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‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Tops $2 Billion in Global Box Office Receipts

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Sam Worthington, as Jake Sully, in a scene from "Avatar: The Way of Water." (20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Sam Worthington, as Jake Sully, in a scene from "Avatar: The Way of Water." (20th Century Studios via AP)
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‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Tops $2 Billion in Global Box Office Receipts

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Sam Worthington, as Jake Sully, in a scene from "Avatar: The Way of Water." (20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Sam Worthington, as Jake Sully, in a scene from "Avatar: The Way of Water." (20th Century Studios via AP)

James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water" led ticket sales in movie theaters for the sixth straight weekend, making it the first film to have such a sustained reign atop the box office since 2009's "Avatar."

The Walt Disney Co.’s "The Way of Water" added $19.7 million in US and Canadian theaters over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Its global total has now surpassed $2 billion, putting it sixth all-time and just ahead of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

Domestically, "The Way of Water" is up to $598 million. Continued robust international sales ($56.3 million for the weekend) has helped push the "Avatar" sequel to $2.024 billion worldwide.

A year ago, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" also topped the box office for six weekends, but did it over the course of seven weeks. You have to go back to Cameron's original "Avatar" to find a movie that stayed No. 1 for such a long span. ("Avatar" ultimately topped out at seven weeks.) Before that, the only film in the past 25 years to manage the feat was another Cameron film; "Titanic" (1997) went undefeated for 15 weeks.

"The Way of Water" has now reached a target that Cameron himself set for the very expensive sequel. Ahead of its release, Cameron said becoming "the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history" was "your break even."

The box-office domination for "The Way of Water" has been aided, in part, by a dearth of formidable challengers.

The only new wide release from a major studio on the weekend was the thriller "Missing," from Sony's Screen Gems and Stage 6 Films. A low-budget sequel to 2018's "Searching," starring Storm Reid as a teenager seeking her missing mother, "Missing" plays out across computer screens. The film, budgeted at $7 million, debuted with $9.3 million.

January is typically a slow period in theaters, but a handful of strong-performing holdovers have helped prop up sales.

Though it didn't open hugely in December, Universal Pictures' "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" has had long legs as one of the only family options in theaters over the last month. In its fifth week, it came in second place with $11.5 million domestically and $17.8 million overseas. The "Puss in Boots" sequel has grossed $297.5 million globally.

The creepy doll horror hit "M3gan," also from Universal, has likewise continued to pull in moviegoers. It notched $9.8 million in its third week, bringing its domestic haul to $73.3 million.

And while the popularity of horror titles in theaters is nothing new, Sony Pictures' "A Man Called Otto," starring Tom Hanks, has flourished in a marketplace that's been trying for adult-oriented dramas. The film, a remake of the Swedish film "A Man Called Ove," about a retired man whose suicide plans are continually foiled by his neighbors, made $9 million in its second week of wide release. It's taken in $35.3 million domestically through Sunday.

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Entertainment

Alec Baldwin's Criminal Case Hinges on Wild West Revolver

An undated photo of the reproduction 1873 long Colt .45 Single Action Army revolver actor Alec Baldwin was using on the New Mexico set of western movie "Rust" in 2021. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS.
An undated photo of the reproduction 1873 long Colt .45 Single Action Army revolver actor Alec Baldwin was using on the New Mexico set of western movie "Rust" in 2021. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS.
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Alec Baldwin's Criminal Case Hinges on Wild West Revolver

An undated photo of the reproduction 1873 long Colt .45 Single Action Army revolver actor Alec Baldwin was using on the New Mexico set of western movie "Rust" in 2021. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS.
An undated photo of the reproduction 1873 long Colt .45 Single Action Army revolver actor Alec Baldwin was using on the New Mexico set of western movie "Rust" in 2021. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS.

