Sir Keir Starmer is said to be taking a bank holiday if England wins the World Cup.
To celebrate his first win in 60 years, the prime minister has hinted at a day off for the country, but he is not expected to confirm any plans until the final.
It is believed that the bank holiday could be on Friday, July 24, giving the team plenty of time to recover from the final match last Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday, Sir Kerr said, “I would rather not spoil it, but ask me again if we’ve reached the final.”
After a 3-2 win over Mexico, England are set for a quarter-final clash with Norway in Miami on Saturday.
Keir Starmer and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stover at the NATO summit in Ankara (A.P)
Should England win, they will face either Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on July 15.
Speaking from Ankara, Turkey, Sir Kerr hailed Monday’s win over Mexico as “one of England’s best performances.”
He jokingly reminded Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre that England only won the World Cup under a Labour government.
“I’m a good friend of his,” he told reporters.
“Norway-UK relations are as strong as they have ever been, and he is a key figure in the alliances we are building.
But for 90 minutes on Saturday evening, we must go our separate ways as we enter this match.
England have not won the World Cup in 60 years. (PA Wire)
He said he had resisted calls to try to overturn Jeral Kwanza’s red card against Mexico after Donald Trump persuaded FIFA to suspend American player Fowlerin Balogan’s ban and allow him to play against Belgium.
“I can’t tell you how many messages I received asking me to take back the red card I got early Monday,” he said.
“I hasten to add, I have not attempted to do so.”
Many English fans were left disappointed after a bank holiday was announced in Scotland in June to mark the country’s appearance in the men’s football finals for the first time in decades.
King Charles approved the proposal, put forward by First Minister John Sweeney, who wanted to allow the Scots to celebrate the Great Return.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she would “probably not” support a bank holiday if England won the World Cup.
“Sadly, we all know what happens with a bank holiday: the private sector will still be working, while the public sector takes the day off, and you’ll all have to pay the price.”
A new women’s champion will be crowned at Wimbledon after defeating Iga Świątek and second seed Elina Rybakina, followed by Naomi Osaka’s stunning straight-sets victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
With Barbora Krejcikova also knocked out before the quarter-finals, Wimbledon will crown a 10th different women’s champion in 10 years, with Coco Goff taking on Karolina Muchova as both players look to reach their first final at the All England Club.
Meanwhile, reigning men’s champion and top seed Janic Sinner is gathering form after a slow start at the Championships and will face Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals as the 39-year-old bids for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
On the men’s side, Wildcard has reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time since 2014, with Britain’s Arthur Ferry opening a clash with ninth seed Flavio Cobolli and defeating Grigor Dimitrov in five sets.
Follow the progress of the top players with our seed tracker here:
The seeds of men
During the quarter finals
Junk Sinner (ITA) – ✅ Novak Djokovic is playing. [7] In the semi-finals
Alexander Zverev (GER) – Taylor plays Fritz [6] (USA) in the quarterfinals
Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) ❌ – Knocked out in the quarterfinals by Novak Djokovic [7] (SRB) – 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (10-4)
Ben Shelton (USA) ❌ – 1st round knockout by Otto Virtanen: 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(8), 2-6, 7-6(9)
Alex De Manor (AUS) – ❌ Fourth-round knockout by Flavio Coboli [9] (ITA) 7-5 7-6 6-3
Taylor Fritz (USA) – Alexander Zverev plays [2] (GER) in the quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic (SRB) – ✅ Jannik plays Sinner. [1] (ITA) in the semifinals
Daniil Medvedev – ❌ Knocked out by Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) 7-5 in the third round
Flavio Coboli (ITA) – Plays Arthur Fairey. [WC] (GBR) in the quarter-finals
Alexander Boblik (KAZwas knocked out by Taylor Fritz (USA) in the 4th round, with scores of), 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4.
Casper Ruud (NOR) ❌ – Knocked out in the first round by Hubert Hurkacz 4-6, 2-6, 6-7(7)
Andrey Rublev ❌ – 1st round knockout by Roman Cefalin (Q): 4-6, 7-6(6) 6-3 3-6 6-7 (12)
Jerry Lahika (CZE) – ❌ Knocked out in the 4th round by Alexander Zuriev [2] (GER) 6-4 7-5 3-6 7-6
Luciano Darderi (ITA) ❌ – Knocked out in the first round by Ethan Quinn 7-6, 7-5, 6-2
Jakub Mensik (CZE) ❌ – Knocked out by Grigor Dimitrov in the second round (7-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4)
Lerner Tyne (USA) ❌ – Knocked out Martin Foxx 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 in the second round
Frances Tiafoe (USA) ❌ – Knocked out by Alexander Boblik in the third round. [10] (KAZ) 4-6 7-6 7-6 4-6 6-3
Francisco Cerundolo (ARG)❌ Knocked out Jaume Munnar 6-1 6-4 6-3 in the first round
Karen Khachanov – ❌ Knocked out Flavio Cobolli 0-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2 in the third round.
Arthur Fils (FRA) ❌ – Knocked out by Matteo Berrettini in the second round 6-4 7-5 3-6 6-3
Tommy Paul (USA) – ❌ Knocked out by Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 4-6 7-6 7-5 6-2 in the third round
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) – ❌ Knocked out in the fourth round by Felix Auger-Eliasime [3] (CAN) 6-7 7-6 6-3 3-6 6-1
Rafael Joder (ESP) – ❌ Knocked out by Shintaro Mochizuki (Q) (JPN) 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round
Joao Fonseca (BRA) – ❌ Knocked out by Roman Safiullin (Q) 6-3 6-3 6-3 in the third round
Arthur Rinderkinch (FRA) – ❌ Knocked out by Novak Djokovic [7] (SRB) 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6 in the third round
Cameron Norrie (GBR) ❌ Knocked out Michael Zeng (Q) 6-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 in first round
Ugo Humbert (FRA) ❌ Knocked out by Zizou Bergs 6-2 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-3
Brandon Nakashima (USA) ❌ Knocked out Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-7(7) in second round
Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) ❌ Knocked out in first round by Lorenzo Sonego 4-6 4-6 7-6(2) 6-7(4)
Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) ❌ Knocked out by Kamil Macerzak 6-3 7-5 7-5 in the first round
Ignacio Buse (PER) ❌ Knocked out by Jenson Brooksby 6-2 6-2 6-3 in the second round
Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) ❌ Knocked out in the first round by Quentin Halys 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(5), 3-6
Janek Snr defeated Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final. (PA Wire)Iga Swiatek was the defending women’s champion but was knocked out by Alexandra Ella. (Getty)
Female seeds
During the quarter finals
Aryna Sabalenka – ❌ Knocked out in the fourth round by Naomi Osaka [14] (JPN) 6-2 7-6
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) – ❌ Knocked out in the third round by Elise Mertens [25] (BEL) 7-6, 6-1
Iga Swiatek (POL) – ❌ Knocked out Alexandra Ayala in the third round. [29] (PHI) 7-6 6-2
Jessica Pegula (USA) – ❌ Knocked out in the quarterfinals by Coco Gauff [7] (USA) 4-6 6-3 6-3
Mirra Andreeva ❌ Knocked out by Barbora Krejkova 4-6 7-5 6-4 in the second round
Amanda Anisimova (USA) – ❌ Knocked out in the third round by Madison Keys [26] 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Coco Gauff (USA) – ✅ Karolina plays the role of Mochowa. [10] (CZE) in semi-finals
Elina Svitolina (UKR) ❌ – knocked out in the first round by Daria Snigur 5-7 2-6
Linda Noskova (CZE) – plays Elise Mertens [25] (BEL) in the quarter-finals
Karolina Muchova (CZE) – ✅ Coco plays Gauff (USA) in the semi-finals [7].
