> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theomnicosm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # One month. Two movies. Is November big enough for Marvel and Disney animation? - URL: https://www.theomnicosm.com/can-november-support-both-a-marvel/ - Published: 2023-02-23T12:00:38.000Z - Updated: 2024-01-13T02:36:38.000Z - Description: Disney, Pixar and the MCU have a history of sharing Thanksgiving. PLUS: The story behind the ‘Quantumania’ visual effects, and is that character actually dead on ‘The Last of Us’? - Author: Bill Kuchman - Tags: Popculturology • Friday Newsletter, Popculturology, Marvel, Disney Can moviegoers support both a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and an animated Disney film during the Thanksgiving season? That’s the question [*TheWrap*](https://www.thewrap.com/marvels-wish-disney-november-box-office/?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ asked on Wednesday](https://www.thewrap.com/marvels-wish-disney-november-box-office/?ref=theomnicosm.com). The trade addressed Disney sending *The Marvels* and *Wish* to theaters twelve days apart this November. Can Disney, with its renewed commitment to theatrical releases and not infringing on the theater-to-home release window, find box office success even if it’s competing against itself? *TheWrap* rightfully notes that Disney has pulled this feat off in the past. *Doctor Strange* and *Moana* coexisted. *Thor: Ragnarok* and *Coco* found success together. But, as *TheWrap* writes, things did not go well for *Strange World* in the wake of *Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* last year. This got me wondering how Disney has managed not just MCU releases against movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios proper but also Pixar Studios since the inception of Marvel Studios. Is this even something we — or more appropriately — Disney should be worrying about? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff9590c97-d641-4f5f-a01b-f5a49747651f_4000x2600-jpeg.jpg) ****Chris Hemsworth** in **Thor: The Dark World* and Elsa in **Frozen*. / Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios ### 2013 **Thor: The Dark World** *Release: Nov. 8, 2013* *Opening weekend: $85.7M / Domestic: $206.4M / Worldwide: $644.6 million* **Frozen** *Release: Nov. 22, 2013* *Opening weekend: $67.4M / Domestic: $401M / Worldwide: $1.26B* **Days between release: 14** The Thanksgiving season has long been the home of Disney releases, but this was the first year Marvel Studios released a movie in November. The two-week gap between *Thor: The Dark World* and *Frozen* didn’t hurt either film. The second *Thor* movie enjoyed the post-*Avengers* box office bump, improving on the original *Thor*’s $65.7 million opening weekend. As for *Frozen*, I don’t think the film was bothered in the least having to share November with an MCU installment. Frozen lost the opening weekend battle against *The Dark World*, but doubled the second *Thor* film’s domestic and worldwide box office numbers. ### 2014 **Big Hero 6** *Release: Nov. 7, 2014* *Opening weekend: $56.2M / Domestic: $222.5M / Worldwide: $648.4M* Marvel Studios sat out November 2014, allowing Disney’s *Big Hero 6* to have the month to itself. ### 2015 **The Good Dinosaur** *Release: Nov. 25, 2015* *Opening weekend: $39.2M / Domestic: $123.1M / Worldwide: $333.8M* For the second year in a row, November was without an MCU movie. *The Good Dinosaur* could’ve used the competition, though, as it would’ve given the first bomb from Pixar an excuse for its dismal box office performance. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa21a3e88-a753-41c7-b274-03ecc0a094a4_4000x2600-jpeg.jpg) ****Benedict Cumberbatch** in **Doctor Strange* and Moana in **Moana*. / Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios ### 2016 **Doctor Strange** *Release: Nov. 4, 2016* *Opening weekend: $85.1M / Domestic: $232.6M / Worldwide: $676.3M* **Moana** *Release: Nov. 23, 2016* *Opening weekend: $56.6M / Domestic: $248.8M / Worldwide: $630.9M* **Days between release: 19** I want to ask how *Moana* grossed only $56.6 million over its opening weekend, but if we peek ahead, you can see that it was in line with *Coco*’s $50.8 million and *Ralph Breaks the Internet*’s $56.2 million opening weekends. *Doctor Strange* came out of the gate stronger than *Moana*, but the two films wound up finishing fairly close, with *Moana* beating the first *Doctor Strange* by less than $15 million at the domestic box office. