عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

Daniel Craig Leads Hollywood Stars to Toronto for 50th Film Fest

Netflix's popular 'Knives Out' whodunit franchise returns, with former 007 actor Daniel Craig back investigating the latest murder in 'Wake Up Dead Man'. Frederic J. Brown / AFP/File
Netflix's popular 'Knives Out' whodunit franchise returns, with former 007 actor Daniel Craig back investigating the latest murder in 'Wake Up Dead Man'. Frederic J. Brown / AFP/File
TT
TT

Daniel Craig Leads Hollywood Stars to Toronto for 50th Film Fest

Netflix's popular 'Knives Out' whodunit franchise returns, with former 007 actor Daniel Craig back investigating the latest murder in 'Wake Up Dead Man'. Frederic J. Brown / AFP/File
Netflix's popular 'Knives Out' whodunit franchise returns, with former 007 actor Daniel Craig back investigating the latest murder in 'Wake Up Dead Man'. Frederic J. Brown / AFP/File

Hollywood stars arrived in Toronto Thursday for a celebratory 50th edition of North America's biggest film festival, with new movies from Daniel Craig, Sydney Sweeney and Matthew McConaughey among a packed lineup.

The Toronto International Film Festival dwarfs more famous rivals like Venice and Cannes for sheer scale, if not glitz and glamour, drawing an estimated 400,000 annual visitors to the Canadian metropolis.

Over 11 days of red-carpet galas, the "audience-first" fest showcases splashy crowd-pleasers in front of giant public audiences, while also serving as a key launchpad for Oscars campaigns.

This year, Netflix's popular "Knives Out" whodunit franchise returns, with former 007 actor Craig back investigating the latest murder in "Wake Up Dead Man" in a Saturday night world premiere, alongside Glenn Close, Mila Kunis and Josh O'Connor, AFP reported.

Josh Brolin plays an unnerving demagogue with a cult following in a film that "tackles current issues in a fun, locked-room, classical-plot way," said TIFF director of programming Robyn Citizen.

Sweeney aims to pivot from her recent jeans ad controversy to Academy Award contender with Friday's premiere of "Christy," a gritty, raw biopic of US female boxing pioneer Christy Martin.

In another harrowing true-life tale, launching Friday, McConaughey rescues schoolchildren from California wildfires in the emotionally searing action-thriller "The Lost Bus."

For the festival's 50th anniversary celebrations, stars Russell Crowe, Paul Mescal, Angelina Jolie and Anya Taylor-Joy will all hit the screenings and soirees.

TIFF "started out as festival of festivals, choosing the best work from around the world to show to Toronto audiences," Citizen said.

While it has increasingly prioritized discovering new filmmakers, "certainly our public audience is what distinguishes us as a big festival," she said.

French invasion

French directors are sure to bring a European flair.

Matt Dillon appears in Claire Denis' drama "The Fence," about a mysterious death on an African construction site, while Arnaud Desplechin launches love story "Two Pianos" starring Charlotte Rampling.

Alice Winocour directs Jolie for Paris fashion drama "Couture."

Romain Gavras's celebrity climate-change satire "Sacrifice" stars Taylor-Joy and Chris Evans as an eco-terrorist and a waning movie star, respectively.

Elsewhere, Crowe gives what organizers describe as a nuanced and eerily charismatic performance as Nazi Hermann Goering on trial in historical drama "Nuremberg," opposite fellow Oscar-winner Rami Malek.

"You don't expect to be disarmed by this person, who you know has done horrible things," said Citizen. "And then, through the course of the movie, you are."

Keanu Reeves plays an incompetent angel in Aziz Ansari's body-swapping farce "Good Fortune," while Channing Tatum portrays a real-life fugitive who lives clandestinely inside a toy store in "Roofman."

Brendan Fraser plays a lonely actor for hire at funerals and weddings in Tokyo-set "Rental Family."

The Bard and the King

Toronto follows hot on the heels of the small but influential US-based Telluride festival, and invites a selection of movies to make a bigger, second splash.

Among them, Mescal plays a young William Shakespeare in literary adaptation "Hamnet" from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao -- though the focus is squarely on the Bard's long-suffering wife Agnes, played by a "transcendent" Jessie Buckley, says Citizen.

The film earned rave reviews and plenty of Oscar buzz in Telluride.

