Entertainment
China Ruined Brad Pitt's Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Franchise, But It's Blowing Up On Streaming Anyway
By Rick Gonzales
| Published
It’s now nearing fifteen years old, and Brad Pitt’s apocalyptic zombie movie World War Z is suddenly blowing up big on streaming. It’s the most-watched movie on Paramount+ in the United States and one of the most-streamed films in the world this week. Except for in China, where the film was banned upon release.
World War Z is the 2013 Brad Pitt zombie-apocalypse film based on the 2006 novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by best-selling author Max Brooks (son of legendary filmmaker Mel Brooks). Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former UN agent who is stuck in heavy Philadelphia traffic with his wife, Karin (Mireille Enos), and their two daughters, Rachel and Connie. While trying to maneuver through the slog, the city is overcome by zombies.
As the city falls, the Lanes are able to escape to Newark, New Jersey, where they take refuge with a couple and their son Tommy in an apartment. Things quickly go bad as the Lanes have to move fast when the zombies invade, turning Tommy’s parents into the hungry undead.
Brad Pitt’s character, Gerry, is able to contact an old friend, Deputy UN Secretary-General Thierry Umutoni, who is able to get a helicopter to Gerry and his family, which now includes Tommy, as they barely escape the zombie horde. The Lanes are taken to a U.S. Navy vessel sailing safely in the Atlantic. Onboard are scientists and military personnel who are studying the nature of the infected.
World War Z then takes on a global outlook. Gerry and crew head over to a military base in South Korea, where they are promptly attacked by zombies. Not all survive as Gerry finds that his next destination is Jerusalem. When Gerry arrives, he finds large walls built to surround the city. Safety behind the wall doesn’t last, as the zombies, upon hearing the celebratory singing of refugees inside, team up to scale the walls and overrun the city.
How China Killed The World War Z Trilogy
Initially, Paramount saw World War Z as a trilogy. The film’s successful opening in the United States left Paramount thrilled, so they announced they were moving ahead with a sequel. They found a new director and a new screenwriter. But time moved on, and nothing materialized.
The sequel film went through its share of pre-production, and at one point, David Fincher was involved, but it was eventually canceled. If you’re wondering why, blame China. Hollywood has now become totally dependent on the Chinese box office, and the original World War Z was banned in the country. The sequels would be too.
Solstice Studios CEO Mark Gill said at the time: “It’s not cultural, it’s government policy… And the reason it’s government policy is that you have a government trying to maintain control over a population where there is a fair amount of unrest. One of the things that seems to particularly stir revolts or riots is superstition.”
China’s government policy automatically bans movies featuring zombies or ghosts from being shown in the country. For this reason, films like Jordan Peele’s Get Out or the zombie hit Zombieland also never saw a release in China.
World War Z’s Reception
Nevertheless, World War Z did, without Chinese money, a respectable job at the box office. Director Marc Forster was handed a budget that started at $125 million, eventually ballooning to upwards of $200 million, and he rewarded Paramount’s faith by bringing in nearly $541 million at the box office.
World War Z earned surprisingly strong reviews from critics and audiences alike. Critics praised the movie for turning what looked like a doomed blockbuster into a tense, fast-moving zombie thriller that leaned more on large-scale suspense than gore, with many reviewers singling out its globe-trotting pace and massive action sequences as highlights. Some longtime fans of Max Brooks’ novel criticized the film for abandoning almost everything that made the book unique, but general audiences were far more forgiving. .
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 31, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you love bright colors.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
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Yellow: Bright-colored
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Green: Playing pool
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Blue: Popeye
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Purple: Timber
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #1085 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Things that are yellow: BUTTER, PIKACHU, RUBBER DUCK, SCHOOL BUS
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Billiard terms: BREAK, CUE, POCKET, RACK
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Slang for a sailor: JACK, SALT, SEA DOG, TAR
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Kinds of wood plus “S”: SASH, SOAK, SPINE, STEAK
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for May 31, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re a traveler.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Places to go
The words are related to travel.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe travel sites.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Tourism.
NYT Strands word list for May 31
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Museum
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Beach
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Tourism
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Castle
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Market
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Restaurant
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Momument
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 31, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re a musician.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
A piece of music.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
The letter E appears twice.
Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter E.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
ETUDE
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
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