Belinda Bencic (SUI) – ❌ Knocked out in the fourth round by Coco Gauff [7] (USA) 4-6 6-3 6-4
Marta Kostyuk (UKR) – Jasmine plays Paolini [13] (ITA) in the quarterfinals
Jasmine Paolini (ITA) – Marta plays Kostivka. [12] (UKR) in the quarter-finals
Naomi Osaka (JPN) – ❌ Knocked out in the quarterfinals by Karolina Mochowa (CZE). [10] 7-6 6-4
Diana Schneider ❌ – knocked out Lyudmila Samsonova 4-6, 6-4, 2-6 in the second round
WASHINGTON — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to the latest US military strikes against Iran.
Air raid sirens sounded in both countries, with Kuwait saying its air defences were responding to hostile missile and drone threats. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged residents to seek shelter after it activated warning sirens.
The United States launched a new round of military strikes against Iran and revoked a key sanctions waiver covering Iranian oil sales after accusing Tehran of attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, putting a fragile cease-fire into peril.
The twin moves mark the most serious crisis since the United States and Iran signed a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) last month aimed at ending hostilities and reopening one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
The US military said the strikes were a direct response to what it described as Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker.
“The attacks were designed to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement, calling Iran’s actions “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
Iranian media reported multiple explosions in southern Iran, including on Qeshm Island, in the city of Sirik, and near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas. US officials did not immediately specify which targets had been struck.
The military action came as President Donald Trump attended the NATO summit in Ankara, where he was set to meet with fellow NATO leaders to discuss the Iran crisis, defence spending, and the alliance’s security priorities.
Washington Restores Economic Pressure
Alongside the military strikes, the US Treasury revoked its authorisation for Iranian oil sales, restoring sanctions relief that had been suspended under last month’s memorandum of understanding.
A US official told RFE/RL the decision reflected the administration’s long-standing position that any economic relief depended on Iranian compliance.
“As President Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the MOU in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behaviour,” the official said.
The United States found Iran’s actions in the Strait wholly unacceptable and will impose consequences. Our negotiators are still working towards a final deal.
The waiver, originally scheduled to remain in force until August 21, had permitted limited Iranian crude exports and certain financial transactions as part of efforts to stabilise shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to maritime security officials, three commercial vessels came under attack during the latest incidents, including the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat, whose crew reportedly issued a distress call after a drone struck near its engine room.
The Joint Maritime Information Center subsequently raised the threat level for commercial shipping in the Hormuz Strait to “severe.”
Regional governments swiftly condemned the attacks.
Qatar called the strike on one of its vessels a “serious and explicit violation” of international law and said Iran would bear full legal responsibility. Saudi Arabia similarly accused Tehran of threatening international navigation and global energy supplies.
Iran Accuses US of Breaking Agreement
Tehran rejected Washington’s justification, accusing the United States of repeatedly violating the ceasefire framework.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that revoking the suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil sales breached Paragraph 10 of what it called the “Islamabad Understanding,” signed on June 18.
In a strongly worded statement, the ministry said the United States had committed “both minor and major violations” of the agreement over the past three weeks.
It warned that Iran would “take whatever measures it deems necessary to safeguard its national interests and security” and held Washington responsible for “the consequences of this breach of commitment.”
Iran also continues to argue that the memorandum gave Tehran, in consultation with Oman, primary responsibility for reopening and managing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials have defended proposals to charge vessels for maritime security services, arguing that protecting navigation carries significant costs.
Western governments and shipping interests, however, have rejected any compulsory transit fees, warning they could resemble coercive payments rather than legitimate maritime services.
Risks To Diplomacy
Analysts say revoking the sanctions waiver increases pressure on Tehran but also risks undermining the fragile diplomatic framework before negotiations have concluded.
Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at Obsidian Risk Advisors, questioned whether cancelling the waiver delivers meaningful economic leverage.
“The evidence simply didn’t support the fear. During the life of General License X, Iran moved tens of millions of barrels of oil, but we never saw a wave of new buyers outside of China,” Erickson told RFE/RL.
“The economic concession turned out to be relatively modest. Revoking it now risks collapsing the entire Memorandum of Understanding over a benefit that never proved particularly significant.”
Zineb Riboua, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, told RFE/RL the administration may be using the waiver as additional negotiating leverage rather than abandoning diplomacy altogether.
She said disputes over frozen Iranian assets have remained unresolved throughout negotiations and suggested the latest move could be intended to strengthen Washington’s bargaining position before the 60-day negotiating period expires.
Riboua cautioned, however, that the strategy carries significant risks, particularly for global energy markets.
While additional pressure could influence negotiations, she warned that continued instability in the Strait of Hormuz would keep insurance costs elevated and could reignite inflationary pressures in Europe and elsewhere through higher energy prices.
Iran is staging a massive, weeklong funeral procession across the country to mourn long-time Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the outset of the war with the United States and Israel.
Drawing hundreds of thousands of people, the extravagant public events have been used by the authorities to project strength and unity, even as they face widespread discontent over a deepening economic crisis and a widening crackdown on dissent.
State media has used the high turnout for Khamenei’s mass funeral as proof of what they claim to be the popularity and legitimacy of Iran’s clerical rulers. But some inside the country — and several media outlets abroad — have reported pressure on workers and businesses to take part in the ceremonies, raising questions about the true situation.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, was succeeded as supreme leader by his son, Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since his appointment.
“A referendum was held; all you have to do is look at the streets,” wrote Mehr News Agency, a conservative outlet.
“Didn’t you ask for a referendum?” read the editorial by Mehr, addressing critics of the authorities who have long called for a referendum on major political issues in the country. “A referendum is not only held at the ballot box.”
The same arguments were made by other state-run outlets, including the official news agency IRNA, the conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan, and Fars News Agency, which is affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Iran has been rocked by a spate of mass protests in recent years, most recently in January, and has faced growing calls for a referendum and a new constitution.
