The AI Issue
Where This Crazy AI Moment Finds Us
The latest streaming and TV ratings, box office grosses, industry data — and the narratives behind the numbers of the most-watched movies and TV shows.
Updated daily: May 1, 2026
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Big Number
1.16B
HBO Max drama The Pitt was the only streaming show or movie to record more than a billion minutes of viewing for Nielsen’s latest recorded week, coming in at 1.16 billion (down a scant amount from 1.21 billion a week earlier). It was also the eighth consecutive week above the billion-minute mark for The Pitt and the 11th time the show has reached that threshold since the second season premiered Jan. 8.
Box Office
King of Pop
In another win for a non-franchise title, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael pulled off a moon walk for the ages at the worldwide box office with a record-smashing $97 million domestic opening and $120.4 million foreign launch for a global blast-off of $217.4 million. It danced past the opening of 2026 sleeper Project Hail Mary to mark the second-biggest opening of the year in North America behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
STREAMING
The most-viewed series and movies of the week
↑ Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum had its best ever showing on the Nielsen charts with 865 million viewing minutes (its fourth season premiered April 1), beating the 842 million minutes for season three’s premiere week last year.
↑ Crime 101, starring Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry, led the movie top 10 with 696 million minutes of watch time. The film had its streaming premiere April 1 on Prime Video after a theatrical run in February and March.
↑ Netflix’s Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen improved significantly in its second week. The series had 821 million minutes of viewing, rising 69 percent on its premiere week total.
↑ Grey’s Anatomy marks its 322nd week on Nielsen’s top 10 charts, more than any other show.
BOX OFFICE
The highest-grossing films domestically each weekend
↑ Michael, coming in nearly $30 million ahead of expectations in North America, boasts the biggest domestic opening of all time for a biopic after passing up Oppenheimer ($80 million). Globally, it ranks as the top opening for a music biopic after stealing the show from Straight Outta Compton ($60.1 million) and Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody ($55 million), not adjusted for inflation.
BROADCAST
Top TV
The most-viewed network shows
What’s premiering on TV this week:
Friday, May 1
9:30 p.m.: Zillow Gone Wild (HGTV)
Sunday, May 3
10 p.m.: Watson (CBS, finale)
Monday, May 4
Lord of the Flies (Netflix)
Tuesday, May 5
NCIS: Origins (CBS, finale)
Wednesday, May 6
Citadel (Prime Video, all episodes)
The Other Bennet Sister (BritBox)
Thursday, May 7
MIA (Peacock)
The Terror: Devil in Silver (AMC+/Shudder)
8 p.m.: Jersey Shore Family Vacation (MTV, final season)
Inside View
The narrative behind the numbers
Multi
Viewers 12.9M
NFL Draft Scores
The first round of the NFL Draft delivered one of its biggest TV audiences ever. ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network averaged 12.9 million TV viewers on April 23, plus another 300,000 for alt-casts on social platforms. That was down a little from a year ago (13.6 million for round one), but this year’s first round ranks third all-time behind last year and the 2020 draft, which was the first live sports telecast after several weeks of COVID lockdowns. All three days of the draft averaged about 6.6 million viewers, down 12 percent year to year.
BROADWAY
The top theatrical productions each week
↑ Every Brilliant Thing, starring Daniel Radcliffe, continues to climb the box office rankings, bringing in $1.65 million last week, its highest gross yet.
Trailer Spotlight
Prada Is Back
In addition to Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, the 20th sequel out May 1 stars Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley and Justin Theroux.
PREVIEW
Upcoming Releases
Notable movies heading to theaters
TRENDING
This week’s most searched and shared content
SOURCE: PARROT ANALYTICS (Apr 10, 2026 – Apr 16, 2026)
This ranking shows the most in-demand series that have debuted in the last 365 days on major platforms with US audiences.
NEWS FEED
Box Office: ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Tracking for $80 Million Launch
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie is a big screen continuation of Disney+’s streaming series ‘The Mandalorian.’
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Box Office Stunner: ‘Michael’ Over the Moon With Record $97M U.S. Opening, $219M Globally
The Michael Jackson film scored the top launch ever for a biopic domestically after passing up ‘Oppenheimer,’ as well as the best global opening for a music biopic, after overcoming one of the biggest divides between audiences and critics in recent memory.
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Box Office Stunner: ‘Michael’ Rocketing to Other-Worldly $95M-$100M U.S. Debut, $200M Globally
Estimates keep getting revised upwards for Lionsgate’s record-smashing biopic as moviegoers bestow the film with near-perfect exit scores, sending far-from-thrilled critics packing.
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‘Mandalorian & Grogu:’ Lucasfilm to Sneak 25 Minutes at Imax Fan Event
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie is a continuation of Disney+’s streaming series and brings Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, to the big screen for the first time.
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‘Heart Eyes 2’ a Go for 2028 Release From Paramount, Spyglass
Director Josh Ruben will return to direct and co-write the script for the romantic slasher sequel.
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Box Office Preview: Michael Jackson Biopic Aims for Record Moonwalk With $65M-$70M U.S. Debut
All signs point to ‘Michael’ dodging controversy and passing up ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to score the top domestic opening ever for a music biopic, not adjusted for inflation.
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Box Office: ‘Super Mario’ and ‘Hail Mary’ Easily Scare Off ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’
The R-rated pic about a girl who returns to her family after being kidnapped years earlier in Egypt opened in third place domestically with $13.5 million. New offerings at the specialty box office include Anne Hathaway’s ‘Mother Mary.’
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