Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 22 to 28, 2023

The Top 25 Report

This page contains material that is kept because it is considered humorous.
Such material is not meant to be taken seriously.

Don't forget to read the 2022 annual top 50 report

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (January 22 to 28, 2023)

Prepared with commentary by Igordebraga, Max BuddyRoo, SSSB

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Movies and TV are the most present subjects, but there is also room for holidays in India and China, some sad moments on the news, and a few instances of sports glory.

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Pathaan (film)	3,999,949	Shah Rukh Khan is a huge deal in India (He is India and India is him, they said). So it is only appropriate that his comeback film after five years is breaking Hindi film records in its opening weekend. Pathaan (the title character) must stop a private terrorist organisation from releasing a deadly man-made virus into India. As usual, I have pathetically failed in my attempt to sell this film to you via the plot. So I will settle by telling you that critics are impressed.
2	The Last of Us (TV series)	1,664,646	The HBO show based on #6 is receiving massive praise among both critics and audiences, earning a spot at #2.
3	ChatGPT	1,588,826	AI strikes again as this article appears for the 4th time in a row, as fears of the AI increase across the world, with people worrying it will replace jobs (with there being an even bigger AI model on the way).
4	Republic Day (India)	1,456,310	Although India became independent in August 1947 (that's Independence Day), It wasn't until January 26, 1950, that the transition to independence was complete, when the Indian Constitution came into effect. The day is marked by parades and an awards ceremony, among other celebrations. The whole thing doesn't even end until November 29, when the Indian military performs a beating retreat.
5	Avatar: The Way of Water	1,123,418	Like its predecessor, the return of Jake Sully and the Na'vi has passed 2 billion dollars and earned a Best Picture nomination (which this writer thought was undeserved, as at least the first one had a compelling if derivative story compared to this overlong if impressive showcase of underwater visual effects).
6	The Last of Us	1,121,753	#2 was based off of it, so people probably went here trying to find the show, if not discover where the plot is going.
7	Killing of Tyre Nichols	1,003,941	America's latest case of police brutality. This time, five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee beat Tyre Nichols and he died three days later. When it was George Floyd people screamed racism, but this time the officers involved were mostly black. So the main conclusion to be drawn (at least from my perspective): the US police force needs to be reformed - and it needs to happen now.
8	Deaths in 2023	971,918	It seems no one can help me now I'm in too deep, there's no way out This time I have really led myself astray...
9	Justin Roiland	841,536	The creator of Rick and Morty was fired following the reveal of a past arrest for abuse, but the show already announced they will replace him as the voice actor for title characters.
10	Brock Purdy	783,649	When Purdy was drafted as Mr. Irrelevant at the 2022 NFL Draft everyone thought that would be the last they heard of him - and for a long time that was true. But after the San Francisco 49ers lost their first two quarterbacks to injury, Purdy had to step up. And he hasn't done too badly, winning all of the 7 games he has started. Tonight (I'm writing this on the morning of Jan 29), he plays in the NFC Championship Game in an attempt to make it to Super Bowl LVII on February 12.
11	List of highest-grossing films	755,813	As #5 continues to do well, people check this list to see how close it is to becoming the highest grossing movie of all time. (It probably won't; passing James Cameron's previous movie before he went all-in on blue aliens for third place is close, but there's quite the gap to reach the first movie and Avengers: Endgame.)
12	Royal Rumble (2023)	748,932	The latest wrestling pay-per-view, held in San Antonio and featuring Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley winning the title match.
13	Lunar New Year	744,174	Lunar new year is celebrated at different times depending on where you are in the world and the culture you're with. For example, Islam celebrates it in July this year. But perhaps the most widely known is the Chinese New Year which happened this week. See #23 for more.
14	Elena Rybakina	712,747	Seven months after her first Grand Slam title (pictured to the left), Elena Rybakina had in the Australian Open a chance of earning one of those that would actually give any points on the WTA rankings, something that didn't happen in Wimbledon due to Russian and Belarusian players being banned for something that still hasn't ended (ironically, Rybakina is Russian, but like at least eight tennis players here she plays for Kazakhstan), and she tried, going to the finals and eliminating current #1 Iga Świątek along the way. And yet in spite of giving her all in a close match, she lost the decisive game to #19.
15	M1 Abrams	707,619	...I did just obliquely mention Ukraine, didn't I? Joe Biden approved shipping the crown jewel of tanks to help that country defend from Putin. (We hope it's not a precedent for something worse.)
16	95th Academy Awards	705,625	The latest edition of the Oscars (which hopefully this year won't have people getting slapped on stage) revealed its nominations, with the most recognized flick, with 11, being the incredibly weird Everything Everywhere All at Once, a multiversal madness even worse than the one faced by Doctor Strange. Other big contestants include #5, the movie it beat in #11 as the biggest 2022 release, #25, the biography of #18's dad, a remake of a past Best Picture winner, Spielberg going autobiographical, and World Heritage Treasure Cate Blanchett going nuts. Best Actress includes Ana de Armas for Blonde, a movie so full of problems in spite of an amazing lead actress that it's actually the biggest nominee of the 43rd Golden Raspberry Awards.
17	Everything Everywhere All at Once	685,096
18	Lisa Marie Presley	665,151	One more week for Elvis's recently deceased daughter. Even if she once said "I'll shrink my head and put it in a glass box in the living room. I'll get more tourists to Graceland that way.", instead Lisa Marie still went to what she described in one of her songs as "the damn back lawn" of that house, where the Presley family grave is located.
19	Aryna Sabalenka	654,382	Continuing from #14, Russian and Belarusian tennis players have been playing for no flag ever since the invasion of Ukraine. From the latter country hails Aryna Sabalenka, who had two Grand Slams on doubles and added the Australian Open on singles, part of a good season start that preceded her Melbourne triumph with one in Adelaide. (This here writer confesses he only watched the mixed doubles finals for patriotism's sake.)
20	Leopard 2	637,296	More on tanks against Putin: Germany confirmed they would give 14 of these to Ukraine, making people check the article to see what they are.
21	Aubrey Plaza	596,757	Saturday Night Live was hosted by one of the stars of The White Lotus, which included her again playing April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation - which served as an excuse for boss Leslie Knope to show up!
22	Bella Ramsey	565,945	She starred as Ellie in #2, so people were checking this article to see who she was.
23	Chinese New Year	547,791	On Jan 22, China celebrated one of its biggest holidays and millions of us around the world celebrated with them as we entered the year of the rabbit.
24	That '90s Show	528,386	"Hello Wisconsin!", says Leia Forman, who in the Netflix sequel to That '70s Show decides to spend the summer vacation with her grandparents. While a serviceable show, it should be said there was a downgrade in the riot grrl reworking of an awesome theme song.
25	The Banshees of Inisherin	520,411	One of the big contestants at #16 is this very Irish movie by Martin McDonagh, which still hasn't come out in this writer's country.