In the end, #4 and #6 won this election, earning approximately 77 million votes from the American people and a projected 312 (out of 538) votes from theElectoral College. Trump and Vance are the first Republicans to win the popular vote sinceGeorge W. Bush andDick Cheney in2004, the first politicians sinceBarack Obama and #17 in2012 to be projected to win at least 312 Electoral College votes, and the first Republicans sinceGeorge H. W. Bush andDan Quayle in1988 to be projected to earn at least that many Electoral College votes.

Do you really think thatMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was a bigger cultural event this year than the two biggest sporting events (#15 and #16) and any new film (including the highest-grossing live action film at #7) that was released this year?

What did these two do that made them notorious in the first place? Born in 1968 and 1970, they shot their parents José and Kitty dead in 1989. After two trials, they were sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole in 1996. Based on alleged evidence that their father sexually abused them, they are currently being considered for resentencing, perhaps as early as this month, which couldtheoretically lead to their parole.

Ever since the conclusion ofthe Infinity Saga, theMCU has been off-track. Aside fromthreegoodfilms, all of its other movies have split opinions, lost money, or both, with netizens noticing a "post-Endgame curse". The firing ofJonathan Majors, who was already cast and introduced as thenew big bad ofthe Multiverse Saga, really put the MCU's future at question. Meanwhile,Fox'sX-Men Universe, which ended withtwo not sosuccessful films, had its future questioned as well when its star player (and its "anchor being")Wolverine, played byHugh Jackman in eight films across 18 years, was killed off (in what was more like a send-off) in the 2017 filmLogan. Other than theDeadpool films, every film afterLogan hasn't been a commercial success. Most importantly,Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox resulted in the X-Men character rights being returned toMarvel Studios. All of this has kept long-time X-Men fans asking, "What's next...?"

This film didn't just answer all those questions, it definitely delivered the pinnacle of entertainment, brought back classic portrayals, and showed that the MCU is back in delivering consistent hits!Kevin Feige definitely made the right choice to bring back beloved classic actors instead of recasting them to canonize the X-Men Universe as analternate universe (Earth-10005), with the main MCU remaining asEarth-616. Furthermore, theMCU's adjacent X-Men universe, introduced in thepost-credits scene ofThe Marvels, is expected to feature the cast of theoriginalX-Men trilogy and to be introduced in the upcoming filmThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. Following the film, theMCU seriesAgatha All Along andWhat If...? were also critical successes, as opposed to somepreviousnot-sogoodseries.

As for the future,Robert Downey Jr. is returning asDoctor Doom (most likely a variant ofTony Stark) andChris Evans is returning as yet unknown role (most likely a variant ofold Steve Rogers fromEndgame in an earlier timeline). This means that most of theOG cast will be back inAvengers: Doomsday exceptScarlett Johansson for now.

MCU may have had only one film this year, but it wasn't the onlyMarvel film this year asSony's cash grab attempts usingSpider-Man Characters continued withthreenewfilms in the so-calledSony's Spider-Man Universe although it doesn't have aSpider-Man. These films were so bad, that no one even wanted to see them or even consider them as Marvel movies. Especially their third film this year, it was called "the worst comic book adaption of all-time" and it even got this so-called universe canceled. Now hopefully Sony returns these character rights back toMarvel Studios for them to be properly incorporated into the MCU as Sony is already eyeing other once-successful franchises to make cash grab attempts...

The documents and the propositions written within it have been subject to dispute across several forms of shared media, with fears of the nation becoming an evangelicalautocracy as a result of a Republican win surfacing among large parts of the voterbase, and opposition to the document becoming one of the largest driving forces behind votes for theDemocrats.

With #4 now having been re-elected as president, and with several of the authors and individuals behind the document having been appointed to positions within the new administration, it seems likely that at least parts of the manifesto might see attempts to get officially implemented – however, it is ultimately a matter of time until it becomes evident how much of an impact the manifesto will actually have on future actions of the government.

Despite all of this movement and improvement, ChatGPT's page has seen an almost 2/3 loss in views. A lot of this is due to just how normalized AI has become over the span of just one year. In 2023, it was novel that a computer program could have conversations with you. It was seen as an amazing and terrifying advancement in technology. Just one year later, it’s completely normalized. Humanity has managed to make pretty good artificial intelligence and we’ve already grown bored of it. Only time will tell if this trend continues and AI becomes ingrained in society, or some massive advancement shakes things up. When asked for its take, the bot itself says that "in 2025, chatbots will evolve from novelties to indispensable tools", so I guess we should expect to see this page even further down in next year's report.

