
'Jurassic World: Rebirth' roars to top of N.American box office
"This is an excellent opening for the 7th episode of an action-adventure monster series," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
"The series has been especially good overseas and so far foreign business is outstanding. Dinosaur action is understood in all languages and across all cultures."
"F1: The Movie," the Apple and Warner Bros. flick starring Brad Pitt as a washed-up Formula One driver who gets one last shot at redemption, slipped to second place at $26.1 million, Exhibitor Relations said.
"How to Train Your Dragon," Universal and DreamWorks Animation's live-action reboot of the popular 2010 film, held in third place at $11 million.
The family-friendly film tells the story of a Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) who strikes up a friendship with Toothless the dragon.
In fourth place was Disney/Pixar Animation's latest original film "Elio," at $5.7 million in the United States and Canada.
"Elio" tells the story of a young boy who is mistaken by aliens as an intergalactic ambassador for Earth. The voice cast includes Oscar winner Zoe Saldana.
In fifth place was Columbia Pictures' zombie sequel "28 Years Later," which took in $4.6 million. The Danny Boyle-directed threequel picks up -- as the title suggests -- more than a generation after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"M3GAN 2.0" ($3.8 million)
"Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning" ($2.7 million)
"Ballerina" ($725,000)
© 2025 AFP
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France 24
16 hours ago
- France 24
'Jurassic World: Rebirth' roars to top of N.American box office
The Universal film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, takes viewers to an abandoned island research facility for the original Jurassic Park theme park, where secrets -- and genetically mutated dinosaurs -- are lurking. "This is an excellent opening for the 7th episode of an action-adventure monster series," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. "The series has been especially good overseas and so far foreign business is outstanding. Dinosaur action is understood in all languages and across all cultures." "F1: The Movie," the Apple and Warner Bros. flick starring Brad Pitt as a washed-up Formula One driver who gets one last shot at redemption, slipped to second place at $26.1 million, Exhibitor Relations said. "How to Train Your Dragon," Universal and DreamWorks Animation's live-action reboot of the popular 2010 film, held in third place at $11 million. The family-friendly film tells the story of a Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) who strikes up a friendship with Toothless the dragon. In fourth place was Disney/Pixar Animation's latest original film "Elio," at $5.7 million in the United States and Canada. "Elio" tells the story of a young boy who is mistaken by aliens as an intergalactic ambassador for Earth. The voice cast includes Oscar winner Zoe Saldana. In fifth place was Columbia Pictures' zombie sequel "28 Years Later," which took in $4.6 million. The Danny Boyle-directed threequel picks up -- as the title suggests -- more than a generation after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus. Rounding out the top 10 were: "M3GAN 2.0" ($3.8 million) "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning" ($2.7 million) "Ballerina" ($725,000) © 2025 AFP


France 24
a day ago
- France 24
In already precarious industry, US musicians struggle for health care
Eighteen months later he had a stroke. And now, the 66-year-old is facing his biggest health challenge yet -- and like most musicians, he's underinsured. Graham suffered an infection following spinal surgery that's developed into sepsis, and his son said he needs intravenous antibiotic treatments twice daily. But because his treatment is at home, William Harries-Graham said Medicare -- the US federal health program that insures elder adults -- won't cover his father. Harries-Graham said the hospital demanded payment upfront in the "thousands of dollars." The artist "fighting for his life" couldn't afford it, and recently launched a campaign to sell his drawings, a hobby that has become a means of survival. Graham's story is not uncommon: Many musicians confront the same health insurance nightmares all Americans do, navigating a labyrinthian system rife with out-of-pocket costs. But musicians are gig workers, which makes it even harder. Most working artists aren't rich and have variable income, in a cutthroat industry where employer-subsidized insurance for musicians is rare. Pop phenom Chappell Roan underscored the issue on one of music's biggest platforms earlier this year at the Grammys, calling out record labels for not insuring their artists in front of industry heavyweights as she accepted the prize for Best New Artist. Roan said she herself was dropped from her label and went uninsured for a time: "It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized," she said onstage. "Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection." 'Just a patch' About a month after Roan's statement, glam punk pioneer David Johansen died at 75 years old. His death came just weeks after he had started a GoFundMe to support his cancer treatment. In 2024, Matthew Sweet, the 1990s-era alt rocker, suffered a stroke while on tour. He was uninsured, so his management created a similar online crowdsourcing fundraiser. It's raised more than $640,000 to date to support his long-term recovery. But such crowdsourcing is a stop-gap, said Tatum Hauck-Allsep, founder and CEO of the Nashville-based Music Health Alliance that helps musicians negotiate medical bills. "In some cases, things like a GoFundMe is a great resource, but in other cases, it's just a patch. We want to find a long-term solution," Hauck-Allsep told AFP. She applauded Roan for highlighting the issue, but said insurance from record labels isn't necessarily what artists want, because it could mean they need to become employees, rather than independent artists. Still, "there should be an easier pathway to health care access," she said. Bruce Iglauer, head of the blues label Alligator Records, echoed Hauck-Allsep's point, saying that artists are self-employed. "We guarantee recording budgets and royalty rates, but have no input into, or knowledge of, what other income the artists are making," Iglauer said. "They are not getting weekly paychecks from us." And smaller labels say increasingly thin margins would make providing insurance impossible: "The costs of manufacturing have gone up, physical sales have gone down. Streaming sales pay paltry sums," said Kenn Goodman, founder and CEO of Chicago-based indie record label Pravda Records. "It's just not financially feasible," he added. "I wish it was." 'Terrifying' Many US musicians get health care through the Barack Obama-era Affordable Care Act -- but that coverage is under threat by the Donald Trump administration, which is vying to complicate health care access, and perhaps eventually scrap the system altogether. That would be a "disaster," said Paul Scott, director of the Healthcare Alliance for Austin Musicians, a non-profit that helps about 3,200 musicians a year in Texas get signed up for coverage under the government health care plan. Many ACA plans still don't come cheap, but it's made a huge difference for access, he said. Jettisoning the ACA would likely mean increased prices that would prompt a lot of artists to "drop their health insurance," Scott said. "And that will be a hit to our safety net hospitals and charity care." As for Graham, selling his sketches has successfully funded his first few weeks of treatment. But his son doesn't know if that will be enough. And Harries-Graham worries about those who can't find fundraising support thanks to their fame. "I don't know what someone else would have done," he said. "They would have been yet another person who goes into severe medical debt." © 2025 AFP


France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Mark Snow, composer of 'X Files' theme, dead at 78
A cause of death was not provided, but Hollywood trade publication Variety said Snow died Friday at his residence in the northeastern state of Connecticut. In addition to "The X Files" main theme, which was released as a single in 1996 and charted internationally, Snow composed the music for over 200 episodes and both feature films of the hit science fiction show about a pair of paranormal FBI investigators. Born Martin Fulterman on August 26, 1946, Snow grew up in Brooklyn, New York and attended the prestigious Juilliard School. He began composing music for television in the late 1970s, garnering 15 Emmy nominations over the course of his career. In addition to "The X Files," Snow composed the music for other US television series, including "Blue Bloods," "Smallville" and "Hart to Hart." He is survived by his wife Glynnis, three daughters, and grandchildren, Variety reported.