Top 25 Report: Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (August 9 to 15, 2015)

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Summary: The death of former footballer Frank Gifford, husband of TV presenter Kathie Lee Gifford, topped the list, but the dominant theme this week was the surprise success of the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which, with five slots on the list, drew the thoughts of a huge audience to the explosive era prior to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The rise of Indian-born Sundar Pichai to CEO of Google, Indian Independence Day and the tribulations of touchy-feely spiritual leader Radhe Maa kept up the dominion of Indian topics on this list, while Reddit retained a strong presence, with three slots.

As prepared by Serendipodous, for the week of August 9 to 15, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:

Rank	Article	Class	Views	Notes
1	Frank Gifford		1,526,838	The death at the age of 84 of this onetime New York Giants running back, who in later life was arguably more famous for being married to TV presenter Kathie Lee Gifford, has hit America surprisingly hard. His topping of the list may be partly down to timing (his death was announced the day after last week's list was published), but it does show the affection in which Americans held him.
2	Sundar Pichai		1,330,770	Amid great fanfare, the product chief at Google Inc. was announced as the successor to Larry Page as the company's CEO, which of course was of great interest to en.wikipedia's Indian contingent. The Indian Express even ran an article about a resulting edit war on his Wiki page concerning exactly where he went to school. More broadly though, his ascension was seen by many in light of Google's recent company-wide rebrand as Alphabet Inc., and whether the company can ever truly move beyond its advertising-based business model.
3	Kathie Lee Gifford		1,041,793	The popular US breakfast television host received an outpouring of sympathy from the public in the wake of the death of her husband of nearly two decades, Frank Gifford. She and her husband shared the same birthday, which, in a poignant touch, fell just a week after his death.
4	N.W.A		825,100	Straight Outta Compton, the biopic of the short-lived but electrifying hip-hop group, was released on August 14 to superb reviews and blockbuster business- its $56 million opening weekend gross was higher than those for Terminator Genisys and Pixels combined. It's interesting to note that African Americans make up just 12% of the US population, and films aimed specifically at that market, like those of Tyler Perry, are considered hits if they reach those numbers after their entire runs. That shows the breadth of this the movie's appeal across racial lines. That the film's story chimed so well with recent events in America likely also played a role.
5	Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)		812,153	See above.
6	Eazy-E		794,115	The founding member of N.W.A., whose death from AIDS at the age of just 31 forms the emotional climax of the film Straight Outta Compton, was naturally the most searched member of the group following the film's release.
7	Fantastic Four (2015 film)		785,279	So yeah. This movie happened. As I've said many times, movies get on this list for two reasons: box office and controversy. Straight Outta Compton was lucky enough to have both; this one? Well, it looks like I have my work cut out explaining the controversy because whatever's pushing this movie up the chart, it sure ain't the box office. But be warned: this is gonna get complicated. By now you're probably aware that the latest attempt to make a film franchise out of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four title is one of the biggest box office bombs in recent years. And if you're wondering why, it's because no one wanted to make it in the first place. The contract that Marvel signed with 20th Century Fox back in 1994 includes a sunset clause ensuring that if Fox does not make use of the property within a certain amount of time, Marvel can take the rights back. Yes, this movie is, in essence, a $120 million contractual obligation. When Marvel signed their contract they were close to bankruptcy; now they're a major competitor in the film industry and a subdivision of the gargantuan Disney corporation. Fox isn't keen to hand an advantage to its rival. And "rival" is putting it mildly. Marvel cancelled the Fantastic Four comic rather than give Fox the rights to any new characters, and has even banned the introduction of new characters into the X-Men series, which Fox also owns the rights to. Since rising to prominence, Marvel Studios has managed to claw back the rights to most of its characters, as other companies have proven inept at adapting them to the screen. Even Sony, who owns the rights to Spider-Man, agreed to go Dutch on a Marvel-made reboot of the character after The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel both failed. Fox remains the only major hold-out, and expectations that the film's abysmal performance will lead the team back to the Marvel fold have been spiralling in recent days, up to and including a change.org petition. That's probably unlikely. Most pundits agree that Fox will burn before it gives up, and a sequel is still planned.
8	Donald Trump		601,785	Ah, what did Donald do this week? Finding out why the bombastic real estate developer, media personality and, until he gets bored, current Republican US Presidential frontrunner is on this list is always preceded by a mixture of queasy terror and Christmas-like anticipation. In fact, What Did Donald Do? would make a very good title for the reality show he's undoubtedly going to sign up for once he finally gets booted out the race. This week largely focused on his feud with Fox News presenter Megyn Kelly, whom he suggested had "blood coming out of her wherever" after she grilled him on women's issues during the Republican debate. He then went on to backtrack in the most condescending way possible, saying that he "cherishes" women, and sounding like Torvald from A Doll's House. Kelly has apparently taken time off to spend with the husband and kids, leading some to speculate that Trump got her fired. Another choice Trump quote this week? How about "I’m a whiner, and I keep whining and whining until I win," as spoken to CNN host Chris Cuomo, leading a writer for the Christian Science Monitor to ponder if that may be his superpower.