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6b4c31bf-4306-4d37-8b0c-dfed60c6b5f1_4000x2600-jpeg.jpg) ****Chris Hemsworth** in **Thor: Ragnarok* and Miguel in **Coco*. / Marvel Studios, Pixar Studios ### 2017 **Thor: Ragnarok** *Release: Nov. 3, 2016* *Opening weekend: $122.7M / Domestic: $315.1M / Worldwide: $850.5M* **Coco** *Release: Nov. 22, 2016* *Opening weekend: $50.8M / Domestic: $210.5M / Worldwide: $797.7M* **Days between release: 19** Once again, the Disney and Pixar releases don’t set the same records that the MCU movies do. *Coco* is an all-time release from Pixar and almost matched *Thor: Ragnarok*’s worldwide gross, but it did all of that after its opening weekend. This might be the secret to Disney making its MCU/Disney/Pixar Novembers work. As long as the MCU movie releases first, it will do a ton of business over its opening weekend before allowing a Disney/Pixar movie to come along and keep raking in money over Thanksgiving and Christmas. ### 2018 **Ralph Breaks the Internet** *Release: Nov. 21, 2018* *Opening weekend: $56.2M / Domestic: $201.1M / Worldwide: $529.3M* Marvel Studios didn’t release a movie in November 2018\. This was the time between *Avengers: Infinity War* and *Avengers: Endgame*. We got *Ant-Man and the Wasp* and *Captain Marvel* during this time, but the MCU could release only so many films during The Blip. ### 2019 **Frozen II** *Release date: Nov. 22, 2019* *Opening weekend: $130.3M / Domestic: $477.4M / Worldwide: $1.44B* After *Endgame* released in April 2019, Marvel Studios took a breather after completing the Infinity Saga. This allowed *Frozen II* to open to $130.3 million in November on the way to a whopping $1.44 billion worldwide gross. ### 2020 Hey, it was a pandemic. No movies in theaters during November 2020. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f0365ea75-bd8c-4dd6-90e6-2766e456e78e_4000x2600-jpeg.jpg) ****Richard Madden** and ****Gemma Chan** in **Eternals* and Mirabel in **Encanto*. / Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios ### 2021 **Eternals** *Release date: Nov. 5, 2021* *Opening weekend: $71.3M / Domestic: $164.9M / Worldwide: $401.7M* **Encanto** *Release date: Nov. 24, 2021* *Opening weekend: $27.2M / Domestic: $96.1M / Worldwide: $231.2M* **Days between release: 19** And now we’re back! Movies are in theaters! Everything is great! (Everything was not great.) *Eternals* managed to gross $71.3 million over its opening weekend on the way to a $401.7 million worldwide haul. Sure, that’s not great for the MCU, but it almost doubled *Encanto*’s worldwide gross. It’s weird, since *Encanto* is fantastic. We recently put on a few songs from the movie for our daughter, and it’s definitely underappreciated. (Real ones know “Surface Pressure” is the true best song in *Encanto*.) I do wonder if *Eternals* managed to squeeze in just before the Omicron variant reared its head and sent a lot of us back inside for a few weeks. (It didn’t stop *Spider-Man: No Way Home* from opening with $260.1 million on the way to a $1.91 billion worldwide gross less than a month after *Encanto* hit theaters.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa02b0ad5-c4fc-4d85-a953-3df95d877123_4000x2600-jpeg.jpg) ****Letitia Wright** in **Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* and Meridian Clade in **Strange World*. / Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios ### 2022 **Black Panther: Wakanda Forever** *Release date: Nov. 11, 2022* *Opening weekend: $181.3 / Domestic: $453.7 / Worldwide: $854.9M* **Strange World** *Release date: Nov. 23, 2022* *Opening weekend: $12.2M / Domestic: $38M / Worldwide: $69.5M* **Days between release: 12** Woof. Things did not go well for *Strange World* last year. I don’t think we can attribute the most recent Disney Animation Studios’ release’s box office woes to either its close release to an MCU movie or the pandemic. *Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* pulled in a whopping $181.3 million just twelve days before Strange World opened. Did Disney forget to promote *Strange World*? Have theatergoers gotten use to animated movies being streaming releases? