Loki season 2 is celebrating a solid opening weekend. As per Disney, the premiere racked up an impressive 10.9 million viewers globally during its first three days, since its October 5 premiere in the US (October 6 in India, and everywhere else). With these numbers, it has become the second-most-watched premiere of 2023, sitting right behind The Mandalorian season 3, which dropped in March. A view is calculated by hours viewed divided by the total runtime of a film or show, which is the same format Netflix embraced in June. Given Loki season 2 episode 1 has a 45-minute runtime, the total viewed hours equate to 490.5 million minutes/ 8.17 million hours.
These are great numbers for Disney+, whose Marvel Cinematic Universe small-screen lineup has struggled to gain mass appeal. For instance, their newest Samuel L. Jackson-led Secret Invasion premiere only drew 994,000 viewers in the US, within the first five days. While Disney hasn’t released regional breakdowns for Loki season 2’s viewership, its popularity is clear as day, considering the streamer is confident enough to release numbers within just three days. You see, it was only recently that Disney started reporting viewership numbers, and even then, they were all based on a five-day time span. The Star Wars series Ahsoka opened to 14 million views, with two extra days, proving that Loki’s numbers are stronger.
The same five-day tally system is being applied to Disney+’s movies as well, with The Little Mermaid live-action remake pulling in 16 million views and Elemental reporting 26.4 million views. It’s not surprising to see Loki season 2 doing well, given the first season was Marvel’s most successful show, as confirmed by MCU President Kevin Feige in 2022. The new chapter sees Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as the titular God of Mischief and embarking on time-hopping adventures with an alternate version of TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), who doesn’t recognise him. Loki’s plans to reunite with his original team hits a hurdle when his body begins to distort and plops him into past and future timelines. Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) is a new addition to the cast, playing a TVA archivist OB.
Late last month, Disney+ confirmed in an email to its Canadian subscribers that it will begin restricting password sharing, starting November 1, a lot sooner than CEO Bob Iger’s original plans. The terms were quite unclear, but it suggested that users would soon be prohibited from sharing accounts with those outside their ‘household’ — which refers to devices associated with a primary personal address. The company will constantly monitor user activity and if it detects a user breaking the rules, it will limit access to streaming or entirely terminate the account. Netflix was the first to crack down on password-sharing and in the process, gained 6 million new subscribers in July.
New episodes of Loki season 2 drop every Friday on Disney+ Hotstar.
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We’re just a week into October, and our binge list is filled to the brim with new content. No one likes wasting time scrolling through OTT apps for hours, and therefore, we’re returned with an updated list of films and shows that’ll keep you entertained this weekend. Loki season 2 leads the pack of new releases this week, as we follow the God of Mischief’s time-hopping adventures and his encounter with alternate versions of beloved characters. In a similar multiversal vein, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is finally available to stream on Netflix, tasking a young Miles Morales with solving a major conspiracy involving countless Spider-People.
It’s going to be a busy weekend, as Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2 also debuts Sunday, October 8, on Netflix — less than two months since its theatrical release. Oh, and let’s not ignore its box office competitor Gadar 2, starring Sunny Deol in the lead, which drops today on Zee5. With that, here’s a guide on what to stream this weekend:
Khufiya
When: Now streaming Where: Netflix
Hardened R&AW operative Krishna Mehra (Tabu) is tasked with tracking down a mole within the organisation — one whose actions have led to an undercover spy’s death. Ali Fazal plays the suspect in question, often seen photocopying documents from his workplace and taking them back home, presumably to feed India’s defence secrets to enemy nations. Through 24/7 surveillance and bugs placed in his home, Agent KM and team relentlessly pursue him — across countries — all the while ensuring his innocent wife (Wamiqa Gabbi) and child remain safe. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Khufiya also stars Ashish Vidyarthi (Kuttey).
Tabu in a still from Vishal Bhardwaj’s Khufiya Photo Credit: Netflix
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
When: Now streaming Where: Netflix
A fledgling Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is catapulted into the multiverse and trapped among an elite army of Spider-People in the hopes of saving its very existence. Joined by Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and the rebellious Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), he encounters the leader Miguel O’Hara/ Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac), a traumatised, driven, and almost vampiric leader of the Spider society, who believes the ends justify the means — no matter how severe. But when a choice is offered to prioritise the safety of every multiversal world over one person, Miles rejects it, spawning a wild goose chase where he must fight off and escape all kinds of Spider-Men.
When: October 6 (Now streaming) Where: Disney+ Hotstar
Lost and confused in an alternate timeline where no TVA members recognise him, the God of Mischief Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is forced to navigate uncharted timelines with a new Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson). His goal is to be reunited with his original team, but his body won’t let him do so by randomly distorting and plopping him into past and future timelines. Things are getting wild and even the TVA archivist OB (Ke Huy Quan) has no solutions to the time slipping. What he does have, however, is some specialised equipment that’s meant to help out our heroes — presumably, with multiversal travel. In Loki season 2, Sylvie is now a McDonald’s employee, Hunter B-15 is a doctor, and Kang the Conqueror appears to be a stage magician?
