• CinemaCon, the annual movie-theater convention held in Las Vegas, had its 2025 edition during the first week in April.
• The convention featured never-before-seen footage of upcoming movies.
• Get ready for Glen Powell in "The Running Man," Brad Pitt in "F1," and a return to Oz with "Wicked: For Good."

Every spring, Hollywood treks to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, a week-long convention that showcases upcoming movie releases.

The convention, run by Cinema United, the world's largest movie theater trade organization, is four days of studio executives and theater owners coming together to speak on how to better the industry. This year, one major topic of discussion was expanding the theatrical window on all movies before they can show up on video on demand or streaming.

But the biggest draw the studios' flashy presentations. This year, Disney, Universal, Lionsgate, Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros, and Amazon MGM Studios highlighted what they have coming out in 2025 and beyond by screening trailers and footage.

Some of the titles showcased in Vegas already have had trailers out online. But for many others, CinemaCon marked the first time footage was shown of an upcoming release. Below is a rundown of the most exciting new footage we saw at CinemaCon.

If you want to see highlights from this year's CinemaCon at your local theater, look out for "Sneak Peek Showcase," a 70-minute recap that will play in theaters on April 22 and 24.

"The Phoenician Scheme" (May 2)

Wes Anderson's latest release looks to be another ambitious tale filled with outlandish performances by acting greats and meticulous production design, costuming, and music.

In "The Phoenician Scheme," Benicio del Toro plays the lead, Zsa-zsa Korda, the richest man in Europe. After surviving his sixth plane crash, Korda begins to take steps to hand over his estate to his daughter, played by Mia Threapleton.

Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch also star.

"F1" (June 27)

CinemaCon attendees screened the first ten minutes of what's sure to be one of Sony's biggest hits of the year.

The movie opens showcasing Sonny Hayes' (Brad Pitt) skills behind the wheel at the 24 Hours at Daytona. After speeding until dawn to secure the win as the anchor of his racing team, Hayes is propositioned by an old racing friend (Javier Bardem) to join his team and mentor his No. 2 driver.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Joseph Kosinski (the duo behind "Top Gun: Maverick"), this has all the makings of a big summer box-office hit.

"M3GAN 2.0" (June 27)

After wowing audiences with her killing prowess (and her dance moves), M3GAN is back. Now in AI form following the events of the first movie, she's the one thing that can stop a new military robot named Amelia that is causing havoc. It all leads to M3GAN getting a complete physical makeover to save the day.

"The Naked Gun" (August 1)

If you miss a good raunchy comedy, this one's for you.

After Leslie Nielsen's slapstick antics made detective Frank Drebin a comedy icon thanks to the "Police Squad!" and "Naked Gun" franchises, Liam Neeson has taken the reins to bring Drebin's silly antics to a new generation.

The movie's first trailer shows Neeson doing everything from playing a schoolgirl to doing some unusual things to show his love for his dog. Paramount could have a sleeper hit on its hands.

"Weapons" (August 8)

Following the success of "Barbarian," director Zach Cregger delivers what looks to be another horrifying tale you can't look away from.

In "Weapons," a group of children go missing in the middle of the night, leading to a lot of frustration, finger-pointing, and some really, really terrifying events as a close-knit community in Florida spirals into madness.

Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, and Benedict Wong star.

"Caught Stealing" (August 29)

This year marked the first time Darren Aronofsky graced the CinemaCon stage, and he said the occasion was because it was finally time for him to do something "fun."

For the guy known for making dark movies like "Requiem for a Dream," "Black Swan," and "The Whale," his latest seems to be a major pivot.

Based on the Charlie Huston book of the same name, "Caught Stealing" stars Austin Butler as Hank, a former baseball player who is inexplicably chased around 1990s New York City by gangsters. It certainly looks like Aronofsky's most slick and mainstream work to date.

Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Bad Bunny also star.

"The Long Walk" (September 12)

Based on Stephen King's novel and directed by Francis Lawrence ("The Hunger Games"), this thriller set in a dystopian future showcases a group of young people who take part in a walking contest. If you ever stop, you are killed on the spot. The contest goes on until there's only one person left walking.

The movie stars David Jonsson ("Alien: Romulus"), Cooper Hoffman ("Licorice Pizza"), and Mark Hamill as the villainous major who oversees the contest.

"Zootopia 2" (November 26)

Nine years after Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde made "Zootopia" a box office sensation, the pair of detectives are in a relationship slump and are going to partner therapy. Hilarity ensues as they try to work out their problems.

Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman return to voice the lead characters. New characters include Quinta Brunson as their therapist and Ke Huy Quan as a mysterious snake.

"Wicked: For Good" (November 21)

In the trailer teasing the film's thrilling conclusion, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now an enemy of the state, strengthens her powers by studying the Grimmerie, while Glinda (Ariana Grande) is taken under the wing of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).

Before footage was shown onstage, director Jon M. Chu teased that "For Good" will "take us past" when Dorothy Gale shows up on the yellow brick road.

"The Running Man" (November 7)

Just weeks after wrapping production on "The Running Man," director Edgar Wright and stars Glen Powell, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin presented footage from the movie to the CinemaCon crowd.

Another work based on a Stephen King novel, many know the title from the beloved 1987 release starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Expect a very different adaptation this time around.

Showcasing more gore, comedy, and inventive camera work from Wright, this telling of the story — in which Powell stars as Ben Richards, who is racing to save his life by surviving "The Running Man" game show — feels very different from the one Arnold was in.

Avatar: Fire and Ash (December 19)

James Cameron takes us from water to fire. Where the previous release in the acclaimed "Avatar" franchise, "The Way of Water," showed how Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family made friends with the ocean-friendly Metkayina clan, it looks like in "Fire and Ash" they will not get the same reception.

In the footage shown, the Ash tribe are menacing warriors who shoot arrows with fire. Nothing seems peaceful in this chapter of the franchise, and the terrain is rocky and full of volcanoes. And then there's Quaritch (Stephen Lang) still hot on Jake's tail.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (December 19)

Released on the same day as the new "Avatar" is something for the kids.

SpongeBob returns to the big screen, and he's a big boy now. Well, a little taller. And being "bigger" makes SpongeBob want to set out on a voyage at sea. The trouble is, he crosses paths with the most evil pirate to sail the seas, the Flying Dutchman (voiced by Mark Hamill). Expect lots of laughs.

"The Housemaid" (December 25)

Directed by Paul Feig ("Bridesmaids," "A Simple Favor") and based on Freida McFadden's best-selling novel, "The Housemaid" has assembled an impressive cast to bring this popular psychological thriller about a housemaid who lives with a wealthy family to the big screen.

Sydney Sweeney plays the housemaid Millie, Amanda Seyfried stars as Nina, and Brandon Sklenar plays Andrew. Now let the games begin.

"Project Hail Mary" (March 2026)

Amazon MGM Studios proved audiences will have more to look forward to than James Bond in the coming years by wowing CinemaCon with footage from this sci-fi movie.

Based on the novel by Andy Weir ("The Martian"), Ryan Gosling plays a teacher who finds himself recruited to go into space and save the world. Along the way he finds an alien to help him out.

Marking the first directing effort by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller since 2014's "22 Jump Street," the trailer got one of the loudest reactions at this year's CinemaCon thanks to its clever premise and Gosling's light-hearted touch as a regular guy doing extraordinary things.

• Donald Trump's attacks against Big Law firms have drawn three lawsuits. A few other firms settled.
• 504 law firms asked the courts to put a stop to it.
• But from Kirkland & Ellis to Paul Hastings, the highest-earning firms in Big Law declined to join.

More than 500 law firms — including some of the country's most prominent — signed onto a legal brief Friday to oppose Donald Trump's executive orders attacking law firms that hired his political enemies.

Absent from the list, however, were America's 27 highest-grossing law firms.

From Kirkland & Ellis, which reported $8.8 billion in revenue last year and has about 3,800 lawyers, to Paul Hastings, with more than $2 billion in revenue, corporate America's legal team was largely silent.

The 27 firms that didn't sign collectively brought in over $74 billion in revenue last year.

"The largest law firms are extraordinarily powerful, and in this instance, that power actually cripples them. I'm disappointed that they didn't join," said Nathan Eimer, one of the lawyers who wrote the brief.

The brief was filed in support of Perkins Coie, a law firm whose attorneys Trump effectively deemed a national security threat in an executive order that barred them from federal buildings, stripped them of security clearances, and required government contractors to disclose whether they used the firm.

Several former partners at Perkins Coie represented some of Trump's political adversaries, but most of the firm's political lawyers have left.

Some big firms did sign on to the brief, as did some top class-action lawyers and trial lawyers who often represent plaintiffs suing big corporations.

The US arm of Freshfields, a UK-founded corporate law firm that last year was reported to do about 20% of its business in the United States, signed the brief. Arnold & Porter, a big DC-based firm that represented federal workers accused of being communists during the "Red Scare" of the 1950s, also included its name. Arnold & Porter was one of eight firms among the country's 100 highest-earning that signed, according to Law.com.

Other firms targeted by Trump's orders rallied behind Perkins. Covington & Burling, which gave legal advice to a prosecutor who went after Trump, as well as WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, which have sued the Trump administration over executive orders that targeted them, all put their names on the brief.

