Academy Museum to Open with 'The Wizard of Oz'

General view of the new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences (AMPAS) Museum under construction on July 10, 2018. (AFP)
General view of the new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Museum under construction on July 10, 2018. (AFP)
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Academy Museum to Open with 'The Wizard of Oz'

General view of the new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences (AMPAS) Museum under construction on July 10, 2018. (AFP)
General view of the new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Museum under construction on July 10, 2018. (AFP)

Opening on September 30, the Oscar Museum dedicated to the magic of movies, will be screening the 'The Wizard of Oz', and featuring a live musical orchestra from the American Youth Symphony, reported AFP news agency.

Also on the opening weeks' schedule are a "Malcolm X" screening for museum members featuring Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, and showings of all Japanese Hayao Miyazaki's films.

Dedicated to the magic of movies and first dreamt up almost a century ago, the museum, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, was scheduled to open in 2017. However, it was delayed many times, and the coronavirus outbreak further delayed it last year.

Equipped with the latest techniques, a cinema venue, which accommodates up to 1,000 seats, is built inside a giant ball made of glass, steel, and concrete. It's located next to the museum, and linked to it with high corridors.

The museum is aimed at introducing visitors to the history of cinema, its creations, and the techniques used in movie making.

The 28,000 square meter- museum -- including 4,500 square meters of gallery space -- is set to host iconic Hollywood treasures such as a the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in 'The Wizard of Oz," gown worn in "Cleopatra" (1934) and a Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" spacesuit.

Most California coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, although Los Angeles County recently reinstated mandatory indoor mask wearing even for the vaccinated.



‘Mufasa’ and ‘Sonic 3’ Rule First Weekend of 2025

Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)
Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)
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‘Mufasa’ and ‘Sonic 3’ Rule First Weekend of 2025

Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)
Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)

The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.

The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn’t far behind.

“Sonic 3” stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. “Mufasa’s” running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.

In third place, Focus Features’ “Nosferatu” remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable.

“Nosferatu,” which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).

No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, “Moana 2,” claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.

The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in 2019.

A24’s drama “Babygirl," which added 49 locations, held steady at $4.5 million.

Another Thanksgiving leftover, “Wicked,” rounded out the top five. Universal’s movie musical was made available to purchase on VOD on Jan. 31, but still earned another $10.2 million from theaters. The movie is up for several awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including nominations for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, best motion picture musical or comedy and “cinematic and box office achievement,” which last year went to “Barbie.”

Also in theaters this weekend was the IMAX re-release of David Fincher’s 4K restoration of “Seven,” which earned just over $1 million from 200 locations.

The 2025 box office year is already off to a better start than 2024, up around 20% from the same weekend last year.