Weekend news roundup 05/08: Box office latest & 2nd Olympic weekend

Jonathan Victoria • 05 Aug 2024 News

Who got the golds over the weekend?

Dramatic win for Lyles in 100m final

The 100m is one of the showcase events of the Olympics every time, and this year we were treated to an all-time classic final.

Noah Lyles came into the games as favourite and has come away with the gold, although he was made to work incredibly hard for it, with it coming down to a photo finish as he beat out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second, both crossing the line with an identical time of 9.79 on the board.

At one point finding himself right at the back, Lyles found the speed to fight back and lunged perfectly to cross the line with an identical time to Thomspon, who seemed to have the win secured at first glance. It was only by looking at the full times that it revealed Lyles’ time of 9.784, just ahead of Thompson’s 9.789.

Lyles’ USA teammate Fred Kerley took the bronze medal with an impressive 9.81, just 0.01 seconds quicker than fourth-placed Akani Simbine from South Africa.

Credit: 'The best 100m final ever' - Highlights & reaction | Paris 2024 Olympics | BBC Sport (BBC Sport, YouTube)

Deadpool & Wolverine nearing $1bn mark

Deadpool & Wolverine continues to impress at the box office as Marvel fans across the world flock to theatres to watch the thoroughly entertaining third instalment of the Deadpool series.

Another stint at the top of the US domestic charts over the weekend, with a gross of $97m, brings the film to $395.5m domestically. A further international total of $428.5m sees the movie currently sitting at $824m worldwide, and with the way its going, it will surely reach the $1bn box office mark.

Ryan Reynolds’ third turn as his Deadpool character is quite possibly his best yet, collaborating with friend Hugh Jackman, who turned in another great performance as his iconic character Wolverine.

Many are calling the film “the revival for the MCU,” after many of the previous projects fell flat and fans questioned the direction. This introduction of the two former 20th Century Fox characters into the Disney MCU has brought excitement for what’s to come going forward.

Credit: Deadpool & Wolverine | Final Trailer | In Theaters July 26 (Marvel Entertainment, YouTube)

Djokovic wins first Olympic gold

Novak Djokovic has completed the true career Grand Slam after finally capturing Olympic gold, beating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

The pair have struck up quite a rivalry since Alcaraz’s fast ascendance onto the tennis scene, having met each other seven times in the last two years, all in either semi-finals or finals, including the last two Wimbledon finals, both of which Alcaraz coming out on top, the most recent of which coming just three weeks before the Olympic final.

For Djokovic, it’s gold at the first time of asking in the Olympic final, having lost out on three other occasions in the semi-finals, although managed to capture the bronze medal in his first Olympics in 2008.

Alcaraz also earned his first Olympic medal at his first games, taking home the silver for Spain. Lorenzo Musetti etched his name into the Italian history books by becoming the first Italian tennis player to win an Olympic medal for 100 years, capturing bronze after defeating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Credit: Djokovic beats Alcaraz to win his first Olympic gold | Paris 2024 Olympics | BBC Sport (BBC Sport, YouTube)

Squid Game finally given season 2 release date

Three years after becoming Netflix’s surprise biggest hit show, Squid Game has finally been given a highly-anticipated teaser trailer ahead of its release later this year.

The second season of the popular Korean thriller is set to come this Holiday season, releasing on 26th December.

Within the content of what’s to come in season two, the trailer also revealed that it had been renewed for a third and unfortunately final season of the series, which is slated to come in 2025.

The long wait between the first and second seasons was likely in part due to its unexpected popularity but also came down to the fact that season two is set to be “bigger in scale”, as said by lead actor Lee Jung-Jae.

‘Inevitable’ Scheffler beats Fleetwood to golf gold

Reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler broke British hearts after fighting through the field and beating Team GB’s Tommy Fleetwood to Olympic gold.

Scheffler was at his very best once again, shooting a tied-course record 62 in the final round, including six birdies on the back nine.

His winning score of -19 was just one better than Fleetwood, who had looked strong all weekend long, outlasting the likes of Spain’s Jon Rahm and USA’s Xander Schauffelle, both of which had held the lead at points but eventually fell off.

Despite coming agonisingly close, Fleetwood was looking at the positives of the result, saying “I never dreamt I could be an Olympic medallist.”

Taking the bronze medal was Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who finished just one shot behind Fleetwood (-17).

Credit: GB's Fleetwood pipped to Olympic gold by Scheffler | Paris 2024 Olympics | BBC Sport (BBC Sport, YouTube)