But the lack of America's largest firms was frustrating, said Eimer, who told Business Insider he didn't know whose names would be included until shortly before the legal papers were filed because the process was treated with extreme confidentiality.

"I understand, from the management side, why they feel that jeopardizing their business is their overriding concern. But in my view, at the end of the day, lawyers have an obligation to the courts," he said, "and the constitution that overrides our business interest."

Law firms, including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Milbank, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher, have cut deals with the Trump administration to collectively devote hundreds of millions of dollars worth of lawyers' time to causes that dovetail with the president's interests — like veterans' rights and fighting antisemitism.

Bloomberg reported the conservative group The Oversight Project wrote a letter to law firms asking them to donate up to $10 million of legal advice to it and other "center-right" groups to help satisfy their commitments.

The first firm to cut a deal with the Trump administration was Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, whose chairman, Brad Karp, and senior lawyers are known for being political progressives. Karp defended the agreement with the Trump administration in an email sent to the firm late last month, saying that competing law firms immediately started trying to poach Paul Weiss clients and attorneys.

"The resolution we reached with the Administration will have no effect on our work and our shared culture and values," Karp wrote.

Paul Weiss's name is not on the brief.

• Ameenah Thobani is a 48-year-old clinical hypnotherapist in Vancouver.
• She started having perimenopausal symptoms in her early 40s.
• She wakes at 4 a.m. every morning and repeats positive affirmations about herself.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ameenah Thobani. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Before my dad died last year, I remember him flicking through my wedding photos from 23 years prior and commenting on how young he looked — how he used to be so healthy and energetic. He had changed. He was no longer the young man in those photos.

But for years, he had been. It was only when he started to tell himself and verbalize how tired he was that he became tired and seemed to age more rapidly.

Perimenopause left me drained

Around the age of 43, I began experiencing perimenopausal symptoms, starting with sudden episodes of unexplained rage. Over time, these symptoms expanded to include irregular bleeding, severe fatigue, and debilitating migraines. There were days when simply getting out of bed felt impossible, deeply affecting my daily life and emotional health. Negative self-talk about my body and health further intensified my struggles during this period.

At 45, I thought about all the years before perimenopause that I had felt well nearly all the time. I didn't have any health issues, was on no medication, and felt good most of the time. But even then, all I focused on was my weight. I spent my "good years" ungrateful for the body I'd had — only concerned with how I looked, thinking beauty was only to be found in being a certain size.

As I watched my dad regret taking all those younger years of his life for granted, I wanted to make sure I didn't do the same. I wanted to learn to appreciate the moment and how my body is currently rather than focusing on what I don't like about it.

I express my thankfulness to my body

In 2022, I started to retrain how I thought about my body. From my work, I know that you can retrain your brain, but it takes effort and time.

I now go to bed early every night and wake up at 4 a.m. to meditate, connecting to the source of all my energy. I intentionally acknowledge my body, express thankfulness for it, and remember I have to take care of it.

Next, I look in the mirror and brush my teeth with my left hand (my dominant hand is my right — using my left-hand makes my mind focus on what I'm saying to ingrain it into my thought pattern) while repeating affirmations.

"I am healthy, wealthy, and divine," I say. "Everything comes to me in perfect time. I shine bright like the sun. I am vibrating in abundance and health and wellness."

Instead of focusing on all that is going wrong with my body, I focus on its health and ability.

Another way I stay grateful is by imagining I am 90 years old and getting to wake up in my 48-year-old body again. It leaves me feeling grateful and bubbling with energy. After all, I've got another 40 years to live! I'm not going to spend my time worrying about my body — there's so much more to life!

As I became more appreciative of my body, I wanted to take care of it. I spoke with my doctor about the symptoms I was experiencing, and she gave me the option of HRT. I eventually decided to try it, and my symptoms alleviated.

Even in the middle of perimenopause, I am grateful for my body and all it is able to do, aware that one day, I'll reflect on my body at 48 with joy.

The Office of the US Trade Representative shared the math responsible for President Donald Trump's tariffs, which range from 10% to 50%.

• A string of US executives has left TikTok in the past year.
• The departures are creating a management vacuum that Chinese leaders are filling, insiders told BI.
• TikTok is under political pressure to separate its US business from its China-based owner ByteDance.

The Trump administration is racing to curb TikTok's ties to China. But inside the company, a string of recent US executive departures and team restructurings has given Chinese leaders a greater grip on its American business, company insiders told Business Insider.

This month, US-based sales and marketing exec Blake Chandlee, who served as the face of TikTok at key industry events like Cannes and Advertising Week, stepped down. Will Liu, known as Liu Xiaobing in China, is taking over management of his global business solutions team. Liu, a Singapore-based staffer who reports to ByteDance China chairman Zhang Lidong, works on monetization products for the company's Chinese apps and TikTok.

The sales team shakeup is one example of a broader shift in power across several company departments.

TikTok made a big push to hire top talent in the US as it looked to launch new businesses like e-commerce in the country. But over the past year, at least seven key US-based executives, including Chandlee, have left their roles across various business lines. Some have been replaced by Chinese leaders. There's a sense among some of TikTok's roughly 7,000 US staffers that ByteDance executives who are either based in China or have come to the US from China are tightening control. Business Insider spoke to nine current and seven former staffers who have worked at the company in the past year.

"They have been consolidating under Chinese leadership," a TikTok employee who works on its e-commerce business told BI. "Before we had a senior manager in the US, and now the person is outside the US."

TikTok and ByteDance did not respond to requests for comment from BI.

The leadership balance may change again if TikTok finds a new owner outside ByteDance, as required by a divestment law. The Trump administration is working on a potential deal, and the president wrote on Friday that he was giving the company another 75 days to find a solution. Some employees are eager for a switch that would put new US executives in charge.

"I really hope this happens," a staffer who works in operations said of a prospective sale. "I hope it can be new leadership if they can really get bought by Oracle or someone else."

A slow drip of exits

While staff at TikTok's parent company ByteDance have had the final say over its product for years, and US leaders like North America global business solutions head Khartoon Weiss remain, the 16 insiders felt that the recent departures of other top US managers expanded control of Chinese leaders.

TikTok's e-commerce team, which runs its Shop product under the leadership of China-based ByteDance executive Bob Kang, has lost several US leaders over the last year and a half, according to nine of the insiders.

Since late 2023, US executives that have exited include Sandie Hawkins, TikTok's former GM of US e-commerce; Marni Levine, one of Hawkins' two replacements, who oversaw TikTok Shop's US operations; and Mary Hubbard, the company's former head of governance and experience in the Americas for Shop.

Executives with experience working on TikTok's Chinese sister app are filling the void, including Mu Qing, a former Douyin e-commerce VP; Sheng Zhou, the company's SVP of global e-commerce; and product VP Xu Luran.

TikTok recruited heavily from Amazon and other big e-commerce players when it began testing Shop in the US a couple of years ago, bringing local knowledge into the business, insiders said. But in the past year, as US executives have left, leadership has shifted from building a localized shopping product to instead trying to imitate Douyin, a staffer who works on TikTok Shop told BI.

Chinese leadership is also cracking down on its US team this year after they felt the country underperformed in 2024, as BI previously reported.

Other US teams within TikTok have similarly seen American leaders swapped out for ByteDance staffers from China.

There have been examples of these power shifts as early as 2022. Vanessa Campos, a former TikTok recruiter focused on early career hires who left the company this year, wrote in an April blog post that her US manager was replaced by a global leader from China in late 2022 who began "tightening their grip on hiring priorities." Chinese leadership led the early careers team from that point forward, Campos told BI.

Rebecca Sawyer, TikTok's US advertising lead for small and midsize businesses, was replaced by ByteDance executive Qing Lan in late 2023. Qing previously worked on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin.

The e-commerce staffer said Chinese leadership's control of the business "hyper-accelerated" in the second half of 2024.

Globally, at least eight executives have left TikTok in 2025, The Information earlier reported, citing departures like the music exec Ole Obermann and North America ads leader Sameer Singh.

As more Chinese managers take charge, US staffers feel left out of the loop

ByteDance is still very much a Chinese tech company at its core. Decisions about its global products are often made in China, where it has offices in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. US TikTok employees previously told BI that they refer to its Beijing office as "HQ."

As it's expanded into other parts of the world, ByteDance has brought hundreds of employees over from China into its new offices via H-1B or L-1 visas, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services records and another company employee with knowledge of its visa strategy.

About 670 of the roughly 1,100 approved US H-1B visa hires for TikTok and ByteDance workers were from China during fiscal year 2023, the most recent period BI was able to obtain data via a Freedom of Information Act request. In fiscal year 2022, the company received 445 H-1B approvals for Chinese nationals, per USCIS data shared with US Sen. Tom Cotton.

"A lot of leaders are Chinese nationals from mainland China," the employee with knowledge of its visa strategy said.

But the company also grew TikTok globally by leaning into the expertise of local hires. Business lines like recruiting, the creator outreach team, and its sales staff that interface with US marketers have generally operated with less oversight from China, four of the current and former staffers said. Staff members in some of those divisions have not had to take late calls with Chinese colleagues to accommodate time zone differences, for example. That independence from China has drifted away in the past year, the insiders told BI.

In 2024, TikTok's US creator team was asked to align its goals with a product team mostly based in China, a former staffer who worked on the creator team told BI.

