Jack Black and Paul Rudd continue having fun on the Anaconda press tour

Programming note: We will be dark beginning Monday, December 22, and will return on Monday, January 5, 2026, with our coverage of the Critics Choice Awards. In between, daily chats at The Squawk will be open for holiday hangs. Off to the liminal space!

To wrap up LG’s 2025 and Friday Funday, let’s go with a couple of fun guys. Jack Black and Paul Rudd continue having fun on the Anaconda press tour, turning up in London in coordinated coveralls. And there was a chorus??? Looks like fun!

Anaconda doesn’t open till Christmas day, and right now it’s looking at a respectable $20-30 million four-day holiday frame. I will admit I’m a little bummed they went with the PG-13 rating, if anything should be rated R, it’s a meta parody of a 90s cult classic action movie starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd. But I get it, PG-13 makes more money in theaters, and studios need to bring in the biggest audience possible because the box office sucks this year.

Meanwhile, presumed holiday box office champ Avatar: Fire & Ash is now in theaters. Based on Thursday previews, it’s tracking for a $95-105 million opening weekend. There’s already some rending of clothes and gnashing of teeth about this, as it is lower than the initial $150 million prediction. But a couple things to keep in mind: 1) Undoubtedly some people are waiting till they’re off for Christmas to see this movie, so next week’s haul should be big, too, and 2) the box office has disappointed all year, why would that change now?

That said! I told Lainey the other day that I expect Fire & Ash to make less money than the previous two Avatars. Not that it won’t make money—it will. To the tune of upwards of $1.5 billion. But Avatar made $2.9 billion in 2009. And Avatar: The Way of Water made $2.3 billion in 2022. So if #3 comes in around $1.5 billion, it’s still a huge haul, but also…you see the pattern, right? That’s a downward trajectory. It’s not unlike what we saw with the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Each movie made a bucket of cash, but they also made a little less every time as audiences grew dissatisfied with the story.

Could this be the “no cultural footprint” thing catching up to Avatar? We’re three entries in and maybe audiences aren’t as fanatical as expected because the story isn’t actually that captivating. And I have a whole other thing about the technical advancements being less distinguishable to general audiences as we go on, but I’ll save that for grumpy January.

What else happened today…

Yes! Embrace secondhand shopping! I started thrifting out of necessity in my broke ass twenties, but I still do it even though I have some dispensable income because I reject the mass-market, sh-t made world we live in. I want sweaters to last more than one wash cycle, and furniture I don’t have to replace…ever. Secondhand is the way! (Popsugar)

Maya Hawke in a GREAT coat. I love an animal print in winter. It’s fun! She seems fun! (Go Fug Yourself)

Speaking of Hawkes, here’s papa Ethan talking…and talking. I love Ethan Hawke, he’s a yapper and makes for a good interview. He’s talking breakups—his divorce with Uma Thurman was Not Fun—River Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, beating toxic masculinity with a belief in “right behavior”, which sounds a little…optimistic, that just believing the best in people will solve the problem.

It is going to take a little more interrogation and effort. Really, Ethan Hawke sounds a little irritated that he’s being questioned about having a romantic scene with a younger actress (Margaret Qualley in Blue Moon), something no one would have talked about in the Nineties. Anyway, he remains fun to read! (Celebitchy)

I live for the annual Defector “Haters Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog”. In it, A+ crank Drew Magary reviews items in the Williams-Sonoma Catalog for ridiculousness compared to price point, such as the $329.95 Smeg Honeycomb toaster, about which Magary writes, “[…] when you need an ordinary toaster that looks like someone decorated it with contact paper, SMEG is the vendor for you.” Or the Nordic Ware Cast Aluminum Nonstick 75th Anniversary Bundt Cake Pan ($59.95), which boasts this satire-defying copy: “Designed during the historic year of 2020, the pan features simple yet elegant interwoven strands that symbolize togetherness, continuity and strength.”

The one thing I will disagree on is the 12-piece copper cookware set from French maker Mauviel ($2,599.95). Yes, it’s expensive, but it is handmade, and it will last forever. How do I know? I have a set of French copper cookware. It’s not Mauviel, but it is from a similarly old French brand, and I’ve bought it piece by piece at vintage stores, flea markets, and online finds over the years. This stuff is extremely well made and durable, and if you take care of it, it will take care of you. A couple of my pans are 100+ years old and doing just fine. If dropping $2600 for a complete, brand-new set is too much, just build your collection one piece at a time from secondhand finds like a normal person. (Defector)