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According to new data from TikTok and theater trade group Cinema United fan-made TikToks can now do what big marketing campaigns couldn't always achieve: keep a movie thriving after opening weekend.
TikTokers post enthusiastic movie reviews, they cosplay and reenact scenes, and some create new edits from the official trailers and footage. For instance, 24-year-old college student Josiah Pilet remixed
At this year's CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners, director Denis Villeneuve showed the first seven minutes of his thirdfilm. He told the crowd he made his latest installment of the science fiction saga for the fans.
And long before the December opening, fans have been posting their own reactions on TikTok.that's in the trailer and what we've seen is it's a soundbite that users on TikTok have embraced and made their own content with," says Cameron Curtis, executive vice president of global digital marketing for Warner Bros.
"We often see that the creator content on platform outperforms our traditional advertising content by 3-to-1. It's become just critical to our strategy and everything that we do," says Curtis. He says Warner Bros. and other studios have been partnering with TikTok creators to market their films. According to TikTok executives, that's for good reason.
"We really saw that the buzz doesn't stop with the opening weekend," says Dennis Papirowski, TikTok's global head of Entertainment and News. He says every day, the platform's users create 6.5 million posts related to content from new and classic films and TV shows. According to TikTok, half of their users say they discovered a new movie through the platform. And of those, more than a third looked up showtimes and purchased a movie ticket.
Dawn Yang, the company's global head of entertainment partnerships and business development, says studios tend to do a lot of marketing for the first weekend a film opens.
"But on TikTok, it really takes off after the first weekend," she says,"because people have seen the entire movie and they want to talk about it. " TikTokers post enthusiastic movie reviews, they cosplay and reenact scenes, and some create new edits from the official trailers and footage.
For instance, 24-year-old college student Josiah Pilet remixedFan edits would have been no-nos in the old Hollywood strategy of protecting intellectual property, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, which analyzes the box office.
"There was a time when studios did not want marketing messaging going out that wasn't from them," he says. Now, he says even negative responses to movies are welcome"as long as it's not something horrible, that can boost the profile of a movie and excitement around it, because sometimes people want to see what the fuss is all about.
" Dergarabedian says studios are increasingly embracing and harnessing the power of short TikToks made by the key Gen Z audience. "You have some movies that open huge, have a huge opening weekend, then drop by 70% or more in their second weekend," he says. "But the way you keep people coming back is that you not only have a great movie, but the social media engagement continues, amplifies and creates that excitement and the FOMO factor among potential moviegoers.
". Cinema United and TikTok's report found that buzz about the film surged on the platform during its opening week — and ticket sales barely dipped the following week. But social media platforms, including TikTok, have also sometimes caused minor headaches for theaters. Last year, fan-made posts chronicled the mayhem sparked by a line spoken by Jack Black's character inAudiences shouted"chicken jockey" along with him and tossed popcorn in theaters.
The ruckus was so chaotic that one fan even carried a live chicken into the movie, as shown by one viral video. But it's not just fans posting TikToks. As executive director of communications and content for B&B Theatres, Paul Farnsworth makes funny TikToks, starring himself and the staff — often in the lobby, playing around with the latest movies.
"It's like a little wink-wink joke, nothing that you're going to like, pay money to go see a stand-up comedian say," he says. "But I think for us, it indicates to our guests a sensibility of like the playfulness of the movies, the magic of the experience, the shared communal thing that we're all trying to achieve with them.
" Farnsworth says he asks the studios for guidance on the material — hoping his viral TikToks get people into movie theaters. FBI personnel confer with Torrance police officers on the street of the house connected to Cole Tomas Allen, the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents' Dinner late Saturday. The man arrested in connection to the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night was identified as Cole Allen by two sources familiar with the matter.
The sources spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The shooting took place outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was underway. President Donald Trump and other top officials were safely evacuated.on Sunday morning that they believed the gunman was targeting"administration officials," but didn't want to be more specific since the investigation was still underway.
He also said investigators believed the gunman had traveled to D.C. from California via train and was staying at the hotel with two firearms. The man arrested in connection with the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday night was identified as Cole Allen by two sources familiar with the matter.
The sourcesHealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., third from left, is taken out of the ballroom by security agents during a shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. The shooting took place outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was underway. President Donald Trump on Saturday released what appears to be video surveillance footage that shows a man quickly moving past security officials, who then draw their weapons.
Trump, who was safely evacuated with his wife, Melania, and other top officials, also shared images via his Truth Social account late Saturday of a shirtless man detained on the floor of the hotel.on Sunday morning that they believed the gunman was targeting"administration officials," but didn't want to be more specific since the investigation was still underway. He said the targets"likely" included the president.
He also said investigators believed the gunman had traveled to D.C. from California via train and was staying at the hotel with two firearms. Blanche said the man purchased those firearms within the last couple of years. At a news conference following the shooting, Jeffery Carroll of D.C.
's Metropolitan Police said that the suspect said the suspect"was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. " Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said at that same news briefing that the gunman would face federal charges. Authorities say the man will be charged Monday. FBI personnel confer with Torrance police officers on the street of the house connected to Cole Tomas Allen, the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents' Dinner late Saturday.
According to a LinkedIn profile under his name, Allen obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017, and a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025. The profile also says that one of his employers is C2 Education, a tutoring and college test prep center with a location in Torrance, where he was named"Teacher of the Month" in a December 2024 post.
“We were shocked to hear the news of the horrifying incident that transpired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement to assist them in their investigation. Violence of any kind is never the answer," C2 Education said in an email response to LAist seeking comments.
As news reports spread identifying the gunman as a California teacher from Torrance, the Torrance Unified School District said in a statement Saturday night that the alleged gunman is not an employee of the school district and has never worked there.
"While details are still emerging and facts remain under investigation, early reports have referenced a teacher from Torrance as being involved," the statement from Torrance Unified said. "We want to clarify that the individual named in the news is not an employee of the Torrance Unified School District and has never worked in our district.
" Cal State Dominguez Hills, in a statement, said a man with the name of the alleged gunman had graduated from the school in 2025, but could not confirm if it was the same person. "A student named Cole Allen graduated with a master’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025. The university cannot confirm if this is the same suspect identified in the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner," the statement said.
Caltech also said it had not independently confirmed the alleged gunman was the same person who attended their university.
"An undergraduate student by the name of Cole Allen graduated from Caltech in 2017," university officials said in a statement. "Based on media reports, we are aware that federal authorities have identified a suspect by the name of Cole Allen in the April 25 shooting incident at the Washington Correspondents’ Dinner. We do not have details from the investigation to confirm that the suspect and our undergraduate alumnus are the same person.
"Fifth grader Abigail Lam is one of 16 students in a mahjong math club at Bella Vista Elementary in Monterey Park. Behind her are second grader Josephine Lam and fourth grader Lucas Wong. The mahjong math club is the brainchild of fourth grade teacher Andy Luong, who learned how to play the game a couple years ago. In figuring out how to play the game, he learned how to teach it.
The math club at Bella Vista Elementary School is not a quiet affair — not with more than a dozen 10- and 11-year-olds stacking sets of mahjong.
"Remind me, math is the study of what? " fourth grade teacher Andy Luong asks the class. Some of the 16 students that make up the mahjong math club at Bella Vista Elementary, with club co-founder Rachel Hwang.
"When you first learned this tile, what did you use to memorize this? " Luong, co-founder of the Mahjong Math Club, asks. Luong locks in on a slide for a few seconds, just a flash. It features six tiles, divided into two rows.
He asks the class how many tiles they see.
"Three on the top and three on the bottom," a girl says. " So when I saw the pattern, I was like, 'Oh, it's six. '"The game that never goes out of stylein the 19th century, after decades if not centuries of evolution. It spread globally, adopting regional specificities, including in the U.S. after it landed in the late 1910s from Shanghai by way of an American businessman.
A few decades later, a group of Jewish American women established the National Mah Jongg League in New York. In recent years, fueled in part by the COVID-19 shutdown, an interest in the game has sparked among young Asian Americans. They form or attend social clubs in L.A. dedicated to the pastime, creating their own bond with the game.
