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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta , stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place. The high court dismissed the company’s appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward. Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump ’s first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016. Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company’s shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say. Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. “The plaintiff’s claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court,” Stone said in an emailed statement. Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users. Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon . It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign. The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia . Investors say the company misled them about its dependence on selling computer chips for the mining of volatile cryptocurrency.Multiple Trump Cabinet Nominees Brutally Targeted with 'Bomb Threats' and 'Swatting Attacks'

Short-rested Chiefs, Steelers gear up for Christmas Day clashThe suspect in the high-profile killing of a health insurance CEO that has gripped the United States graduated from an Ivy League university, reportedly hails from a wealthy family, and wrote social media posts brimming with cerebral musings. Luigi Mangione, 26, was thrust into the spotlight Monday after police revealed he is their person of interest in the brutal murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a father of two, last week in broad daylight in Manhattan in a case that laid bare deep frustration and anger with America's privatized medical system. News of his capture in Pennsylvania -- following a tip from a McDonald's worker --triggered an explosion of online activity, with Mangione quickly amassing new followers on social media as citizen sleuths and US media tried to understand who he is. While some lauded him as a hero and lamented his arrest, others analyzed his intellectual takes in search of ideological clues. A photo on one of his social media accounts includes an X-ray of an apparently injured spine. No explicit political affiliation has emerged. Meanwhile, memes and jokes proliferated, many riffing on his first name and comparing him to the "Mario Bros." character Luigi, sometimes depicted in AI-altered images wielding a gun or holding a Big Mac. "Godspeed. Please know that we all hear you," wrote one user on Facebook. "I want to donate to your defense fund," added another. According to Mangione's LinkedIn profile, he is employed as a data engineer at TrueCar, a California-based online auto marketplace. A company spokesperson told AFP Mangione "has not been an employee of our company since 2023." Although he had been living in Hawaii ahead of the killing, he originally hails from Towson, Maryland, near Baltimore. He comes from a prominent and wealthy Italian-American family, according to the Baltimore Banner. The family owns local businesses, including the Hayfields Country Club, its website says. A standout student, Mangione graduated at the top of his high school class in 2016. In an interview with his local paper at the time, he praised his teachers for fostering a passion for learning beyond grades and encouraging intellectual curiosity. A former student who knew Mangione at the Gilman School told AFP the suspect struck him as "a normal guy, nice kid." "There was nothing about him that was off, at least from my perception," this person said, asking that their name not be used. "Seemed to just be smiling, and kind of seemed like he was a smart kid. Ended up being valedictorian, which confirmed that," the former student said. Mangione went on to attend the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, where he completed both a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science by 2020, according to a university spokesperson. While at Penn, Mangione co-led a group of 60 undergraduates who collaborated on video game projects, as noted in a now-deleted university webpage, archived on the Wayback Machine. On Instagram, where his following has skyrocketed from hundreds to tens of thousands, Mangione shared snapshots of his travels in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. He also posted shirtless photos flaunting a six-pack and appeared in celebratory posts with fellow members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. However, it is on X (formerly Twitter) that users have scoured Mangione's posts for potential motives. His header photo -- an X-ray of a spine with bolts -- remains cryptic, with no public explanation. Finding a coherent political ideology has also proved elusive, though he had written a review of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto on the online site goodreads, calling it "prescient." Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, carried out a string of bombings in the United States from 1978 to 1995, a campaign he said was aimed at halting the advance of modern society and technology. Mangione called Kaczynski "rightfully imprisoned," while also saying "'violence never solved anything' is a statement uttered by cowards and predators." According to CNN, handwritten documents recovered when Mangione was arrested included the phrase "these parasites had it coming." Mangione has also linked approvingly to posts criticizing secularism as a harmful consequence of Christianity's decline. In April, he wrote, "Horror vacui (nature abhors a vacuum)." The following month, he posted an essay he wrote in high school titled "How Christianity Prospered by Appealing to the Lower Classes of Ancient Rome." In another post from April, he speculated that Japan's low birthrate stems from societal disconnection, adding that "fleshlights" and other vaginal-replica sex toys should be banned. ia/nro/dw

