We’re still a few days out from Black Friday, but the early sales have already dropped prices to record lows on a number of LEGO sets for adults. Below, I highlight the five best deals on LEGO sets for adults that are already available. The official LEGO Store Black Friday sale starts on November 28, so know there are still more deals to come.
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As you can see, plenty of sets are already on sale for over 30% off, the threshold I’d say makes a LEGO deal particularly appealing.
LEGO Ideas: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Target has the first discount we’ve seen on LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & the Chocolate factory, an absolute nostalgic gem of a set. This is a set we built when it released earlier this year, and had a blast doing it. It’s a vibrantly colorful set based on the memorable room with a chocolate river and waterfall. It comes with a bunch of minifigures and a buildable Wonkatania ship to sail through the tunnel of doom. This is one of Target's best Black Friday deals so far.
LEGO Christmas Tree
There are a good number of Christmas-themed LEGO sets available now, but this Christmas tree is the best deal available. It’s actually a 2-in-1 build, because you can use the pieces to build one big Christmas tree, or to build two smaller Christmas trees. Either way, $25 for this set is a killer deal ahead of the holidays.
LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi
This deal on LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi matches the all-time low price it’s ever been discounted to. This set holds a special place in this gamer’s heart, because Super Mario World is my favorite video game of all time. I built this set and I keep it on my desk right next to the lamp at all times. Sometimes I even turn the crank to see Mario and Yoshi traipse along.
LEGO Star Wars: A New Hope Tantive IV
In a way, the whole Star Wars saga started right here, with the Tantive IV. This set has you build the ship Princes Leia is on at the beginning of the first movie, when Darth Vader boards the ship in search of the stolen Death Star plans. A 50% discount is absolutely a great deal on any LEGO set, especially one this big and impressive.
LEGO Ideas The Insect Collection
Another massive 50% discount on this one. It’s a collection of three insects that you build in life-size replicas: a blue morpho butterfly, Herculese beetle, and a Chinese mantis. All three are finely detailed and posable.
LEGO sets make great gifts, so stock up if you have adults on your list who enjoy the brick-building life. Or just pick up a set or two for yourself.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Samsung is one of the best brands around for external storage, and its PRO Plus line of microSDXC cards featuring blazing fast read and write speeds of up to 180MB/s and 130MB/s, which is excellent for recording 4K footage on drones and action cams like GoPro.
MicroSD cards are also a great choice for easily expanding the storage of many of your daily devices, including Android phones, tablets, and even work with handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck or Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. With 1TB of storage, you'll be able to store quite a few large games with room to spare.
While there are plenty of great deals to be had during Amazon's Black Friday sale, other brick and mortar retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, and Target have all hopped on the early Black Friday bandwagon and each have some sweet deals worth checking out.
Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
If you're looking for a power bank that can handle the demands of even the latest and most power hungry gaming handhelds at a great price, check out this new Black Friday deal. Amazon is offering the Baseus 20,800mAh Power Bank with 145W of Power Delivery for just $39.99 shipped after applying coupon code "Q4PSW5C3". You don't need to be a Prime member. Baseus makes good power banks and I recommend them as a less expensive alternative to Anker.
Baseus 20,800mAh 145W Power Bank for $39.99
The Baseus power bank has a 20,800mAh or 77Whr battery capacity. Factoring in a roughly 80% power efficiency rating (which is about standard for power banks), this power bank will charge a Steam Deck (40Whr) or Asus ROG Ally (40Whr) from empty to completely full 1.5 times, an Xbox Ally X (80Whr) 0.8 times, a Legion Go S (55Whr) about 1.1 times, and a Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 (20Whr) about 3 times. You can see why a smaller 10,000mAh power bank might be fine for the Switch but is insufficient for the more power hungry handheld gaming PCs.
The power bank is equipped with four ports: two USB Type-A ports that can deliver 33W each and two USB Type-C ports that can deliver 100W each. The power bank supports a total maximum output of 145W. So, for example, if you were using both USB-C ports, one port could deliver 100W and the other power would then be capped at 45W.
The 100W of maximum power output is more than enough for every handheld gaming PC released so far. The Steam Deck supports up to 45W of charging, the Asus ROG Ally up to 65W, the Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2 up to 100W, and the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 between 20W and 30W. You should be able to charge all of these gaming handhelds at their fastest rate while you're playing games at the same time, even on Turbo settings.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Believe it or not, Alienware actually has the lowest price on an RTX 5080 equipped gaming PC for Black Friday, and it's not even close. You can pick up a complete system with Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU starting at just $1,815. Alternatively, upgraded models with a more powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and more memory and storage capacity are available with deep discounts. Alienware normally commands a higher price point, but this Black Friday deal totally flips the script.
Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $1,815
This base configuration is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU, GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB SSD. You can upgrade to 32GB of RAM for an extra $100. The processor is cooled by a 240mm all-in-one liquid cooling solution and the entire system is powered by a robust 1,000W 80+ Platinum rated power supply.
Alternatively, for an extra $485, you can upgrade to a more powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor and double the memory. For an extra $685 you can the CPU upgrade and quadruple the memory.
The GeForce RTX 5080 GPU will run any game in 4K
Performance-wise, the RTX 5080 is no slouch. It's one of the fastest cards on the market, bested only by the $2,000 RTX 5090 and the discontinued $1,600 RTX 4090. This is a phenomenal card for playing the latest, most demanding games in 4K resolution at high settings and ray tracing enabled. The RTX 5080 supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation, which means you can push even more frames out of games that support the technology with minimal visual compromise. Recent games that support it include Doom: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Borderlands 4, Stellar Blade, and Battlefield 6. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review for our hands-on impressions.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Gaming chair maker Secretlab is getting in on the Black Friday fun with some of the best deals of the year. You can browse a wide variety of what they have to offer, but their Titan Evo gaming chairs are always a highlight of these deals. The two Star Wars-themed chairs are part of the savings, with both being discounted down to $614 ($50 off MSRP). The Stormtrooper variant is a preorder and has an estimated shipping window of December 14.
Secretlab Titan Evo Star Wars Chairs on Sale
The Star Wars Titan Evo gaming chairs sport some awesome design inspired by Stormtroopers and the classic Imperial colors. The Stormtrooper chair is black and white, with accents and designs inspired by the iconic Stormtrooper armor and helmet we've grown familiar with over the years. The Empire-themed chair has the signature black and crimson color scheme, with Aurebesh writing on the front of the seat as a Sith Easter egg. These styled chairs make for a great Star Wars gift if you're willing to spend the money.
Titan Evo gaming chairs can be bundled with optional accessories like a footrest and lumbar support, but the prices shown here are just for the chairs by themselves. If you're looking for something with a few more bells and whistles, the Performance versions of the chairs start at $971, saving you $100. You'll get the chair for the same discount, but with accessories for extra comfort for an additional $40 off.
More Themed Titan Evo Chairs On Sale
If you're in the market for a new gaming chair and Star Wars isn't quite your thing, Secretlab has tons of other licensed chairs to pick from. For you League of Legends players, there are Titan Evo chairs themed around popular characters Ahri, Jinx, Yasuo, and more. There's also the Cyberpunk 2077 chair, a personal favorite, a neon yellow design with the Samurai logo on the back. They even offer licensed chairs that aren't video games, like Game of Thrones (seen below) and Harry Potter.
Sonos doesn't discount its popular speakers very often, so it's a wise investment to jump on a good sale when you see one. The Sonos Arc was discontinued last year to make way for its successor, the Arc Ultra. It's no longer available new at Sonos direct, however for Black Friday you can pick up a certified refurbished model for just $399. That's $500 less than its original retail price of $900. It's a heck of a better value than picking up the Arc Ultra, currently "on sale" for $879.
Sonos refurbished products go through rigorous testing; they come with all accessories, manuals, and documentation and are reshipped in "pristine" packaging. Most importantly, Sonos includes the same 1-year warranty as buying new. I like when retailers offer the same warranty as new because that means they have faith in the reliability of their refurbs.
Sonos Arc Soundbar (Refurbished)
The Arc is still an outstanding soundbar even after the release of the Arc Ultra. The 45" soundbar houses eleven precisely engineered internal speakers, including three tweeters and eight midwoofers each paired with Class-D amplifiers. It's capable of room filling audio by itself, but you'd still benefit from a separate subwoofer to round out the low end. Unlike the Sonos Beam, which only has virtual height channels, the Arc has two physical height channels for true Dolby Atmos support. The Arc also has a built-in microphone for smart assistant compatiblity, including voice control.
This deal is part of a greater Sonos Black Friday Sale that starts now. Check out more deals on soundbars, speakers, and headphones, including the lowest prices of the year on the Sub 4 and Sub Mini to complement your soundbar.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Disney Lorcana continues to go from strength to strength, and while we’re a few sets deep at this point, there’s still something special about having so many recognizable characters, songs, and moments printed to cardboard.
The bundle, which would usually set Illumineers back $34.99, is now down to $24.99 as part of the sales event. It’s an ideal way to kickstart a collection, offering two Starter Decks that are playable right out of the box, as well as four additional booster packs and a Mickey Mouse Pirate Captain promo card.
That’s an ideal combo because when you want to upgrade your decks with fresh cards, you already have packs to rip open. The decks included are fun ones, too, with the unlikely duo of Peter Pan and the Dalmatians helming one, and Moana and Scrooge McDuck in the other. Each deck contains a booster pack, too, so you’re really getting six in total.