"While we weren't actually reporting into them, it was almost like a dotted line," the ex-employee said. "If they said jump, the creator team had to jump."

US employees reporting to managers based in China told BI they sometimes feel excluded from the team, either because they don't speak or read Mandarin Chinese or because they work in a different time zone and are unable to join certain calls.

A trust and safety team member who does not speak Mandarin said it was challenging to try to work with Chinese colleagues who, they felt, often made little effort to accommodate their US teammates.

The staffer said they'd been provided with some internal documents translated from Mandarin that have been hard to follow.

"I'm always two days behind," they said.

Another staffer on the engineering team estimated their China-based manager had directly spoken to them for less than 30 minutes over the last six months.

The employee said it was challenging to work with translated documents and group chats in the company's internal messaging platform Lark that were originally written in Mandarin.

"The meetings conducted are in Chinese as well, so a lot of my American colleagues can't understand the context," this person said.

A former product staffer said they felt like it was harder to get their ideas heard after switching from a US-based manager to one based in China.

"I felt like they didn't really listen to the US opinion," the former employee said of their new manager. "They would say things like 'Just follow what the Chinese product manager said.'"

A TikTok sale in the US could shake up the company — if it actually shifts who is in charge

The power structure for TikTok's US business may shift in the coming weeks if new owners take over operations.

The company could reach a deal to sell TikTok's US assets in order to comply with the law requiring ByteDance to divest from its US app.

ByteDance said it's talking to the US government about a potential solution, but key matters need to be resolved, and an agreement would be subject to approval under Chinese law.

As staffers await a political resolution, morale at the company is low among some who are experiencing burnout and dealing with the aftermath of a recent review cycle that led to performance-improvement plans and staff exits, company insiders previously told BI.

"We essentially haven't had a voice for a very long time," the second e-commerce worker said. "They say they want you to be candid and clear, but really they want you to fall in line and follow the Chinese and rebuild Douyin."

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at @danwhateley.94. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

Ashley Rodriguez and Shubhangi Goel contributed reporting.

• Amazon faces uncertainty as tariffs disrupt forecasting and supply chain operations.
• Amazon's suppliers and sellers say there has been very little guidance.
• Amazon's stock was among the hardest hit on Thursday following Trump's tariff announcement.

The tariff mayhem is throwing Amazon into uncertain territory.

Forecasting, for example, has become nearly impossible for some teams. One of Amazon's largest supply chain units recently warned about the challenges of making its second-quarter projections due to tariffs, according to an internal email obtained by Business Insider.

The "volatility and uncertainty" from the new round of tariffs were simply too high to derive any meaningful numbers, the email said.

Amazon employees, alongside suppliers and sellers, are scrambling for answers as President Donald Trump's whipsaw trade policy roils the country's largest e-commerce retailer. On Thursday, Amazon was among the hardest-hit stocks when roughly $2.5 trillion was wiped out of the S&P500 Index over Trump's aggressive tariff plan.

Amazon has given little guidance or financial flexibility so far, according to multiple employees, suppliers, and sellers, who mostly spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. Tension is intensifying as concerns of a prolonged trade war and potential recession loom.

Amazon's spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.

'Large risk'

The same email from Amazon's supply chain team said that the near-term impact of tariffs will ultimately be captured and reflected in a later forecast. But the exposure to tariffs and a global trade war is "a large risk" that can set back Amazon's retail business going forward, it added.

Some Amazon employees have been in direct contact with its suppliers, commonly known as first-party vendors. These companies sell their products wholesale to Amazon, which then resells them to shoppers.

These vendors said Amazon isn't willing to pay more for their products, even if the tariffs would increase the suppliers' costs. According to a March email seen by BI, an Amazon employee encourages vendors to seek further cost savings from their own manufacturers or through government subsidies.

"We understand the challenges posed by the current economic and trade environment," the email said. "However, we believe there are alternatives to direct cost increases that haven't been fully explored."

Some vendors told BI that Amazon also seeks "margin agreements" that guarantee the same margin after a vendor increases its prices. That way, Amazon would maintain its profit margins from its suppliers, even if it buys the products at a higher price.

In some cases, Amazon is pausing shipment orders from vendors to monitor the market. One shipping company recently told a vendor that "as per Amazon's request," it was holding the pick-up schedule of inventory to "mitigate the impact" of tariffs, according to an email seen by BI.

Alan Adams, president of Navazon, a vendor software company, told BI that tariff discussions with Amazon employees have been ongoing for months. He said both Amazon and the suppliers are pursuing ways to adapt to the new market conditions, but the constant policy changes make finding a long-term solution difficult.

"We are all in a wait-and-see mode with a tremendous amount of uncertainty across different categories," Adams said.

Raising prices

Trump imposed sweeping tariff increases on most countries this week. The changes are expected to increase prices across a variety of goods.

Truist Securities' Youssef Squali said the tariffs will likely have an adverse effect on e-commerce companies, including Amazon. Import costs will likely eat into their margins, though it will still take time to fully measure their impact on each individual company, he wrote in a note Friday. Amazon's stock is down roughly 10% from Wednesday.

Third-party merchants who sell on Amazon told BI they will likely have to raise their prices due to the tariffs.

Charles Chakkalo, founder of JoeyzShopping, who sells home and kitchen items, said he anticipates over 50% tariffs on his products. To counter, he will have to raise prices, while leveraging his unit volume to lower manufacturing costs.

Oscar Babarin, managing director of marketing agency Hawke Media, said a number of his clients are feeling the impact deeply. Some of them are scaling back their business, while others are more aggressively pursuing market share, he said.

However, some sellers, are excited about the elimination of the de minimis exemption that allowed tax-free shipments of Chinese imports valued at less than $800, according to Oliver Scutt, board member of Merchant AI. Those sellers expect less competition from Temu and Shein following the change, he said.

Still, most sellers and vendors said they feel helpless against the complexity of trade policies. On Thursday, as the market plunged, one supplier emailed an Amazon manager to ask for additional guidance, only to receive very little support.

"Rest assured, we are looking into it," the Amazon manager said.

Do you work at Amazon? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 650-942-3061. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• I traveled in style in a premium train car aboard Madaraka Express between Voi and Nairobi in Kenya.
• My ticket cost about $66, and the ride made me feel like I was in a first-class plane cabin.
• The route goes through multiple national parks, and I was able to spot elephants from my seat.

On a recent trip to Kenya, I learned about the new premium-class train service on the Madaraka Express.

It connects the tourist-favored coastal city of Mombasa and the cosmopolitan Kenya capital Nairobi. The train travels through numerous national parks, game reserves, and wildlife conservancies.

Essentially, it makes it possible to go on an extended safari throughout Kenya without renting a car or arranging drivers.

So, I booked a ticket and an upgrade. Here's what it was like to ride premium class on Kenya's Madaraka Express.

My one-way premium ticket only cost about $66.

I took the Madaraka Express to Nairobi after spending four days at the nearby Lions Bluff Lodge near Voi, a town on the edge of the Taru Desert

The cost to go one way on the full route from Mombasa to Nairobi in the premium class is about $93. However, my trip from Voi to Nairobi was only $65.50 and I could bring my large backpack and overstuffed duffel for no extra charge.

That's less than a one-way economy flight on Kenya Airways between Mombasa and Nairobi, which usually costs around $71 each way (not including a checked bag).

I took a morning train from Voi Station, near Mombasa.

Voi Station is one of the largest stations on the line.

The station had a large, crowded waiting area, as well as a small lounge for premium passengers (which I wasn't allowed to photograph) with padded chairs and basic snacks.

I arrived about 30 minutes before my train left, giving myself plenty of time to go through the quick security check and browse the two small souvenir shops over the station.

Boarding was easy, but I had to hustle to find the right car.

Boarding the train felt straightforward, although I had to quickly make my way to the front car — where the premium class is — before it left.

Once aboard, staff checked my ticket, escorted me to my seat, and helped me store my luggage in the back of the car.

My premium seat felt spacious and offered lots of privacy.

The premium seating looked like what I'd find in business or first class on an international flight.

There's just one large seat on each side of the train, staggered so when you step into the aisle, you're not directly next to another person.

Each seat looked extra wide and could transform into a lie-flat bed, though I didn't try to sleep during my daytime journey. However, I saw several passengers from Mombasa just waking up when I boarded, and they looked pretty comfortable.

My seat was loaded with amenities.

My premium seat came with a large side table with USB ports and a standard (Kenyan) plug, an adjustable reading light, a small storage compartment, a screen with seat controls, and a footrest.

There was also a large TV screen and plenty of space in the overhead bin for my large backpack and overstuffed duffel.

I recommend choosing a seat on the left side of the train if you're on this route.

Every seat was tilted slightly to the left, which left my back a little more exposed to the aisle. The angled seating felt odd at first.

However, once the train started moving, the design made more sense. Passengers on the left side got a direct, unobstructed view of the landscape without needing to turn their heads.

Although the right side of the train also had great views, those passengers had to twist a bit more to take in the scenery.

The sleeping situation felt as nice as a first-class flight.

I've flown first class on international flights before, and this train felt just as nice as those trips.

The lie-flat seat controls worked well, and when combined with the footrest extension, my entire setup became a continuous sleeping surface.

