Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/April 1 to 7, 2018

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (April 1 to 7, 2018)

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Prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds and igordebraga

The (Messianic Korean) Sound of Silence

No, we aren't delivering the Report late as our way to provide an April Fools (#11) joke. Instead, it's just because the data dump that provides the basis for the list is facing a delay due to a change of server, and sadly the news on it are as quiet as the top entry of the week, a film where real life couple Emily Blunt (#15) and John Krasinski (#18) barely make a sound to avoid noise-seeking aliens. Hope the WP:5000 can come back like Jesus on Easter Sunday (#12), perhaps even having some songs to accompany the return (#4, #16). For now, we have some reminders of the last few months - Black Panther and the franchise it is a part of, a return of K-pop band Exo, the ever-present death list, an upcoming WWE event still getting a lot of views in anticipation - and one of last week, Spielberg's latest hit Ready Player One. Along the ever-expected apparition of Google Doodles (three this time), there's people enraged by a media conglomerate (#2), MLK remembered on the 50th anniversary of his death (#13, #22), the UFC having the usual cage bouts (#14) and somehow a few fighters beaten outside the ring as well (#24), and as proof that Wikipedia is not so American, the Commonwealth Games, two players from the football across the pond, and (once the list returned) the latest Bollywood blockbuster, along with a South African icon.