A Colt .45 "Peacemaker" revolver, a symbol of the American Wild West, is at the center of actor Alec Baldwin's fight to avoid criminal prosecution for the 2021 fatal shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a New Mexico movie set.
Baldwin's 15-month battle with New Mexico state prosecutors is heading towards a July 10 climax when the actor is scheduled to face trial for involuntary manslaughter over Hollywood's first on-set shooting with a live-round in modern times.
The movie's weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on Monday for Hutchins' death. Baldwin's legal team is trying to have his indictment thrown out. His lawyers could seek a plea bargain if that fails.
But should the charge hold, Baldwin's trial is likely to focus on whether he pulled the trigger of his reproduction 1873 Colt .45 after he said he was directed - either by director Joel Souza or Hutchins - to point it at the cinematographer, according to different statements he made to the police and then to media.
Baldwin argues that Hutchins died due to a breakdown in film industry firearms safety protocol, which as an actor he was not responsible for. According to Reuters, he said it was not his job to inspect the gun and that he did not pull the trigger after Gutierrez mistakenly loaded a live round instead of an inert dummy.
Firearms and legal experts do not expect a Santa Fe, New Mexico, jury to necessarily see it that way.
In the Southwest United States, where gun ownership is routine, there is a cultural norm to check whether a weapon is loaded and never point it at someone and pull the trigger, according to Ashley Hlebinsky, executive director of the University of Wyoming Firearms Research Center.
Some local jurors may not differentiate between handling a gun on a movie set or in real life. Persuading jury members, especially gun owners, that the revolver went off on its own could be a hard sell, said the firearms historian.
Still, Hlebinsky sees a possible path to acquittal for Baldwin: namely, the argument his lawyers laid out in their motion to dismiss that the gun was modified to make it "easier to fire without pulling the trigger." That motion is now being considered by a judge.
"The defense just have to put doubt into the head of the jury," said Hlebinksy, who has acted as a firearms expert in court cases on single action Colt .45-type revolvers similar to the "Rust" weapon. "I think they can definitely do that."
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS
It was six weeks after the Oct. 21, 2021 shooting that Baldwin said in an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos that he did not pull the trigger of the Italian-made gun.
Days later, the actor told a New Mexico workplace safety inspector that the Pietta reproduction Colt Single Action Army revolver had no mechanical defect.
Baldwin's statement that the gun "went off" on its own, and his comment that it worked properly, are part of New Mexico state prosecutor Kari Morrissey's assertion that the "30 Rock" actor has "lied with impunity" about details of the shooting.
"They're going to have to walk back from that statement a bit," trial lawyer Neama Rahmani said of Baldwin's legal team.
The former federal prosecutor expected the actor's lawyers to frame the incident as "an accidental discharge," a term meaning the gun fired due to mechanical failure.
He said it was an unusual though not unheard of legal position, most often employed in cases where a defendant was seeking to reduce a charge from murder to manslaughter.
According to Baldwin's lawyers, someone filed down the full-cock notch of the long Colt .45 after it was supplied brand new to the production, to make it easier to fire.
Lucien Haag, an independent gun expert hired by the state, testified at Gutierrez's trial that the full-cock notch was worn down and broken off by FBI testing, rather than filing.
FBI tests of the gun found it was in normal working condition when it arrived at their lab in Quantico, Virginia, after the shooting. An investigator had to hit the hammer with a mallet to make it fire without pulling the trigger, the blows damaging the hammer and trigger, according to the FBI.
Baldwin risks jeopardizing his credibility if he changes his story on the trigger, said lawyer Kate Mangels. She expected him to continue to blame others for firearm safety failures as prosecutors accuse him of negligence, both as an actor and the film's most powerful producer.
"At this juncture it would be difficult for Baldwin's defense team to change course," said Mangels, a partner at entertainment law firm Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
Hlebinsky, the firearms expert, said movie-set armorers she knows, who have seen pictures of the hammer on Baldwin's gun, are uncertain whether the full cock notch was worn down by mallet blows or filing. She expected Baldwin's legal team to find a firearms expert to testify it was the latter.
"I don't think anyone can say 100% what happened," she said of the gun.

Entertainment

‘I Was Afraid for My Life’ — Orlando Bloom Puts Himself in Peril for New TV Series

This image released by Peacock shows Chris Copeland and Orlando Bloom in an episode of the television series "Orlando Bloom: To the Edge." (Peacock via AP)
This image released by Peacock shows Chris Copeland and Orlando Bloom in an episode of the television series "Orlando Bloom: To the Edge." (Peacock via AP)
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‘I Was Afraid for My Life’ — Orlando Bloom Puts Himself in Peril for New TV Series

This image released by Peacock shows Chris Copeland and Orlando Bloom in an episode of the television series "Orlando Bloom: To the Edge." (Peacock via AP)
This image released by Peacock shows Chris Copeland and Orlando Bloom in an episode of the television series "Orlando Bloom: To the Edge." (Peacock via AP)

Orlando Bloom wanted to test himself for his latest adventure project. Not by eating something gross or visiting a new country. He wanted to risk death — with not one but three extreme sports.

The Peacock series “Orlando Bloom: To the Edge” sees the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star shoot through the sky thousands of feet above the ground, dive into a deep sinkhole and rock climb hundreds of feet.

“While I was at moments scared for my life during the show, having come out the other end of it I feel way more capable,” Bloom tells The Associated Press.