OMG 2
When: October 8 Where: Netflix
Following a scandal involving his son, Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi), a concerned citizen and strong devotee of Lord Shiva, requests the court to mandate sex education in his school’s courses, spawning an amusing courtroom drama. But his journey there was filled with tragedy, ranging from judgemental jeers from the neighbourhood to his son’s attempted suicide — all of which are subtly prevented by a mysterious messenger (Akshay Kumar) sent by the three-eyed god himself. Amit Rai (Road to Sangam) directs OMG 2, which also stars Yami Gautam as an opposing lawyer.
Choona
When: Now streaming Where: Netflix
Jimmy Sheirgill stars in this heist comedy series as a corrupt politician obsessed with astrology, planning to overthrow the government. Unfortunately, he’s got a quirk — his day-to-day activities are carefully planned based on whether the stars and planets align in his favour. In his meteoric rise to the top, he’s created a bunch of enemies, all of whom thirst for revenge and conjure a strategy to steal Rs. 600 crore from under the politician’s nose. The location is a little tricky though: a heavily fortified party office teeming with 10 armed police officers, over 100 goons, and CCTV cameras at every corner. The team in Choona includes a rebel (Aashim Gulati), a shape-shifting informer (Namit Das), a mute man (Chandan Roy), an astrologer (Atul Srivastava), and a demoted police officer (Gyanendra Tripathi).
Jimmy Shergill (centre) in a still from Choona Photo Credit: Netflix
Gadar 2
When: October 6 (Now streaming) Where: Zee5
When Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) goes missing during a skirmish in Pakistan and is believed to be captured, his now fully-grown son Jeete sets out to rescue him, entering uncharted territories from which they both must escape. Ameesha Patel reprises her role as Tara’s wife Sakeena Ali Singh, who’s now in shambles upon hearing about her husband’s disappearance, constantly reciting prayers for his and Jeet’s safety. An interesting thing to note here is that the child actor who played Charanjeet in the original 2001 film is the same person playing the adult version in Gadar 2.
Mumbai Diaries season 2
When: October 6 (Now streaming) Where: Amazon Prime Video
Dr. Kaushik Oberoi (Mohit Raina) and his team of medics are served with a new set of challenges when a series of torrential rainfalls threaten to submerge Mumbai. The medical thriller continues to focus on the resilience of the crisis doctors, despite limited resources, lack of sleep, and fighting personal battles — some of which is remnant trauma from dealing with the 26/11 attacks. Much of the original cast returns in Mumbai Diaries season 2, including Konkana Sen Sharma, Tina Desai, and Natasha Bharadwaj.
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Disney+ has revealed the first look at Loki season 2 and Star Wars series Ahsoka, via a sizzle reel that highlights upcoming releases on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar in 2023. Narrated by lead Tom Hiddleston himself, the footage for the next chapter of Loki promises more “over the top” time-hopping adventures, as Loki finds himself in an alternate Time Variance Authority, with Owen Wilson’s returning agent character Mobius M. Mobius. The Disney+ 2023 trailer also offers a brief glimpse at Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, who is getting her own eponymous Star Wars limited series, following a first appearance in The Mandalorian.
Loki season 2 first look
The tease for Loki season 2 features an interesting bit of banter between the God of Mischief (Hiddleston) and agent Mobius (Owen Wilson), though he’s speaking to three variants of Loki, all dressed in dapper suits, in a dark, silent alley. In the background, you can see an old-school motorcycle, which might indicate that our heroes travelled back to the past. Bear in mind, that since this is a new timeline, this version of Mobius does not even recognise Loki. Also, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is in charge of the TVA, while its non-hostile multidimensional variant “He Who Remains” was stabbed to death by Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) in season 1. Loki season 2 is set to return in the summer of 2023, but before that, a variant of the villainous Kang will appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, slated to release in February next year.
Ahsoka first look teaser
Meanwhile, in the galaxy far, far away, Ahsoka Tano is getting a standalone live-action series headlined by Dawson. Dave Filoni, who helmed The Mandalorian, returns as writer and creator of the limited series, which he is also attached to produce alongside Jon Favreau (Iron Man). Very little is known about the plot for Ahsoka. Ahsoka enlists Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane). Filming on Ahsoka began in May, but there’s no information on a release window for the same.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is also headed to Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar in 2023, following its theatrical debut on November 11. The much-awaited sequel served as a tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman and has collected $788 million (about Rs. 6,519 crore) at the global box office. When out, Black Panther 2 should be available to stream in English and multiple regional languages.
Acclaimed genre filmmaker David Lowery (The Green Knight) returns to Disney once more, with a “live-action” remake of the original 1953 film Peter Pan & Wendy. Streaming next year, exclusively on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, we get some quick shots of our lead characters.
Towards the end, there are tiny glimpses of American Born Chinese, based on the eponymous graphic novel, Pixar’s TV series Win or Lose, Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2, Crater, and more.
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