Most viewed Wikipedia articles on December 27 , 2015

Star Wars is an American epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. In 2020, its total value was estimated at US$70 billion, and it is currently the fifth-highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. Boxing Day is on 26 December, although the attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place either on that day or one or two days later. Boxing day is also concurrent with the Christian holiday Saint Stephen's Day.

Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley is an English actress who rose to international prominence through playing the lead role of Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

The Revenant is a 2015 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Iñárritu is based in part on Michael Punke's 2002 novel of the same name, which describes frontiersman Hugh Glass's experiences in 1823; that novel is, in turn, based on the 1915 poem The Song of Hugh Glass. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter.

And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as Ten Little Niggers, after the children's counting rhyme and minstrel song, which serves as a major element of the plot. A US edition was released in January 1940 with the title And Then There Were None, which is taken from the last five words of the song. All successive American reprints and adaptations use that title, except for the Pocket Books paperbacks published between 1964 and 1986, which appeared under the title Ten Little Indians.

Daniel Balsam is an American lawyer best known for his lawsuits against e-mail spammers for violations of Internet spam laws. Balsam has been filing lawsuits against spammers since 2002 and has earned over $1 million in court judgments. By filing lawsuits, Balsam aims to publicize the names of the principals who are profiting from spam advertising. He aims to make spamming less profitable and to cause companies to reconsider their decision to market products through spam. Balsam describes his practice as "cleaning up the Internet," although his critics accuse him of taking advantage of the legal system.

Baji Rao I, born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha empire. In his 20-year military career, he never lost a battle and is widely considered as one of the best Indian cavalry generals. His relationship with his half-Muslim wife Mastani, a subject of controversy, has been adapted in Indian novels and cinema.

Dilwale is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language romantic action comedy film produced by Gauri Khan and directed by Rohit Shetty. The film is distributed by Red Chillies Entertainment. The film's dialogue was written by Sajid-Farhad and the soundtrack was composed by Pritam. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in their seventh film together alongside Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles.

Steven Allan Avery is an American convicted murderer from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who had previously been wrongfully convicted in 1986 of sexual assault and attempted murder. After serving 18 years of a 32-year sentence, he was exonerated by DNA testing and released in 2003, only to be charged with murder two years later.

Joy Mangano is an American inventor and entrepreneur known for inventions such as the self-wringing Miracle Mop. She was the president of Ingenious Designs, LLC, and appeared regularly on the US television shopping channel HSN until her departure in late 2018.

Bajirao Mastani is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romance film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also composed its soundtrack. Jointly produced by Bhansali and Eros International's Kishore Lulla, the film stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. The supporting cast includes Tanvi Azmi, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi and Milind Soman. Based on the Marathi fictional novel Rau by Nagnath S. Inamdar, Bajirao Mastani narrates the story of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I and his second wife.

Joy is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film, written and directed by David O. Russell and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano, a self-made millionaire who created her own business empire.

The Hateful Eight is a 2015 American revisionist western thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern as eight strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover some time after the American Civil War.

Mastani was the daughter of Maharaja Chhatrasal and the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I. Her relationship within the Maratha Brahmin family has been subject of both admiration and controversy, and well adapted in Indian novels and cinema.

Adam Douglas Driver is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, two Academy Awards, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Star Wars is a 1977 American epic space-opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew. It is the first installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, the first of the franchise to be produced, and the fourth episode of the "Skywalker saga".

Kylo Ren is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he is portrayed by Adam Driver. Kylo Ren is the chosen name of Ben Solo, the only child of original Star Wars trilogy characters Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa. Though trained by his uncle Luke Skywalker as a Jedi, he was seduced to the dark side of the Force by Supreme Leader Snoke, and aspires to be as powerful as his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Ren is eventually redeemed like his grandfather before him and helps Rey in her fight against her grandfather, the revived Emperor Palpatine.

Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress and writer. Fisher played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, a role for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards. Her other film credits include Shampoo (1975), The Blues Brothers (1980), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), The 'Burbs (1989), When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Soapdish (1991), and The Women (2008). Fisher was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performances on the television series 30 Rock and Catastrophe. She was posthumously made a Disney Legend in 2017, and in 2018 she was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. Included on the list are charts of the top box-office earners, a chart of high-grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box-office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights, and merchandise.

Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice actor, and writer. He is known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, winning three Saturn Awards for the role. His other film appearances include Corvette Summer (1978) and The Big Red One (1980). Hamill has also appeared on stage in several theater productions, primarily during the 1980s.

Java is a class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let application developers write once, run anywhere (WORA), meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation. Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of the underlying computer architecture. The syntax of Java is similar to C and C++, but has fewer low-level facilities than either of them. The Java runtime provides dynamic capabilities that are typically not available in traditional compiled languages. As of 2019, Java was one of the most popular programming languages in use according to GitHub, particularly for client-server web applications, with a reported 9 million developers.

The Star Wars sequel trilogy is the third trilogy of the main Star Wars franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. It is produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The trilogy consists of episodes VII through IX, chronologically following the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, serving as the final act of the "Skywalker saga". Lucas had planned a sequel trilogy as early as 1976, but canceled it by 1981. He ended up producing only the first six episodes and for a time described these as comprising the complete story. The sequel trilogy concept was revived when The Walt Disney Company entered negotiations to acquire Lucasfilm in mid-2011. Lucas produced new story treatments, but according to him these were largely discarded. Both the acquisition and plans to produce the trilogy were announced in late 2012.

This is a list of notable deaths, organized by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month, and then linked here.

And Then There Were None is a 2015 mystery thriller television serial that was first broadcast on BBC One from 26 to 28 December 2015. The three-part programme was adapted by Sarah Phelps and directed by Craig Viveiros and is based on Agatha Christie's 1939 novel of the same name. The series features an ensemble cast, including Douglas Booth, Charles Dance, Maeve Dermody, Burn Gorman, Anna Maxwell Martin, Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Toby Stephens, Noah Taylor and Aidan Turner. The programme follows a group of strangers who are invited to a secluded island where they are murdered one by one for their past crimes.

Harrison Ford is an American actor, pilot, and environmental activist. As of 2019, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of his films total over $5.1 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $9.3 billion, placing him at No. 4 on the list of highest-grossing domestic box office stars of all time. In addition to his box office success, he is also an Academy Award nominee, a four-time Golden Globe nominee, a three-time Saturn Award winner, and the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. It is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, the third film to be produced, and the sixth film in the "Star Wars saga". It takes place one year after The Empire Strikes Back. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz.

Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture that is held from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually held on the 6th day. It was created by Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa, including West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.

Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The character is a primary antagonist in the original trilogy and a primary protagonist in the prequel trilogy. Star Wars creator George Lucas has collectively referred to the first six episodic films of the franchise as "the tragedy of Darth Vader".

Cameron Jerrell Newton is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers, who selected him first overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Newton had college football stints at Florida and Blinn before joining Auburn, where he won the Bowl Champion Series National Championship and Heisman Trophy in 2010. Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL career leader in quarterback rushing touchdowns at 70.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, is an English singer-songwriter. After graduating from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a recording contract with XL Recordings. In 2007, she received the Brit Awards Critics' Choice Award and won the BBC Sound of 2008 poll. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008. It is certified 8× platinum in the UK and triple platinum in the US. The album contains her first song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London. An appearance she made on Saturday Night Live in late 2008 boosted her career in the US. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Making a Murderer is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos.

Beasts of No Nation is a 2015 American-Ghanaian war drama film written, co-produced, shot, and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. It follows a young boy who becomes a child soldier as his country experiences a horrific civil war. Shot in Ghana and starring Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Ama K. Abebrese, Grace Nortey, David Dontoh, and Opeyemi Fagbohungbe, the film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, the book itself being named after a Fela Kuti album.

Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada is a Guatemalan-American actor who starred in the tragicomedy Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, the crime drama A Most Violent Year (2014), and the science fiction thriller Ex Machina (2014). In 2006, he portrayed Saint Joseph, husband of Mary, in The Nativity Story. He also portrayed José Ramos-Horta, former president of East Timor and co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, in the Australian film Balibo, for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan is an Indian film actor, producer, occasional singer and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two National Film Awards as a film producer, and two Filmfare Awards for acting. He is cited in the media as one of the most commercially successful actors of both world and Indian cinema. Forbes included him in their 2015 list of Top-Paid 100 Celebrity Entertainers in the world; Khan tied with Amitabh Bachchan for No. 71 on the list, both with earnings of $33.5 million. According to the Forbes 2018 list of Top-Paid 100 Celebrity Entertainers in world, Khan was the highest-ranked Indian with 82nd rank with earnings of $37.7 million. He is also known as the host of the reality show, Bigg Boss since 2010.

2015 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, and a list of films released and notable deaths.

Concussion is a 2015 American biographical sports drama film written and directed by Peter Landesman, based on the exposé "Game Brain" by Jeanne Marie Laskas, published in 2009 by GQ magazine. Set in 2002, the film stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who fights against the National Football League trying to suppress his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional football players. It also stars Alec Baldwin.

Kirk Daniel Cousins is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State from 2009 to 2011, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Originally drafted as a backup to fellow rookie Robert Griffin III, he occasionally appeared in games during his first three seasons with the team. In 2015, Cousins replaced an injured Griffin that preseason and remained the team's starter until 2017. With the Redskins, Cousins set numerous franchise records and was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl.

Hugh Glass was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, trader, hunter, and explorer. He is best known for his story of survival and forgiveness after being left for dead by companions when he was mauled by a grizzly bear.

Spectre is a 2015 spy film and the twenty-fourth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. It is the fourth film to feature Daniel Craig as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond, and the second film in the series directed by Sam Mendes following Skyfall. It was written by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Jez Butterworth. It is the final James Bond film to be distributed theatrically by Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label, as Universal Pictures will internationally distribute the next film in the series, No Time to Die.

The Empire Strikes Back, also known as Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas. The second installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, as the sequel to Star Wars (1977), it is the second film in the franchise to be produced, and the fifth episode of the "Skywalker saga". The story is set three years after the events of the first film, as the Galactic Empire hunts the scattered Rebel Alliance throughout the galaxy. While Darth Vader relentlessly pursues Luke Skywalker's friends—Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca—Luke studies the Force under Jedi Master Yoda to prepare himself for his upcoming confrontation with Vader.

John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, known professionally as John Boyega, is a British-Nigerian actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block (2011), and his international breakthrough came with his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). His other credits include the drama film Imperial Dreams (2014), the historical drama film Detroit (2017), the science fiction film Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), and four episodes of the television series 24: Live Another Day. He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and was awarded the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Boyega was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020.

Matthew Adam Garber was a British child actor who played Michael Banks in the 1964 film Mary Poppins. He appeared in only two other films, The Three Lives of Thomasina and The Gnome-Mobile, all three times appearing alongside actress Karen Dotrice. All three appearances were in movies by Walt Disney Pictures.

Michael Jerome Oher is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football for the University of Mississippi, where he earned unanimous All-American honors, and was selected by the Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers.

Dickensian is a British drama television series that premiered on BBC One from 26 December 2015 to 21 February 2016. The 20-part series, created and co-written by Tony Jordan, brings characters from many Charles Dickens novels together in one Victorian London neighbourhood, as Inspector Bucket investigates the murder of Ebenezer Scrooge's partner Jacob Marley.

Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu is a Nigerian-American physician, forensic pathologist and neuropathologist who was the first to discover and publish findings on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players while working at the Allegheny County coroner's office in Pittsburgh. He later became the chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, California, and is a professor at the University of California, Davis, department of medical pathology and laboratory medicine.

Mary Poppins is a 1964 American musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. The screenplay is by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on P. L. Travers's book series Mary Poppins. The film, which combines live-action and animation, stars Julie Andrews in her feature film debut as Mary Poppins, who visits a dysfunctional family in London and employs her unique brand of lifestyle to improve the family's dynamic. Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns are featured in supporting roles. The film was shot entirely at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, using painted London background scenes.