It’s worth noting that Lorcana now rotates sets. This set isn’t currently standard legal - so competitive players should look elsewhere. Thankfully, though, it remains a fantastic deal for collectors or casual players looking to learn the ropes.
At the time of writing, the Into the Inklands bundle has gone past the ‘50% claimed’ mark, so you’ll want to move swiftly!
Save $40 on Red Xbox Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller at Best Buy
As for why you might want the Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller, it features adjustable-tension thumbsticks, a wrap-around rubberized grip so you can keep a firm hold on it, and shorter hair trigger locks for quick firing in your favorite games. It even offers up to 40 hours of rechargeable battery life, so you can keep playing for ages before it needs to be powered up again. In our review, we thought it had some handy tweaks to the formula but that it was priced higher than it should be, due to some issues with sticky buttons at times. Despite that, we still think it's one of the best Xbox controllers around.
While this sale only lasts for today, Xbox still has plenty of other discounts worth exploring in Black Friday sales. In our roundup of Xbox's 2025 Black Friday sale, we've gathered up some of the best discounts available right now on video games, hardware, and more. There's sure to be plenty more popping up as the week goes on, too.
To keep up with what's on sale where and when, as well as upcoming deals, keep an eye on our breakdown of this year's Black Friday.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
HP is offering an outstanding Black Friday deal on its flagship gaming laptop. Right now you can score the powerful OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop for just $1,399.99 with free shipping after applying 30% off coupon "OMENMAX30". The RTX 5070 Ti is a powerful mobile GPU that should easily handle the newest and most demanding games.
OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop for $1,399.99
New for 2025, the OMEN MAX 16 is an upgrade to the OMEN 16 both in terms of build quality and cooling potential. Unlike the OMEN 16, the OMEN MAX 16 is almost entirely constructed of aluminum, including both the top lid and chassis. The exception is the palm rest, which is still plastic so that it doesn't get too toasty for your hands. The OMEN MAX 16 also features a new OMEN Tempest Cooling Pro design that combines vapor chamber cooling, redesigned fan configuration, and an improved thermal interface material to maximize heat transfer. Not only does this keep the OMEN MAX 16 cooler during gaming marathons, it also allows for the current-generation graphics cards to perform optimally without throttling.
This particular configuration features a 16" 1920x1200 display, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX CPU, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Both the memory and storage can be user-upgraded. I would recommend upgrading to the 16" 2560x1600 OLED display for an additional $190.
The Intel Core Ultra 7 255X is a top performing CPU
The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX is a 20-core processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.2GHz. In terms of gaming performance, upgrading to an Ultra 9 would be a waste of money. Games are typically GPU-bound, so getting the best GPU within your budget should be the highest priority. Most games also can't utilize more than 4-8 cores, so the extra cores on the Core Ultra 9 are unnecessary. The Ultra 9 275HX does have a slightly higher clock speed (5.4GHz vs 5.2GHz) but that's just a 4% difference in performance, completely unnoticeable in actual gameplay.
The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU can handle the most demanding games
The RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU is comparable in performance to the previous generation's RTX 4080 and pulls ahead of it in games that support DLSS 4. It should be able to handle even the newest and most demanding games like Ghost of Yotei, Battlefield 6, and Borderlands 4 on the native 1920x1200 resolution. It can also run the same games at 2560x1600 if you opt for the OLED upgrade, although you may have to minimally tweak some graphics settings to maintain 60fps.
From 11/16 - 11/26 IGN users can use custom discount code OMENMAX30 at checkout to receive a 30% discount price on OMEN MAX 16 laptops. See below for coupon terms and conditions definitions.
Non-stackable 30% off select OMEN Max 16 gaming laptops for IGN only, GS only - Coupon Definition
OMENMAX30 30% off coupon valid on HP.com internet, mobile, and call center purchases only. Coupon code is limited to one (1) redemption up to one (1) product in cart by a single customer email, per customer account, per coupon code, per checkout. Coupon is not combinable with other promotional offers. Coupon valid from November 16 to 26, 2025, or while supplies last. Coupon vaild on HP.com General Store only. Coupon valid on OMEN Max 16 gaming laptops only: A4NQ6AV_1, A4SL1AV_1, B86WQAV_1, B96R7UA#ABA, B96S7UA#ABA, CG6Y7UA#ABA.
Coupon not valid on HP Employee Purchase Program, Corporate Employee Purchase Program, Business Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze Clubs, select consumer and business private stores. Coupon not valid on all printers and all supplies as defined by HP, refurbish products, third party products offered by HP, bundle products, select consumer and commercial laptops, desktops, All-In-Ones, mobile and desktops workstations, monitors, peripherals, and accessories.
Any unused portion will be forfeited. Offer void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Non-transferable. Not retroactively valid on previously purchased items. Not valid for any resale activity as defined by HP.com. Coupons may not be used to purchase gift cards. May not be permitted with certain bundle offers. Products and support acquired by customer under these terms are solely for customer's personal use and not for immediate resale or sublicensing. Contract and volume customers not eligible. These exclusions and terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.
HP just unloaded an excellent deal on one of the most powerful gaming laptops currently available. The OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5080 gaming laptop starts at just $1,999.99 with free shipping after a $1,300 off instant discount. This is one of few RTX 5080 equipped laptops I've seen so far priced under $2,000. The RTX 5080 is an absolute monster of a mobile GPU that surpasses the previous generation's top performer, the RTX 4090.
OMEN MAX 16 RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop for $1,999.99
New for 2025, the OMEN MAX 16 is an upgrade to the OMEN 16 both in terms of build quality and cooling potential. Unlike the OMEN 16, the OMEN MAX 16 is almost entirely constructed of aluminum, including both the top lid and chassis. The exception is the palm rest, which is still plastic so that it doesn't get too toasty for your hands. The OMEN MAX 16 also features a new OMEN Tempest Cooling Pro design that combines vapor chamber cooling, redesigned fan configuration, and an improved thermal interface material to maximize heat transfer. Not only does this keep the OMEN MAX 16 cooler during gaming marathons, it also allows for the current-generation graphics cards to perform optimally without throttling.
This particular configuration features a 16" 2560x1600 display, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, GeForce RTX 5080 mobile GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Both the memory and storage can be user-upgraded.
The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a top performing CPU
The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor has 24 cores and a max turbo frequency of 5.4GHz. This is the second most powerful Intel mobile CPU currently available (the Ultra 9 285HX has a slightly higher clock speed) and goes toe to toe with AMD's flagship Ryzen 9 9955HX processor. This is an excellent CPU to pair with a powerful GPU like the 5080.
The GeForce RTX 5080 mobile GPU is better than the RTX 4090 mobile
The OMEN MAX 16 can accommodate an RTX 5080 mobile GPU without throttling it. The RTX 5080 is roughly 15%-20% more powerful than the RTX 4080 GPU that it replaces. In fact, it's slightly more powerful than the RTX 4090, which was the previous generation's flagship card. It will run even the newest demanding games like Ghost of Yotei, Battlefield 6, and Borderlands 4 at frame rates of 60fps or higher on the 1600p display. You could even enable ray tracing and still get playable frames, something that was unheard of in laptops just a few years ago.
From 11/16 - 11/26 IGN users can use custom discount code OMENMAX30 at checkout to receive a 30% discount price on OMEN MAX 16 laptops. See below for coupon terms and conditions definitions.
Non-stackable 30% off select OMEN Max 16 gaming laptops for IGN only, GS only - Coupon Definition
OMENMAX30 30% off coupon valid on HP.com internet, mobile, and call center purchases only. Coupon code is limited to one (1) redemption up to one (1) product in cart by a single customer email, per customer account, per coupon code, per checkout. Coupon is not combinable with other promotional offers. Coupon valid from November 16 to 26, 2025, or while supplies last. Coupon vaild on HP.com General Store only. Coupon valid on OMEN Max 16 gaming laptops only: A4NQ6AV_1, A4SL1AV_1, B86WQAV_1, B96R7UA#ABA, B96S7UA#ABA, CG6Y7UA#ABA.
Coupon not valid on HP Employee Purchase Program, Corporate Employee Purchase Program, Business Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze Clubs, select consumer and business private stores. Coupon not valid on all printers and all supplies as defined by HP, refurbish products, third party products offered by HP, bundle products, select consumer and commercial laptops, desktops, All-In-Ones, mobile and desktops workstations, monitors, peripherals, and accessories.
Any unused portion will be forfeited. Offer void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Non-transferable. Not retroactively valid on previously purchased items. Not valid for any resale activity as defined by HP.com. Coupons may not be used to purchase gift cards. May not be permitted with certain bundle offers. Products and support acquired by customer under these terms are solely for customer's personal use and not for immediate resale or sublicensing. Contract and volume customers not eligible. These exclusions and terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.
If you're looking to upgrade your gaming PC for Black Friday, you absolutely have to check out this deal. Dell Outlet has just kicked off its Black Friday Sale with some incredible pricing on Clearance, Like New (Refurbished) and Scratch & Dent Alienware Area-51 gaming PCs, equipped with your choice of GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 graphics cards. You're saving up to $1,600 compared to buying an identical system brand new.
All PCs purchased through Dell Outlet include the same warranty as buying new. Dell's certified refurbished systems are submitted to a rigorous refurbishing process. These previously owned products could have observable minor blemishes that do not affect performance, or could look as good as new.
Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC Deals
Alienware Area-51 RTX 5080 Gaming PC Deals
New for 2025: The Alienware Area-51 Is Dell's Flagship Gaming PC
Dell unveiled the new Alienware Area-51 gaming PC at CES 2025. The chassis is a super-sized upgrade to the 2024 R16 system with aesthetic and cooling redesigns and updated components. The I/O panel is positioned at the top of the case instead of the front, and the tempered glass window now spans the entire side panel instead of just a smaller cutout. As a result, the side panel vents are gone, and instead air intakes are located at the bottom as well as the front of the case. Alienware is now pushing a positive airflow design (more intake than exhaust airflow), which means a less dusty interior. The internal components have been refreshed with a new motherboard, faster RAM, and bigger power supply to accommodate the new generation of CPUs and GPUs.
The RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card ever
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in terms of pure, hardware-based raster performance. The 5090 also has a whopping 32GB of VRAM (33% more than the 4090), making it the ideal candidate for a hybrid rig looking to do both gaming and AI work on the same machine. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE review.
The RTX 5080 GPU will run any game in 4K
Performance-wise, the RTX 5080 is no slouch. It's one of the fastest cards on the market, bested only by the $2,000 RTX 5090 and the discontinued $1,600 RTX 4090. This is a phenomenal card for playing the latest, most demanding games in 4K resolution at high settings and ray tracing enabled. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 FE review.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
It looks like Donald Trump is getting his way, as Rush Hour 4 is actually happening at Paramount with original director Brett Ratner involved.
Earlier this week, Semafor reported that the U.S. president had allegedly pressed the Ellisons to make a new Rush Hour movie at Paramount. Larry Ellison is the largest shareholder of Paramount and a prominent financial supporter of Trump. His son, David Elison, runs the company.
Now, Deadline reports that Paramount will release the next Rush Hour film, distributing on behalf of Warner Bros. for a “double digit percentage fee.” Brett Ratner has signed on to direct. Paramount has yet to comment.
Rush Hour was a blockbuster Hollywood hit for martial arts star Jackie Chan and American stand-up comedian and actor Chris Tucker. Rush Hour made $245.3 million at the global box office back in 1998 (not adjusted for inflation), with Rush Hour 2 going bigger with $347.4 million in 2001. Rush Hour 3 was considered something of a box office disappointment, with $256.5 million in 2007. There hasn't been a new movie in the franchise since.
Rush Hour director Brett Ratner made Amazon’s upcoming documentary about the first lady, Melania Trump, a project that comes after Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 and was forced to exit the Wonder Woman franchise.
According to Semafor, Trump wants a revival of the “raucous comedies and action movies” of the late ‘80s to late ‘90s, and is said to be a fan of Jean Claude Van Damme’s 1988 film Bloodsport.
The deal for Rush Hour comes at a time when Paramount is heavily rumored to be leading the charge to buy Warner Bros. The Guardian has reported that senior White House officials have discussed internally their preference for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (we know Warner Bros. Discovery is considering bids as we speak).
According to The Guardian, Paramount is positioning itself as the best bid because it would have an easier time getting through regulatory review. Other parties interested in Warner Bros. Discovery are Netflix and Comcast.
As for Rush Hour, in December 2022, Jackie Chan revealed he was in talks for Rush Hour 4. Before that, Chris Tucker had said much the same thing, adding: "It’s happening. This is gonna be the Rush of all Rushes. Jackie is ready and we want to do this so that people don’t ever forget it.” We haven’t heard anything of the project since. Chan is now 71 years old, and Tucker is 54.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Disney+ with Hulu bundle with ads usually costs $12.99 per month, but at $4.99 a month, subscribers will save close to $100 for the year. That's quite a deal at a time when streaming plans are pricier than ever. It's easily the cheapest way to get caught up on all things Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. With Hulu, you’ll get an unreal batch of comfort shows like Always Sunny, Abbott Elementary, and New Girl as well as more dramatic Hulu originals like Shōgun and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Ad-Free Bundle Also Discounted
The big catch, of course, is you’re stuck with ads. Good thing that, unlike other streaming services, Disney has discounted the ad-free Disney+ with Hulu Premium bundle for Black Friday. It's not quite as big a discount by percentage, at $5 off a $19.99-per-month subscription, but that's still a $60 savings for a year of watching all the Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar you can handle, with no startling ad breaks jammed in.
When Does the Sale End?
Both deals are live until December 1, meaning this is the official Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts from both services. Because the deal lasts for a full year, you’ll be all set until the next round of Black Friday discounts.
Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
EA and Battlefield Studios have launched the first Battlefield 6 free trial, giving new players on PC, PlayStation 5 (PS5), and Xbox Series X | S the chance to try Season 1 multiplayer maps and modes all Thanksgiving week.
The limited-time event runs from today, November 25, at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET to December 2 at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET. It’s a scheduled test period for anyone wondering if the new Battlefield is worth it, following what EA has called the most successful launch in the FPS shooter franchise’s history.
“We are extremely proud of what our amazing teams at Battlefield Studios have accomplished and tremendously excited about the community’s passion as we continue to build Battlefield for and with our fans,” general manager of Battlefield Byron Beede said in a statement. “Today’s launch of a free trial for Battlefield 6 is the perfect opportunity for new players to have the All Out Warfare experience that millions of players around the world are raving about.”
As detailed in a blog post from EA, the Battlefield 6 free trial week offers three playlists for new players: Initiation Breakthrough, Close Quarters Battle, and All-Out Warfare. The first is meant to ease newcomers into the entry’s destructive gameplay with 48-player matches mixed with real-world people and bots. Close Quarters Combat focuses on fast-paced gunplay in smaller maps with Team Deathmatch and Sabotage modes. Finally, All-Out Warfare presents Battlefield 6 multiplayer unrestricted, giving free trial players access to Conquest, Escalation, and Breakthrough modes on the biggest maps it has.
The free trial isn’t quite the full Battlefield 6 Season 1 experience, but it does give players a chance to try out its core gameplay without leaping into a $69.99 purchase (or a little cheaper if you act fast). Maps players can expect to enjoy through the free trial playlists include Siege of Cairo, Blackwell Fields, and Eastwood.
EA has also clarified that those who have enjoyed Battlefield REDSEC, which introduced free-to-play battle royale and Gauntlet modes when it launched late last month, will notice their progress carries over to the Battlefield 6 free trial. Additional progress made during the trial will also carry over to the full experience, should a player choose to purchase the full game. Those who log in to either experience by November 30 also gain access to the free long-range Lethal Force Weapon Package.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Trading card marketplace TCGplayer has a special offer for Black Friday through Cyber Monday this weekend: You’ll earn 10% store credit on all products bought from the site. It’ll only be available for four days though, from 9 a.m. ET on November 28 to 11 p.m. ET on December 1, so you’ll need to act fast.
If this is your first time hearing about TCGplayer, it’s an online marketplace that specializes in trading cards. There are listings from thousands of sellers across tons of different card games. As you could probably guess, Magic: The Gathering has a big presence, including recent collaborations with Avatar: The Last Airbender and Final Fantasy. There are also tens of thousands of listings for Pokémon cards, both in English and Japanese.
There’s an in-depth filtering system that will allow you to get very specific about what you’re looking for, and those filters change depending on what product line you pick. For example, when you choose Pokémon, the other filters will change to target specific Pokémon card categories.
So you can select things like holofoil or reverse holofoil, shiny rares, first edition, etc. And you can pick card types, like trainer, energy, or stadium. Or target specific sets, like World Championship Decks, Prismatic Evolutions, or Paldean Fates. You can make selections across all these categories at the same time and find only the cards that fit your filters.
If you only have one specific card in mind, you can always skip that whole process and just type it into the search bar. Or you can get sealed products like bundles or booster packs, which are particularly nice if you’re building a deck for the first time or if you just like the mystery box appeal.
However you get there, once you find a listing you’re interested in, you can click on it to find more information about the item itself and who it’s available to buy from. You can see product details, market price history, and all the listings and prices that are currently available. Listings will show their seller, and you can click on them to see how many sales they’ve made, where they’re located, and the reviews they’ve gotten. Many of the listings are posted by local game stores, giving you a chance to support small businesses.
Whatever product you’re interested in, you can get 10% store credit on it if you check out between Friday and Monday. But you can plan ahead by loading up your cart now, then just wait to check out until this weekend. That will still count, the timing is just based on when you complete your order. To get started, you can head over to TCGplayer now.
Mobile gamers, rejoice, for the Razer Kishi Ultra mobile gaming controller is just $79.99 during Amazon's Black Friday sale. Normally, the Kishi Ultra is $149.99 – an almost 50% discount is a great deal for what is one of the best mobile controllers I've ever used.
This expandable controller connects directly to iPhone, iPad mini, and Android devices with the built-in USB-C connector, while offering tactile controls, full-size thumbsticks, and analog triggers. This is the cheapest the Kishi Ultra has been according to Amazon price tracker CamelCamelCamel, so get it while the getting is good.
Razer Kishi Ultra Mobile Gaming Controller for $79.99
Like many modern mobile gaming controllers, the Razer Kishi Ultra doesn't require a Bluetooth connection or need to be charged. Instead, it connects directly to your smarthone or tablet through the built-in USB-C connector. This means near-zero latency while gaming and one less battery to worry about.
