Entertainment
New Scream Movie Panned By Critics Over Politics, Breaks Franchise Box-Office Records
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
According to film critics, Scream 7 is the death of the franchise. With an aggregate of 33% from 120 critic reviews as of this writing, it’s easy to believe they are right. There is just one problem: the movie is so popular that it’s poised to break opening-weekend franchise records.
The previous record was set by Scream VI, which opened with $44 million. The new movie is projected to approach or break $50 million, with some estimates as high as $59 million. Fans gave Scream 7 a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a big gap between audiences and critics.
How Politics Influences The Reviews Of Critics
The one thing that all the bad reviews have in common is discussion of the firing of Melissa Barerra and the subsequent departure of Jenna Ortega, both of whom played characters central to the two previous installations. Barerra was fired for making inflammatory remarks about Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, sentiments which are shared by many in the entertainment industry; Ortega left in protest of Barrera’s dismissal. A lot of critics and major entertainment news venues sympathize with Barrera’s views, and some of these are gleefully reporting the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ ratings as though it means something for the movie.
Critics also infamously panned the biopic of the First Lady, Melania, with an even wider gap of 11% based on 53 reviews, while over 1000 audience reviewers average 98%. They are also offering great praise to the politically motivated series Starfleet Academy, the latest Star Trek show that hasn’t really resonated with fans, but which we keep being told is the best Star Trek yet. Meanwhile, the Daily Wire+ show The Pendragon Cycle has been ignored by mainstream critics, with no score on Rotten Tomatoes at all, not even a 0, despite an average of 85% from viewers.
What this all indicates is that industry reviewers are circling the wagons based on political divides rather than giving honest reviews. They are evaluating movies with greater consideration of whether they check certain boxes off-screen, and are boycotting or panning films that don’t neatly fit their mold. Critics are relying on their authority as insiders to dictate culture through the lens of politics rather than examining movies on their own merits and audience potential.
Professional Review Bombing
Some commenters have even accused the collective of mainstream critics of “review bombing” Scream 7. Review bombing is a phenomenon in which individuals give a movie a bad rating for some motive outside the show. Recently, a review bombing war between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms fans and Breaking Bad fans resulted in the IMDB rating of the latter’s crowning episode, “Ozymandias,” being reduced to a 9.5 from a perfect 10. The war started because the Game of Thrones spinoff received some bad reviews from Breaking Bad fans, who may or may not have been acting in bad faith.
However, those are individuals, even if some of them coordinated via an internet campaign. They are not the professionals relied on to be unbiased and to evaluate movies and television based on the productions themselves, not on who made them or their politics. The fact that the critics don’t seem to be connected to what audiences seem to want makes it even worse, because we are all being told that liking the stuff we like makes us bigoted if they don’t like it. And they also seem to think that if they ignore it altogether, like with The Pendragon Cycle, that maybe it will slip by unnoticed.
How much of our culture is being suppressed by critics with political agendas? Scream 7 indicates that the question needs to be asked as it is such a runaway hit that the motives of mainstream reviewers may not be critique, but activism.
Entertainment
How to watch Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The 2026 T20 World Cup action this weekend is absolutely electric. A lot of fans will be tuning into the huge clash between India and West Indies later today, but for an exciting warm up, Zimbabwe face off against South Africa.
Zimbabwe did well to make this stage of the competition, but they’ve lost both their games in the second group stage. South Africa have looked formidable, and will want to continue their run of wins before the semi finals. Expect an action-packed contest between two talented sides.
If you want to watch Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Zimbabwe vs. South Africa?
Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup starts at 4:30 a.m. ET on March 1. This game takes place at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium.
How to watch Zimbabwe vs. South Africa for free
Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.
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This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access
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Visit ICC.TV
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Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
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Fast connection speeds
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Watch the 2026 T20 World Cup for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for March 1, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
Mixed metals.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
ALLOY
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A popular board game.
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Hurdle Word 2 Answer
CHESS
Hurdle Word 3 hint
The edge of the beach.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
COAST
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Milk-based.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
DAIRY
Final Hurdle hint
A Spanish character.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
TILDE
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on March 1
It’s a new month, and while the Moon may appear totally full, we’re still a couple of days away from this yet. But in the meantime, there’s still lots to spot on its surface.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Sunday, March 1, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 94% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.
With just your naked eye, tonight you’ll be able to see the Mares Imbrium and Crisium, as well as the Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars hanging about, dust them off and pull them out to catch a glimpse of the Mares Nectaris and Frigoris, and the Endymion Crater. And proud telescope owners will see all this and more, including the Apollo 15 and 17 landing spots, and the Schiller Crater.
When is the next Full Moon?
The next Full Moon will be on March 3. The last Full Moon was on Feb. 1.
What are Moon phases?
According to NASA, the Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit the Earth. Over the course of this period, it moves through eight recognisable phases, what we call the lunar cycle. While the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of its surface lit by the Sun changes as it continues along its path. The shifts in sunlight create the different appearances we see from Earth, ranging from a fully illuminated Moon to a thin sliver or near darkness. The eight phases are:
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
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Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
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