At 5 feet, 7 inches, I could fully stretch out — but taller passengers might need to bend their legs slightly.

The meal was so-so, but it still added to the experience.

Breakfast service began soon after I boarded. Train attendants came around to take my order from three meal options: Indian, Kenyan, or Western.

I chose scrambled eggs with tomatoes and yogurt. Although I wouldn't say the meal was the highlight of my ride, it helped the trip feel more elegant — especially as I could spot elephants while sipping a hot coffee.

The Madaraka Express travels through some of Africa's most iconic sites.

The Madaraka Express passes between Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks.

From the left side of the train, I got a clear view of the Tsavo Railway Bridge — the infamous site of the 1898 attacks in which lions killed many railway workers. It later inspired the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness." As a history buff, I appreciated getting to see the bridge.

A highlight was also traveling above Nairobi National Park, about 4 miles from the city center. It's one of the few places travelers can do a full big-game safari within a major urban area.

The last few miles of the Standard Gauge Railway leading into Nairobi are elevated above the park, allowing wildlife to move freely beneath it.

Trains slow down over this stretch to reduce disturbances to wildlife and give passengers a chance to spot elephants, giraffes, and even rhinos from their seats.

My train ride felt like an international first-class flight for a fraction of the price.

My train ride was only about four hours, although my setup was so good I wish it was longer.

I spent the ride working on WiFi (which was intermittent), watching the landscapes go by, and chatting with other tourists in the dining car.

If I'd had more time on board, I would've used the other features of the seat to really stretch out and spent more time watching for wildlife outside my window.

• Chewing gum releases hundreds to thousands of microplastics into your mouth, a new study suggests.
• Chewing gum's base ingredient is synthetic rubber, which is a type of plastic.
• A stick of gum is a relatively small source of microplastics, but a chewing habit could add up.

Microplastics are flowing out of gum as you chew it, preliminary results of a new study suggest.

The burst of flavor in the first few minutes of chewing a stick of gum comes from the hundreds to thousands of microplastics the gum is releasing into your saliva, said the study's lead author, Sanjay Mohanty.

Indeed, the base ingredient of chewing gum — the part that makes it chewy — is synthetic rubber. That's plastic.

"That's something very few consumers know," Mohanty, an engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Business Insider.

"You are eating a material that is made of plastic. At least 2% of that is plastic," he said, referring to a piece of gum.

To be sure, microplastics are everywhere. Countless products shed them in your home. They're in your dust, food, and drinking water. They're in soil and oceans all over the world — from the Mariana Trench to the top of Mount Everest. They've been found in human blood, poop, hearts, testicles, placentas, and breast milk.

An especially offputting study recently found human brains potentially contained enough microplastics to make a spoon.

Mohanty said, "99% of things I see around me are plastic, so I should not be surprised to find plastic in everything, including my own body."

Research has found correlations between microplastics and inflammation, infertility, lung and colon cancers, and risk of heart attacks and stroke. However, it's unclear if microplastics caused or contributed to those conditions.

"My goal is just to inform what we could do differently," Mohanty said.

Chewing less gum, it seems, is one thing we can do.

Mohanty presented these findings, which have not undergone peer review through a scientific journal, at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society last week.

"Chewing gum was not something on my radar," Britta Baechler, the director of ocean plastics research at the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, who recently co-authored a study on microplastics in food, told BI.

"I think scientists are getting really creative with trying to get a more complete picture of our exposure to microplastics," she added.

Natural gum released plastic, too

Mohanty and the graduate students in his lab chose five brands of synthetic gum and gave seven pieces of each brand to a single person, who chewed each piece for up to 20 minutes, rinsing with clean water in between pieces to clear out residual plastic.

Knowing the plastic base of gum, Mohanty wasn't surprised when he measured hundreds to thousands of tiny plastic polymers swimming in the person's saliva as they chewed each piece.

He was surprised, however, when they ran the same tests with five brands of natural gums, which are made from plant materials like chicle instead of a rubber base.

Natural gums resulted in about the same quantity of microplastics in the chewer's saliva.

They even found the same plastic polymers in both types of gum: polyolefins, polyethylene terephthalates, polyacrylamide, and polystyrene. Those types of plastics are also used in food wraps, shopping bags, car parts, egg cartons, and packing peanuts.

Because of the measuring techniques they used, this experiment was only able to detect plastic particles 20 micrometers wide or larger. That's about one-fifth the width of a human hair. It's likely that gum also releases plastic of even smaller size — nanoplastics — Mohanty said.

Should you chew gum?

There's good news — sort of.

The researchers found the most microplastics within the first two minutes of chewing gum. After eight minutes, 94% of the plastic particles they detected had already been released.

A simple way to cut back on plastic is to chew your gum for longer instead of popping a new piece, Lisa Lowe, a graduate student who ran this study with Mohanty, said in a press release.

In the grand scheme of your daily microplastic ingestion, a stick of gum probably isn't much. You ingest billions more microplastics from a cup of tea made with a plastic-containing teabag (which is more common than you might think), a 2019 study found.

Still, a gum-chewing habit could add up. Based on their findings, the researchers calculated that someone who chews 160 to 180 small sticks of gum per year would ingest about 30,000 microplastic particles annually.

Mohanty said his wife stopped chewing gum altogether after hearing their results.

"Why eat chewing gum and directly ingest plastics? Chewing gum is non-essential," Mohanty said.

If you do chew, Mohanty added, throw your gum in the garbage instead of leaving chewed-up plastic in the street.

• President Donald Trump's auto tariffs are designed to protect the US car manufacturing industry.
• Sen. Ted Cruz, a tariff skeptic, is warning that the price of American cars will likely go up too.
• He said the price of an average car from a Big 3 automaker could increase by $4,500 in June.

Sen. Ted Cruz says that you're likely to end up paying thousands of dollars more for a new car as a result of Trump's auto tariffs — even if you buy American.

"It's not just foreign cars that will go up," the Texas Republican said on an episode of his "Verdict" podcast released on Friday. "There are weird impacts, given how the American supply chain works."

Cruz said a representative from one of the "Big 3" US auto manufacturers — which include General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis — had told him the previous night that the average cost of one of their cars would increase by $4,500 beginning in June, when newly manufactured cars begin hitting dealerships.

Trump's auto tariffs include not just a 25% tariff on imported cars, but on imported car parts. Many domestic manufacturers rely on parts from overseas.

The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Cruz has emerged as an outspoken critic of Trump's trade plans.

"I am not a fan of tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on the American people," Cruz told BI on Thursday.

When asked whether he had confidence in the Trump administration's approach, the Texas senator replied: "We will see whether the result is lower tariffs from our trading partners, or higher tariffs from our trading partners."

• "Pulse" and "The Bondsman" are among the new shows premiering on streamers this week.
• The slow-burn third season of "The White Lotus" ends this weekend.
• "One of Them Days," a buddy cop movie starring Keke Palmer and SZA, is now on Netflix.

Coming-of-age tales and love stories are plentiful on streamers this weekend.

The iconic teen movie "The Breakfast Club" is new to Netflix, while the 2022 film "Aftersun," which examines the complexities of fatherhood, hits Max this week.

For heart-racing entertainment, watch the new medical procedural "Pulse" or the limited series "Dying for Sex." For heart-pounding antics, watch the finale of the Thailand-set third season of "The White Lotus."

Here's a complete rundown of all the best movies, shows, and documentaries to stream this weekend, broken down by what kind of entertainment you're looking for.

See Paul Mescal's Oscar-nominated performance as a father struggling with parenthood in "Aftersun."

Paul Mescal followed up his Emmy-nominated role as Connell Waldron in Hulu's "Normal People" with another emotionally raw performance that put him in Oscars contention in writer-director Charlotte Wells' 2022 movie "Aftersun."

The indie film stars Mescal as Calum Patterson, a father trying to mask his own insecurities and anxieties about fatherhood while on holiday in Turkey with his 11-year-old daughter, Sophie (Frankie Corio).

Streaming on: Max

John Hughes captures the highs and lows of adolescence in the 1985 coming-of-age classic "The Breakfast Club"

The quintessential high school movie stars Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Anthony Michael Hall as a ragtag group of students who are stuck together during Saturday detention and forced to write a thousand-word essay on who they think they are.

As the group learns more about each other over the course of the day, they're revealed to be more complex than the high school stereotypes they represent.

Streaming on: Netflix

For a different kind of nostalgia, check out "Y2K."

The 2024 movie, written and directed by "Saturday Night Live" alum Kyle Mooney, centers on best friends Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) who crash a New Year's Eve party in 1999 in the hopes that Eli can secure a midnight kiss with his crush, Laura (Rachel Zegler).

It almost seems like the premise of a teen rom-com or coming-of-age flick — until the clock strikes midnight and a Y2K glitch occurs, setting off an apocalypse in which technology turns against the teens and they're forced to fight for their lives.

Streaming on: Max

Keke Palmer and SZA make a dynamic duo in the movie "One of Them Days."

After releasing in theaters in January and becoming a surprise box office win, "One of Them Days" is now available to watch on streaming.

The R-rated buddy comedy stars Keke Palmer and Grammy-winning singer SZA in her acting debut as broke best friends and roommates struggling to make $1,500 by any means necessary so they can pay their rent and avoid eviction.

