AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 2:30 a.m. EST

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade set to kick off in Manhattan

NEW YORK (AP) — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is poised to kick off in New York City. New balloons depicting Buzz Lightyear, Pac-Man and other characters are set to take to the skies. Floats featuring Labubu and Lego and a star-studded lineup of performers will grace the streets, along with a slew of marching bands, dancers, clowns and cheerleaders. The parade is scheduled to start Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EST, rain or shine. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says authorities will decide Thursday morning whether balloon heights will need to be adjusted because of wind.

A welcome form of inflation: Balloons take shape for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

NEW YORK (AP) — Giant balloons are getting into shape for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Crews inflated the giant characters Wednesday on the streets of New York City. The parade kicks off Thursday morning. Dozens of huge balloons are set to take to the skies, and floats, entertainers, marching bands and more will grace the streets. More than 100 balloon technicians and volunteers worked Wednesday to puff up dozens of characters. Officials are watching the weather, since the forecast as of Wednesday evening calls for a somewhat gusty day. Under New York City law, the balloons are grounded if sustained winds exceed 23 mph (37 kph) or wind gusts are over 35 mph (56 kph).

Movie Review: 'Zootopia 2' is a cuddlier, tamer sequel

The original “Zootopia” was a minor miracle. Here was a Disney animated film that took themes of race and prejudice and managed to make a sensitive-to-all-sides tale, anthropomorphize it and, as a bonus, sneak in a Department of Motor Vehicles sloth gag that the DMV is still wincing from. A sequel coming almost a decade later, “Zootopia 2” isn’t as good. It’s a more timid and tame movie that leans largely on the still winning duo of Judy Hopps and the small-time hustler fox Nick Wilde, writes AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in his review. Both are now out-to-prove-themselves rookies on the police force in this fun but watered down sequel.

Clair Obscur leads the AP's list of 2025's top video games

In a year in which technology news was dominated by artificial intelligence, the outstanding video games were still being designed by human beings. Top of the list is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which Associated Press writer Lou Kesten calls “a landmark achievement" with profound storytelling, stunning graphics and music and impeccable voice acting. The rest of 2025's top 10 includes The Outer Worlds 2, Silent Hill f, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Donkey Kong Bananza, The Séance of Blake Manor, Avowed, Ghost of Yōtei, South of Midnight and The Alters.

'Rush Hour 4' will be distributed by Paramount after Trump's reported request

NEW YORK (AP) — After President Donald Trump’s reported intervention, Paramount Pictures is set to distribute Brett Ratner’s “Rush Hour 4,” a project that Hollywood had eschewed after earlier sexual misconduct allegations against the director. Paramount Pictures on Tuesday was in closing talks to distribute the film, according to a person close to the negotiations who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to announce a deal. Paramount would be stepping in to take a distribution fee on the film, not finance it. In 2017, during the #MeToo movement, six women said Ratner sexually harassed them in a Los Angeles Times report.

A foot-tall elephant? 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' on Apple TV reveals surprising creatures

NEW YORK (AP) — Apple TV has launched “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age,” a five-part series that brings the Pleistocene era to life with stunning visuals. The series, narrated by Tom Hiddleston, combines cinematic storytelling with cutting-edge visual effects. Mike Gunton, co-executive producer, says it offers a unique look at ice age creatures. The series explores the diverse and dramatic changes of the ice age, showcasing creatures like 14-foot-tall bears and dwarf elephants. Jon Favreau, also a co-executive producer, highlights the use of traditional techniques over AI to create an emotional connection. The series aims to engage viewers with the complexity of animal relationships.

How Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal found the emotional power of 'Hamnet'

TORONTO (AP) — Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” starring Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife, Agnes, is expected to be one of the top Oscar contenders of the year. That goes especially for the performances of its two young stars. In an interview, Buckley and Mescal discuss making one of the year’s most emotionally powerful films. If “Hamnet” has moved audiences, it has shaken its stars. Focus Features releases “Hamnet” in theaters Wednesday. The film based on Maggie O'Farrell's prizewinning novel imagines the possible connection between the death of the Shakespeares' son, Hamnet, and the birth of the playwright's greatest tragedy.

3 men charged in shooting death of rising Latin singer DELAROSA in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors have charged three men with murder in the death of 22-year-old Maria De La Rosa, who was fatally shot over the weekend in Los Angeles. De La Rosa, a Latin artist who performs under the name DELAROSA, was sitting in a parked car early Saturday when three men came up to it and demanded money. Prosecutors say they fired multiple rounds, hitting all three occupants. De La Rosa later died at a hospital. Two men have been arrested, and an arrest warrant has been issued for the third man. DELAROSA has more than 40,000 followers on Instagram.

The greatest mystery of Rian Johnson's 'Knives Out' movies? Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc

NEW YORK (AP) — The greatest mystery in Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” movies might be Benoit Blanc. Over the course of three films, Johnson and Daniel Craig have stingily dropped clues to Blanc’s past and personal life. Since Blanc first introduced himself in “Knives Out” as “a respectful, quiet, passive observer … of the truth,” following the breadcrumbs has been a sport of its own. Every “Knives Out” movie is a wholesale change. New setting. New case. New cast of characters. But Craig and Johnson are the mainstays. Together, they’ve turned Blanc, the gentleman sleuth, into one of the greatest protagonists in recent movies.