Entertainment, Media & Sports · Week of Nov 2, 2026
Comebacks, holiday tie-ins and new tech bets: the week in entertainment
Holiday park lineups, a Marvel menu tie-in, Dodge's NASCAR return, B2K's comeback album, an AI film reconstruction and new golf and network investments.
There was no single theme across this week's releases, but several dealt with returns and revivals. Stellantis said Kaulig Racing will anchor Dodge's return to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2027, a series Dodge left after 2012. BPC Music Group released B2K's first studio album in nearly 24 years. iQIYI said its NadouPro AI platform was used to reconstruct a 1938 film lost for nearly 90 years.
Other large items were seasonal and promotional. Six Flags set out holiday events at 11 parks. KFC called its Doctor Doom-inspired menu, timed to Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday," its largest global collaboration to date. Investment and technology announcements came from Callaway Golf, which plans a $15 million 3D printing facility in Fort Worth, and from Verizon and Ericsson on AI-driven network automation. Beyond Monumental reported four course records at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Six Flags expands the holiday cheer with more parks, more events and more ways for families to celebrate in 2026
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced holiday events at 11 parks starting Nov. 20, 2026. The lineup includes reimagined Holiday in the Park events at Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Over Georgia, free admission for guests 65 and older at their home park, excluding Knott's Berry Farm, and Black Friday offers valid through Nov. 30.
Beyond Monumental
Four Course Records and 28 Olympic Trials Qualifiers Highlight Historic 2026 CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Beyond Monumental reported four course records at the 19th CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, including Johnnie Guy's 2:11:47 and Lindsey Bradley's 2:29:47. It also said 28 athletes hit 2028 U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifying times, up from 13 in 2025, and the event recorded its earliest sellout and 14th consecutive sellout.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC Brings the Doom: New Marvel-Inspired Menu Lands Ahead of Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday"
KFC announced a Doctor Doom-inspired limited-time menu tied to Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday" in 100 countries, available from 9 November in select markets through January 2027. KFC says it is its largest global collaboration to date, though the menu will not be offered in the United States, India or China.
Callaway Golf Company
Callaway Golf Announces U.S. Investment to Lead a New Era of Golf Club Performance
Callaway Golf Company announced a $15 million 3D printing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, expected to be operational in mid-2027 and to support part of its U.S. product needs from 2028, starting with custom titanium products. The company says the site will let engineers develop club designs that conventional manufacturing cannot achieve.
Ericsson
Verizon and Ericsson partner to transform AI-native Autonomous Networks
Verizon and Ericsson expanded their collaboration on AI in radio access network automation, with Verizon planning a national rollout of the Ericsson Intelligent Controller this year. According to the release, field deployment of rApps such as the AAS Cell Shaper provided gains of up to 8.9% on downlink and up to 8% on uplink throughput.
Stellantis
Kaulig Racing Tabbed as Flagship Team for Dodge Return, Allmendinger, Dillon Named Drivers for 2027
Kaulig Racing named AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon as drivers for its 2027 Dodge NASCAR Cup Series program, with Kaulig serving as Dodge's anchor team. Dodge, which last competed in the Cup Series in 2012, will reveal its 2027 livery on Dec. 4 at the 59th annual Snowball Derby.
BPC Music Group
B2K RETURNS WITH ECLIPSE, THE PLATINUM-SELLING R&B GROUP'S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN NEARLY 24 YEARS, OUT NOW
BPC Music Group released ECLIPSE, a thirteen-track album that reunites B2K's four original members and is the group's first studio album in nearly 24 years. It is also the label's first album release, and BPC says lead single "Mileage" climbed to No. 23 on Billboard's Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
iQIYI
iQIYI Revives 90-Year-Old Lost Film with NadouPro, Shortlisted for the AI Unit at the Golden Rooster Awards
iQIYI said its NadouPro AI production platform was used to reconstruct "Visiting Shanghai after Sixty Years," a 1938 short film whose prints, reels and scripts had all been lost. An eight-person team completed the project in two months, and it has been shortlisted for the "2026 Future Images AI Unit" at the 39th Golden Rooster Awards.
This roundup is written with AI assistance from the press releases listed above, using only what they state. The releases are the companies' own announcements, not Pod Dispatch reporting.