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Paramount to Make Live-action 'Call of Duty' Movie

Paramount plans to create a movie based on the wildly popular Call of Duty video game. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File
Paramount plans to create a movie based on the wildly popular Call of Duty video game. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File
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Paramount to Make Live-action 'Call of Duty' Movie

Paramount plans to create a movie based on the wildly popular Call of Duty video game. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File
Paramount plans to create a movie based on the wildly popular Call of Duty video game. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP/File

Paramount, the Hollywood studio recently acquired by the software billionaire Ellison family, will make a movie based on the wildly popular "Call of Duty" video games, it announced Tuesday.

Scion David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, assumed control of Paramount last month and is overseeing a major effort to revitalize the storied but ailing studio behind "Top Gun" and "The Godfather."

First-person-shooter series "Call of Duty" is one of the world's best-selling games franchises, having sold 500 million copies. It is played monthly by more than 100 million people, said AFP.

"As a lifelong fan of 'Call of Duty' this is truly a dream come true," said David Ellison, in a statement.

The "Call of Duty" games are made by Activision-Blizzard, which was itself purchased by Microsoft in 2023 for $69 billion, in the sector's biggest takeover.

There have been more than 30 "Call of Duty" game titles overall, since it debuted in 2003.

The most recent major installment -- 2024's "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6" -- was set in the 1990s, with a security team on a mission to target a US senator and gain access to a top-secret site in Washington.

Under the deal with Activision, Paramount will "develop, produce, and distribute a live-action feature film based on 'Call of Duty,'" the company release said.

No valuation was provided for the deal, nor details of the planned movie.

Trade newspaper Variety reported that the partnership could expand to further "Call of Duty" films and television shows, citing anonymous sources. Paramount did not respond to AFP request for comment.

"From the first Allied campaigns in the original 'Call of Duty,' through 'Modern Warfare' and 'Black Ops,' I've spent countless hours playing this franchise that I absolutely love," said Ellison.

"Being entrusted by Activision and players worldwide to bring this extraordinary storytelling universe to the big screen is both an honor and a responsibility that we don't take lightly."

Paramount is already the home of a popular video-game adaptation -- the "Sonic the Hedgehog" animated movies.

Movie studios for a long time struggled to convert successful games into something the viewing public would watch.

But recent triumphs like "The Super Mario Bros Movie," which netted over $1.3 billion globally, and the nearly $1 billion take for "A Minecraft Movie" indicate they may have cracked the formula.

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Entertainment

'Spider-Noir' Brings a Mature Superhero to the Small Screen

Nicolas Cage stars in the new series "Spider-Noir". Michael loccisano / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Nicolas Cage stars in the new series "Spider-Noir". Michael loccisano / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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'Spider-Noir' Brings a Mature Superhero to the Small Screen

Nicolas Cage stars in the new series "Spider-Noir". Michael loccisano / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Nicolas Cage stars in the new series "Spider-Noir". Michael loccisano / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

While stars of the Spider-Man franchise have trended younger over the years -- from Tobey Maguire to Andrew Garfield to Tom Holland -- the new series "Spider-Noir" starring Nicolas Cage explores a more mature version of the web-slinging superhero.

Premiering on Amazon's streaming platform this week, the series follows Ben Reilly (Cage), a private investigator struggling to make ends meet in New York during the Great Depression, said AFP.

This marks the first time the superhero, whom Cage voiced in the first Spider-Verse film, has appeared on screen in live-action.

Karen Rodriguez, who plays Janet, Riley's loyal secretary, said that what sets "Spider-Noir" apart from other versions of the superhero is the era in which it is set.

"Normally, it's a coming-of-age story, and we're meeting Peter Parker in a youthful setting," she told AFP. "But what happens when you've done it and life has happened to you and you suffered loss?"

Reilly, a World War I veteran who can't even afford to pay his secretary, is burdened by personal tragedy.

"He's lost the love of his life. He's smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression. There's a lot of suffering," Rodriguez added.

For the actress, whose character maintains a constant push and pull with Reilly, working with Cage "was like a dream come true."

Rodriguez said she learned a lot from the 62-year-old Oscar-winning actor, who has over a hundred films to his credit.

"It's the type of job that you dream about because you want jobs that are going to make you better," said Rodriguez, who describes her character as a strong-willed woman who doesn't mince words.

"Spider-Noir," produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, among others, can be seen in color or black and white, in a nod to the film noir genre of the 1940s.

"It's a wholly unique perspective," said Rodriguez, who sees the style as an "exciting" alternative for telling a superhero story.

The genre is related to "what kind of danger is looking around the corner," she said. "And even the visual elements of noir, I think are so evocative, the way that the camera is framed."

"You understand that the world you're never really safe, and we really see it in the black and white, because we're seeing people in shadow or in light, and the shadow is always there."

"Spider-Noir" also features performances by Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li and Brendan Gleeson, who plays a mobster villain.

Entertainment

Disney’s New ‘Star Wars’ Film Opens with an Estimated $165 Million Worldwide

Cast member Pedro Pascal attends a premiere for the film “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, May 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Pedro Pascal attends a premiere for the film “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, May 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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Disney’s New ‘Star Wars’ Film Opens with an Estimated $165 Million Worldwide

Cast member Pedro Pascal attends a premiere for the film “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, May 14, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Pedro Pascal attends a premiere for the film “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, May 14, 2026. (Reuters)

New "Star Wars" film "The Mandalorian and Grogu" is expected to end the US Memorial Day weekend with roughly $165 million in worldwide ticket sales, distributor Walt Disney said ‌on Sunday.

