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Sundance Festival Kicks off as Film World Reels from LA Fires 

Indian-US director Meera Menon attends the launch of Marvel studio original series "Ms Marvel" at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 2, 2022. (AFP)
Indian-US director Meera Menon attends the launch of Marvel studio original series "Ms Marvel" at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 2, 2022. (AFP)
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Sundance Festival Kicks off as Film World Reels from LA Fires 

Indian-US director Meera Menon attends the launch of Marvel studio original series "Ms Marvel" at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 2, 2022. (AFP)
Indian-US director Meera Menon attends the launch of Marvel studio original series "Ms Marvel" at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 2, 2022. (AFP)

The US film industry's first major gathering since wildfires devastated Los Angeles began Thursday at Sundance, where stars kicked off the indie movie festival under somber circumstances.

Hollywood's annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Mountains to debut the coming year's top indie films started barely two weeks after blazes killed more than two dozen people and brought the US entertainment capital to a halt.

Festival chiefs spoke at length with filmmakers "who lost homes or were displaced" by the fires before deciding to press ahead, Sundance director Eugene Hernandez told AFP.

Among those were the team behind "Didn't Die," an indie zombie movie about survivors podcasting to an ever-dwindling human population, which was partly shot in the filmmakers's now-destroyed Altadena homes.

"We turned the film in, and a few days later... our homes were lost," director Meera Menon told AFP.

The film's producer and editor, who lived near to Menon and her co-writer husband, also fled their house before it was razed by the fires.

"The four of us really lost everything... our home was our dream home," added a tearful-sounding Menon, who was nonetheless driving up to Utah on Thursday to attend her film's premiere next week.

Also among the 88 features being screened in snowy Park City is "Rebuilding," starring Josh O'Connor as a rancher who loses everything in a wildfire.

"It takes on an added poignance," said Hernandez.

"It's an incredible film, and one that we felt was important to show, based on that spirit of resilience," said Sundance programming director Kim Yutani.

- J-Lo, Cumberbatch -

Among festival highlights, Jennifer Lopez brings her first film to Sundance this weekend with glitzy musical "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

From "Dreamgirls" director Bill Condon, the film is based on the Broadway adaptation of Argentine author Manuel Puig's novel.

Lopez plays a silver-screen diva whose life and roles are discussed by two mismatched prisoners as they form an unlikely bond in their grim cell.

Benedict Cumberbatch stars in another literary adaptation, "The Thing With Feathers," based on Max Porter's experimental and poetic novel about a grieving husband and two young sons.

Rapper A$AP Rocky and late-night host Conan O'Brien make up the eclectic cast of mystery "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You."

And "The Bear" star Ayo Edebiri teams up with John Malkovich for thriller "Opus," about a young writer investigating the mysterious disappearance of a legendary pop star.

- Politics -

Among Sundance's documentary selection, which has launched several of the most recent Oscar-winning nonfiction films, politics will feature heavily.

Former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern is expected in town to promote the behind-the-scenes documentary "Prime Minister."

Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis will unveil "All That's Left of You" in a prominent Saturday evening premiere at Sundance's biggest venue.

Sundance runs until February 2.

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Entertainment

‘Project Hail Mary’ Flies to $54.5 Million Second Weekend, Horror Reaches a Saturation Point

Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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‘Project Hail Mary’ Flies to $54.5 Million Second Weekend, Horror Reaches a Saturation Point

Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)

“Project Hail Mary” stayed aloft in its second weekend, holding strongly with $54.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, and adding to the long-term prospects of the year’s biggest hit thus far.

The Phil Lord and Chris Miller sci-fi adventure, starring Ryan Gosling, dipped only 32% after notching the best non-franchise opening weekend since 2023’s “Oppenheimer.” Amazon MGM’s yet, “Project Hail Mary” has grossed $300.8 million worldwide in two weeks.

“Project Hail Mary,” which cost nearly $200 million to produce, didn’t face any significant new competition and kept premium format screens largely to itself. Potentially the weekend's most watched movie, the KPop documentary “BTS: The Return,” went straight to streaming on Netflix.

But “Project Hail Mary” is on an enviable trajectory. Its second weekend hold was even better than that of “Oppenheimer,” which collected $46.7 million in its follow-up frame.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s top new release, “They Will Kill You,” debuted with a disappointing $5 million for Warner Bros. The gory R-rated horror film stars Zazie Beetz as a woman who applies to be a maid at an apartment complex where she’s to become a sacrificial offering.

While the result was far from catastrophic for a movie with a modest $20 million budget, it did suggest that theaters may have become oversaturated in horror. David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, noted that there has been a new horror film released every weekend for the last 14 weekends.

That included last week’s “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” ($16.3 million domestically so far) and a second horror-comedy that also debuted this weekend. IFC’s “Forbidden Fruits,” about a coven of witches who work at a Texas mall, debuted with $1.2 million in sales.

Despite the glut, Gross is forecasting horror films will account for about $2.1 billion in North American ticket revenue in 2026, down from $2.75 million last year. While horror remains popular with audiences and relatively cheap to produce, the genre may be approaching overkill.

Meanwhile, family movies continue to thrive. The Pixar original “Hoppers” remained in second place with $12.2 million in its fourth weekend. The Walt Disney Co. release has accumulated $297.6 million globally.

Next weekend, though, it will face stiff competition in Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It’s expected to have the biggest opening of 2026.

Entertainment

Disney Opens World of Frozen in Paris as New CEO Showcases the Empire That Made Him

The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)
The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)
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Disney Opens World of Frozen in Paris as New CEO Showcases the Empire That Made Him

The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)
The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)

A 118-foot mountain of ice rose over the suburban Paris countryside this weekend as Disney opened its Arendelle kingdom to the world — Elsa’s palace glowing at the summit, a “Frozen” Nordic fishing village below, and the company’s new CEO standing before a crowd of celebrities.

