C-3PO's Head, 'Titanic' Costumes for Sale at Propstore Film Auction 

Don Vito Corleone's coat worn by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", Jack Dawson's costume worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic", and James Bond's tuxedo worn by Daniel Craig in "James Bond: No Time to Die" are displayed at Propstore in Chenies, Britain, September 20, 2023.(Reuters)
Don Vito Corleone's coat worn by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", Jack Dawson's costume worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic", and James Bond's tuxedo worn by Daniel Craig in "James Bond: No Time to Die" are displayed at Propstore in Chenies, Britain, September 20, 2023.(Reuters)
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C-3PO's Head, 'Titanic' Costumes for Sale at Propstore Film Auction 

Don Vito Corleone's coat worn by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", Jack Dawson's costume worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic", and James Bond's tuxedo worn by Daniel Craig in "James Bond: No Time to Die" are displayed at Propstore in Chenies, Britain, September 20, 2023.(Reuters)
Don Vito Corleone's coat worn by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather", Jack Dawson's costume worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic", and James Bond's tuxedo worn by Daniel Craig in "James Bond: No Time to Die" are displayed at Propstore in Chenies, Britain, September 20, 2023.(Reuters)

From "Star Wars" droid C-3PO's head to Leonardo DiCaprio's "Titanic" costume, a trove of costumes and props are headed to auction next month in a sale of film and television memorabilia worth around $14.6 million.

More than 1,800 items are being sold by entertainment memorabilia auctioneer Propstore at its annual live auction, which this year runs from Nov. 9-12.

Leading the sale, which Propstore estimates will fetch more than 12 million pounds (14.6 million), is the light-up head actor Anthony Daniels wore to play C-3PO in "Star Wars: A New Hope", with an estimate of 500,000 - 1 million pounds ($600,000- $1.2 million).

Daniels is also selling other "Star Wars" memorabilia.

"We have his complete archive from his time of working on the 'Star Wars' films so that includes some of the props and body components and parts, his head, his hands, his feet," Propstore founder and Chief Executive Stephen Lane told Reuters.

"We have his original scripts with the annotations in there as well."

Costumes for sale include a shirt, waistcoat and trousers DiCaprio wore in "Titanic" (100,000 - 200,000 pounds), Honey Ryder's bathrobe as worn by Ursula Andress in "Dr. No" (70,000-140,000 pounds) and Johnny Depp's stunt costume from "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (50,000-100,000 pounds).

Props include Harrison Ford's bull whip from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (100,000-200,000 pounds), "Nightmare on Elm Street" character Freddy Krueger's hero metal glove armature and hand-drawn schematic (200,000-400,000 pounds) and Tom Hanks' sneakers from "Forrest Gump" (15,000-30,000 pounds).

Other lots include Stanley Kubrick's hand-annotated shooting script for "The Shining" (30,000-60,000 pounds) and a coat worn by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" (25,000-50,000 pounds).

Lane said the lots came from collectors, curators, archives, film studios and production companies.

"The demand is growing and we're seeing things travel all over the world...and they're bought by passionate fans and lovers of the movies, collectors," he said. "But some of these items also end up in museums and studio archives as well."



K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

K-pop megastars BTS will release a new album in March ahead of a world tour, the group announced on Thursday.

South Korea's biggest musical act has been on self-described hiatus since 2022 as its members undertook national military service required of all men under the age of 30.

All seven members were discharged last year, and the group announced a comeback for the spring of 2026.

They confirmed on Thursday that they would release an album on March 20 before heading on tour, AFP reported.

The exact date was revealed in handwritten letters sent to paid members of the official BTS fan group, and later confirmed by their label Big Hit Music.

"I have been waiting more earnestly than anyone else," group leader RM wrote in the letter.

No further details about the album or tour were given.

The album will be BTS's first since the anthology "Proof" which became South Korea's bestselling record of 2022.