Streaming on: Netflix

"Love on the Spectrum" is back for season three.

The heartwarming docuseries "Love on the Spectrum" returns for a third season, following the love lives of newcomers and returning stars on the autism spectrum.

Streaming on: Netflix

Netflix's new medical procedural "Pulse" is the streamer's answer to "Grey's Anatomy."

The steamy and stress-inducing series stars Willa Fitzgerald as Danny Simms, an ER doctor who gets promoted to chief resident at a Miami emergency room amid an illicit romance with a colleague, an increasingly dangerous hurricane, and a lockdown at the hospital.

Streaming on: Netflix

In "Dying for Sex," Michelle Williams plays a woman whose perspective on her love life changes after a cancer diagnosis.

The eight-episode FX series is based on the real-life story of Molly Kochan, a woman who was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, left her husband of 15 years, and documented her quest to explore her sexual desires in a podcast called "Dying for Sex."

Michelle Williams portrays Molly and Jenny Slate costars as Nikki Boyer, her best friend.

Streaming on: Hulu

"The White Lotus" fans will finally learn who's in the body bag when the season three finale airs this weekend.

The slow-burn third season of Mike White's HBO anthology series "The White Lotus" wraps up on Sunday.

Who fires the gun that sends the resort staff and guests into chaos? Who drinks a smoothie that may or may not be made from a deadly island fruit? And, perhaps most importantly, whose body ends up in the water? Fans will have to tune in on Sunday night for all these answers.

Streaming on: Max

Kevin Bacon stars as a resurrected bounty hunter in "The Bondsman."

Kevin Bacon adds another credit to his lengthy acting career with "The Bondsman," a gory series set in motion by bounty hunter Hub Halloran (Bacon) being brought back to life by the devil and tasked with hunting demons.

Streaming on: Prime Video

For a true crime fix, watch "Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer."

The three-part documentary re-examines the lengthy search for the Long Island Serial Killer who targeted women, primarily sex workers, and unpacks the key evidence that led law enforcement to arrest Rex Heuermann in connection to the Gilgo Beach killings in 2023.

Heuermann was charged with the murders of seven women and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case is ongoing.

Streaming on: Netflix

• I made a baked potato in the microwave, air fryer, and oven to test the different cooking methods.
• The microwave ended up being the least reliable method, and the oven results were just OK.
• Overall, making a baked potato in an air fryer was the winning method.

A perfectly cooked baked potato is a satisfying side or even main course, depending on how you dress it up.

Ideally, you want a fluffy middle and a nicely seasoned, crispy outer skin. But there are a lot of cooking methods out there that won't yield these results.

In an effort to find the best way to cook a baked potato, I tried three different methods using a microwave, air fryer, and oven. For each one, I used a cleaned russet potato, oil, and simple seasonings.

First, I used a quick microwave method to cook my potato

Using the microwave took almost zero effort.

The only downside was having to poke the uncooked potato with a fork, which wasn't super easy and slowed me down a bit.

I also didn't like worrying about if I pricked it enough times to ensure it wouldn't pop in the microwave. 

After poking the potato about 10 times, I put it in the microwave on high for five minutes, turned it over, and cooked it for another five.

The potato came out dry and almost chalky

I ended up overcooking the potato, which led to a dry, unappealing final product.

Because every microwave has different settings and heat strengths, it was hard to find the right instructions to make an evenly cooked baked potato. 

For my second variation, I cooked the potato in an air fryer

I liked using the air fryer because I didn't have to poke my potato a bunch of times for airflow.

All I did was spray it with cooking oil, season it with garlic salt, and pop it in the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

It came out crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside

I checked it halfway to make sure it wasn't burning and used tongs to rotate the potato for an even fry.

After 45 minutes, the skin was crispy and the potato was done.

When I cut it open, I was shocked at how evenly cooked it was. The potato was easy to fluff, and the skin had a great texture and flavor.

The last method I tested out involved baking the potato in the oven

I used a fork to poke 12 holes all over the potato so moisture could escape while it cooked.

Poking the fork in and out of the spud was just as labor-intensive as it was with the microwave method, mainly because the fork kept getting stuck.

Before I placed it in the oven, I coated the potato in oil and salt. Then I cooked it right on the oven rack for an hour at 350 F. 

The potato turned out OK, but it didn't beat the air-fryer variety

After an hour in the oven, the potato was done.

It came out relatively fluffy on the inside, but it wasn't as evenly cooked as the air-fryer method.

Out of the 3 appliances I tried, the air fryer was my favorite

The air-fried potato came out perfectly.

It was evenly cooked — fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside — which gave the potato a great shape. The crispness of the skin also made it ideal for stuffing with hearty toppings.

Click to check out the other appliances we've put head-to-head so far.

• I spent four days in Athens, Greece, while traveling around Europe. 
• Stumbling upon the National Garden was such a treat, and I loved learning about the Acropolis. 
• On the other hand, I'm not sure the Roman Agora or Hadrian's Library are worth a visit. 

In 2023, I traveled to Athens, Greece, for the first time since I was 18 months old. 

I spent four days exploring some of the city's amazing landmarks and sites. But even though I didn't pay for all of the attractions — because some are free for EU citizens 25 and under — there are a few I wouldn't spend time on again. 

If you're currently planning a trip, here's everything that was worth the time and money and the few things I'd skip on my next trip.

I was glad I happened upon Athens National Garden.

I happened upon the National Garden kind of by accident when I was looking for some green space to run in. It's completely free to visit and perfect for a walk, jog, or run.

The space is very peaceful and also has ponds with lots of turtles. I ended up going back a few days later to sit and read in the shade.

The Acropolis is definitely worth it, especially in the morning.

The Acropolis, which I'd consider the main tourist attraction in Athens, is a must-visit.

The citadel contains several ancient buildings, most notably the Parthenon. I was told to start waiting in line around 7:30 a.m. (it opens at 8), and it was well worth the time and effort.

It got busy — and hot — really quickly. I couldn't imagine going any later, and I ended up being able to take a nap afterward anyway. 

I wasn't too sure about Mount Lycabettus, but the views won me over.

One day, I planned to go to Mount Lycabettus (the highest point in Athens) so I could watch the sunset. I thought I'd allotted enough time, but everyone seemed to have the same idea since there was a huge line when I arrived.

Truthfully, I was a bit disappointed by the tram ride, and when I got to the top, I was overwhelmed by how many people there were. But the view made it worth it.

I ended up staying for dinner and had a delicious meal of Greek salad, moussaka, and white wine for about $16.

I'm so glad I paid to run along the track at Panathenaic Stadium.

The stadium is cool on its own — it dates back to 600 BC and is the only marble stadium in the world.

I went early in the morning, during the designated running hours of 7:30 to 9 a.m., and got to run around the track.

It's only about $10 to enter (I paid the student price of $5), and it was one of my favorite things I did on my trip to Greece.

Kerameikos Archaeological Site is one of the coolest cemeteries I've ever seen.

I had pretty low expectations going in, as I've seen my fair share of cemeteries, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

The tombstones were pillar-shaped, and there were great views of the Parthenon from this area.

If you're doing the Acropolis, make sure to swing through Plaka afterward.

It's worth walking around the neighborhood surrounding the Acropolis.

There are great taverns with traditional Greek food and places to buy all the souvenirs your heart desires. I really enjoyed wandering around and exploring some of the picturesque side streets.

Even after seeing the real deal, I got a lot out of the Acropolis Museum.

I'm not usually a big museum person, but the Acropolis Museum is definitely worth a visit.

I went after I'd already seen the landmark, and it gave me good context. It houses many artifacts that were excavated from the site.

Areopagus Hill provided stunning views for free.

Behind the Acropolis is a prominent rock outcropping. It can be a slippery and steep walk up, but the views of the Acropolis and the surrounding area are breathtaking.

Entrance to the hill and its surrounding park is also completely free.

I could feel history at the Ancient Agora of Athens.

The Athenian Agora is one of the best-known examples of a traditional Greek meeting place. It had great views of the Acropolis and was beautifully adorned with trees and other ruins.

I was especially impressed by how well the Temple of Hephaestus was preserved. There's also a museum, and the second floor has a nice balcony where you can look out over the agora

I'm glad I swung by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Many of the attractions in Athens date back centuries, but the tomb is much more contemporary.

Dedicated to Greek soldiers killed in war, the tomb itself is visually quite simple. But there are guards that stand in traditional garb, which reminded me of Buckingham Palace.

It's also pretty central — right next to the National Garden — so I didn't have to go out of the way to see it.

Next time, I'd skip Monastiraki Flea Market and shop in Plaka instead.

I was excited to go to a flea market but was quite disappointed to find that this one didn't sell anything much different than the rows of stores in Plaka.

I will say that the square near the market had good views of the Parthenon, but I was able to see similar angles from other places in the city. 

After seeing the Athenian Agora, I'd skip the Roman Agora on future trips.

In contrast to the Athenian Agora, the Roman version wasn't much to write home about.

The gate at the front is kind of cool, but I think could just look from the outside instead of spending time going in. 

Hadrian's Library didn't wow me.

I didn't find the "library" all that special. The ruin isn't really a building, just pillars.

And like the Roman Agora, you could easily just peek through the gates to get a good sense of the place.

I wanted to love the Temple of Zeus, but I was a little underwhelmed.

