Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/March 17 to 23, 2024

Prepared with commentary by Igordebraga, CAWylie, Krimuk2.0, Rajan51, Ollieisanerd, and I am RedoStone.

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A future queen, cricket, the good and bad of Hollywood, and the bad and worse of Russia populate the list this week.

Rank	Article	Class	Views	Image	Notes/about
1	Nowruz		1,372,788		The Iranian-Persian New Year (depicted here in the Chehel Sotoun palace) was celebrated on March 21. The date marks the spring equinox on the Solar Hijri calendar. Traditional celebrations across the world include bonfires, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, and symbolic meals honoring classical elements.
2	Catherine, Princess of Wales		1,362,338		In January, Kensington Palace announced that the Princess of Wales had undergone abdominal surgery for something that was not cancer. She then postponed all public appearances and duties until after Easter. Her going off the grid caused numerous conspiracy theories in the ensuing months. On March 22, via video message, she announced that post-operative tests had indeed found cancer and that she had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment since February.
3	Dan Schneider		1,331,755		From the late 1990s until 2019, Schneider created, produced, or wrote for over a dozen children's shows, primarily for Nickelodeon. He also became part of the Weinstein effect when young actresses began filing complaints about him: from temper issues to verbal abuse and gender discrimination. In March 2024, a documentary series, Quiet on the Set, explored the allegations.
4	Indian Premier League		1,271,572		Cricket's richest league returned on Friday for its 17th edition with the reigning champions defeating the team whose female counterpart just won the Women's Premier League, the women's version of #4, whose title was surprisingly not used for the Women's Super League, the women's version of the English premier football league.
5	2024 Indian Premier League		1,137,627
6	Aaron Taylor-Johnson		1,116,376		Speculation was raised that the favorite to be the 007th James Bond was this British actor, who has two superhero roles (the title one in Kick-Ass and Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron) and an upcoming supervillain one in Kraven the Hunter, and quite some experience in action films such as Godzilla, The King's Man and Bullet Train - he's even playing an action star in the upcoming The Fall Guy!
7	Drake Bell		1,052,807		In the March 17 episode of DUI arrest in 2015 and his 2021 guilty plea for child endangerment.
8	Deaths in 2024		984,113		All by myself Don't wanna live All by myself anymore
9	Road House (2024 film)		937,954		Jake Gyllenhaal, once known for working with auteurs in intense dramas, has in recent years embraced his action hero persona. Road House is his latest testosterone-driven vehicle, which serves as a remake of the 1989 film starring Patrick Swayze. Critics seem to like this version only a tad bit more than the original, but it's a ratings hit for Amazon Prime Video on which it's streaming.
10	Brian Peck		914,816		Peck had many jobs in the entertainment industry: producer, director, dialogue coach, and actor; but, in 2003, he was arrested and convicted of being a sex offender (as evidenced here by his creepy mugshot) and performing lewd acts with a minor. Peck has served his time, but has yet to secure work in the industry. On the March 17 episode of Quiet on the Set, it was revealed that Drake Bell (#7) was the victim. (Sidenote: Peck was also penpals with serial killer John Wayne Gacy.)
11	Dune: Part Two		874,007		Still strong in views and box office, in the latter having just crossed $500 million worldwide despite the tough competition of Dune: Messiah will enter production.
12	Saint Patrick's Day		807,642		Commemorating the death of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland, the international holiday falls on March 17. Whether viewed as a religious or cultural holiday, almost everyone annually adorns themselves in the color green (as shown here at the Portes des Bombes in Malta).
13	3 Body Problem (TV series)		803,330		Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss try to adapt another "unfilmable" collection of fantasy novels and to win back goodwill after the panned final season of GoT, this time for Netflix. So far, they are on the right track with critics and audiences reacting favourably to this adaptation of Liu Cixin's acclaimed novel (#15). It involves complex physics and visual effects, and in true D&D fashion, a shocking episode that's reminiscent of the best of GoT.
14	Amanda Bynes		740,273		Among the ones who spoke out against #3 was the star of two of his shows, manicurist (even if she failed her first test to get the license ) after a quite troubled life following her retirement from acting in 2010.
15	The Three-Body Problem (novel)		728,027		Source for #13, that's the first part of a trilogy named Remembrance of Earth's Past. The adaptation has key differences from the Chinese novel (written by Liu Cixin), such as racebending and gender flipping, but keeps its critique of China's Cultural Revolution.
16	Poor Things (film)		697.970		Four Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Emma Stone, keep high the interest in this wacky book adaptation. Given it's available on streaming (Hulu in the US, Disney+/Star elsewhere), wonder how many people started Poor Things and gave up either because of sheer weirdness or for featuring a lot of sex scenes.
17	Shōgun (2024 miniseries)		686,957		The Asian Saga train keeps rolling and, although weekly viewership numbers have slightly diminished, will keep rolling until late April.
18	Dune (2021 film)		625,270		#11's predecessor, that adapted only half the novel lest it becomes something rushed and scattershot like the 1984 movie.
19	2024 Russian presidential election		612,444		The presidential election was held in Russia from March 15 to 17. Incumbent president Vladimir Putin (pictured) won his fifth term with 88% of the votes, the highest percentage in a presidential election in post-Soviet Russia. It is unclear if his opponent, Nikolay Kharitonov, who received 5% of the votes, got a participation trophy.
20	The Gentlemen (2024 TV series)		604,047		You probably never heard of the Lock, Stock... and Snatch shows, but the third time a series was made out of a Guy Ritchie movie is making more impact.
21	Crocus City Hall attack		552,927		On March 22, four members of ISIS–K targeted a concert held at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Russia. At least 144 people were reportedly killed, 95 missing, and 182 injured in an attack that included mass shootings, slashing attacks, and use of incendiary devices that also damaged the building. It is believed to be a retaliation from ISIS following the United States warning Russia of a possible terrorist threat.
22	J. Robert Oppenheimer		534,818		As Al Pacino put it, "And my eyes see Oppenheimer", given the biopic on this physicist was the one movie that surpassed #16 in the Academy Awards, down to winning Best Picture.
23	Damsel (2024 film)		530,888		Millie Bobby Brown plays Elodie, the princess in distress, in this Joe Versus the Volcano meets Game of Thrones dark fantasy film. Released March 8 on Netflix, it was the most viewed in 79 countries, despite mixed reviews.
24	The Acolyte (TV series)		516,540		The Star Wars prequel TV series, set to take place 100 years before The Phantom Menace, won't arrive on Disney+ until June. However, series creator and film series fan Leslye Headland (pictured), has had an interest and ideas formulating since 2019. Lucasfilm reached out to her, following her other successful series, Russian Doll.
25	Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire		514,046		After winning back fans with the nostalgia-fest Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the best known spectral hunters return in a movie where New York is threatened by a ancient god trying to both build a ghost army and restart the ice age. Originally scheduled for December before the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes delayed it to this week (and this here writer will have to wait 3 more weeks before it arrives in his country), Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire received mixed reviews but is still expected to at least lead the box office for a weekend.