Pop Stars, World Leaders Rally to End Poverty
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l i f e s t y l e MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 M U S I C & M O V I E S ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ Australia set to refuse breaks September record visa for Chris Brown with $47.5 Million debut ustralia intends to refuse a visa for US singer and hip-hop star Chris Brown, a gov- Aernment spokesman said yesterday, follow- ing through on a threat made last week over the singer’s history of domestic violence. Brown, 26, had been due to perform at a series of concerts in four Australian cities in December. A spokesman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said a notice had been sent to the singer indicating the government intends to consider refusal and he had four weeks to respond. “People to whom these notices are issued have 28 days to present material as to why they should otel Transylvania 2” easily “Nancy Meyers really is a brand onto be given a visa to enter Australia,” the spokesman topped the weekend box herself,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. said in a statement. A final decision on whether to “Hoffice, sinking its teeth into distribution executive vice president.”It’s issue the visa would be made after considering an impressive $47.5 million, and provid- not just the stories that attracts people. any material presented on the singer’s behalf, the ing a big win for star Adam Sandler and It’s the lifestyle, it’s the sets, it’s the spokesman said. In 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to Sony Pictures, the studio behind the ani- clothes.” That left Eli Roth’s “Green a charge of assaulting his then girlfriend, singer mated franchise. Both had endured Inferno” as the weekend’s only other Rihanna, and was sentenced in the United States rough patches at ticket booths. Sandler, wide release. The low budget horror film to five years probation, which was lifted in once among the most consistently com- earned $3.5 million from 1,540 locations. February. He has been denied entry by Britain and mercial leading men in Hollywood, has The picture about a young woman who Canada since his conviction. suffered a series of flops like “Blended,” has a nasty encounter with Peruvian can- Australian Minister for Women Michaelia Cash “That’s My Boy,” and “Jack and Jill” that nibals is part of a novel distribution last week urged Dutton to consider refusing have inspired questions about his banka- experiment from Jason Blum. Brown entry. Neighbouring New Zealand has bility. And Sony, which had its inner already ruled Brown ineligible for entry as a result workings laid bare in last year’s hack Middle ground of Britain refusing him admission, casting doubt attack by North Korea, was subjected to a The horror producer’s company over the Antipodean leg of his world tour. The summer that saw films like “Aloha” and Blumhouse limited the number of loca- Australian government last week earmarked Sandler’s video game “Pixels” rejected by tions where the picture screened and A$100 million ($70.2 million) to combat domestic audiences. It has been on the upswing in leaned heavily on digital marketing to Grammy award-winning singer Chris Brown performs at a club in Macau. — AP violence. — Reuters recent weeks, fielding modest hits like keep costs low. The hope was to find a “War Room” and “The Perfect Guy,” but middle ground between straight to on- this is the studio’s biggest opening since demand releases and wide, 3,000 screen “22 Jump Street” debuted to $57 million debuts, but the model may need more in June of 2014. tweaking. The company had hoped the It also sets a new September record, film would debut to between $4 million passing the previous “Hotel and $5 million. It will try a similar experi- Pop stars, world leaders Transylvania’s” $42.5 million start in 2012. ment with two more upcoming releases, The $80 million production got off to a including “Delirium,” a supernatural strong start overseas, outpacing the first thriller with Topher Grace and Patricia film’s results in parts of Latin America. “It’s Clarkson. A third film has yet to be deter- on it’s way to being one of the most mined. rally to end poverty beloved franchises of all time,” said Rory Last weekend’s champ, “Maze Runner: ome of the biggest names in music and poli- world’s top donors, said that the festival should serve Bruer, Sony Pictures president of world- The Scorch Trials,” slid to third place in its tics from Beyonce to European prime minis- as a catalyst for a “massive increase in educational wide distribution. “There are a lot of sto- sophomore weekend, notching $14 mil- Sters rallied Saturday in a