But Iranian leaders, including Khamenei when he was alive, rejected holding a popular vote on domestic, economic, and foreign policy matters to resolve public discontent in the country. The January unrest saw a security crackdown that killed thousands.
Keyhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by the supreme leader, wrote in a July 7 editorial that there was no need for a vote because turnouts at state-sponsored events serve as a “permanent referendum” on the Islamic republic.
‘Regime Propaganda’
For the families of Iranians who have suffered at the hands of the authorities, the funeral conveys a different message.
They say Khamenei’s extravagant burial procession highlights the impunity of the perpetrators of state violence, not national unity.
“I’m horrified by the presence of some ordinary people at Khamenei’s funeral procession,” said Mihan Rusta, whose husband, Reza Esmati, was executed in 1988 during the mass executions of political prisoners.
“The presence of politicians doesn’t horrify me — that’s their job. But the people’s presence gives this regime the power to carry out the criminal acts it has committed until now,” she told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
Others drew a direct line between their own suppressed mourning and the spectacle of Khamenei’s funeral, which the war delayed for months.
Soran Mansurnia’s brother, Borhan, was shot dead during the November 2019 protests in the western city of Kermanshah.
“The Islamic republic hasn’t just killed our loved one. It has always prevented us from mourning him publicly,” he told Radio Farda. “When I compare this funeral to my experience, I see nothing but discrimination.”
The funeral also appears, at least for a few days, to cover the broad discontent over the regime’s handling of the economy, which is in such tatters that it sparked the mass protests at the start of the year before they grew into a full-on antigovernment movement that rocked the country’s leadership.
The family of Mohammad Erfan Faraji, who was shot dead during protests in the capital, Tehran, in January, called Khamenei’s funeral “regime propaganda”.
His uncle, Majid Moqaddasi, said the families of victims of state violence have been unable to hold funerals of their own either due to financial constraints or government pressure.
“Watching these lavish ceremonies is very bitter,” he told Radio Farda.
Any large earthquake can be dangerous, but the residents of Caracas and Venezuelan coastal cities like La Guaira and Catia La Mar were victims of several unlucky factors.
Two quakes in rapid succession, a fault that ruptured toward more populated areas, soft ground and the shallow depth of the tremors all combined to make the June 24 disaster especially severe, even for areas that were miles away from the epicentre.
Here is what made it so deadly.
The “doublet”
First, and most important: there was not one earthquake but two, separated by just 39 seconds. Seismologists call this a “doublet”.
The first was smaller, measuring 7.2 in magnitude; the second was much more powerful, measuring 7.5.
The doublet meant that buildings had to withstand chaotic shaking for far longer than they would have in an ordinary earthquake.
“Almost certainly, what happened was that the first earthquake triggered the second one,” said David Oglesby, a professor of geophysics at the University of California, Riverside.
The earthquakes left over 2,200 people dead, according to the Venezuelan government. Over 400 buildings were destroyed, and hundreds more were damaged.
The direction
Seismic waves from the first quake radiated outward in all directions. But it was the waves travelling east that eventually reached a point on the San Sebastián fault that was ready to slip. That set off the second earthquake. The rupture continued east — more than 100 miles toward Caracas, the capital.
“There were two directions this fault could have gone,” said William Barnhart, a geophysicist in the earthquake hazards program of the United States Geological Survey. “It could have gone to the west or the east toward Caracas. They would have been lucky if it had gone the other direction.”
The initial rupture occurred on what is known as the Boconó fault, part of the system that produced a tremendous earthquake in the 19th century, Dr Barnhart said.
Satellite imagery shows that the second quake then travelled east along a well-known seam between two of Earth’s tectonic plates — the San Sebastián fault.
“We know that the fault extended as far as Caracas,” said Dr Barnhart, “and that starts to explain, in part, why there’s so much shaking there.”
The ground shift
Scientists compared satellite imagery from before and after the quake to measure how much the ground shifted. In coastal regions such as La Guaira — where the fault runs only a couple of miles offshore or directly beneath the city — the ground shifted as much as 1.5 feet to the west.
The San Sebastián is a strike-slip fault, meaning that the Earth moves primarily horizontally along it. During the quake, regions north of the fault slipped east, while those south of it shifted west.
In areas built directly on top of the fault, satellite analysis makes the displacement clear.
For example, the northern half of Simón Bolívar International Airport was displaced to the east, with the southern half being pushed in the opposite direction. The San Sebastián fault runs along the seam between the two directions of displacement.
Although cracks in the airport ground were visible in post-quake imagery, satellite analysis indicates that the fault did not reach the surface of the earth in that region, Dr Barnhart said. Had it done so, the contrast between the two directions of displacement would have been even starker, he said.
The “directivity” effect
Another factor may have increased the strength of the shaking to the east of the rupture, Dr Oglesby said.
As the rupture moved east, it may have pushed up the amplitude, or strength, of seismic waves, piling them up like waves in front of a boat or sound ahead of a speeding motorcycle. The effect, known as “directivity”, probably amplified the strength of the shaking toward Caracas, though more data is needed to confirm it.
“Directivity very likely contributed to the strong ground motion in Caracas and the area overall,” Dr Oglesby said. “It could make the difference between a building standing, with damage, and completely collapsing.”
“As shallow as it gets.”
The depth of the quakes, or more precisely the lack of it, may also have compounded the destruction.
The quakes began only around six miles below ground, so the shaking was especially strong on the surface. “That’s almost as shallow as it gets,” Vitor Silva, head of risk engineering for the Global Earthquake Model Foundation, said.
As with a bomb going off underground, an explosion that is shallower produces greater shaking at the surface, Dr Silva said. “There is a very short distance between areas where energy is being released and the built environment,” he said.
Built-up areas in the region, as in many parts of the world, also tend to sit on relatively flat ground, which is often soft, sedimentary material that can amplify seismic waves.
As the second rupture moved east, it travelled about 110 miles toward populated areas like Caraballeda, La Guaira and Caracas, sending seismic waves radiating outward along its path – explaining why the strong shaking extended so far away from the epicentre.
Source: Microsoft (damaged buildings). The New York Times
The soft soil
Yet another process that seismologists study is how the shaking, or seismic waves, make their way to the surface. In the simplest terms, a solid-rock surface tends to damp down the waves, and a softer, sedimentary surface amplifies them.
Humans tend to build on flat, sedimentary areas — former lakebeds and sea bottoms — that do not behave well during earthquakes. It is no different in Venezuela.
The exact frequencies, or wavelengths, that are amplified by the sediment depend on the details, such as its thickness or exact composition. If those amplified waves match the natural swaying frequency of a nearby building, they resonate. This can cause the building to shake far more violently, leading to more damage.
Earthquake engineers must account for all these factors when designing buildings to withstand what may rush from the ground below.
In Caraballeda, satellite analysis indicates that at least 152 buildings were destroyed, with dozens more damaged. Most of these buildings lined the low-lying coastline and stood on regions of unconsolidated soil that can amplify shaking.
