Strike a pose — see AP's top entertainment photos of 2023

Strike a pose — see AP’s top entertainment photos of 2023

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Rita Wilson, from left, Tom Hanks, composer Alexandre Desplat, Bryan Cranston and Maya Hawke pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Asteroid City’ at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (Photo by Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)

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Ethann Isidore, left, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge pose for photographers upon departure from the premiere of the film ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

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Austin Butler poses for a portrait at the 95th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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A model wears a creation as part of the Diesel women’s Fall-Winter 2023-24 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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Michelle Yeoh reacts to winning the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Striking writers take part in a rally in front of Paramount Pictures studio, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Gwyneth Paltrow speaks with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, left, as she walks out of the courtroom following the reading of the verdict in their lawsuit trial, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn’t at fault for the crash. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

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Dancers perform during a rehearsal for the “2023 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

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Margot Robbie arrives at the premiere of “Barbie” on Sunday, July 9, 2023, at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Angel Manuel Soto, right, director of “Blue Beetle,” hides behind a cut-out of the film’s star Xolo Mariduena as his wife Carla Gonzalez looks on at a screening of the film, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Mariduena did not attend the premiere as per SAG-AFTRA guidelines during the current actors’ strike. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Liv, a Morkie, models a creation by designer Anthony Rubio and inspired by an outfit worn by Salma Hayek, at the Met Gala, Monday, May 22, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

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Torbjorn Brundtland of the band Royksopp is silhouetted as he performs at The Novo, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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A model checks her phone outside the backstage of the N21 women’s Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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Doja Cat attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” exhibition on Monday, May 1, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Jared Leto attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” exhibition on Monday, May 1, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

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Caleb Landry Jones poses for a portrait photograph to promote the film ‘Dogman’ during the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

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Ke Huy Quan, right, a cast member in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” gestures to presenter Harrison Ford after the film won the award for best picture during the 95th Academy Awards, Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Quan and Ford were fellow cast members in the 1984 film “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Lainey Wilson performs “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” at the 57th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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SAG-AFTRA member John Schmitt, second from right, and others carry signs on the picket line outside Netflix on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Carys Zeta Douglas, from left, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones pose for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the premiere of the film ‘Jeanne du Barry’ at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

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Taylor Swift arrives at the world premiere of the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at AMC The Grove 14 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Lead singer Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

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Picketers carry signs past an advertisement for the film “Barbie” outside Warner Bros. studios on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. The actors strike comes more than two months after screenwriters began striking in their bid to get better pay and working conditions and have clear guidelines around the use of AI in film and television productions. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Bob Odenkirk poses for a portrait to promote his book “Zilot & Other Important Rhymes” on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Drew Gurian/Invision/AP)

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Shakira performs during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

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Johnny Depp poses for portrait photographs for the film ‘Jeanne du Barry’, at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

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A model wears a creation as part of the Junya Watanabe Fall/Winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear collection presented Saturday, March 4, 2023 in Paris. (Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)

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Jelly Roll performs “Need a Favor” at the 57th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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Rihanna arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

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Karol G poses with the awards for best urban album for “Mañana Sera Bonito”, for album of the year for “Mañana Sera Bonito” and the award for best urban fusion/performance for “TQG” during the 24th annual Latin Grammy Awards in Seville, Spain, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (Photo by Jose Breton/Invision/AP)

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Jonathan Majors poses for a portrait to promote the film “Magazine Dreams” at the Latinx House during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP)

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Sam Smith performs during for the Christian Cowan Spring/Summer 2024 womenswear fashion collection presented Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 in Paris. (AP Photo/Vianney Le Caer)

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A model wears a creation as part of the Diesel women’s Spring Summer 2024 collection presented in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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Models wear creations for the Dior Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 fashion collection presented in Paris, Friday, June 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

