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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Monday 6 January 2020

2020 box office starts off with ‘Star Wars’

still on top

one milestone and surpass- Pictures releases. Golden Globes, a handful
ing another. With $33.7 mil- “Jumanji: The Next Level” of contenders added mo-
lion over its third weekend added $26.5 million in its mentum.
in U.S. and Canada the- fourth week, bringing its do- Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out”
aters according to studio mestic total to $236 million held better than any other
This image released by Disney/Lucasfilm shows Daisy Ridley as estimates Sunday, “Rise of and its global gross past film in the top 10, dropping
Rey in a scene from "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." Skywalker” ($918.8 million) $600 million. just 9% and grossing $9 mil-
Associated Press is closing in on $1 billion Greta Gerwig’s “Little lion in its sixth weekend. Its

By JAKE COYLE “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalk- worldwide. While it appears Women,” meanwhile, is global tally stands at $247.5
Associated Press er” still on top. unlikely to match the hauls becoming an outright hit. million.
NEW YORK (AP) — The box After a historic year, the of the trilogy’s previous en- The Louisa May Alcott ad- Sam Mendes’ war film
tries, “Rise of Skywalker” will aptation has been the “1917” is poised for its na-
office in 2020 started off Walt Disney Co. opened
where last year left off: with the new year approaching mark a record seventh $1 top adult-oriented choice tional expansion next week
billion 2019 release for Dis- through the busy holiday after a second weekend of
ney. season. With $13.6 million packed theaters in limited
One of those other six block- in its second weekend and release. It took in $590,000
busters, “Frozen 2,” on Sun- strong business overseas, at 11 theaters, good for an
day reached $1.33 billion, “Little Women” has grossed impressive per-theater av-
making it the highest gross- $80 million worldwide in erage of $53,100.
ing film ever directed by a two weeks. It was made for And though it was over-
woman in worldwide ticket a modest $40 million. looked by the Globes,
sales. Jennifer Lee, who The week’s only new re- the Safdie brothers’ “Un-
co-directed both “Frozen” lease also came from Sony. cut Gems,” starring Adam
films with Chris Buck and “The Grudge,” a horror re- Sandler, is becoming one
who now runs Disney Ani- boot of the 2004 remake of A24′s biggest box-office
mation, surpasses her own produced by Sam Raimi, successes. It grossed $7.8
record from the first “Fro- opened with $11.3 million. million in its fourth and wid-
zen” ($1.28 billion). “Frozen That was a fair total for a est weekend of release,
2” also charts as the highest movie that cost $10 mil- bringing its domestic over-
grossing animated film, so lion to make and received all total to $36.8 million.
long as you don’t count last some withering reaction After a box office year that
year’s “Lion King” ($1.66 bil- from critics and audiences. was down 4% from 2018,
lion). Disney considers that “The Grudge” scored just Hollywood began 2020 on
remake live-action even 18% on Rotten Tomatoes the upswing. Ticket sales
though it was largely com- and engendered a rarely were up 7.2% from the
puter generated. seen F CinemaScore from same weekend last year,
Holiday holdovers stayed moviegoers. according to data firm
strong, led by a pair of Sony Ahead of Sunday evening’s Comscore.q

Disabled Romanian children given

chance to shine

— During Romania's com- tion to the world we live in,"
munist era, children with said Georgeta Bucur, who
disabilities were shunned, leads the Down Plus Associ-
often locked away in in- ation, which promotes the
stitutions or kept at home inclusion in Romanian so-
and deprived of schooling ciety of people with Down
and social interactions. Syndrome.
Recent shows in which chil- Since the pair of events,
dren with Down syndrome there have been others in
had the starring roles illus- the Romanian capital.
trate how much that has Bucur emphasized the posi-
changed since commu- tive impact such events
In this Nov. 3, 2019, photo- nism fell in 1989. have on children with
graph a child with Down syn- At one event in Bucharest, Down syndrome, though
drome jokingly gestures to the youngsters with the genetic she said that societal preju-
audience while presenting disorder staged a fashion dice against them still ex-
ponchos displaying drawings show parading their own ists. She also stressed the
inspired by children, during a creations. The children also love and warmth the chil-
fashion show dubbed "heART performed with a ballet en- dren give to those around
Couture" in Bucharest, Roma-
nia. semble on the International them.
Associated Press Day of Persons with Disabili- "They teach us a new les-
ties in early December. son every single day," Bucur
By VADIM GHIRDA "The two shows were their said. "Spending even a little
ANDREEA ALEXANDRU chance to shine, to feel time together with them will
Associated Press important and talented, to make anyone change their
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) feel they bring a contribu- views." q