1) “Battle of Lake Changjin,” a Chinese movie about soldiers fighting US forces during the Korean War, is on track to be 2021’s 2nd-highest-grossing film, with a total box office of $843m. Unsurprisingly, it’s made $0 outside of China.
2) There’s a new rodeo in town, as Formula 1 racing went to Austin this week. The sport’s American fan base has grown 40% to ~50m people since 2018.
3) When Facebook crashed the other week, Netflix engagement spiked 14%. We now know that humans can rapidly adapt to other forms of procrastination in times of crisis.
4) It’s poppin’. Following a dry 2020 during which the global Champagne industry sold 244m bottles — an 18% drop — they now expect to sell 305m bottles in 2021.
5) A 66m-year-old South Dakotan native, Big John — the largest triceratops fossil ever found — sold last week at a Paris auction for $7.74m. His cousin, Stan the T. rex, sold for $31.8m last year.