Director Edward Berger, on a hot run after "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Conclave," will present Colin Farrell as a down-on-his-luck gambler in "Ballad of a Small Player."

And fresh from Venice, director Guillermo del Toro brings his reimagining of "Frankenstein," while Dwayne Johnson will promote "The Smashing Machine," which has already drawn gushing predictions of a first Oscar nomination for the former pro wrestler known as "The Rock."

TIFF runs until September 14.

Most Viewed

 
 
Entertainment

Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ Bounds to No. 1

FILE PHOTO: Cast member Jon Hamm attends the premiere of Disney-Pixar's "Hoppers" at El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cast member Jon Hamm attends the premiere of Disney-Pixar's "Hoppers" at El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci/File Photo
TT
TT

Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ Bounds to No. 1

FILE PHOTO: Cast member Jon Hamm attends the premiere of Disney-Pixar's "Hoppers" at El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cast member Jon Hamm attends the premiere of Disney-Pixar's "Hoppers" at El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci/File Photo

Disney and Pixar’s environmental adventure “Hoppers” topped the North American box office this weekend with $46 million in domestic ticket sales in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

After adding another $42 million from international showings, the film celebrated an $88 million global launch in total, the biggest for an original animated film since “Coco” came out in 2017.

But it wasn’t all good news for big studio fare at the multiplex: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s R-rated reimagining of the Bride of Frankenstein story is flailing. A Warner Bros. release, “The Bride!” starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, debuted to an estimated $7.3 million from 3,304 domestic locations. It cost around $80 million to produce, not including marketing and promotion expenses.

The two movies were hardly competing with one another for viewers — one being a PG-rated family pic, the other an audacious, R-rated, genre-blending ride. “Hoppers” arrived to a slew of good reviews, while critical responses to “The Bride!” were mixed to negative and its audience scores weren’t much better.

“Hoppers” win was much needed for Disney and Pixar following last year’s “Elio,” which was Pixar's worst opening ever. The studio’s only major successes lately have been sequels and franchises, while “Hoppers” is a win for original fare. It also opened higher than 2023’s “Elemental,” which eventually went on to become a sleeper hit (“Elio” did not).

“Hoppers” had a reported $150 million production budget and opened in 4,000 locations. Directed by Daniel Chong, the movie is about a 19-year-old environmentalist who infiltrates the animal world in the body of a beaver. It features the voices of Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm and Kathy Najimy.

“Hoppers” got a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 75% “definitely recommend” from PostTrak polling and an A CinemaScore, suggesting it should have a long and profitable run in theaters.

“This is a fantastic original film from the incredible team at Pixar, and it’s wonderful to see audiences coming out with their friends and families to enjoy it together,” said Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, in a statement. He also congratulated the filmmaking team on “a tremendous launch.”

“The Bride!” had a bit of a bumpy path to theaters, with edits being made after reportedly poor test screenings. Its release date was pushed back from September, possibly to give it some space versus Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which played in theaters last fall before hitting Netflix.

Men made up a slight majority of the audience for “The Bride!” at 53%. The movie currently carries a “rotten” 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and a lackluster C+ CinemaScore. Only 43% of that audience said they would “definitely recommend.”

And it doesn’t seem like international audiences will be much help: It made only $6.3 million outside of the US and Canada, bringing its global debut to $13.6 million, The Associated Press reported.

“Unfortunately, we came in light,” said Jeffrey Goldstein, who oversees domestic distribution for Warner Bros., in a text message. “We have a tailored approach to our slate, investing strategically in talent, IP and original storytelling. It spans genres and budget levels and allows us to back bold, distinctive filmmakers ... and sometimes things just don’t work out.”

Warner Bros.' other recent release, “Wuthering Heights,” meanwhile, has surpassed $213 million globally. And next week, the studio, which is staring down new ownership under Paramount, is expected to sweep the Oscars between “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”

“We’re coming off an incredible run of nine No. 1 openings in a row, and in an increasingly ‘risk-averse’ business like ours, we believe the business is better served with studios taking bold swings on originals like this one,” Goldstein said. “Even the 1927 Yankees had 44 losses that season.”

Paramount’s “Scream 7” landed in second place in its second weekend with $17.3 million, down a whopping 73% and bringing its domestic total to $93.4 million and its global total to $149.5 million. Sony's “GOAT” came in fourth place with $6.6 million while “Wuthering Heights” rounded out the top five with $3.8 million.

