'Godzilla' beats out 'Aladdin' and 'Rocketman' to claim box office title - CNN

"Godzilla," a Warner Bros. film which brings back a 1950s subtitle, brought in just over $49 million in its North American debut, according to Comscore (SCOR) data released Sunday.

Disney's (DIS) "Aladdin," the live-action reboot of the 1992 animated film, brought in more than $42 million in North America in its second week of release. Internationally, the film earned $78.3 million, for a global weekend haul of $120.6 million, according to Comscore.

Paramount's "Rocketman," which depicts Elton John's childhood and rise to fame, came in third, bringing in $25 million.

The past few weeks have been lucrative for Hollywood. Last month, "Avengers: Endgame," the Disney and Marvel film, logged a record-shattering $1.2 billion opening, and it subsequently became the fastest film in history to make $2 billion worldwide.

The global box office has benefited from a strong performance at North American theaters, which have grown sales and foot traffic.

And some of the year's biggest films haven't landed in theaters yet.

Disney is set to release a remake of "The Lion King," which includes voice work by Donald Glover and Beyoncé, on July 19.

Some industry analysts believe it could be one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

-- CNN Business' Frank Pallotta contributed to this report

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2019-06-02 17:44:25Z
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Russia slammed for censoring gay sex scenes from Elton John biopic 'Rocketman' - Fox News

Russian gay rights activists and cultural figures are criticizing the local distributor of a new movie about Elton John for cutting scenes in it depicting homosexual activity and drug use.

The deletions became known last week after a Moscow screening of the film "Rocketman."

The Moscow movie theater Pioner, noted for its adventurous programming, said it would ask for an original cut of the movie with Russian subtitles. But the theater said Sunday it had not received a response from the distributor.

ELTON JOHN SLAMS BREXIT AND ITS 'STUPID, COLONIAL IDIOT' SUPPORTERS

Russian news agencies reported that the distribution company said the scenes were cut to conform with Russian law but that the Ministry of Culture said it was not involved in the decision.

"In this way, the Russian distributor indirectly supports homophobia," the Russian LGBT Network said in a Facebook statement. "We urge people not to support such a policy and not to go see the Russian version of the film."

Although homosexuality is not criminalized in Russia, animosity toward gays remains strong. In 2013, the country passed a law banning so-called propaganda supporting non-traditional sexuality from being made available to minors.

ELTON JOHN REVEALS TOUGHEST SCENES TO WATCH IN 'ROCKETMAN' BIOPIC

'ROCKETMAN' STAR RICHARD MADDEN SAYS SEX SCENES WITH TARON EGERTON WERE 'NOT FUN'

Trailers for the Russian version of "Rocketman" showed it carrying a rating restricting it to viewers 18 years or older.

"So, one day we woke up in Saudi Arabia," film critic Anton Dolin said on Facebook, criticizing the cuts. He said the "most repellent" aspect of the cuts was the removal of the statement at the end of the movie that John eventually found "the love of his life" and has raised children with the man he married in 2014.

Nonetheless, Dolin said, "the theme of the hero's homosexuality is still central in the film."

WHY TOM HARDY WAS REPLACED AS ELTON JOHN IN 'ROCKETMAN'

Ksenia Sobchak, a liberal TV star who ran for president in 2016, said purging all homosexual content from a film about the singer would make it meaningless.

A joint statement from John and the filmmakers said "that the local distributor has edited out certain scenes, denying the audience the opportunity to see the film as it was intended, is a sad reflection of the divided world we still live in and how it can still be so cruelly unaccepting of the love between two people."

John has previously criticized Russia's law on gay "propaganda" and comments by President Vladimir Putin that suggested gay people prey on children.

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In 2015, phone pranksters tricked John into believing that he was talking to Putin about the issue. Putin actually later called the musician and said he would be willing to meet to discuss the matter, but no meeting has taken place.

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2019-06-02 15:34:11Z
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[Box Office] Crowded Weekend Stuns 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters'; 'Ma' Parties Hard - Bloody Disgusting

In what feels like one of the most crowded early summers in years, Godzilla: King of the Monsters won the box office, only it wasn’t a crowning achievement. Weighed down heavily by competition that included opening weekends for Rocketman and Blumhouse’s Ma, not to mention the second weekend of Aladdin‘s run and the third for John Wick, the latest film in the Monsterverse opened to $49M here in the States, which marks less than half its predecessors Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island.  Still, it had a strong global opening of $179M ($130 international).

The budget was reportedly $170M, which is on par with the previous two films that both broke even (if not profited). King of the Monsters (read our review) will struggle to hit the black, although Warner Bros. has already completed production on Kong vs. Godzilla, which will open early next year from director Adam Wingard. A spring opening should bode well for the fourth film in the franchise. Nobody is sweating.