The series, which debuts Thursday, was born from the pandemic, which made outside adventures even more alluring. It met the perfect host in a man who is a natural risk-taker. When he made his Broadway debut in “Romeo and Juliet,” he roared onto the stage on a Triumph motorcycle.

“I’m like a collector of experiences in some ways,” he says. “I’ve been remarkably gifted and fortunate to have some unique ones, but this was definitely like, ‘Oh, wow, I’m capable of this. Therefore I can do anything.’”

First up was wingsuiting — skydiving in a special jumpsuit that adds lift so you can glide longer before opening your parachute. Bloom's goal was to jump out of plane at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) fly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) over the Pacific Ocean and land on the beach.

Then he heads to the Bahamas, to a 663-foot-deep (202 meters) hole in the ocean, with the aim of plunging to 100 feet (30.5 meters) on just one breath. After that, it’s off to Utah to climb a 400-foot (122 meter) tower and stand on a summit the size of a pizza box.

“We all experience fear. It’s how we face this fear that defines us,” Bloom says in the first episode. “I never feel so alive being so close to death.”

There were some heart-in-your throat moments, like on his seventh skydiving jump, where Bloom needed to activate his reserve chute, something that is necessary just 1 in 1,000 times. And for his 21st jump, he did it holding hands with his 80-year-old uncle, Christopher Copeland, a master skydiver.

Usually it takes 200 solo skydives before anyone is allowed to wingsuit but Bloom convinces his instructor in just two weeks. Katy Perry, his partner, is on hand for the first wobbly flight, embracing her man after he lands and lovingly calling him “a flying wombat.”

Bloom battles ear pain to attempt the 100-foot (30.5 meter) freedive and practicing a breath exercise leaves him in tears, struggling and sweating. Freediving turns out to require a slowing heart, conserving energy and relaxing — the opposite of most sports.

The rock climbing challenge sees a usual 2-3 year training process condensed into a week. There was added stress because Bloom broke his back in a fall in his 20s and really didn't want to do that again.

“Just remember if everything hurts and you want to puke, you’re doing it right,” an instructor helpfully tells him. Bloom also leans into his Buddhist belief, meditating and chanting in the run-up to each daredevil step.

Bloom joins a crowded field of adventure-seeking celeb TV hosts, which includes Eugene Levy, Zac Efron, José Andrés, Chris Hemsworth, Will Smith, Stanley Tucci, Macaulay Culkin and Ewan McGregor.

Bloom, already a guy who went to the gym twice a day, was a quick learner and even emerged with a skydiving license. But he had one-on-one help from experts usually out of the reach of regular thrillseekers, like Maureen “Mo” Beck, a gold medal at the 2014 Spanish Paraclimbing World Championships, and Camila Jaber, the youngest female freediver to break records.

Bloom credits his instructors for their patience, expertise and teaching him to trust them and their gear. His life was in their hands but very often, their lives were in his hands.

“It wasn’t just as simple as like, ‘I’m just going to go with the flow here.’ No, I learned the tools. There are protocols,” he says. “There is a framework with which I was working. And while I was doing that, I was able to get into a rhythm, into a flow, and achieve things that I never thought I would ever do in my lifetime.”

Bloom hopes viewers will tune in to see a novice achieve remarkable feats but also to inspire them to get outside their comfort zones, be it perhaps by managing public speaking or learning a new language.

“For me, the idea of the show was like, ’Well, what is it for you?” he asks. “What is your version of jumping out of a plane? It doesn’t have to be physical or death defying in some form or another.”

Bloom says he's in a happy place, with a good career, a loving partner and great children. That made the stakes even higher for the new series.

“I’m very grateful for my life,” he says. “I’m even more grateful having survived ‘Orlando Bloom: To the Edge.’”

Entertainment

Planned Disneyland Expansion in California Clears Major Hurdle 

The Sleeping Beauty Castle is pictured at dusk at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, US, July 24, 2021. Picture taken July 24, 2021. (Reuters)
The Sleeping Beauty Castle is pictured at dusk at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, US, July 24, 2021. Picture taken July 24, 2021. (Reuters)
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Planned Disneyland Expansion in California Clears Major Hurdle 

The Sleeping Beauty Castle is pictured at dusk at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, US, July 24, 2021. Picture taken July 24, 2021. (Reuters)
The Sleeping Beauty Castle is pictured at dusk at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, US, July 24, 2021. Picture taken July 24, 2021. (Reuters)

Plans to expand the Disneyland Resort cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, as local officials endorsed a new blueprint governing the development of Walt Disney's Southern California theme parks over the next 40 years.