Researchers develop an efficient way to train more reliable AI agents November 22, 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Researchers developed an efficient approach for training more reliable reinforcement learning models, focusing on complex tasks that involve variability. This could enable the leverage of reinforcement learning across a wide range of applications. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email Fields ranging from robotics to medicine to political science are attempting to train AI systems to make meaningful decisions of all kinds. For example, using an AI system to intelligently control traffic in a congested city could help motorists reach their destinations faster, while improving safety or sustainability. Unfortunately, teaching an AI system to make good decisions is no easy task. Reinforcement learning models, which underlie these AI decision-making systems, still often fail when faced with even small variations in the tasks they are trained to perform. In the case of traffic, a model might struggle to control a set of intersections with different speed limits, numbers of lanes, or traffic patterns. To boost the reliability of reinforcement learning models for complex tasks with variability, MIT researchers have introduced a more efficient algorithm for training them. The algorithm strategically selects the best tasks for training an AI agent so it can effectively perform all tasks in a collection of related tasks. In the case of traffic signal control, each task could be one intersection in a task space that includes all intersections in the city. By focusing on a smaller number of intersections that contribute the most to the algorithm's overall effectiveness, this method maximizes performance while keeping the training cost low. The researchers found that their technique was between five and 50 times more efficient than standard approaches on an array of simulated tasks. This gain in efficiency helps the algorithm learn a better solution in a faster manner, ultimately improving the performance of the AI agent. "We were able to see incredible performance improvements, with a very simple algorithm, by thinking outside the box. An algorithm that is not very complicated stands a better chance of being adopted by the community because it is easier to implement and easier for others to understand," says senior author Cathy Wu, the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), and a member of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS). She is joined on the paper by lead author Jung-Hoon Cho, a CEE graduate student; Vindula Jayawardana, a graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS); and Sirui Li, an IDSS graduate student. The research will be presented at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems. Finding a middle ground To train an algorithm to control traffic lights at many intersections in a city, an engineer would typically choose between two main approaches. She can train one algorithm for each intersection independently, using only that intersection's data, or train a larger algorithm using data from all intersections and then apply it to each one. But each approach comes with its share of downsides. Training a separate algorithm for each task (such as a given intersection) is a time-consuming process that requires an enormous amount of data and computation, while training one algorithm for all tasks often leads to subpar performance. Wu and her collaborators sought a sweet spot between these two approaches. For their method, they choose a subset of tasks and train one algorithm for each task independently. Importantly, they strategically select individual tasks which are most likely to improve the algorithm's overall performance on all tasks. They leverage a common trick from the reinforcement learning field called zero-shot transfer learning, in which an already trained model is applied to a new task without being further trained. With transfer learning, the model often performs remarkably well on the new neighbor task. "We know it would be ideal to train on all the tasks, but we wondered if we could get away with training on a subset of those tasks, apply the result to all the tasks, and still see a performance increase," Wu says. To identify which tasks they should select to maximize expected performance, the researchers developed an algorithm called Model-Based Transfer Learning (MBTL). The MBTL algorithm has two pieces. For one, it models how well each algorithm would perform if it were trained independently on one task. Then it models how much each algorithm's performance would degrade if it were transferred to each other task, a concept known as generalization performance. Explicitly modeling generalization performance allows MBTL to estimate the value of training on a new task. MBTL does this sequentially, choosing the task which leads to the highest performance gain first, then selecting additional tasks that provide the biggest subsequent marginal improvements to overall performance. Since MBTL only focuses on the most promising tasks, it can dramatically improve the efficiency of the training process. Reducing training costs When the researchers tested this technique on simulated tasks, including controlling traffic signals, managing real-time speed advisories, and executing several classic control tasks, it was five to 50 times more efficient than other methods. This means they could arrive at the same solution by training on far less data. For instance, with a 50x