I gave the Razer Kishi Ultra a 9/10 in my review. I loved its satisfyingly clicky buttons, console-quality thumbsticks and triggers, and full-size grips. It's a great option for playing games natively on your device, or streaming games from your computer, using Razer's PC Remote Play software.
There's plenty more to shop already during Amazon's Black Friday sale, and with more deals being added each day, it's shaping up to be the best time to pick up some of this year's hottest items. Best Buy, Walmart, and Target also each have early Black Friday deals going right now.
Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
Considering what it offers, Disney+ is one of the best streaming services on the block. From classic Disney animated films to the latest Marvel shows, Star Wars movies, and so much more, Disney+ puts an incredible range of high-quality viewing options at your fingertips. There's tons to watch, but after another round of price hikes, you might want to revisit your streaming subscriptions. We're here to help.
At the moment, one of the best Disney Plus bundle deals available is the massive Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max streaming bundle. This starts at $19.99/month (after a recent price hike) to get you all three streaming services with ads. Bundles are definitely worth considering, especially following the news of Hulu eventually fully integrating into the Disney+ app.
Disney+ Black Friday Deals Are Now Live
Streaming deals are top of mind for plenty of people going into Black Friday. Disney+ has already unveiled what their offer for Black Friday 2025: 12 months of Disney+ and Hulu with ads for $4.99/mo, down from $12.99, or 12 months of the ad-free bundle for $14.99/mo, down from $19.99. These are by far the best prices we'll see on either of these services until next Black Friday.
How to Get the Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max Streaming Bundle
Want a way to save on your Disney+ membership sooner rather than later? Bundles are a great, affordable way to go. Our top recommendation is the Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max streaming bundle can be purchased through any of the three streaming services and starts at $19.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $32.99/month for ad-free access across the three platforms. If you currently own all three and want to cut down on costs, this is a great way to bundle them together and save big on what you'd pay for them separately per month – 42% on the ad-supported plan and 43% on the ad-free plan.
Starting on October 21, 2025 these prices were increased. That means if you already have a subscription your next bill will be more expensive. Given that standalone Hulu and Disney+ subscriptions have also increased in price, your savings with this bundle (as opposed to separate subscriptions) stays roughly the same as before.
Every Other Disney+ Bundle Option
Beyond HBO Max, you can also choose to bundle Disney+ with just Hulu or the all-new ESPN Unlimited service. Here's the breakdown of all your bundle options:
Disney+, Hulu Bundle is $12.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. This plan lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both services.
Disney+, Hulu Bundle Premium is $19.99/month and comes with Hulu and Disney+ with no ads. It also includes Disney+ Premium features like the ability to download shows to watch on the go.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle adds ESPN Select (With Ads) to the mix alongside Disney+ (With Ads) and Hulu (With Ads), bumping up the price to $19.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN Select at this level.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Premium is $29.99/month and comes with ESPN Select (With Ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle will be priced at $35.99/month, but is currently $29.99/month for new subscribers. The bundle includes the new ESPN Unlimited service with live ESPN coverage as well as Hulu and Disney+ (With Ads).
Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle Premium will be priced at $44.99/month, but like the standard bundle, is currently discounted to $38.99/month for new subscribers. The big difference here is you get the ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney+.
What About Standalone Disney+ Subscriptions?
Disney+ is available in a couple of different tiers. You can get the least expensive option (simply called Disney+) for $11.99/month, which gives you access to everything except the ability to download select shows to watch on the go. This tier is ad supported. If you want to get rid of ads and be able to download certain shows, you can spring for the $18.99/month or $189.99/year Disney+ Premium package.
What Is the Paid Sharing Plan on Disney Plus?
In an effort to crack down on password sharing, Disney has added a paid sharing plan for individuals outside of your household. Basically, anyone using your account that's not within your household will have to be added as an "Extra Member" to your account. This costs an additional $6.99/month for the ad-supported subscription and $9.99/month for the Premium ad-free plan, and only one Extra Member slot is available per account. You can learn more from Disney's paid sharing explainer here.
Disney+ Gift Cards
If you want to help someone out and give them a gift that will keep on giving, gifting a one-year Disney+ card is a great option. It provides all the great things Disney+ offers and it costs a fraction of what it would take to buy even a small sampling of those movies physically.
What Can You Watch on Disney+?
There is a bonkers array of shows and movies you can watch on Disney+. Highlights coming to Disney+ in November include Fantastic Four: First Steps, Madame Web, and plenty of holiday-themed specials. For new and potential subscribers, here's a deeper dive into what's available on the service:
Disney
On the Disney front, you have awesome classic movies like The Sword In The Stone, Robin Hood, 101 Dalmations, Hercules, and Sleeping Beauty, modern classics like The Princess & The Frog, Tangled, and Frozen, and a wide range of animated shows, including Phineas & Ferb.
You also gain access to a ton of vintage content like Escape to Witch Mountain, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Love Bug, and a whole lot more. The Disney Junior section is home to absolutely top tier animated shows like Bluey (which, for my money, is worth the price of admission on its own).
There's way more on offer, too, including a ton of Muppet movies, new live-action films and adaptions (including the new Snow White), nature programs, documentaries, Pirates of the Caribbean, and musical programs featuring Taylor Swift (like her wildly popular The Eras Tour), Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and more.
Pixar
When it comes to computer generated films, Pixar stands alone. Kicking off the revolution with Toy Story, Pixar has consistently put out fantastic films, and they are all here. From the Toy Story series to Finding Nemo, Cars, and more recent hits like Inside Out 2, there is a ton to love.
Beyond even that, there are incredible shorts like Bao and Party Central, as well as a wide range of originals and series based on major films, such as Dory's Reef Cam, Forky Asks A Question, Cars On The Road, and more.
Marvel
The MCU has become a true juggernaut, and there are many viewers who subscribe to Disney+ purely for access to nearly the entire MCU lineup of films and shows.
Whether you are a fan of the blockbuster action films, you are an appreciator of the classic 90s runs of "Saturday morning" cartoons like X-Men, or you are currently vibing to the funky theme of the 1981 Spider-Man series, there is a ton of Marvel to enjoy on Disney+. And with new movies and shows being added to the MCU all the time, including most recently Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, there is always more coming.
Star Wars
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a film that changed everything. The original Star Wars is a seminal sci-fi fantasy work that inspired generations of creators, but there is still nothing quite like that far away galaxy. Disney+ grants access to all things Star Wars, including the remastered versions of the original trilogy (hopefully some day they'll add the theatrical cuts, too), as well as the prequels and sequels.
Kate Beckinsale has just turned in one of the most extraordinary chat show appearances in recent times, as she stunned host Jimmy Kimmel by stating that her daughter's boyfriend had recently laid two hard-boiled eggs.
The Underworld and The Elder Scrolls Online actress left Kimmel open-mouthed as she began recalling how the unnamed boyfriend had passed two eggs, complete with a shell and yolk.
Clearly uncertain of what he'd just heard, Kimmel asked Beckinsale to clarify whether she was suggesting the eggs had actually come from her daughter's boyfriend's body. "Yes," Beckinsale replied. "Not out of his mouth or ears, it came out the route it would come out of a hen. Well, not his vagina. He went to the bathroom and was very surprised to find that he had laid an egg."
Straight-faced, Beckinsale told Kimmel she had believed the account after seeing how "genuinely scared" her daughter's boyfriend had been, especially after he cracked the egg open to confirm its contents. But while Beckinsale said she had accepted that the egg itself was legitimate, she had still harbored doubts over how it had got there.
"I said to him, 'Is this some kind of attention-seeking? Are you putting eggs up your bottom?'" Beckinsale recalled. “But I think it’s quite hard to put an egg up your bottom and then get it out whole without injuring the egg."
The ordeal then occured a second time, later that same week, Beckinsale said. This time, she personally received photos as proof, in order for her daughter to examine them later.
In perhaps the most extraordinary part of the interview, Beckinsale offers to produce the photos on her phone for Kimmel and his chat show sidekick Guillermo to view, while warning them that they are "medical" in nature. At first, Kimmel says he'll judge if the photos are suitable for the programme's live studio audience to also see — but this is seemingly forgotten as the host reacts in shock to what he's just been shown.
"What in the world —" Kimmel says, before the rest of his reaction is censored, presumably due to profanity. "Your daughter's boyfriend is the Easter Bunny, there's no other way to explain this!"
Beckinsale continued her story by recalling how her family had subsequently contacted numerous medical professionals for their advice, only to be told the unexplained events had clearly been "some sort of complicated masturbation thing, which it wasn't." Another potential explanation was that the boyfriend had eaten some kind of egg-shaped foodstuff, like a lychee, or actual eggs so fast he'd just digested and passed them whole. "No, he hadn't," Beckinsale stated.
Kimmel appeared so taken in by the story that the host allows it to take up the remainder of Beckinsale's time slot on the show, to the point where he is forced to wrap up and acknowledge they had not even begun to start discussing the film she had been there to promote, action thriller Wildcat.
It's a truly odd interaction, and one that Kimmel seems to react with genuine confusion. Still, the bizarre nature of the conversation has led many viewers to conclude it has to be a bit on Beckinsale's part. (Something which, of course, medical evidence would also agree with.) Regardless, the appearance has instantly sparked conversation online, as viewers and doctors attempt to work out what the shell is going on.
