Entertainment News Roundup: Spider-Man Dominates, Tupac Trial Nears a Verdict, Dollyfest Announced and Hollywood Turns Toward Awards Season
August 31, 2026
The final day of August is delivering an unusually broad mix of entertainment news.
A superhero blockbuster continues rewriting box-office history. A movie Hollywood once planned to shelve has become an unlikely theatrical success. Closing arguments have begun in the long-awaited trial surrounding the killing of Tupac Shakur. Dolly Parton's legacy is moving toward a global celebration. Hollywood's attention is shifting to Venice as awards season approaches, and one of radio's most famous voices is making the jump to streaming.
Meanwhile, right here in Texas, the ownership of South by Southwest has entered a new era.
Here's what's moving across entertainment today.
Spider-Man refuses to leave the top of the box office
Five weekends into its theatrical run, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” remains the No. 1 movie in North America.
The film earned approximately $22.2 million domestically over the weekend, keeping the superhero franchise in first place as the summer movie season winds down. Its global total has climbed to roughly $2.3 billion, placing it among the highest-grossing movies in history.
That performance is remarkable considering how much entertainment consumption has shifted toward streaming.
But there is an important wrinkle beneath the enormous revenue numbers.
Reuters recently reported that the overall U.S. box office is having its strongest post-pandemic year, but fewer people are actually going to theaters than in the years before COVID-19. Premium formats and higher ticket prices are helping boost revenue even as attendance remains lower.
In other words, Hollywood is making more money from fewer moviegoers.
That raises an interesting long-term question: are theaters truly experiencing a comeback, or has Hollywood simply become better at turning major event movies into premium-priced experiences?
“Coyote vs. Acme” gets the Hollywood comeback nobody expected
Perhaps the most entertaining box-office story isn't Spider-Man at all.
It's “Coyote vs. Acme.”
The Looney Tunes movie opened with approximately $15.5 million, good enough for second place at the North American box office.
Normally, a $15 million opening wouldn't shake Hollywood.
The backstory changes everything.
Warner Bros. originally decided not to release the completed film, making it one of the most controversial examples of studios shelving finished movies for financial reasons.
After an enormous backlash from filmmakers and fans, Ketchup Entertainment acquired the movie and eventually brought it to theaters.
Now the supposedly disposable movie is playing in cinemas and drawing audiences.
That's Hollywood irony with anvils falling from the sky.
The opening became the largest in Ketchup Entertainment's history, providing another argument for filmmakers who have criticized the industry's growing willingness to cancel completed projects rather than allow audiences to decide whether they succeed.
The movie's long-term profitability remains uncertain, but culturally the release is already an important victory.
People were finally allowed to watch the thing.
Sometimes that's step one.
Ridley Scott's “The Dog Stars” struggles
Not every movie benefited from the holiday weekend.
Ridley Scott's “The Dog Stars” opened with only about $8 million domestically, a disappointing debut for a production reportedly carrying a budget exceeding $80 million.
The contrast is striking.
A massive production from one of Hollywood's most famous directors struggled while a Looney Tunes movie once marked for the corporate graveyard nearly doubled its opening.
That doesn't mean audiences suddenly dislike prestige filmmakers.
But it does reinforce a reality Hollywood continues confronting:
Budgets don't create cultural urgency.
Audiences increasingly appear willing to show up when a movie feels like an event, has strong word of mouth, or carries a story larger than the film itself.
“Coyote vs. Acme” had all three.
Closing arguments begin in the Tupac Shakur murder trial
One of the most closely watched legal proceedings in music history reached a critical stage Monday.
Closing arguments began in Las Vegas in the murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed rapper Tupac Shakur.
Davis has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors argue that Davis organized the attack following a confrontation involving Shakur's entourage and Davis' nephew earlier that evening.
The government's case relies significantly on statements Davis made over the years in interviews, a memoir and recorded conversations with investigators.
The defense argues those statements were exaggerated and that prosecutors lack sufficient physical evidence tying Davis to the murder.