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2ef8c018-6c01-4af2-b2aa-4f92b163d230_4000x2600-jpeg.jpg) ****Teyonah Parris**, ****Brie Larson** and ****Iman Vellani** on the poster for **The Marvels* and Princess Asha in **Wish*. / Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios ### 2023 **The Marvels** *Release date: Nov. 10, 2023* **Wish** *Release date: Nov. 22, 2023* ***Days between release: 12*** We’re going to get an answer to that question this November. Not only is *The Marvels* the sequel to a film that opened to $154.3 million in 2019, but it’s pulling in characters from *WandaVision* and *Ms. Marvel*. This is a major tentpole movie. *Wish*, however, is not a sequel. Or an adaption of an existing property. It’s actually a pretty interesting project, as it’s supposed to mix the current form of computer animation with traditional watercolor animation. The film celebrates Disney’s 100th anniversary, and I expect Disney to do everything it can to get audiences interested in that angle. --- **Happy Thursday, and thanks for reading* *Popculturology*. I love writing about pop culture, and I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.* **Are you a subscriber yet?* It’s the easiest way to make sure you get every edition of *Popculturology*.* [Subscribe now](https://www.theomnicosm.com/subscribe) **Share your thoughts* on how well The Marvels and Wish will do at the box office and everything else pop culture below.* *And please *tap the ♥️ button* at the bottom of each post if you enjoyed the newsletter. Now let’s get to the news.* --- ![The News](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4bee8e13-6221-4eea-a85c-ecef7b56f6ab_2028x228-6.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb7312d65-901e-4d58-b4f2-3bf61be0d7ff_1296x730-webp.jpg) ****Evangeline Lilly** and ****Paul Rudd** in **Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania*. / Marvel Studios ### ‘Quantumania’ visual effects artists speak out Visual effects artists are overworked. And they have little recourse when it comes to pushing back against giant studios like Marvel. Which makes it even more interesting when they speak off the record about how poorly things took a turn with *Ant-Man and the Wasp-Quantumania*. “In terms of priority, *Wakanda Forever* was definitely at the top of the list,” a visual-effects artist who works for a company that did effects for *Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* and *Quantumania* [told ](https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/marvel-vfx-workers-on-ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania.html?utm%5Fcampaign=vulture&utm%5Fmedium=s1&utm%5Fsource=tw)[*Vulture*](https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/marvel-vfx-workers-on-ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania.html?utm%5Fcampaign=vulture&utm%5Fmedium=s1&utm%5Fsource=tw). “All the money went to that. All the best resources went to that. It’s understandable given the context — with \[**Chadwick Boseman**\] and everything and how well the first film did. But it did diminish the ability to carry *Ant-Man* all the way through.” *Vulture* got some pretty juicy bits from the people who worked on the special effects for *Quantumania*. I definitely get the impression that late changes to the story and reshoots threw a wrench in how the special effects were going. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-312.png) ### The Academy has a plan in case anyone gets slapped at the Oscars this year The Academy struggled to respond after **Will Smith** slapped **Chris Rock** during last year’s Oscars. You’d think after someone in the audience assaulted the host, they wouldn’t still be there to accept an award shortly after, but, hey, the Academy didn’t see an issue with that. This year is different. If anyone slaps anyone, the Academy has a plan this time. “Because of last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,” [Academy CEO ](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/exclusive-academy-motion-pictures-ceo-172342910.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[**Bill Kramer**](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/exclusive-academy-motion-pictures-ceo-172342910.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ told ](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/exclusive-academy-motion-pictures-ceo-172342910.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*Yahoo!