efficiency boost, the MBTL algorithm could train on just two tasks and achieve the same performance as a standard method which uses data from 100 tasks. "From the perspective of the two main approaches, that means data from the other 98 tasks was not necessary or that training on all 100 tasks is confusing to the algorithm, so the performance ends up worse than ours," Wu says. With MBTL, adding even a small amount of additional training time could lead to much better performance. In the future, the researchers plan to design MBTL algorithms that can extend to more complex problems, such as high-dimensional task spaces. They are also interested in applying their approach to real-world problems, especially in next-generation mobility systems. The research is funded, in part, by a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Kwanjeong Educational Foundation PhD Scholarship Program, and an Amazon Robotics PhD Fellowship. Story Source: Materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Original written by Adam Zewe. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Cite This Page :

DALLAS -- The Hilton Anatole has become Major League Baseball's top destination this week as teams converge for the winter meetings with writers, agents and even some fans circling the vast lobby floors. The biggest offseason news came down Sunday night, when the New York Mets and star free agent slugger Juan Soto reportedly agreed on a 15-year, $765 million deal, which would be the largest contract ever given to a professional athlete. That was a key talking point when managers started meeting with the media on Monday. Nationals manager Dave Martinez reflected on when he was Soto's first manager in the big leagues back in 2018. "This kid, he was different," Martinez said. "The ball comes off his bat differently. The way he approaches the hitting was way different than a lot of kids I've seen. But the one thing that I always remember about him, the first conversation I had, the first thing that came out of his mouth when I asked him what motivates him, what drives him, and he just came out and said, 'I love baseball.' Truly you can see it in him. He loves playing the game." The Red Sox were among the clubs in the mix for Soto. Boston manager Alex Cora didn't get into specific details, but he enjoyed the organization's pursuit of the four-time All Star. "It was fun in a way, you know, to get to know people and players of that status," Cora said. "It's amazing. The kid, he gets it. He gets it. Let me put it that way." Royals manager Matt Quatraro, meanwhile, spoke about the impact such a monumental contract may have on smaller market teams in order to compete in today's market. "We have to be creative. We have to put the best 26 guys on a roster or the best 40 guys on a roster, not the best one or two," Quatraro said. "At the end of the day, you have a chance to compete against those guys. Soto is going to hit four to five times a night. Those are impactful at-bats, but there's other ways to combat that with a full 26-man roster." Sasaki Posted Outside of the Soto reaction, Monday's other main storyline - at least going into the afternoon hours - centered on Japanese ace right-hander Roki Sasaki officially being posted. The 23-year-old phenom is available to sign as a free agent from Tuesday through 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 23. The rumor mill was churning with plenty of speculation and talk about where Sasaki might sign. He was just one of many big-name players being discussed on Monday. The list of top free agents behind Soto includes pitchers Corbin Burnes and Max Fried and infielders Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and Christian Walker. On the trade front, much attention is being placed on White Sox left-handed starter Garrett Crochet. It was a relatively quiet Day 1 through the standard working hours, although things are always subject to change at meetings of this nature. Tito is Back Terry Francona joked that his desire to manage again resurfaced when his daughters went on a 10-day trip to Europe. "I watched the grandkids. That was the one day I thought maybe I'll go back to baseball," Francona said, laughing. All joking aside, Francona said it simply happened that when the Reds reached out, the timing felt right. He's healthy and refreshed as he's set to enter his 24th season as a manager. "I had a really good year and maybe I just needed that," Francona, 65, said. "Then, when these guys called, it just felt right." Honoring Mays The winter meetings kicked off with MLB announcing that its annual charity auction during the event would help revitalize Willie Mays Park in the late Hall of Famer's hometown of Fairfield, Ala. At a news conference, April Brown, MLB's senior vice president of social responsibility and diversity, said the vision for the project includes access for all levels of players, from youth leagues to advanced levels. "This effort will not just be MLB alone," Brown said. "We have the blessing of so many connected to his legacy and that have the mission to instill the love of our game that Willie had to all of the youth in the area growing up in the neighborhood where he grew up." The auction, which features items from every major league club, runs through Thursday. --Drew Davison, Field Level Media This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.Former Appalachian State head coach Shawn Clark has been hired as UCF's offensive line coach, ESPN reported on Saturday morning. Clark, 49, was fired earlier this month after compiling a 40-24 record with the Mountaineers, including 5-6 in 2024 -- his first losing season. Clark had a 3-1 record in bowl games. A two-time All-American offensive lineman at Appalachian State, Clark served as an assistant coach at his alma mater before taking the helm in December 2019. Clark coached the offensive line for Kent State (2013-15), Purdue (2009-12) and Eastern Kentucky (2003-08). Scott Frost has returned as UCF's new head coach, replacing Gus Malzahn, who recently departed to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. Frost went 19-7 in two seasons (2016-17) at the school -- including 13-0 in 2017 -- before departing for Nebraska, his alma mater. He went 16-31 in four-plus years at Nebraska, which fired him three games into the 2022 season. Frost is filling out his staff, announcing Friday the hiring of Mike Dawson as defensive run game coordinator and edge coach. Earlier this week, Alex Grinch was named defensive coordinator. Kenny Martin is remaining on staff as defensive tackles coach. --Field Level Media

