Broadway produced its second highest grossing year in history during 2019, earning $1.7 billion, just 3% down from the year before. The season still managed to set a record for attendance, selling more tickets than any other season in modern history. Indeed, during the last decade attendance at Broadway shows was up 20% as ticket prices rose a whopping 70%.
Speaking of financial figures, the worldwide movie box office numbers are still being finalized for last year but it looks as if France and China may have set new records. So did Disney, whose movies grossed $11.1 billion globally, accounting for 33% of North America’s ticket sales.
Meanwhile, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association lent their voices to this year’s awards season by handing out their Golden Globes for achievement in film and television. Despite a few unexpected winners there was no indication there choices will hold sway of the Oscars in February.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why the Kingdom of Jordan is banning a movie it helped fund, the Coachella Music Festival announces this year’s lineup and some popular works enter the public domain.

Comscore Worldwide Box Office Rankings
https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings#tab_worldwide_box_office
‘Rise of Skywalker’ Tops $900M Globally, ‘Frozen 2’ #1 Animated Release All-Time & ‘Grudge’ Debuts with $11.3M
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed3379561476/
‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Elevates To $919M Global; ‘Jumanji’ Swings Past $600M WW
https://deadline.com/2020/01/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-jumanji-the-next-level-frozen-2-knives-out-the-gentlemen-global-international-box-office-1202820947/
France Box Office: Admissions Break 50-Year Record in 2019; Hollywood Tentpoles Rule
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/france-box-office-2019-admissions-break-50-year-record-hollywood-rules-1203454078/
Golden Globe Winners 2020: The Complete List
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/movies/golden-globes-winners-list.html
ASC Awards: Cinematography Nominees Include ‘1917,’ ‘Joker’
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/asc-awards-cinematography-nominees-include-1917-joker-1265757
‘Parasite’ Named Best Picture by National Society of Film Critics
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/national-society-film-critics-winners-2020-list-full-1266375
Global Digital Game Spending Hits Record $109B in 2019
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/global-digital-game-spending-hits-record-109-billion-mark-2019-1265275
‘Messiah’: Jordan’s Royal Film Commission Asks Netflix Not To Stream Provocative Series After Supporting Its Shoot