Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
"The Little Mermaid" made moviegoers want to be under the sea on Memorial Day weekend.
Disney's live-action remake of its 1989 animated classic easily outswam the competition, bringing in US$95.5 million on 4,320 screens in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.
And Disney estimates the film starring Halle Bailey as the titular mermaid Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as her sea witch nemesis Ursula will reach US$117.5 million by the time the holiday is over. It ranks as the fifth biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever.
It displaces "Fast X" in the top spot. The 10th installment in the "Fast and Furious" franchise starring Vin Diesel has lagged behind more recent releases in the series, bringing in US$23 million domestically for a two-week total of US$108 million for Universal Pictures.
In its fourth weekend, Disney and Marvel's " Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 " made an estimated US$20 million in North America to take third place. It's now made US$299 million domestically.
The performance of "The Little Mermaid" represents something of a bounce-back for Disney's animated-to-live-action remakes, and makes it likely they will keep coming indefinitely. Poor reception and the pandemic had some recent reboots either performing poorly or skipping theatrical releases for Disney +, including "Dumbo," "Mulan" and "Pinocchio."
"It works as long as the movies deliver," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. "It's great for Disney to be able to go to their archive by reviving these titles that started off as huge hits in the animated realm."
The opening puts it in the top tier of Disney's remakes, with a similar performance to 2019's "Aladdin," though it was well short of 2017's "Beauty and the Beast," which opened to more than US$170 million, and 2019's "The Lion King," which brought in more than US$190 million in its first weekend.
Audiences thought it delivered. The film had an A CinemaScore, and according to exit polling had more ticket buyers between ages 25 and 34 than children, suggesting nostalgic adults were essential.
"The multi generational component of this cannot be overstated," Dergarabedian said.
Critics were more lukewarm. The movie is currently at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. In her review, Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press called it "a somewhat drab undertaking with sparks of bioluminescence" that like too many of the Disney remakes "prioritized nostalgia and familiarity over compelling visual storytelling."
She said Bailey, half of the sister R&B duo Chloe x Halle, still shone with a "lovely presence" and "superb voice."
Directed by Rob Marshall with a reported budget of US$250 million before marketing, "The Little Mermaid" tells the story of a yearning, wayward daughter who cuts a devil's deal to swap her fins for a pair of legs. It features the songs from Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, including "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea," that helped the original film spark a Disney animation renaissance in the 1990s.
Fourth place went to Universal's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which keeps reaching new levels in its eighth weekend. Now available to rent on VOD, it still earned US$6.3 million in theatres. Its cumulative total of US$559 million makes Mario and Luigi the year's biggest earners so far.
Comics couldn't stand up to Ariel as the week's other new releases sank.
"The Machine," an action comedy starring stand--up comedian Bert Kreischer, finished fifth with US$4.9 million domestically. And " About My Father," the broad comedy starring stand-up Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro, was sixth with US$4.3 million.
It's not clear whether "The Little Mermaid" will have legs -- or fins -- going forward. Next week brings the release of animated "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," with "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" arriving the following week.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Little Mermaid," US$95.5 million.
2. "Fast X," US$23 million.
3. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," US$20 million.
4. "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," US$6.3 million.
5. "The Machine," US$4.9 million.
6. "About My Father," US$4.3 million.
7. "Kandahar," US$2.4 million.
8. "You Hurt My Feelings," US$1.4 million.
9. "Evil Dead Rise," US$1 million.
10. "Book Club, The Next Chapter," US$920,000.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.