New Disney+ Exclusive Anime by ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Director Premieres July 16

Get ready to catch BLACKPINK in your area as the popular K-Pop girl group drops the dates for their much-awaited comeback world tour!

The group’s comeback was confirmed via a teaser video posted on their accounts last February. They re-confirmed this on May 16 when they dropped the title of their upcoming world tour, “Deadline.”

And today, YG Entertainment and BLACKPINK’s official social media pages just revealed the dates and stops for the tour, and it’s happening sooner than you think! Hold on to your BL-Bing-Bong light sticks, Blinks! The girls are about to cause a shutdown in areas across Asia, the United States, and Europe. Here are the cities they’ll be playing at starting this July:

BLACKPINK “Deadline” World Tour Dates:

2025

• Goyang, South Korea (Goyang Stadium): July 5 and 6
• Los Angeles, United States (Sofi Stadium): July 12 and 13
• Chicago, United States (Soldier Field): July 18
• Toronto, Canada (Rogers Stadium): July 22 and 23
• New York, United States (Citi Field): July 26 and 27
• Paris, France (Stade de France): Aug. 2 and 3
• Milan, Italy (Ippodromo Snai La Maura): Aug. 6
• Barcelona, Spain (Estadi Olímpic): Aug. 9
• London, United Kingdom (Wembley Stadium): Aug. 15 and 16
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Kaohsiung National Stadium): Oct. 18 and 19
• Bangkok, Thailand (Rajamangala National Stadium): Oct. 24 and 26
• Jakarta, Indonesia (Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium): Nov. 1 and 2
• Bulacan, Philippines (Philippine Arena): Nov. 22 and 23
• Singapore (National Stadium): Nov. 29 and 30

2026

• Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Dome): Jan. 16 and 18
• Hong Kong SAR, China (Kai Tak Stadium): Jan. 24 and 25

Tickets will be announced via Live Nation’s website and social media pages for each of the cities on the list. For Southeast Asia stops, pre-sales are happening from June 10 to 12, with the general sale taking place on June 13 for Singapore, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. Bulacan will have its general sale on June 12. More details on ticket prices and fan benefits will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo, and Lisa have all been busy in the past year pursuing solo projects. Some of their notable releases include Rosé’s first full-length album, “rosie,” which featured her collab hit with Bruno Mars, “APT,” and Jisoo’s solo EP “Amortage” that sparked a new viral dance move with “Earthquake.” 

There’s also Jennie’s debut solo album “ruby,” which featured hit singles “Mantra” and “Like JENNIE,” and performed at Coachella 2025, while Lisa’s debut solo record, “Alter Ego" made waves with singles “Rockstar” and “Moonlit Floor,” which she performed at the comeback show of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. 

For updates, follow Live Nation on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Instagram. You can also stay tuned for more of BLACKPINK’s music releases and upcoming performances on their Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Instagram pages.

Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or for “A Simple Accident,” besting twenty-one other feature films in the category at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

Despite the high power outage that happened across the region on Saturday morning (May 24), the festival’s star-studded closing ceremony went on without a hitch. The jury, chaired by French actress Juliette Binoche, along with other distinguished filmmakers, actors, and producers announced the night’s biggest winners, featuring the most outstanding cinematic features of the year. 

Panahi, who has been banned, arrested, and jailed several times in his home country for his provocative features, wins the competition’s top prize. “A Simple Accident” is his first Cannes feature in twenty years, with the 15-year travel ban imposed on him by the Iranian government lifted in 2023. The director previously earned the Best Screenplay Award for “Se Rok (Three Faces)” in 2018. 

Summarized as “what begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences,” the winning film portrayed the Iranian people struggling for their freedom and their rebellion in a constrained society. The director received the award from Juliette Binoche and co-presenter Cate Blanchett, and delivered an inspiring message for his fellow Iranians. 

“What's most important now is our country and the freedom of our country," he said. "Let us join forces. No one should dare tell us what kind of clothes we should wear, what we should do, or what we should not do.”

Following the ceremony, director Panahi also shared some of his thoughts after winning the prestigious award. 

“For a filmmaker, every award is a delight. A lot of work has gone into winning this award. At one point, I had so many different images running through my mind. I was thinking about all the faces of my friends who were in prison with me. At that time, we were in prison, but the Iranian people were out on the streets fighting for freedom. Right then, I told myself that I was glad for them."

Other notable winners of the night include the Grand Prix winner Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Tawfeek Barhom’s “I’m Glad You’re Dead Now,” which won best short film feature, and the “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” by Diego Céspedes who earned the top prize in the Un Certain Regard category. 

