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Joker sequel suffers $33m collapse at box office

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Joker: Folie à Deux has plunged from the top of the North American box office, suffering a massive 80% drop from last weekend’s chart-topping debut of $40m (£30.65m) to just $7.1m.

That is a record collapse for a comic-book film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It was knocked off its perch by indie horror film Terrifier 3, which took an estimated $18.2m over the weekend.

The Joker sequel was also beaten into third spot by animated film The Wild Robot, which held on to second place, taking $13.4m.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice fell one spot to fourth, taking $7m.

Film critics have offered a range of views about Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, calling it “bleak and daring” but also “depressingly dull and plodding”.

Rounding out the North American top five was comedy-drama Piece by Piece, which uses Lego animation and features a stellar voice cast including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and Busta Rhymes.

Meanwhile, The Apprentice, a film about Donald Trump, managed only to open in the number-10 spot, with $1.6m.

The film will have its UK premiere as part of the London Film Festival on Tuesday.

It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in May, attracting mostly good reviews from critics but a legal threat from the former president.

The biopic traces the US presidential candidate’s origin story as an ambitious young property developer in 1970s and 80s New York.

His spokesman has described the film, which features a scene where Trump is seen raping his first wife, Ivana, as “garbage”, “pure fiction” and “election interference by Hollywood elites”.

The film begins with a disclaimer that many of its events are fictionalised.

(BBC News)

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Restored 4K version of ‘Gehenu Lamai’ to premiere at 2025 Cannes Festival

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‘Gehenu Lamai’, directed by the late Dr. Sumitra Peries, will be screened next week in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from May 13 to May 24 in Cannes, France, under the Cannes Classics category.

Released in 1978, ‘Gehenu Lamai’ is a Sri Lankan Sinhala teenage drama film directed by Sumitra Peries and produced by her husband, Lester James Peries, for Lester Films.

The restoration of ‘Gehenu Lamai’ was undertaken by the Film Heritage Foundation in association with the Dr. Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation. It was funded by a grant provided by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the Embassy of France in India, under the aegis of FISCH (France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage).

Sumitra Peries, the first female filmmaker in Sri Lanka and wife of Dr. Lester James Peries, also served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France in the 1990s. She was decorated as a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Government.

Born in 1934, she emerged to stardom in the country with over 10 films to her credit and expertise as a screenwriter, director, producer, and editor.

In a triumph for Sri Lanka’s film heritage, Sumitra Peries’ “Gehenu Lamai” (1978) restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation has been selected for a world premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2025.

The film has been restored under the aegis of FISCH: France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage – Saving Film Across Borders – a pioneering international collaboration between Film Heritage Foundation, the Embassy of France and the French Institute in India and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, dedicated to restoring and preserving cinematic heritage.

The selection of “Gehenu Lamai” for the 78th Cannes Film Festival marks the fourth year in a row that Film Heritage Foundation is returning to Cannes Classic, but its first with a Sri Lankan film.

Film Heritage Foundation’s earlier restorations – Aravindan Govindan’s “Thamp”, Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Ishanou” and Shyam Benegal’s “Manthan” had red-carpet world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Recognized as the Outstanding Film of the Year at the 1978 London Film Festival, the debut film of Sumitra Peries – referred to as the Poetess of Sri Lankan Cinema – tells the heartbreaking tale of two young sisters in a Sri Lankan village whose romantic dreams and aspirations are crushed by the class barrier and the conflict between tradition and progress. The poetic black and white imagery beautifully captures the confusion and fragility of adolescent love and yearning coupled with an outstanding performance by a 16 year-old Wasanthi Chathurani as Kusum in her debut role.

(adaderana.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Disney to open theme park in the Middle East

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Walt Disney has announced plans to open its first theme park in the Middle East.

The resort, which will be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, is a collaboration between Walt Disney and local leisure and entertainment company Miral.

Disney already has six theme parks spanning North America, Europe and Asia. Its most recent opening was in 2016 in Shanghai.

Miral is responsible for the development of Yas Island as a tourist destination and already operates SeaWorld and Warner Bros World where it is developing a Harry Potter-themed park.

In a statement announcing the new facility, Disney said the UAE was located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population, making it a “significant gateway for tourism”.

It added that 120 million passengers travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai every year, making the Emirates the biggest global airline hub in the world.

Disney chief executive Robert Iger described the plans for the new park as a “thrilling” moment for the company and said Disneyland Abu Dhabi would be “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati”.

The 10-sq-mile (25-sq-km) Yas Island is 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai.

Miral’s boss Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi said bringing a Disney theme park resort to the area marked a “milestone in our journey to further advance the island’s position as a global destination for exceptional entertainment and leisure”.

He said the development would “support sustained economic growth in Abu Dhabi and beyond”.

The company’s first theme park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California in 1955. It was followed in 1971 by Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

International expansion began in 1983 with a park in Tokyo; Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, then came Hong Kong in 2005 and, most recently, Shanghai in 2016.

Also on Wednesday, Disney announced better than expected results for the first three months of 2025, with revenue up by 7% to $23.6bn (£17.7bn).

The Disney+ streaming business added 1.4 million customers. Previously Disney had predicted a slight decline in subscribers due to a price increase.

Attendance rose at US parks with visitors spending more and there was also a rise in cruise ship bookings following the launch of the new ship Disney Treasure.

“Despite questions around any macroeconomic uncertainty or the impact of competition, I’m encouraged by the strength and resilience of our business,” said Mr Iger.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell said at a time when so many businesses in the US were “worried about the potential impact of tariffs on consumer spending, on household budgets, Disney is feeling confident”.

(BBC News)

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Rihanna reveals pregnancy at Met Gala

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Singer Rihanna has confirmed she is expecting her third baby while attending fashion’s biggest night of the year, the Met Gala in New York.

The 37-year-old cradled her bump and smiled for the cameras while appearing on the red carpet, which was navy with daffodils.

Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, and her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, already have two sons.

A$AP Rocky, also known as Rakim Mayers, thanked reporters who offered their congratulations on the red carpet.

“It is time to just show the people what we were cooking up,” he said.

(BBC News)

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