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'Eternals' Leads Box Office Over 'Clifford the Big Red Dog'

A guest purchases a ticket in front of a box office at AMC movie theater in Lincoln Square, in New York city, US. Reuters file photo
A guest purchases a ticket in front of a box office at AMC movie theater in Lincoln Square, in New York city, US. Reuters file photo
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'Eternals' Leads Box Office Over 'Clifford the Big Red Dog'

A guest purchases a ticket in front of a box office at AMC movie theater in Lincoln Square, in New York city, US. Reuters file photo
A guest purchases a ticket in front of a box office at AMC movie theater in Lincoln Square, in New York city, US. Reuters file photo

Marvel's comic book epic "Eternals" is once again dominating over domestic box office charts, Reuters reported.

In its second weekend of release, the superhero adventure has collected a leading $27.5 million from 4,090 North American theaters. Through Sunday, "Eternals" crossed the $100 million mark in the US and Canada, with box office receipts at $118 million. Though it wouldn't be a particularly notable benchmark in pre-COVID times, only a handful of films have surpassed $100 million in 2021.

"Eternals" declined 61% from its $71 million debut, a drop that falls somewhere in between Marvel's other pandemic releases, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (which declined 52% in its sophomore outing) and "Black Widow" (which declined 67% in its sophomore outing). "Shang-Chi," like "Eternals," is playing only in theaters while "Black Widow" premiered on Disney Plus (for $30 on top of monthly subscription fees) on the same day it opened in cinemas.

Compared to recent entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Eternals" hasn't gotten the best reviews. It is the only installment to receive a "rotten" rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, and it's one of the few to land a CinemaScore grade lower than "A" from audiences. Those factors didn't affect Sony's comic book sequel "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," which has similar audience score and critic sentiment. However, moviegoers have come to develop much higher expectations (and standards) for Disney's MCU, a franchise that is critically and commercially in a league of its own.

Speaking of "Venom," the second feature film that centers on Tom Hardy's alien symbiote became the second COVID-era release to surpass $200 million at the domestic box office. After nearly two months in theaters, the movie placed at No. 5 with $3.7 million from 2,538 venues, propelling revenues to $202 million.

"Shang-Chi," which is the highest-grossing film of 2021 with $224 million to date, is the only other film to cross $200 million this year.

In second place on domestic box office charts, Paramount's family friendly adventure "Clifford the Big Red Dog" pulled in $16.4 million from 3,700 locations between Friday and Sunday.

The film, which is available simultaneously on the streaming service Paramount Plus, got a jump on the weekend by opening in theaters on Wednesday, has generated $22 million in its first five days of release.

"Clifford" had a decent start considering its hybrid release, though analysts believe it would have made even more money by having an exclusive theatrical window before moving to digital platforms.

However, family crowds have been slow to return to cinemas because young children have only recently been able to get vaccinated against COVID-19, so Paramount wanted to couch ticket sales while boosting its nascent streaming service in the process.

"The streaming option is not helping these movies," says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. "Without it, their value would be greater on each and every platform." Still, he says, "this is a very solid opening in the face of difficult family moviegoing conditions."

"Dune," the sci-fi spectacle from Warner Bros. and Legendary, placed third with $5.5 million from 3,282 screens. To date, the movie has grossed $93 million while playing concurrently on HBO Max.

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Entertainment

‘Project Hail Mary’ Flies to $54.5 Million Second Weekend, Horror Reaches a Saturation Point

Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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‘Project Hail Mary’ Flies to $54.5 Million Second Weekend, Horror Reaches a Saturation Point

Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Ryan Gosling arrives for the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at the Lincoln Center in New York City, US, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)

“Project Hail Mary” stayed aloft in its second weekend, holding strongly with $54.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, and adding to the long-term prospects of the year’s biggest hit thus far.

The Phil Lord and Chris Miller sci-fi adventure, starring Ryan Gosling, dipped only 32% after notching the best non-franchise opening weekend since 2023’s “Oppenheimer.” Amazon MGM’s yet, “Project Hail Mary” has grossed $300.8 million worldwide in two weeks.