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday underscored the importance of striking a balance between protecting the rights of the accused and addressing society’s demand for safety and justice, as it took up a challenge to various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita , (BNS) and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The new laws, which replaced the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure from July 1, include provisions for tackling organised crime, but their constitutional validity has been assailed for allegedly diluting safeguards present in specialised legislations. A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasised the need to assess the effectiveness of these new laws rather than dismissing them prematurely, adding citizens have a right to live free of crime. “When something new is brought in, there are many imaginary apprehensions, but they may not materialize. Society has a right to live free from crime, fear, and threats. Are your buses safe? Are your railways safe? Organised crime, drug supply, cybercrimes -- they are rampant. Can we expect the legislature, in such a regime and time, to prioritise safeguards for those accused of these crimes?” asked the bench. Read more: SC permits petitions against new criminal laws to be withdrawn The court’s remarks came in response to arguments by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing the petitioner, retired BSF commandant Azad Singh Kataria, who contended that Section 111 of BNS incorporates provisions against organised crime without procedural safeguards akin to those in specialised laws like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Guruswamy contended that the absence of such safeguards risks violating constitutional guarantees, including the right to a fair trial and protection against self-incrimination. Responding, the bench questioned whether Parliament is obliged to replicate state-level safeguards. “The Parliament has its own wisdom. Heavy presumptions favour the legislature -- they deliberate, apply their mind and are aware of the consequences of their decisions when they add or delete something. The court also highlighted the societal expectations of effective legal frameworks, saying: “Unless there is an effective law, it will not impact. A toothless tiger cannot help.” Guruswamy, however, argued that folding specialised provisions into general criminal law risks diluting their effectiveness and creating disparities. “To treat two pickpockets the same as MCOCA-level organised criminals defeats the purpose. We lack the investigative resources to classify every minor offense as organised crime,” she said. On concerns about potential misuse of the new provisions, the bench acknowledged the possibility but stressed the role of judicial oversight in preventing abuse. “Possibility of abuse of a provision or even a real abuse will not make a law unconstitutional even though such acts will be illegal,” said the court, adding there will be judicial monitoring to ensure no provision is misused by those to whom power is granted, as with the older laws. The debate also touched on the alleged reintroduction of the sedition offence under Section 152 of BNS. While Guruswamy highlighted its similarity to Section 124A, which was suspended by the Supreme Court in 2022, the bench remarked that if Parliament has addressed the previous provision’s flaws, the new enactment cannot be dismissed outright. To this, Guruswamy informed that a reference pertaining to the sedition law, covering the new Section 152 BNS, is pending before a five-judge bench. The petition also challenged the extension of police custody limits under BNSS, from 15 days to a potential 60-90 days, arguing this could lead to forced confessions and abuse. Guruswamy described it as an attack on safeguards established in the DK Basu case, arguing the toll such provisions could take on the physical and mental well-being of the accused. The court, however, adjourned the matter, requesting Guruswamy to adduce a comparative chart of the provisions under challenge for a detailed hearing. BNS, BNSS and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (which replaced the Indian Evidence Act) heralded a major reform in the manner criminal laws are perceived in the country with the central government announcing that while the colonial British rulers administered these laws with an intent to inflict punishment on the Indian subjects, the new laws will seek to render justice to citizens by overhauling the punishment and procedure applicable for investigation and prosecution of crimes. The new laws also sought to march with the times incorporating several technological aids for investigation by police, trial by courts and plugging loopholes that delayed justice and gave little scope for lawyers, judges and prosecutors to complete the trial.