Sources: Copernicus (destroyed buildings); Microsoft (damaged buildings). The New York Times
Several high-rise buildings in the area, built along the coast, collapsed.
Near the Playa Grande neighbourhood, at least 246 buildings were destroyed and nearly all of them were built on top of the same soft soil. The San Sebastián fault runs directly underneath this region.
Sources: Copernicus (destroyed buildings); Microsoft (damaged buildings). The New York Times
Other factors
Engineers say Venezuela’s seismic codes are some of the best in Latin America. The question is whether they were followed.
From the scale of destruction, it appeared that some and perhaps many buildings had not been built to code, though experts said a full accounting would have to wait until the search for survivors had ended.
Far more study will be required to understand why and how so many buildings fell apart in Venezuela. Some collapses may have been the result of so-called soft stories, where a single floor — often the ground floor — is not as strong or as well designed as the others in the same building.
Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
In other cases, columns seem to have given way throughout entire buildings, suggesting that they lacked proper reinforcements or that contractors skimped on the amount of steel.
Older buildings may have folded and fallen simply because they predated Venezuela’s more recent code upgrades.
There are also buildings that are a total loss — walls and contents spilling onto the ground — but still stand. That allowed residents to escape. Outcomes like that would, presumably, be consistent with codes that prioritise human survival over structural preservation.
Collapsed buildings at La Guaira, June 29, 2026. Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times
Thousands of Medicare beneficiaries lost their drug coverage after their premiums increased, and they were unaware of this change.
Jude Pare and his partner, Diane Tix, live in rural Minnesota until temperatures dip below freezing, when they take refuge in Arizona for the winter. While away, their mail is forwarded. But Pare, 77, said he didn’t receive any warning from his Medicare prescription drug plan that his $0 monthly premium was about to increase.
So he did not know he was billed for payment. After he and Tix returned home to Minnesota in April, they received a letter from Wellcare, the insurer that provided his drug plan, stating that his coverage had been terminated after three months of unpaid premiums totalling $28.80. Under Medicare’s rules, he can’t enrol in a plan again until the fall, with coverage starting in 2027.
Pare takes Xarelto, a blood thinner that reduces his risk of strokes, blood clots, and pulmonary embolism. “He could bleed to death without it,” Tix said. A 90-day supply of the drug costs about $1,800 using a coupon from GoodRx, a discount drug website, she said.
Pare is among tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries on Wellcare’s Value Script drug plan who will likely go without prescription drug coverage for the rest of the year because they did not pay premiums for three months.
Next year, thousands more people in 32 states and Washington, D.C., who are enrolled in zero-premium drug plans from Wellcare and other insurance companies may find themselves in the same situation if their premiums go up and they don’t realise it, according to a KFF Health News analysis of drug plan data. In September, Wellcare will unveil the premiums and other changes for 2027.
Caught off guard
Going without medication can be life-threatening, especially for Medicare beneficiaries. Nearly 90% take one or more prescription drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost half live with four or more chronic health conditions that can cause functional or cognitive impairments.
By the time Jude Pare and his partner, Diane Tix, found out he owed $28.80 for three months of drug plan premiums, his coverage had been cancelled. He is among tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who will likely go without prescription drug coverage for the rest of the year after their drug plans were cancelled.
Congress added prescription drug coverage to Medicare in 2003. But the coverage is administered by commercial insurance companies, which compete fiercely with one another for the business of about 56 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in drug plans.
Zero-dollar or very low monthly premiums have helped make Wellcare’s Value Script the bestselling stand-alone prescription drug plan in Medicare, with nearly 6 million customers across the U.S., according to government data. But in 26 states and Washington, D.C., some Value Script members who didn’t have to pay a premium last year were surprised by increases in 2026.
After a two-month grace period — which Wellcare extended to three — Medicare drug plans can drop customers who don’t pay their premiums, no matter how small the amount. Some members who lost their coverage in Nevada, for example, owed as little as $8.10 for three months, according to a KFF Health News analysis of Medicare drug plan data.
Wellcare terminated coverage for about 140,000 Value Script beneficiaries in April, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who was not authorised to speak publicly about it and feared reprisals at work for doing so. About 40,000 of the people who were dropped may be able to enrol in new coverage immediately because they have low incomes and receive financial assistance through a programme that Medicare calls “Extra Help.”
Multiple state officials said they had heard the same disenrollment figures, including Nevada’s insurance commissioner, Ned Gaines, who chairs the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ senior issues task force; Rebecca Gouty, director of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program in West Virginia; and Tim Smolen, director of Washington State’s Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors.
The West Virginia and Washington initiatives are part of the federally funded State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which provides free, unbiased help navigating Medicare.
Surprise bills
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees Medicare drug plans, declined to provide the number of ValueScript members who lost coverage due to unpaid premiums. “The agency does not publicly provide plan-specific disenrollment figures or state-level breakdowns related to the non-payment of premiums,” Christopher Krepich, a spokesperson, said in a written statement to KFF Health News.
Centene Corp., WellCare’s parent company, also declined to provide disenrollment numbers.
“We recognise how disruptive a loss of coverage can be and are committed to helping members understand their options,” said Sarah Baiocchi, senior vice president for speciality and prescription drug plans at Centene. She acknowledged that “some members in our Value Script plan experienced a premium for the first time, or for the first time in several years.”
Baiocchi said all Value Script members received a CMS-required annual notice of changes in September, before the premium increases took effect.
A version of the booklet sent to members in two states and Washington, D.C., is 21 pages long. The new premium is mentioned on pages 3 and 8, along with changes to out-of-pocket costs and how to find updates on covered drugs and network pharmacies.
Wayne Bennett lost his Medicare drug coverage because he didn’t pay the premium, which was free last year but, without his knowing, went up this year. “Medicare should be doing something about this issue so that we can go ahead and get coverage now,” he says.
The company also informed members about 2026 premium changes through phone calls, text messages, regular mail, or email, Baiocchi said.
People who are dropped cannot re-enrol or join another drug plan until the start of the open enrolment period this fall for coverage beginning Jan. 1, unless they qualify for an exception, Krepich said.
And because they will have gone without coverage for at least 63 days, they could be hit with a permanent late-enrolment penalty that increases every year for the rest of their lives.
“Medicare should be doing something about the situation so that we can go ahead and get coverage now,” said Wayne Bennett, 74, who lives in Durham, North Carolina.
In May, he found out that Wellcare had cancelled his Value Script plan because he hadn’t paid his $3.60 monthly premiums. He takes nine prescription drugs to treat his blood pressure, glaucoma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other health problems. He filled most of his prescriptions, including several at no cost, before he lost coverage. He doesn’t know what he’ll have to pay when his supply runs out.
Gouty, the West Virginia programme head, said many Medicare beneficiaries arrange for their monthly drug plan premium to be automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits and that many likely thought that choice remained in place until they changed it.
