Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/May 26 to June 1, 2013

=Top 25 Report: Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (May 26 to June 1 2013)= ← Last week's report – Next week's Report →

Summary: Pop quiz: Name the country with the highest number of English speakers. You said America. And you were right. Now name the country with the second-highest number of English speakers. No, don't look it up. You looked it up. Surprised? Well you shouldn't be. Even given its vast 1.2 billion population, India's status as a former British colony means that English has been slowly transfused into its bloodstream for hundreds of years. And with ever-larger numbers of them going online every day, it's not surprising that many in its 125 million-strong English-speaking population are choosing the English Wikipedia over those in their native languages. This week marked the first time three India-themed (or, more accurately, Bollywood-themed) entries appeared in the top 25 since we started the report; a number that is sure to increase.

For the week of May 26 to June 1, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most trafficked pages* were:


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Last ! Wks ! Article ! Views ! Notes
 * 1
 * Julius Richard Petri
 * align="right"|1,195,103
 * Szalka petriego.jpg It's been a while since a Google Doodle shot an article to the top; the curiosity of the public is confoundingly fickle. But as everyone's used a petri dish in high school biology, perhaps the public felt they owed him something. Whether a gift or a punch in the mouth, I cannot say.
 * 2
 * 23
 * 2
 * Liberace
 * align="right"|950,205
 * Liberace Colour Allan Warren.jpg Michael Douglas' acclaimed portrayal of the 70s concert pianist in HBO's Behind the Candelabra naturally triggered interest in the man himself.
 * 3
 * 2
 * 13
 * Game of Thrones
 * align="right"|736,309
 * This epic fantasy TV series launched its third season on March 31, and has seen its ratings almost double on its premiere episode.
 * 4
 * 10
 * 7
 * Game of Thrones (season 3)
 * align="right"|726,946
 * see #3 above
 * 5
 * 8
 * 2
 * Memorial Day
 * align="right"|707,512
 * The last Sunday in May (that's May 27 this year), the day that the United States chose to honour its war dead, is perhaps better known as the traditional beginning of US summer vacation, and is thus eagerly anticipated by millions of people too young to serve but old enough to stand in line for action movies.
 * 6
 * 6
 * 2
 * Fast & Furious 6
 * align="right"|696,046
 * In the 15 days since its first international release, this movie has grossed just under $400 million worldwide. So, that's a franchise in rude health then. How rude? Part 7 comes out next year.
 * 7
 * Arrested Development (TV series)
 * align="right"|672,396
 * The biggest cult sitcom in recent years is back on Netflix after a prolonged absence, to much joy among its grateful fans.
 * 8
 * 13
 * 7
 * List of Game of Thrones episodes
 * align="right"|664,680
 * see #3 above
 * 9
 * 1
 * 21
 * Facebook
 * align="right"|642,832
 * A perennially popular article.
 * 10
 * Scott Thorson
 * align="right"| 525,386
 * Liberace's much put-upon lover got a shot of interest by being played by Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra (see #2 above)
 * 11
 * Amanda Bynes
 * align="right"|504,471
 * Amanda Bynes on the Red Carpet (cropped).jpg A tip for any stoners who may be reading this: if you happen to be toking 35 stories up when the cops arrive, don't throw your bong out the window. It is a handy way to add reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence to criminal possession. Of course, you will probably be stoned under such circumstances so to avoid them cropping up in the first place, I would suggest keeping your recreational inhalations at ground level.
 * 12
 * 17
 * 2
 * The Fast and the Furious (series)
 * align="right"| 499,357
 * see #6 above
 * 13
 * 4
 * 6
 * The Great Gatsby
 * align="right"| 440,257
 * Plaza Hotel NYC.jpg This perennial contender for the Great American Novel and eternal junior high school homework assignment is still going strong this week, most likely due to users looking for the Baz Luhrmann film.
 * 14
 * Arrested Development (season 4)
 * align="right"| 435,511
 * See #7 above
 * 15
 * 7
 * 5
 * Daft Punk
 * align="right"|417,679
 * DaftAlive.jpeg This robot-helmet-wearing, cyberpunk-infused electronic music duo released their long-awaited new album Random Access Memories on May 17.
 * 16
 * 12
 * 31
 * Deaths in 2013
 * align="right"|402,187
 * The lists of deaths in the current year is always a quite popular article.
 * 17
 * After Earth
 * align="right"| 380,370
 * Despite appearing on course to box-office bombhood, having opened in third place with lower grosses than the similarly fated John Carter last year, this was still the most-viewed new movie on Wikipedia; Now You See Me, which beat After Earth at the box office, didn't break the top 100.
 * 18
 * 20
 * 5
 * Aashiqui 2
 * align="right"|375,084