I was excited to see a temple devoted to the King of the Gods, but it was kind of disappointing.

To be fair, the temple was under construction when I went — but I felt that there wasn't a ton to look at, regardless.

The Lyceum of Aristotle isn't all that exciting, and it's far from everything else.

The original Lyceum of Aristotle was destroyed. All that's left of it is a few ruins that were discovered about 30 years ago.

It's relatively new since it wasn't opened to the public until 2009, but I felt like it wasn't worth the walk since it was far from most of the other landmarks.

This story was originally published on November 12, 2023, and most recently updated on April 7, 2025.

• The cost of groceries has been going up and affecting families like mine.
• We are trying to plan ahead, and built what I call a tariff pantry to keep our spending down.
• I buy what I can afford and always check the clearance aisle.

Whether you've seen Mark Cuban's advice to go to Walmart and buy "lots of consumables" before prices increase or how some Americans are already stockpiling goods, you may be wondering whether to prepare for the potential impact of upcoming tariffs on your family

We have been bracing for rising costs since the election results came in. My husband and I have spent the last four months building what we started calling our "tariff pantry." If the prices of groceries and household necessities continue to rise, and our paychecks remain the same, it will bust our budget It's time to get creative.

What's a tariff pantry?

It's always been important for us to keep an emergency reserve of food on hand in case of a natural disaster, as we live in Indiana with power outages in the winter and tornadoes in the spring. Starting in November 2024, our family and several of our friends decided it was time to take that a bit further. We started building "tariff pantries."

Assuming tariffs raise prices, we will have a good reserve of food and household supplies on hand to fall back on. The right amount to have on hand varies from household to household. Some friends are stocking up on emergency rations in case of major disruptions, but others are just keeping an extra week or two of groceries in the house.

Here's my approach: If I can have a pantry full of groceries and household supplies now, then I can save money later when costs have increased. If milk skyrockets in price, I can still buy it but keep my overall spending low if I already have other essentials at home.

I've used some basic calorie calculations (2000 calories per adult per day) to set aside five to six weeks of food. Although my approach is to use this pantry to supplement my groceries, not as our sole source of food, having several weeks on hand seemed like a good way to calculate our options.

My 4 rules for quickly building a tariff pantry

It's tempting to run to Costco and buy everything I see, just in case we need it later. But that's not actually going to create any savings; if I load up a credit card with expenses I can't immediately pay off, I'm adding to my expenses, not saving anything.

That's why I've set up four rules for quickly building my food reserves.

1. Buy what you can afford.

This means your pantry, like mine, may not be stocked as quickly as someone else's, or with as much food. But a small emergency supply is better than none at all. Account for food storage needs, like mylar bags, mouse-proof plastic containers, and 5-gallon buckets.

2. The clearance aisle is your friend.

Instead of trying to master the art of couponing, I'm focused on finding clearance and sale items. I buy a little bit extra every time I go to the grocery store. Look for foods with a long shelf life and a distant expiration date.

Speaking of expiration dates, things that are about to expire aren't always the best for a long-term pantry. However, you can get household items like toothbrushes, shampoo, and cleaning supplies from the clearance section that have no expiration dates.

Apps like Flashfood can give you access to clearance-priced grocery store produce, meat, and dairy that is about to reach its "use by" date. If you have freezer space, you can purchase and freeze these items for long-term use. I've added quite a bit of meat to my deep freezer using this method. Use this Food Safety Chart to learn the best timeframe for freezing foods safely.

3. Think beyond the grocery store.

I'm committed to having a garden again this year. I've often had a hobby garden that costs more than it helps me save, but my garden has to work harder this year. To save costs, I'm starting plants from seeds instead of buying established plants later in the season---I've already started vegetables in peat pots indoors.

Consider what resources may be available in your area. For example, a local Amish grocery store near us often has great prices on seasonings, jams, baking supplies, and canning supplies. Some items, like bulk products from Costco or local suppliers, can be shared with friends.

A good friend of mine doesn't have the space or time to garden this year, so she's arranging to trade some of her skills for extra produce from friends' gardens.

4. Remember Covid-era lessons.

I find myself thinking back to those early pandemic days lately. When we suddenly had to stop going to the grocery store, we learned a lot of lessons about what to have on hand.

This isn't an opportunity to practice over-consumption or hoarding — rather, it's a time to be intentional about what we have in stock. For example, don't buy things because you think you might start baking bread or cooking beans from scratch and changing everything about the way you eat. Also, focus on what your family eats, not what others add to their pantry.

In our family, the point of a tariff pantry is to create a buffer between our spending and the impact of tariffs. By responsibly storing food based on what we actually need and can afford, we're keeping our costs down. More importantly, we're giving ourselves some peace of mind at a time when we have little control.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to shield his state from retaliatory tariffs.
• Many countries are considering what to do in response to President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day."
• Newsom's actions reignite the long-running feud between the nation's most populous state and Trump.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said he will seek to talk to world leaders about why they should exempt his state from retaliatory actions to President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs.

"TO OUR TRADING PARTNERS AROUND THE GLOBE — California is here and ready to talk," Newsom wrote on X. "We will not sit idly by during Trump's tariff war."

In a video accompanying his message, Newsom said, "Donald Trump's tariffs do not represent all Americans."

"Today, I have directed my administration to look a new opportunities to expand trade and to remind our trading partners around the global that California remains a stable partner," Newsom said.

Trump roiled markets on Wednesday when he announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" for a long list of nations, including the European Union, South Korea, Japan, and India. China was hit particularly hard because Trump's latest round of tariffs was combined with existing ones, bringing the total on Chinese goods to 54%. Stocks continued to crater on Friday, with the Dow down roughly 4% as of the afternoon.

It's California v. Trump, again

Newsom's comments reignite the long-running feud between the nation's most populous state and Trump. The White House wasted little time firing back.

"Gavin Newsom should focus on out-of-control homelessness, crime, regulations, and unaffordability in California instead of trying his hand at international dealmaking," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.

A potential 2028 challenger, Newsom is also coming close to, if not outright crossing, the legal line between federal and state power.

Trump's first administration sued California after then-Gov. Jerry Brown brokered a climate change agreement with the Canadian province of Québec after Trump announced his intention to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accord. California won at the lower-court level, but the dispute was never fully resolved when President Joe Biden's Justice Department dropped the case in April 2021.

Newsom is on dicey legal grounds

Presidents have sweeping tariff powers, but the actual line between what states can do with foreign countries is a little hazy.

The Constitution requires states to obtain congressional approval "to enter into any Agreement or Compact" with a foreign country. Yet, many states have ignored that for decades, and lawmakers haven't seemed to mind.

As Curtis A. Bradley, a law professor at the University of Chicago, wrote in 2023, the federal government has sometimes encouraged states to strike their deals.

"In practice, U.S. states almost never seek congressional approval for their agreements with foreign governments, and the number of unapproved agreements has been growing substantially in recent years," Bradley wrote.

Many states send trade delegations overseas. In the past, some have also sought to restrict business with specific countries, most notably during the anti-Apartheid movement against South Africa in the 1980s.

In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Massachusetts could not on its own prohibit its government agencies from conducting business with Burma since Congress had already passed sanctions on Myanmar.

Congress has the ultimate power to check Trump's tariffs, but Republicans have proved reluctant to do so. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to block Trump's tariffs on Canada, though that bill is not expected to pass the Republican-controlled House.

• I took a three-hour, one-way trip from Miami International to Newark on Spirit Airlines.
• The total for the trip was $9.97 through a third-party website.
• The flight didn't include refreshments or a carry-on bag.

I might've hit the budget airline jackpot.

I have taken plenty of budget flights before, with my previous record being a $50 flight from Miami to Los Angeles in 2021. But while looking for a flight to New York, I found a fare I originally thought to be a scam.

The Spirit Airlines flight from Miami International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, a short drive from Manhattan, cost me under $10, although it was limited in some ways.

The basic economy ticket meant I couldn't bring or purchase carry-on bags, and there were no refreshments on the flight. It was late, too, which made for a tiring trip, but for $9.97 total, I'd do it again without a doubt.

I found the flight while looking through available routes from Miami to New York.

While planning to travel up to the city during the first half of April, I compared dozens of different flight options.

I didn't have a defined budget, but I knew I wanted to opt for lower-priced options. Of the budget-friendly airlines, I had traveled with both Spirit and Frontier before and had good experiences, so I was open to both.

My priority filter was departure and arrival time. I wanted something that wouldn't interfere with my work schedule. That meant that the earliest flight I could take on a weekday would depart by 7 p.m. and the latest would arrive by 7 a.m.

With those filters, and while playing with Google Flights' different filters, sorting, and price comparison tools for the first week of April, a surprising price appeared at the top of my screen.

The one-way flight from Miami to Newark was listed as $10, although booking options showed that the total would actually be $20 if booked through the airline's website directly.

The flight was scheduled to depart Miami at 9:51 p.m. and arrive in New Jersey at 12:59 a.m.

I wanted to be flexible in my schedule and get the best deal on my return flight as well, so I waited until later to book my return, which I would also buy as a one-way ticket.

At first I wasn't too trusting of the third-party website, but I booked it anyway.

The third-party website offering the $10 fare was called eDreams. I had never heard of it.