" Mahjong has such a bad rap in the Asian American community," Luong said, who moved to the San Gabriel Valley about a decade ago. "Part of a big reason why my parents don't play is because they associate it with gambling. " The 30-year-old finally gave the game a spin in 2024, learning it from third grade teacher and math club co-founder Rachel Hwang. She cut her teeth by watching her family play.
Naturally, she threw Luong in the deep end.
"I was so overwhelmed. It's like, 'What do you mean I had to get a set? A set of how much?
' I'm like, 'I don't know what I'm doing,'" he said. Still, Luong fell head over heels, quickly becoming a regular at the mahjong social clubs be flexible, B) change up your game plan," Hwang said. "It's OK. Life is going to throw curve balls at you.
"If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. President Donald Trump was reported uninjured after a possible shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner tonight in Washington, D.C. , the Associated Press says.
Secret Service agents said a suspect is in custody. What sounded like gunshots were heard by gathered reporters shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET in the Washington Hilton. Several guests were seen fleeing the ballroom where hundreds of journalists, politicians and attendees were gathered — including Trump, Vice President Vance and other members of the administration. He is expected to appear at a press briefing shortly.
He praised Secret Service after being rushed from the ballroom. President Trump and the first lady are uninjured after a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C. A suspect is in custody, according to a statement from the U.S. Secret Service. In remarks from the White House after the incident, the president said a Secret Service agent is"doing great" after being shot in a bulletproof vest.
The Secret Service said the incident took place at a security screening area inside the Washington Hilton hotel near the entrance to the main ballroom where the event was taking place. There are no reports of further injuries. The suspect has been identified as Cole Allen, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.online which appears to show law enforcement reacting to an assailant sprinting through an area of the hotel. He also posted pictures of a man, shirtless, with his eyes closed lying face down on a carpet.
Cole is being charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, with more charges likely, according to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. At a law enforcement press conference, Jeffery Carroll of DC's Metropolitan Police said that the suspect"was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
" Law enforcement said they believe the suspect was a guest at the hotel. He was evaluated at a local hospital after the incident and was not hit by gunfire, according to law enforcement. Getty Images photographer Andrew Harnik takes photos as a security official points his weapon after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Gunshots were heard by gathered reporters shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET.
Several guests were seen fleeing the ballroom where hundreds of journalists, politicians and attendees were gathered — including Trump, Vice President Vance and other members of the administration. Video from inside the room showed security quickly clear the guests on the main stage — including the president and first lady. Someone can be heard shouting"stay down.
"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taken out of the ballroom by security agents during a shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner. "Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely.
The shooter has been apprehended," Trump wrote.
"I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service, because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it. And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are," Weijia Jiang, the president of the correspondents' association, said.
"I saw all of you reporting, and that's what we do. Thank God everybody's safe and and thank you for coming together tonight. We will do this again.
" First lady Melania Trump and President Trump were sitting next to each other just before they were rushed out of the ballroom at the Washington Hilton. Several members of Congress were seen leaving the event by foot, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. , and Rep.
Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.
"I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service, because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it. And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are," Weijia Jiang, the president of the correspondents' association, said.
"I saw all of you reporting, and that's what we do. Thank God everybody's safe and and thank you for coming together tonight. We will do this again.
"Both the president and members of the press have been targeted for violence in recent years. During his 2024 reelection effort, Trump was injured in a shooting at a July rally in Pennsylvania when a bullet whizzed past his head, grazing his ear. Two attendees were wounded, and rally-goer and former fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed.
In September 2024, a Secret Service agent saw a man holding a semi-automatic rifle hidden in the tree line at Trump International in West Palm Beach. The suspect fled in his car and was arrested a short time later. White House Correspondents Association President and CBS Senior White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang pauses while coming back to the stage to speak after a shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner.
During the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building, more than a dozen journalists were attacked in targeted assaults by rioters, according toto people and organizations he perceived to be critics of Donald Trump, including CNN offices in New York and Atlanta. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The Washington Hilton, which played host to Saturday's dinner, is also the site of past political violence — in 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously wounded outside of the hotel. Three others were also injured in the attack, including Reagan's press secretary James Brady, who sustained brain damage and was permanently disabled in the attack. He became a gun control activist, successfully lobbying alongside his wife Sarah Brady for a background check system for firearm sales.
