In a textbook counter-programming move this weekend, a period drama aimed at older audiences delivered a top-10 debut at a domestic marketplace dominated by blockbusters for Gen Z crowds. This past weekend, the holdover horror blockbuster Obsession delivered its second successive revenue uptick and passed the coveted $100 million mark at the domestic box office. Its trajectory has been unprecedented, and it's safe to say that the microbudget sensation is one of the greatest box-office success stories of the modern era. It was joined this weekend by fellow horror title Backrooms, which shattered expectations and broke numerous records in its debut frame. Also directed by a man in his 20s who honed his skills on YouTube before leaping to feature filmmaking, Backrooms delivered a grand debut in the same league as Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimerand Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two.

After a solid opening weekend at the domestic box office, during which it outperformed last year's Nuremberg, the new World War II drama-thriller film Pressurehas passed the lifetime haul of another beloved WWII movie. The appetite for a good historical war movie seems to vary depending on when it's released — for instance, these movies typically did better at the box office a couple of decades ago. But, in recent years, the audience for WWII content seems to have moved almost entirely to streaming. This past week was a major one for the genre, beginning with the History Channel documentary series World War II with Tom Hanks and ending with Pressure, which grossed more than $5.5 million in its first weekend.

War films can be very serious at times. Understandable, given the utterly grim subject matter at play. After all, war isn't fun. But it can be chaotic, and pleasure and entertainment can be derived from it. Why not make suffering frantic, in a rock-and-roll kind of way? That's exactly the vibe that this movie has going for it.

JAKARTA, June 1 — A suspected shell left over from World War II exploded under a stilt house in an Indonesian fishing village, killing five people and wounding nearly 20, police said today. 

The blast in Indonesia’s restive eastern Papua region startled locals with a thunderous boom yesterday afternoon, emitting a ball of flames followed by a thick smoke column, according to footage broadcast on Kompas TV.

Nine homes were destroyed.

“The source of the explosion is strongly suspected to have been a bomb or mortar left over from World War II,” Papua police spokesman Cahyo Sukarnito told AFP.

Three people are still recorded as missing, but Cahyo said several body parts have yet to be identified.

At least 19 people were treated for minor injuries, he added.

“We will provide further updates once the search for victims and the investigation have been completed,” said Cahyo.

Last year, nine civilians were among 13 people killed in West Java province when an explosion occurred as Indonesian troops attempted to dispose of rejected munitions by detonating them in a pit.

Indonesia was a major battle zone during WWII when Japanese forces occupied what was then the Dutch East Indies, and Allied forces fought to retake control. — AFP

It says something when a film enters into an already crowded genre, but doesn't just fit in nicely, it ends up becoming the defining film of that genre. When people think of World War II movies, chances are they'll think of this one, because of the beginning, the middle, and the end. Yep, the whole thing is perfect, it's a masterpiece, and it's a sin if you've never seen it.

World War II movies have long been one of the most popular genres of films, but they have surged back into the spotlight in recent years thanks to new hits like Oppenheimer. Christopher Nolan’s box office smash hit wasn’t his first experience with a WWII movie, though — he worked with Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy back in 2017 for the much more visceral thriller, Dunkirk. Other massively important Hollywood figures like Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have also dedicated years of their career to World War II projects like Saving Private Ryan and Masters of the Air, and Hanks alone has featured in hits like Greyhound, which is streaming on Apple TV. The biggest World War II movie of the year so far came out just a few weeks ago, and fans around the world just can’t stop talking about Pressure.