I knew there were risks associated with booking through third-party retailers. For example, if the airline cancels or delays the flight, it might not be possible to get a refund or reach a customer service representative.

After looking up reviews on forum websites like Reddit and Quora, I figured it was safe enough to book the flight through them. After all, if it turned out to be phony, it would only be a $10 gamble.

Accepting the risk of booking through a third-party website, which I had never done for flights before, I bought my ticket.

Once confirmed, the flight seemed legit.

After receiving the airline's confirmation email, my initial doubts faded. The email looked like others I had received before. Plus, I was able to log into my account with the airline and see the upcoming trip.

I found it curious that on Spirit's confirmation email, the total for the flight was different than what I actually paid.

While only $9.97 left my bank account, in the email, Spirit listed the total as $19.30, which is close to what it would've cost to book through their website.

I could only bring a personal item.

Once the flight was confirmed, I reviewed the conditions of the ultra-cheap fare.

Under the airline's basic economy option, I wasn't allowed to bring a carry-on bag, although checked bags were available for purchase for $75.

Committed to traveling on as low a budget as possible, I opted to only bring with me a personal item bag, which I was allowed. The bag, defined a backpack or a laptop bag, needed to fit under the seat on the airplane, measuring 18 x 14 x 8 inches at a maximum.

With the size limitation, I had to be strategic about what I packed.

Preparing for a 10-day trip, I had to strategize how I used my personal item luggage.

I bought $22 bag on Amazon that had come up a lot on my TikTok feed. Users recommended it as a travel bag, and it fit within the airline's limitations.

Although the expandable bag should fit comfortably within the measurements, I was scared that expanding the bottom by a few inches would make it larger than what was acceptable to bring aboard.

I was also nervous about over-stuffing the bag. I had previously read reports of airline agents deciding personal item bags were too big at the door and charging an additional fee for carry-on luggage, although I had never had that happen to me.

Wary of how I utilized space, I decided to pack only the necessities and keep items in mind I could take out if needed to close the extended compartment.

I packed a capsule wardrobe with work and casual outfits.

With my trip schedule revolving around going to the office and meeting up with friends in the city after work, I packed a capsule wardrobe of outfits I could dress up or down during the day.

I brought a limited color palette that could be worn in different ways, using green as the signature color and light and dark neutrals as the bulk of what I packed.

For the 10 days, I packed four white tops and blouses, four darker tops and blouses, three work pants (black, cream, and khaki), two skirts (grey and green), one workout set, two pairs of comfortable, office-friendly shoes, one pair of sneakers, a big work bag, and a smaller purse for going out.

I kept toiletries and electronics to a minimum, only bringing products in small pouches and limiting myself to one small bag for the rest of my makeup and toiletries.

I also packed strategically, putting all the shoes at the bottom and fitting socks in between them, then arranging clothes in space-saving ways and using the purse for extra storage space within the bag.

I wore the other half of my luggage to the airport.

Wearing my bulkiest items and layering for maximized stuff-bringing, I layered my workout set under a pair of wide-leg jeans and a thick knit sweater, which I topped with a leather blazer (with books and other essentials in every pocket). I also wore a pair of boots and a scarf to the airport.

The outfit was efficient and beyond well equipped for the 45-degree weather waiting for me in New Jersey, but it was certainly too hot for the 79-degree Miami that I was departing. I ended up taking off the scarf and jacket in the Miami airport and carrying them along with me during the flight as well.

Despite carrying 10 days worth of clothes, my bag fit in the personal item bin.

After much anticipation and preparation — including arriving at the airport extra early, identifying items I'd be OK leaving behind and asking my ride to wait until I could confirm my bag fit — I dropped my slightly overstuffed bag carrying 10 days worth of clothes into the measuring bin. It fit!

I might've had to push it down into the compartment quite a bit in order for it to fit, but after getting a thumbs-up from an airline agent, I was on my way to check in with no luggage fees.

Check-in was easy at a surprisingly quiet Miami International Airport.

Having traveled out of Miami International, my home base airport, dozens of times, I was very surprised by how quiet and empty the airport was.

It may have been the departure time — my flight had been pushed back by about an hour to 10:50 p.m. It was also a middle-of-the-week night, which tends to be quieter, SimpleFlying.com reported.

Being able to go through a line-less TSA check-in in under 10 minutes made my travel experience all the better.

Once on the plane, the staff was friendly, and the aircraft was clean.

Once at the gate, the airline personnel were organized, friendly, and eager to start a conversation. One flight attendant asked about the book I was reading.

The friendly service was made even better by the seamless boarding process, which took under 30 minutes for all groups.

Being in basic economy, I was in the second-to-last group to board. Not many of the people at the gate seemed to board during the first four groups, usually reserved for first- and business-class seats.

While seating, the crew made an announcement about the flight not being too crowded and asked passengers not to seat themselves in the empty seats for weight distribution purposes.

I didn't select my seat, leaving me with an aisle seat near the back of the plane.

I opted out of the airline's seat selection option, as it came with an extra fee, and I was too committed to traveling for under $10.

The seat I was assigned was near the back of the plane in an aisle seat, which gave me some extra space.

The seats themselves weren't the most comfortable, but they were bearable enough for a three-hour midnight flight.

The legroom wasn't too bad, and my bag comfortably fit under the seat.

Once in my seat, I put my personal item bag under the seat in front of me and made myself comfortable.

While the legroom itself wasn't too bad, I didn't have much space for my feet with my luggage under the seat. Thankfully, having the aisle seat meant I could extend my legs a bit to the side during the flight, making it more comfortable.

The flight didn't have complimentary snacks or drinks, but they were available for purchase.

While the basic economy ticket did not include refreshments, a snack and menu drink were available, including sweet and savory bites, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, as well as packages offering a combination of all.

Unlike what I had expected, the prices of the items were good and not too inflated, although I wish they had been included with the flight.

Snacks and soft drinks cost between $3.35 and $5.49, and alcohol ranged from $9.49 for a can of beer to $12.49 for a small bottle of brut sparkling wine.

WiFi was also available for purchase on the flight for $8.

I thought of getting some tea to help me fall asleep during the flight, but I fell asleep before the crew started offering refreshments.

The flight was peaceful, and I slept the entire time.

Even with the slightly uncomfortable seats, I was able to find a way to make myself comfortable and nap during the flight, as were the people around me. Some rested their heads against the seat in front of them or reclined against the windows.

I woke up once we were close to landing as the lights came on and the crew promoted the airline's credit card offers.

The most expensive part of the trip was the ride from the airport.

Arriving at a quiet Newark Liberty International Airport at around 1:30 a.m., a few minutes earlier than programmed, I found my way to the rideshare lot. I called a Lyft to take me to my final destination in Manhattan's Washington Heights, about a 30-minute ride away.

The ride cost $66.91 plus tip, but based on other airport rides I've had, I thought the price wasn't too bad.

Overall, the experience was great and totally worth its value price. The friendly crew, efficient boarding and arrival, quiet airports, and schedule-friendly timing made the trip everything I needed it to be for a quick trip. If the same route had that price every day, I'd be super-super-commuting

• President Donald Trump announced on Friday he would extend the TikTok ban deadline.
• TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, originally had until April 5 to divest its US operations.
• Companies like Amazon have expressed interest in buying TikTok, but no deal has yet been made.

TikTok will live to see another day. Or another 75 days, to be exact.

President Donald Trump said Friday he would sign an executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to find a new buyer or face removal from US app stores, which would effectively amount to a ban in the United States.

This is the second time Trump has extended the deadline. He first issued a reprieve for TikTok in January, after his inauguration, giving the company until April 5 to figure it out.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said he would now give TikTok another 75 days to work out a deal.

"We do not want TikTok to go dark," Trump wrote. "We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal."

After the first deadline passed, TikTok briefly went dark for its 170 million American users before Trump granted the extension and ByteDance restored service.

The app's uncertainty in the United States began in 2020 when the first Trump administration announced it was considering banning TikTok due to national security concerns.

Last year, Congress passed a bill requiring the app's sale, which former President Joe Biden signed into law. However, the Biden administration left it up to Trump to enforce the ban since the January deadline occurred after Biden left office.

Companies vying for TikTok

Several individuals and companies have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok's US operations. The list includes "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and YouTube content creator MrBeast. O'Leary and Ohanian joined The People's Bid, a consortium of buyers organized by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. This week, Amazon also made a last-minute offer. TikTok's US operations are estimated to have a sale value of $40 billion to $50 billion.

Any sale of TikTok would need approval from the Chinese government, which is now locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war with the United States. Trump said this week that the combined 54% tariffs he's levied against China would give him leverage in negotiations over TikTok.

"We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!)," Trump wrote on Truth Social in the same post announcing the TikTok extension.

Representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• A judge ordered the Trump administration to stop freezing FEMA grants to states.
• The ruling followed a lawsuit 22 states and Washington, DC, brought against the administration.
• The judge found the administration was "covertly" violating a previous court order.

A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday once again ordered the Trump administration to stop its freeze of Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to states.

US District Judge John McConnell agreed with the Democratic attorneys general for 22 states and Washington, DC, who brought a lawsuit against the administration, and ruled the administration was in violation of a previous court order.

The AGs alleged that FEMA was still freezing funds to states in violation of the court's previous preliminary injunction, while the administration argued the agency was only implementing a "manual review process."

