From gaming with friends to investing in real estate, there are a lot of things you can do in the metaverse. Now, there is yoga and meditation, too, after lifestyle and activewear company Alo Yoga set up a virtual sanctuary on the Roblox gaming platform.
"Alo will jump at any opportunity to share wellness, mindfulness, and movement with people wherever they are," said Alyson Wilson, Alo vice president of brand and innovation.
The sanctuary, where users can participate in classes through Alo's on-demand fitness platform Alo Moves and earn virtual apparel, has been popular. More than 15 million people have visited since its launch in February.
Brand partnerships are nothing new for Roblox, which has teamed up with brands like Gucci, McLaren, and Vans among others. Monetization of brand experiences can mean big bucks — Roblox paid out its developer community more than $538 million in 2021. But for brands like Alo that choose not to monetize, there are other benefits.
"Brands are seeing an engagement on our platform that they haven't seen anywhere else. You can really have this two-way conversation with your audience," said Christina Wootton, vice president of global brand partnerships at Roblox.
An estimated 50 million people per day come to Roblox worldwide. Over half of users are over 13 years old, with the fastest-growing demographic being 17 to 24-year-olds.
"What's really neat about Roblox is we're able to reach out to people who maybe haven't been able to find us on their own, maybe people who aren't in yoga studios, who aren't in their own practice, and maybe haven't even discovered meditation yet," Wilson said.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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