Blumhouse’s hot streak won’t end – thanks to Universal Pictures’ distribution model – as their Octavia Spencer thriller Ma (read our review) opened to an incredible $18M ($21M global) on just a $5M budget. It’ll hit the profit zone before the end of next weekend. Maybe we’ll get a direct-to-video sequel (doubtful)?

Sony’s anti-Superman Brightburn is currently sitting at $24M worldwide on a $5M budget giving us some hope for a followup. John Wick is sitting at a whopping $220M globally. It’s been a wild summer for genre fans and it’s only June 2nd. Lots more to come…

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2019-06-02 15:47:24Z
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‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Roars Past ‘Aladdin’ at Box Office With $49 Million Opening - TheWrap

Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” grossed $49 million this weekend, a little lower than initial projections which pegged the film to open between $55-65 million.

But that means “Godzilla” actually took first place this weekend, with Disney’s “Aladdin” coming in as a close second with $42.3 million. It opened last weekend to $91.5 million ($116.8 million over the four-day Memorial Day Weekend) and was expected to have another weekend in the low $40 million range. This weekend’s total brings the film’s cume to $185 million domestically and $446 million globally.

The 2014 “Godzilla” grossed $93.1 million in its opening weekend, and “Kong: Skull Island” ended up with a $61 million opening in March 2017.

Also Read: 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' on Pace to Overtake 'Aladdin' at Box Office

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is directed by Michael Dougherty and finds the legendary kaiju monster facing off against his greatest titanic foes, including Mothra, Rodan and the three-headed dragon King Ghidorah. Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Ken Watanabe, Ziyi Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, David Straithairn and Anthony Ramos star. Its score of Rotten Tomatoes is 40% and its CinemaScore if B+.

Taron Egerton’s “Rocketman” is expected to take third place this weekend with a projected opening of $18-$20 million, with the possibility of reaching as high as $25 million. It stars Egerton in a fantastical jukebox musical about Elton John that uses the iconic pop singer’s greatest hits in order to tell his life story from his start as a boy named Reginald Dwight to eventually battling substance abuse addiction. Jamie Bell, Richard Madden and Bryce Dallas Howard co-star, and reviews and early reaction following its premiere at Cannes have been strong. “Rocketman” currently has a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore.

Also Read: 'Rocketman' Fact Check: Did Elton John Really Take His Stage Name From John Lennon?

“Ma,” from Universal and Blumhouse, grossed $18.3 million this weekend, on par with its projection of a $20 million opening — Universal had predicted a start in the mid-teens against a $5 million production budget. It has a 61% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- CinemaScore.

Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer stars in the film as a fun-loving mom who befriends a group of high school kids by buying them alcohol and giving them a place to party, only to reveal she has a dangerous obsession and hidden motive in keeping them coming back to her home.

Tate Taylor (“The Help”) directed the horror film from a script written by Scotty Landes. Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis, Luke Evans, Missi Pyle, McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianni Paolo and Dante Brown co-star.

Also Read: 5 Biggest Summer Box Office Showdowns, Including 'Aladdin' vs. 'Godzilla' (Photos)

Rounding out this weekend’s top five was “John Wick: Chapter 3– Parabellum,” which grossed another $11.1 million, bringing its estimated cume to date of $125.8 million domestically.

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2019-06-02 15:02:00Z
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Why Is Meghan Markle One of the Least-Liked Women in the Royal Family? - The Cheat Sheet

Let’s put the cards on the table about the title of this piece you’re reading for proper context. We all know many Americans respect Meghan Markle, and she’s about to become even more popular now that her son Archie Harrison has entered the world. This isn’t to say British polls still don’t show much of their public having some kind of unfounded beef with Meghan.

All we can say to that is: What’s up with these people? Before we make any opinions, though, it’s best to look at the evidence and try to weed out why Meghan Markle is still the second least liked woman in the royal brood.

What do the British polls say about Meghan Markle?

Meghan Markle | Jonathan Brady – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The British people seem decidedly different from Americans on their sentiments about Meghan. According to a recent poll, Kate Middleton has moved far above Meghan in royal likeability factor. Many thought Meghan would shoot up in the U.K. popularity polls after giving birth to the royal baby. It didn’t seem to make any difference there.

Of course, we have to take a minute here to figure out what kind of hard feelings the British people have against Meghan. We’ve theorized that maybe this public reaction is due to the British media essentially going to war with Prince William and Prince Harry with mostly fabricated stories to ruin their reputations.

Another side of this is still the disturbing reality of racism in the U.K. and WASP culture dominating for hundreds of years. Even if some of the public there don’t want to admit to it, this may be the reality, not including the paparazzi convincing everyone Markle isn’t what she seems.

You can see a growing disparity, especially when the more traditional royals all still rank high in the above surveys.

Who’s the least liked royal?