In the judge's 15-page order on Friday, he wrote that the states have presented evidence that "strongly suggests FEMA is implementing this manual review process based, covertly," on one of President Donald Trump's day-one executive orders that targeted sanctuary jurisdictions.

"The record makes clear that FEMA's manual review process imposes an indefinite pause on the disbursement of federal funds to the States, based on funding freezes dictated" in part by Trump's executive order, McConnell wrote in the order.

McConnell added that FEMA's manual review process violated the court's preliminary injunction order issued last month.

The judge ruled that the Trump administration "must immediately comply with the plain text" of his preliminary injunction order "not to pause or otherwise impede the disbursement of appropriated federal funds to the States."

McConnell also ordered FEMA to direct notice of his order and of the court's preliminary injunction order to FEMA's leadership and all agency staff who administer grants and other federal financial assistance.

"FEMA shall provide confirmation of these notices, including the names of recipients of the notice, no later than 48 hours after this Order," the judge wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.

Federal judges have already ruled against the Trump administration several times in the lawsuits brought against it since Trump was sworn in for a second term.

But legal experts told BI that judges have no real power to enforce their decisions.

"The president has much more force at his disposal than do the courts," Cornell Law School professor Michael Dorf previously told BI.

• Hinge Health is considering delaying its IPO plans amid a plunging stock market.
• The physical therapy startup still hopes its "recession-proof" model will draw investor attention.
• Some tech companies, including Klarna and StubHub, have reportedly already delayed their IPO plans.

The physical therapy startup Hinge Health is considering delaying its IPO as the public markets plunge in response to President Donald Trump's tariff plans, Business Insider has learned.

But the startup hopes to forge ahead with its spring initial public offering timeline, as a provider of critical health services.

In March, Hinge Health filed its S-1 form to go public and hoped to start pitching investors toward the end of April, a person familiar with the efforts said.

After Trump announced sweeping retaliatory tariffs on Wednesday— sending the public markets into a frenzy — Hinge Health could be forced to reassess those plans.

Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs are set to range from 10% to 50% on imported goods from about 90 countries, the president said Wednesday. Since that announcement, the S&P 500 has plunged more than 9%.

Hinge Health had hoped to go public sometime in April or May, keeping its plans flexible with the market volatility in mind, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with the press.

This person said Hinge would still seek to go public unless it couldn't draw investors' attention away from the volatility in their portfolios. The startup has plenty of cash on its balance sheet and doesn't need the IPO proceeds to finance the business, they said.

A representative for Hinge Health declined to comment.

It appears Hinge isn't the only startup considering delaying its IPO plans. The payments platform Klarna and the online ticket marketplace StubHub both put their plans on ice following the tariffs announcement, The Wall Street Journal said. The outlet added that Klarna and StubHub planned to pitch public investors on their respective IPOs next week but decided to postpone their road shows after the past two days of market volatility.

Klarna and StubHub both declined to comment to BI.

Healthcare's IPO drought

Hinge Health would be the first healthcare delivery startup to go public in nearly three years. The IPO market has been decidedly closed for digital health startups since 2021, and the healthcare companies from that year's IPOs haven't performed well on the public markets.

The San Francisco company launched in 2014 to provide virtual care for joint and muscle pain. It's raised more than $1 billion from venture capitalists, including Tiger Global, Coatue, Insight Partners, and Atomico, including a $400 million Series E in October 2021 at a $6.2 billion valuation.

The company's public S-1 filing in March showed a strong financial profile for a healthcare startup. It reported $390 million in revenue in 2024, up 33% from the previous year's revenue, and a 77% gross margin. It's not profitable but getting close, recording $45 million of free cash flow in 2024 but a net loss of $11.9 million for the full year.

The person familiar with Hinge Health's IPO plans said the startup's business is somewhat recession-proof as a healthcare benefits provider that can help drive cost savings for employers. Hinge Health also doesn't charge copays for its services, which the person said makes its platform more compelling when the cost of living surges.

Hinge Health isn't the only healthcare startup hoping for a public market debut. Omada Health confidentially filed its S-1 this past summer, BI reported in October. Hinge Health's rival Sword Health has also expressed interest in going public when the IPO window reopens for healthcare companies.

Jyoti Mann contributed to this report.

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• Apple faces $40 billion in tariff costs due to new US tariffs on China and Vietnam, an analyst says.
• The tariffs could lead to a 40% price increase on iPhones, impacting demand and sales.
• China's retaliatory tariffs add pressure on Apple in the competitive Greater China market.

Apple has some decisions to make.

President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Wednesday that will disrupt the supply chain for many businesses. For Apple, the 54% tariff rate on China and a 46% tariff on Vietnam present a challenge: analysts estimate the vast majority of its product line is made in the two countries.

If things continue as they are now, Apple is on track to face $40 billion in tariff costs, Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a note. The tech giant will have to decide if it will try to offset the fees by raising iPhone prices.

Crockett and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives predict a roughly 40% price increase on tech devices to ease the impact of the tariffs. iPhones could get more expensive at the same time that Apple is pushing for more demand. Apple shares were down more than 8% at market close following Trump's announcement — its largest one-day drop in five years.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The iPhone 16 starts at $799. A 43% price increase, as Rosenblatt estimated, would bring it up to $1,142 before taxes — $50 cheaper than the most expensive iPhone in Apple's current lineup. For the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max, which costs up to $1,599, a 43% bump would put it at just under $2,300, according to BI's calculations.

Shifting production to the US likely won't save consumers either, Ives said. He estimates that an iPhone made in the US would cost $3,500. However, Crockett wrote that the shift isn't feasible for the immediate future.

China swiftly clapped back at Trump's tariffs with its own on Friday. Beginning April 10, US imports to China will be charged a 34% tariff. It presents yet another challenge for Apple in the crucial Greater China market where it's faced increasing competition from local smartphone makers.

• "A Minecraft Movie" is getting mixed reviews, with one critic calling it the worst film of the year so far.
• The film is reportedly expected to gross over $130 million in its opening weekend.
• "A Minecraft Movie" hits the sweet spot of appealing to both parents and kids.

"A Minecraft Movie," based on the second best-selling video game of all time after Tetris, is out on Friday and has received wildly mixed reviews: from scathing to positive.

But industry experts told Business Insider audiences will likely flock to cinemas regardless.

"Minecraft" is the latest video game to be adapted for the big screen. While 2005's "Doom" and 1993's "Super Mario Bros." were critical and commercial failures, more recent efforts have proved lucrative.

In 2023, "The Super Mario Bros" movie grossed over a billion dollars, despite negative reviews, and "The Last Of Us," which premiered on HBO that year, won eight Emmys — showing that game adaptations can be successful.

But reviews of "A Minecraft Movie" that dropped on Wednesday ahead of its release didn't mince words. The film, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, follows a group of adults and children who are pulled through a portal to the world of Minecraft and must try to find their way home.

While some critics praised Momoa's performance and said film was fun and had great comedic moments, others called it generic and boring.

Nich Schager, a critic for Daily Beast, described the film as "an absolute disaster even gaming fans will hate."

A review by Jasmine Valentine, a critic for the video game and entertainment news website Dexerto, went viral after she called it "the worst film of the year."

Regardless, Deadline and Variety reported this week, citing unnamed box office tracking services, that the film was predicted to gross between $130 and $150 million globally on its opening weekend. It cost $150 million to make.

This would made it the second-highest-grossing debut of a Western film in 2025, albeit in a particularly poor year for the box office so far.

That could be because "A Minecraft Movie" hits the sweet spot of appealing to parents and kids, Rob Mitchell, the director of theatrical insights at the film industry research firm Gower Street Analytics, told Business Insider.

It's "a film older generations might know the IP of, but that is suitable and fun for kids. It has 'family audience' appeal because everyone can go," he said.

"The timing, at the start of Easter holidays in many countries, is also excellent," he added, as children will have time to fill during spring break.

Jezz Vernon, a London-based film producer and a senior lecturer in film and industry studies at the University of Exeter, UK, said that parents will be seeking "cost-effective" activities to entertain their kids and themselves.

"The Jason Momoa character in Minecraft is aesthetically 'stuck' in the eighties, which will pass by a 12-year-old as a reference — but is a dose of nostalgic humor for the adult audience," he said.

So it's unlikely that bad, or even good, reviews will make much of a difference at the box office. "Electronic word of mouth" is more important when it comes to a film becoming a hit and profitable enough to trigger sequels, Vernon said.

"While the angle taken for the film is not likely to appeal to all gamers, they will likely make up their minds based on marketing, not reviews, so that's a big potential audience," Mitchell added. What would be a worry is if general audiences don't like it, which could result in a big drop in ticket sales after the first week.

"Marketing can only build the initial opening weekend — but the longer term success of a film is all word of mouth," Vernon said.

Critic's negative reviews can of course coincide with a film flopping, such as Disney's "Snow White" remake, a blockbuster marketing toward children that is struggling to break even after premiering last month.

But "Snow White" was mired in multiple controversies in the past two years, and the IP it's based on is a lot older and "less connected to its current core younger audience" than Minecraft, Mitchell said.

Critics may not unanimously love "A Minecraft Movie," but it could be just the thing to give the film industry a boost in the run-up to the summer blockbuster season.