In February, at the66th Annual Grammy Awards, Swift became the first artist in history to winAlbum of the Year four times. She also announced her next album,The Tortured Poets Department, and headed to Asia to resumeThe Eras Tour, in which #26 served as opening act for the Australian and Singaporean shows. She also managed to attendSuper Bowl LVIII to see her boyfriend win his third Super Bowl; the match was the most-watched program in American television history.TTPD was released on April 19, but Swift surprised her loyalSwifties yet again when she released a second volume of songs after two hours. The album was an immediate smash in terms of sales and streaming in dozens of countries, though critical reception was polarized. The European leg of The Eras Tour began in May, withTTPD incorporated into the setlist.

Unfortunately, more tragic news would follow. In July, amass stabbing was done at a Swift-themed dance workshop in the UK; in August, anIslamic State-connectedterrorist plot forced the cancellation of three Eras Tour concerts in Austria.

Also in August, #4 postedAI-generated images asserting that Swift was supporting him for #2. After countless thinkpieces about Swift's silence on the election, on September 10, after thesecond presidential debate, Swift threw her support behind #3 and #31, in a statement signed "childless cat lady" (perhaps a swipe at #6).

The Eras Tour wrapped up in Canada in early December, with alimited-edition photobook about the tour published around the same time. The tour set the record for the highest-grossing tour of all-time at more than US$2 billion. Swift gave$197 million in bonuses to the crew. (If anyone from Taylor Swift Inc. is reading this, are y'all hiring? Not asking for a friend.)

Trump was a sore loser and repeatedly tried to claim fraud andoverturn the election, which only resulted in him gettingan impeachment andtwoindictments — plus that deplorable scene ofhis supporters raiding the Capitol. Biden still moved to the White House in 2021, and both the decisions ofhis presidency and the posture of vice-president turned presidential candidateKamala Harris (#3)led to the defeat of the Democratic Party this year (#2).

As for the Games, theU.S. won themost medals (126), but was tied withChina in gold medals (40), a first in Olympic history. Chinese swimmerZhang Yufei won the most medals with six (one silver, five bronze), while French swimmerLéon Marchand had the most gold medals with four. American gymnastSimone Biles (#42) won four medals; three of them, gold.

The Games were rife withconcerns and controversies, all the while occurring amidst theIsrael–Hamas war (#32) and theRussian invasion of Ukraine, as Olympic officials allowed athletes from both Israel and "neutral" Russian and Belarusian participants to compete.

Thisepicscience-fiction action film directed byNag Ashwin (pictured) and produced byVyjayanthi Movies, starring anensemble cast includingAmitabh Bachchan,Kamal Haasan,Prabhas,Deepika Padukone andDisha Patani was released in the last week of June and opened to positive reviews. Inspired byHindu scriptures, it is the first instalment in a plannedKalki Cinematic Universe with a second film titledKalki 2898 AD: Part 2 to enter production in February 2025. Set in apost-apocalyptic world in the year 2898 AD, this film follows a select group who are on a mission to savelab subject SUM-80's unborn child,Kalki.

In December, P. Diddy was sued, along withJay-Z, for allegedly raping a 13-year old girl at anMTV Video Music Awards party in 2004. By the end of the year, Diddy was being held atthe same Brooklyn detention center asthe UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter andthe crypto scam man.

Thisaction-drama film directed bySukumar and produced byMythri Movie Makers, starringAllu Arjun (pictured) in the titular role, alongsideRashmika Mandanna, andFahadh Faasil was released in the first week of December and opened to positive reviews. It is the second instalment in thePushpa film series with a third film in the series titledPushpa 3: The Rampage set to be released in 2028 or early 2029. This film follows Pushpa Raj, a small-time daily wagerer risen to the ranks of sandalwood smuggler, who struggles to sustain his business as he faces tough opposition from the police led by Shekhawat.

Nearly nine years after the release of her debut album—along the way, she had four more albums, a few films, and some TV appearances—her sixth studio album,Short n' Sweet, came this year. Sabrina even served as the opening act onTaylor Swift'sEras Tour to promote the then-upcoming album. Its first single "Espresso" was released on April 11 and peaked at number three on theBillboard Hot 100 chart. She followed it up with a second single, "Please Please Please", on June 6, which became her first number one single on the Hot 100. With these songs, she became the first female artist to hold the number one and two positions on theUK singles chart for three weeks in a row. She was featured as musical guest onSaturday Night Live'sseason 49 finale, where she performed "Espresso" along with a medley oftwoother songs and portrayedDaphne Blake in a pre-recorded sketch.