“They didn’t realise that when the plan had a zero premium in 2025, it stopped the Social Security premium deduction and they would have had to reelect it for 2026,” Gouty said.
In other words, even if they mistakenly thought the premium was still zero, Medicare beneficiaries would have needed to somehow allow Social Security to make deductions — something the agency doesn’t do — or else set up a payment plan through their bank or credit card in case payment was necessary.
“That sounds goofy,” Tix said.
Centene’s Baiocchi blamed the Social Security Administration for the problem: “We believe this issue was a key driver of non-payment disenrollments and subsequent complaints.”
Spokespeople for the agency referred questions about the matter to CMS.
Krepich said that legal requirements for drug plan enrolment and disenrollment limit what CMS can do to help beneficiaries who lose coverage because they do not pay their premiums.
“Pretty upset”
Now that Pare has no prescription drug coverage, his doctor replaced his blood thinner medication with a much less expensive drug that should be just as effective. Pare paid $111 for four other medications that used to be free under his Value Script plan. He hasn’t had to refill four more prescriptions yet and doesn’t know what they will cost, Tix said.
If Wellcare members knew about the premium increases, they could have set up direct billing or an automatic payment plan early this year before the payment grace period ended April 1. But they could have filled prescriptions during the grace period, so if they missed Wellcare’s notices, they likely assumed their coverage was fine.
Bennett, the North Carolina man, said Wellcare used to send him text messages with health tips and reminders when it was time to pick up a prescription. He didn’t know his premium had increased from $0 to $3.60 until it was too late.
“I was pretty upset,” he said when he called the company. “The premium wasn’t that much, and I was ready to pay it right off the bat. I had my credit card out ready to make the payment.”
The customer service representative wouldn’t let him pay because his coverage had been cancelled, Bennett said.
Hoping to restore it, Bennett called Senior PharmAssist, a Durham nonprofit that advises Medicare beneficiaries and is one of more than 2,200 SHIP sites across the country. He was told he must wait until January to restart his drug coverage, said the group’s executive director, Gina Upchurch.
He doesn’t qualify for the “Extra Help” low-income subsidy or meet other CMS criteria for a special enrolment period, which would allow him to change drug plans during the year. CMS typically allows midyear switches for beneficiaries who, for example, move out of their plan’s service area, experience a natural disaster, or receive help paying for drugs through a state programme.
Senior PharmAssist was able to help one of its participants join another drug plan after she lost Value Script coverage because she is in North Carolina’s pharmacy assistance programme for people with HIV/AIDS and has limited income, Upchurch said.
A further exception allows any Medicare beneficiary to enrol at any time in a drug plan that has earned five stars, the top grade in Medicare’s performance ratings. However, there are no five-star Medicare drug plans available to the general public. Only two insurers offer five-star plans, and only for retirees from certain employers. Their combined enrolment is about 8,700 as of June 1, according to the insurers.
But Upchurch, with more than two decades of Medicare expertise, understands why beneficiaries might not pay attention or assume Wellcare’s messages were bogus. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to identity theft and other scams and are often advised to ignore junk mail and calls from telemarketers.
Since Value Script members such as Bennett continued to get their prescriptions filled during the payment grace period, “Why wouldn’t they think the process was a scam?” Upchurch asked. “They are constantly bombarded by people selling them something that’s illegitimate or trying to scam them.”
On the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, the alliance’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, said European members and Canada are on track to bring their defence spending into line with that of the United States, which has long criticised Europe’s lack of military spending and perceived “free riding”.
Speaking in the Turkish capital just ahead of the two-day NATO gathering on July 7-8, Rutte also said the alliance “must continue to ensure Ukraine gets what it needs” after another devastating Russian attack in and around Kyiv on July 6, which killed at least 21 people.
The Ankara summit is meant to take stock of how the 32 allies are doing in terms of meeting the target, set in the Hague last year, of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035.
With some countries barely reaching the previous goal of 2 per cent this year, the United States has pushed European countries to show credible plans on how they can reach the goal within a decade.
‘One-Sided Path’
Just last week, US President Donald Trump, who has long been sceptical of the alliance, questioned NATO again in a social media post, writing that it is “ridiculous for the USA to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal.”
He also included a graph showing that Washington spends a lot more on its military than any single European ally.
It follows similar criticism voiced by the US Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth when he addressed his NATO counterparts in Brussels last month, accusing some of “free riding” and slamming others for not allowing their air bases to be used by US jets in the American air campaign against Iran earlier this year.
At that meeting, Hegseth also promised a six-month US review of its European troop posture in which he said, “Some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours”, implying that some of the close to 80,000 US troops stationed in Europe could be withdrawn from lower-spending nations.
Rutte, who has sought to maintain close ties with Trump in an effort to preserve alliance unity, said that European allies and Canada “already are investing around 4 per cent of their GDP in defence and security”, adding that this had generated $258 billion in extra defence investment in the last two years.
This trend, Rutte noted, would mean that the other 31 members were now on “a trajectory to equalise their defence spending with the United States”.
The former Dutch prime minister also praised Trump, saying he was the first US president since Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s to achieve “this equalisation”.
Ukraine Seeking More Air Defenses
Ukraine is also expected to be high on the NATO agenda as the leaders assemble.
After the latest Russian attacks on July 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will attend parts of the summit, urged member states in a social media post to provide Kyiv with more air defences, notably Patriot interceptor missiles.
While calling on allies to step up, Rutte acknowledged there was little the West could do immediately to bolster Ukraine’s air defences.
“From a practical perspective there is a limit on interceptors on NATO territory and that is why we need to produce more,” he said. “We are working from every angle; everyone is involved in this effort.”
With few concrete air defence deliverables coming to Ukraine anytime soon, there is hope that Kyiv might secure some sort of licensing deal in Ankara that would allow for domestic production.
Separately, NATO leaders are also expected to endorse a summit communique that pledges 70 billion euros ($80 billion) for Ukraine in bilateral and institutional support for both this year and next.
Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early on July 6, blasting residential buildings and killing at least 8 people, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending Russian strike.
Multiple loud explosions and air raid sirens were heard in the early morning hours in the capital, witnesses said, with cities throughout the country also reporting alerts against incoming projectiles.
“The enemy is hitting with ballistic missiles,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, wrote on Telegram. “Please stay in shelters.”
“These are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their normal lives,” he added. He later said at least eight people had been killed and 24 injured.
The attack comes two days after US President Donald Trump held separate phone conversations with Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, pressing Washington’s effort to position itself as the key mediator in a conflict.
The strikes also come just ahead of a NATO summit set for Ankara, where Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the event as he seeks to keep the US engaged in supporting his country in its battle against Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022.
Zelenskyy Warns Of Attack
On July 5, Zelenskiy warnedthat Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a new massive strike.
