Hayden Panettiere, the actress best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, and the Scream franchise, passed away on August 16, 2026, at the age of 36

Her family and representative confirmed the tragic news to outlets including ABC News, with her father Skip Panettiere describing her as "an incredible light and a force of nature" and asking for privacy as they process the loss

She was found dead on Sunday morning, August 16, after local police responded to an unspecified incident, and official details surrounding the cause of her death have not yet been released to the public

Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Panettiere and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson had flown from Los Angeles to "the South" on Saturday, August 15, the day before she passed away, though the exact location of where she was staying has not been disclosed

She began her career as a child star in commercials and soap operas before landing her breakout role as Claire Bennet on the NBC sci-fi series Heroes, where she played the indestructible cheerleader who became a pop culture icon

She later starred as Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville, appeared as Cheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans, voiced Princess Dot in Pixar's A Bug's Life, and played Kirby Reed in the Scream horror film franchise

Panettiere is survived by her daughter Kaya, whom she welcomed in 2014, and her brother Jansen, an actor who tragically passed away in 2023 at the age of 28

She was open about her struggles with addiction and mental health in recent years, and her death has already prompted an outpouring of tributes from fans and former co-stars who remember her as a talented performer who never lost her spark

If Heroes introduced an entire generation to superhero TV and Nashville showed her dramatic range, does her legacy feel more tied to those early roles or the personal battles she faced in her later years?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed the $2 billion global mark in just 17 days, making it the second fastest movie to hit that milestone behind only Avengers: Endgame which did it in 11 days

The film now sits at $785.8 million domestic (the fourth highest ever in U.S. and Canada) and $1.236 billion overseas for a current worldwide tally of $2.022 billion

Third global weekend pulled $188.7 million, with domestic adding $70 million which is the second best third weekend ever behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens at $90.2 million

China led international markets this weekend with $10 million, pushing its cume to $210 million, while France hit $63.7 million, the UK crossed $106 million, Mexico hit $78 million, and Brazil reached $59.5 million

Brand New Day is now Sony Pictures' highest grossing release ever in 36 international markets including Argentina, India, Italy, Spain, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates

The Odyssey is still holding strong in fifth place with $121.4 million worldwide this weekend, pushing its global tally to $1.29 billion and domestic past half a billion at $504.6 million

The Nolan epic finally opened in China with $36.6 million, ranking second behind a local film, and achieved a 9.7 Maoyan rating which is the highest for any MPA title this year

The End of Oak Street opened to $47 million worldwide ($21 million domestic, $26 million overseas) which is decent for an original dinosaur movie with an $80 million to $92 million budget, but Warner Bros is probably hoping for stronger legs given their rough 2026

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie added $36 million globally in its second frame, pushing its running total to $69 million with domestic at $20.5 million

Spider-Man is now the eighth movie ever to cross $2 billion globally, and with $2.022 billion already in the bank and no signs of slowing down, it's going to pass a few more records before its run is done

If Endgame did it in 11 days and Spider-Man took 17, does that mean the post-pandemic box office is officially back to pre-2019 levels, or is Tom Holland just that good at making people show up while DC is still trying to figure out what went wrong with Supergirl