The Anaheim city council approved a plan, called DisneylandForward, that one researcher estimated would create as many as 4,520 construction jobs per year of development and an additional 26,764 parks-related positions over the coming decades.

A second procedural council vote, to consider zoning changes, revisions in the city's development agreement with Disney and an analysis of environmental impacts, is scheduled for May 7. If adopted, the changes would take effect after 30 days, clearing the way for Disney to invest a minimum of $1.9 billion in new theme park experiences and lodging over the next decade.

Parks have become a reliable profit engine for Disney and have helped cushion losses in the Disney+ streaming business, which is expected to become profitable by September. The company last year announced it would deepen its investment in its parks, and double the capacity of its cruise line, committing $60 billion over the next decade.

Disneyland, the company's first theme park, opened in 1955. As it grew in popularity, the city of Anaheim approved plans that would govern its growth, creating zones designated for specific types of developments.

In 2021, Disney submitted a plan, dubbed DisneylandForward, which would give the company flexibility in how it could develop its 490-acre California property. Disney is looking to blend hotels, shops and attractions within the same themed world, as it has in Fantasy Springs, which opens June 6 at Tokyo DisneySea Park.

TELLING 'NEW STORIES'

The proposal calls for allowing theme park attractions alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive and theme park attractions alongside new shopping, dining and entertainment to the southeast on what is today the Toy Story Parking Area.

Dozens of members of the public addressed the council before the vote. Many voiced enthusiastic support for the job opportunities and revenue they expected the expansion to bring to the area. Some local residents, however, said they would be harmed by increased traffic and noise and the conversion of a public road known as Magic Way into a pedestrian walkway.

"A project like DisneylandForward will only further exacerbate the current problems," said Anaheim resident Trangdai Glassey. "To disregard the human costs from a project of this scope is unthinkable."

The company has not said what attractions and amenities it plans to add in California, though it has pointed to attractions found elsewhere, such as the new World of Frozen, where guests can experience the fictional world of Arendelle at Hong Kong Disneyland, or the "mammalian metropolis" of Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland.

"With each new experience taking three to five years to come to fruition, DisneylandForward is an urgent need so we can determine what new stories could be told at The Happiest Place on Earth,” Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock wrote in an opinion piece that appeared in the Orange County Register.

Entertainment

‘Rebel Moon’ Sequel Offers More Action, Backstory of Warriors 

Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)
Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)
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‘Rebel Moon’ Sequel Offers More Action, Backstory of Warriors 

Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)
Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)

Zack Snyder says "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" shows his full vision for the franchise.

The second installment of the sci-fi adventure picks up from where "Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire", released four months earlier, left off.

It sees Sofia Boutella's character Kora and a group of rebel warriors team up with the people of Veldt, a peaceful farming moon, to ward off an attack from the tyrannical Motherworld and its resurrected, ruthless military leader Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein).

"I always knew that this was going to be like half a movie. Our whole idea was to get the movies out right next to each other so people could have the complete experience. And I think that's what we're really hoping for with this is that people get a chance to see the entire thing," Snyder said as he premiered the film in London on Tuesday.

Part Two also sees actors Djimonn Hounsou and Bae Doona reprising their roles as General Titus and Nemesis and Anthony Hopkins lending his voice to Jimmy the sentient robot.

The movie delves into the backstories of the warriors, laying out their motives to join the rebellion.

"It's going to be a lot more action and you get to go deeper with the characters and find out more about their pasts and what drew them to fight for this cause,” said Boutella.

Snyder, known for films including "Watchmen", "300", "Justice League" and "Man of Steel", directed, co-wrote and produced the movie, as well as serving as its cinematographer.

Director's cuts of the two films are expected in August, Snyder said, adding that he and writers Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad had also continued developing the story.

"That has been a real big adventure, for Shay and Kurt and I," he said.

"But then also, we've been working super hard on the director's cuts. Normally when I do a director's cut, it's in response to a cut that I was forced to make, where this was really from the beginning designed as a separate movie,” said Snyder.

“We shot a whole bunch of additional stuff and it was really fun to just actually make another movie. So it's been four movies, it's a little tiring.” he said.

"Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" starts streaming on Netflix on April 19.