 * The first of three Bollywood-related articles in the top 25, this film has grossed over Rs. 1 billion (~US$18 million) at the box office, and become a phenomenon on the sub-continent.
 * 19
 * 19
 * 32
 * YouTube
 * align="right"|363,292
 * Another perennially popular article
 * 20
 * Rituparno Ghosh
 * align="right"|361,886
 * The acclaimed Bollywood director of such films as the award-winning Unishe April died of a heart attack on May 30.
 * 21
 * 16
 * 21
 * Google
 * align="right"|358,888
 * A perennially popular article
 * 22
 * 5
 * 5
 * Star Trek Into Darkness
 * align="right"|354,396
 * As of Jun 1, this movie has grossed $328 million worldwide. Despite this, its distributors are debating whether to call it a disappointment. Such is the way of Hollywood these days.
 * 23
 * 2
 * List of Bollywood films of 2013
 * align="right"|348,504
 * The third and final Bollywood article on this list.
 * 24
 * 22
 * 32
 * World War II
 * align="right"|338,562
 * Second world war europe animation small.gif Another perennially popular article. (The 16th most popular article from 2010–12, in fact, see Table 2 here.)
 * 25
 * 2
 * Attack on Titan
 * align="right"|	330,123
 * Popular anime series nearing the end of its run.
 * }
 * This list is derived from the WP:5000 report. It excludes the Wikipedia main page (and "wiki"), non-article pages, and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish. Standard removals this week include:
 * Cat anatomy: explanation still unknown for its continuing high view counts
 * G-force: this has been in the Top 25 since the list was started at the beginning of the year. The continuing popularity of this article, which jumped in June 2012, has been without explanation. Articles on popular scientific concepts get nowhere this level of viewing based on our analysis to date, e.g., Gravitation (49,516 views from March 3–9), and therefore we have decided to remove it from the list as most likely caused by non-human views.
 * Cult: Unknown reasons for periodic spikes in popularity
 * Melanie Maddison: high counts for a redlink are usually due to spambots or pranksters.
 * Acoustic Electric Guitar: This redirect (capitals included) has occasionally appeared in the top 25, probably due to a sadly confused adware bot.
 * Number of views needed to reach Top 25 this week: 330,123. Last week: 326,556.
 * Almosts: AS Monaco FC (319,614 views); Vin Diesel (297,885 views); Neymar (295,638 views)
 * The revision of WP:5000 containing the data used to create list:
 * Google
 * align="right"|358,888
 * A perennially popular article
 * 22
 * 5
 * 5
 * Star Trek Into Darkness
 * align="right"|354,396
 * As of Jun 1, this movie has grossed $328 million worldwide. Despite this, its distributors are debating whether to call it a disappointment. Such is the way of Hollywood these days.
 * 23
 * 2
 * List of Bollywood films of 2013
 * align="right"|348,504
 * The third and final Bollywood article on this list.
 * 24
 * 22
 * 32
 * World War II
 * align="right"|338,562
 * Second world war europe animation small.gif Another perennially popular article. (The 16th most popular article from 2010–12, in fact, see Table 2 here.)
 * 25
 * 2
 * Attack on Titan
 * align="right"|	330,123
 * Popular anime series nearing the end of its run.
 * }
 * This list is derived from the WP:5000 report. It excludes the Wikipedia main page (and "wiki"), non-article pages, and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish. Standard removals this week include:
 * Cat anatomy: explanation still unknown for its continuing high view counts
 * G-force: this has been in the Top 25 since the list was started at the beginning of the year. The continuing popularity of this article, which jumped in June 2012, has been without explanation. Articles on popular scientific concepts get nowhere this level of viewing based on our analysis to date, e.g., Gravitation (49,516 views from March 3–9), and therefore we have decided to remove it from the list as most likely caused by non-human views.
 * Cult: Unknown reasons for periodic spikes in popularity
 * Melanie Maddison: high counts for a redlink are usually due to spambots or pranksters.
 * Acoustic Electric Guitar: This redirect (capitals included) has occasionally appeared in the top 25, probably due to a sadly confused adware bot.
 * Number of views needed to reach Top 25 this week: 330,123. Last week: 326,556.
 * Almosts: AS Monaco FC (319,614 views); Vin Diesel (297,885 views); Neymar (295,638 views)
 * The revision of WP:5000 containing the data used to create list:
 * Cult: Unknown reasons for periodic spikes in popularity
 * Melanie Maddison: high counts for a redlink are usually due to spambots or pranksters.
 * Acoustic Electric Guitar: This redirect (capitals included) has occasionally appeared in the top 25, probably due to a sadly confused adware bot.
 * Number of views needed to reach Top 25 this week: 330,123. Last week: 326,556.
 * Almosts: AS Monaco FC (319,614 views); Vin Diesel (297,885 views); Neymar (295,638 views)
 * The revision of WP:5000 containing the data used to create list: