Entertainment News Roundup: ‘Licorice Pizza’ turns on the charm in quirky coming-of-age tale; ‘Spider-Man’ box office numbers climb in record books and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

‘Licorice Pizza’ turns on the charm in quirky coming-of-age tale

There’s no pizza and no licorice in director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest movie, but like a lot of the quirky characters and events in his coming-of-age story set in 1970s suburban Los Angeles, something about the title seemed right. “Licorice Pizza is actually a really famous San Fernando Valley record store that was very popular in the ’70s,” said Alana Haim, the musician who makes her screen debut as the witty but prickly young woman at the heart of the story. The film arrives in U.S. movie theaters nationwide on Dec. 25.

‘Spider-Man’ box office numbers climb in record books

Final box office figures showed “Spider-Man: No Way Home” hauled in an even bigger audience than originally estimated, for a weekend total of $260 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, distributor Sony Corp said on Monday. That lifted the superhero adventure to second on the list of all-time domestic openings for Hollywood films, just ahead of the nearly $258 million in 2018 for “Avengers: Infinity War.”

‘Titane’ director Ducournau flies flag for genre films, female voices

Director and writer Julia Ducournau says France’s decision to pick her movie “Titane” as its official contender in the Oscar race for best international feature film shows changing attitudes towards genre movies in her home country. The film, which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, was chosen over box office hits and other critically acclaimed movies to represent France.

China’s online sales queen Viya fined $210 million for tax evasion

China’s “queen of livestreaming” has been fined 1.34 billion yuan ($210.16 million) for tax evasion, tax authorities said on Monday. Internet celebrity Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, was fined for hiding personal income and other offences in 2019 and 2020, according to the tax bureau in Hangzhou, a city in southern China.

‘A Journal for Jordan’ brings a father’s life lessons for son to screen

Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington returns to the director’s chair for drama “A Journal for Jordan”, a story about love and life lessons based on a memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner Dana Canedy. Starring “Black Panther” actor Michael B. Jordan and “Monsters and Men” actress Chante Adams, the movie tells the story of how after Canedy’s fiancé U.S. Army First Sergeant Charles King was killed during the Iraq war, she turned a journal he left for their son into an essay and later a book.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)