About $102 ‌million of that ‌total ⁠will come from ⁠the United States and Canada, Disney said. The domestic total exceeds pre-weekend forecasts but is the lowest opening for any "Star Wars" ⁠movie released by Disney.

The ‌first "Star ‌Wars" movie in seven years ‌tells the story of a ‌helmeted bounty hunter and his sidekick, nicknamed Baby Yoda by fans. The duo debuted ‌on the small screen in the Disney+ streaming series "The ⁠Mandalorian" ⁠in 2019.

Disney's lowest-grossing "Star Wars" film, "Solo: A Star Wars Story," brought in $103 million over Memorial Day weekend in 2018 and was considered a flop. The "Grogu" movie, however, had a smaller budget than most other "Star Wars" movies, of about $165 million.

Entertainment

Norway-Set Drama About Political Polarization ‘Fjord’ Wins Palme d’Or at Cannes

Director Cristian Mungiu poses after receiving the Palme d'Or award for "Fjord" during the winners photocall at the closing and awards ceremony of the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 23 May 2026. (EPA)
Director Cristian Mungiu poses after receiving the Palme d'Or award for "Fjord" during the winners photocall at the closing and awards ceremony of the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 23 May 2026. (EPA)
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Norway-Set Drama About Political Polarization ‘Fjord’ Wins Palme d’Or at Cannes

Director Cristian Mungiu poses after receiving the Palme d'Or award for "Fjord" during the winners photocall at the closing and awards ceremony of the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 23 May 2026. (EPA)
Director Cristian Mungiu poses after receiving the Palme d'Or award for "Fjord" during the winners photocall at the closing and awards ceremony of the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 23 May 2026. (EPA)

Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set drama about political polarization, "Fjord," has won the Palme d’Or, handing the Cannes Film Festival ’s top honor for the second time to Mungiu, the Romanian director of "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days."

At a 79th Cannes Film Festival that saw few films cause a stir, "Fjord" found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called "left-wing fundamentalism." It stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian Evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.

"Today the society is split. It’s divided. It’s radicalized," said Mungiu. "This film is a pledge against any type of fundamentalism. It's a pledge for these things we quote very often, like trauma and inclusion and empathy. These are lovely words but we need to apply them more often."

Mungiu becomes just the 10th filmmaker to win the Palme d’Or twice. His "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," a Romanian abortion drama, won the award in 2007.

The win for "Fjord" extends one of the movies’ most extraordinary streaks. Neon, the specialty label, has now taken seven Palme d’Or winners in a row. "Fjord" adds to its unparalleled run, including last year’s champion, Jafar Panahi’s "It Was Just an Accident," and the 2024 winner, "Anora." The latter went on to win best picture at the Oscars.

‘Minotaur’ wins Grand Prix

The Grand Prix, or second prize, went to "Minotaur," Andrey Zvyagintsev’s domestic thriller set against Russia’s war with Ukraine. Loosely based on Claude Chabrol’s 1969 film "The Unfaithful Wife,Minotaur" is about a Russian businessman suspicious of his wife’s indiscretions. At the same time, he’s tasked with conscripting 150 of his workers for Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

"The only person who can stop this butchery is you, Mr. President of the Russian Federation," Zvyagintsev said, accepting his award. "Put an end to this slaughter. The whole world is waiting for this."

By wide consensus, it wasn’t a banner festival. Hollywood largely sat out this year’s edition. Many of the selections struggled to bowl over critics. The global buzz that Cannes typically generates was fitful at best.

But the awards handed out Saturday as the 79th Cannes drew to a close will significantly raise the international profiles of the winners. Last year's Cannes produced a long string of Oscar nominees, including "Sentimental Value" and "The Secret Agent."

The nine-member jury that decided the awards was headed by Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook. Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård were also jurors. Chan-wook, a Cannes regular including last year with his satirical thriller "No Other Choice," joked that he preferred not to give away the Palme.

"To be honest, I didn’t want to award the Palme d’Or to any of the films, because it’s an award I myself have never gotten," Chan-wook told reporters after the ceremony. "But I had no other choice."

Awards are split and shared

Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, the two stars of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s "All of a Sudden" shared the best actress award. In the elegantly empathetic drama, the two play women brought together in friendship out of their mutual sense of care for others.

The jury also split the best actor prize. They chose Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, the two stars of "Coward," Lukas Dhont’s drama about young Belgian men sent to the front lines of World War II.

The prize for best screenplay was awarded to Emmanuel Marre for "A Man of His Time," a French drama about a Nazi collaborator in Vichy France. Marre based it on the experiences of his own great-grandfather.

The jury prize, or third place, went to German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach’s "The Dreamed Adventure," a crime drama set in a Bulgarian border town.

Saturday’s ceremony was missing its tribute honoree. Barbra Streisand was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or, but a knee injury prevented her from attending. Isabelle Huppert nevertheless celebrated Streisand during the ceremony, and Streisand appeared in a taped video message.

The Camera d’Or, Cannes’ award for best first film, went to Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo’s post-genocide drama "Ben’Imana," the first Rwandan film to be officially selected for the festival.