Celebrity Status: Toy Story, Sesame Street, And The Grinch
Disney and Pixar unwrapped a major box office gift with Toy Story 5, which is headed toward the biggest opening of the year so far of $160 million at the domestic box office. Internationally, it is pulling in $152 million, for a global start of $312 million.
The domestic launch number is the biggest of 2026 so far, topping the Super Mario Bros. Galaxy movie, which had a three-day launch of $130.9 million domestically in April. (It opened two days early for the Easter holidays and boasted a five-day number of $190.1 million.)
It’s also a record for the franchise, topping Toy Story 4‘s $120.9 million launch in 2019.
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The TV world is mourning the death of James Burrows, the legendary comedy director and producer.
Burrows, 85, died Friday, his family said in a statement: “For more than five decades, Burrows was one of the most influential and beloved directors in television history. As a legendary director, mentor and creative force, he helped shape generations of comedy and brought immeasurable joy to audiences around the world.”
Burrows was one of the most prolific and revered comedy directors in TV history. He helmed every episode of Will & Grace (both its original run and the 2017-20 revival) and 236 of the 270 episodes of Cheers, which he co-created with Glen and Les Charles. The 11-time Emmy winner also directed 75 episodes of Taxi, 49 episodes of Mike & Molly, 32 episodes of Frasier, 15 episodes of Friends and all 10 episodes of 2025’s Mid-Century Modern from Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. Those are just a fraction of his credits.
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Netflix has cookies to nom, nom, nom on.
Netflix has landed the feature film rights to Sesame Street, the long-running and iconic children’s educational television show.
Rideback, the production company behind the billion-dollar live-action Lilo & Stitch and Aladdin movies, and run by Jonathan Eirich and Michael Lofaso, will produce the feature.
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Jim Carrey is in talks to star in a sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Ron Howard returning to direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter,