Here’s a complete list of the festival’s biggest winners:

Feature Films

• Palme d'Or: “A Simple Accident” - Jafar Panahi
• Grand Prix: “Sentimental Value” - Joachim TRIER
• Jury Prize (tied): “Sirât” - Oliver Laxe and "Sound of Falling” – Mascha Schilinski
• Best Director Award: Kleber Mendonça Filho - “The Secret Agent”
• Best Screenplay Award: “Young Mothers” - Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne
• Best Actress Award: Nadia Melliti – “The Last Girl” by Hafsia Herzi
• Best Actor Award: Wagner Moura – “The Secret Agent” by Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Special Award: Kuang Ye Shi Dai - “Resurrection” by Bi GAN

Short Films

• Palme d'Or:  “I’m Glad You’re Dead Now” - Tawfeek Barhom
• Special mention: “Ali” by Adnan Al Rajeev 

Un Certain Regard

• Un Certain Regard Award: “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” - Diego Céspedes, 1st Film
• Jury Prize: “A Poeta” - Simón Mesa Soto
• Best Director Award: Arab & Tarzan Nasser – “Once Upon a Time in Gaza
  Best Actor: Frank Dillane – “Urchin” by Harris Dickinson
• Best Actress: Cleo Diára – “The Laughter and the Knife” – Pedro Pinho
• Best Screenplay: "Pillion” – Harry Lighton, 1st film

Golden Camera

• Caméra d'Or: “The President’s Cake” – Hasan Hadi, Filmmakers' Fortnight
• Special Mention: “My Father’s Shadow” - Akinola Davies Jr., Un Certain Regard

The Cinef

• First prize: “First Summer” - Heo GAYOUNG, KAFA, South Korea
• Second prize: “12 Moments Before the Flag-raising Ceremony" – Qu Zhizheng, Beijing Film Academy, China
• Third Prize (tied): “Ginger Boy” Miki Tanaka, ENBU Seminar, Japan, and “Winter in March” – Natalia Mirzoyan, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia 

For more details and updates, visit Cannes Film Festival’s official website or follow Cannes Film Festival on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

SEVENTEEN, one of the biggest names in K-Pop, now adds “Korean Food Global Ambassador” to their glowing list of endorsements. 

Announced on May 19, 2025, SEVENTEEN will now be representing Korean food brand bibigo in the global market, marking a major step in bibigo’s efforts to attract Gen Z consumers everywhere.

As the leading K-Food brand, bibigo aims to bring Korean food closer to international audiences by working with SEVENTEEN, whose influence reaches across the globe. 

Their campaign, “Taste What’s Beyond,” will include a wide array of exciting activities such as a Campaign Video Release, Collaborative Product Launches, and Online and Offline Events to promote bibigo’s products and give CARATs more content from SEVENTEEN. 

Through this partnership, CJ aims to share bibigo’s unique stories and flavors of Korean food with a fresh and creative approach. CJ Foods picked SEVENTEEN as their global brand ambassadors because of the group’s bright and positive energy that synergizes well with bibigo’s fun and passionate brand image. 

bibigo has launched a campaign video across all its social media platforms since May 20. These short-form videos feature the SEVENTEEN members enjoying a range of bibigo products, including gimbap, corn dogs, and tteokbokki. Fans can also view the video on a dedicated SEVENTEEN microsite, which is now live! 

In the second half of the year, bibigo will be rolling out collab products with SEVENTEEN in global markets. Fans and consumers can look forward to a series of online and offline events in international markets like Japan and the United States in the future. 

“By partnering with SEVENTEEN, we hope to connect with more consumers worldwide and significantly drive awareness for our brand bibigo,” said Stephan Czypionka, Global Chief Marketing Officer of CJ Foods. “Through this campaign, we aim to showcase bibigo and Korean food to a broader audience in a fun and engaging way.” 

SEVENTEEN will be returning for their 10th debut anniversary with their fifth studio album, “HAPPY BURSTDAY” on May 26, 2025. 

Follow bibigo on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), and Instagram for more updates. Visit bibigo’s SEVENTEEN site here. 

Follow SEVENTEEN on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), and Instagram to catch their upcoming comeback!

Gather ‘round, Ohana. Our favorite Disney blue alien is back, and this time he’s fluffier, cuter, and wilder than ever!

Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” returns to the big screen in a brand-new live-action reimagining, bursting with heart, humor, and Hawaiian spirit! The feature film has already broken records before the release, being the most viewed Disney live-action trailer of all time with a whopping 158 million views! It just goes to show how much audiences loved the 2002 film and how excited they — we’re talking about the Disney Millennials and the new generation of Disney fans — are to witness a refreshed version of this timeless tale of found family, endearing misfits, and unconditional love.  

