Latest news with #franchises
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Our favorite copycat recipes to channel Taco Bell, Domino's and more
Fast food is deeply embedded in American culture, and passionate fans demonstrate their loyalty to their preferred franchises in many ways, including leading grassroots petitions to bring back beloved menu items such as the McDonald's Snack Wrap and seeking out these chains even when traveling abroad.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lilo & Stitch Quietly Passed A Box Office Milestone That Previously Went To Sinners
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. We're slightly less than halfway through the 2025 movie schedule, and some wild times have already been had at the box office. A pair of Marvel movies failed to make their usual explosive debut, and instead, one of the biggest movies of the year has been Sinners, an original film not connected to any franchise. The film had previously been the second highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office, but Disney's Lilo & Stitch remake has now taken that honor. At over $267 million at the domestic box office, Sinners had been the number two movie of 2025. Lilo & Stitch now sits at nearly $285 million. It's going to take some doing for Disney's little blue troublemaker to become the highest-grossing movie of the year, however. A Minecraft Movie currently sits atop the box office at $423 million. With numerous major blockbusters set to come out over the next couple of months, it's quite likely that Sinners will continue to slide down the box office chart. Still, wherever it happens to end up, its achievement cannot be overstated. Franchise filmmaking had already been the focus of studios back when more people still went to theaters, and in an era where getting people to do that is becoming increasingly difficult, audiences aren't leaving the house to see anything other than familiar franchises. To be fair, the fact that it took Lilo & Stitch as long as it did to overtake Sinners at the box office is a testament to the film's popularity and staying power. Stitch had an opening weekend that was three times that of Sinners. Sinners, however, had virtually no drop in its box office take between its first two weekends, a nearly unheard of statistic. Lilo & Stitch saw a nearly 60% drop between its first two weekends, which is fairly standard for major tentpole releases. If Lilo & Stitch means anything in the broader box office landscape, it's that despite the overall failure of Snow White, live-action remakes of popular animated films are still popular with fans. Lilo & Stitch is in the upper tier of the box office results for those films, only behind movies that grossed a billion dollars worldwide, like Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, and The Lion King. Lilo & Stitch seems unlikely to reach quite those heights; it's broken $600 million and the global box office, but with the movie having been released in all countries, save Japan, where it will open this weekend, it has certainly made most of the money it's going to make. The major thing that may stop the momentum of Lilo & Stitch may, ironically, be another family-friendly live-action remake of a popular animated film. How to Train Your Dragon is set to hit theaters next weekend.
CNN
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
CNN
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
The missed opportunity of not embracing geospatial science in trade area analysis
In the information-rich age we live in, answers to location-based questions have never been more available – and crucial – to a business's success. Yet, many of South Africa's franchises and retailers continue to rely on gut feel or high-level aggregated sales data to guide their decisions on where to open stores and how to optimise their networks. Unfortunately, this approach often leads to lost sales, costly real estate mistakes, and missed opportunities for growth, writes Rochelle Mountany, CEO of AfriGIS. The need for geospatial analysis in trade area decisions is clearer than ever. It's not just about where your next physical location should be – it's about understanding how each potential site fits into a broader network of customer behaviours, traffic patterns, and market dynamics. The problem is, many businesses still overlook geospatial science as a key component of their growth and development strategy. By failing to leverage this tool, they're missing a massive opportunity to optimise their operations and customer experience. Look no further than South Africa's shifting retail landscape. Dozens of stores across the country have recently closed. These closures often stem from a combination of factors, including safety issues and inconsistent municipal services. Frequent load shedding, poor road maintenance, and surging crime rates are making certain neighbourhoods unviable for stores that rely on stability and consistent customer flow. In addition to these environmental challenges, strategic missteps such as failing to correctly identify the customer segment a store is intended to serve have also contributed to closures. These misjudgements highlight the critical importance of understanding not just where customers are today, but where they will be in the future, and how their behaviours and preferences are shaped by their surroundings. Why geospatial analysis matters Trade area analysis is more than just about finding a good location for a new store. It applies to any service-based organisation, whether it's a retail chain, a fast food outlet, or a government department. In fact, public services like health