World of Frozen, an immersive land themed to the blockbuster animated franchise, opened Sunday as the centerpiece of a 2 billion euro ($2.18 billion) transformation at Disneyland Paris.

The transformation renames one of the two theme parks at the Disneyland Paris complex from Walt Disney Studios Park to Disney Adventure World. The inauguration drew Penélope Cruz, Naomi Campbell and Teyana Taylor.

It is the largest expansion in the 34-year history of Disneyland Paris, and one node in a roughly $60 billion global buildout of Disney’s parks, resorts and cruise lines.

It is also the first major international stage for Josh D’Amaro, who took over as Disney’s chief executive on March 18 — just 11 days before the French gates opened — after nearly three decades in the company’s theme parks division.

The parks-and-experiences business generated about 57% of the company’s $17.5 billion in segment operating income last year, the force that observers say propelled D’Amaro from parks chief to the corner office.

An Associated Press journalist accompanied D’Amaro on the “Frozen” ride Saturday night.

The carriage splashed through water to childlike cheers from riders and laughter from the new chief executive as they glided past singing Elsa in the dark. Some stepped off lightly wet.

“The Walt Disney Company was built on one man’s dream, and for more than 100 years we’ve shared that dream with the world,” D’Amaro told the inauguration crowd.

“Storytelling is fundamental to everything that we do, whether that’s on screen or stage, in our theme parks, on our cruise ships, or even at home.”

He called the opening “a transformational moment” and paid tribute to the creative team behind the land, including “Frozen” writer-director Jennifer Lee — all now at work on “Frozen 3.”

On Friday, D’Amaro had stood alongside Emmanuel Macron at the resort.

The French president used the visit to claim the park as a national economic asset, calling Disneyland Paris “the leading tourist destination in Europe” and describing it as “a genuine ecosystem of success.”

Macron said the latest expansion would create 1,000 additional direct jobs.

“Since the beginning, that’s 13 billion euros invested on this territory,” Macron said.

Disneyland Paris says the resort now employs more than 20,000 people, supports 70,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and has recorded more than 445 million visits since 1992 — accounting for 6.1% of France’s national tourism revenue.

Macron’s presence underscored a remarkable reversal.

When the park opened as Euro Disney in 1992, French intellectuals derided it as a “cultural Chernobyl.” Now a French president was standing in front of cameras calling it an engine of national prosperity.

It is no coincidence that “Frozen” and “Tangled” — the two stories anchoring Disney’s new lineup at its sole European resort — both trace their roots to European folklore.

“Frozen” draws loosely from “The Snow Queen”; the new Tangled family ride recalls the Brothers Grimm’s Rapunzel.

“Frozen, of course, has its roots in European storytelling,” said Michel den Dulk of Walt Disney Imagineering.

“It’s very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen. So to have a northern European, charming wooden little village here in Disneyland Paris, where you can see your favorite Frozen characters — it just made sense.”

The land recreates Arendelle around a lagoon, its timber buildings painted in muted Scandinavian pastels, facades adorned with rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian decorative art.

At the center is Frozen Ever After, a boat ride featuring state-of-the-art animatronics and immersive projection effects.

Guests can meet Anna and Elsa inside Arendelle Castle, have a conversation with a responsive baby troll named Mossy who talks back, and watch a lagoon celebration called the Snow Flower Festival — featuring an original song.

A next-generation robotic Olaf roams the land.

Beyond World of Frozen, the rebranded park brings a vast new lake called Adventure Bay, a Tangled family ride, 15 new dining locations — including the posh Regal View Restaurant — and a nighttime spectacular called Disney Cascade of Lights featuring more than 380 drones.

A Lion King land, already under construction, will follow.

More than 90% of the second park’s offerings will have been redesigned since it opened in 2002, and Disney says the footprint will roughly double once the full transformation is complete.

Disney's streaming has swung from deep losses to profitability, but the parks remain the company’s most dependable earnings engine — and D’Amaro is the man who ran them.

“We continue to dream bigger and bring stories to life in brand new ways,” D’Amaro told the crowd.

Pyrotechnics lit up Arendelle Village.

The ice palace on the mountain turned blue.

And 34 years after Euro Disney became a punchline, a brand-new kingdom opened in the fields east of Paris — for the first time in forever.

Entertainment

Paul McCartney Charts Childhood Streets in First Album in Five Years

Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)
Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)
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Paul McCartney Charts Childhood Streets in First Album in Five Years

Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)
Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)

Paul McCartney ‌takes fans down the streets of his Liverpool childhood in his first solo album in more than five years due out in May.

The title "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" comes from a lyric in the album's first single "Days We Left Behind", released on Thursday - "a memory song for me," McCartney said in a statement.

"I was thinking just that, about the ‌days I ‌left behind and I do often ‌wonder ⁠if I’m just ⁠writing about the past but then I think how can you write about anything else? It’s just a lot of memories of Liverpool," the 83-year-old said.

The tracks evoke his childhood in post-war Liverpool, his parents ⁠and adventures shared with band mates ‌George Harrison and John ‌Lennon before the world had woken up ‌to the Beatles, according to a statement on ‌his website.

"It involves a bit in the middle about John and Forthlin Road which is the street I used to live in. Dungeon ‌Lane is near there," McCartney said about "Days We Left Behind".

"I used to ⁠live ⁠in a place called Speke which is quite working class. We didn’t have much at all, but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice you didn’t have much.”

McCartney worked with producer Andrew Watt and recorded the album, which also includes new love songs, in Los Angeles and Sussex, between legs of his global tour.

"The Boys of Dungeon Lane" is McCartney's 18th solo studio album.