South African comedy Catching Feelings debuted in cinemas last month, and it did fairly well for a local film at the box office. But for those who don't enjoy cinemas, you can soon watch the flick on your own television. Netflix South Africa today announced that the flick, directed by Kagiso Lediga (Wonder Boy for President) and stars Pearl Thusi, is heading to the streaming service. It's the first SA film to feature on Netflix too. "Catching Feelings is a dark romantic comedy drama which "follows a jaded academic and his journalist wife, who have their lives turned upside down when a celebrated...
Disney may be planning its own streaming service for 2019, but for now, Netflix still stocks some of the company's content. Today, it announced that 12 new Disney shows -- for kids and adults -- are now available to stream in South Africa. A few highlights include Phineas and Ferb's first four seasons, Gravity Falls' seasons one and two, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars' first two seasons as well. In addition, kids can annoy their parents with Sofia The First's second and third seasons, and Doc McStuffins' first three seasons. (Because, as we sit at our desks watching that clock...
Just days ahead of its IPO, Swedish music streaming company Spotify has published its first ever guidance document for prospective investors and anyone who just wants to understand the company's self-image. The IPO, or initial public offering, will be the first time Spotify's shares will be available for public purchase. And if you need a specific date, pen that particular milestone for 3 April 2018. For you number lovers out there however, here's how many users the company believes will join its service this year. Spotify forecasts modest user growth for the first three months of 2018's financial year (Q1 2018). It...
This week's SA box office report is significant. For one, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is finally out of the top ten. And secondly, Tomb Raider made its debut. The remake of the classic Angelina Jolie-starring video game adaptation swings into second place, behind the rock of Wakanda, Black Panther. The Ryan Coogler flick spends its fifth week at number one. But which other movies made an impact this weekend? (16 - 18 March) Last week's runner up Death Wish falls two places, relegated by Tomb Raider and Gnome Alone. Game Night is back up to fifth place after falling one spot last...
Spotify is reportedly testing a voice-command and search system for those who prefer talking to their devices. Just a small subset of users have received the update, the company told TechCrunch, but it has massive implications. For users, it means telling the streaming service to "Play my Daily Mix 1" or "Show Drake". The service will then oblige, by either selecting and playing said playlist, or producing the artist page for Drake. (It won't however show him playing Fornite, you'll need another app for that.) For Spotify, this lends further credence to the company's audio assistant ambitions. While the limitations of a screen...
Wakanda is still the best place to live this week, after Black Panther enjoyed another dominant weekend on top of the Southern African box office. Now breaking the R70-million mark at the box office, the flick was only threatened by Bruce Willis' new entry to the chart, Death Wish. But how did other movies fare this past weekend? (9 - 11 March 2018) Fifty Shades Freed fell one spot to third place, while Gnome Alone (third) also lost ground after Death Wish's debut. Red Sparrow remained in fifth place, but Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri -- buoyed by its Oscar wins -- was...
The music geeks at Spotify on Tuesday officially switched on access to the service for South Africans, giving the country yet another streaming music platform to complicate their lives. But is this such a bad thing? Competition is healthy, especially when said competition has different selling points and business models. For Spotify, it's entered the market with (an initially small) focus on local content, its widely-used free-tier, and a relatively affordable monthly premium if you really like it. "We have had the continent in our sights for a while and are finally able to offer South African fans access to all...
The streaming music world's worst kept secret is finally confirmed to be true: Spotify will today launch in South Africa, the company's representatives confirmed in an email to Memeburn. The news comes after numerous taunts and hints, including a rumoured Vodacom partnership in 2014, an oh-so-revealing job posting last year, and an invitations to a media event in Johannesburg last week. South Africa will be the Swedish music streaming service's first foray into Africa, as it looks to bolster its 160-million user base. But gaining users may not be so easy. The South African streaming market is congested, with the likes of...
If you're into creepy surrealism, Neil Patrick Harris totally being himself, and crabs... lots and lots of crabs, the second season trailer of A Series of Unfortunate Events is for you. Not as weird as Count Olaf's fourth-wall breaking announcement trailer, this particular reel reminds everyone how terrible everyone in this universe is. Except Sunny, of course. She's delightful. The forthcoming airing follows the original ten episodes from the show's debut season, which tells the story of of the Baudelaire orphans and their toils with their evil uncle Olaf (the one with the good hair). Season one received notable critical acclaim, currently sitting...
Former US President Barack Obama is reportedly in talks with Netflix over a show production deal which could see one of the most influential figures on social media make his production bow on streaming media. According to the New York Times exclusive, "Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service." No one's quite sure what format these show(s) will take yet -- whether it'll be something akin to Keeping Up With The Obamas, or simply a documentary series about the Obama Administration and his Obama family during this...
South Africa may celebrate National Women's Day on 8 August each year, but on 8 March the globe celebrates International Women's Day. "In 2017, International Women’s Day was the #1 most talked-about moment of the year," Facebook wrote in a post. "It was a moment that rallied the world around empowering women, and that was just the beginning of mounting energy for women’s movements that shows no signs of slowing down in 2018." Today, Facebook released some interesting stats about women on its social network and the impact International Women's Day has had on the site. According to the company, more than 40%...
This week's Southern African weekend box office report saw three distinct trends. There were the movers, the new entries, and the top two. Notably, Jumanji wasn't among the latter. Instead, the Dwayne Johnson flick which made over R61-million at the box office throughout its prosperous life is finally dying. It drops three places this week from third to sixth. Joining it is Tad, The Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (*breathe*), Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Raaiselkind. All three drop three spots to make room for this week's new entries. Those new entries are led by Gnome Alone...
The Arctic fox is a cute little critter. Not only does it keep up to speed with seasonal fashion trends, it also has a fascination with humans. This particular bugger, captured by a National Geographic film crew, enjoyed human company for a little longer than most wild animals usually do. In the clip, uploaded on 2 March, the Arctic fox is seen sniffing the subject's boots, licking its chops, and likely plotting which murder hole it'll drag this large camera-wielding morsel into. Tell this Arctic fox it isn't cute. We dare you But regardless of the fox's intentions (okay, it's probably just...
Well well well. It seems that Swedish music streaming giant Spotify may finally make a play in South Africa. The company today sent out invites for a media event taking place in Johannesburg next week, and we're promised there will be "some news to share". Coy? Extremely. But this isn't the first time Spotify has teased us with news regarding its South African presence. In 2014, there was a suggestion that Vodacom was set to partner with the streaming music service. But again, this was more wishful thinking. In September 2017, the company posted a job placement for a South African music editor. "You...
Netflix original Black Mirror has been renewed for a fifth season, confirmed this week through a cryptic tweet -- the only applicable way, it seems. "The future will be brighter than ever," the post reads, compelte with a video of scenes from 12 previous episodes displayed on 12 different screens reminiscent of the Architect scene from The Matrix. The future will be brighter than ever. pic.twitter.com/slVeg3VPd7 — Black Mirror (@blackmirror) March 5, 2018 Odd? Yes. Typically Black Mirror? Absolutely. Me trying to figure out what this might be implying pic.twitter.com/FHHatDLjTl — Noah Clement (@Rocky_BalNoah) March 5, 2018 But what does it mean? Perhaps season five would tie...
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