This record-breaking news, however, made us expect a little bit more, hoping the studios would do better than the recent “Snow White” reimagining, which received lackluster reviews from critics and Disney fans alike. Will “Lilo and Stitch” flip the coin? 

The Beat Asia got to attend the advance screening last May 18 at the SM Mall of Asia, where we were treated to a Hawaiian Roller Coaster ride of fun activation booths, free snow cones, and, yes, a film that brought on a wave of nostalgia and a whole lot of good fun! 

We’re here to tell you all about the experience and how we think this latest live-action remake from Disney is done right, and why it’s bound to become the family film to watch this summer. 

A Balance of Nostalgia and Refreshed Storytelling

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

“Show us that there is something good inside you.” This is one of the lines from the 2002 animated feature, a quote from the Grand Councilwoman who stood before Stitch as he was judged before the entire Galactic Federation. 

We chose this line to show how loyal this remake was to the original from the start. From the beginning till the end, the film gave us the iconic scenes, beloved quotes, and nostalgic music, which made us tear up. And we weren’t even 10 minutes in!

The 2025 “Lilo and Stitch” separates itself from other Disney live-action movies, which are mostly about the Disney Princesses. More than a story of an alien crashing to earth, the story is about feeling out of place and alone, which remains a relevant theme today. Disney’s decision to produce this live-action remake is a testament to its enduring charm to audiences everywhere, and shows the studio’s desire to keep its legacy alive by introducing it to the new generation. 

Although many live-action reimagining have failed either in the nostalgia department or in bringing something new to the table, “Lilo and Stitch” balances both with effortless ease, so much so that it might even be better than the original. Shocker, we know, but hear us out.

So many of us know the story. Set in modern-day Hawai’i, the story follows Lilo (Maia Kealoha), a girl full of imagination with a rebellious streak, and how she meets a blue alien fugitive, Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders), who crashes into her world and changes her life forever. The live-action movie pretty much follows the same events from the original animation, with some changes in the second half. These changes didn’t feel forced or random, with every one of them an effect of an earlier scene or rooted in a character’s journey. 

We loved how Stitch’s biology was made clearer in this remake, explaining why he’s afraid of water. Even though it was mentioned in the original that he couldn’t swim, the remake reiterated that his molecular density was too great and would cause him to sink and drown, which heightened the stakes and added drama.

Lilo’s sister, Nani (Sydney Elizabeth Agudong), also got a bit more of the spotlight as the remake shed more light on her struggles in keeping Lilo and trying her hardest to be a responsible guardian. Those additional scenes where we see her working and failing, and also those glimpses of her life before they lost their parents gave us more insight into who she is as a character — how she was more than just Lilo’s big sister, but also a young girl thrust into adulthood before she even had the chance to make her own dreams a reality. 

We also saw an improvement in David’s (Kaipo Dudoit) role as he is now the grandson of Tūtū (Amy Hill), a new character who plays Nani and Lilo’s longtime neighbor. This dynamic explained why David was so close with Nani (childhood friends to lovers, duh!) and showcased that the concept of Ohana among the Hawaiian people goes beyond just blood relations.  

And what of the iconic alien duo, Jumba and Pleakly? Pleakly (Billy Magnussen) was pretty much the same, adding humor into the film as effortlessly as breathing, while Jumba (Zach Galifianakis) had an interesting transformation and had a more villainous image in the film, which we thought matched his whole Mad Scientist character. We liked how he remained consistent with his initial goal when he created Experiment 626 (a.k.a. Stitch), which was to create a monster of destruction, and kept pursuing Stitch till the end. This, however, would’ve made Captain Gantu’s character redundant, which was why it was understandable that the character didn’t make it into the film.

Although we have to admit that we did miss Jumba and Pleakly’s Partners-in-Crime vibes, and the actors who, though great individually, didn’t show as much chemistry as we had hoped. 

A fresh, well-ironed storyline, well-developed characters, and fascinating new faces that were significant to the overall progression of events, the 2025 “Lilo and Stitch” just showed us how amazing a live-action remake can be when done right. 

On Acting and Effects

Maia Kealoha, who played Lilo, did such an amazing job that it almost felt like animated Lilo magically turned into an actual person. It’s hard to believe that this is her debut film, given how she performed the character with clever playfulness and heartfelt charm. 

