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French Ski Resorts Reopen after 2020 Covid Write-off

Val Thorens opened Saturday, with conditions good PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP
Val Thorens opened Saturday, with conditions good PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP
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French Ski Resorts Reopen after 2020 Covid Write-off

Val Thorens opened Saturday, with conditions good PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP
Val Thorens opened Saturday, with conditions good PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP

French mountain resorts are starting to open for the first time since Covid made last season a write-off, with winter sport enthusiasts and sector professionals hoping that no fresh virus wave will spoil the fun.

Val Thorens, Europe's highest winter sport resort at 2,300 meters (7,500 feet) and hugely popular with Britons, was the first of France's Alpine resorts allowing skiers back on the lifts and slopes on Saturday.

Others will follow over the coming weeks.

"Amazing, we're the first," said one skier testing the slopes with a group of friends. "It's a bit cold, but we'll be fine," the skier added.

Some 10,000 people descended on the station on Saturday, local media reported, with the snow in good shape and favorable weather.

France's resorts are the world's third-most popular skiing spots in the world, after those in the United States and in Austria, and an economic lifeline for many regions.

"This year will be important for us, crucial even," said Olivier Simonin, in charge of ski lifts in Val d'Isere which is to open next Saturday.

"Our future is at stake and we can't imagine not having a winter season, so we did everything possible to make sure we'd have one," he told AFP.

Last winter, Alpine skiing was almost impossible in France as ski lifts were shut to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Hotels were allowed to open and other winter activities such as snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing were authorized, but the lack of downhill skiing caused a collapse in income.

"We're so happy to be able to restart the ski lifts and get back do doing our jobs at 100 percent," Val Thorens ski patrol member Emmanuel Laissus told AFP.

Franck Feyeux, a cabin lift driver, added: "We've been impatient for customers to return, a lot of people's livelihoods are at stake."

The tiny station of Porte-Puymorens meanwhile was the first resort in the southwestern Pyrenees to reopen, with others in the region to follow suit by early December.

"Demand is incredible," Porte-Puymorens resort director Eric Charre told AFP. "The economic engine is restarting."

Demands on skiers linked to Covid are relatively light at the resorts, with mask wearing required in queues and onboard ski gondolas.

But the government has already warned that it could tighten the rules, notably by introducing a health pass obligation, if Covid cases rise strongly.

The health pass, required in French restaurants, cafes and many cultural venues, certifies that a person is fully vaccinated, has recently recovered from Covid, or has tested negative for the virus.

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Entertainment

'Zootopia 2' Retakes No. 1 at Box Office, Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide

Statues of main characters of 'Zootopia 2' are seen at a gift store in Beijing, China, 11 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO
Statues of main characters of 'Zootopia 2' are seen at a gift store in Beijing, China, 11 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO
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'Zootopia 2' Retakes No. 1 at Box Office, Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide

Statues of main characters of 'Zootopia 2' are seen at a gift store in Beijing, China, 11 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO
Statues of main characters of 'Zootopia 2' are seen at a gift store in Beijing, China, 11 December 2025. EPA/WU HAO

“Zootopia 2” regained the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office with $26.3 million in its third weekend of release, according to studio estimates Sunday, as The Walt Disney Co. animated sequel became the year’s second film to gross $1 billion worldwide.

With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” arriving Friday, it was a relatively quiet weekend in theaters. There were no major new releases, leaving holdovers “Zootopia 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” to duke it out for the top spot.

The edge went to “Zootopia 2,” which has quickly amassed $1.14 billion in global ticket sales thanks significantly to its enormous success in China, The Associated Press reported. There, it’s grossed $502.4 million, making “Zootopia 2” the biggest Hollywood hit in the country in years.

The only other 2025 Hollywood title to surpass $1 billion worldwide was Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” ($1.04 billion). The highest grossing movie of the year, though, is the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha 2,” which collected nearly $2 billion just in China.

In its second weekend of release, the Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” collected $15.4 million, a brutal drop of 70% from its above-expectations debut. Still, with a domestic total of $95.5 million, the $36 million production is a big win for Blumhouse, adding another horror franchise to its portfolio.

The weekend’s most notable new release was James L. Brook’s “Ella McCay,” his first directed film in 15 years. “Ella McCay” earned a scant $2.1 million from 2,500 locations, making it one of the year’s worst wide releases.

But box-office expectations weren’t high coming in from “Ella McCay,” a comic drama about a 34-year-old woman (newcomer Emma Mackey) who becomes governor of her home state. Reviews (22% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) were poor, and the kind of award-winning comic dramas movies that Brooks (“Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News”) has long specialized in today seldom find large audiences in theaters. “Ella McCay,” featuring a supporting cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Ayo Edebiri and Woody Harrelson, cost $35 million to make.