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A Pee-wee Herman doll is pictured sitting in a window near the character’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Monday, July 31, 2023, in Los Angeles. Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian who created the character, died Sunday night, July 30, after a six-year struggle with cancer. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Chris Martin of Coldplay performs at the Rose Bowl, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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From left, Gabrielle Roitman, Kayla Seffing, Maddy Hiller and Casey Myer take a selfie in front of an “Oppenheimer” movie poster before they attended an advance screening of “Barbie,” Thursday, July 20, 2023, at AMC The Grove 14 theaters in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Greta Lee poses for a portrait to promote the film “Past Lives” on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

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SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at the SAG-AFTRA offices in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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A makeshift memorial for Matthew Perry is seen outside the building shown in exterior shots of the television show “Friends” on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in New York. Perry, who played Chandler Bing on NBC’s “Friends” for 10 seasons, was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Saturday. He was 54. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

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Ambrit Millhouse, a writer for the television series “Abbott Elementary,” leaps as she participates in a Writers Guild rally in front of The Walt Disney Company studio, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Taylor Swift performs at the Monumental stadium during her Eras Tour concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. Thousands of “Swifties” attended the superstar’s first-ever concert in Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

NEW YORK (AP) — 2023 was the year Barbie busted out of her box and Taylor triumphed again (and again). Actors abandoned red carpets and grabbed picket signs even as, around the world, the entertainment industry shook off the last remnants of the pandemic.

Fashion houses resumed large-scale, eye-popping shows. The Oscars returned to full capacity and moved past The Slap. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” took the top prize, bringing Oscar glory to Michelle Yeoh and reviving the once-dormant career of the infectiously optimistic Ke Huy Quan.

Fun was back.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and newcomer Ethann Isidore playfully posed in Cannes at the premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks and other “Asteroid City” stars looked overjoyed to be together at the glitzy French Riviera festival, which feted Michael Douglas and gave Johnny Depp his biggest comeback platform yet.

Jared Leto left Met Gala guests puzzled with a realistic full cat costume based on late designer Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, Choupette. Doja Cat also donned a feline look for the gala.

Days later, some real animals got in on the act, wearing looks inspired by outfits worn by Cardi B, Salma Hayek and other stars for the Pet Gala.

Not PARSE.LY: Travis Kelce

Kris Bowers poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Kris Bowers talks Oscars nom for ‘Wild Robot,’ John Williams’ impact and Kobe Bryant’s advice

Apple TV app - Top Movies

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from the film "Wicked." (Universal Pictures via AP)

Female protagonists reach parity with men in top-grossing films of 2024

By then, it was clear that Hollywood was headed for rough times. Screenwriters went on strike in early May and actors joined them two months later, grinding all film and television production to a halt. Leading the actors’ charge was “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, whose fiery speech announcing the strike galvanized the union.

There was still fun to be had. The Barbenheimer matchup between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” produced box-office gold — two bona fide blockbusters.

Live music — once silenced by the pandemic — roared on. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Coldplay and others led to a blockbuster year for concerts.

There were stories of loss and heartbreak. Striking actors and writers spoke about the pain they were experiencing, and why their struggle to win protections from artificial intelligence and a share of streaming profits was so important. Stars lost their moments while filmmakers tried to give them their due, as “Blue Beetle” director Angel Manuel Soto did when he attended the film’s premiere holding a photo of absent star Xolo Maridueña over his face.

The deaths of stars like Paul Reubens, who as Pee-wee Herman delighted a generation, and Matthew Perry, whose role as Chandler Bing on “Friends” has delighted audiences around the globe across three decades, stunned fans.

Other stories dominated headlines. Gwyneth Paltrow spent two weeks in a Utah courtroom in a trial over a ski slope collision that ended with a jury siding with her, awarding her a symbolic $1 verdict.

Jonathan Majors, whose year started on a high note of praise for his film “Magazine Dreams” at Sundance, was accused of his assaulting his ex-girlfriend and went on a trial.

The year will perhaps be best remembered for the everlasting dominance of Swift, who delighted fans with her record-breaking Eras tour.

But her superstardom reached new heights through her relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce and the blockbuster release of a film version of her Eras show — a pair of unpredictable events in a year that went off script in more ways than one.