Entertainment

Red Sea Global, Warner Bros. Discovery Collaborate on Red Sea Coral Reefs Documentary

The film follows the journey of Saudi Arabian free diver Salma Shaker as she explores the coral research conducted by scientists at Red Sea Global and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). (Discovery)
The film follows the journey of Saudi Arabian free diver Salma Shaker as she explores the coral research conducted by scientists at Red Sea Global and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). (Discovery)
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Red Sea Global, Warner Bros. Discovery Collaborate on Red Sea Coral Reefs Documentary

The film follows the journey of Saudi Arabian free diver Salma Shaker as she explores the coral research conducted by scientists at Red Sea Global and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). (Discovery)
The film follows the journey of Saudi Arabian free diver Salma Shaker as she explores the coral research conducted by scientists at Red Sea Global and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). (Discovery)

Red Sea Global (RSG) and global media and entertainment company Warner Bros. Discovery will collaborate to produce a documentary on the impact of climate change on coral reefs, said RSC in a statement on Tuesday.

The documentary, "Beneath the Surface: The Fight for Corals", set to air on Discovery channel on Earth Day on April 22 will show RSG's efforts to protect the environment.

“In ‘Beneath the Surface: The Fight for Corals’, we aim to spotlight the beauty and vulnerability of these underwater wonders and emphasize the importance of global collaboration in preserving our oceans," said John Pagano, Group CEO at Red Sea Global.

The film follows the journey of Saudi Arabian free diver Salma Shaker as she explores the coral research conducted by scientists at Red Sea Global and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

The film transcends geographical borders, taking viewers as far as to the reefs in Mexico, offering a compelling narrative on the challenges facing coral reefs worldwide.

The film explores undiscovered reefs along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastline.

Red Sea Global aims to unravel the mysteries of this unexplored territory, displaying its unique biodiversity and crucial role in supporting the global ecosystem. The documentary also delves into the potential benefits of coral research in the Red Sea for ecosystems globally.

Kerrie McEvoy, head of Factual Channels in Discovery Networks EMEA at Warner Bros Discovery, said: "Warner Bros. Discovery is proud to partner with Red Sea Global on 'Beneath the Surface: The Fight for Corals'. As a company, we believe in the power of storytelling to entertain and inspire change, and this film exemplifies that commitment."

The film features insights from a diverse group of experts to provide a comprehensive view of the current state of reefs globally, their significance in the marine ecosystem, and the ongoing efforts to protect them.

A first exclusive look at the film was shown during a side event at COP28 in Dubai, hosted by Red Sea Global, where a trailer was played for the guests.

The documentary will air on Discovery Channel across the US, Europe, Türkiye, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Entertainment

Broadway-Bound ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and Star Nicole Scherzinger Win Big at London’s Olivier Awards 

US singer Nicole Scherzinger poses on the green carpet upon arrival to attend The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in central London on April 14, 2024. (AFP)
US singer Nicole Scherzinger poses on the green carpet upon arrival to attend The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in central London on April 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Broadway-Bound ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and Star Nicole Scherzinger Win Big at London’s Olivier Awards 

US singer Nicole Scherzinger poses on the green carpet upon arrival to attend The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in central London on April 14, 2024. (AFP)
US singer Nicole Scherzinger poses on the green carpet upon arrival to attend The Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in central London on April 14, 2024. (AFP)

A radical restaging of Hollywood film noir musical “Sunset Boulevard” was the big winner on Sunday at the London stage Olivier Awards, taking seven trophies including best musical revival and best actress for American star Nicole Scherzinger.

Soccer-themed state-of-the-nation drama “Dear England” was named best new play, while Sarah Snook and Mark Gatiss were among the acting winners.

Scherzinger was rewarded for her performance as fading silver screen star Norma Desmond in a flashy revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard,” three decades after the musical’s 1990s debut. Her co-star Tom Francis won the corresponding best actor prize as a struggling screenwriter fatefully drawn into Desmond’s orbit.

Jamie Lloyd took the directing trophy for the technically innovative production, which melds live video with the onstage action and also won Oliviers for sound and lighting design. It’s due to open in New York later this year, and Lloyd predicted it would “take Broadway by storm.”

Scherzinger said that when she was growing up in Kentucky, “I always wanted to be a singer and do musicals.”

“I dreamed of so many roles I wanted to do — and honestly this role, Norma Desmond, was not one of those roles,” she said. “But God works in mysterious ways.”

The prize for best new musical went to “Operation Mincemeat,” a word-of-mouth hit based on an audacious real-life espionage operation that deceived the Nazis during World War II. The show began life in a tiny theater in 2019 and has moved to progressively larger venues, gathering accolades along the way.

“Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” a dazzlingly staged prequel to the Netflix supernatural series, was named best new entertainment or comedy.

The Oliviers — the UK equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards — are celebrating a bumper year for new shows in the West End, finally bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic. Several winners lamented the soaring cost of theater tickets, and cuts to arts education that are squeezing working-class talent out of theatrical careers and theater audiences.