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Black Friday deals have arrived. It's the biggest shopping holiday of the year and overall the best time to find discounts on just about everything. If you're hoping to save some money on gifts and essentials in 2025, these upcoming (and current) sales events are your best bet. With that in mind, Black Friday has evolved well beyond a single day of deals, and almost all of the sales are live right now ahead of actual Black Friday.
Black Friday Sales Live Today - November 25
Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy have all launched their official Black Friday sales. You can also start shopping the full PlayStation Black Friday sale if you're looking for discounts on games, consoles, or gaming accessories.
When Does Every Black Friday Sale Actually Start?
Black Friday is November 28 this year, but both almoast every major retailer has already dropped their official Black Friday sales. There are still more deals going live starting next week and you can check out the full schedule of start dates below. We expect more discounts to arrive on actual Black Friday, according to Target's full Black Friday ad.
For many brick-and-mortar stores, you can already start shopping the Black Friday sales. This includes Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Costco. Some sales will still only take place on actual Black Friday, like at the LEGO Store or for Apple's Black Friday sale, but for the most part the discounts will start ahead of then.
When does Cyber Monday start?
Cyber Monday lands on December 1 this year, we expect the official Cyber Monday deals to start dropping a little bit earlier than that. In the past, retailers like Walmart have started offering early Cyber Monday savings on Sunday afternoon while people are still searching for Black Friday discounts. This means you'll most likely be able to begin shopping Cyber Monday deals at some point on November 30 this year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are pretty much the same thing these days, so it shouldn't matter too much if you start shopping early.
What Deals to Expect From Major Retailers
With the ongoing tariffs and recent price increases in the U.S., being prepared with where you plan on doing your shopping this year can really help you sve. The IGN Deals team has been covering shopping events all year and we have a decent idea of what you can expect as the sales continue rolling in, even if the prices will be higher than what we saw last year.
Amazon Black Friday - Live Now
The Amazon Black Friday sale has now gone live with tons of deals on just about everything. Most notably, Amazon devices have dropped to their lowest prices of they year. Fire TV sticks went on sale earlier this week for all models, and Kindle e-readers have also dropped to new all-time lows for Black Friday. Other devices, like Echo Speakers and home security devices are also on sale now through Cyber Monday. Amazon is also currently offering discounts on its services, like Kindle Unlimited and Audible.
Outside of Amazon's own devices, there are also a ton of new electronics deals. Most notably there has been priced drops on 4K TVs and Cyberpower gaming PCs that are the lowest of the year. Amazon has also dropped prices on the Apple AirPods Pro 3 now that both Best Buy and Walmart have brought forth that discount.
The Best Buy Black Friday sale is now live with early deals. Many of these discounts are being price-matched by Amazon and Walmart, but it will still likely have all of the same Apple devices, TVs, and video games on sale as everywhere else from now until actual Black Friday. That includes video game consoles like the PS5 Pro.
In addition to consoles, video games, and video game accessories, Best Buy also tends to be one of the best places to buy handheld gaming PCs and laptops. With the recent release of the ROG Xbox Ally X, Best Buy has been the only retailer to keep stock. You can likely expect price cuts on the previous generation ROG Ally devices at Best Buy this year, as well as other popular handhelds. We also expect competitive pricing around newer laptops with the latest 50-series GPUs.
For more information on what to expect, check out the Best Buy Black Friday ad from last year. Best Buy has been having new doorbuster deals dropping every friday since Halloween this year, but the official sale kicks is now live as of November 20.
Target Black Friday - Live Now
The Target Black Friday sale is now live and features a ton of discounts on games, tech, and toys. The most notable inclusions in Target's Black Friday sale are the BOGO sales on physical media, board games, and toys. Amazon has tried to price match some of these deals, but hasn't gotten to all of them just yet.
Outside of the good deals on toys and games, Target is offering 30% off select LEGO sets. One suche discount includes the popular Willy Wonka LEGO set that launched earlier this year. These discounts are fairly limited, but Target has stated int it's full Black Friday ad taht 40% discounts on LEGO sets will be arriving on November 28.
The next round of Target Black Friday deals is set to arrive on November 27 for Target Circle 360 members and actual Black Friday for everyone else.
Walmart Black Friday - Live Now
Walmart's official Black Friday sale is now live and will run through November 30 this year. Walmart was the last major retailer to launch its official sale, and it has brought some of the best discounts of the season so far.
The most notable price drops from Walmart so far are on Apple accessories. This includes AirPods 4 for only $69 and an Apple Pencil for only $49. There are also a ton of really good deals on video games that we haven't seen anywhere else so far, as well as some surprising new discounts on LEGO sets.
It's unclear if Walmart is planning on launching any more new deals, but you can currently shop all of these discounts both in stor and online. Walmart's Cyber Monday sale will be going live on December 1 and we expect to see new discounts then.
Costco Black Friday - Starts November 17
Costco is a bit of a wildcard during the Black Friday season as it offers deals on pretty much everthing. For 2025, the full Costco Black Friday schedule has already been revealed and you can already see what deals to expect. Included in the holiday booklet there steep discounts on furniture, jewelry, and electronics. The same discounts you find at Amazon for select TVs and video games will likely also be available at Costco even if they aren't featured in the ad. You can also expect steeper warehouse discounts, like on the Kirkland Signature jewelry or various furniture items that are only featured for a limited time.
In addition to things like toys, gifts, and household items, Costco usually has some pretty decent grocery deals during the holiday season. You can usually find these ahead of Thanksgiving on things like turkey, snacks, and various other items. You will still need to buy in bulk, but the stacked savings on top of that are usually worth it.
For more information on what to expect this year, check out the expansive Costco Black Friday ad for 2025.
Other major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, and Target will all have discounts on furniture as part of their Black Friday sales. But the overall largest discounts on furniture will be at Wayfair during this time. Wayfair consistently has the best furniture deals anywhere during the holiday season and you should be able to find a good deal on just about everything you can purchase for your home.
As for what specific discounts to expect, we can check out the Wayfair early Black Friday sale to get a better idea. On average you can save around 50% on chairs, tables, rugs, decor, and even pool tables. These discounts will sometimes be locked to a specific color or material type, and sometimes you'll be able to find steeper discounts on overtock items if you dig deep enough. The early access sale is happening right now and we expect the main Black Friday sale to replace that with more deals sometime before Thanksgiving.
eBay Black Friday
eBay is still the Wild West when it comes to tracking down deals. There are plenty of bargains to be found, but a fair amount of research is required to be able to identify them from the other listings masquerading as deals. Most deals won't be discounted during Black Friday, however eBay will likely offer a sitewide coupon code - typically anywhere between 15% and 30% off - that will work on thousands of items from tech, apparel, sporting goods, home improvement, and more. General eBay codes will always be advertised on eBay's Deals page. Currently eBay is offering a 20% off coupon code "TECH4THEM" that works on over 2,500 refurbished items including the Meta Quest 3 and LG Evo C5 OLED TVs.
Barnes & Noble
Although Barnes & Noble doesn't offer the same level of deals as a retailer like Amazon, it's still one of the best places to buy books and toys during Black Friday season. It's also pretty easy to predict what Barnes & Noble's Black Friday sale will look like because it's always fairly similar. You can expect 50% off select books and Blu-rays as well as some surprisingly good deals on LEGO sets. There's also a pretty decent gift card deal going on already that gets you $10 of credt for every $100 you spend on gift cards.
The real question is what books and toys will actually be included in those sales. You can take a look at last year's Barnes & Noble Black Friday sale for an idea of what to expect in 2025.
GameStop Black Friday
GameStop has officially revealed its Black Friday sale for 2025 and it looks very similar to what Nintendo and PlayStation have already released. Alongside a Black Friday ad, there are also early Black Friday deals going on through November 22 that bring new discounts on PS5 and Nintendo Switch games.
As for what to expect from the main sale, it's primarily more PlayStation and Switch game deals. This includes older Switch games as well as some newer releases like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. There will also be a $20 discount on the PlayStation Portal and price cuts on most DualSense controllers.
You can find the full preview of deals directly from the GameStop Black Friday ad. There's a helpful post on the Black Friday subreddit that shows you the full scan as well.
Black Friday is the best time to buy most things online or in stores, but there are some items that get significantly bigger discounts during this time. If you're looking to save as much money as possible during Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, here a few product categories that we expect will massive discounts this year.
TVs and Monitors
The best time to buy a TV or a new gaming monitor is without a doubt Black Friday season. This has been the case since Black Friday first became a thing and will long continue to be a trend we see repeated in the years to come. There are cheap TVs and monitors available pretty much year-round, but it's during this time of year that we see the steepest discounts on newer models. The popular LG C-Series TVs, for example, have already started dropping in price ahead of November. Many of these brands are not affectd by U.S. tariffs as well, so we likely won't see the same markup we're seeing on other products this year. If you don't know where to start your search this year, we recommend taking a look at our Black Friday TV buying guide for everything you need to know before the sales start this year.
If you're looking for early deals, there's currently a 100-inch LG Hisense Mini-LED TV that has dropped to its lowest price of the year. Samsung has also dropped the price of the 65-inch S90F 4K OLED TV to its lowest price ever as well.
Video Game Consoles
While you shouldn't expect discounts on the new Nintendo Switch 2 or the Xbox, we atleast know that PS5 consoles are getting discounted. PlayStation has officially launched its Black Friday sale for 2025, which includes $100 off PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles. These discounts are notable due to consoles seeing price increases across the board in 2025.
