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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Unabashed romantics, earnest water signs, folks high on the fumes of heartbreaks and sworn Swifties rejoice, we’re looking at the stars behind the blunt bangs and breakup songs, the birth chart of the Anti-Hero herself, ladies and gentlemen, Taylor mothertruckin’ Swift. Tay Tay if you’re nasty.
On October 21, Swift released her latest album “Midnights.” Described as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” the cover features our girl under the influence of a seriously smoky eye and looking headlong into the abyss of a Zippo lighter, presumably contemplating burning that goddamn red scarf or setting fire to John Mayer’s eyesore Ford GT.
Swift made history when it was announced that the entire top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 was stacked with songs from “Midnights.” A feat thus far accomplished by no one else. This utter dominance is staggering though for the fans that love her fiercely and follow her loyally, not at all surprising.
T. Swift wearing black and contemplating the infinite.Getty Images
“Midnights” marks the first album of new material from Swift since 2020’s quarantine opus“Folklore” and kid sister “Evermore.” In 2021 she sent hearts a flutter with the lauded tenth anniversary rerelease of “Red” which came complete with a self-directed short film/music video for the song “All To Well,” widely believed to be a quasi autobiographical and acutely painful retelling of her relationship with Jake Gyllenhal. Mine that man and that memory for all it’s worth Tay Tay!
Taylor Swift poses with the many faces of “Midnights”Instagram/Taylor Swift
It’s well established that our girl’s fan base is rabid, quick to spew venom on her detractors and defilers and willing to RESCHEDULE their weddings in order to see her live, because make no mistake my babies, the most important day of your life is not the one in which you commit yourself to another person in mind, body, heart and spirit – neigh – it’s the day T.Swift comes to town.
Sharing the stage and the wealth with Swift will be opening acts Paramore, HAIM, Phoebe Bridgers, beabadobee, Girl In Red, MUNA, Gayle, Gracie Abrams, and OWENN.
In honor of T. Swift’s absolute ownership of the charts and minds of the nation, we bring you a look at her birth chart. What do the stars say about the artist and the many men that have loved/inspired/emotionally tortured her? Read on, right on, “Red” forever.
Sun in Sagittarius
An optimistic archer, Tay Tay gives the cold shoulder to her haters.Getty Images
Born unto us on December 13, 1989, Swift’s zodic sun sign is in Sagittarius. Ruled by planet Jupiter, the fun-loving drunk uncle of the zodiac, Sagittatius energy is expensive, optimistic, adventurous and a little guileless. Sagittarians are seekers, always looking for new horizons, higher learning, spiritual transcendence and — in the case of T. Swift — fresh bros.
Sagittarians seduce with their bon vivant approach to life, promising that a relationship with them will be akin to a storied road trip, complete with quirky pit stops, caramel nonfat lattes, a varied soundtrack and a highly enviable vintage car.
Swift’s resilience in the wake of relationship endings is emblematic of her Sagittarius Sun. These folks can’t help but believe that good things are on their way and life is bound to get better. Swift herself acknowledges that arch in the song “Begin Again,” reportedly inspired by her relationship with Conor Kennedy. It is precisely that kind of blithe optimism that keeps her a perennial player in the game of love. Cue Steve Earle’s “Fearless Heart.”
Sagittarians seduce with their bon vivant approach to life, promising that a relationship with them will be akin to a storied road trip, complete with quirky pit stops, caramel nonfat lattes, a varied soundtrack and a highly enviable vintage car.
Pack your bags, burn your hesitations — right?
Moon in Cancer
Not so fast. That freewheeling, easy-breezy high-road-taking is a bait-and-switch, folks. Beneath the surface and way back in the shadows lies Swift’s crustacean Cancer Moon. In astrology, the Moon represents our emotional needs and how we go about getting them met; it relates to the kind of nurturing we did or didn’t receive as children. It’s the soft underbelly, marshmallow center, pulpy mess and primal heart of the human condition and in the sign of Cancer, it is at its most acutely sensitive. These people want intense emotional connection and a sworn blood oath that you’ll never leave. So real is this fear of abandonment that those with Moon in Cancer are prone to adapting themselves to match the needs and preferences of their partners.
These people want intense emotional connection and a sworn blood oath that you’ll never leave.