Shakur was only 25 when he died six days after being shot on Sept. 7, 1996.
His killing became one of the most infamous unsolved cases in American music history and remains inseparable from conversations about hip-hop culture, celebrity, gang violence and the East Coast-West Coast rivalry of the 1990s.
Nearly three decades later, a jury may finally decide whether prosecutors have established criminal responsibility for the attack.
Whatever the verdict, the trial represents an extraordinary moment for hip-hop history.
Dolly Parton's vision becomes Dollyfest
The entertainment world is also continuing to celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80.
On Monday, Parton's estate announced Dollyfest, a major celebration planned for 2027 in Nashville and London.
What makes the announcement especially meaningful is that the idea wasn't created after her death.
According to organizers, Parton herself had originally envisioned the event around her 80th birthday.
Health complications caused those plans to change, and the concept will now become a celebration of her music, personality and global cultural influence.
Her death has already triggered an extraordinary resurgence of interest in her catalog.
AP reported that worldwide streaming of Parton's music surged dramatically following her death, briefly making her the most-streamed artist globally.
Artists including Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Paul McCartney and numerous others have publicly celebrated her influence.
What happens next with Dollyfest could turn the event into something much larger than a memorial.
Parton occupied a rare space in American culture where country music, pop culture, movies, business, philanthropy and faith all intersected.
A Nashville-to-London celebration feels appropriately enormous.
Venice prepares to fire the starting gun on awards season
Hollywood is also packing its tuxedos.
The 83rd Venice Film Festival begins Wednesday, Sept. 2, bringing major stars, filmmakers, documentaries and potential Oscar contenders to Italy.
Among those expected are George Clooney, Robert Pattinson and Penélope Cruz, while filmmaker and actor Maggie Gyllenhaal leads the festival jury.
Clooney and Ellen Burstyn are scheduled to receive lifetime achievement honors.
Several films premiering in Venice could become major awards contenders later this year, continuing the festival's role as one of the unofficial starting lines for Oscar season.
This year's festival will not be entirely champagne and red carpets.
Several politically charged documentaries are also generating attention, including films addressing Russia, Gaza and Elon Musk.
The competition lineup has additionally faced criticism over gender representation, with AP reporting that only one competition film this year is directed by a woman.
Venice has always existed somewhere between art festival, luxury spectacle and awards-season chessboard.
This year appears ready to add politics directly into that cocktail.
Howard Stern enters the streaming era
Another major media shift was announced Monday.
“The Howard Stern Show” is officially coming to HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that filmed versions of Stern's SiriusXM program will begin streaming globally on Sept. 17, with new episodes arriving Thursdays.
This is significant because Stern has spent decades reinventing himself across radio formats while largely keeping his full program within subscription audio.
Now the show is becoming a streaming-video product.
Stern's SiriusXM program returns Sept. 14, followed three days later by the HBO Max launch.
It is another example of the walls between radio, podcasts, television and streaming becoming increasingly meaningless.
A modern entertainment personality isn't necessarily a “radio host,” “TV host” or “podcaster” anymore.
The real product is the audience.
The platform is simply wherever that audience wants to watch or listen.
Streaming gets crowded again in September
Viewers who would rather stay home will have plenty to choose from.
This week's major streaming arrivals include “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” on Disney+, a new “Scary Movie,” “The Gentlemen” Season 2, another season of “Chad Powers,” and Prime Video thriller “The Runner.”
Music releases include Ellie Goulding's “I Know Too Much” and Natalie Imbruglia's new album “Algorithm.”
The amount of content coming into homes illustrates both the strength and the problem with modern entertainment.
There is more to watch than ever.
There is also more to ignore than ever.
Winning attention may now be more difficult than producing entertainment in the first place.
SXSW enters a new ownership era in Texas
There's also a major entertainment-business development close to home.
Penske Media Corporation has taken full ownership of South by Southwest, completing a gradual expansion of its stake in the Austin-based festival.
Penske first invested in SXSW in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the festival's finances.