Before their military service, BTS generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in South Korea per year, according to the government-backed Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of the country's total GDP.

BTS has expanded beyond their home nation to become a global musical phenomenon in recent years.

They hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify, and became the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.


‘Zootopia 2’ Breaks Record to Become Top-grossing Disney Animation Film

FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
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‘Zootopia 2’ Breaks Record to Become Top-grossing Disney Animation Film

FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo

Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2" surpassed 2019's "Frozen 2" to become its highest-grossing film ever, the company said on Wednesday, marking a bright spot in a year when global box office continues to trail pre-pandemic levels.

The animated sequel is the fifth Walt Disney Animation Studios film to cross $1 billion globally, ⁠grossing around $1.46 billion at the box office after its strong US Thanksgiving weekend opening, Reuters reported.

The film's success has been fueled by an extraordinary reception in China, where "Zootopia 2" has grossed over $560 million. ⁠The sequel dominated its opening weekend in China, capturing approximately 95% of all movie ticket sales.

"Zootopia 2" launched Hollywood's crucial holiday season with an estimated $556 million in global ticket sales in the opening weekend. The film reunites rabbit police officer Judy Hopps and her fox ⁠partner Nick Wilde in a new adventure through the bustling animal metropolis.

With global box office still falling short of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the sequel's success has been a welcome relief to the studio and theater owners banking on packed shows during the year's second-busiest moviegoing season.


French Minister Criticizes Clooney’s ‘Double Standard’ Passport

France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
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French Minister Criticizes Clooney’s ‘Double Standard’ Passport

France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)

A junior member of President Emmanuel Macron's government Wednesday criticized the French passports given to Hollywood superstar George Clooney despite him speaking poor French, saying the move suggested a "double standard".

The news of Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney and their two children becoming French comes ahead of language requirements for citizenship being toughened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.

"Personally, I understand the feeling of some French people of a double standard," Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior interior minister, told the France Info radio station.

"We need to be careful about the message we're sending."

Her boss, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, and the foreign ministry however defended the decision.

The civil code states that "French nationality may be conferred by naturalization, upon the proposal of the minister of foreign affairs, to any French-speaking foreigner who applies for it and who contributes through their distinguished service to France's influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations."

But the 64-year-old Oscar winner has admitted that his French remains poor despite hundreds of lessons.

Under the new immigration rules from Thursday, applicants will need a certificate showing they have a level of French that could get them into a French university. They will also have to pass a civic knowledge test.

Clooney has a property in southern France and said he has hailed French privacy laws that keep his family largely protected from international media intrusion.

"I love the French culture, your language, even if I'm still bad at it after 400 days of courses," the actor told RTL radio -- in English -- in December.

His wife, an international human rights lawyer and dual UK-Lebanese national, speaks fluent French.

- 'Meets the conditions' -

Clooney bought the Domaine du Canadel, a former wine estate, near the Provence town of Brignoles, in 2021. He said it is where his family is "happiest".

Nunez, the interior minister, said he was "very happy" with the actor and his family becoming French, saying the country was lucky to have them.

The French foreign ministry said the passport allocation for the Clooneys "meets the conditions set by law" for naturalization.

The family "followed a rigorous procedure including security investigations, regulatory naturalization interviews at the prefecture, and the payment of tax stamps," the ministry added.

It highlighted the Clooneys had a French home and they "contribute through their distinguished service to France's international influence and cultural prestige" through the actor's role in the film industry.

This "can only contribute to maintaining and promoting France's position in this essential economic sector", it said.

Amal Clooney is "a renowned lawyer" who "regularly collaborates with academic institutions and international organizations based in France," the ministry added.

Some 48,800 people acquired French nationality by decree in 2024, according to interior ministry figures.

Clooney is not alone in wanting a French passport.

Hollywood director Jim Jarmusch announced on Friday that he was also applying, telling French radio that he wanted "a place to where I can escape the United States".