EDMONTON - Muriel Stanley Venne, a trail-blazing Métis woman known for her Indigenous rights advocacy, has died at 87. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $14.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! EDMONTON - Muriel Stanley Venne, a trail-blazing Métis woman known for her Indigenous rights advocacy, has died at 87. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? EDMONTON – Muriel Stanley Venne, a trail-blazing Métis woman known for her Indigenous rights advocacy, has died at 87. Venne, born in Lamont, Alta., was one of the first appointees to Alberta’s Human Rights Commission in 1973 and later served as chair. She founded the Women of the Métis Nation as well as Esquao, the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women. She also created programming for the Métis Nation of Alberta before serving as provincial vice president from 2008 to 2012. “Muriel devoted her life to advancing the rights and well-being of Métis and other Indigenous peoples,” reads an online tribute to Venne made by the Métis Nation of Alberta. “Through her remarkable leadership, she transformed advocacy into action, creating lasting change in employment, education and justice.” In 2017, Venne had a provincial government building named after her in Edmonton. It was the first time a provincial building was named after an Indigenous woman in Alberta. In a statement, the Women of the Métis Nation, also known as Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak, said Venne was an inspiration to many Indigenous women. It said her advocacy work for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls was a catalyst for change in the justice system, as was her advocacy for Cindy Gladue. In 2011, Gladue was found dead in a hotel bathroom. Ontario truck driver Bradley Barton was initially charged with murder but was found not guilty in 2015. Barton was found guilty in 2021 of manslaughter, but the initial trial drew outrage as Gladue was repeatedly referred to as a “prostitute” and “native” throughout proceedings. “She brought attention to incidents of discrimination, such as in the case of Cindy Gladue, as emblematic of the broader mistreatment of Indigenous women within the criminal justice system,” the Women of the Métis Nation statement said. “Her work in justice profoundly influenced how Canadian law and the criminal justice system respond to systemic violence against Indigenous women.” Women of the Métis Nation president Melanie Omeniho said in the statement that Venne’s legacy will carry on for generations to come. “She was a true gift to us all, and her presence will be deeply missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing her,” Omeniho said. Venne was the recipient of numerous accolades throughout her life. She was awarded the Alberta Human Rights Award in 1998 and, in 2005, was the first Métis person to receive the Order of Canada. She was named to Alberta’s Order of Excellence in 2019. In a statement Monday, Minister of Indigenous Relations Rick Wilson said the province “lost a guiding light” with Venne’s passing. “Muriel leaves behind a lasting legacy of advocating for the rights of Indigenous women and people,” Wilson said. Venne ran as an NDP candidate in the 2012 provincial election, and the party said on social media Friday that “her life was an inspirational model of leadership, and her legacy is profound.” “She made a real difference in many lives,” said then NDP-leader and former Alberta cabinet minister Brian Mason on social media. “Her list of accomplishments and awards could take pages.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024. Advertisement AdvertisementOpenAI’s powerful video tool leaked by frustrated artists