“Project Hail Mary,” which cost nearly $200 million to produce, didn’t face any significant new competition and kept premium format screens largely to itself. Potentially the weekend's most watched movie, the KPop documentary “BTS: The Return,” went straight to streaming on Netflix.

But “Project Hail Mary” is on an enviable trajectory. Its second weekend hold was even better than that of “Oppenheimer,” which collected $46.7 million in its follow-up frame.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s top new release, “They Will Kill You,” debuted with a disappointing $5 million for Warner Bros. The gory R-rated horror film stars Zazie Beetz as a woman who applies to be a maid at an apartment complex where she’s to become a sacrificial offering.

While the result was far from catastrophic for a movie with a modest $20 million budget, it did suggest that theaters may have become oversaturated in horror. David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, noted that there has been a new horror film released every weekend for the last 14 weekends.

That included last week’s “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” ($16.3 million domestically so far) and a second horror-comedy that also debuted this weekend. IFC’s “Forbidden Fruits,” about a coven of witches who work at a Texas mall, debuted with $1.2 million in sales.

Despite the glut, Gross is forecasting horror films will account for about $2.1 billion in North American ticket revenue in 2026, down from $2.75 million last year. While horror remains popular with audiences and relatively cheap to produce, the genre may be approaching overkill.

Meanwhile, family movies continue to thrive. The Pixar original “Hoppers” remained in second place with $12.2 million in its fourth weekend. The Walt Disney Co. release has accumulated $297.6 million globally.

Next weekend, though, it will face stiff competition in Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It’s expected to have the biggest opening of 2026.

Entertainment

Disney Opens World of Frozen in Paris as New CEO Showcases the Empire That Made Him

The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)
The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)
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Disney Opens World of Frozen in Paris as New CEO Showcases the Empire That Made Him

The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)
The new theme World of Frozen is pictured during its inauguration at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28. 2026. (AP)

A 118-foot mountain of ice rose over the suburban Paris countryside this weekend as Disney opened its Arendelle kingdom to the world — Elsa’s palace glowing at the summit, a “Frozen” Nordic fishing village below, and the company’s new CEO standing before a crowd of celebrities.

World of Frozen, an immersive land themed to the blockbuster animated franchise, opened Sunday as the centerpiece of a 2 billion euro ($2.18 billion) transformation at Disneyland Paris.

The transformation renames one of the two theme parks at the Disneyland Paris complex from Walt Disney Studios Park to Disney Adventure World. The inauguration drew Penélope Cruz, Naomi Campbell and Teyana Taylor.

It is the largest expansion in the 34-year history of Disneyland Paris, and one node in a roughly $60 billion global buildout of Disney’s parks, resorts and cruise lines.

It is also the first major international stage for Josh D’Amaro, who took over as Disney’s chief executive on March 18 — just 11 days before the French gates opened — after nearly three decades in the company’s theme parks division.

The parks-and-experiences business generated about 57% of the company’s $17.5 billion in segment operating income last year, the force that observers say propelled D’Amaro from parks chief to the corner office.

An Associated Press journalist accompanied D’Amaro on the “Frozen” ride Saturday night.

The carriage splashed through water to childlike cheers from riders and laughter from the new chief executive as they glided past singing Elsa in the dark. Some stepped off lightly wet.

“The Walt Disney Company was built on one man’s dream, and for more than 100 years we’ve shared that dream with the world,” D’Amaro told the inauguration crowd.

“Storytelling is fundamental to everything that we do, whether that’s on screen or stage, in our theme parks, on our cruise ships, or even at home.”

He called the opening “a transformational moment” and paid tribute to the creative team behind the land, including “Frozen” writer-director Jennifer Lee — all now at work on “Frozen 3.”

On Friday, D’Amaro had stood alongside Emmanuel Macron at the resort.

The French president used the visit to claim the park as a national economic asset, calling Disneyland Paris “the leading tourist destination in Europe” and describing it as “a genuine ecosystem of success.”