“This behaviour is typical of Putin: Right after America’s Independence Day and before the NATO Summit in Ankara. Russia wants to bring more evil and kill people,” Zelenskyy wrote in a Facebook post.
“Any delay with missiles for our air defense – missiles for Patriots [air defence systems] – means the loss of lives and encourages Russia to continue the war,” he wrote.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschkowrote on Telegram that a missile struck a residential building in the city’s Podil district.
A woman carries a dog at the site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv on July 6.
“People are trapped on the seventh to ninth floors,” he wrote, adding that debris had fallen on a second residential building in the same area.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas recently as the peace process has stalled, with special emphasis on the capital.
Ukrainian officials said at least 30 people were killed and scores of others wounded in the large-scale attack on Kyiv on July 2, which caused fires and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings across several districts.
The scale of that assault drew swift condemnationfrom lawmakers in Washington.
Republican Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a long-time backer of US support for Ukraine, called the strikes further proof that the Kremlin is faltering militarily.
“This horrible war crime is yet more evidence that Russia is badly losing its war,” Wilson told RFE/RL. “The USA and its allies should do even more of what it’s doing. The strategy is working. Russia is losing.”
Russia denies that it targets civilian areas despite widespread evidence of such attacks.
Sevastopol Blackout
Meanwhile, Sevastopol, a city of some 500,000 people in Crimea — Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014 — was left without electricity on July 6 after a Ukrainian attack on energy infrastructure, Kremlin-installed officials said.
“As a result of an enemy attack on energy infrastructure outside Sevastopol, our city was temporarily left without power supply,” Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor appointed by Moscow, wrote on Telegram.
A drone campaign by Ukraine has led to rolling blackouts and widespread fuel shortages as well as soaring black market prices on the peninsula. Kyiv has launched an effort to isolate Crimea, targeting fuel trucks, bridges, and other infrastructure sites, to reverse the illegal annexation.
Russia-installed authorities in Crimea have suspended fuel sales to private individuals and businesses amid a severe fuel shortage, and residents are reporting empty shelves in grocery stores and purchase limits on several basic goods.
The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was laid in state in Tehran.
The body of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was laid in state in Tehran on July 3 as authorities began a week of funeral processions for the slain cleric. Reactions among Iranians were mixed over a man whose more than three decades in power were marked by oppression and the death of tens of thousands of Iranians through crackdowns and executions.
Foreign dignitaries began arriving in the capital early in the day ahead of official mourning ceremonies set for July 4 for Khamenei, who was killed at the age of 86 in US and Israeli air strikes on February 28.
It is unclear whether Mojtaba Khamenei — who was appointed to replace his father but has not appeared in public since his parent’s death — will attend the ceremonies.
“This event goes beyond an ordinary funeral procession,” Babak Dorbeiki, a UK-based political analyst, told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
“It serves a full political function, a legitimising function, and is meant to reinforce their own propaganda.”
During Ali Khamenei’s rule, the Islamic Republic pursued a policy centred on confrontation with the United States and the West, while also supporting its regional proxy groups. That policy repeatedly heightened tensions with the United States, other Western countries, and some of Iran’s neighbours.
Khamenei’s coffin, along with those of several other family members killed in the attacks, lay on July 3 in the Grand Mosalla prayer grounds built to honour his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Amid reports that authorities are pressuring Iranians to take part in the funeral ceremonies, millions are expected to attend services that will be held in the processions as his body moves from Tehran to Qom, Najaf and Kerbala, the Shi’ite centres in Iran and Iraq.
On July 9, Khamenei’s body will be laid to rest in his native Mashhad, home to the country’s holiest pilgrim shrine.
An Authoritarian Legacy
Khamenei’s rule featured repression, intimidation, arrests, and tight political and social restrictions, which prompted some Iranians to welcome the final chapter in his reign.
One man, whose child died in a state crackdown, told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that when he heard of the supreme leader’s death, he felt that “justice had prevailed over oppression.”
“It brought comfort to the wounds my heart carried for years. It was as if a light of hope for a future free from fear and repression had been kindled within me,” he said.
Khamenei’s use of force against his people, the jailing of opposition figures within the establishment itself, and fiery resistance to outside influence — particularly that of the United States and Israel — forged his legacy as a harsh and uncompromising authoritarian who led his country into international isolation.
Most recently, security forces launched a brutal crackdown on protests at the start of the year that saw thousands of Iranians killed — some groups claim 35,000 to 40,000 were killed, a figure that cannot be verified — as they demonstrated against falling living standards sparked by government policies.
The level of foreign representation at Khamenei’s funeral is likely to gauge Tehran’s diplomatic standing after the recent war.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry says eight heads of state and government will attend, including Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
It added that the speakers of parliament from 12 countries would also be attending, while additional countries would be represented by foreign ministers, cabinet ministers, or special envoys.
European countries that officially supported the US and Israeli attacks on Iran were not invited to attend the ceremonies.
The Michael Jackson biopic Michael has pulled further ahead of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody as the top-grossing musician biopic of all time. As of Sunday (July 5), Michael has grossed $978.6 million. Bohemian Rhapsody has grossed $911 million.
Moreover, Michael has topped Oppenheimer to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time.
not just the top-grossing musician biopic. Christopher Nolan’s 2023 biopic of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II, has grossed $975.8 million worldwide.
According to Box Office Mojo figures, international ticket sales account for 62.1% of Michael’s worldwide box office total to date. (The remainder is from the U.S. and Canada.) By way of comparison, international ticket sales accounted for 76.2% of Bohemian Rhapsody’s worldwide box office total.
Jackson has a long history of ranking No. 1 on lists, dating back to The Jackson 5 landing their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Want You Back” in January 1970.
Jackson and Mercury have much in common. Both rose to fame in groups, The Jackson 5 and Queen, respectively. Both are widely considered two of the greatest showmen of all time. And both died years before their time. Mercury died in 1991 at age 45 of complications from AIDS. Jackson died in 2009 at age 50 of cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol intoxication.
The two superstars crossed paths in the early 1980s, when Jackson attended Queen concerts in Los Angeles. They occasionally met for dinner and even recorded three demo tracks together that went unfinished.
Another common bond: There were successful theatrical productions based on both artists’ music. The Queen musical, We Will Rock You, opened on London’s West End in 2002. MJ: The Musical has been a fixture on Broadway since Dec. 6, 2021.
Also, Graham King, who co-produced Michael with long-time Jackson associates John Branca and John McClain (who died on May 26 at age 71), also co-produced Bohemian Rhapsody and a third music biopic on Billboard’s list of music biopics, Jersey Boys, the story of the Four Seasons.
Here is that list – the highest-grossing biopics of musicians in terms of worldwide box office. We excluded some high-grossing films about real-life music personalities because the subjects are not well-known music stars in their own right. These include The Sound of Music (which tells the story of Maria von Trapp and the Trapp Family Singers); Green Book (which deals with a road trip taken by pianist and composer Don Shirley); Florence Foster Jenkins (about an heiress and hopelessly untalented soprano by that name); and Music of the Heart (about violinist and music educator Roberta Guaspari). Meryl Streep starred in the latter two films.
