Money

Universal made a TON of cash by skipping a theatrical release and dropping "Trolls World Tour" digitally instead -- and pissed as theater chains are ... it might well be a sign of changes to come post-pandemic.

You might've heard about the beef between the movie studio and a few cineplex bigwigs who were irate upon hearing that Universal was open to pivoting to exclusive digital releases with some of their flicks going forward when things eventually get back to normal.

This, of course, comes after 'TWT' made the globe family at least $100 million in profits through paid video on demand rentals from families sitting at home, over the course of just 3 weeks. That's miles better than what its predecessor brought in over 5 MONTHS!!!

Head honchos at AMC, Regal Entertainment and other well-known chains spoke out in harsh terms against Universal for suggesting they were gonna leave 'em hanging for platforms like Apple TV and other video-on-demand platforms in light of their success ... with AMC even vowing to drop Universal movies altogether if they followed through.

Bottom line ... the theaters say Universal's acting in bad faith on negotiations they apparently have with these chains, including certain windows they seem to have promised to get their pictures on the big screen, which makes theaters money too, obviously.

Puerto Rico serves as a reminder ... the coronavirus is not the only external force causing misery, because it just endured yet another natural disaster -- a significant earthquake.

A 5.4-magnitude tremblor hit in the southern region of Puerto Rico Saturday. The quake hit while most people were sleeping and it interrupted power in sections of the country. No word on injuries or deaths. Numerous aftershocks have been hitting the area.

Another quake hit in January -- a 6.4 magnitude -- and it caused millions in damages.

As everyone knows, Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria back in 2017. The storm caused more than $90 billion in damage. Nearly 3,000 people died, making it one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes ever.

This video shows the Ponce Massacre Museum and the extensive damage. The museum was built in 1910 and endured numerous natural disasters.

Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion's new track is providing more than listening pleasure -- it's immediately feeding people in need by inspiring others to give.

As we told you ... the 2 women are donating proceeds from Bey's remix of Meg's "Savage" to Bread of Life in Houston, a nonprofit that supplies food for families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The charity tells us the song's release is already paying dividends though -- it received donations from 500 new donors in the first 24 hours after the song's Wednesday debut!

We're told the money continues to come from the 'Savage' attention -- most donors give anywhere from $5 to $50 -- and it's all being used to stock up for the increased demand for food with so many millions out of work.

Bread of Life sets up a drive-thru pick up spot for families to get boxes of groceries loaded right into their trunk. The org makes sure to take coronavirus precautions too ... there's no physical contact between the families and the staff, and masks and gloves are required.

As for how Bread of Life was chosen by Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion -- other than the Houston connection -- we're told Bey and her mom, Tina Knowles, have worked with the nonprofit in the past.

We're told the mother-daughter duo helped build an apartment complex for some folks in need who Bread of Life supports. Plus, Beyonce and the org's founder grew up in the same church.

There probably is a limit to what Pastor Tony Spell can get away with, but for now ... he's still collecting stimulus dough from parishioners while dodging jail.

The infamous leader of the Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana tells TMZ ... since April 19 when his "stimulus challenge" began, 205 people have given at least a portion of their stimulus checks to his church.

We're told this includes parishioners as well as outsiders who don't belong to Life Tabernacle. Spell would not reveal how much cash he's hauled in from these folks.

We did the math, out of curiosity, though, and if each donor gave the typical tithe of 10% of the max stimulus amount of $1,200 -- that's $24,600 for Tony. Granted, it could be less or a lot more. He seemed to be encouraging donors to give their full checks ... as he claims he did.

As we reported ... Spell's been urging folks to give their stimulus dough away to all evangelists who can't pass the offering plate during the pandemic shutdowns.

Of course, that doesn't really apply to Spell because he's not been abiding by the Governor's stay-at-home order. Not only is he still holding services where he can take offerings, but he's also disobeying a judge's order to home confinement due to his recent arrest.

Tony tells us that's not going to change this Sunday either ... he's planning on leading another church service. He says he had 800 people attend last week (though it looks like he added a zero based on video) and expects a bigger turnout this time.

Spell says he knows he's in direct contempt of the court when he leaves his house to go to his church, but adds ... "The Bible commands us to go."

However, Spell tells us he will not be participating in his church's protest of stay-at-home orders Saturday outside the Governor's mansion. He says, "I do not want federal agents to pick me up when I am off the premises of my property." For the record, it would be local cops, not feds ... but ya get his drift.

A Texas company claims it has a solution for COVID-19 ... a robot that can kill the virus ... feds, hospitals and universities are already buying in, and pro sports could be next.

Here's the deal ... San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services claims they have perfected a $100,000 robot that can zap the deadly virus to death, and it's already being used by the Department of Defense, Mayo Clinic and prestigious universities, with more deep-pocketed clients waiting in the wings.