Short n' Sweet was released on August 23 and debuted atop theBillboard 200. Every song from the album charted within the top-50 of the Hot 100. The third single, "Taste" was released alongside the album and debuted at number two on the chart. The three singles have remained simultaneously in the top ten of theBillboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks, a record for any female artist in history. Sabrina also became the first artist in 71 years to spend 20 weeks atop the UK singles chart in acalendar year, with "Taste" becoming the longest-running UK number one of 2024.

In September, Sabrina embarked on theShort n' Sweet Tour, her firstarena tour, and teased aNetflix holiday special,A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, for which she served as a producer. The special was released on December 6, and featured duets withChappell Roan (#41) andTyla, among others. On December 10, it was reported that "Espresso" garnered the most streams globally on Spotify during 2024, hitting 1.6 billion streams. She also won and got nominated for a handful of awards this year, but it would require at least two paragraphs to list them here at this rate, so just head over toher awards page and see them if you wanted. Just know there were a total of 38 nominations this yearalone.

Two biggest Indian films of the year,Pushpa 2 (#21) andKalki 2898 AD (#18), are both fromTollywood and made it onto the Top 50 list. The two films shattered multiple box office records to emerge as the2nd and 4th highest-grossing Telugu films of all-time and as the 3rd and 7th highest-grossing Indian films of all-time respectively. Of the top 10 grossing films 4 have came fromTollywood, 5 fromBollywood but, out of the top 5, 3 from Tollywood and only one from Bollywood. AlthoughKollywood has actors with international fandom unlike others it couldn't make it past 15th place. At the end of 2024, the top 3 highest-grossing Indian films areDangal (2016 – Bollywood film),Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017 – Tollywood film) andPushpa 2.

Now considering the numbers as of 2024, compared to the 50th (Alice in Wonderland,US$1.025 billion) and 1st (Avatar,US$2.924 billion)highest-grossing films...

• Pushpa 2 had made₹1,720crore (US$200 million) which is 19.51% ofAlice in Wonderland and 6.84% ofAvatar.
• Baahubali 2 made₹1,811crore (US$210 million) which is 20.49% ofAlice in Wonderland and 7.18% ofAvatar.
• Dangal made₹2,500crore (US$300 million) which is 28.29% ofAlice in Wonderland and 9.92% ofAvatar.

Many of the international community's worst fears were realized asIsrael's cold war with Iran escalated intoa direct confrontation between the nations, including the firstIranian attack on Israeli soil. The war also instigateda broader regional crisis that includeda conflict between Israel andHezbollah,attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by theHouthis (with assistance from Iran and Russia), the assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah's leaders by Israel, and theSyrian civil war flaring up again witha series of opposition offenses that led tothe collapse ofBashar al-Assad'sBa'athist regime. As the year ends, Iran'sAxis of Resistance has been decimated, leading to fears that Iran will weaponizeits nuclear program in an act of desperation.

Back in Gaza, Israel and Hamas both standaccused of war crimes, including the use ofhuman shields, usingstarvation as a weapon of war, and—perhaps most severely—genocide. TheInternational Criminal Court hasissued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, andallegations of genocide by Israel areunder review by theInternational Court of Justice.US support for Israel emerged as a major issue in #2. The war has also distracted the international community from theRussian invasion of Ukraine, which didn't make the top 50 this year despite continuing for a third year withan intervention by North Korea and seemingly no end in sight.

More tangentially, various political figures in #14 whose ancestors hail from India have made headlines in 2024, including:

1. No. 3 becoming theUnited States Democratic Party nominee after #17 dropped out
2. The wife of #6 slating to become the firstIndian AmericanSecond Lady of the United States
3. Vivek Ramaswamy running forpresident as a Republican and being appointed to chair theDepartment of Government Efficiency
4. Nikki Haley also running forpresident as a Republican and becoming the first femaleUnited States Republican Party member to win apresidential primary, inWashington, D.C.

Finally, current events aside, as a user interested in linguistics, I have been fascinated by the number oflanguages of India. Contrary to assumptions in my social circle, English andHindi are far from the only tongues spoken in the country!