Producer Jonathan Enrich even said in a press statement, “Finding Lilo was the biggest challenge. We needed someone young who could realistically play a girl growing up in Hawai’i. Maia Kealoha blew us away with her energy, humor, and dramatic ability. She truly is Lilo.” So yes, folks, they’re not exaggerating. This kid shows much promise, and we can’t wait to see her in more projects. 

One thing we loved about the entire movie was how the cast looked so much like the animated characters, which added to the nostalgia, making it easier for longtime Stitch fans to connect and empathize with their live-action versions. Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, who is of Hawaiian and Filipino heritage, brought Nani to life well from her reactions to Lilo’s tantrums down to her silent tears as she struggled with her responsibilities. 

There were new and old characters, and then there was Agent Cobra Bubbles. The iconic man in a suit and dark shades played an important role in the original animation, being the social worker who monitored Nani and who turned out to be an undercover agent. The live-action remake split this character into two, which we thought made more sense as it gave us more insight into the alien side of the story and how — as Pleakly said, aliens were made to believe that mosquitoes were an extinct species, making it a protected wildlife reserve.

The social worker, Mrs. Kekoa, was played by Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original animation. This was one of the ways the new film paid homage to the original: by letting these talented voice actors take part in the reimagining. Other characters you’ll catch include David’s voice actor Jason Scott Lee, Amy Hill, who voiced Mrs. Hasagawa, and of course, Chris Sanders, who is the then and now voice of Stitch. 

The film showcased wonderful CGI, which was expected of a big studio project from Walt Disney Studios. The space scenes looked real but still retained that whimsical charm, so it didn’t feel like we were watching a scene out of a Marvel movie. The alien characters looked impressive and so much like their animated counterparts, and Stitch looked even better in this version now that he had fur. Cute and fluffy, but 100x!

Majority of the scenes were filmed on the island, so the setting is as authentic as it gets, and truly captures the beauty of Hawaii, its culture, and people. 

Final Verdict

Any fan who watches this in the cinema has to be prepared to have their hearts stolen by Stitch again, because this remake is good in all the right ways, and checks off all our marks for a Disney live-action movie worth watching. While Disney had a rough journey with these movies, at least we know that they gave “Lilo and Stitch” a fresh new look but still managed to retain its emotional core, which many of the remakes lacked. 

New look, but same ‘ole vibes with pure Disney magic. An easy five stars! Don’t miss this heartfelt, action-packed summer adventure in theaters now!

Follow Walt Disney Studios on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), and Instagram for more Disney movie magic.

Calling all Netflix fans! Here’s one LIVE show you need to add to your watchlists this May!

Netflix Tudum 2025: The Live Event is happening on May 31, 2025, where the streaming platform’s biggest stars come together for a one-of-a-kind celebration of fandoms and culture-defining storytelling. 

The event will stream live at 8 PM (ET) / 5 PM (PT) / Jun. 1, 8 AM (UTC +8) from the KIA Forum in Los Angeles. Hosted by Netflix film fan-favorite actress Sofia Carson (“The Life List,” "Carry-On,” “Purple Hearts”), this program will not only feature your favorite actors but also exciting performances, exclusive sneak previews, and jaw-dropping reveals!

Other special guests making an appearance at the event include “Emily in Paris” star Lily Collins; “Stranger Things” and “Enola Holmes” actress Millie Bobby Brown; Jenna Ortega, who played the goth icon “Wednesday;” and the stars of “Squid Game,” Lee Jung-Jae, Lee Byung-Hun, Kang Ae-Sim, and Choi Seung-Hyun (T.O.P).

Additionally, Little Monsters will be pleased to know that Lady Gaga will be performing live at the event. The Grammy-winning artist recently released her new album “Mayhem,” which topped album charts in over 20 countries. She also headlined Coachella in April and held a free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach, which was attended by over 2.5 million fans — the largest crowd for a concert by any female artist in history. 

Her documentary “Gaga: Five Foot Two” is currently streaming on the platform, which gives a behind-the-scenes look at the artist and documents the events around the production of her fifth studio album and preparations for her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.

Tudum LIVE is Netflix’s signature fan event, named after the iconic sound that plays at the start of every Netflix show. This celebration first started in 2020 at the Bienal Pavilion of São Paulo, Brazil, and was a multi-title festival that celebrated Netflix’s young adult content. The festival drew more than 50,000 fans over four days. Since then, it has evolved into multiple formats from festivals to livestreams and digital almanacs, making it the ultimate global fan event. 

The 2025 broadcast is produced by Silent House Productions, with Emmy Award winners Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco, Linda Gierahn, and Elizabeth Kelly serving as executive producers. 

For more details and updates, visit Tudum.com or follow Netflix on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), and Instagram.