Movies Archives

‘Moana 2’ sails to a record $221 million opening as Hollywood celebrates a moviegoing feast

NEW YORK (AP) — “Moana 2” brought in a tidal wave of moviegoers over the Thanksgiving Day weekend with $221 million in ticket sales. Studio estimates Sunday show that, combined with “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” made for an unprecedented weekend in cinemas. “Moana 2″ blew predictions out of the water, setting a record for Thanksgiving moviegoing. At the same time, the sensation of “Wicked” showed no signs of slowing down with $117.5 million over the five-day weekend. “Gladiator II” collected $44 million. For an industry that’s been battered in recent years by the pandemic, work stoppages and streaming, it was a triumphant weekend that showed the still-potent power of Hollywood’s blockbuster machine.… Continue Reading

‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ make gravity-defying theater debuts

NEW YORK (AP) — “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have debuted in theaters with a combined $270 million in ticket sales. Their worldwide performance breathed fresh life into global box office results that have struggled lately. Together the films turned the moviegoing weekend into one of the busiest of the year. Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally. Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original and launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. “Moana 2” is being released Wednesday, so it looks like Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.… Continue Reading

John Ashton, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ actor, dies at 76

NEW YORK (AP) — John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, has died. He was 76. Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released by Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately available. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face across TV series and films, including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.” But in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, Ashton played an essential part of an indelible trio.… Continue Reading

C’mon get happy, Joker is back (this time with Lady Gaga)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — “Joker” is a hard act to follow. Todd Phillips’ dark, Scorsese-inspired character study about the Batman villain made over a billion dollars at the box office, won Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar, dominated the cultural discourse for months and created a new movie landmark. Knowing that it was a fool’s errand to try to do it again, Phillips and Phoenix pivoted to “Joker: Folie à Deux,” a dark and fantastical musical journey that goes deeper into the mind of Arthur Fleck as he awaits trial for murder and falls in love with a fellow Arkham inmate, Lee, played by Lady Gaga. It hits theaters Oct. 4.… Continue Reading

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ scares off ‘Transformers’ for third week as box office No. 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s a three-peat for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Studio estimates Sunday showed that the Tim Burton sequel topped the North American box office charts for the third straight weekend, with $26 million in ticket sales. The Warner Bros. release has earned more than $226 million domestically in total. This weekend it edged out the animated new release “Transfomers One,” which was second with $25 million. Third place went to the James McAvoy horror “Speak No Evil,” which came in at $5.9 million in its second week for a total of $21.5 million.… Continue Reading