The company eventually became majority owner and has now acquired the remaining ownership interests.
SXSW says the festival will remain headquartered in Austin.
The 2027 edition is scheduled for March 15-21, with SXSW EDU preceding it.
That matters well beyond Austin.
SXSW sits at the intersection of music, movies, television, technology, startups, media and culture, making it one of Texas' most internationally recognizable creative institutions.
Penske's portfolio includes major entertainment publications and brands, giving the company enormous influence throughout Hollywood and the broader media business.
The big question will be whether greater corporate ownership helps SXSW expand globally while preserving the strange, creative Austin DNA that made the festival important in the first place.
That's the tightrope.
Grow the machine without sanding all the weirdness off it.
Entertainment is becoming one giant ecosystem
Put all these stories together and something larger becomes visible.
Movies aren't just movies anymore.
They're theatrical releases, streaming products, franchises, social-media events and intellectual property.
Radio isn't simply radio.
Howard Stern can move from satellite audio into HBO Max without fundamentally changing what audiences are following: Howard Stern.
A country singer's legacy can become a global festival.
A nearly 30-year-old hip-hop murder can still dominate today's cultural conversation.
A technology and music conference born in Austin can become part of an international media empire.
And a cartoon movie that one corporation considered worthless can suddenly become one of the weekend's biggest entertainment stories after another company gives audiences the chance to see it.
The common denominator is attention.
Every studio, artist, streamer, festival, media company and creator is competing for the same limited resource:
our time.
That may be the biggest entertainment story of all.
The industry has never had more ways to reach an audience.
The audience has never had more reasons to swipe to something else.
And somewhere in the middle, Spider-Man is apparently still swinging around collecting billions.
Not a bad way to close August. 🍿
Sources and Full Links
Associated Press: “Coyote vs. Acme” opens with $15.5 million while Spider-Man remains No. 1
https://wsvn.com/entertainment/meep-meep-coyote-vs-acme-opens-with-15-5-million-spider-man-stays-no-1-for-fifth-weekend/
Deadline: Weekend box office including Spider-Man, Coyote vs. Acme and The Dog Stars
https://deadline.com/2026/08/box-office-coyote-vs-acme-dog-stars-spider-man-1237061934/
Reuters: U.S. box office is booming, but fewer people are going to movies
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-box-office-is-booming-fewer-people-are-going-movies-2026-08-05/
Associated Press: Closing arguments begin in Tupac Shakur murder trial
https://apnews.com/article/0b0b080d73f91cd122b6dd438e5bbb80
Reuters: Closing arguments in the Tupac Shakur killing trial
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/jury-hear-closing-arguments-tupac-killing-trial-2026-08-31/
Associated Press: Dolly Parton's estate announces Dollyfest
https://apnews.com/article/5b71c18686aa01d2b91192a4a01161c1
Associated Press: Dolly Parton streaming surges following her death
https://apnews.com/article/169ceb8052c6b0b8c3b41950d6a48569
Associated Press: Tributes to Dolly Parton from across entertainment
https://apnews.com/article/3f392bf411ff828d1e4bcd8f9acf37be
Associated Press: Guide to the 2026 Venice Film Festival
https://apnews.com/article/what-to-know-2026-venice-film-festival-449c47effe9d46d8f067d258d8ac5f4f
Associated Press: Venice stars, documentaries and awards contenders
https://apnews.com/article/96e199af7b769e8bb07e7e9150802846
Warner Bros. Discovery: The Howard Stern Show coming to HBO Max
https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbo-max-brings-howard-stern-show-streaming-debuting-september-17
Associated Press: What to stream this week, including Star Wars, Scary Movie and new music
https://apnews.com/article/c4f2859a2c7532c9ca43cccc0477e6bf
Penske Media Corporation: Penske takes full ownership of SXSW
https://www.pmc.com/news/penske-media-corporation-increases-ownership-of-sxsw
TheWrap: Penske Media takes full ownership of SXSW
https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/sxsw-penske-media-full-ownership/