Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 5 to 11, 2020

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Prepared with commentary by Igordebraga

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While people still retread what happened in 2019, specially with the Golden Globes awarding last year's movies, 2020 has already started off startling people, with the current Iranian crisis, fires in Australia, an acclaimed drummer dying and resignations in the British Royal Family.

For the week of January 5 to 11, 2020, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 are:

Rank Article Class Views Image About
1 Qasem Soleimani   2,212,042
 
Like the previous report, we start with the 2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis, which escalated after a drone strike killed an Iranian general. Readers also sought more about the country that has been at odds with the United States since the revolution of 1979.
2 Iran   1,096,903
 
3 1917 (2019 film)   1,007,589
 
Twenty years after American Beauty, director Sam Mendes is again an awards frontrunner, as he followed two James Bond movies with a World War I epic that even managed to top the box office in its wide release.
4 The Witcher (TV series)   1,003,737
 
Geralt of Rivia continues to enthrall on Netflix, and by extension this list.
5 Neil Peart   863,826
 
Like Led Zeppelin and The Who, Rush had the drummer as the most acclaimed musician and the first member to die. In this case, Neil Peart, who died at the age 67 of a brain cancer, a few years after health issues forced him to retire.
6 Tom Hanks   838,431
 
Widely perceived as one of the nicest people in Hollywood, Tom Hanks won a prize recognizing his career at the Golden Globes (#10), where he was up for Best Supporting Actor playing another nice guy, Mr. Rogers.
7 Dracula (2020 TV series)   836,657
 
The quintessential vampire was adapted onto a Netflix miniseries, where he's portrayed by Claes Bang.
8 Laxmi Agarwal   835,817
 
India has a sad trend of acid attacks on women, with this survivor's activism against them now being depicted on the Bollywood release Chhapaak, where Agarwal is played by Deepika Padukone.
9 Iran Air Flight 655   779,040
 
Seeing a plane destroyed in Iran (#23) reminded everyone of the controversial shootdown of an Iranian airliner on the way to Dubai by an American cruiser back in 1988.
10 77th Golden Globe Awards   774,679   Film award season begins with these accolades by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which also recognizes some TV productions. Big winners included our #3, a movie I've been avoiding, and a show that I despise.
11 World War III   773,524
 
Says something about the state of the world that recent international affairs led to people checking on this article, that we hope remains hypothetical.
12 Joaquin Phoenix   716,684
 
If a Golden Globe (#10) for Best Actor - Drama is a good sign, the latest Joker should be preparing his award shelf for more prizes.
13 Bushfires in Australia   712,664   Last year, the Amazon rainforest burnt a lot due to deforestation. And now natural fires are striking in Australia, leading to billions of animals dead.
14 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker   707,152
 
As expected, Episode IX of Star Wars broke a billion dollars worldwide, the seventh Disney release to do so this year, even if it had an even more polarizing response than The Last Jedi.
15 Luka Magnotta   687,700
 
The subject of Netflix docuseries Don't F**k With Cats, responsible for a few kitten deaths and a grisly human dismemberment.
16 Deaths in 2020   678,494
 
New year, new yearly list of deaths that should be expected in every Report.
17 You (TV series)   642,171
 
Netflix viewers continue to binge the series with Penn Badgley as a serial killer.
18 Awkwafina   631,653
 
An Asian-American rapper turned actress who has had her fair share of hits (Crazy Rich Asians, Ocean's 8, Jumanji: The Next Level) and has now also won a Golden Globe (#10) for her lauded performance in The Farewell.
19 Jeffrey Epstein   616,632
 
The footage that could prove if this deceased pedophile financier was murdered has been deleted by a "clerical error". In the meantime, Ricky Gervais (#21) used him for a joke in the Golden Globes (#10) ("After Life is a show about a man who wants to kill himself 'cause his wife dies of cancer and it's still more fun than this. Spoiler alert, season two is on the way so in the end he obviously didn't kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up. I know he's your friend but I don't care.").
20 Elizabeth II   611,111
 
Her Majesty was forced onto the spotlight once one of her grandchildren and his wife (#25) decided to resign from royal family duties, forcing her to release a first-person statement on family matters.
21 Ricky Gervais   596,612
 
For the fifth - and last - time the Brit who created The Office hosted the Golden Globes (#10), and didn't hold back in his jokes, including "I came here in a limo tonight and the license plate was made by Felicity Huffman.", "The world got to see James Corden as a fat pussy. He was also in the movie Cats." and "You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg."
22 Parasite (2019 film)   593,563
 
The acclaimed dark comedy by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho already won the Palme d'Or, and now was chosen as the best foreign film at the Golden Globes, with Bong noting in his speech that Americans can discover some amazing movies if they stop discarding things with subtitles.
23 Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752   590,379
 
Showing how the Persian Gulf crisis has been tense and at times unbelievable, this airliner was shot down shortly after taking off in Tehran... by Iranian forces, who shot a missile by accident, something that hasn't sit well with lots of people.
24 Donald Trump   581,939
 
While his impeachment trials are on the way, Trump continues to fire missiles and heavy words against Iran.
25 Meghan, Duchess of Sussex   567,689   After Brexit came "Megxit", where along with husband Harry, the former actress decided to resign from British Royal Family duties. Outcry ensued, and something says the reaction wouldn't be as bad if Kate was the one who did so.
 
Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (January 5 to 11, 2020)