Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (June 3 to 9, 2018)
editPrepared with commentary by Igordebraga
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After a few weeks without high-profile deaths, June barely started and two celebrities hung themselves within a few days of each other: Anthony Bourdain got the higher views, but Kate Spade brought in more family members to the list. Otherwise, there are six movies (one from India), two Google Doodles, Netflix programmes aimed at teens, American sports finishing off their playoffs (four entries related to the anti-climactic basketball finals, one of the more competitive ice hockey one) while a sport the U.S. is still learning to like keeps its foothold (the FIFA World Cup, which is expected to dominate upcoming lists), someone who might enter the ever-present death list, and one article that is somehow also becoming a mainstay, the K-pop group EXO.
For the week of June 3 to 9, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
Rank Article Class Views Image Notes 1 Anthony Bourdain 6,094,775 The chef famous for food travelogue shows such as No Reservations and Parts Unknown took his own life by hanging himself in a hotel room. Tributes for Bourdain emerged from everywhere, including the current and previous Presidents of the United States. 2 Kate Spade 4,231,518 Three days before Bourdain, another celebrity had hung herself, namely a fashion designer known for her accessories (i.e. handbags and wallets sold for hefty prices). 3 Andy Spade 1,318,774 The widower of Kate (#2), who was also her partner in the company Kate Spade New York. 4 Virginia Apgar 1,219,385 Google released a Doodle homaging the obstetrician who created the Apgar score, used to summarize the health of newborn children. 5 LeBron James 979,980 Sometimes, you can't do everything by yourself. Playing his eighth consecutive NBA final and ninth overall, LeBron was accomplishing the usual high numbers for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but facing a team stacked on all-stars while your teammates are underwhelming (to the point of stupidity) didn't go well, and he suffered a 4-0 sweep. Fans and the media now speculate if "King James" will jump ship. 6 Asia Argento 952,199 This Italian actress, daughter of horror director Dario Argento, was dating Anthony Bourdain (#1) until his tragic death. 7 David Spade 939,932 How many people were surprised to learn that this comedian (known for Saturday Night Live, Just Shoot Me! and movies with friends Chris Farley and Adam Sandler) was actually related to the recently deceased Kate Spade (#2) through his brother Andy (#3)? 8 2018 FIFA World Cup 932,385 Thursday is the day where most football fans will start having their lives in Moscow Time to follow the biggest event of their sport. 9 Avengers: Infinity War 823,796 It's official, the 19th Marvel movie has broken $2 billion worldwide. In the meantime, wonder if it will still be on this list as the 20th hits theaters in July. 10 Deaths in 2018 776,366 This week's list is topped by two recent entries on this article, so no surprise it remains in the top 10. 11 Stephen Curry 756,923 The franchise player for the Golden State Warriors contributed many of his trademark three-point shots as he won his third championship over LeBron James (#5) and the Cavaliers. Seriously, the last four finals have featured those teams! 12 Rachel Brosnahan 748,783 Kate Spade (#2) was actually born Katherine Noel Brosnahan, thus bringing attention to her niece actress Rachel, currently playing the protagonist of TV series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 13 List of NBA champions 747,856 A very exclusive club: 12 of the 30 teams in the league never got a championship, while the 2018 title by the Golden State Warriors means 45 of the 70 seasons were won by only four teams (17 by the Celtics, 16 by the Lakers, 6 by both the Warriors and the Bulls, the latter led by the best player ever). 14 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 716,857 The latest Jurassic Park installment has premiered in many international markets (though not mine) two weeks ahead of hitting theaters in North America. 15 Kevin Durant 669,299 In 2016, Durant decided that instead of trying to beat our #11 (both are pictured), he should just join him and get that elusive championship ring. It has now worked twice in a row, both times with Durant being chosen as the Finals MVP. 16 Exo (band) 653,652 Yet another week with this K-Pop act in the list. 17 Solo: A Star Wars Story 649,970 Solo has gotten positive reviews and $315 million worldwide, a number that would've great for any movie that didn't bear a Star Wars connection (after all, the last movies easily broke that in single weekends). Not that the studio should complain, given Infinity War (#9) is already stuffing their coffers. 18 Alexander Ovechkin 634,229 Unlike the NBA (#5, #11, #13, #15), the National Hockey League has offered parity and surprising results. The 2018 Stanley Cup Finals were contested between the expansion team Vegas Golden Knights and perennial underachiever Washington Capitals, who finally won the big one after 44 years of existence riding the goals and assists of Alexander Ovechkin, who became the first Russian captain to lift the Stanley Cup and was chosen as MVP of the playoffs. 19 Tom Longboat 573,974 Google again, this time homaging a Canadian athlete, who in spite of the surname was a long-distance runner. 20 Hereditary (film) 573,740 The United States box office was led by the fun heist film Ocean's 8, yet that narrowly missed the list at #27, behind fourth place debut Hereditary, a horror film where Toni Collette (pictured) is the mother of a family who gets haunted. Perhaps many of the views were by people who'd rather read our plot summary than getting frightened in theaters? 21 13 Reasons Why 537,820 The overall reception to the second season of this teenage drama was not positive, but with a third season confirmed by Netflix, maybe it can recover. 22 Charles Krauthammer 529,703 Syndicated columnist, author, political commentator, and former physician who managed it all while permanently paralyzed from the neck down, Krauthammer earned attention for unfortunately being a possible future entry in our #10, having announced the cancer he removed last year has returned and doctors have given Krauthammer only a few weeks to live. 23 Kaala (2018 film) 523,700 Been a while since an Indian movie entered this list, only this time it's from Tamil cinema, aka Kollywood. The action drama Kaala, starring Rajinikanth (pictured), has earned some crore in spite of intense debates and discussions over its politics. 24 Deadpool 2 496,096 The return of wisecracking mercenary Wade Wilson might be leaving the list, but has grossed $657 million worldwide so far. In the meantime, X-Men fans will have to wait until February for the next mutant movie. 25 Jacob Elordi 462,812 For all the attention garnered by 13 Reasons Why (#21), it can be a surprise that lighter Netflix fare that adapts teen books also manages to break into our list. The attention garnered by romantic comedy The Kissing Booth can be attested by how it became the fourth most sought title on IMDb (behind our numbers 24, 17 and 9) while its star, Elordi, topped the people list. The fact that he and co-star Joey King are now a couple must help too.
Exclusions
edit- This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.
- Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.