clinics face similar challenges to retail networks when it comes to site planning. For instance, the South African government mandates that health clinics be located within a certain travel radius for underserved communities. Yet, often these clinics are located without any real data-backed understanding of future growth patterns, leading to inefficiencies and gaps in service. In retail, this issue manifests when businesses make location decisions based on outdated assumptions or once-off studies. Planning a store or service location based on static data means you're reacting to the current environment, not anticipating the market's evolution. This is where geospatial science offers real value – through predictive insights that allow businesses to not just react, but anticipate where future opportunities will emerge. The predictive power of geospatial science At the core of effective trade area analysis is the ability to model, forecast, and predict future trends. Without integrating geospatial data, businesses are essentially guessing about where future growth will occur. In the retail world, this means failing to plan for shifts in demographics, consumer behaviour, or commercial development in areas that may seem underserved today but will see population or income growth in the coming years. Geospatial science goes beyond static location analysis. It takes into account factors like local property trends, housing development, consumer behaviour, and competitor movements to create dynamic, adaptable models. By overlaying these data points on a map, businesses can identify high-potential locations that align with their strategic goals. This predictive ability can make the difference between opening a store in a saturated area or identifying an emerging market that could yield higher returns over time. A systematic, live system for smarter decision-making The problem with traditional trade area analysis is that it is often treated as a one-off study – conducted for a few months, analysed, and then shelved for years. In contrast, geospatial science, the likes of which is offered by AfriGIS, provides a systematic, live approach to location planning. With a geospatial analysis platform, businesses can continuously monitor and recalibrate their network strategies, ensuring that their decisions are always based on up-to-date data. This kind of approach doesn't just offer efficiency – it's a game changer for resource allocation. For example, if a flagship store isn't performing as expected, businesses can pivot. By understanding the real-time data through a geospatial lens, companies can reposition resources, potentially converting a flagship store into a mid-tier location and identifying the right place for a true flagship site. By making geospatial analysis a part of your ongoing strategy, businesses can make constant course corrections, rather than waiting five years to realise their initial assumptions were flawed. This proactive, data-driven approach helps ensure that your capital expenditures are allocated where they'll yield the best results. The cost of missing the geospatial edge When it comes to large-scale expansions – whether it's opening hundreds or thousands of new stores – geospatial science is no longer optional. It's an essential tool for ensuring that businesses make the right location decisions. Without accurate, predictive modelling, the investment required to roll out new stores or facilities becomes a huge gamble. A business that attempts to plan for such growth with spreadsheets or basic market research is setting itself up for failure. Geospatial science offers a level of insight and precision that cannot be achieved through traditional methods. It incorporates real-time data, predictive models, and customer behaviour patterns to provide a comprehensive, dynamic view of the market landscape. This is a massive competitive advantage, especially in sectors like retail and services, where location is everything. A more efficient, cost-effective way forward While implementing geospatial analysis may initially seem like a costly or complex undertaking, the truth is that it offers an incredibly cost-effective solution in the long run. At AfriGIS, we've designed geospatial platforms that allow businesses to tap into rich, updated datasets without needing to invest in specialised in-house teams of geospatial scientists. By sourcing, cleaning, and spatially enabling datasets, we give businesses the tools they need to make smarter, data-driven decisions without the need for ongoing, expensive consultancy studies. What's more, this data is continuously updated, ensuring businesses always have the latest insights at their fingertips. With a platform that integrates both current data and predictive models, businesses can confidently plan for future growth and adapt to changing market conditions without the need for costly, periodic studies. In an age where location-based decisions are critical to growth, businesses that fail to adopt geospatial science are leaving money on the table. Whether you're planning the next retail store, healthcare facility, or public service delivery point, ignoring geospatial analysis is a huge missed opportunity. The ability to predict, analyse, and continually adapt your strategy based on dynamic geospatial data isn't just a nice-to-have – it's a competitive necessity. By adopting a live, ongoing system for trade area analysis, businesses can make informed, future-proof decisions that drive growth, optimise resources, and reduce costly real estate mistakes. For companies looking to stay ahead of the curve, the time to integrate geospatial science into your planning is now.
