Entertainment

Vox.com Lays Off 4 Employees After Murdoch Acquisition

Published

29 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

Vox.com laid off four employees on Thursday as the digital publication narrows its editorial focus, a source familiar with the matter told TheWrap.

Editor-in-chief Swati Sharma informed staff that Vox will now concentrate its coverage around five core areas: changes in society, shifting power, everyday economics, wellbeing and the natural world. The restructuring is intended to free up resources for areas the company considers central to its journalism, audience and future growth.

Sharma acknowledged the departing employees’ contributions to the publication and is expected to provide staff with more details about Vox’s editorial vision and business priorities during an all-hands meeting on Aug. 26.

The cuts come roughly six weeks after James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems completed its acquisition of Vox, New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. The three businesses now operate as a Lupa subsidiary under the Vox Media name, with longtime chief executive Jim Bankoff continuing to lead the company.

The layoffs were not connected to the ownership change, the source noted. Instead, they were described as a Vox business and editorial decision based on audience needs and the areas in which the publication sees the greatest opportunity for growth.

Lupa’s acquisition split the former Vox Media into two companies. Vox, New York Magazine and the podcast network moved under Lupa, while brands including The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Popsugar and The Dodo became part of a separate business, now under Penske.

Vox launched in 2014 as an explanatory news site and has since expanded across newsletters, podcasts, video, social platforms and a paid membership program. Under Sharma, who became editor-in-chief in 2021, the outlet has continued to build its presence beyond the website. The publication now operates a YouTube channel with nearly 13 million subscribers and produces podcasts, including “The Gray Area,” “Unexplainable” and “America, Actually.”

Semafor first reported the layoffs.

movies

‘The Odyssey’ Becomes Highest-Grossing R-Rated Movie Ever

Published

4 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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It’s official: Universal’s The Odyssey has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie at the global box office with $1.352 billion, unseating Deadpool & Wolverine, which ended its worldwide run in 2024 at $1.33B.

Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds spilled the beans on social media prior to Uni making the record official.

Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of The Odyssey for becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. That is one helluva car. pic.twitter.com/s7QzTza21l

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 19, 2026

The pic is already director Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing movie at the worldwide B.O. surpassing his previous high, 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises ($1.085B). The ensemble starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, John Leguziamo, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya and Charlize Theron is also one of five movies to cross $1B this year; the feature take of Homer’s epic poem is now the second highest-grossing worldwide YTD behind Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day ($2.039B).

Broken out, The Odyssey has made $835.6M overseas and $516.3M stateside through Wednesday.

Additionally, The Odyssey opened to $264.1M global, the biggest over for Nolan ahead of Dark Knight Rises ($249M WW). The pic’s $139.6M opening at the overseas B.O. was also the director’s biggest ever internationally ahead of Oppenheimer and Dark Knight Rises in like-for-like markets.

What’s interesting is that Deadpool & Wolverine still owns the biggest global opening for a R-rated movie with a reported $444.7M as well as stateside ($211.4M). The Odyssey‘s record speaks to the power of legs, and, yes, a long run in Imax.

The Odyssey‘s domestic opening of $123.5M was the third best for Nolan after Dark Knight Rises ($160.8M) and Dark Knight ($158.4M). The movie, which opened July 17 at the North American box office, is entering its sixth weekend of release.

Entertainment

Sophie Cunningham Suggests WNBA Commissioner Job Could Be ‘Open’ Soon

Published

8 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham believes WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert may not hold her position at the top of the women’s basketball league for much longer.

Cunningham, who has become the center of controversy in recent weeks over her divisive stance on transgender athletes’ place in women’s sports, said as much in an interview published Wednesday with USA Today Sports. During her conversation with the outlet, Cunningham expressed her opinion on Engelbert’s future with the WNBA.

“You do have to have a person in power who is bold, who is confident, who wants the best for the players and not maybe for themselves all the time,” Cunningham said. “I do feel like, as a whole, that could be a position that’s maybe open at the end of the year, but that’s not my call.”

“[Engelbert’s] done a lot of good things, but with where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that,” Cunningham continued. “That’s just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players ― we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but … that’s up to [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver at the end of the day.”

Engelbert, 61, has served as WNBA commissioner since 2019. While she has steered the league through a massive explosion in popularity in recent years, Engelbert has come under increasing fire from WNBA stars who have expressed their public disapproval of her leadership, including Cunningham and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier.

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese (Credit: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Her Wednesday comments do not mark the first time Cunningham has called out Engelbert. In an October 2025 episode of her podcast, Cunningham spoke on the state of the WNBA at this “pivotal point” in the league’s history.

“There’s millions and millions of new fans, and at the end of the day, she’s worried about her. In all of her statements, it’s like, ‘I got us here’ and ‘I should…’ – Cathy, no one cares,” Cunningham said last year. “Literally, no one cares.”

For her part, Cunningham is no stranger to public backlash. She has been the subject of heavy pushback ever since she touched in an ESPN profile published in late July on the ongoing debate surrounding transgender women’s future in women’s sports leagues.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham told ESPN. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Her comments have inspired political protests outside of Indiana Fever games and gained her the support of certain, conservative political activists, including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who attended a recent Fever game in support of Cunningham.

movies

‘Seasons’: Ron Perlman Joins Amazon Horror Film

Published

11 minutes ago

August 20, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Ron Perlman (Apple’s Cape Fear) is set for a role alongside Lily James and Jack Reynor in Seasons, Amazon MGM Studios‘ horror film marking the sophomore feature of Companion‘s Drew Hancock.

Character details are being kept under wraps.

Hancock’s script is based on a viral horror short story by Matt & Harrison Query, which first appeared on Reddit and was later adapted into a full-length novel. It’s the story of a husband and wife who buy their dream ranch, only to discover the land is alive with ancient spirits. For the couple, survival will mean submitting to increasingly disturbing rituals with each turn of the season.

21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Dan Levine are producing alongside Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear, 12:01 Films’ Scott Glassgold and Dan Cohen. Judson Scott is executive producing for Blumhouse Atomic Monster, with Alayna Glasthal overseeing for the company.

Currently, Perlman can be seen starring alongside Javier Bardem in Apple TV’s Cape Fear series, exec produced by Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Also recently seen on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fallout and Poker Face, he is repped by Independent Artist Group and Link Entertainment.