Magnificent Malady Faceoff
It’s a great time to be alive if you’re a fan of “Harry Potter.” It’s also a great time to be alive for actor Daniel Radcliffe. Searches on the young man who brings the wizard to life on the silver screen have doubled over the past week and he’s earned a spot in our top 100 queries.
The adorable actor is turning 18 in a few days and he’s conjured up the support of his peers. Teens are responsible for half of his searches, with girls 13-17 accounting for one quarter of his many queries.
With teen girls hot on his cape, images of young Radcliffe are a hot topic right now. Lookups on “daniel radcliffe new pictures” (+236%), “daniel radcliffe pictures” (+231%), and “daniel radcliffe equus pictures” (+165%) are clogging the Search box.
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Welcome to the Buzz Multiplex, where we’ll take a weekly peek at which premieres are stirring up curiosity online. Searches don’t necessarily translate into box office, like in the case of “Hostel 2,” but advance interest gives us insight that sometimes studios miss out on (say, “Borat“).
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While??this week’s??crop isn’t as big??as the blockbusters of the past few weeks, summertime searches continue to be healthy. This week, people are checking out the ‘do, seeing two guys say “I do,” figuring out what people do in space, and finding out the dos and don’ts when there’s a teen serial killer on the loose.
- “Hairspray.” From the John Waters movie to Broadway and back again to the big screen, the toe-tapper isn’t just the most searched movie opening this week: The ladies (who make up 75% of queries) are looking for the “lyrics” to sing along, checking out the “soundtrack,” tracking the “premiere,” and getting more info on the stage version. Whoever says musicals are a ’50s throwback that only older generations can understand must not have kids? more than half the interest hails from kids under 18. As for the cast, cheeky star Nikki Blonsky??had an astounding 10,132% leap in searches, which??earned her??even more love than the popular kids, Zac Efron??and Amanda Bynes.
- “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” Two firefighters fall in love with the idea of benefits and decide they can live happily ever after. Adam Sandler and Kevin James play the title’s namesakes, but searches for the lucky men and the movie itself pale in comparison to those for the coveted Jessica Biel. Pre-teens and teens are big on the civil union concept, especially where Sandler is involved: They make up a whopping 35% of the look-ups. Searches not only come from people all the way in their mid-40s, but nearly 6 out of 10 of those folks are guys.
- “Sunshine.” The low-key science creeper film of the week appeals to the male set, who make up almost two-thirds of the searches. While the under-21 age group is mildly interested, true sci-fi thriller fans are 21-54. Directory Danny Boyle, who has stirred up Buzz with offerings like “28 Days Later,” assembles a far-out crew which includes Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Michelle Yeoh.
- “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.” The ever-reliable stream of teen horror movies continues with this little flick, with small searches matching its stature. Surprisingly, the Search surge hails from ages 21-44, which either means creepy older guys are turned on by star Amber Heard, or they like to watch lovesick boys getting offed.
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The organic??label??apparently doesn’t guarantee immunity from recalls. Searches for Gerber, maker of edible baby mush, spiked more than 1,000% after it issued a voluntary call-back for its lumpy organic rice and organic oatmeal. That followed news of (and searches for) salmonella-tainted veggie snacks by Robert’s American Gourmet, prompting a?yes?Booty recall.
In Gerber’s case, the issue has to do with choking hazards rather than poisonous ingredients. While the baby food giant can’t blame its insoluble grains on the usual suspect (e.g. China), Robert’s has pointed fingers at the Middle Kingdom for the bad seasoning in its Veggie Booty snacks. China does have a history of food-safety issues, but these??new fiascos have??focused the spotlight on American safety regulations. Consumers have been scouring the Search box for details on “food safety” (29%), “fda” (13%), and, for the first time in Buzz, “food preservatives.”
The brouhaha, and lawsuits,??haven’t rippled into a??Search outrage over what natural eating really means. “Organic food,” generally in the top 40,000 searches, registered the merest 3% peep of additional interest in the past week. Terms??such as??buying local or food miles, often touted in sustainable circles, haven’t translated into queries…yet.
In the meantime, even as a Chinese health official calls for a streamlined food bureaucracy, China has gone on the offensive against “foreign media” hysteria and retaliated with its own bans on American exports like chicken feet, pork ears and pork intestines (hey, more for us!). Given the buzz over China’s speedy judgment upon those who impugn their food supplies, and scrutiny Stateside into the U.S. food chain of command, bureaucrats might want to beware. Heads, indeed, may roll.
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Falcons QB Michael Vick faces some damning charges in his indictment on dog fighting charges. Searches on the embattled passer jumped 1,180% after word came down that the Feds were ready to tackle the case. Related queries on “michael vick indicted,” “michael vick dog fighting,” and “michael vick dogs” scrambled throughout the Buzz.
The fans in Atlanta are wondering what’s next?searches on “atlanta falcons message board” spiked and queries on the team jumped 140%. Will Vick be under center for the team’s kickoff in September? Hard to tell, but even our usually curious searchers didn’t have the stomach to look up “dog fighting.” The disgusting fiasco has ruined Vick’s rep, and it’ll be hard to win fans back with all the negative buzz surrounding the signal caller.
The World Series of Poker main event is down to the final table and searches on the annual card-stravaganza are anything but a flop. Queries on the tourney jumped 171% this week as the No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em field was whittled from 6,358 hopefuls to nine finalists.
Related lookups on “world series of poker main event” (+1,535%), “2007 world series of poker” (+389%), and “wsop” (+113%) were also aces this week. Railbirds hungry for the scoop on table action went all-in on searches for “poker news” and “world series of poker results.” Hold ‘Em diehards re-raised Buzz on “card player magazine” and “pokerpages.com.”
We weren’t surprised Vegas led all metro areas for searches on the WSOP. However, we were a bit puzzled by the metros following the gambling mecca in Search interest: Santa Barbara, CA and Sioux Falls, SD. Sin City and Sioux Falls? We suppose only the lure of No Limit action could bring them together.