This prequel series adapting Martin's 2018fantasy novel,Fire & Blood was greenlit a few months after theGoT finale. This series begins about 100 years after theSeven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest, nearly 200 years before the events ofGame of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth ofDaenerys Targaryen. It portrays the events leading up to the decline ofHouse Targaryen, a devastatingwar of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons". Theseries premiere in 2022 was watched by over 10 million viewers across the linear channels andHBO Max on the first day, the biggest in HBO's history. Thefirst seasonended with things set-up for the forthcoming war keeping audiences waiting for thesecond season which premiered this year. However, the showrunners decided to move the war toseason 3, while using the entire second season as a filler season, which viewers didn't like, but that didn't affect the interest at all, and throughout the season's run the series appeared in the Top 25 reports every week (except one due to the political stuffs). Now the show has been renewed for athird season and hopefully they'll do the war, but don't over-expect it because a fourth season is also in the works so who knows...

Another treat being cooked for theGoT fans is the second prequel series,A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms which will be based on Martin's fantasynovellas,Tales of Dunk and Egg which is taking place 90 years beforeGame of Thrones meaning it's set right betweenGame of Thrones andHouse of the Dragon. It will follow the adventures ofSer Duncan the Tall (who would become the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard) and then prince Aegon Targaryen (who would become the future KingAegon V Targaryen). The filming for the first season is wrapped and is set to premiere in 2025.

Genre-defying and in development since 2009, the film received the bulk of its pageviews in the first quarter of 2024, thanks to positive word-of-mouth following its December 2023 U.S. theatrical release and its January 2024 theatrical release in the U.K. and Ireland. A critical and commercial success ($117.6 million grossed off a $35 million budget), the film earned several award nominations and went on to win four Oscars. Stone herself was pegged as the Best Actress at the Oscars, Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs.

Lanthimos brought back Stone and herPoor Things co-starsWillem Dafoe andMargaret Qualley for his 2024 project,Kinds of Kindness. Its ensemble was rounded out byJesse Plemons,Hong Chau,Joe Alwyn,Mamoudou Athie, andHunter Schafer, though it was released to milder critical reception thanPoor Things. Joined byAlicia Silverstone, Stone and Plemons return in Lanthimos' next film,Bugonia, set to release this November. If it can capture the same receptionPoor Things garnered, perhaps it will be on the 2025 (or 2026?) Top 50 Report?

Thankfully, 2024 put us further on the path toward treating Sydney Sweeney as more than justa poorly-rendered AI fantasy girl. She and co-starGlen Powell managed to convince everyone to go see last year’s romcom rompAnyone but You, their looseShakespeare retelling that inexplicably does not featurethat Moldy Peaches song fromJuno, by also convincing everyone that they were involved in a behind-the-scenes affair. Sweeneygetting bit by a spider on set I guess made her thinkMadame Web,arguably this year's biggest flop, was a good idea, but all's well that ends well: it was apparently what allowedAnyone But You, which she also executive produced and which became a veritable hit,to even get made in the first place.Immaculate followed, a horror movie about nuns that she produced and starred in, and even if it didn't exactly reach the biblical box office heights ofABY, it was a divine reminder of Sweeney's potential as a leading lady.

Most exciting, however, is her upcoming role ina yet-untitled biopic about boxer Christy Martin, for which she's made herself look appropriately butch, buff, and badass. Maybe by next year's list, we'll see Sweeney's name and all forget why we ever associated it with her boobs. Though that might be asking a bit much from the Internet...

There werethe scented candles. There werethe semen-themed soundtrack vinyls. Oh, and there was alsothe film's star choking a journalist—perhaps inspired by acertain Icelandic someone?

Indeed, one scene from this slightly homoerotic, highly satirical take on the unfathomably wealthy—in whichBarry Keoghan's Oliver, who has wormed his way into the life and namesake mansion ofOxford golden boy Felix (played byJacob Elordi), watches as Felix masturbates in a bathtub and then drinks up his leftover jism—left enough of a taste in just about everyone's mouths that it hardened itself into one of the most memorable films of the year.

ThisEmerald Fennell project's big moment may have come at the top of this year, but it actually came out theatrically in November of last year and then onPrime Video the following month. It's filled with scenes reverse engineered to be iconic, so much so that many of its touchstones seemed to outlast the film's own legacy:Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 2001 hit "Murder on the Dancefloor" was revitalized (on the dancefloor) after showing up in the movie and then, of course, all over TikTok, where people who didn't pick up on who the movie was making fun ofshowed off their own bewilderingly humongous homes. Another deliberately disturbing scene toward the end of the film, wherein a character has sex with another character's grave, brought the shock factor to a fever pitch. Most importantly,Princess Superstar made her triumphant returnto the public eye.

So, is it any good? I won't state my own feelings on the matter (and can't—I didn't manage to finish the movie!) but reviewers seemed a bit too salty and burned out by the film's narrative choices, dialogue, and ending for me to see this one makingThe Criterion Collection any time soon.

