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Shooting at Michigan splash pad leaves 'nine, maybe 10 victims': authorities
Gunfire erupted at a splash pad in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, leaving as many as 10 people wounded, authorities said.
Beyonce ruled the box office this weekend.
Her concert picture, " Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce," opened in first place with US$21 million in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday.
The post-Thanksgiving, early December box office is notoriously slow, but "Renaissance" defied the odds. Not accounting for inflation, it's the first time a film has opened over US$20 million on this weekend in 20 years (since "The Last Samurai").
Beyonce wrote, directed and produced "Renaissance," which is focused on the tour for her Grammy-winning album. It debuted in 2,539 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, as well as 94 international territories, where it earned US$6.4 million from 2,621 theaters.
"On behalf of AMC Theatres Distribution and the entire theatrical industry, we thank Beyonce for bringing this incredible film directly to her fans," said Elizabeth Frank, AMC Theatres executive vice president of worldwide programming, in a statement. "To see it resonate with fans and with film critics on a weekend that many in the industry typically neglect is a testament to her immense talent, not just as a performer, but as a producer and director."
Despite several other new releases including "Godzilla Minus One," the Hindi-language "Animal," Angel Studios' sci-fi thriller "The Shift," and Lionsgate's John Woo-directed revenge pic "Silent Night," it was a slow weekend overall. Films in the top 10 are expected to gross only US$85 million in total.
But it was in this traditional "lull" that AMC Theatres found a good opportunity for "Renaissance" to shine.
"They chose a great weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "There was competition but it was from very different kinds of movies."
Though "Renaissance" did not come close to matching the $92.8 million debut of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" in October, it's still a very good start for a concert film. No one expected "Renaissance" to match "The Eras Tour," which is wrapping up its theatrical run soon with over US$250 million globally. Prior to Swift, the biggest concert film debuts (titles held by Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber for their 2008 and 2011 films) had not surpassed the unadjusted sum of US$32 million.
The 39-city, 56-show "Renaissance" tour, which kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden in May and ended in Kansas City, Missouri in the fall, made over US$500 million and attracted over 2.7 million concertgoers. Swift's ongoing "Eras Tour," with 151 dates, is expected to gross some US$1.4 billion.
Both Beyonce and Swift chose to partner with AMC Theatres to distribute their films, as opposed to a traditional studio. Both superstars have been supportive of one another, making splashy appearances at the other's premieres. Both had previously released films on Netflix ("Miss Americana" and "Homecoming"). And both are reported to be receiving at least 50 per cent of ticket sales.
Movie tickets to the show were more expensive than average, around US$23.32 versus Swift's US$20.78, according to data firm EntTelligence.
Critics and audiences gave "Renaissance" glowing reviews -- it's sitting at 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and got a coveted A+ CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences who were polled. EntTelligence also estimates that the audience, around 900,000 strong, skewed a little older than Swift's.
"To have two concert films topping the chart in a single year is pretty unprecedented," Dergarabedian said.
But to compare them too closely would be a mistake.
"Taylor Swift was a total outlier and the result of a very specific set of circumstances," he said. "These two films are similar in genre only. "
Lionsgate's " The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes " fell to second place in its third weekend with an estimated US$14.5 million. The prequel has now earned over US$121 million domestically.
" Godzilla Minus One " took third place on the North American charts with US$11 million from 2,308 locations -- the biggest opening for a foreign film in the U.S. this year. The well-reviewed Japanese blockbuster distributed by Toho International cost only US$15 million to produce and has already earned US$23 million in Japan. Toho's 33rd Godzilla film is set in the aftermath of World War II, stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and was directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
"This year, we made a concentrated effort to answer the demand of the marketplace and make Godzilla globally accessible across many different platforms," said Koji Ueda, President of Toho Global, in a statement.
"Trolls Band Together" landed in fourth place in its third weekend with US$7.6 million, bringing its domestic total to US$74.8 million.
Fifth place went to Disney's "Wish," which fell 62 per cent from its underwhelming first weekend, with US$7.4 million from 3,900 locations. Globally, it's now made US$81.6 million. The studio's other major film in theaters, "The Marvels" is also winding down in its fourth weekend with a disastrous global tally of US$197 million against the reported US$300 million it cost to make and market the superhero film.
In its second weekend, Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" earned an estimated US$7.1 million from 3,500 locations. Produced by Apple Original Films and distributed by Sony Pictures, the film starring Joaquin Phoenix has now made US$45.7 million domestically against a US$200 million budget.
Things should pick up in the final weeks of 2023, with films like "Wonka" and "The Color Purple" yet to come. The industry is looking at a US$9 billion year -- still trailing the US$11 billion pre-pandemic norm, but a marked improvement from the last few years. And there are still many solid options for moviegoers, as the industry's awards season gets into full swing.
"We had a slow Thanksgiving and we're having a pretty slow weekend this weekend, but it's a great weekend to be a moviegoer in terms of the breadth and depth of the movies out there," Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Gunfire erupted at a splash pad in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, leaving as many as 10 people wounded, authorities said.
The Edmonton Oilers' offence exploded in Game 4 to beat the Florida Panthers 8-1.
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.
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The City of Calgary declared a local state of emergency Saturday morning in response to the latest developments in a major water main break that is impacting the city.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has concerns with how conclusions were gathered in a spy watchdog report.
London put on a display of birthday pageantry Saturday for King Charles III, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales ' first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis early this year.
Fancy Pokket owner Mike Timani has decided to create a 220-foot long flat bread to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
If certain goals that are in the Paris Climate Accord aren't met, the existence of polar bears in the Hudson Bay may come to an end.
In an attempt to invite one of the most popular recording artists in the world to the land of living skies – the City of Swift Current has offered to rename itself in honour of Taylor Swift.
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Car break-ins plague Canadians across the country, but instead of worrying about theft, a northern Ontario woman is cleaning up a big mess that she says will not be covered by insurance after a black bear broke into her Honda Civic and took a nap.
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