WIRE Buzz: Palm Springs breaks Hulu streaming record; Player vs. Player with Trevor Noah; La Llorona

In true time loop fashion, the Groundhog Day-esque comedy Palm Springs is back in the news after launching last week. That’s because the film — also in Groundhog Day-esque fashion — was a massive hit for its streaming home Hulu. The film, directed by Max Barbakow and written by Andy Siara, set a Sundance record for acquisition price (by $.69), so it was going to need to pay off. New reports indicate that it’s achieved those heights.

Hulu, in a release, claims that Palm Springs broke the service’s opening weekend record with a higher three-day view count than any other Hulu film. The critical hit also swept the internet, finding the “highest amount of social interest for any Hulu original film” and “most discussed Hulu original film on Twitter” over the same time period.

The memes were strong with this film, which stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of wedding guests trapped in a time loop that has them reliving the same day. There’s plenty of time weirdness going on in addition to the traditional rom-com arc, which has made the twist on the well-worn premise such a success.

Oscar winner Parasite made a similar splash when it hit the service earlier this year, though Palm Springs’ sci-fi/comedy was a Hulu/Neon original acquisition rather than a film that the service got the streaming rights to.

Palm Springs, which also features Peter Gallagher, Camila Mendes, and J.K. Simmons, is streaming on Hulu now.

Next, another film concentrated on the Latin American folktale of La Llorona is on its way to horror fans. Unlike The Curse of La Llorona, writer/director Jayro Bustamante’s movie is simply titled La Llorona, is in Spanish, and has far more political themes than the earlier haunted house movie.

The first trailer for the critically acclaimed film — which tracks the weeping woman of legend haunting a retired general being prosecuted for war crimes — looks to blend plenty of heady themes alongside its chilling images.

Take a look:

Starring María Mercedes Coroy, Margarita Kénefic, Sabrina De La Hoz, and Julio Diaz, La Llorona becomes a sharp metaphor as the women of the household must deal with the consequences from the general’s deadly actions.

La Llorona hits Shudder on Aug. 6.

Finally, Quibi is headed further into the gaming sector with a new show featuring one of TV’s most notable hosts.

Player vs. Player With Trevor Noah looks to pit the Daily Show host up against various gaming guests — from esports professionals and Twitch streamers to celebrity guests — on different games over a variety of consoles. Noah has been vocal about his sports games abilities, but how he’ll fare in a round of Fortnite or a best-of-three Pokémon battle has yet to be determined.

Noah will banter with his competitor over the course of the gaming session, striking a feel similar to Conan O’Brien, another talk show host who's added a gaming segment to his resume. This will see Noah making moves off of Comedy Central onto the shortform streaming service, though his Comedy Central home isn't going anywhere, as the network is looking to expand his Daily Show into an hour runtime.

No timeline has yet been announced for Player vs. Player With Trevor Noah.