Aokigahara (青木ヶ原), also known as the Sea of Trees , is a forest on the northwestern flank of Japan's Mount Fuji, thriving on 30 square kilometres (12 sq mi) of hardened lava laid down by the last major eruption of Mount Fuji in 864 CE. The western edge of Aokigahara, where there are several caves that fill with ice in winter, is a popular destination for tourists and school trips. Parts of Aokigahara are very dense, and the porous lava absorbs sound, helping to provide visitors with a sense of solitude.

Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin is an American actor, musician, and podcaster. Regarded as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" and on E!'s list of the "50 Greatest Child Stars".

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "The King of Cocaine," Escobar is the wealthiest criminal in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by the time of his death—equivalent to $59 billion as of 2019—while his drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the United States in the 1980s and early 1990s.

George Walton Lucas Jr. is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur. Lucas is best known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and Industrial Light & Magic. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers and has been nominated for four Academy Awards. His films are among the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Lucas is considered a significant figure of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement.

An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal Nature. Alternative names put forth for the last individual of its kind include ender and terminarch.

Marvel's Jessica Jones, or simply Jessica Jones, is an American television series created by Melissa Rosenberg for the streaming service Netflix, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise, and is the second in a series of shows that led to The Defenders crossover miniseries. The series is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios and Tall Girls Productions, with Rosenberg serving as showrunner. Scott Reynolds was a co-showrunner for the third season.

The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Adam McKay. Written by McKay and Charles Randolph, it is based on the 2010 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis showing how the financial crisis of 2007–2008 was triggered by the United States housing bubble. The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, with Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Finn Wittrock, and Marisa Tomei in supporting roles.

Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appeared in Alias #1, as part of Marvel's Max, an imprint for more mature content. Within the context of Marvel's shared universe, Jones is a former superhero who becomes the owner of Alias Private Investigations. Bendis originally envisioned the series centered on Jessica Drew and only decided to create Jones once he noticed that the main character had a distinct voice and background that differentiated her from Drew.

Dame Julie Andrews is an English actress, singer, and author. With a career spanning seven decades, she has been the recipient of several accolades, including one British Academy Film Award, one Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and three Grammy Awards. Andrews was made a Disney Legend in 1991, and has been honoured with a Honorary Golden Lion as well as the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2000, Andrews was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts.

Rey, also known as Rey Skywalker, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise and the main protagonist of the sequel film trilogy. She was created by Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt for The Force Awakens (2015), the first installment of the trilogy, and is portrayed by Daisy Ridley. She also appears in the film's sequels, The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), and related Star Wars media.

Richard Wayne Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, singer, and dancer, whose award-winning career has spanned seven decades.

Franklin Mitchell Beamer is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. Beamer was a cornerback for Virginia Tech from 1966 to 1968. His coaching experience began in 1972, and from 1981 to 1986 Beamer served as the head football coach at Murray State University. He then went on to become the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 1987 until his final game in 2015. He was one of the longest tenured active coaches in NCAA Division I FBS and, at the time of his retirement, was the winningest active coach at that level. Upon retiring, Beamer accepted a position as special assistant to the Virginia Tech athletic director, where he focuses on athletic development and advancement. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of radium. It is one of the densest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions, and is considered to be a health hazard due to its radioactivity. Its most stable isotope, ²²²Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days. Due to its high radioactivity, it has been less well-studied by chemists, but a few compounds are known.

Donald John Trump is an American politician who was the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

Charles Joseph Whitman was an American mass murderer who became infamous as the "Texas Tower Sniper". On August 1, 1966, he used knives to kill his mother and his wife in their respective homes, then went to the University of Texas in Austin with multiple firearms and began indiscriminately shooting at people. He fatally shot three people inside the university tower. He then went to the tower's 28th-floor observation deck, where he fired at random people for some 96 minutes, killing an additional 11 people and wounding 31 others, including a woman whose injuries prevented her pregnancy from coming to term, before he was shot dead by Austin police officers. Whitman killed a total of 16 people; the 16th victim died 35 years later from injuries sustained in the attack.

