| 100% | COLLEEN | 7 | Hoover whose book “It Ends With Us” sold more than eight hundred thousand copies in the month after the August, 2024, release of its film adaptation |
| 29% | PURPLE | 6 | "Harold and the ___ Crayon," film adaptation of a children's book, whose release date is in 2023 |
| 27% | BLAKELIVELY | 11 | "Gossip Girl" actress who plays Lily Bloom in the 2024 film "It Ends With Us" (2 wds.) |
| 26% | AMA | 3 | “I am Barack Obama, President of the United States—___” (2012 Reddit thread with more than two hundred thousand upvotes) |
| 26% | BIBLE | 5 | With 4-Down, much of the Southeast U.S. is in it |
| 26% | IDAHO | 5 | Source of more than half of the trout sold in the U.S. |
| 26% | NSYNC | 5 | Band whose hit “Bye Bye Bye” was featured in “Deadpool & Wolverine” and subsequently reëntered the Billboard Hot 100, nearly a quarter century after its release (July and August, 2024) |
| 26% | CANADA | 6 | Country whose border with the U.S. is more than five thousand miles long |
| 25% | AGATHA | 6 | ___ Christie, English writer of detective novels whose books have sold more than 2 billion copies |
| 25% | BRIDES | 6 | There are more of these in the U.S. in October than any other month, surprisingly |
| 24% | STEPHENKING | 11 | American author described as the "King of Horror" with the most number of book to film adaptations: 2 wds. |
| 24% | ORSON | 5 | With 17-Down, director whose "The Other Side of the Wind" was released in 2018, 33 years after his death |
| 24% | ENDS | 4 | “It ___ With Us” (drama released amid strife between stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, in August, 2024) |
| 24% | COLLEENHOOVER | 13 | Author of "It Ends With Us" who gained fame after self-publishing romance books: 2 wds. |
| 23% | BERNE | 5 | Psychiatrist Eric whose book “Games People Play” has sold more than five million copies |
| 23% | TWO | 3 | "___ of Us," VH1 drama which was named after The Beatles song released in 1969 |
| 23% | LAST | 4 | "The ___ of Us," TV adaptation of a video game series, whose release date is in 2023 |
| 22% | DECEMBER | 8 | Month in 2021 when the film "The Lost Daughter" released in the US |
| 22% | ALE | 3 | It's more than 4 percent alcohol by volume in the U.S. |
| 22% | MICHAELSTIPE | 12 | Singer who came up with "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" in his sleep: 2 wds. |
| 22% | SHAKESPEARE | 11 | William ___, English writer whose books have sold more than 2 billion copies |
| 22% | TEXAS | 5 | State with three of the 10 most populous cities in the US |
| 22% | MEXICO | 6 | US state with the name of country in it, New __ |
| 22% | OTISREDDING | 11 | US singer-songwriter whose posthumous album The Dock of the Bay was released in 1968 |
| 22% | STEEL | 5 | Danielle ___, American romance writer whose books have sold more than 650 million copies |
| 22% | PSYCHO | 6 | Film where Marion was shown flushing a toilet with its contents visible - a first in the US at the time |
| 22% | SEUSS | 5 | Dr. ___, American children's author whose books have sold more than 600 million copies |
| 22% | NFL | 3 | Org. with the five most-watched telecasts in the history of U.S. television |
| 22% | STOCK | 5 | Word with more than 20 definitions in the Merriam-Webster dictionary ... and the theme of this puzzle |
| 22% | TETRIS | 6 | Game which was released in 1984 and holds the record for most copies sold ever |