With overall ticket sales on the year running close to even with last year's disappointing grosses, according to Comscore data, Hollywood will be hoping the coming holiday corridor, traditionally the busiest moviegoing period of the year, ends 2025 on a high note. Movies on tap include “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” “Marty Supreme,” “Anaconda” and “Song Sung Blue.”

Entertainment

Affable Comedy Acting Legend Dick Van Dyke Turns 100 Years Old

Dick Van Dyke accepts the award for outstanding guest performance in a daytime drama series for "Days of our Lives" during the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. (AP)
Dick Van Dyke accepts the award for outstanding guest performance in a daytime drama series for "Days of our Lives" during the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. (AP)
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Affable Comedy Acting Legend Dick Van Dyke Turns 100 Years Old

Dick Van Dyke accepts the award for outstanding guest performance in a daytime drama series for "Days of our Lives" during the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. (AP)
Dick Van Dyke accepts the award for outstanding guest performance in a daytime drama series for "Days of our Lives" during the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. (AP)

Comedy icon Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, hitting the century mark some six decades after he sang and danced with Julie Andrews in "Mary Poppins" and starred in his self-titled sitcom.

"The funniest thing is, it’s not enough," Van Dyke said in an interview with ABC News at his Malibu, California home. "A hundred years is not enough. You want to live more, which I plan to."

As part of the celebration of Van Dyke's birthday this weekend, theaters around the country are showing a new documentary about his life, "Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration."

Van Dyke became one of the biggest actors of his era with "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which ran from 1961-66 on CBS; appeared with Andrews as a chimney sweep with a Cockney accent in the 1964 Disney classic "Mary Poppins" and, in his 70s, played a physician-sleuth on "Diagnosis: Murder."

Also a Broadway star, Van Dyke won a Tony Award for "Bye Bye Birdie" to go with a Grammy and four Primetime Emmys. In 1963, he starred in the film version of "Bye Bye Birdie."

Just last year, he became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy, for a guest role on the soap "Days of Our Lives."

In the 1970s, he found sobriety after battling alcoholism, and spoke out about it at a time when that was uncommon to do.

Now that he has hit triple digits, Van Dyke said he's gotten some perspective on how he used to play older characters.

"You know, I played old men a lot, and I always played them as angry and cantankerous," he told ABC News. "It's not really that way. I don't know any other 100-year-olds, but I can speak for myself."

He recently imparted wisdom about reaching the century mark in his book, "100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life." He credited his wife, 54-year-old makeup artist and producer Arlene Silver, with keeping him young.

"She gives me energy. She gives me humor, and all kinds of support," he told ABC News.

Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925, and grew up "the class clown" in Danville, Illinois, while admiring and imitating the silent film comedians.

He told ABC News he started acting when he was about 4 or 5 years old in a Christmas pageant.

"I made some kind of crack, I don't know what I said, but it broke the congregation up," he said. "And I liked the sound of that laughter."

And what's hard about being 100?

"I miss movement," he told ABC News. "I've got one game leg from I don't know what."

"I still try to dance," he said with a laugh.

Entertainment

Disney’s ‘Zootopia 2’ Set to Join $1 Billion Box Office Club

This image released by Disney shows Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman, left, and Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, in a scene from "Zootopia 2." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman, left, and Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, in a scene from "Zootopia 2." (Disney via AP)
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Disney’s ‘Zootopia 2’ Set to Join $1 Billion Box Office Club

This image released by Disney shows Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman, left, and Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, in a scene from "Zootopia 2." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman, left, and Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, in a scene from "Zootopia 2." (Disney via AP)

Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2" is on track to surpass $1 billion at the global box office, the company said on Friday, as the sequel continues its strong run in international markets.

The film, which revisits the bustling animal metropolis of "Zootopia," features returning characters Judy Hopps, a rabbit police officer voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, and her fox partner Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman.

The duo embarks on a new adventure that blends humor and social themes, echoing the formula that made the original a hit.

"Zootopia 2" opened strongly over the US Thanksgiving weekend, giving Hollywood a boost at the start of the critical holiday season.

The film's runaway success has been fueled by an extraordinary reception in China, where "Zootopia 2" dominated the box office during its opening weekend, accounting for roughly 95% of all ticket sales nationwide.

The original "Zootopia" also became China's most popular foreign animated film when it was released in 2016.

The performance offers welcome relief for theater operators hoping for packed cinemas through Christmas, traditionally the second-busiest moviegoing period of the year. Global box office receipts have yet to return to the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.