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Celine Dion is Back in Paris, but Her First Song Remains 'a Big Secret'

Grammy-winning star Celine Dion - File photo/Reuters
Grammy-winning star Celine Dion - File photo/Reuters
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Celine Dion is Back in Paris, but Her First Song Remains 'a Big Secret'

Grammy-winning star Celine Dion - File photo/Reuters
Grammy-winning star Celine Dion - File photo/Reuters

Celine Dion blew kisses and made a love-heart shape with her hands as she swept into Paris on Friday for her first series of concerts since revealing her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome.

Fans yelling “We're so happy to see you” and “We love you” crowded with journalists outside a Paris hotel as the Grammy-winning star settled in to prepare her residency of 16 shows in September and October at the Plenitude Arena in the French capital's western suburbs. The first show opens on Sept. 12.

“I am ready and I’m a bit uptight of course because it’s been a long time,” she told French broadcaster BFMTV, wearing a beige trench coat, high heels and dark shades, The AP news reported.

“I have always felt supported from the first day and because it’s a story that continues. It’s true that this is my second home,” the Quebec-born singer said.

Asked which song she'd sing first, Dion replied: “I can't say, it's a big secret!”

The Paris concerts, to be followed by 10 more next May, mark a major milestone for 58-year-old Dion after years away from touring due to the rare neurological disorder she disclosed in 2022.

With nearly 260 million albums sold worldwide, Dion remains one of the bestselling and most decorated artists in pop music history, known for hits including “My Heart Will Go On” and “Because You Loved Me.”

The concert series, titled “Celine Dion Paris 2026-2027,” will feature her catalog of hits in English and French.

Dion has largely stepped back from performing since canceling her Courage World Tour as her condition progressed. She wowed with a brief but widely watched return at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in 2024, singing “Hymne à l’amour” (Hymn to love) atop the Eiffel Tower in the rain.

The Plenitude Arena has a capacity of 40,000 spectators and was one of the venues used for the Paris Games.

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Entertainment

Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The Tom Cruise eco-satire "Digger," a movie that was supposed to herald the action hero's return to serious acting, has bombed at the box office, with industry insiders predicting it could lose a quarter of a billion dollars.

The Alejandro Inarritu comedy, featuring Cruise as an eccentric oil baron who must fix the problem he has helped create, was panned by critics and has left audiences cold, leaving studio Warner Bros. with a big balance sheet hole just as a merger with Paramount Skydance closes.

After two weeks in theaters, the film has grossed just $14.4 million in North America and $35.3 million globally -- tiny numbers for a big-budget movie that points to cumulative losses in the region of $245 million.

"Financially it has to be considered a disaster," Christopher Rosen of Hollywood trade publication The Ankler told AFP.

"It cost anywhere from $160 million to $180 million -- that's even before marketing -- and it's made relatively nothing at the box office."

Marketing for a movie like "Digger" can cost up to $100 million.

Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro noted that the film was greenlit under the tenure of outgoing Warner Bros. executives Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, who made a name for themselves by giving filmmakers the resources and studio budgets to create original, innovative movies.

"Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't," he said.

As an art-house film that satirizes American culture through the lens of a non-American like Inarritu, "Digger" was perhaps destined to be a heavy lift.

"This movie was never going to get a general audience to get behind it, right? I don't think it was ever designed like that," said Loria.

"The film takes every opportunity to push the audience in uncomfortable directions.

"American audiences don't have the easiest time accepting films that criticize American culture, especially when they're made by foreigners."

- A potential mismatch -

The presence of Cruise -- a man sometimes credited with rescuing the box office after its pandemic slump with "Top Gun: Maverick" -- was always going to make the film stand out.

"You've got arguably the biggest movie star in the world (who) was literally everywhere for this movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, a market analyst at Rentrak.

"He was so excited about this movie and working with Alejandro Inarritu.

"By virtue of Tom Cruise's star power, there was a spotlight on this movie. Anything he does is going to be under a microscope."

The size of Cruise's star in the movie firmament makes the comparison even less flattering: "Digger" was never going to be in the same ballpark as the multi-billion dollar "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

But the film's box office does align with the kind of film that Inarritu makes, said Loria.

His movies "aren't really too worried about their box office total; they're worried about having an artistic endeavor behind" them.

That makes "Digger" something of a mismatch, said Loria.

"Unfortunately, I think this was marketed as a general audience movie, when at heart, this is an art-house film."

Entertainment

Selma Blair Arrested in New York After an Alleged Assault on a Delta Flight

Selma Blair. (Reuters)
Selma Blair. (Reuters)
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Selma Blair Arrested in New York After an Alleged Assault on a Delta Flight

Selma Blair. (Reuters)
Selma Blair. (Reuters)

Actor Selma Blair was arrested and taken to a hospital late Sunday night after she was accused of injuring two flight attendants on a plane from Los Angeles to New York.

Blair, 54, was detained by police at around 11 p.m. after the Delta Air Lines jet parked at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

Blair and one of the flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Port Authority said.

Details of what happened aboard the aircraft weren’t immediately disclosed by the airline, police or the FBI, which was investigating, but Delta said in a statement it “has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.”

A Blair representative told The Associated Press that the actor had a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct.

The FBI later issued Blair a notice charging her with assault, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The matter will be handled through the petty violations court in federal court in Brooklyn. No date has been set for Blair’s appearance.

It's not the first time Blair has had issues aboard a plane. In 2016, Blair apologized for making statements she later regretted during a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles. She said she had mixed alcohol with medication, causing her to black out.

Blair had major roles in films including 1999's “Cruel Intentions,” 2001's “Legally Blonde” and 2004's “Hellboy.”

In recent years, she has advocated for disability rights. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. In 2023, she joined President Joe Biden at the White House to celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Entertainment

RJ Mitte, 'Breaking Bad' Actor and Disability Rights Champion, Dies at 34

US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)
US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)
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RJ Mitte, 'Breaking Bad' Actor and Disability Rights Champion, Dies at 34

US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)
US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)

“Breaking Bad” actor and disability rights advocate RJ Mitte died Monday at age 34, authorities and his representatives said.

Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told The Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause, but an autopsy will be performed.

Mitte played Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston's chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White on nearly every episode of the five seasons of the AMC show, which recently ranked as the best of the 21st century in a New York Times poll.

“Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” Mitte's representatives said in a statement announcing his death.

The statement said he used “his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation for people with disabilities.”