This Week in Pop Culture: July 20–26, 2019

Actress and Avenger Scarlet Johansson has been engaged to Saturday Night Live writer and performer Colin Jost for a few months, but it wasn’t until this week that a huge engagement ring appeared on Johansson’s finger. The diamond is rumored to be a whopping eleven carats and worth about $400,000. The couple is known for sharing an acerbic sense of humor, which means they like their comedy on the dark and bitter side.

The remake of The Lion King roared the loudest at the box office this week, taking in more than $78 million on opening day and about $190 million for the weekend. The film has also earned positive reviews, with many articles noting the advanced technology that makes the signing, dancing lions feel so believable.

Avengers: Endgame added enough ticket sales with its re-release this week to surpass Avatar and became the global box office leader of all time. The superhero extravaganza has now amassed almost $3 billion in box office. A benchmark is a guideline or a yardstick that can be used to evaluate or measure something.

The lineup for the annual Toronto Film Festival was announced this week. One of the big films premiering there will be Todd Phillips’ Joker movie which stars Joaquin Phoenix. The car-centric saga Ford v. Ferrari, which stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale, will also be shown at the festival. When something is described as eclectic, it means that it includes a wide variety of styles and approaches.

The first trailer for the movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was released this week. Tom Hanks plays iconic children’s television host Fred Rogers. Both Mr. Rogers and Tom Hanks are beloved by many, so this could be perfect casting. To be skeptical means you’re not easily convinced.

The annual San Diego Comic-Con was held this week. In recent years the convention has become an important place for previews of upcoming movies and television shows. Among the projects announced this year were a solo adventure film for Avenger Black Widow, a reboot of Blade starring Mahershala Ali, and an adaptation of the comic book The Eternals with Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani. When you have a slew of something, you have lots and lots of it.

Ed Sheeran unseated Drake on the Rolling Stone Artist 500 list thanks to the fact that his songs were streamed 107+ million times this week. Eleven of the songs from Sheeran’s latest album are on the Rolling Stone Song Chart as well. In this case, terrestrial radio is being contrasted with digital radio.

The MTV Video Music Award nominations were announced this week, including some new categories like “Best K-Pop Video.” Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift both received ten nominations overall. Newcomers Billie Eilish and Lil’ Nas X grabbed nine and eight nominations respectively. Cardi B., Halsey, The Jonas Brothers and BTS are also nominated for awards. The MTV VMAs will be handed out on August 26.

Conan O' Brien's show broadcast on location from Comic-Con in San Diego this week. His shorter format and bigger digital presence have really let Conan try just about anything he wants to, such as a sketch where dogs dressed up like Godzilla and King Kong tried to destroy a model of San Diego. The sketch didn't work technically and it didn't air on TV, but thanks to the internet you can still watch it a bazillion times. Spoiler alert: The dogs don't destroy much, get bored, and leave.

Hip hop artist A$AP Rocky has been in jail in Sweden since early this month. He is being held on assault charges, but his lawyers are claiming that Rocky and his friends were acting in self-defense. At the urging of celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, President Trump called the Swedish Prime Minister this week to make sure A$AP Rocky is treated fairly by the Swedish legal system. Reportedly, the Prime Minister said that there was little he could do to interfere in the matter.