The White House Press Briefing Room, where Trump made brief remarks after the incident, was later renamed in his honor.
"Roots of Our Labor" mural is now in place at the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center in Westlake near MacArthur Park. Led by artists Luis Mateo and Shakir Manners, the mural draws from stories collected by youth artists in a yearlong process from more than 75 residents in and around MacArthur Park. The mural shows a tree bearing avocados and oranges, with a trunk made of intertwined hands and a farmer harvesting the fruit.
On one side, a tamale vendor is depicted selling food, and on the other, an ice cream vendor pushes a cart as children gather around him. In the background, scenes from MacArthur Park play out. Before they ever picked up a paintbrush, youth artists behind a new mural in MacArthur Park started by listening.
“We interviewed people in MacArthur Park about their experiences living in the community,” said Tania Castro, a recent high school graduate and one of 20 young artists who worked on the project. “Some stories were a little bit sad because they said they lost their jobs and they need more opportunities. ” Those conversations shaped “Roots of Our Labor,” a new mural unveiled this week by LA Commons across the street from MacArthur Park.
The project, led by artists Luis Mateo and Shakir Manners, draws from stories collected in a yearlong process from more than 75 residents in and around MacArthur Park.
“They also said they loved the community. In the park, you can see a lot of vendors selling things like fruit and ice cream,” she said.
“And the kids love it. ” Youth artists and members of LA Commons pose for a photo in front of the "Roots of our labor" mural during its unveiling event on Thursday, April 23, in MacArthur Park. The mural shows a tree bearing avocados and oranges, with a trunk made of intertwined hands and a farmer harvesting the fruit.
On one side, a tamale vendor is depicted selling food, and on the other, an ice cream vendor pushes a cart as children gather around him. In the background, scenes from MacArthur Park play out. have fueled fear and instability, and where MacArthur Park is often defined by visible homelessness and crime, organizers said the mural is intended to highlight the diverse communities who live there and to frame the park as a shared space of connection, culture and daily life.
“I enjoyed making it because it really teaches us about the importance of community and being more inclusive and kind to each other,” said high school artist Leslie Gonzalez. “Most of the people we talked to told us about their backgrounds and they weren’t that pleasant but they still pushed through and got together for each other.
” Painted in March at the Central American Resource Center , the mural is installed on the southeastern side of the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center.
“Immigrants are critical to the community, especially here in MacArthur Park,” said Beth Peterson, community arts program director at LA Commons. “And I think the mural does a beautiful job of really sharing that story. It really shows how the hands of immigrants have really hung together to form this very beautiful community that we live in today. ” Detail of "Roots of Our Labor" mural at UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center.
The mural celebrates workers in the Westlake community.
“This artwork honors both the neighborhood and the people who shape it,” Mateo said. “Working with youth was essential to the process, allowing the mural to emerge from shared reflection rather than a single perspective. ” The new mural builds on LA Commons’ ongoing work in the area, following another mural unveiled last September at MacArthur Park Elementary School.
“Roots of Our Labor” is the organization’s second mural supported by Stop the Hate, a statewide initiative led by the Asian American and Pacific Islander community aimed at addressing hate incidents and promoting cross-cultural understanding. LA Commons, a nonprofit arts organization that creates community-based public art projects through partnerships and a mix of public and private funding, has been in the MacArthur Park area for more than 20 years. Its first public art project in the neighborhood was in 2003.
“Roots of Our Labor” is its 22nd public art project in MacArthur Park. Detail of "Roots of Our Labor" mural at UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center. The mural celebrates workers in the Westlake community. Manners, the artist, described the mural as a reflection of what he sees as the underlying spirit of MacArthur Park.
It represents “the unseen hands that sustain communities, emphasizing that true progress is built collectively through persistence, sacrifice and shared purpose,” he said.
“I feel like a light has shone on me and I’m proud of it because I’ve never done anything this big before,” she said.
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