


The year in culture so far has been dominated by the status quo. The biggest movies are sequels, and the most successful performers are mega-stars cranking out familiar-sounding hits—even the top influencers are no longer fresh faces but hardened pros. But it’s not all old news: TikTok helped one author sell more books than the top 10 bestsellers combined, while ultracheap shopping app Temu took over app stores. And “Madame Web” spun another bad tale for superhero movies.
Kristin Hanna, author of "The Women."
KEVIN LYNCHA portrait of American young adult fantasy author Sarah J. Maas.
WILL IRELAND/FUTURE/GETTY IMAGESNetflix is the world's largest streaming service.
GETTY IMAGESStarz headquarters on Stewart St in Santa Monica, California.
GETTY IMAGESTimothée Chalamet attends the "Dune: Part Two" New York Premiere.
GETTY IMAGESKathryn Newton at the Los Angeles special screening of Lisa Frankenstein, one of the worst performing movies of the year.
VARIETY/GETTY IMAGESSean Baker's film "Anora," the winner of the Palme D'Or at Cannes, is considered one of the best movies of 2024.
LIONEL HAHN/GETTY IMAGESDakota Johnson on the set of "Madame Web," one of the worst-rated movies of 2024.
GC IMAGES"Mean Girls" hit theaters on Jan. 12.
KRISTINA BUMPHREY/GETTY IMAGESDua Lipa's "Houdini" is the most-played song on worldwide radio this year so far.
MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGESMadonna performs onstage during a free concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 4, 2024.
PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/GETTY IMAGESFour of the 10 most expensive resale tickets through the first half of 2024 were for residencies, and three were in Las Vegas.
GETTY IMAGESThe former X CEO received more likes than the world’s highest-paid athlete and Swift by mocking his social media platform’s competitor.
CHESNOT/GETTY IMAGESThe top five most followed TikTokers haven’t shifted much through the first half of 2024, with Khaby Lame and Charli D’Amelio still millions ahead of their competitors.
DANIELE VENTURELLI/GETTY IMAGESWith 290 million subscribers, MrBeast currently holds the title of most followed YouTuber.
ALBERTO E RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGESTemu has spent the most time in the number one spot across iPhone and Android app stores in 2024 as of June 15, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES