Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 13 February 2018
'Fifty Shades Freed' commands $38.8 million to top charts

By LINDSEY BAHR The studio expects a rounded out the top five:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — New- healthy mid-week bump "Jumanji: Welcome to the
comers like "Fifty Shades on Valentine's Day and Jungle" fell to fourth place
Freed," ''Peter Rabbit" to serve as counter-pro- with $9.8 million and "The
and "The 15:17 to Paris" gramming over the holiday Greatest Showman" took
breathed some fresh life weekend against "Black fifth with $6.4 million.
into a marketplace that Panther." Overall the marketplace
has for weeks been domi- The steamy romance out- is still down around 1.8
nated by "Jumanji: Wel- did other new competitors percent for the year and
come to the Jungle," ''The like Sony's CG and live-ac- around 27 percent from the
Greatest Showman" and tion update of "Peter Rab- same weekend last year
various Oscar contenders. bit," featuring the voice of which, comScore senior
But it's all just setting the James Corden, and Clint media analyst Paul Der-
stage for "Black Panther," Eastwood's "The 15:17 to garabedian notes, saw the
which opens next week. Paris," starring the real men launch of “The Lego Bat-
"Fifty Shades who thwarted an attack on man Movie,” ‘’Fifty Shades
Freed"managed to take a Paris-bound train in the Darker” and “John Wick:
the top spot on the charts summer of 2015. Chapter 2,” all of which
in North American theaters. "Peter Rabbit," which cost opened over $30 million.
Universal Pictures estimat- around $50 million to pro- But the box office will pick
ed Sunday that the final duce, hopped to second up next weekend with
chapter in the Christian place with a solid $25 mil- “Black Panther,” which
Grey and Anastasia Steele lion and an A- CinemaS- some analysts are pegging
saga earned $38.8 mil- core. for a $150 million start.
lion over the weekend — "The 15:17 to Paris" pulled “This is the calm before the
down significantly from the In a Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018 file photo, Jamie Dornan, left, and into third place with $12.6 Marvel storm,” Dergarabe-
first film's $85.2 million de- Dakota Johnson pose during a photocall for the world premiere million. Eastwood's dramat- dian said. “’Black Panther’
but and even the sequel's of 'Fifty Shades Freed - 50 Nuances Plus Claires' at Salle Pleyel ic thriller about the true sto- is going to supercharge
$46.6 million opening, but in Paris. ry was not well-received by this marketplace when it
enough to bump the three- Associated Press critics or audiences, who opens later this week. I
film franchise over $1 bil- the results," said Jim Orr, billion-dollar franchise is just gave the film a poor B- Cin- think it’s going to break
lion globally. Women once Universal's president of a fantastic result." emaScore. records and spark a huge
again made up the vast domestic distribution. "To Two films that just won't quit conversation.”q
majority (75 percent) of the have a trilogy engineered
opening weekend audi- primarily for a female au- 'Peter Rabbit' team apologizes
ence. dience that we were then
"We are exhilarated with able to broaden out into a for making light of allergies

in a joint statement with
the filmmakers that "food
allergies and are a serious
issue" and the film "should
not have made light" of a
character being allergic to
blackberries "even in a car-
toonish, slapstick way."
In "Peter Rabbit" which was
released this weekend, the
character of Mr. McGregor
is allergic to blackberries.
The rabbits fling the fruit at
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Peter Rabbit,
voiced by James Corden and Cottontail in a scene from "Peter him in a scene and he is
Rabbit." forced to use an EpiPen.
Associated Press The studio and filmmakers
say that they, “Sincerely re-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Pe- depicting a character's al- gret not being more aware
ter Rabbit" filmmakers and lergy in the film that has and sensitive to this issue,
the studio behind it are prompted backlash online. and we truly apologize.”
apologizing for insensitively Sony Pictures says Sunday q

budgetaruba@setarnet.aw