Over 19 years after his last sanctioned fight, early this year Tyson decided to cash in on this fame by boxing againstcontroversial Youtuber turned boxerJake Paul. Tyson, who at age 58 is 31 years older than Paul, got the fight delayed by a few months due to an ulcer flare up. Paul won the fight by unanimous decision. It was probably a bit humiliating for this all-time great to lose to one of the stars ofBizaardvark, but that blow was probably softed by his $20 million payout.

Like Sabrina Carpenter, she had an incredibly successful year that was capped off with a nomination in all of the "Big Four" award categories at the upcomingGrammys (and six total). Indeed, her debut albumThe Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was nominated for Best Album (and Best Pop Vocal Album) and although she's been releasing music for a while now, her 2024 breakthrough saw her nominated for Best New Artist. That breakthrough was mostly propelled by "Good Luck, Babe!", which earned noms for both Best Record and Best Song of the Year, as well as Best Pop Solo Performance.

Chappell's pageviews had nearly identical peaks in September and November, following her appearances at theMTV VMAs and as the musical guest onSNL, respectively, truly solidifying her in American and music pop culture. Though Taylor Swift is likely to remain ubiquitous in that lane, the genre's other biggest stars of the 2010s and early 2020s seem to be busy exploring other genres (Beyoncé), spending some of their time with other mediums (Ariana Grande), or downright flopping (Katy Perry). As such, 2024 might prove to be the year that pop's newest mainstays truly emerged and etched out the beginning of a new era with Sabrina and Chappell breaking through, Billiereminding listeners she's one of this era's biggest, and Charliproviding pop fans an electro/dance sound at the clubs. And yes, of course, for theOliviastans out there, she did alsohave herself a year.

1. As of this post, Hillary Clinton remains the only woman to win the national popular vote in an American presidential election, as #3 received approximately two million fewer votes than #4.
2. The Silver State voted for Clinton in 2016 (and for #17 in #13) yet against #3 in 2024, the only state to do so.

The Gregory Maguire alternate books started with the 1995parallel novel,Wicked, which was adapted intoa musical of the same name in 2003 byStephen Schwartz andWinnie Holzman.Universal Pictures andMarc Platt, who both produced the 2003 musical, announced a film adaptation in 2012. After a long development and multiple delays, partlydue to the COVID-19 pandemic as well,Jon M. Chu was hired to direct, withCynthia Erivo andAriana Grande-Butera being cast asElphaba (who would become theWicked Witch of the West) andGalinda (who would becomeGlinda the Good Witch) in 2021. The adaptation was split into two parts to avoid missing any plot points while also expanding the characters' journeys and relationships. Filming began in England in December 2022, was interrupted by the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and was resumed and completed in January 2024.

The film premiered at theState Theatre inSydney, Australia, on 3 November, and was theatrically released in the United States on 22 November. It received positive reviews from critics and was named one of the best films of 2024 by theAmerican Film Institute. It debuted withUS$112.5 million in the US and Canada andUS$162.9 million worldwide, topping both box offices. It was the largest opening ever for a film based on a Broadway musical. The following Thursday, it madeUS$16.9 million, the second-bestThanksgiving Day total ever behindMoana 2 (US$28 million), released the day prior. It grossedUS$32 million onBlack Friday. It has grossedUS$643 million worldwide against aUS$150 million budget, becoming the highest-grossingOz-related film, thehighest-grossing musical film adaptation of all time, and thesixth highest-grossing film of 2024. The second part, titledWicked: For Good which would adapt themusical's second act, is scheduled for release in November 2025.

As for what he's done this year to generate all those views... well, he found the back of the net 6 times in 11 appearances for his country, including one in the semi-finals of the2024 Copa América – which Argentina won (again and for a record 16 total Copa wins). That caps not one,not two,not three, butfour international trophies forLa Albiceleste in these four consecutive years Messi's been on the Top 50 Report.

Club wise: in his second, though firstfull, season withInter Miami, he scored 23 goals in 25 appearances to become the club's all-time leading scorer. He also helped the club clinch theSupporters' Shield while leading Miami to its firstMLS Cup playoff appearance. Adding a couple individual MLS records (most assists in a single game, most goal contributions in a single game) and an MLS club record for Miami (most points in a season), one can really see that even at 37, Messi's still got it.
Father Time is of course undefeated in life, particularly in sports. That said, Messi is solidifying himself in thatBrady/LeBron category of all-timers who were not only greats in their sports at their peaks, but also had all-time longevity at their craft.