House and cars hit by gunfire in Pitt Meadows shooting SundayIt’s not easy to defy gravity as a musical movie, particularly one that’s been adapted from a Broadway play. But with the record-breaking premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” last weekend, there may be more reason to try. The Jon M. Chu-directed adaptation topped the box office with a worldwide gross of $164.2 million, marking the biggest opening weekend for a movie based on a Broadway play, surpassing 2012’s “Les Misérables” ($103 million). The film’s domestic box-office total was $114 million. Bringing Broadway adaptations to the big screen can be a dicey proposition. For every “Wicked,” there is a box-office flop, such as Universal’s “Cats.” Film adaptations of Broadway plays come with established fan bases that already have expectations for a movie version, said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at movie ticket-seller Fandango and founder of tracking site Box Office Theory. “When they don’t feel the source material is honored, they will let the world know, especially on social media,” he said. “Conversely, when it works, they’ll let people know it, too.” Universal, in particular, has a long track record of Broadway musical movies. (The studio is also behind a current musical stage adaptation of “Death Becomes Her,” based on the 1992 Universal film.) The studio has struck box-office gold in the past with the star-studded “Les Miserables” and “Mamma Mia!,” though it has also been panned for adaptations like 2019’s “Cats,” which was lampooned for its uncanny blending of CGI and real-life stars (such as Taylor Swift) to create the singing felines. Universal’s 2021 adaptation of “Dear Evan Hansen” also faltered after receiving brutal reviews. Lately, other movie musicals have misfired at the box office. Warner Bros. Pictures’ comic book sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux” stumbled in theaters this fall , grossing just $206 million worldwide on a reported budget of at least $190 million before marketing. Earlier this year, Paramount Pictures’ “Mean Girls” raised eyebrows for downplaying its musical roots in trailers and received lukewarm reviews from critics, though it met analysts’ box-office expectations . Warner Bros.’ “The Color Purple” struggled too. It’s tough to bring the energy of a live stage production to the big screen, not to mention choosing the right play to adapt in the first place. Successful Broadway-to-Hollywood productions typically have a relatable story for audiences, memorable music and are well-known enough to bring out loyal fans of the stage show as well as people who had always heard about the play but never went. “The studios are very wary of losing money. They’re also very wary of musicals because they are a very distinct genre that people either really love or hate, and that doesn’t bode well for the box office,” said Desiree Garcia, associate professor at Dartmouth College, who wrote a book called “The Movie Musical.” “So how do you have a musical, but also not break the bank to have it? The tried-and-true product from the stage is the way to do it.” It also helps that “Wicked” is based on decades of previous intellectual property. The film is adapted from the long-running stage play of the same name, which itself is loosely based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, a reimagining of 1939’s film musical, “The Wizard of Oz” and the original L. Frank Baum book. “We are a studio that, under Donna Langley, likes to take big swings when we see the opportunity,” said Jim Orr, head of domestic distribution at Universal Pictures. “Wicked was definitely a big swing.” Part of the success of “Wicked” can also be attributed to the studio’s aggressive marketing campaign, which saw Universal partner with 400 brands worldwide, including Target and Starbucks. Stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were everywhere in the months leading up to the movie’s release, making appearances at the 2024 Paris Olympics (which was broadcast by Universal’s sister division, NBC) and the Oscars, as well as an extensive press tour. That promotion has also driven interest in the film’s music. Since the film soundtrack came out Nov. 22, the signature song “Defying Gravity,” performed by Erivo as Elphaba and Grande as Glinda, has been streamed on Spotify almost 4.9 million times. Grande’s upbeat “Popular” is right behind it, at nearly 4.6 million streams. “Wicked: Part Two” is scheduled for release next year, which analysts expect will be highly anticipated. That audience anticipation could convince other studios to reconsider musicals, “and not treat them as the black sheep of genres,” said Robbins of Fandango. “That’s probably going to be a big takeaway.”

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