9	Dr. Dre		596,881	Far and away the most successful talent to emerge from N.W.A., Dr Dre would go on to shepherd talents such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar, and ultimately become the richest man in hip hop, after Apple Inc.'s purchase of his company Beats Electronics earned him $620 million. He has wondered in the past if people have forgotten him; well the release of Straight Outta Compton has put that fear to rest. The soundtrack for Straight Outta Compton is Dre's first album in 16 years, and opened at #2 at the US chart amid critical acclaim.
10	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam		551,440	The sustained surge of views this scientist and reluctant politician received upon his death on 25 July at the age of 83 is merely a reflection of the regard in which he was held by his fellow Indians. A Muslim in a predominantly Hindu country, he rose to the very top of the political ladder, first as a developer of India's missile and nuclear programs, and then as President. Despite adhering to Islam, he considered himself an Indian and drew much inspiration from his country's Hindu heritage. As a result, his one term as President was one of the most popular in his country's history. A lifelong advocate of technology, he believed that India could become a developed country through embracing and expanding its knowledge base.
11	Ice Cube		528,622	While still very much a rapper, the onetime N.W.A. member is now arguably better known as an actor and a filmmaker. At the suggestion of John Singleton, he adapted his lyrical talents into screenwriting, and the result was the hit Friday film series, which introduced the world, for better or worse, to Chris Tucker. He also starred in a number of hit films including Are We There Yet? and Ride Along. And it looks like talent must run in the family, because his son plays him in Straight Outta Compton.
12	Independence Day (India)		527,028	Just like American Independence Day, Indian Independence Day (August 15) makes its annual appearance on the list.
13	Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation		521,617	The box office draw of Tom Cruise (pictured) may have flagged of late, but he can always return to his signature franchise, which has yet to let him down. The fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible series was released on July 31 and had a hefty $56 million opening weekend, all but ensuring a part 6.
14	Deaths in 2015		516,121	The viewing figures for this article have been remarkably constant; fluctuating week to week between 450 and 550 thousand, apparently heedless of who actually died.
15	Bernie Sanders		510,272	The junior Senator from Vermont, longest-serving Independent in US history, and self-described Socialist has been for the left of American politics what Donald Trump has been for the right; the voice of angry disaffection. This week, he finally joined Donald on this list after polls suggested he was leading Hilary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary. While no one seriously expects him to win the Democratic nomination, he has provided a much-needed prod for Hillary, who has at times acted as if she was being ordained, rather than elected.
16	Radhe Maa	Unassessed	494,053	Controversies involving Indian spiritual leaders are nothing new, but in the last few days "Mother Radhe" appears caught in a perfect storm of accusations, predicaments and gaffes. Some, such as claims that she instigated threatening phone calls to a Bollywood star and encouraged a family to bully a woman for more dowry money, are fairly serious; others, such as dancing to raunchy Bollywood numbers in gasp a short skirt and heels, seem frivolous to Western eyes. She's been banned from attending this year's Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious festival, until she clears her name.
17	Helga Estby		357,639	As learned in a Reddit thread this week, the life of this 19th century American woman reads like a gross parody of an inspirational Hollywood movie. Faced with foreclosure on the family farm, she and her daughter decided to walk across America in the hopes of securing a $10,000 prize, and after seven months of trudging, they finally made it to New York, only to be told that they'd missed the deadline and failed. She then returned home to find her farm gone and two of her children dead of diphtheria.
18	Bajrangi Bhaijaan		487,377	Initially intended as Muslim-targeted counterprogramming to the raging box office tsunami of Baahubali: The Beginning, this Bollywood spectacular starring Salman Khan (pictured) has become a sensation in its own right, crossing the Rs 6 billion ($91.6 million) mark at the worldwide box office this week.
19	Google		466,216	The world's most popular search engine appears on this list quite often, but for once, there is a legit reason in the media circus surrounding the appointment of Sundar Pichai as the company's next CEO (see #2)
20	King of Na gold seal		440,695	As noted in a Reddit thread this week, this exquisite work of art and staggeringly important historical artifact (the earliest recorded evidence for contact between China and Japan) was found in a ditch by a Japanese farmer in 1784.
21	Pretty Little Liars (TV series)		428,484	The mid-season finale of this teen-targeted series aired on August 11.
22	Baahubali: The Beginning		416,947	At $41 million, this sprawling, two-part historical epic is the most expensive film in Indian history (no, it isn't actually Bollywood, since it was made in South India, much to Bollywood's chagrin). Starring the Telugu actor Prabhas (pictured), the first part, subtitled "The Beginning", broke box office records upon its release on July 10, earning Rs 2.15 billion ($34 million) worldwide in just 5 days. At Rs 5.77 billion ($88 million) worldwide to date, tt is now chasing Bajrangi Bhaijaan in the race to unseat PK as the highest grossing Indian film of all time.
23	Ronda Rousey		384,369	On August 1, the undefeated UFC women's bantamweight champion beat Bethe Correia in 34 seconds in Correia's home town of Rio de Janeiro. This led her to be last week's number 1 topic, and it's clear people haven't lost interest yet.
24	SummerSlam (2015)	Future	380,487	WWE's latest pay-per-view pantomime will take place on August 23, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
25	Weegee		368,967	As learned in a Reddit thread this week, this unscrupulous 1930s paparazzo was the inspiration for the crime scene-chasing photographer played by Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.

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 also exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (~2% or less) or almost all mobile views (~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.

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