Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Monday 27 May 2019
‘Aladdin’ soars, but ‘Booksmart’ barely passes at box office

By LINDSEY BAHR acclaimed teen comedy score actually sat through
Associated Press “Booksmart” and the horror the movie,” Taff said. “We
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mov- movie “Brightburn.” couldn’t ask for a better
iegoers voted with their But the strategy didn’t quite barometer of fan recep-
dollars and chose the fa- work. “Aladdin” did better tion.”
miliar over the new this Me- than expected, grossing With an international gross
morial Day weekend. The an estimated $86.1 million of $121 million, “Aladdin”
Walt Disney Co.’s live-ac- to take the top spot at the has already earned over
tion remake of “Aladdin” North American box office, $207 million globally. It cost
crushed the competition according to studio esti- a reported $183 million to
at the box office, which mates on Sunday. It’ll likely produce.
included two new original pass $100 million by Mon- The top few spots at the
R-rated films that opened day. The others didn’t even holiday box office were
as counterprogramming to break $10 million. populated by known
the family pic: The critically “Aladdin,” a musical-ad- brands and sequels. “John
This image released by Disney shows Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Wick: Chapter 3 — Para-
left, and Will Smith as Genie in Disney’s live-action adaptation of bellum,” now in its second
the 1992 animated classic “Aladdin.” weekend, placed second
Associated Press with $24.4 million. “Aveng-
venture directed by Guy out of wanting to share with ers: Endgame” took third
Ritchie, stars Will Smith, others.” Audiences, who with $16.8 million, and
Mena Massoud and Naomi were 54% women and 51% “Pokémon Detective Pika-
Scott and draws heavily on families, gave the remake chu” landed in fourth with
the music and story of the an A CinemaScore, which $13.3 million.
1992 animated film (the is much more promising for A surprise for many, how-
top earner of that year) its continued success than ever, was “Booksmart,” an
that it’s based on. “We’re the tepid critical reviews. Annapurna film distributed
delighted,” said Cathleen The studio also got anoth- by United Artists Releasing,
Taff, Disney’s president of er metric with the newly which debuted in sixth with
theatrical distribution. “Be- launched verified Rotten only $6.5 million, despite ex-
tween the fun action-ad- Tomatoes audience rating. cellent reviews and steady
venture and spectacular Over 7,000 people rated buzz from its SXSW film festi-
music combined with the the film to give it a 93%. val debut.
cast, which is so charm- “I’m so pleased that Rotten Although in line with studio
ing and has such great Tomatoes launched this, expectations going into
chemistry together, we’ve it means people bought the weekend, some had
hit something that fans are the ticket. You can trust thought that this would be
embracing and walking that people giving you the a summer breakout hit. q
Fanning says she’s been transformed

by Cannes experience

Associated Press
CANNES, France (AP) — Elle
Fanning, the youngest juror
ever at the Cannes Film
Festival, said she’s been
transformed by her experi-
ence at the French festival.
The 21-year-old actress-
es’ jury service came to
an end Saturday with the
Cannes closing ceremony.
She wanted the festival to
keep going.
“I didn’t know how I would
come out of this experi-
ence. I do feel like I see Jury member Elle Fanning poses for photographers upon arrival
films in a different way. I at the premiere of the film ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’
learned so much,” Fanning at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France,
said after the ceremony. “I Tuesday, May 21, 2019.
will never forget these ten Associated Press
days. I don’t want it to be of the jury, praised Fanning ideas, it really grounded
over.” for bringing a younger per- us.”
Fanning was part of the spective to the jury. Throughout the French film
nine-person jury that elect- “Having Elle in the jury was festival, Fanning was one
ed Bong Joon-ho’s “Para- a gift,” said Inarritu. “Elle is of the standouts of the red
site” the Palme d’Or win- an old soul in a way. She carpet, regularly drawing
ner. Mexican director Ale- has been doing films for- praise for her glamorous
jandro Inarritu, president ever. But to have the fresh and varied looks.q