US Open to Award Grand Slam Record $85M in Prize Money
The 2025 US Open will officially be the richest in tennis Grand Slam history, with player prize money at the hard court tournament rising to $85 million. The men’s and women’s singles champions will each pocket $5 million, a 39% jump from 2024, when men’s champion Jannik Sinner and women’s winner Aryna Sabalenka both won $3.6 million. The singles runner-up will still take home a sizable payday of $2.5 million. The doubles champs will each earn $1 million while the runners-up will receive $500,000.
Disney Posts $23.7B in Q3 Revenue, TV Business Slumps
The Walt Disney Company shared results for its fiscal third quarter on Wednesday, reporting a total profit of $23.7 billion, a 2% increase compared to the $23.2 billion in 2024, and a net income of $5.26 billion, roughly double from a year earlier. Revenue from the company’s linear television networks dropped 15% in the quarter to $2.27 billion, and operating income slumped 28% to $697 million due to a declining number of subscribers, viewers, and ad rates.
Jen Pawol to Make MLB History as First Female Umpire
Jen Pawol will make history on Saturday when she becomes the first female umpire to work a Major League Baseball regular-season game. Per the league’s announcement, Pawol will work both ends of the Saturday doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins at Truist Park and then also work the Sunday series finale. She will become the fifth umpire to debut this year.
Instagram Rolls Out Reposts Tab, Location Sharing, New ‘Friends’ Feed
Instagram announced a slew of changes coming to the platform on Wednesday. Users can now repost public reels and feed posts, which will appear in a new “Reposts” tab on their profile. Additionally, an opt-in location-sharing feature in DMs, called Instagram Maps, will allow friends to share their most recent active location with each other. Already available in the U.S., the “Friends” tab shows a new feed of content your friends have liked, commented on, reposted, or created. Users can also opt out of having their engaged content appear in this feed and mute likes, comments, or reposts from specific people they follow.
‘GTA VI’ to Cost $100, Projected to Make $1B in First-Day Sales
The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI video game will cost buyers $100 per copy, making it one of the most expensive games on the market, according to Louise Wooldridge of Ampere Analysis, who spoke to The Telegraph. The pricey amount isn’t expected to deter avid gamers, with Woolridge adding the game would bring in over $1 billion in sales in its first day alone and $10 billion in its lifetime.
Apple Commits to Spending $100B More in the United States
On Wednesday, Apple confirmed plans to commit to spending an additional $100 billion on domestic manufacturing. The new program is designed to bring more of Apple’s supply chain stateside. The tech giant previously announced intentions to invest $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, which will include work on a new server manufacturing facility in Houston, a supplier academy in Michigan, and additional spending with its existing suppliers in the country.
Matt Smith Joins Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth on ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Cast
Matt Smith has been cast to play a villain in the forthcoming Star Wars: Starfighter project for Lucasfilm. Known for memorable roles in Doctor Who and, more recently, House of the Dragon, he joins a star-studded roster that includes Mia Goth, who has also been confirmed as a villain, and Ryan Gosling, who is reportedly playing the titular starfighter pilot.
ESPN Pays Reported $1.6B for WWE, WrestleMania Streaming Rights
Following a landmark deal with the NFL, ESPN announced a separate partnership with the WWE on Wednesday, including the streaming rights to WrestleMania. That means beginning in 2026, ESPN will become the U.S. domestic home for all WWE Premium Live Events. According to the Wall Street Journal, the five-year deal is worth $1.6 billion. The network’s flagship direct-to-consumer streaming platform officially launches on Aug. 21 at a price of $29.99 a month.
The ‘Hamilton’ Movie to Hit Theaters in September
During an appearance Tuesday night on The Tonight Show, Lin-Manuel Miranda revealed that the movie version of his Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton will arrive in theaters on Sept. 5. The release includes a special “Reuniting the Revolution” prologue — fresh interviews with the original cast and creators as they discuss the impact the show has had on their lives. Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary on Broadway, tickets for the Hamilton movie are available here.
Hulu App to be Integrated Into Disney+
As part of its quarterly earnings report, Disney confirmed that it will phase out the standalone version of the Hulu app that has existed for more than 15 years in favor of an integrated version on the Disney+ app. With the move, Hulu will now become available internationally once the merger goes through in 2026. Finally, in following Apple and Netflix’s lead, Disney will no longer report subscriber numbers for its streaming services in future earnings reports.
Image: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
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