Some of the more specific early game discounts include Final Fantasy games, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and Borderlands 4. We expect more games to go live around actual Black Friday, but the bulk of the discounts are now available.
Toys and LEGO Sets
Due to its proximity to Christmas, Black Friday is undoubtedly the best time to buy LEGO sets and other toys. In all of the previews we have gotten so far (from Walmart, Amazon, and Costco), toys are heavily featured in those discounts. In fact, we've already seen a 40% discount on some of the most popular LEGO sets at Target. That doesn't necessarily mean every type of toy or LEGO set will get discounted, but you can expect to see price cuts on items that haven't gone on sale all year during this time. You can find out more about what LEGO deals to expect from our LEGO expert, Chris Reed.
Although Apple has revealed its Black Friday sale for November 28, the best Apple deals are at Amazon and other retailers. Black Friday is always the best time to buy a new iPad, AirPods, Apple Watches, and pretty much all other iOS accessories. Major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy will all be competing for the lowest price on the latest devices and we usually see the lowest prices all year on the latest Apple releases. This season is also a generally good time to buy an iPhone as most carriers will start offering their holiday promotions in November for the new iPhone 17 models.
There are quite a few early Apple deals available, including a price cut on iPads at Amazon Resale that is worth a look. Best Buy also launched a deal on the Apple AirPods Pro 3 that has been price matched at Amazon and Walmart as well.
Gaming Laptops and PCs
Black Friday has always been one of the best times to buy a new gaming PC or laptop. In 2025 this is especially true as we're finally starting to see the first discounts on prebuilt machines with 50-series GPUs included. Major retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart will usually have at least one really good deal over the holiday weekend worth checking out. You can also expect significant discounts direct from manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, and HP that are just as good if not better than what we've seen all year long. Dell has already launched its Black Friday sale for 2025, but we expect better discounts to arrive next week closer to actual Black Friday.
Black Friday is by far the best time to buy a new phone. This is mostly because we see all of the biggest discounts around this time, but it's also thanks to the release schedules of new phones. Both Google and Apple launch their new flagship phones in the fall and it's around November that we start seeing prices drop on new and previous generation phones.
If you're looking for deals on unlocked phones, some of those discounts have already begun. There was a great deal on a Google Pixel 10 smartphone earlier in the month and Amazon has brought it back. We also expect the Samsung Galaxy phones to get similar discount closer to actual Black Friday.
Books, Comics, and Manga
Any physical media collectors will definitely have a great opportunity to stock their shelves during Black Friday. Amazon often runs BOGO or '3 for 2' promotions on books, movies, and even board games. The 3 for 2 sale popped up last Black Friday and returned briefly a couple of weeks ago before disappearing oncea again. Now that Black Friday week has officially begun, Amazon has brought back this deal for box sets, including the popular Witcher box set. It's also available as part of Target's latest sale.
If you're on the e-reader wave, Kindle Unlimited, a solid platforms for comics, is set to have its usual "three months for $0.99 sake according to Amazon's sneak peek. Audible, the audiobook haven, has already launched a "three months for $3" deal that will last through December. Otherwise, individual physical media deals will pop up across more tailored retailers like, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million. Expect price drops on classics as well as the newest book releases up to 65% and even bigger discounts one ebooks.
Streaming Services
Regardless of what streaming services you're subscribed to, I'm willing to bet you encountered a price hike at one point or another in 2025. To cut down on subscription costs, I recommend stocking up whenever there's a discount. One of the only guaranteed times to see streaming discounts is Black Friday.
Amazon has also officially kicked off its popular buy 2, get 1 free 4K movie sale and you can take advantage of all of those deals right now. The sale came shortly after Target launched something similar.
TCG Products
It's not a secret that TCG pricing has gotten pretty out of control. The biggest suspect here is Pokemon, but with new licensing (looking at you, Universes Beyond) and ongoing issues with scalpers, we've also seen progressively higher prices on Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana. Black Friday will likely feature a spread of discounts on TCG products, but it's worth doing your research on the MSRP of individual boosters or bundles to make sure you're getting an actual deal.
In the meantime, there are already quite a few Magic: The Gathering deals available for Black Friday. These include discounts on the recently released Avatar: The Last Airbender packs as well as the popular Final Fantasy commander decks.
Furniture
Furniture is one of those things that goes on sale during pretty much every major sales event throughout the year. However, Black Friday is really the only time that every retailer will have furniture sales. The biggest major sales will be at furniture outlets like Wayfair, but you'll also be able to find some big savings at online retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target. All of the major mattress and furniture warehouses have likely already started some sort of sale ahead of Black Friday.
During actual Black Friday some of the best deals will likely be on office and gaming furniture that doesn't usually see steep discounts. The Secretlab Black Friday sale live right now, for example, is usually one of the best times of year to buy gaming chairs and gaming desks at decent prices. If you want something cheap, you'll want to check out the outlets, but if you want something good you should go straight to the manufacturers website.
Board Games
Black Friday is consistently one of the best times to buy board games every year. You'll usually find the best overall discounts at Amazon and Target, rather than your local tabletop store, and those discounts are usually fairly substantial. Popular family games will usually drop under $15 or less during the peak sales times while massive strategy games tend to see 50% price cuts for the first time all year. If you have a board game in mind you want to buy, this is likely the time of year to get it for cheap.
There's even a surprisingly good deal going on at Amazon right now that can help you save that 50% a little bit early. The promotion is a buy 1, get 1 50% off sale on board games, puzzles, and a few other items. It's also going on at Target and is set to last through the weekend. You can check out our guide on what board game deals to expect this year for more info.
What Won't Go on Sale This Year
Black Friday is the best time to buy pretty much everything, but that doesn't mean everything will go on sale. There are some products that won't see any discounts at all simply because they are too new or demand is just too high. This is particularly true when it comes to things like tech and popular toys. For example Nintendo just launched the Switch 2 this year and there's very little chance we'll see any Black Friday deals on the new console outside of bundles that already exist. The same thing goes for the recently released Xbox Ally X, which has very little chance of receiving a discount so soon after launch. In fact, it doesn't look like any Xbox consoles will be getting discounts this year, which is quite the surprise.
When it comes to toys, don't expect discount on anything that has come out in the last few months. This is especially true for new LEGO releases as we usually don't see discounts on those until six months or more after the initial release date.
Finally, while we do expect there to be streaming deals on most Streaming services, we know for certain Netflix won't be offering any sort of discount. Netflix has a long history off not offering any sort of discount on its service, and with the final season of Stranger Things on the horizon it seems even less likely.
Tips for Black Friday Shopping Online
It may seem silly to start planning your Black Friday shopping right now, but doing so can help you save a lot of money when it comes time to actually start making purchases. Here are a few Black Friday tips that you should consider ahead of the event:
Set a Budget – Keeping track of how much money you can actually spend is important to avoid overspending. When everything is on sale, it can be easy to buy more than you really should just because things are at their lowest price of the year.
Create a Shopping List – Knowing exactly what you're trying to find discounts on is a great way to avoid making unnecessary purchases. It can also make it easier for you to compare prices between retailers or set price drop alerts ahead of time.
Compare Prices – Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart make it really easy to do all of your shopping there. That being said, those retailers don't always have the best price on the items you're looking for. Make sure to compare prices across the web before you buy something for more than you have to.
Research Before You Buy – If you're making an expensive purchase, make sure you do at least some research before you buy it. This means looking for independent reviews or testimony from trusted sources about those products. You shouldn't necessarily trust Amazon reviews, for example.
Be Wary of Search Results and AI Summaries - Search platforms, such as Google, have a tendency to be flooded with sponsored links in the results as well as AI summaries that are potentially biased. Be careful to avoid clicking on a sponsored ad if you're looking for reviews or searching for specific products by price.
Bob Ross, prolific daytime television painting instructor who charmed the world with his serene monologues, continues to make the world a better place 20 years after his death. His estate recently sold one of his paintings at an auction to support PBS and public media — and the work of art fetched over $1 million.
On last week’s 2025 finale of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Oliver asked the Bob Ross estate to auction off one of the artist’s paintings. “Cabin at Sunset,” which the iconic painter made on his PBS series “The Joy of Painting” during season 10 in 1986, ended up selling for $1,044,000 after an incredible 35 bids.
This isn’t the first of Ross’ paintings that have sold in support of PBS, also known as the Public Broadcasting System, which has been stripped of nearly all its funding by the Trump administration. In early November, Bonhams Los Angeles auctioned off three of Ross’ other paintings, also made on his show, to support American Public Television.
Bonhams sold Ross’ 1993 painting “Winter’s Peace” for $318,000, and the 1990 paintings “Cliffside” and “Home in the Valley” sold for $229,100 and $114,800 respectively. Those three paintings were, according to Variety, part of a group of 30 works by Ross that will be sold over the next year in support of American Public Television and their mission to financially support public TV stations nationwide.
Oliver’s auction — which includes many other cool and wacky items like a chance to meet Oliver in NYC, a screen-worn jockstrap that belonged to Russell Crowe (??), and wax versions of various presidents — raised nearly $1.54 million for the Public Media Bridge fund, which will assist public media nationwide in securing the funds necessary to keep stations going in the aftermath of the Trump admin’s decision to effectively close down the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after eliminating $1.1 billion from their overall budget.
