You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news. Today’s number is $1.325 billion, the amount Frozen 2 has made at the box office, making the sequel “officially the highest-grossing animated movie in history,” according to Variety.
161 fires in Australia
The heat from wildfires across southeastern Australia is so intense that clouds are raining down fire, not water. There are approximately 161 fires raging across New South Wales and Victoria. Temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit and the blazes have already destroyed more than 22,000 square miles. [Wall Street Journal]
86 miles of highway closed
A massive crash involving two tractor trailers, a tour bus and several other vehicles has left at least five people dead and approximately 60 people sent to local hospitals. The crash, which happened early Sunday morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike around 3:30 a.m., shut down 86 miles of the highway in both directions. Stephen Limani, a spokesperson from the Pennsylvania State Police, told USA Today, “It was kind of a chain-reaction crash” after the tour bus was struck by two tractor-trailers, followed by a collision with another truck and a passenger vehicle. [USA Today]
7th Super Bowl
During the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs, the New England Patriots were dispatched by the Tennessee Titans, 20-13, bringing an end to an incredible era of post-season dominance. It is “their earliest elimination from the NFL playoffs since 2009” and dashed quarterback Tom Brady hopes for a seventh Super Bowl with the team. The 42-year-old quarterback has said he will not retire, but there are lingering questions about whether he will play with the Patriots next season or join another team. [NBC News]
$400 million in ticket sales
Demand for theater is certainly alive in Chicago. A touring production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show “Hamilton” ended there this weekend after generating $400 million in sales over its three year stint in the city, making it one of the most financially successful shows in the city’s history. The Chicago Tribune reports the production sold “most of its weekend center orchestra seats for premium prices,” there were very few unsold seats, and “it spent very little on advertising, only mounting a significant marketing campaign in its final year.” [Chicago Tribune]
59 people with pneumonia
The health commission in Wuhan, a major city in Central China, says a viral pneumonia outbreak that has affected 59 people as of Sunday is not connected to the the flu-like and highly contagious Sars virus. Sars, which stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome, was responsible for the deaths of 349 people in mainland China, as well as 299 people in Hong Kong in 2003. The comments from the health commission were in response to false information published online speculating about the medical cases possibly indicating a resurgence of the virus. [AFP]