Google Unveils 2018 Top-Trending Searches: ‘Black Panther,’ Stan Lee, ‘Roseanne’ Among Most Popular Queries

By Todd Spangler

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Google released its 2018 “year in search” lists of what internet users sought out this year, with “Black Panther” scoring as the top-trending entertainment search.

Disney-Marvel Studios’ superhero blockbuster “” was the only movie or TV show in the top 10 trending overall searches on this year (both in the U.S. and worldwide). High-profile deaths — Marvel’s Stan Lee , Mac Miller , Avicii , Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade — also ranked in the top 10 Google trending searches of 2018 globally.

Top movies that trended on Google this year in the U.S. were “Black Panther,” followed by Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2,” 20th Century Fox’s “Deadpool 2” and Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” The top-trending TV show searches were for ABC’s now-canceled “Roseanne,” Fox’s “American Idol,” and three Netflix series: “Altered Carbon,” “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Lost in Space.”

The top-trending 10 actors searched for on Google this year in the U.S. were: Logan Paul, controversial YouTube creator; Bill Cosby, sentenced to three to 10 years in prison after being convicted of sexual assault ; Sylvester Stallone (“Creed II”); “SNL”‘s Pete Davidson, who had a short-lived engagement with Ariana Grande; Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther”); Allison Mack, former “Smallville” actress who was charged with sex trafficking ; Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”); Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”);  Barr, who lost her namesake show revival over an offensive tweet ; and Chadwick Boseman (“Black Panther”).

To compile the annual rankings, Google analyzes trillions of searches using algorithms to filter out repeat queries and to compare percentage increase in searches for specific terms over the course of the year. Note that Google is reporting trending searches — they’re not ranked by search volume, but by a measure of how much they spiked in 2018 compared to 2017. (For example, top searches often include terms like “weather” that don’t change drastically year to year, according to Google.)

Google has more info on the year in search trends at google.com/2018 . The lists below are based on data for U.S. users.

OVERALL SEARCHES

1. World Cup
2. Hurricane Florence
3. Mac Miller
4. Kate Spade
5. Anthony Bourdain
6. Black Panther
7. Mega Millions Results
8. Stan Lee
9. Demi Lovato
10. Election Results

MOVIES


1. Black Panther
2. Incredibles 2
3. Deadpool 2
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. A Quiet Place
6. A Star Is Born
7. Bohemian Rhapsody
8. Venom
9. Hereditary
10. The Nun

TV SHOWS


1. Roseanne
2. Altered Carbon
3. The Haunting of Hill House
4. American Idol
5. Lost in Space
6. Cobra Kai
7. Castle Rock
8. Westworld
9. Insatiable
10. On My Block

ACTORS


1. Logan Paul
2. Bill Cosby
3. Sylvester Stallone
4. Pete Davidson
5. Michael B. Jordan
6. Allison Mack
7. Noah Centineo
8. Bradley Cooper
9. Roseanne Barr
10. Chadwick Boseman

PEOPLE


1. Demi Lovato
2. Meghan Markle
3. Brett Kavanaugh
4. Logan Paul
5. Khloe Kardashian
6. Eminem
7. Urban Meyer
8. Ariana Grande
9. Rick Ross
10. Cardi B

DEATHS


1. Mac Miller
2. Kate Spade
3. Anthony Bourdain
4. Stan Lee
5. Aretha Franklin
6. XXXTentacion
7. Mollie Tibbetts
8. Avicii
9. Burt Reynolds
10. John McCain

NEWS


1. World Cup
2. Hurricane Florence
3. Mega Millions
4. Election Results
5. Hurricane Michael
6. Kavanaugh Confirmation
7. Florida Shooting
8. Royal Wedding
9. Olympic Medal Count
10. Government Shutdown

MUSICIANS AND BANDS


1. Demi Lovato
2. Eminem
3. Ariana Grande
4. Rick Ross
5. Cardi B
6. Travis Scott
7. Childish Gambino
8. Machine Gun Kelly
9. Meek Mill
10. Queen

SONGS


1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2. This Is America
3. Baby Shark
4. God’s Plan
5. Killshot
6. In My Feelings
7. Electric Slide
8. thank u, next
9. Mo Bamba
10. Lucid Dreams

VIDEO GAMES


1. Fortnite
2. Red Dead Redemption
3. Fallout 76
4. Far Cry 5
5. God of War
6. Monster Hunter: World
7. Sea of Thieves
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
9. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
10. Zombs Royale

ATHLETES


1. Tristan Thompson
2. Shaun White
3. Lindsey Vonn
4. Le’Veon Bell
5. Kawhi Leonard
6. Dez Bryant
7. Nick Foles
8. Chloe Kim
9. Naomi Osaka
10. Johnny Weir

POLITICIANS


1. Stacey Abrams
2. Beto O’Rourke
3. Ted Cruz
4. Andrew Gillum
5. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
6. Nikki Haley
7. Lindsey Graham
8. Kyrsten Sinema
9. Nancy Pelosi
10. Susan Collins

WEDDINGS


1. Royal Wedding [Prince Harry and Meghan Markle]
2. Priyanka Chopra Wedding
3. Princess Eugenie Wedding
4. Kat Von D Wedding
5. Deepika Padukone Wedding
6. Joe Scarborough and Mika Wedding
7. Kit Harrington Wedding
8. Jordan Spieth Wedding
9. Emily Ratajkowski Wedding
10. Kane Brown Wedding

GIFs


1. Fortnite GIF
2. Default Dance GIF
3. Dilly Dilly GIF
4. Orange Justice GIF
5. Black Panther GIF
6. Cat Curling GIF
7. Ugandan Knuckles GIF
8. Draymond Green GIF
9. Cardi B GIF
10. Floss Dance GIF