What a pack of lies. Duchess of Cornwall is far from the most hated Royal. She is as far as I can tell from my reading of comments on sm being very well accepted these days. Far more accepted than Meghan. #RoyalFamily https://t.co/LGEm8VRcJM

— BevR (@BevR04859477) May 25, 2019

At least Meghan didn’t end up at No. 1 on this list. It turns out Camilla Parker Bowles is still the least liked of any royal currently living, outside of disputes on this from social media denizens. Many clearly still hold a grudge against her factoring into Diana’s divorce from Charles.

We’ve all certainly wondered had history rebooted, we would have seen Charles marry Camilla from the get-go to avoid Diana so much personal pain. Then again, we’re always reminded negative events often happen for a reason to beget more positive things. Harry and William wouldn’t have existed had this happened, nor Meghan as a royal.

If you wondered, Camilla sits at 24% approval rating, while Meghan is at 39%. Can Meghan really fix this popularity problem by allowing people to learn more about her?

Social media could help Meghan Markle reach out to a still skeptical public

Perhaps that Instagram account Meghan opened with Harry will allow her to communicate with the public more often and explain her actions to prove her good intentions. Enough evidence is already there Meghan just wants to make a difference, no matter if she wants independence from the usual royal protocol.

Either the British public resent her trying to be independent in changing royal rules, or it’s still an inherent bias against a royal being of mixed race. Based on what we’ve seen, it has to be either of these two because Meghan has proven she wants to be a positive force. Plus, the media couldn’t be making the public this gullible based on publishing repeated rumors.

Harry and Meghan’s Instagram account will be the only place she can really set the record straight. We just hope Meghan uses it wisely to address all the falsities being written about her to remind everyone they should do a little vetting before believing a story.

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2019-06-02 08:09:07Z
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How Justin Trudeau Celebrated the Birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's New Baby - ELLE.com

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie already has some very famous fans. In addition to receiving a special visit from his Auntie Serena Williams, he also just got a special message and birthday gift from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Canadians were overjoyed that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed into their family a new baby, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor,” Trudeau’s statement read. “We look forward to hosting them all on a future visit to Canada. To celebrate the birth, Canada will donate $100,000 to the Breakfast Club of Canada, an organization that works to nurture children's potential by providing healthy breakfasts before school. Every day, the Club helps feed more than 220,000 students in over 1,600 schools across the country, to make sure young Canadians get the healthy start they need to thrive. The donation announced today will help bring the Breakfast Club to five new schools, reaching over 500 more children daily. This represents more than 100,000 breakfasts over a school year.”

After the birth of Archie on May 6, Meghan and Harry requested donations rather than flowers or gifts. So far Archie has only made one public appearance, two days after he was born on May 8. Meghan and Harry showed off their first child to the press at Windsor Castle, and gushed about their baby boy.

“He has the sweetest temperament, he’s really calm,” said Meghan. “It’s magic. It’s pretty amazing.”

Erika Harwood Erika Harwood is a New York-based freelance writer covering fashion, beauty, pop culture, and politics.

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2019-06-01 20:37:00Z
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Pioneering rocker Roky Erickson dead at 71 - Fox News

Roky Erickson, the blue-eyed, dark-haired Texan who headed the Austin-based 13th Floor Elevators, a pioneering psychedelic rock band in the 1960s that scored with "You're Gonna Miss Me," has died. He was 71.

Erickson's sinuous lead guitar and wailing vocals didn't turn him into a chart topper, but they cemented his role as a musician's musician. Fans included everyone from Lenny Kaye and the Swedish metal group Ghost — who covered his "If You Have Ghosts" — to ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons.

A 1990 tribute album to Erickson, "Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye," attracted the likes of R.E.M., T-Bone Burnett, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Julian Cope, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Primal Scream and ZZ Top.

Erickson's death on Friday was announced by his brother, Mikel Erickson, on Facebook and confirmed by his agent, Dave Kaplan. The cause and location of death were not revealed.

"It's almost unfathomable to contemplate a world without Roky Erickson. He created his own musical galaxy and early on was a true inspiration," Gibbons said in a statement.

After the trippy 13th Floor Elevators dissolved in the face of drug arrests and instability, Erickson in the early '70s entered an insanity plea to a marijuana possession charge and ended up spending some time in an institution.

A short-lived effort to reunite the Elevators followed. Erickson put out a book of poetry — "Openers" — and continued making music, including the songs "Two Headed Dog" and the LP "The Evil One."

In 1986, he released the album "Don't Slander Me," and a 2005 documentary by Keven McAlester about him was called "You're Gonna Miss Me." His later albums include the mid-1990s effort, "All That May Do My Rhyme," and a 2010 collaboration with Okkervil River, "True Love Cast Out All Evil."

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2019-06-01 18:44:07Z
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