“When there’s this many holdovers in the top 10, it says we haven’t had enough horsepower in the newcomers to really get things moving,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends.

But he anticipates that will change when the Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi adventure “Project Hail Mary” hits theaters on March 20.

Entertainment

Spanish Soccer Team Desperately Seeking Madonna and Her 36-Year-Old Shirt

Madonna arrives for the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2026/2027 fashion show during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Madonna arrives for the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2026/2027 fashion show during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Spanish Soccer Team Desperately Seeking Madonna and Her 36-Year-Old Shirt

Madonna arrives for the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2026/2027 fashion show during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Madonna arrives for the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2026/2027 fashion show during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Spanish soccer team Celta Vigo is desperately seeking Madonna as it goes in search of a 36-year-old soccer shirt the pop star wore during a 1990 concert at its Balaidos stadium.

Madonna appeared on stage wearing the club's true blue colors during her Blonde Ambition tour in July 1990.

She delighted locals who claimed the material girl as one of their own and brought unexpected attention to defender Jose Manuel Espinosa, whose No. 5 shirt she wore.

However, the whereabouts of the cherished garment are unknown and, after searching fruitlessly for decades, Celta is asking the 67-year-old Madonna to help find it for the club's archive.

“Although ours was not the only football shirt you ever wore on stage, this iconic image has grown to shine differently as years have passed,” Celta president Marián Mouriño Terrazo wrote in an open letter to the American icon.

“Over time we came to better understand what you stood for back then: questioning established norms and standing up to those who try to tell you what you can or cannot do. At our club we recognize ourselves in this line of thought. That is why we hold on to the hope of finding the garment you once wore.

“Do you have it? If you know where it may be, or if you would like to join us in the search to retrieve it, please contact us via private message.”

The appeal caused a commotion on social media after it was published on Wednesday and the club doubled down before Friday's 2-1 home league defeat by Real Madrid, playing Madonna’s songs before kickoff and putting her picture on the field and on social media.

Mouriño Terrazo told local media he was hopeful the repercussions would reach the pop star.

“I imagine that the letter reached Madonna and that she will reply,” he said.

Madonna burst on the scene in 1983 with the hit Holiday and followed that with a run of top-10 hits that included “Like a Virgin”,” Papa Don’t Preach” and “Ray of Light.”

She remains one of the most successful recording artists in history.

Entertainment

Britney Spears Arrested and Released, California Sheriff's Records Show

(FILES) US singer Britney Spears arrives for the premiere of Sony Pictures' "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on July 22, 2019. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
(FILES) US singer Britney Spears arrives for the premiere of Sony Pictures' "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on July 22, 2019. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
TT
TT

Britney Spears Arrested and Released, California Sheriff's Records Show

(FILES) US singer Britney Spears arrives for the premiere of Sony Pictures' "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on July 22, 2019. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
(FILES) US singer Britney Spears arrives for the premiere of Sony Pictures' "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on July 22, 2019. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)

Britney Spears was arrested Wednesday night in Southern California and booked early the following morning, though the charge was not clear, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s office website.

Messages seeking comment were left with the sheriff's office; the California Highway Patrol, which was identified as the arresting agency; and Spears' representative.

Spears was arrested around 9:30 p.m. in Ventura County and released on Thursday, sheriff's office records show. She has a May 4 court date schedule, The Associated Press reported.

Spears, born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, was a teen pop phenomenon who became a defining superstar of the ’90s and 2000s. She rose to fame from Disney Channel’s “The Mickey Mouse Club” to MTV and beyond, with such era-defining hits like “... Baby One More Time,” “Oops! ... I Did It Again” and “Toxic.”

Most of her albums have been certified platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two diamond titles: 1999’s “ ... Baby One More Time” and 2000’s “Oops! ... I Did It Again.” Her last full-length album, “Glory,” was released in 2016.

Spears became a focus of tabloids in the early 2000s, and a source of public scrutiny, as she battled mental illness and paparazzi documented the details of her private life.

Later, as cultural opinion evolved to recognize the misogynistic media coverage of the time, Spears’ fight to control her life became the focus of the #FreeBritney movement.

In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. It was dissolved in 2021. Two years later, she released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, “The Woman in Me.”