This Week in Pop Culture : December 22- 28, 2018

Rapper Kodak Black had his first number one album this week with the just-released Dying to Live. The collection is Black’s first since being released from prison. The album’s hit single, “ZEZE” is currently number two on the all-genre Billboard chart.

The internet is abuzz that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have married. The rumor is based on a picture of the couple surrounded by a small group of friends and family eating cake. There are also “Mr.” and “Mrs.” balloons visible in the background of the picture. On Wednesday there was official confirmation of the nuptials for the on-again, off-again couple, who most recently made news after their house burned down in the Malibu fires and Hemsworth saved their pets from harm.

Aquaman was number one at the box office this week, taking in $72 million. Mary Poppins Returns narrowly beat out the Transformers prequel Bumblebee to take second place. Very few people went to see the very expensive Mortal Engines . To fail ignominiously is to do so in a particularly public and embarrassing way. Minor slip-ups aren’t really ignominious.

After a string of hit singles, Bad Bunny has released his debut album, X100PRE. Bad Bunny, who was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has always had a knack for blending genres like reggaeton, club-pop and salsa, and his album offers more of this unique style.

President Trump continued a White House tradition of fielding phone calls from children about Santa's whereabouts on Christmas Eve. Trump apparently did not consider the possibility that the 7-year-old caller still believes in old St. Nick. The internet had a field day with Trump’s faux pas. Marginal here means “not likely” or “in the minority.”

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, stopped by an In-n-Out Burger in California this week and bought all the customers their meals. Hanks even paid for a few drive-thru orders. Hanks is known around Hollywood as a genuinely nice guy, and this generosity of spirit confirms his reputation.

The reviews for Holmes & Watson are in, and many critics are calling it a late candidate for “Worst Movie of the Year.” Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly also starred in Talladega Nights and Step Brothers together, but this time they’ve apparently struck out, making what one critic called a “devastatingly unfunny” movie. Ouch. You can judge for yourself, as Holmes & Watson is in theaters now.

Cardi B. has announced that she will not be taking part in the Super Bowl halftime show this year. Maroon 5 is headlining the event, and because Cardi B. has a hit song with Maroon 5, it seemed like a natural fit for her to make an appearance. However Cardi B. declined the offer in order to protest the continued unemployment in the NFL of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who led the kneeling protests during the national anthem in previous seasons.

Royal watchers have noted that Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle seem to have healed their rift, or at least they put their differences aside for the holidays. The pair and their husbands celebrated Christmas together this week with the Queen. The annual walk to church in Sandringham in the English countryside was dissected for any hint of tension or discord, but the four were all smiles. If Kate and Meghan truly don’t like each other, they are very good at hiding it.

Have you been checking your mailbox for a Christmas card from the Kardashians this year? While it was late in coming, the clan did in fact produce a card this season (the 2017 card drama was so intense, many wondered about whether they'd even bother this year). So if yours did not arrive, it looks like you weren't in their address book. The 2018 card shows several family members in full glam and white outfits, but it doesn’t showcase the whole clan — Kanye and Kris are notably absent.