Here are the 25 biopics of music stars with the highest worldwide grosses.
Selena (1997) Worldwide gross: $35.8 millionDirector: Gregory NavaMusic: Dave Grusin Notes: Rising star Jennifer Lopez starred as Tejano music star Selena, who rose from cult status to performing at the Houston Astrodome. The film includes her shocking murder at age 23 at the hands of former fan club president Yolanda Saldívar. The soundtrack reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
Shine (1996) Worldwide gross: $36 million Director: Scott Hicks Music: David Hirschfelder Notes: Geoffrey Rush won an Oscar for best actor for playing pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture. The soundtrack reached No. 59 on the Billboard 200.
Funny Lady (1975) Worldwide gross: $39 million Director: Herbert RossMusic: John Kander, Fred Ebb, Peter Matz Notes: This was the less-celebrated, but still popular, sequel to 1968’s Funny Girl. Barbra Streisand reprised her Oscar-winning role as Fanny Brice and James Caan played showman Billy Rose. The film spawned an Oscar-nominated song, “How Lucky Can You Get?” The film soundtrack reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
The film drew its title from Turner’s biggest hit, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1984 and won Grammys for record and song of the year. The film’s soundtrack reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and spawned a top 10 hit on the Hot 100, “I Don’t Wanna Fight.”
Notorious (2009) Worldwide gross: $44.4 million Director: George Tillman Jr. Music: Danny Elfman Notes: Jamal Woolard starred as Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.) in this biopic.
After rising to the top of the rap music world, Biggie was shot to death at age 24 in 1997. Angela Bassett, Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie also starred in the film. The soundtrack reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)Worldwide gross: $45.2 million Director: Scott Cooper Music: Jeremiah Fraites Notes: Jeremy Allen White, the Primetime Emmy-winning star of The Bear, stars as Bruce Springsteen in this film, which focuses on the period following his commercial breakthrough, The River, where Springsteen felt compelled to make a low-key, acoustic album, Nebraska.
The film was written and directed by Scott Cooper and is based on the 2023 book Deliver Me from Nowhere by Warren Zanes, with some elements drawn from Springsteen’s 2016 autobiography Born to Run. The film also stars Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham and Odessa Young.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, though the performances of White and Strong received praise. The music was supervised by Fraites, co-founder of The Lumineers and a songwriter for the band. Like The Boss, Fraites was born and raised in New Jersey.
Judy (2019) Worldwide gross: $46 million Director: Rupert Goold Music: Gabriel Yared Notes: Renée Zellweger won an Oscar for best actress for playing Judy Garland in this film.
The irony: Garland never won a competitive Oscar, despite two nominations, one in the same category in which Zellweger won. Judy wasn’t a standard biopic but a look at the last year of her life, when she arrived in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
Zellweger was nominated for a Grammy for the soundtrack in the category of best traditional pop vocal album.
Funny Girl (1968)Worldwide gross: $52.2 million Director: William Wyler Music: Jule Styne, Bob Merrill Notes: Barbra Streisand won an Oscar for her motion picture debut in which she played Fanny Brice, a top star of the vaudeville era.
“My Man” and “I’d Rather Be Blue”, both featured in Funny Girl, were hits for Brice in the 1920s. Streisand won best actress in a tie (still the only one in the history of the category) with Katharine Hepburn, who won for The Lion in Winter.
“Hello, gorgeous,” Streisand began her speech, graciously adding, “And I’m very honoured to be in such magnificent company as Katharine Hepburn.” Funny Girl received eight nominations, including best picture and best original song for “Funny Girl.” The film soundtrack reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and spent more than two years on the chart.
Amadeus (1984) Worldwide gross: $52.3 million Director: Miloš Forman Notes: Tom Hulce received an Oscar nomination for best actor for playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but lost to F. Murray Abraham, who had the showier role as Antonio Salieri and was insanely jealous of Mozart’s talent.
The film received 11 Oscar nominations and won eight awards, including best picture and best director for Miloš Forman. Peter Shaffer also won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for his stage play, which had won five Tony Awards in 1981. The double-disc soundtrack, credited to conductor/arranger Neville Marriner, reached No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for best classical album.
The film is titled after a Mexican folk song, which Valens completely transformed with his rock and roll rendition in 1958. Valens’ version reached No. 22 on the Hot 100 in 1959. (It was not his biggest hit.
That was “Donna”, which reached No. 2.) The film soundtrack, credited to Los Lobos, topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in 1987. Los Lobos’ zesty recording of “La Bamba” topped the Hot 100 for three weeks and received Grammy nominations for record and song of the year.
All Eyez on Me (2017) Worldwide gross: $55.7 million Director: Benny Boom Music: John Paesano Notes: Demetrius Shipp Jr starred as Tupac Shakur in this film, with Jamal Woolard reprising his role as Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.”.
Wallace from Notorious. Shipp’s father worked on music videos with 2Pac, who was shot dead in 1996 at age 25. The film drew its title from 2Pac’s 1996 double-disc album, his second to top the Billboard 200.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022)Worldwide gross: $59.8 million Director: Kasi Lemmons Music: Chanda Dancy Notes: Naomi Ackie starred in this film, which arrived 10 years after Houston’s shocking death. Stanley Tucci co-starred as Clive Davis, who signed Houston to Arista Records in 1983 when she was just 19.
Davis oversaw her tremendous rise but was unable to prevent her tragic fall. The film is titled after Houston’s 1987 single that topped Billboard’s 2023 list of The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List.
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) Worldwide gross: $67.2 million Director: Michael Apted Music:
Owen Bradley Notes: Sissy Spacek won an Oscar for best actress for playing country queen Loretta Lynn.
The film received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture. Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D’Angelo and Levon Helm had supporting roles.
Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Minnie Pearl made cameos as themselves. The film was based on a 1976 biography of Lynn by George Vecsey also titled Coal Miner’s Daughter. Both the book and the film drew their titles from Lynn’s signature hit, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart (as it was called then) in December 1970.
The soundtrack reached No. 40 on the Billboard 200.
Jersey Boys (2014) Worldwide gross: $67.6 million Director: Clint Eastwood Music: Bob Gaudio Notes: Clint Eastwood directed and co-produced this film adaptation of the blockbuster stage musical, which opened on Broadway in 2005.
The biopic about The Four Seasons starred John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Erich Bergen as Bob Gaudio, Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi and Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito. The film didn’t get nearly as much awards love as the stage musical did.
The musical won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Young. The film didn’t land a single Oscar nod. Valli and Gaudio served as executive producers of the film. The soundtrack reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200.
