume Art"—Zendaya's Stylist Already Plotting Her Next Epic Look

Law Roach, Zendaya's go-to stylist, skips holiday lights to sketch "Fashion Is Art" outfits for tomorrow's Met Gala, themed "Costume Art" with a dress code demanding wearable masterpieces. Anna Wintour's first-Monday-in-May bash—set for May 4 at the Met—bans selfies, phones inside, and lateness past 7 PM, or you're blacklisted forever. Past no-gos: Meryl Streep got heat for ditching the afterparty early.

Zendaya's debut was a sleek Givenchy slip; Rihanna shocked in a Guo Pei gown so heavy she could barely walk the stairs. This year, expect feathers, paint, and installations—Chappell Roan just pulled eBay vintage for last year's look. One slip-up, and Wintour's web snaps shut.

Fashion's night enforces more rules than a royal wedding—break them, vanish.

Gobble's Take: Dress like art tomorrow, or your party invite stays undelivered.

Sources: E! News · E! News · E! News

Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's Surprise Collab Crushes Fan Vote—89% Call It Week's Best Track

Fans crowned "Bring Your Love," Madonna teaming with Sabrina Carpenter, as the week's top new music with 89% of Billboard's vote. The pop queens dropped it unannounced, blending Madonna's husky edge with Carpenter's Espresso bounce—pure earworm that hit playlists overnight. No Coachella hype, just raw collab power.

Madonna, 67 and untouchable, passed the torch to 26-year-old Carpenter, whose Short n' Sweet tour still sells out arenas. Voters ignored the noise, picking this over solo drops—proof veteran-pop rookie mashups rule 2026.

Two eras collided, and fans hit replay before the beat dropped.

Gobble's Take: Your workout playlist needs this duo to make Mondays vanish.

Source: Billboard

Quick Hits

• Super Mario Galaxy Movie Tops Korea Box Office: Nintendo's animated sequel earned $3.8 million from 575,000 tickets in its opening weekend, edging Devil Wears Prada 2. Variety
• Netflix's 'Man on Fire' Beats Reacher at Launch: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's 7-part action series explodes as an instant hit, pulling viewers from Amazon's tough guy turf. Collider

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Debbie Harry, a "Heated Rivalry" Star, and an Unreleased Song: Olivia Rodrigo's SNL Debut Was a Lot
• 27 Years Later, The Mummy Is the #1 Thing People Are Watching on Max — and It Makes Total Sense
• The 2006 Met Gala Photos Just Dropped and They Are a Lot to Process
• Brad Pitt in a WWII Uniform Is Free to Stream Right Now and You Have No Excuse