*](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/exclusive-academy-motion-pictures-ceo-172342910.html?ref=theomnicosm.com) “But these crisis plans—the crisis communication teams and structures we have in place—allow us to say this is the group that we have to gather very quickly. This is how we all come together. This is the spokesperson. This will be the statement.” No one can ever accuse the Academy of not being on top of things. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-313.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa93ac4b5-c179-4cfc-a431-ce69e79cee6f_4096x2731-jpeg.jpg) Chairs belonging to ****Danai Gurira** and ****Andrew Lincoln** on the set of the Michonne and Rick **Walking Dead* spinoff. / AMC ### The stars of the Rick and Michonne ‘Walking Dead’ spinoff are ‘are back on set’ Lots of *The Walking Dead* spinoffs are on the way. Daryl. Negan and Maggie. Rick and Michonne. AMC gave us an update on that last one this past week, revealing that **Andrew Lincoln** and **Danai Gurira** are on set working on the untitle spinoff featuring their *Walking Dead* characters. > [](https://twitter.com/WalkingDead%5FAMC/status/1628081211011739689?ref=theomnicosm.com) Are you still watching *The Walking Dead*? Are you interested in any of the spinoffs? We stopped watching years ago after the show couldn’t decide whether Rick and his crew were badass commandos or morons who couldn’t figure out Negan’s roadblocks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-314.png) ### Din Djarin and Grogu, Bo-Katan and Greef Karga get ‘Mandalorian’ character posters I’m currently two episodes behind on *The Bad Batch*, which means I’m going to have to resolve that pileup over the next week or so before *The Mandalorian* hits Disney+ for its third season. Lucasfilm released three character posters for the upcoming season on Wednesday, highlighting the duo of Din Djarin and Grogu, Bo-Katan and Greef Karga. It’s still wild that there’s a live-action Bo-Katan, that **Katee Sackhoff** made the leap from voicing the animated version to playing this version, and that she’s a huge part of the upcoming season. (They made her hair longer and more accurate to the animated version, right?) --- *💬 💬 💬 *Wanna share your comments, questions or recommendations?* Leave a comment at the bottom of the newsletter.* --- ![Playlist](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f0383f204-1a32-4863-b02b-60f09d2affe4_2028x228-6.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4c009dcb-4902-4b98-8489-654f62221936_1280x853-jpeg.jpg) ****Rutina Wesley**, ****Gabriel Luna**, ****Pedro Pascal** and ****Bella Ramsey** in **The Last of Us* episode “Kin.” / HBO ### *The Last of Us* **“Kin”** So Joel’s not dead, right? After *The Last of Us* quickly reunited Joel and his brother, Tommy, the show left us with a cliffhanger. Joel’s been stabbed. It doesn’t look good. This shouldn’t be a spoiler, but if we’re going by the video games, Joel needs to stay alive until Season 2\. Sure, the show could surprise us, but I can’t imagine Joel is dying in the snow next to those train tracks. “Kin” further showcased the chemistry between **Pedro Pascal** and **Bella Ramsey**. ([No, not the kind of chemistry ](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/leonardo-dicaprio-girlfriend-eden-polani-bella-ramsey-pedro-pascal-b2277876.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[**Leonardo DiCaprio**](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/leonardo-dicaprio-girlfriend-eden-polani-bella-ramsey-pedro-pascal-b2277876.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ and his girlfriends have …](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/leonardo-dicaprio-girlfriend-eden-polani-bella-ramsey-pedro-pascal-b2277876.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)) I loved Ramsey’s Ellie teasing Pascal’s Joel about his time as a contractor (“everybody loves a contractor”) and encouraging Joel to congratulate Tommy on his relationship with Maria (“Joel, say congrats”). Watching this episode and its characters talk about Ellie being the key to finding a vaccine against the Cordyceps infection, I had to ask if — based on \*waves arms at our current situation\* — everyone would even take the vaccine? I dunno, maybe things are different in that alternate reality. Or maybe they’re fine having giant mushroom heads as long it they can own their rivals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-315.