Macron said the latest expansion would create 1,000 additional direct jobs.

“Since the beginning, that’s 13 billion euros invested on this territory,” Macron said.

Disneyland Paris says the resort now employs more than 20,000 people, supports 70,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and has recorded more than 445 million visits since 1992 — accounting for 6.1% of France’s national tourism revenue.

Macron’s presence underscored a remarkable reversal.

When the park opened as Euro Disney in 1992, French intellectuals derided it as a “cultural Chernobyl.” Now a French president was standing in front of cameras calling it an engine of national prosperity.

It is no coincidence that “Frozen” and “Tangled” — the two stories anchoring Disney’s new lineup at its sole European resort — both trace their roots to European folklore.

“Frozen” draws loosely from “The Snow Queen”; the new Tangled family ride recalls the Brothers Grimm’s Rapunzel.

“Frozen, of course, has its roots in European storytelling,” said Michel den Dulk of Walt Disney Imagineering.

“It’s very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen. So to have a northern European, charming wooden little village here in Disneyland Paris, where you can see your favorite Frozen characters — it just made sense.”

The land recreates Arendelle around a lagoon, its timber buildings painted in muted Scandinavian pastels, facades adorned with rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian decorative art.

At the center is Frozen Ever After, a boat ride featuring state-of-the-art animatronics and immersive projection effects.

Guests can meet Anna and Elsa inside Arendelle Castle, have a conversation with a responsive baby troll named Mossy who talks back, and watch a lagoon celebration called the Snow Flower Festival — featuring an original song.

A next-generation robotic Olaf roams the land.

Beyond World of Frozen, the rebranded park brings a vast new lake called Adventure Bay, a Tangled family ride, 15 new dining locations — including the posh Regal View Restaurant — and a nighttime spectacular called Disney Cascade of Lights featuring more than 380 drones.

A Lion King land, already under construction, will follow.

More than 90% of the second park’s offerings will have been redesigned since it opened in 2002, and Disney says the footprint will roughly double once the full transformation is complete.

Disney's streaming has swung from deep losses to profitability, but the parks remain the company’s most dependable earnings engine — and D’Amaro is the man who ran them.

“We continue to dream bigger and bring stories to life in brand new ways,” D’Amaro told the crowd.

Pyrotechnics lit up Arendelle Village.

The ice palace on the mountain turned blue.

And 34 years after Euro Disney became a punchline, a brand-new kingdom opened in the fields east of Paris — for the first time in forever.

Entertainment

Paul McCartney Charts Childhood Streets in First Album in Five Years

Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)
Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)
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Paul McCartney Charts Childhood Streets in First Album in Five Years

Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)
Musician Paul McCartney attends the British premiere of ''If These Walls Could Sing" in London, Britain December 12, 2022. (Reuters)

Paul McCartney ‌takes fans down the streets of his Liverpool childhood in his first solo album in more than five years due out in May.

The title "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" comes from a lyric in the album's first single "Days We Left Behind", released on Thursday - "a memory song for me," McCartney said in a statement.

"I was thinking just that, about the ‌days I ‌left behind and I do often ‌wonder ⁠if I’m just ⁠writing about the past but then I think how can you write about anything else? It’s just a lot of memories of Liverpool," the 83-year-old said.

The tracks evoke his childhood in post-war Liverpool, his parents ⁠and adventures shared with band mates ‌George Harrison and John ‌Lennon before the world had woken up ‌to the Beatles, according to a statement on ‌his website.

"It involves a bit in the middle about John and Forthlin Road which is the street I used to live in. Dungeon ‌Lane is near there," McCartney said about "Days We Left Behind".

"I used to ⁠live ⁠in a place called Speke which is quite working class. We didn’t have much at all, but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice you didn’t have much.”

McCartney worked with producer Andrew Watt and recorded the album, which also includes new love songs, in Los Angeles and Sussex, between legs of his global tour.

"The Boys of Dungeon Lane" is McCartney's 18th solo studio album.