“If you don’t tell a kid to go and see a show ... they’re not going to develop that habit, they’re not going to get that experience,” said “Dear England” playwright James Graham, who grew up in a small mining town. “So I am really worried.”

But the mood was largely celebratory as “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham presided over an exuberant ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall, opening the show by belting out “Anything Goes” alongside the London Community Gospel Choir. The show was peppered with performances from several of the nominated musicals, including “Guys and Dolls,” “Hadestown” and homegrown hit “The Little Big Things.”

The prizes, which recognize achievements in theater, opera and dance, were founded in 1976 and named for the late actor-director Laurence Olivier. Winners are chosen by voting groups of stage professionals and theatergoers.

Snook – the scheming Shiv Roy in “Succession” – beat a talented field including Sarah Jessica Parker and Sophie Okonedo to be named best actress in a play for “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s cautionary fable in which Snook plays more than two dozen characters.

Backstage, the Emmy Award-winning Australian performer said the solo stage show was “so much harder” than doing TV.

“I’ve never done anything harder than this,” said Snook, who said she’d asked herself “why am I doing a 60,000-word monologue with an 8-month-old baby?”

Gatiss — co-creator of the BBC TV series “Sherlock” — won the best actor trophy for playing theater great John Gielgud in “The Motive and the Cue,” Jack Thorne’s play about the struggle to mount a 1964 production of “Hamlet” with Richard Burton.

Gatiss beat “Dear England” star Joseph Fiennes and Andrew Scott, who had been the favorite to win for the solo show “Vanya.” The Anton Chekhov adaptation by Simon Stephens took the prize for best revival.

Will Close was named best supporting actor in a play for his performance as footballer Harry Kane in “Dear England.”

Haydn Gwynne, who died in October, was posthumously awarded the best supporting actress prize for her final stage role in “When Winston Went to War with the Wireless,” about the early days of radio in Britain.

Awards for supporting performances in musicals were Amy Trigg for “The Little Big Things” and Jak Malone for “Operation Mincemeat.”

The show ended with a tribute to the National Theatre, which turned 60 in 2023 — culminating in a star-studded cast singing the anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Entertainment

Divisive? Not for Moviegoers. ‘Civil War’ Declares Victory at Box Office 

US actress Kirsten Dunst arrives for "Civil War" special screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, April 2, 2024. (AFP)
US actress Kirsten Dunst arrives for "Civil War" special screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, April 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Divisive? Not for Moviegoers. ‘Civil War’ Declares Victory at Box Office 

US actress Kirsten Dunst arrives for "Civil War" special screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, April 2, 2024. (AFP)
US actress Kirsten Dunst arrives for "Civil War" special screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, April 2, 2024. (AFP)

Alex Garland’s provocative “Civil War ” didn’t only ignite the discourse. The film also inspired audiences to go to the cinemas this weekend where it surpassed expectations and earned $25.7 million in ticket sales in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Iron Claw.” “Civil War” also unseated “Godzilla x Kong” from its perch atop the box office. The titan movie from Warner Bros. had held the No. 1 spot for the past two weekends.

“Civil War,” starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny as front-line journalists in the near future covering a devastating conflict in the US and trying to make their way to Washington, DC. The story, written by Garland, who is also the mind behind “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” imagines a US in which California and Texas have united against a president who has disbanded the FBI and given himself a third term.

Though entirely fictional, “Civil War” has been inspiring debates since the first trailer that have extended beyond the musings of film critics and traditional reviews. This weekend, The New York Times ran two opinion pieces related to the movie, one by Stephen Marche and another by Michelle Goldberg. There were also pieces on CNN and Politico.

Going into the weekend, projections pegged the film to debut in the $15 to $24 million range. The studio said “Civil War” overperformed in markets “from LA to El Paso.” The data analytics company EntTelligence reported that the film has attracted over 1.7 million patrons this weekend and that the top three markets were Los Angeles, New York and Dallas.

“The title alone is enough to spark a conversation in a year where the political discourse is top of mind,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “And they couldn’t have picked a better date. This movie is perfectly timed in a month that is very quiet.”

The film opened on 3,838 screens in the US and Canada, including IMAX. It’s the most expensive movie that the studio has ever made, with a production budget of $50 million, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.

IMAX showings of “Civil War,” which was playing on 400 of the large format screens, accounted for $4.2 million, or 16.5% of the domestic total.

Reviews have been largely positive. It’s currently at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 77% audience score. Its CinemaScore was a B-, which has sometimes indicated that word of mouth might not be strong going forward. But that might not be the case with “Civil War,” which doesn’t have a tremendous amount of competition over the next few weeks until “The Fall Guy” opens on May 3.