Creed is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Ryan Coogler from a story by Coogler and a screenplay written by Coogler, Aaron Covington, and Sylvester Stallone who uncreditedly wrote all the scenes and dialogues with his character in the film. Both a sequel and spin-off to the Rocky film series, serving as the seventh installment of the series and a sequel to 2006's Rocky Balboa, Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis "Donnie" Johnson Creed, Apollo Creed's son, with Sylvester Stallone reprising the role of Rocky Balboa. It also features Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew, and Graham McTavish. The film reunites Jordan with 2013's Fruitvale Station writer-director Coogler, as well as Wood Harris, with whom Jordan had worked on the television series The Wire.

Deadpool is a 2016 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the eighth film in the X-Men film series. Directed by Tim Miller from a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, it stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role alongside Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, and Brianna Hildebrand. In the film, Wade Wilson hunts the man who gave him mutant abilities and a scarred physical appearance, becoming the beloved antihero Deadpool.

The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay from The Martian, a 2011 novel by Andy Weir. The film depicts an astronaut's lone struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind, and efforts to rescue him and bring him home to Earth. It also stars Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Benedict Wong.

One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero franchise created by the artist ONE. It tells the story of Saitama, a superhero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch but seeks to find a worthy opponent after growing bored by a lack of challenge due to his overwhelming strength. ONE wrote the original webcomic version in early 2009.

Loham: The Yellow Metal is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Ranjith, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor for the production company Aashirvad Cinemas. The film, starring Mohanlal, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddique and Ajmal Ameer, is about an elusive smuggling operation and the mysterious disappearance of 100 kilograms (220 lb) of gold. Sreevalsan J. Menon and C. Rajamani composed the soundtrack and film score, respectively.

This is a list of Bollywood films that were released in 2015.

Deadpool is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in The New Mutants #98. Initially Deadpool was depicted as a supervillain when he made his first appearance in The New Mutants and later in issues of X-Force, but later evolved into his more recognizable antiheroic persona. Deadpool, whose real name is Wade Winston Wilson, is a disfigured mercenary with the superhuman ability of regeneration and physical prowess. The character is known as the "Merc with a Mouth" because of his tendency to talk and joke constantly, including breaking the fourth wall for humorous effect and running gags.

Ryan Mallett is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Arkansas, and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He also played for the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens.

Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in Star Wars (1977), and he returned in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Three decades later, Hamill returned as Luke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, appearing in all three films: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He reprised the role in The Mandalorian episode "Chapter 16: The Rescue" (2020), voicing the character that was portrayed by a body double with digital de-aging.

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino-German model, actress and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2015. She is one of the four Filipinas to have won the Miss Universe. Previously, she was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2015.

The Man in the High Castle is an American dystopian alternate history television series created for streaming service Prime Video, depicting a parallel universe where the Axis powers of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan rule the world after their victory in World War II. It was created by Frank Spotnitz and is produced by Amazon Studios, Scott Free Productions, Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions, and Big Light Productions. The series is based on Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel of the same name.

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote or produced such films as Regarding Henry (1991), Forever Young (1992), Armageddon (1998), Cloverfield (2008), Star Trek (2009), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

A clapperboard is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded. It is operated by the clapper loader.

Steven Paul Jobs was an American business magnate, industrial designer, investor, and media proprietor. He was the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and co-founder of Apple Inc., the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar, a member of The Walt Disney Company's board of directors following its acquisition of Pixar, and the founder, chairman, and CEO of NeXT. Jobs is widely recognized as a pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known by his ring name the Rock, is an American-Canadian actor, producer, businessman, retired professional wrestler, and former American football and Canadian football player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation for eight years prior to pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world's highest-grossing actors.

Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, California, and a flagship service of the namesake company Facebook, Inc. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor and producer. He began his career on Canadian television at the age of 13, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He was praised for his acting as Sam in Life as a House (2001), earning Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Christensen gained international fame for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequel trilogy films, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) a role he is expected to reprise for the announced Obi Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. His honours for these films include a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Actor and the Cannes Film Festival Revelation Award. He also received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Stephen Glass in the film Shattered Glass.

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence is an American actress. The films she has acted in have grossed over $6 billion worldwide, and she was the world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016. Lawrence appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world list in 2013 and in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2014 and 2016.

