Pop Chart

BIG-SCREEN EDITION

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK

The Avengers

Passed the billion-dollar mark in just 19 days, tying Avatar and the final Harry Potter.

Battleship

Grossed just $25 million, roughly one-eighth of its massive budget, during its U.S. opening weekend.

FASHION

Deals on Wheels

Pitas, burgers and … crop tops? In Boston, the food-truck craze has spawned fashion trucks–roving boutiques that pay parking-meter fare instead of rent. They’re all technically illegal, per old city ordinances. But we’re sure that diehard bargain hunters don’t care.

COMIC CONNOISSEUR

Fifteen years after his death, the Art Institute of Chicago is celebrating Roy Lichtenstein as one of the pioneers of the 1960s Pop art movement. In all, there are more than 160 works on display, including Masterpiece, below, one of many cartoons that Lichtenstein elevated–with his signature colored-dot printing process–to the realm of high art.

CONFESSION

‘I always felt like I was Quasimodo or the Phantom of the Opera.’

BILLY BOB THORNTON, in a Nightline interview, discussing personal insecurities during his marriage to actress Angelina Jolie, which ended in 2003

BADVERTISING

$40 million

Settlement that Skechers USA must pay to customers for falsely promising, via ads, that its Shape-Ups shoes would help them easily lose weight and tone their butt, leg and stomach muscles

QUICK TALK

Carly Rae Jepsen Mere months ago, Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen was a nobody in the U.S. Then Justin Bieber signed her to his label and lip-synched her single on YouTube. Now “Call Me Maybe” is the top-selling track in the country, and Jepsen, 26, is being hailed as the Next Big Thing in pop. –DAN MACSAI

O.K., be honest: How many people have given you their number and asked you to call them maybe?

I’ve definitely had a few radio promoters who’ve thought they were, like, the first ones to do it. So they give me their number, and I’m like, “Oh, I’ve never heard that before.”

Whoops. That was my next question.

No, it’s really cute! I always find it really amusing.

In the “Call Me Maybe” video, your crush ultimately gives his number to another guy. Why’d you make that choice?

I’d love to take credit, but it was my director’s idea. We wanted the ending to be fun and unpredictable.

It’s since won over a lot of gay fans. Do you support same-sex marriage?

You know, acceptance has never even been a question to me. And if my video is encouraging that mind frame with other people–well, it’s about time, I guess!

What’s the best part of overnight fame?

The travel. Before this, Canada was my whole world.

Confession: I’ve never been there.

[Laughs.] It’s O.K.–your world’s pretty cool too.

POLITICS

Bipartisan Bromances

New Jersey’s most buzzed-about politicians have long been at odds. But on May 15, Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker came together in a hilarious Web video, poking fun at each other’s quirks. It’s a commendable gesture from the unlikely BFFs, but will their bromance last? Here’s how a few others have fared.

Happily ever after

John McCain and Russ Feingold

When Feingold lost his Senate re-election bid in 2010, McCain noted, “I will miss him here”

Barack Obama and Dick Lugar

The Indiana Senator helped Obama win his state in ’08 but later trashed him in ads

Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan

They were famously “friends after 6”; O’Neill raced to the Gipper’s bedside after he was shot

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

Allies during the American Revolution, they ran on rival tickets in the 1800 election

Trouble in paradise

GLASS MASTER

Born in Tacoma, Wash., Dale Chihuly–best known for his elaborate glass sculptures–is giving his work a permanent home in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Center’s “Chihuly Garden and Glass” museum spreads across 1.5 acres to display his signature glass pieces, along with drawings, architectural installations and eccentric personal collections like vintage accordions. The pice de rsistance: the 43-ft.-tall Glasshouse, left, which features a 100-ft.-long chain of colorful glass chandeliers, meant to reflect Chihuly’s lifelong love of conservatories.

ODDITIES

Dude, Where’s My Candle?

Nothing says “I’m a man!” like sniffing scented wax. Or so Yankee Candle implies with its new line of male-oriented candles such as 24 (it smells like sawdust) and Riding Mower (cut grass). No word, however, on the glaring dearth of Armpit.

3 THINGS YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS WEEK

1. Mark Zuckerberg keeping that IPO money to himself.

The Facebook founder married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on May 19, one day after his net worth rocketed to $21 billion.

2. Your kid’s profanity repertoire.

America’s most popular teen novels feature about seven curse words per hour of reading, according to a new study from Brigham Young University.

3. Another Gilly attack.

After seven years and tons of classic characters–including the demonic student–Kristen Wiig has left Saturday Night Live.