“You have to take all the metrics together, including the competitive landscape,” Dergarabedian said.

But it is a notable win for the studio, which doesn’t always open films nationwide out of the gates. Before “Civil War,” A24’s biggest debut was the Ari Aster horror “Hereditary,” which opened to $13.6 million in 2018.

“This isn’t destined to be a $200 million global blockbuster. But it’s a very high-profile win for A24,” Dergarabedian said. “They’re a studio that pushes the envelope. They’re a brand associated with a certain level of quality and filmmaking expertise, pushing boundaries and taking risks. It’s well-earned over the years.”

Second place went to “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which earned $15.5 million in its third weekend to bring its running domestic total to nearly $158 million. Another “Empire” movie, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” took third place in its fourth weekend with $5.8 million. It’s now at $160 million worldwide.

Rounding out the top five was Universal and DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 4,” in fourth with $5.5 million in weekend six, and “Dune: Part Two” with $4.3 million in its seventh weekend. “Dune 2” has now earned $272 million domestically.

This weekend also saw the box office year-to-date comparisons take a big hit. Last year, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” brought in over $92 million in its second weekend in theaters. On the same weekend in 2023, the top 10 accounted for over $142 million, compared to this year’s $68.4 million. The year to date is back down to 16% after seeing some recovery with the success of “Dune: Part Two.”

“The box office has been a seesaw,” Dergarabedian said. “But we all knew this was going to be a rough month for comps because of ‘Mario.’”

Entertainment

Taylor and Travis Spotted Dancing at Coachella

US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift arrives for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. (AFP)
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift arrives for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Taylor and Travis Spotted Dancing at Coachella

US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift arrives for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. (AFP)
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift arrives for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. (AFP)

Taylor Swift made a much-speculated appearance at Saturday's Coachella festival... as a fan, canoodling and dancing with beau Travis Kelce as Bleachers performed a rollicking set.
Bleachers is fronted by Jack Antonoff, Swift's friend and longtime producer, said AFP.
Kelce's blocking skills came in handy as the 6'5" (1.96 meters) NFL tight end did well to obscure his wildly famous girlfriend from view, as the couple enjoyed the show from stage right.
Still, an AFP journalist saw the much-discussed lovebirds twirling and singing along during the performance of Antonoff, who's co-written and produced a number of Swift's albums.
Fan videos quickly started circulating online. Swift's appearance comes less than a week before her forthcoming album, "The Tortured Poets Department," drops April 19.
The 34-year-old billionaire is currently on break from her blockbuster Eras tour, and was spotted on a date night in Los Angeles Friday.
Antonoff founded and has fronted Bleachers since 2014, meanwhile becoming one of the most sought-after producers in pop who has worked with superstars including Swift, Lana Del Rey and Lorde.

Entertainment

Show Goes on for Paramount with ‘Gladiator II,’ New Damien Chazelle Movie and More

Chris Aronson, right, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Paramount Pictures, arrives via chariot to the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2024, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP)
Chris Aronson, right, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Paramount Pictures, arrives via chariot to the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2024, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP)
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Show Goes on for Paramount with ‘Gladiator II,’ New Damien Chazelle Movie and More

Chris Aronson, right, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Paramount Pictures, arrives via chariot to the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2024, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP)
Chris Aronson, right, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Paramount Pictures, arrives via chariot to the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2024, Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP)

With reports and rumors swirling about possible mergers and bids to acquire Paramount, the film studio put its best foot forward for theater owners at CinemaCon on Thursday.

The historic studio announced a new film with Oscar-winning “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle, a “G.I. Joe/Transformers” crossover and that Glen Powell will star in Edgar Wight’s “Running Man” reboot.

Paramount CEO and President Brian Robbins also teased some more that are in development, including a Bee Gees film from Ridley Scott, a new comedy from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, a “Star Trek” origin story, a new “Scary Movie” and an R-rated live action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin” as well as an animated “Mutant Mayhem” sequel.

They also brought out stars like Chris Hemsworth and Lupita Nyong’o to talk about their upcoming films, with video messages from Scott, Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal, who helped introduce new footage from “Gladiator II.”

Washington promised, “Emotion, action and spectacle unlike anything else you’re going to see in theaters this year.”

Paramount had a positive start to 2024 with successful releases like “Mean Girls” and “Bob Marley: One Love,” and some major films to come this year including “A Quiet Place: Day One” (June 28), the animated “Transformers One” (Sept. 13), a “Smile” sequel (Oct. 18) and the “Gladiator” sequel (Nov. 22). They will also re-release Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” in September for its 10th anniversary, and, in 2025, “Mission: Impossible 8.” But hovering over it all are the reports of the company’s sale.