Interstellar is a 2014 American-British epic science fiction film directed and produced by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, Michael Caine, and Matt Damon. Set in a dystopian future where humanity is struggling to survive, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for mankind.

The Danish Girl is a 2015 biographical romantic drama film directed by Tom Hooper, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, and loosely inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery, Alicia Vikander as Wegener, and Sebastian Koch as Kurt Warnekros, with Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, and Matthias Schoenaerts in supporting roles.

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith is an English actress. She has had an extensive career on stage, film, and television, which began in the mid-1950s. Smith has appeared in more than 60 films and over 70 plays, and is one of Britain's most recognisable actresses. She was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 for contributions to the performing arts, and a Companion of Honour in 2014 for services to drama.

The Onion Futures Act is a United States law banning the trading of futures contracts on onions as well as "motion picture box office receipts".

Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance. She thwarts the sinister Sith lord Darth Vader and helps bring about the destruction of the Empire's cataclysmic superweapon, the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Leia commands a Rebel base and evades Vader as she falls in love with the smuggler Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Leia helps in the operation to rescue Han from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and is revealed to be Vader's daughter and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker.

Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by nonlinear storylines, dark humor, aestheticization of violence, extended scenes of dialogue, ensemble casts, references to popular culture and a wide variety of other films, soundtracks primarily containing songs and score pieces from the 1960s to the 1980s, alternate history, and features of neo-noir film.

Walter Elias Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

The Super Bowl is the annual American football game that determines the champion of the National Football League (NFL). The game culminates a season that begins in the previous calendar year, and is the conclusion of the NFL playoffs. The winner receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The contest is held in an American city, chosen three to four years beforehand, usually at warm-weather sites or domed stadiums. Since January 1971, the winner of the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Game has faced the winner of the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship Game in the culmination of the NFL playoffs.

Domhnall Gleeson is an Irish actor, screenwriter, and short film director. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Institute of Technology.

Ronald "Ronnie" Kray and Reginald "Reggie" Kray, twin brothers, were British criminals, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, known as the Firm, the Krays were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults.

Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. The show was shot in the United Kingdom, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, and Spain. It premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons.

Downton Abbey is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, and in the United States on PBS, which supported production of the series as part of its Masterpiece Classic anthology, on 9 January 2011.

Michael Lewis Webster was an American professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, class of 1997. Nicknamed "Iron Mike", Webster anchored the Steelers' offensive line during much of their run of four Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1979 and is considered by many as the greatest center in NFL history.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States, or America, is a country primarily located in North America, consisting of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area. With a population of more than 328 million people, it is the third most populous country in the world. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City.

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author, J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic and subjugate all wizards and Muggles.

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor, film producer and environmentalist. He has often played unconventional roles, particularly in biopics and period films. As of 2019, his films have grossed US$7.2 billion worldwide, and he has placed eight times in annual rankings of the highest-paid actors in the world.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. The film stars Jack Nicholson as Randle McMurphy, a new patient at a mental institution, and features a supporting cast of Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson, Sydney Lassick, William Redfield while being the film debut for Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Walt Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film series serves as a major component of the eponymous media franchise.

Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Ford returned to the role for The Force Awakens (2015), as well as a brief cameo in The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In the spin-off film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), a younger version of the character was portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich.

Sicario is a 2015 American action thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by Taylor Sheridan and starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin. The film follows a principled FBI agent who is enlisted by a government task force to bring down the leader of a powerful and brutal Mexican drug cartel. Sicario was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It began a limited release in the United States on September 18, 2015, followed by a nationwide release on October 2, 2015.

Karen Dotrice is a British actress, known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, the feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey on the Channel Islands to two stage actors. Her career began on stage, and expanded into film and television, including starring roles as a young girl whose beloved cat magically reappears in Disney's The Three Lives of Thomasina and with Thomasina co-star Matthew Garber as one of two children pining for their parents' attentions in Poppins. She appeared in five television programmes between 1972 and 1978, when she made her only feature film as an adult. Her life as an actress concluded with a short run as Desdemona in the 1981 pre-Broadway production of Othello.