I Can Only Imagine (2018) Worldwide gross: $86.1 millionDirectors: Andrew & Jon Erwin Music: Brent McCorkle Notes: Michael Finley starred as Bart Millard, the lead singer of the contemporary Christian band MercyMe.
Millard wrote the title song about his relationship with his father, played by Dennis Quaid. The song reached No. 71 on the Hot 100 and charted for 18 weeks. At the 2018 Dove Awards, the film, which also starred Trace Adkins and Cloris Leachman, won the award for inspirational film of the year. A 2026 sequel, I Can Only Imagine 2, grossed $18.7 million worldwide.
La Vie En Rose (2019)Worldwide gross: $87.5 million Director: Olivier Dahan Music: Christopher Gunning Notes:Marion Cotillard won an Oscar for her role as the French singer who recorded the 1947 classic that gave the film its title.
The song reached No. 23 on Billboard’s pre-Hot 100 pop chart in 1950. (Piaf also had one Hot 100 entry, “Milord”, in 1961.) The literal translation of “La Vie En Rose” is “Life in Pink”, a figurative reference to rose-coloured glasses.
Ray (2004) Worldwide gross: $124 million Director: Taylor Hackford Music: Craig Armstrong Notes: Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for best actor for playing Ray Charles, the genre-bridging musician who lived up to the label “genius”, which was often bestowed on him. The film received six Oscar nominations, including best picture.
Taylor Hackford directed and co-produced the film and co-conceived the story. The soundtrack reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for best compilation soundtrack album for motion picture, television or other visual media.
A Complete Unknown (2024)Worldwide gross:$140.5 million Director: James Mangold Music: Nick Baxter, executive music producer Notes: Timothée Chalamet stars as Bob Dylan in this biopic, which follows Dylan from January 1961, when he moved from Minnesota to New York City, to his 1965 concert at the Newport Folk Festival, which stirred controversy over the use of electric instruments.
James Mangold, who directed the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, also did the honours here. The cast also includes Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie, among others. The title is drawn from a key line in Dylan’s 1965 classic, “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Bob Marley: One Love (2024)Worldwide gross: $181 million Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green Music: Kris Bowers Notes: “First he changed music.
Then he changed the world” was the tagline for this film, which was directed and co-written by Reinaldo Marcus Green. It was based on the life of reggae legend Bob Marley, from his rise to fame in the mid-1970s up until his death in 1981.
The film starred Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley, with Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita Marley and James Norton as Island Records founder Chris Blackwell.
Walk the Line (2005) Worldwide gross: $186.8 million Director: James Mangold Music: T-Bone Burnett Notes: Joaquin Phoenix received an Oscar nomination for best actor for playing country legend Johnny Cash, while Reese Witherspoon won best actress for playing his wife, country star June Carter Cash. The film received five Oscar nominations.
The screenplay, written by James Mangold (who also directed the film) and Gill Dennis, was based on two Cash autobiographies—1975’s Man in Black:
His Story in His Own Words and 1997’s Cash: The Autobiography. The film took its title from Cash’s 1956 hit, “I Walk the Line.” The soundtrack reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for best compilation soundtrack album for motion picture, television or other visual media.
But the actors were passed over for Oscar nods, while the real thing, Elton and Bernie, won Oscars for best original song for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.”
The film drew its title from John’s 1972 hit, which reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 – his highest ranking to that point. (Many bigger hits were in his future.) The soundtrack reached No. 50 on the Billboard 200.
Straight Outta Compton (2015) Worldwide gross: $201.6 million Director: F. Gary GrayMusic: Joseph Trapanese Notes: Ice Cube was played by his real-life son, O’Shea Jackson Jr, in this N.W.A biopic, which also starred Corey Hawkins as Dr Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr as DJ Yella and Aldis Hodge as MC Ren.
Paul Giamatti was featured as N.W.A.’s manager Jerry Heller. The members of N.W.A were involved in the film’s production, with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre serving as producers. Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, was also a producer, while MC Ren and DJ Yella served as creative consultants.
The film drew its title from N.W.A.’s debut album, which reached a new peak on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) following the film’s release.
The album had originally peaked at No. 37 in 1989. On Aug. 7, 2015, one week before the film’s release, Dr. Dre released Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre. Though not an official soundtrack, Dre said the album was “inspired by the movie.” It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Elvis (2022): Worldwide gross: $288.7 million Director: Baz Luhrmann Music: Elliott Wheeler Notes: Elvis was Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming one of the greatest pop music stars of all time.
The film also explored his complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. In addition to directing the film, Luhrmann co-wrote and co-produced it.
This was Luhrmann’s sixth film, following Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Australia (2008) and The Great Gatsby (2013). The soundtrack, attributed to Elvis Presley and Various Artists, reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Worldwide gross: $911 million Director: Brian Singer Music: Queen Notes: Rami Malek won an Oscar for best actor for playing Queen’s charismatic lead singer Freddie Mercury. The film also starred Gwilym Lee as guitarist Brian May, Ben Hardy as drummer Roger Taylor and Joe Mazzello as bassist John Deacon.
May and Taylor served as consultants on the film, which focused on the period from the band’s formation in 1970 to their triumphant performance at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium in 1985.
The film received five Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won four awards, more than any other film that year.
The film drew its title from Queen’s most famous song, which reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 1976 and No. 2 in 1992 after being featured in the box-office smash “Wayne’s World.” The Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Michael (2026)Worldwide gross:
$978.6 million (to date) Director: Antoine FuquaMusic: Lior Rosner Notes: Michael focuses on a two-decade period, from 1966 to 1988, when Jackson rose from a talented pre-teen in Gary, Indiana, to the biggest pop star on the planet.
Jackson is portrayed as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi and as an adult by his nephew Jaafar Jackson (Jermaine Jackson’s son) – both in their film acting debuts.
The supporting cast includes Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller and two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo.
The film has received mixed to negative reviews; critics praised Jaafar-Michael Jackson’s performance but found the storytelling to be sanitised. Fuqua directed Denzel Washington to an Oscar in Training Day. Fuqua’s other credits include three instalments of The Equaliser, which also starred Washington.
Image Credit: D. Stevens / © Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection Worldwide gross: $39.1 million Director: Brian Gibson Music: Stanley Clarke Notes: Angela Bassett received an Oscar nomination for best actress for playing the indomitable Tina Turner in this biopic. Laurence Fishburne received an Oscar nod for best actor for playing her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
Image Credit: © Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection Worldwide gross: $54.2 million Director: Luis Valdez Music: Carlos Santana, Miles Goodman Notes: Lou Diamond Phillips starred as Chicano music star Ritchie Valens, who died at age 17 in the same plane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. 
Image Credit: David Appleby / © Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection Worldwide gross: $195.3 million Director: Dexter Fletcher Music: Matthew Margeson Notes: Taron Egerton won raves for his performance as Elton John, with Jamie Bell playing his collaborator, Bernie Taupin.