The private-equity firm Apollo Global reportedly offered $11 billion to acquire the studio, which has filmed entertainment, television and streaming components like Paramount+. There have also been reports of a possible merger with Skydance, David Ellison’s media company that has helped produce such Paramount releases as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.”

Without directly addressing them, Paramount leaned into the chatter with Robbins joking that the studio’s distribution head Chris Aronson has started a Kickstarter to throw his hat into the ring.

While the tone at CinemaCon, a weeklong gathering of theater owners, exhibitors and all the various companies involved in movie theater operations and experiences, is usually overwhelmingly positive, Aronson took a more sober approach.

After entering the presentation in a Roman chariot holding a shield emblazoned with the Paramount logo, he noted that the industry has lost a fair amount of frequent moviegoers and must work to get them back with capital improvements to theaters and other innovations.

The domestic box office has improved year after year since the pandemic, but is still about $2 billion shy of where the business was pre-pandemic.

“Our industry is at a turning point,” Aronson said. “It’s quite clear that moviegoers still love going to the movies, but we as an industry must do better.”

Entertainment

Cannes Sets Lineup with Lanthimos, Coppola and Trump Film ‘The Apprentice’

The logo of Cannes film festival before the press conference to present the 77th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection at the UGC Normandie hall in Paris, France, 11 April 2024. (EPA)
The logo of Cannes film festival before the press conference to present the 77th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection at the UGC Normandie hall in Paris, France, 11 April 2024. (EPA)
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Cannes Sets Lineup with Lanthimos, Coppola and Trump Film ‘The Apprentice’

The logo of Cannes film festival before the press conference to present the 77th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection at the UGC Normandie hall in Paris, France, 11 April 2024. (EPA)
The logo of Cannes film festival before the press conference to present the 77th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection at the UGC Normandie hall in Paris, France, 11 April 2024. (EPA)

New films from Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold and Francis Ford Coppola, as well as a portrait of 1980s Donald Trump, will compete for the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival next month, organizers announced Thursday.

Thierry Frémaux, Cannes’s artistic director who announced the selections in a news conference in Paris with festival president Iris Knobloch, said this year’s lineup was plucked from 2,000 submissions. Though Frémaux noted he went into the process concerned about the effect of last year’s strikes on American films, the lineup is typically full of top international filmmakers as well as a few hotly anticipated blockbusters.

Among the 19 films selected for competition is Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” the Greek director’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning “Poor Things.” Its cast includes two stars of “Poor Things”: Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe.

Paolo Sorrentino, the Italian filmmaker of “The Great Beauty,” returns to Cannes with “Parthenhope,” a Naples-set drama co-starring Gary Oldman. Arnold, the British director of “American Honey” and “Fish Tank,” also returns to Cannes with “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski.

Sure to draw attention will be Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice,” a film about the former president’s early business career. In it, Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, Jeremy Strong plays Roy Cohn and Maria Bakalova co-stars as Ivana Trump. The Iranian director Abbasi was previously in competition at Cannes with 2022’s “Holy Spider.”

Numerous other big-name filmmakers are also returning to Cannes, which runs May 14-25. Among them: David Cronenberg (“The Shrouds,” with Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger); Paul Schrader (“Oh, Canada,” with Richard Gere and Uma Thurman) and the lauded Chinese director Jia Zhang-Ke (“Caught By the Tides”). Also in competition are Sean Baker (“Anora”), whose “Red Rocket” and “The Florida Project” also premiered at Cannes; and the French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Perez”), who won the Palme in 2015 for “Dheepan.”

As previously reported, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” will premiere in competition in Cannes. The 85-year-old director’s self-financed, long-gestating epic will debut 50 years after his “The Conversation” won the Palme d’Or.

This year’s Cannes follows a banner 2023 edition that featured the premieres of three films that went on to win best-picture nominations at the Academy Awards: Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”; Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest”; and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall.”

“Anatomy of a Fall” was only the third film directed by a woman to win the Palme. This year, there are four female filmmakers in competition. Frémaux said he may add further selections in the coming weeks.

Cannes had already lined up a few notable world premieres playing out of competition including George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and Kevin Costner’s “Horizon, An American Saga.” George Lucas is set to receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the closing ceremony. The festival will kick off May 14 with the French comedy “The Second Act,” starring Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon.

Greta Gerwig, coming off the success of “Barbie,” is heading the jury that will decide the Palme d’Or.

One new addition this year: The festival is launching a competitive immersive section featuring works of virtual and augmented reality.