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‘Despicable Me 4’ Tops N.American Box Office on Opening Weekend

The fourth major installment of the Minions universe racked up $75 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada since its Friday release by Universal Pictures. (Universal)
The fourth major installment of the Minions universe racked up $75 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada since its Friday release by Universal Pictures. (Universal)
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‘Despicable Me 4’ Tops N.American Box Office on Opening Weekend

The fourth major installment of the Minions universe racked up $75 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada since its Friday release by Universal Pictures. (Universal)
The fourth major installment of the Minions universe racked up $75 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada since its Friday release by Universal Pictures. (Universal)

Animated comedy "Despicable Me 4" rose to the top of the North American box office on its first weekend in theaters, according to figures from industry watcher Exhibitor Relations published Sunday.

The fourth major installment of the Minions universe -- which features Will Ferrell voicing a new villain -- racked up $75 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada since its Friday release by Universal Pictures.

"This is an outstanding opening for the 4th episode of an animation series, ranking only behind Toy Story 4," said box office analyst David A. Gross.

In second place with $30 million was "Inside Out 2," the coming-of-age Disney and Pixar film which was knocked off the top spot after enjoying three consecutive weekends there.

Apocalyptic horror "A Quiet Place: Day One" was in third place after taking in $21 million with its story of New Yorkers who must remain silent to survive an invasion by extraterrestrial creatures with acute hearing.

"MaXXXine," a slasher that sees a mysterious killer stalking an aspiring actress in Hollywood, took fourth place with $6.7 million in ticket sales.

Will Smith's action-comedy "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," which also stars Martin Lawrence, took the last top five spot as it earned $6.5 million.

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Director Plans to Put Val Kilmer Back on Screen Thanks to AI

A director says Val Kilmer authorized using AI to have him 'act' in a movie after his death. JIM WATSON / AFP
A director says Val Kilmer authorized using AI to have him 'act' in a movie after his death. JIM WATSON / AFP
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Director Plans to Put Val Kilmer Back on Screen Thanks to AI

A director says Val Kilmer authorized using AI to have him 'act' in a movie after his death. JIM WATSON / AFP
A director says Val Kilmer authorized using AI to have him 'act' in a movie after his death. JIM WATSON / AFP

The late American film star Val Kilmer could soon be "acting" on the big screen again after allowing a director to use AI tools to produce his likeness for an upcoming film, media reports said Wednesday.

Coerte Voorhees had tapped Kilmer, who died of pneumonia last year after years of battling throat cancer, for "As Deep as the Grave," about the pioneering archaeologist Ann Morris, a co-discoverer of the Anasazi civilization.

Kilmer was to play a Catholic priest named Fintan, said AFP.

"He was the actor I wanted to play this role," Voorhees told industry magazine Variety. "It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest."

He said Kilmer signed on to the project but later became too ill to begin filming.

"I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot," Voorhees said. "He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn't do it."

He said Kilmer's family had provided video images of Kilmer, who was known for keeping a vast archive of footage from various moments of his life, that would be used to build the AI actor.

The project will likely get a wary welcome from many in Hollywood, where actors, writers and others are worried that AI could replace an array of jobs.

AI was already used with Kilmer so he could again play one of his most iconic roles, the cocky pilot Iceman, in the 2022 sequel to the era-defining 1980s hit "Top Gun."

Kilmer, who played in big-budget successes and indie films throughout his career, was one of the late actors praised during the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars ceremony on Sunday.

Entertainment

BTS Light Stick Prices Surge Ahead of Comeback Concert

A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)
A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)
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BTS Light Stick Prices Surge Ahead of Comeback Concert

A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)
A view of the main stage for a free concert by K-pop group BTS at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, 18 March 2026. (EPA)

Second-hand BTS light sticks were selling for up to six times the original price ahead of the K-pop megagroup's huge comeback concert this weekend, an online reseller showed Wednesday.

The world's biggest boy band reunites on Saturday for their first show in nearly four years, taking over central Seoul for a K-pop extravaganza beamed live around the globe.

K-pop fans are known for their concert light sticks, which have become symbols of devotion to their artists.

BTS's global fans, known as the ARMY, calls theirs the Army Bomb.

The original price of the latest official version is around 50,000 won ($33.67), but they are sold out.

Listings on Bunjang, a major platform for used goods, are priced at between 100,000 and 330,000 won per unit.

The concert on Saturday will see BTS take the stage on the doorstep of the famed Gyeongbokgung royal palace.

The area has also long been a site of political protests, including after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's failed 2024 martial law declaration, when K-pop fans took part with glowsticks -- a striking image that drew global attention.

Entertainment

Oscars TV Audience Shrinks 9% in US from Last Year

US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Oscars TV Audience Shrinks 9% in US from Last Year

US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson accepts the Oscar for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for "One Battle After Another" onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

The Academy Awards telecast attracted 17.9 million US viewers, a 9% decrease from the previous year and the lowest since 2022, according to Nielsen data released by broadcaster ABC on Tuesday.

The figure for Sunday's show reflected viewing ‌on ABC ‌and on the streaming service ‌Hulu. ⁠Both are owned ⁠by Walt Disney.

Hollywood handed the best picture prize to darkly comic thriller "One Battle After Another" during the more than three-hour-long ceremony. Comedian Conan ⁠O'Brien hosted for the ‌second year ‌in a row.

Viewership for awards shows has ‌been declining for years as TV ‌audiences have shifted to streaming and social media.

ABC said social impressions for the Oscars increased 42% this ‌year over 2025 to more than 184 million.

The ⁠highest-rated ⁠Academy Awards telecast aired in 1998, when megahit "Titanic" swept the honors. More than 57 million people tuned in that year.

In 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar ratings hit their low point with 10.5 million viewers. The Oscars ceremony will be moving from ABC to YouTube in 2029.