concert aimed at funding.” She called for the world to ensure that all ries left to tell,” he added, saying that he lion, and bringing the Fox’s film’s domes- mobilizing action to eradicate extreme poverty. children in the world can attend school for 12 years, hoped there would be a third install- tic total to $51.7 million. Among Before thousands of people in New York’s Central with nine years compulsory. “We have the power to ment. Domestically, it was a competitive holdovers, Johnny Depp’s “Black Mass” Park and a far greater audience on television, the turn the dreams of millions of children into reality, so weekend at the multiplexes. In addition fell less than 50% in its second weekend, Global Citizen Festival sought to use entertainment let’s start now,” she said. to “Hotel Transylvania 2,” Universal adding $11.5 million to push the Warner to broaden support for new United Nations devel- expanded “Everest” from Imax and pre- Bros.’ film’s stateside haul to $42.6 million. opment goals. Musical twists mium format screens to 3,006 locations, Lionsgate’s “Sicario” continued to impress Beyonce, playing just her second concert this Like many festivals, the concert thrived on musi- where the high altitude disaster film in its second week in theaters. A week year, was the top attraction for many fans who cal surprises. Pearl Jam brought back to stage picked up $13.1 million. That figure is after scoring the biggest per-screen aver- obtained tickets not by paying but by committing Beyonce for Bob Marley’s inspirational “Redemption something of a disappointment given age of the year, the drug war thriller to activism ranging from writing letters to volun- Song,” which segued to a video of late anti-apartheid the A CinemaScore the film earned in moved from six to 59 theaters, cracking teering. Other performers included rock veterans hero Nelson Mandela urging a fight against poverty. limited release and the solid $7.2 million the box office top ten with $680,591. It Pearl Jam and Coldplay, fresh English pop sensation Beyonce put on a crowd-rousing show of dance pop it generated in its inaugural weekend. goes wide next weekend. Ed Sheeran, socially conscious rapper Common with an emphasis on her feminist themes but per- With “Everest” appealing to men and Bleecker Street’s “Pawn Sacrifice,” a and-in an effort to raise the profile of the festival in formed an unlikely acoustic duet with Sheeran of “Hotel Transylvania 2” roping in families, look at troubled chess great Bobby India-leading Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan. “Drunk in Love,” which she usually sings with hus- Warner Bros. made a pitch to female tick- Fischer (Tobey Maguire), broadened its Beyonce closed an energetic set by welcoming band Jay Z. et buyers with “The Intern.” The Nancy theatrical footprint from 33 to 781 loca- Pop starlet Ariana Grande joined Coldplay, while Meyers workplace comedy brought in a tions, earning $1.1 million. It has earned Common’s hard-charging hip-hop set merged into solid $18.2 million for a second place fin- $1.3 million after two weeks. “Every Breath You Take” as a bearded Sting suddenly ish. Filmed for $40 million, it stars Robert In the art house realm, Broad Green De Niro and Anne Hathaway. That open- bowed housing crisis drama “99 Homes” Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, left, and Beyonce appeared. Taking the microphone in between pop ing puts it in line with previous Meyers’ in two New York theirs, where it earned perform at the Global Citizen Festival in stars, the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner releases such as “Something’s Gotta Give” $32,807, for a per-screen average of Central Park. Malala Yousafzai dramatized the plight of girls who want to go to school. The 18-year-old Pakistani, who ($16.1 million debut) and “The Holiday” $16,403. The onslaught of new and Raising pressure for aid was shot in 2012 for defying a Taliban ban on educa- ($12.8 million start). The director’s latest expanding releases bolstered overall tick- Despite wide official endorsements of the so- tion, said that the world did not lack money. effort is just as likely to inspire real estate et sales. Receipts were up nearly 30% called Sustainable Development Goals, the UN esti- “We have billions and trillions of dollars but envy in the heavily female audience that from the year-ago period when “The mates that achieving them would cost the world up where the money goes is the military, things that are turned out to see the impossibly chic Equalizer” and the first “Maze Runner” to $5 trillion each year-a huge commitment. US Vice useless to society,” she said. “It is a book and a pen world of “The Intern.” topped box office charts.