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f072bdeb4-6eec-438b-b5cf-3cfeab67f15a_1280x720-jpeg.jpg) ****Rhys Darby**’s character in the **Bob’s Burgers* episode “Oh Row You Didn’t.” / Fox ### *Bob’s Burgers* **“Oh Row You Didn’t”** Hey, this was the 250th episode of *Bob’s Burgers*. (Only 491 left to go to catch *The Simpsons*!) While “Oh Row You Didn’t” was a solid episode of *Bob’s Burgers*, it wasn’t a standout episode to match the occasion. I assume this is because Fox constantly shuffles the airing order of *Bob’s Burgers* and the creative team couldn’t pinpoint when and where the milestone 250th episode would fall. “I was dumb then. I’m smart now,” is a hall-of-fame line. --- ![The Links](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7f1dd043-0aeb-4f20-a18a-171d2bc47cf8_2028x228-6.png) - [Give it up for the ](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-last-of-us-ellie-diva-cup-scene-explained.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[*Last of Us*](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-last-of-us-ellie-diva-cup-scene-explained.html?ref=theomnicosm.com)[ menstrual cup](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-last-of-us-ellie-diva-cup-scene-explained.html?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Kathryn VanArendonk**, *Vulture*) - [How Monopoly became America’s cruelest board game](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/how-monopoly-became-americas-cruellest-board-game?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Simon Parkin**, *The New Yorker*) - [Donald Duck hit peak popularity during his horny era](https://www.polygon.com/century-of-disney/23603428/donald-duck-horny-as-hell-three-caballeros-saludos-amigos?ref=theomnicosm.com) (, *Polygon*) - [A science fiction magazine closed submissions after being bombarded with stories written by ChatGPT](https://www.fastcompany.com/90853591/chatgpt-science-fiction-short-stories-clarkesworld-magazine-submissions?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Michael Grothaus**, *Fast Company*) - [“This is not an invasion of the aliens”: How UFO mania went mainstream](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/not-an-alien-invasion-how-ufo-mania-mainstream?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=onsite-share&utm%5Fbrand=vanity-fair&utm%5Fsocial-type=earned) (**Joe Pompeo**, *Vanity Fair*) - [The films of Steven Spielberg, ranked](https://uproxx.com/movies/steven-spielberg-best-films-movies-ranked/?ref=theomnicosm.com) (**Steven Hyden**, *Uproxx*) --- **Spread the news!* Share a free *Popculturology* subscription with your friends.* --- ![Odds and Ends](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb9283e5b-c33b-4ae6-918d-ecd7acdecbb6_2028x228-5.png) ### Woody Harrelson hosts *SNL* **Woody Harrelson** joins the *Saturday Night Live* Five-Timers Club this weekend. He’s previously hosted in 1989, 1992, 2014 and 2019, playing **Joe Biden** during that most recent hosting gig. (This was back before **Lorne Michaels** anointed **Jim Carrey** as one of the ultimate *SNL: Celebrity Edition* cameo.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-316.png) ### 10 Things Jeremy Strong Can’t Live Without This might be one of the most insufferable things I’ve ever watched. If you’re not familiar with *GQ*’s *10 Things* YouTube series, a celebrity shows off a handful of stuff they like. It’s usually skincare items, headphones or books. (Yes, celebs want you to know they read.) **Jeremy Strong** couldn’t just stick to the normal rules. The *Succession* actor showed off things like pieces of paper he had saved from movies he shot 30 years ago or sunglasses that were designed for Kendall — the character he plays and can’t seem to separate himself from. Marvel Studios, please cast Strong as Reed Richards. I need to see him go Method to play a man who can stretch his body in superhuman ways. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff05828a6-e0fc-456e-8d31-5f6fbd8e943f_3333x65-317.png) ### Funko made a *Cocaine Bear* Everyone gets a Funko Pop these days. (Unless you’re a character on *Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power* since Amazon forgot to pay for merchandising rights.) *Cocaine Bear* is no different. Funko unveiled the *Cocaine Bear* Pop on Wednesday, showing off one of the more ridiculous entries in the Funko line. --- *That’s the end of this issue of *Popculturology*. Thanks for reading. If you don’t already subscribe, please hit the “Subscribe now” button. Tapping the ♥️ at the bottom of each post also helps the newsletter.*