The so-called savior is dubbed the Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot ... and we're told it's already decontaminating workspaces at 10 U.S. military bases, LAPD's Skid Row station plus campuses at Stanford and USC.

Major sports leagues could soon jump on the futuristic bandwagon ... company honchos tell us franchises from the NBA and MLB are both looking to use the robot to kill germs at team facilities.

Here's how it works ... the robot uses a xenon lamp to generate bursts of high intensity, full germicidal spectrum UVC light -- more intense than sunlight -- to deactivate viruses, bacteria and spores. Different pathogens are susceptible to UVC light at different wavelengths.

The robot works alone ... we're told people and pets must be out of the room undergoing disinfection because too much UVC light is dangerous to the eyes -- it's kinda like staring at the sun.

Uncle Sam seems gung ho on the robot ... we're told the DoD is starting to “actively test the robot to decontaminate airplanes and research labs.”

Business is booming for Xenex ... we're told sales are up 600% over the same time last year, and they just sold a robot to someone who wants to disinfect a megayacht. Gyms and fitness centers are starting to make inquires too.

The robots are made in San Antonio, and we're told proud owners are even giving them names ... like Rosie, Ray, Sunny, Duncan, Tiger and Gronk!!!

Conor McGregor ain't just talking the talk ... he's walking the walk too -- stepping up to personally deliver supplies to hospitals in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, the Notorious has been one of the most outspoken celebrities when it comes to social distancing and public safety during the crisis ... urging politicians to take control.

"I urge all the way! 'All in' is the term we must use here," Conor said at the time. "Bit by bit will cost us lives. To see what is happening here in Ireland and all across the entire globe, is heartbreaking to me. "

On top of that, McGregor donated 1 MILLION Euros-worth of supplies to local hospitals in his native Ireland.

The UFC superstar did more than just send the supplies to the hospital -- he personally showed up to the Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin on Thursday to undoubtedly boost staffers' morale.

Seriously ... can you imagine the kinda pump-up speech he gave the heroes working during the pandemic?! Had to have been electric.

Kudos on the gesture, Conor ... and a big "thank you" to the workers fighting the pandemic.

Royal Caribbean Cruises royally screwed its employees with utter disregard for their health ... so they claim in a new lawsuit.

Mykola Molchun -- a crew member from Ukraine -- has filed a class-action lawsuit against the popular cruise line company claiming it was careless and continuously failed to protect its crew members assigned to work aboard the vessels despite RCC knowing about the dangerous conditions and explosive contagiousness associated with the deadly virus.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Molchun claims RCC failed to follow even the most basic safety precautions after getting COVID-19 notice ... like timely quarantining crew members stationed aboard the vessel. The suit also brought up a St. Patrick's Day party RCC threw for over 1,000 crew members ... saying it showed "an alarming lack of caution."

The suit claims RCC did this even after it suspended future cruise operations for passengers on March 13 and even then still allowed crew members to continue mingling in unsafe conditions ... like allowing them to eat in buffet settings.

The cruise line industry has been taking in the chin as of late. As we've reported ... Princess Cruise Lines, for example, has been sued multiple times by its guests. And, now crew members are getting in on the action. The suit comes about a week after a third Royal Caribbean crew member died after working on a vessel with a COVID-19 outbreak onboard.

White House Gift Shop dot com -- which is privately run, and not related to the actual White House -- is hawking some odd memorabilia ... a coronavirus commemorative coin no one asked for.

The COVID-19 coin features the names of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence ... and it depicts an empty presidential podium on one side, and a graphic of the novel coronavirus above the world on the other side.

The coin also shouts out the rest of the COVID-19 task force ... with smaller printed names for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The collector's item is emblazoned with tons of slogans ... including "Together We FOUGHT The UNSEEN Enemy," "Everday HEROES Suited Up," and "Everyday CITIZENS Did Their Part."

The White House Gift Shop is already taking pre-orders for the coin ... and the price is slashed from $125 down to $100. The store claims proceeds will be donated to hospitals.

The COVID-19 coin is the 11th in the gift shop's "Historic Moments" collection, which also commemorates Trump's meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So, at least the coronavirus coin is in ... good company.

NFL commish Roger Goodell has volunteered to reduce his salary to $0.00 during the coronavirus pandemic ... which is HUGE considering the guy makes up to $40 MILLION a year.

Goodell went to the NFL's compensation committee within the past month and expressed interest in forgoing his salary, according to Andrew Beaton.

Of course, Goodell is BY FAR the highest-paid sports league commissioner ... with the NBA's Adam Silver and MLB's Rob Manfred making somewhere near $10 million a year, according to reports.

FYI -- Goodell's base salary is reportedly around $20 million ... but can double with incentives.

The commish ain't the only one taking a pay cut ... some of the league's other top execs are taking between 5-20% salary decreases, according to Seth Wickersham.

Goodell's pay reduction started this month ... but does NOT reflect the league's plans for the 2020 season -- AKA, there's still hope for a season.