Because the Moon rules Cancer, it is very much at home in this placement. It’s wearing a Snuggie and ready to passively-aggressively manipulate you into staying in for the night for the rest of your life.
No one, and I mean no one capitalizes on the grist mill of the human experience quite like Swift.
At its highest expression, Cancer energy is creative, caretaking and deeply romantic. At their most indulgent, Cancer Moon natives tend toward masochistic nostalgia, endlessly idealizing or overanalyzing past love affairs. Though their relationship lasted just three months and ended over 10 years ago, Taylor apparently is still writing new verses about Jake Gyllenhal. Further evidence of Swift’s pangs for the past can be found in the song “Style,” where she rhapsodizes the aesthetic of her failed relationship with Harry Styles.
Taylor Swift is always looking for new horizons — even with relationships.Getty Images for ACM
The modality of Cancer is to return and return again. Yet Swift has capitalized on this somewhat pained placement by channeling it into music that serves not only as a balm for her, but sonic medicine for the masses. No one, and I mean no one capitalizes on the grist mill of the human experience quite like Swift.
Mars in Scorpio
Mars in Scorpio favors a cut out silhouette and never hesitates to destroy an enemy. Getty Images
Mars is the planet of war, and within the birthchart it governs our approach to sex, ambition and conflict. Tay Tay’s Mars is in the formidable, “vengeance as an art form” sign of Scorpio.
Mars in Scorpio views people as either enemies or allies, with exes falling firmly in the latter category. These natives take nothing lightly and put a lot of effort into ensuring others feel the weight of the pain they have been made to suffer. Beyond revenge, Scorpio energy seeks transformation, often spurred by trauma and/or loss. The alternative totem for the sign of Scorpio is the phoenix, and no one lives to light it up, watch it burn, write it down and turn pain to profit like our girl.
Beyond revenge, Scorpio energy seeks transformation, often spurred by trauma and/or loss.
Perhaps the worst punishment in the playbook of Mars in Scorpio is erasure. Fittingly, Swift has a stable of exes including Tom Hiddleston, Calvin Harris and Eddie Redmayne who have been weighed, measured and found unworthy of immortality through music. Ouch, bro.
Planetary cluster in Capricorn, daddy energy rises and reigns
The unofficial mantra of a Capricorn stellium is success at all costs. Getty Images for MTV/Paramount G
Swift has a stellium of planets in the hard knocks, tough love sign of Capricorn with her Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune all in sea goat territory. Capricorn is a sign concerned with building and securing a legacy that will outlast them. We see this energy expressed in Swift who is nothing if not on her damn grind. Caps are big into ROI and our girl is not going to suffer for free, quite the opposite, she turns the pain of lived experience into lucrative melody, singing her fine self all the way to the proverbial bank and an ever impressive real estate portfolio.
Caps are big into ROI and our girl is not going to suffer for free.
Those with serious Capricorn placements tend to age in reverse, their early years see them growing up too fast, taking on adult responsibilities before they are emotionally equipped to do so. If that sounds like it sucks, it does. The upswing of this is that if they can manage to survive adolescence and early adulthood, they earn their happy childhood in the later part of their life, it ain’t easy but it sure is sweet. We see this timeline inversion in Swift who was bullied as a teen and lived through a healthy roster of douche lord dudes and frenemy feuds before hitting her stride in the last few years.
Stars align
Joe Alwyn is a Pisces angel with a down to earth, ride or die Taurus moon.WP Pix / SplashNews.com
Whether they are made to last or built to break, we wait with high hopes, red lips and eager ears.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the stars
Fortunate forecast
Dressed for battle and poised for greatness, the best is yet to come for Swift and her army of admirers. Getty Images
A look at Swift’s transits reveals why she is experiencing one of the most fruitful and fortifying periods of her life. As my colleague and fellow star reader Kyle Thomas notes, “benevolent Jupiter dances into her solar sector of true love, creativity, and fertility from May 10, 2022 to October 28, 2022. It will return once again on December 20, 2022 to remain until May 16, 2023.” Jupiter is coming correct with the glad tidings, creative energy and lasting love and will continue to pour itself freely and favorably into Tay Tays proverbial cup as she takes the stage for her world tour. Cheers to you, Swift, may all your heartbreaks be in the rearview and may your best days await you.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
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