“We’ve actually accumulated a bunch of weird artifacts on this show over the years that we could definitely auction off to raise some much needed money,” Oliver said on the finale episode. “I am proud to announce Last Week Tonight’s first ever auction in aid of public media. This is real!”
If you're hunting for the best offers this week, we're actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.
Photo by Acey Harper/Getty Images.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
Walmart has officially joined the party of Black Friday sales, bringing a massive selection of video game deals. If you've been hoping to fill up your library with some new picks to play as early nights and colder weather sets in, now's your chance to score Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for just $30, or Elden Ring for a mere $15.
You read that right. Only $15 for a game we gave a 10 out of 10 to and called Game of the Year back in 2022 is a stellar offer, and what better way to spend your holiday break than becoming Elden Lord? There's no better time to journey to the Lands Between, truly.
Walmart Black Friday Video Game Deals
Unfortunately, Walmart's Elden Ring deal doesn't include the expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. The good news is, you can pick up the Shadow of the Erdtree Edition instead at Amazon for $49.99, a $30 discount. That's a touch cheaper than buying the two separately, even with the $15 deal on the base game. Elden Ring Nightrein is on sale, too, if you happened to miss FromSoft's co-op adventure take on the series.
Outside of Walmart, other retailers are offering some excellent discounts on video games right now, too. Be sure to check out our breakdowns of the best deals on PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo games and accessories.
Star Trek: The Last Starship is easily one of the most exciting Trek projects to come along in recent memory, as it reveals what happens when Captain James T. Kirk is resurrected in the 31st Century. Issue #3 of the new series will showcase the first time Kirk takes command of the USS Omega, as Starfleet's last surviving ship wages a deadly war against the Klingons.
IGN can exclusively reveal a new preview of Star Trek: The Last Starship #3. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:
The Last Starship is written by Kelly and Lanzing and illustrated by Adrián Bonilla, with colors by Heather Moore. Here's IDW's official logline for issue #3:
The U.S.S. Omega launches into battle! Its adversary? A chaotic Klingon cult whose bloodred path is focused purely on obliterating the remaining vestiges of Starfleet. What's left of the Federation is falling apart by the moment. Captain Sato, who once dreamed of uniting the galaxy, is now living his worst nightmare. He was raised in a time of peace... but no progress comes without a fight. While the Klingons might be his enemies after centuries of peace, he has Kirk as his ally... and no one knows how to defeat a Klingon better than the Federation's greatest hero.
“Kirk is going through a journey of self-discovery,” editor Heather Antos told IGN. “Like Captain Sato and the rest of the members of the Omega crew, this era of the Federation post-Burn is going to challenge not only their ideals as members of Starfleet, but who they are to their very core. Who is James T. Kirk without the solidity of the Federation as he knows and loves? We’re about to find out.”
Star Trek: The Last Starship #3 will be released on December 17, 2025. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop. And be sure to check back once the new issue releases for a full-spoiler interview breaking down the big developments.
Indie horror game Horses is preparing to launch on December 2 on the Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io, and the Humble Store. But one place it won't be is on Steam, because Steam has banned the game for, according to the developer, reasons that remain unclear even after two years of back-and-forth with Valve. And according to the developer, this ban seems likely to result in the shutdown of their entire studio.
We spoke with Pietro Righi Riva of Italian studio Santa Ragione (Saturnalia, Wheels of Aurelia, MirrorMoon EP), who explained their side of the story. According to Riva and a detailed FAQ shared with IGN, Santa Ragione first submitted Horses to Steam in 2023, when the game was in a very unfinished state. "We were only about halfway through development and had scrambled together a build that could be played start to finish, solely to satisfy Steam’s request for a playable version to open a Coming Soon page, something we had never been asked for before," Riva explains. It was at this stage that Valve rejected the game.
However, Riva goes on to say that Valve did not offer any explanation as to why the game was rejected, nor was there any opportunity for the team to change whatever the offending content was. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get anyone at Valve to work with them to reverse the decision.
"Steam’s decision came without detailed feedback, and the ban notice did not cite any specific scenes or elements," Riva says. "For months we repeatedly asked what triggered the ban and received no answer. We also offered, unsuccessfully, to change any content deemed unfit, especially since the game was still early in development at the time of submission."
Chasing Wild Horses
So what triggered the ban? Riva still doesn't know. While minds may jump to Steam's recent banning of a number of adult games to comply with sudden crackdowns from payment processors, Riva says this ban took place long before that was even a conversation, and all the content in the game is fully legal. He does have a theory, though. The automated review sent by Steam in 2023 included a link to Steam's Onboarding Documentation, as well as the following sentence: "Regardless of a developer’s intentions with their product, we will not distribute content that appears, in our judgment, to depict sexual conduct involving a minor."
Horses, Riva says, does not contain any such content. All characters in the game are older than 20 "as communicated by their appearance and through dialogue and documents that you will encounter in the game." He also asserts that the game is not pornographic. It is, per the studio, "about the burden of familial trauma and puritan values, the dynamics of totalitarian power, and the ethics of personal responsibility." From the FAQ sent to IGN:
While it does contain some sexual elements, the intent is never to arouse. It uses challenging, unconventional material to encourage discussion. It invites players to examine why something feels the way it does, what it says about the characters and systems at work, and where their limits lie. It is about tension, not erotic content. (We apologize if we got your hopes up for horse porn.)
What Riva thinks triggered the ban is a scene that existed in the game during the initial Steam submission, where a man and his young daughter visit the farm. As the FAQ explains:
The daughter wants to ride one of the horses (in the game the “horses” are humans wearing a horse mask) and gets to pick which one. What followed was an interactive dialogue sequence where the player is leading, by a lead as if they were a horse, a naked adult woman with a young girl on her shoulders. The scene is not sexual in any way, but it is possible that the juxtaposition is what triggered the flag. We have since changed the character in the scene to be a twenty-something woman, both to avoid the juxtaposition and more importantly because the dialogue delivered in that scene, which deals with the societal structure in the world of Horses, works much better when delivered by an older character.
Riva says he has tried everything. He has tried speaking to contacts at Valve who had previously worked with the studio on past games. According to him, they claimed not to know the specific reasons for the ban and said it would not be possible to find out and tell them. He's reached out to Valve again and again, but has yet to receive any official explanation of what content was offensive, nor an opportunity to resubmit it without that content. IGN also reached out to Valve for comment for this piece, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Riva also says he's had no issues with any other platform: GOG, Itch.io, and the Humble Store had no issues with it. Epic asked the studio to update just the screenshots on the game's store page so as not to include nudity, which Riva says they complied with, and the game was accepted. As for consoles, he says he's shown the game to console partners and hasn't heard any concerns about content. Horses also has received PEGI and ESRB ratings that would be required for console distribution. "The only reason we haven't actively started porting the game is lack of funds."
Reining It In
To be clear, Horses is unsettling to say the least. I watched a colleague play some of it at a demo at Day of the Devs in 2023, and it's not for the faint of heart. It's about a young man who comes to a farm to work a summer job caring for horses, only to discover the horses are actually naked adult humans wearing horse head masks, chained up in the yard. Snippets from trailers show the "horses" watching what seems to be horse propaganda, being ridden by other people by carrying them on their shoulders, being fed carrots, and being on the receiving end of humiliation and violence. It challenges the player to either accept what they're seeing and continue to participate in it, or try to subvert what's going on at the horse farm, a process that seems like it will be utterly terrifying and unpleasant in some way.
But Santa Ragione also has a solid track record of making and publishing artistic, esoteric, disturbing games with poignant messages, many of which have been up for awards for that very reason. Their board game Escape From The Aliens In Outer Space was nominated for the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming. MirrorMoon EP was a finalist for the Innovation Award at the Independent Games Festival after its launch in 2013. More recently, in 2024, Santa Ragione published Mediterranea Inferno, which won the Excellence in Narrative Award at the Independent Games Festival. And Mediterranea Inferno is just one of a handful of games published by Santa Ragione as part of its efforts to promote the work of up-and-coming Italian creators, with Horses being another example.
Again from the FAQ:
We are committed to producing challenging, adult storytelling. Horses uses grotesque, subversive imagery to confront power, faith, and violence. We reject subjective obscenity standards and believe this kind of moralizing censorship evokes a darker past in which vague notions of “decency” were used to silence artists. Games are an artistic medium and lawful works for adults should remain accessible. We respect players enough to present the game as intended and to let adults choose what to play; lawful works should not be made unreachable by a monopolistic storefront’s opaque decisions. Steam publicly downplays human curation in favor of algorithmic sales optimization, yet intervenes with censorship when a game’s artistic vision does not align with what the platform owners considers acceptable art. Steam’s behavior passively shapes which titles developers feel safe creating, pushing preemptive censorship.
And yet, the verdict stands. Riva and Santa Ragione are stuck: one week until launch, and no ability to publish their game on the most massive PC storefront in existence.
Long Faces
According to Riva, the inability to release on Steam almost certainly means that Santa Ragione is done for. The studio already was struggling with financial troubles: it initially invested $50,000 when they signed the game with its creator, Andrea Lucco Borlera. They were hoping that sales of the team's previous game, Saturnalia, would help make that money back, but it didn't do as well as they'd hoped. Riva says they even lined up "a great bundle opportunity" for Saturnalia, but had to cancel it when Valve refused to give them Steam keys for again unclear reasons.
