Reuters Entertainment News Summary
Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.
Jolie in 'Eternals', Ali as 'Blade' highlight Marvel's star-studded slate
Walt Disney Co's Marvel Studios on Saturday unveiled a star-packed slate of superhero films for the next two years that includes Angelina Jolie in "The Eternals," Mahershala Ali in a remake of "Blade" and Natalie Portman as a female "Thor." The announcements at San Diego Comic-Con charts Marvel's course following mega-blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame," which Disney said was set to top 2009 film "Avatar" by Sunday as the highest-grossing movie of all time.
Marvel's 'Avengers: Endgame' to set all-time box office record
Marvel Studios superhero movie "Avengers: Endgame" will claim the top of the global box office charts by Sunday, distributor Walt Disney Co said. "Endgame" ticket sales will overtake the $2.789 billion collected worldwide by James Cameron's 2009 science-fiction epic "Avatar," Disney said in a statement released on Saturday as it presented a new slate of films to fans at San Diego Comic-Con.
Box office: 'The Lion King' rules with $185 million debut
Simba and Mufasa reigned supreme this weekend as Disney's "The Lion King" dominated box office charts. Director Jon Favreau's remake of the animated classic collected a massive $185 million from 4,756 North American theaters during its first three days of release. In yet another win for Disney, the movie landed the best domestic launch for a PG film and set a new record for the month of July. That figure represents the second-best domestic debut of the year behind Disney and Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" ($357 million). The Buena Vista company now holds five of the top six biggest movies of 2018 so far.
U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky to remain in Swedish custody, Trump plans to intervene
Swedish prosecutors on Friday extended American rapper A$AP Rocky's detention by six days amid their ongoing investigation into a street fight in Stockholm as U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to call Sweden's prime minister about the case. A district court agreed to a request from prosecutors for more time for their investigation of alleged aggravated assault by the 30-year-old performer, producer and model, whose real name is Rakim Mayers.
Will life imitate art? Steppe queen movie makes Kazakhs wonder
An aging central Asian leader grooms his daughter to succeed him, and she then overcomes suspicion from her patriarchal society to unite her people. It could describe the future trajectory of Dariga Nazarbayeva, the 56-year-old daughter of Kazakhstan's former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, who many people believe will eventually become president of the oil-producing nation.
'Star Trek' favorites to return with Patrick Stewart in 'Picard'
The upcoming "Star Trek" series about Jean-Luc Picard will reunite the beloved starship commander with android officer Data and other characters from the long-running space franchise, the cast revealed to fans at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. British actor Patrick Stewart, who is returning to the role of Picard that he played from 1987 to 1994 in the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as well as four feature films, unveiled a trailer for the new series in front of 6,500 fans who packed a convention hall.
Hong Kong actor Simon Yam stabbed on stage in China
An unknown assailant stabbed Hong Kong actor Simon Yam on Saturday during a promotional event in mainland China but Yam's injuries were not life-threatening, Chinese state media reported. A video was posted on China's Twitter-like Weibo service showing a man in a dark vest rushing up to the stage and attacking Yam with a knife in the city of Zhongshan in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.