Rank	Article	Views	Notes
1	A Quiet Place (film)	1,473,474	The less said, the better. The thriller film emulated the success of Get Out, as John Krasinski, an actor primarily known for his comedic roles transitioned to writing and directing a thriller. The film used positive word-of-mouth and strong reviews to generate massive sums at the box office, far in excess of its expected take. It has also left me nervous that the sound of my typing may endanger my very life...
2	List of stations owned or operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group	1,161,442	Blame it on John Oliver, who may have instigated a media tsunami against Sinclair, the owner and operator of a cornucopia of local news stations stateside. Following on from a rather excellent investigate piece last year, Oliver discussed Sinclair and its potential political propaganda on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight. Subsequently, the internet began investigating which stations they can expect to see chief political analyst Boris on, ahead of their attempted acquisition of Tribune Media. Dubious journalism abounds, so maybe fake news is more endemic than previously thought.
3	Exo (band)	971,006	K-pop continues its persistent penetration into Western media this week, the continuing high views are symptomatic of this. Exo are a very popular K-pop group, but they have not yet seeped into Western culture like some of their peers. However, after performing at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in their native South Korea in dramatic and entertaining fashion, they have hit the headlines in the West. Perhaps they can cross the Pacific and become superstars stateside. I may not have too much of an affinity for their lyrics, but their music cannot be worse than the supposed perfection of current compositions. I cannot speak to their musical quality, but with Wikipedia interest like they are currently receiving, I anticipate an appearance for the band on the annual report.
4	Jesus Christ Superstar	844,313	This famous 1970 rock opera about the Messiah saw a resurgence once NBC used it for their latest live concert broadcasts (see #16 for more).
5	WrestleMania 34	771,588	It's on April 8, so expect one more list featuring this WWE event.
6	Ready Player One (film)	770,664	Another film entry here, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. Spielberg's blockbuster adaptation of Ernest Cline's novel became ambling its way into cinemas worldwide last week, and it depicts a dystopian world where everyone spends the vast majority of their time in an advanced variant of VRChat, but with less Sonic characters. Parzival teams up with an electric girl, and a ragtag group of gamers, to capture something you may have eaten last week in the Oasis in an entertaining, if divisive, tentpole hit film. Still, it features memorable moments of poignancy like this, so its success is not surprising.
7	Deaths in 2018	725,481	People have a horrible, inevitable tendency to die - such is the circle of life (nants ingonyama bagithi Baba). As such, the list of the recently deceased is a continuing, morbid attraction for purveyors of Wikipedia, and ensuring that it remains a fixture of the report. This week's iteration features many prominent figures, including Ray Wilkins (#10) and Winnie Mandela (#21).
8	Baaghi 2	702,321	Long time no see, Bollywood. And this time with an action movie that's not only a sequel but a Tollywood remake, starring the awesomely named Tiger Shroff (pictured).
9	2018 Commonwealth Games	689,412	"Well, imagine the Olympic Games without the United States, China and Russia. Then imagine a track meet dominated by sprinters from Wales. And you have: the Commonwealth Games." The 21st edition of these games between the UK and most of its former colonies started on April 4 in Gold Coast, Australia.
10	Ray Wilkins	661,044	This week, English football, still reeling in the wake of Cyrille Regis' death, lost another legend with the death of Ray Wilkins, a brilliant bastion in midfield for both Chelsea F.C. and Manchester United. As a result, he was a bane for staunch Reds like myself, but his talent and prowess on the ball was unquestionably superb, and his transition into coaching was also admirable. Wilkins, particularly at Stamford Bridge, was a figure of mountainous proportions, and if the club's touching tribute to him is any indication, his impact will not be forgotten anytime soon. Sometimes, football transcends rivalry, and being a mere game, and morphs into something poignant, and powerful, and greater. Wilkins inspired such moments, and will be sorely missed.
11	April Fools' Day	652,435	Wikipedia is a serious house on serious earth. However, for one day a year, editors all across the site have the liberty to unleash all of their darker desires. Some of the banter which occurs here on the first of April is legendary. Even yours truly may have indulged. For the curious, here is a full list of shenanigans.
12	Easter	640,884	This year, the Easter Bunny had the competition of all the April liars (see the above entry). But at least NBC didn't forget who the holiday was supposed to honor, as our #16 proves.
13	Martin Luther King Jr.	623,254	Here's to the ones who dream. Luther King re-entered the public imagination over the previous week as it was the 50th anniversary of his tragic assassination. The pacific preacher brought systematic change to the United States of America by spearheading the civil rights movement, and his profound impact on race relations has lasted far beyond his demise, and will continue to do so.
14	UFC 223	568,667	In our latest MMA extravaganza, the headline events had Joanna Jędrzejczyk (pictured) losing her Strawweight belt and Khabib Nurmagomedov winning the Catchweight one. And yet the most violet events happened outside the cage, as former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor (#24) and his crew attacked a bus containing several fighters following a press conference.
15	Emily Blunt	550,167	The beautiful and talented star of #1, along with her husband (#18), who also directs and co-writes the film. Mrs. Blunt is no stranger to thrillers, having worked in films such as The Adjustment Bureau, The Wolfman, and Sicario, but A Quiet Place is undeniably a first in that she arguably has more lines in American Sign Language than spoken ones.
16	Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert	526,512	What better way to celebrate an Easter Sunday (#12) than by watching Jesus sing, even if the famous musical (#4) ends on the crucifixion? And this NBC adaptation averted the usual white, long-haired Christ for someone that could easily pass by a Middle East native, singer John Legend (pictured).
17	Maya Angelou	522,752	The enigmatic poetic maestro received rakes of views, so it would seem, from a Google Doodle celebrating her legacy. Many Wikipedians, driven by the image, journeyed to her article to discover why the imprisoned oiseau sings, and once again we must thank our search engine overlords for enshrining literary culture, from sublime poetry to the basic a to z's.
18	John Krasinski	514,213	Krasinski built himself a career in comedies, most notably as Jim Halpert in The Office. Yet he seems to be lately doing a Tom Hanks-esque turn to drama, and in 2018 alone has directed\co-written\starred in a A Quiet Place (#1) along with his missus (#15), and is set to become the fifth actor to play CIA agent Jack Ryan in an eponymous web series.
19	Nazia Hassan	508,384	Google honored this Pakistani singer, referred to as the "Queen of Pop" in South Asia, in what would've been her 53rd birthday had she not died from a lung cancer in 2000.
20	John Harrison	481,260	And for our third Google entry of the week, we have a British carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a device that solved the problem of calculating longitude at sea. And thanks to Star Trek Into Darkness, I can't read his name and not think KHAAAAAAN!
21	Winnie Madikizela-Mandela	474,881	The second and best known wife of South African ativist Nelson Mandela, Winnie died at the age of 81. Hopefully people will remember more her activism than all the legal problems she got into.
22	James Earl Ray	465,822	Ray deserves a place in the pantheon of infamous assassins, seated between Messers Booth and Godse. In Memphis, (Tennessee, not Egypt), on a fateful day 50 years ago, he shot the revered reverend King (#13) in the head, killing the civil rights champion. On the anniversary of his heinous crime, media coverage of King's legacy drove views his direction in swathes.
23	Black Panther (film)	462,130	666! The Number of the Beast! Is how many million dollars King T'Challa has now made in North America, an unadjusted total surpassed only by Avatar and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Worldwide, it's #10 with $1,3 billion, still $33m away from #9 The Last Jedi. In other news, next week Black Panther will be released in Saudi Arabia, the first American film to hit that country in 35 years.
24	Conor McGregor	457,214	UFC has never interested me in the slightest, to be perfectly frank. Yet, being Irish, I am familiar enough with McGregor to have a fully formulated opinion on the divisive fighter and his audacious antics in New York. Unfortunately, it is not a particularly pleasant one, and I in no way condone them, whether or not they were a stunt (and they definitely were). Let the gavel of justice fall swiftly and fairly, I say. If McGregor has an issue with this viewpoint, he can come after me the next time I use the bus. Apparently, he is quite good at that. McGregor vs. a double-decker bus would be a fight for the ages...
25	Cristiano Ronaldo	426,609	According to FIFA, the best footballer in the world, and many might agree seeing the Portuguese striker's incredible goal against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.

Exclusions

This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.
Per agreed consensus, XXX (franchise) is excluded.

Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.