Around the same time, we were informed that Horses had been banned and would not release on Steam, which completely erased our ability to find an external supporting publisher or partner to fund the rest of the game, as no one in the industry considers an indie game that cannot be released on Steam to be viable. After two years of seeking these funds through traditional venues while trying to get the game unbanned, we had to seek private funding from friends to complete development, which puts us in a completely unsustainable financial situation unless the game somehow recoups its development costs.
Hopeless as this seems, Riva isn't closed to the possibility that Santa Ragione could be saved. He says if it manages to sell "tens of thousands of copies" without being on Steam, they'd be able to break even and keep working on future projects. But he's not banking on that. Ideally, he says, Valve would revert its decision and reconsider the game, but after two years, that doesn't seem likely to happen either.
This double standard suggests Steam does not treat games as art on par with film.
However, Riva says their team won't fully disappear from gaming. The team has funds set aside for six months to support Horses post-launch with bug fixes and quality of life updates. Riva also tells me that the studio has known this was a possibility for a while now, and has been preparing accordingly. Its members have all found other gigs, some of which are in games. Riva himself says he's always worked multiple jobs in teaching, consulting, and curation while directing Santa Ragione, so he plans to "do more of that." And Horses director Borlera is already pitching new projects elsewhere.
While Riva would love to see a miracle leading to Horses recouping its costs and saving the studio, he says what he actually wants more than anything is for Valve to be transparent about its policies on mature content, which have fluctuated over the years and never really been clear. From the FAQ:
Alongside ultraviolent titles, Steam distributes explicit pornographic games; some of these listings acknowledge the legal grey area Steam mentioned in the HORSES ban message, by stating “All characters depicted are over the age of 18” in their store descriptions, and yet non-pornographic works like HORSES can be banned without context. By contrast, mature works with comparable or stronger themes routinely appear on mainstream streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, where controversial directors are an accepted part of the catalog. This double standard suggests Steam does not treat games as art on par with film, and intervenes with censorship when an artistic vision does not align with what the platform owner considers acceptable art.
As a final word, Riva urges game developers to stand up together to demand transparency from Steam. "I know developers are understandably scared of voicing their complaints about Steam, but I hope we can collectively ask for better conditions to make our work more viable and more creatively free," he says. "The current landscape is one where very few actors control the distribution of almost all games that are produced, and that should mean they are responsible not just for the commercial sustainability of the industry, but also for the growth of games as an artistic medium."
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
The first ever bunny-fox partnership in ZPD history is back on the case for Zootopia 2, once again attempting to tackle systemic injustice, greed, corruption and facing one's own personal shortcomings.
So of course I brought my children with me to see what they thought!
Zootopia 2 picks up pretty much where the 2016 original left off, with the ambitious bunny from the sticks Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and the street-wise con-fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) basking in the success of cracking their first major case and on the lookout for their next one. When they stumble on to the presence of the first snake in Zootopia in decades, the duo cross paths with returning favorites and a host of new mammals as they (and you’ll never believe this) uncover more than they bargained for!
Now, reviewing what are ostensibly kids movies is kind of tricky. On the one hand I’ve got a film critic hat and I like to wear it, but on the other hand it’s easy to say “Pshh, it’s a kids movie.” On the surface, Zootopia 2 is a bunch of cartoon animals solving crime and making jokes and learning to love and appreciate each other, but lurking beyond that silliness is a seedy underbelly of social criticism that deserves to be taken seriously. And that is why I was determined to bring my kids with me to the press screening so they could weigh in whenever my film critic hat got a little too tight.
For example, I would say the look of the film is gorgeous. The animation style is the same colorful palette as the first Zootopia, but new terrains and more ambitious lighting gave the animators a chance to really flex 10 years worth of technological development.
Meanwhile, my daughter, age 11, said, “My favorite part was when they snuck into the gala. It was funny because they were in the tundra but Judy was wearing a sleeveless dress and somehow not cold, and I’m pretty sure parts of that house were ice.” So bonus points for the production design of the gala sequence and be on the lookout for parts of the house that are ice.
But the sequence my kid is talking about here is a truly thrilling little microcosm of what works best about the world of Zootopia. There’s a charming back-and-forth between our Odd Couple protagonists. There’s also a real understanding on the part of the filmmakers of building suspense in a detective story. The action is also spot on, with each beat of the sequence being set up and paid off visually, while little throwaway jokes on the way into the scene become punchlines on the way out. The whole sequence of sneaking into a snowy chateau as part of an off-the-books investigation and then escaping via action sequence that’s equal parts rad and funny is giving James Cameron and True Lies vibes – which very much speaks to my sensibilities. Plus, in spite of the fact that Judy Hopps wasn’t too cold in that dress, it resonated with my 11-year-old as well.
That level of quality in the nuts and bolts of the filmmaking was present in 2016’s Zootopia as well, but the other thing both movies excel at is the high-quality animal puns. Every square inch of this movie is covered in clever little animal jokes, like how the pair of ram detectives are named after goat cheeses or the catering company is called “A-Moose Bouche.” It’s just hard not to get charmed by that sort of thing when it’s as wall-to-wall as it is here in Zootopia 2, and I’m confident there are a thousand of those background jokes that I missed.
On this topic, my daughter said, “I liked the puns, too,” which I think had more to do with me talking non-stop about them, so read that with a much more eye-rolly energy. But my 6-year-old son said, “My second favorite part of the movie was when the fox said ‘Ahh! A Viper!’” That doesn’t seem like a pun now, but there’s a punchline to it I don’t want to ruin. Also, it’s worth noting my son couldn’t decide on what his favorite part of the movie was, but apparently this moment is his second.
But Zootopia 2 speeds along at a really nice clip, with both the plotting and the action sequences moving at a great pace except for one spot where the movie screeches to a halt for some exposition dumping. There’s a scene as the film starts to steer towards the home stretch where the macguffin is over-explained and, in a moment that had me checking my watch, the steps of the plan that’s going to save the day are rattled off amidst gauzy flashbacks that sketch out what needs to happen in the final 20 or 30 minutes of the movie. The plan that Judy, Nick and their new allies have is perfectly clear; it already made sense before they hammered it into place with this sequence. But the determination with which they explained everything to me had me thinking that maybe I had missed something. It’s a spot in the script that frankly didn’t need to be there because, in retrospect, the ride that the film’s final act goes on is perfectly clear. But that is admittedly some extreme fur-splitting.
Also like the first film, Zootopia 2 dives headlong into some pretty weighty issues. Racism and prejudice are at the forefront of this movie again, this time with the added layer of generational theft. The sequel introduces an obviously nefarious family of Lynx that have for decades held a corrupt grip on the city, an exiled snake trying to restore his good name and a former-movie-star-horse-turned-mayor voiced by the always welcome baritone of Patrick Warburton. These new characters and the voice actors portraying them, respectively Ke Huy Quan, David Strathairn and Andy Samberg in particular, are a blast even though the film didn’t leave much room for returning supporting characters, like my wife’s favorite, the irrepressibly dim-witted, donut-loving cheetah Clawhauser (Nate Torrance).
While these new characters are all well-drawn and fit right into the natural and empathetic performances of the returning cast, they don’t necessarily cast new light on the topics the writers are illuminating again.
Again, with a smorgasbord of social issues like corruption, systemic prejudice, cultural erasure, old lies becoming the current truth, and even the unfair pressure on a trailblazer to be perfect lest she ruin opportunities for those wanting to follow in her paw prints, Zootopia 2 might be trying to wrangle a few too many important topics into its menagerie. There is so much happening in this movie that certain moments feel like it’s just kind of pointing at these issues rather than engaging with any one of them in a thorough way.
Zootopia 2 can be a surprisingly dark movie at times.
The sequel, like its predecessor, instead doubles down on Judy’s desire to enact change. Hopps wants, more than anything else, to make a difference, and knows the hard truth that things will never change unless somebody stands up and tries to change them. This belief is the defining difference between her and her fox partner that is also the heart of this story. It’s a relentlessly hopeful outlook that borders on naive. Depending on the day I’m having, it’s not a message that I buy into all of the time, particularly in a movie that features cops following corrupt orders and raiding a marginalized part of town, which turns out to be a maybe more dramatic than they intended scene to watch given current events. Strangely enough, this is another similarity between Zootopia 2 and the first film: it can be a surprisingly dark movie at times.
The good news though is I got to talk to my kids about what they felt watching these events unfold on screen. What parts of the story were scary, when were they happy, when were they sad, how they both even teared up in multiple moments. I asked them what moments specifically made them cry, and my daughter said, “Just all the emotional ones,” to which I followed up with, “Which emotions?” and she answered, “All of them, I guess.”
The final cry-tally, by the way, for my daughter was two and a half times. Once she cried because she was sad, once because she was happy and the half a time was a scary part, while my son only cried once, but it was happy crying. And having a whole ride home to chat about why was really kind of nice.
So maybe Zootopia 2 doesn’t mine the complete depths of the issues it raises about our society, and maybe it oversimplifies the answers in the interests of tying the story up in a neat little kid-friendly boa constrictor, but it asks important questions that are worth talking about. And based on the reactions my kids had, and the conversations we had after the movie, all the right feelings got through. Empathy and compassion and fairness are never a bad thing, and Zootopia 2 found a way to get “all of them, I guess” to resonate with my kids.
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