‘Fate of the Furious’ makes Rs 650-cr in 2 days, but less than expected

April 17, 2017

Apr, 17: The Fate of the Furious is roaring to a record-setting global debut over the weekend.

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Final numbers have yet to be released, but based on earlier estimates, the action-thriller is poised to set a new worldwide high-water mark. It is expected to pass the previous record of $529 million set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

If that happens, a large part of the credit will to China, where The Fate of the Furious has already racked up a massive $135 million in its first two days of release. It is worth noting that Chinese theaters only give studios about 25% of ticket sales, roughly half of what they receive in most major territories.

Domestically, there are indications that a franchise centered on muscle cars and physics-defying stunts, has crested. The Fate of the Furious took in an estimated $100.2 million (Rs 644 crore), an impressive result, but a steep drop off from Furious 7’s $147.2 million (Rs 947 crore) kick-off. Heading into the weekend, most analysts expected the film would roar past the $100 million mark, instead of inch over the line.

There are important reasons for the fall off. Furious 7 served as a memorial of sorts to Paul Walker, the franchise star whose 2013 death in a car accident shattered his co-stars and many fans. This time, there wasn’t the same emotional resonance. The Fate of the Furious continues the franchise without Walker, adding in series newcomers such as Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren.

Then there was the off-screen drama. This film had to contend with reports of off-screen tension between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson that undermined one of the franchise’s key selling points -- that these films are celebrations of family and brotherhood. Both stars steered clear of each other at the picture’s New York premiere and Diesel’s attempt to brush aside the reports of a beef between the actors left something to be desired.

Reviews were also weaker. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich labelled the film the worst of the series, while the Los Angeles Times’ Justin Chang argued the franchise had jumped the shark, or in this case, the nuclear submarine. That’s not to say there weren’t some loud advocates. Variety’s Owen Glieberman, for instance, praised the picture as a “dazzling action spectacle.” Audiences agreed, handing The Fate of the Furious an A CinemaScore.

Beyond Johnson, Diesel, Mirren, and Theron, The Fate of the Furious brings back franchise veterans Kurt Russell, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, and Michelle Rodriguez. F. Gary Gray, fresh off the success of Straight Outta Compton, slid into the director’s chair.

The film follows the crew as they grapple with Diesel’s betrayal and alliance with a mysterious hacker (Theron). Universal didn’t provide a budget, but sources peg the cost at $250 million, making it the most expensive chapter in the series. Despite the rising costs, the film remains on pace to top $1 billion worldwide, making more sequels a certainty.

Fox and DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby was a distant second place, bringing in $15.5 million to push the family film’s domestic gross to $116.3 million. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast nabbed third, taking in $13.6 million to push its stateside haul to a mighty $454.7 million. Globally, the fairy tale remake has soared past the $1 billion mark.

Sony’s Smurfs: The Lost Village came in fourth with $6.5 million, pushing the animated film’s North American total to an anemic $24.7 million. With a $60 million budget, the third Smurfs film will need to resonate strongly with foreign audiences if it wants to make a profit.

New Line’s Going in Style rounded out the top five, earning $6.3 million. The comedy about a trio of aging bank robbers stars Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, and Michael Caine. It has grossed $23.4 million, nearly matching its $24 million production budget.

Most studios steered clear of The Fate of the Furious, but there were a few brave newcomers opening in limited release. Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street debuted The Lost City of Z in four theaters where it picked up $112,633. The film follows an adventurer (Charlie Hunnam) as he plunges deep into the Amazon in search of glory.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Patna, Jun 27: As Sushant Singh Rajput’s family tries to come to terms with his loss, they have decided to honour his legacy and celebrate his passion for cinema, science and sports.

In an emotional statement shared on Saturday, the Bollywood actor’s family remembered him as a “free-spirited” person who worked hard to turn his dreams into reality.

“He was free-spirited, talkative and incredibly bright. He was curious about just everything. He dreamed without restraints, and chased those dreams with the heart of a lion. He smiled generously. He was the pride and inspiration of the family,” the statement read.

Rajput, 34, known for films like Kai Po Che!, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore, was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, sending shockwaves in the film industry and elsewhere.

The family said that the actor’s untimely demise has created an irreparable void in their lives.

“We can’t bring ourselves to accept that we wouldn’t get to hear his easy laughs anymore. That we wouldn’t see his sparkling eyes again. That we wouldn’t hear his endless rants about science again. His loss has created a permanent, glaring void in the family that will never be filled.”

Thanking his admirers for being a constant support as they try and recover from the loss, the family added that Rajput, “truly loved and cherished every single one of his fans.”

The actor, who made the storybook transition from Patna boy to television and then the starry lights of the Hindi film industry, was the youngest of five siblings and is survived by his father and four sisters. His mother had passed away in 2002 when he was a young teen.

To honour his memory and legacy, the family has decided to set up Sushant Singh Rajput Foundation (SSRF) that will support young talents in cinema, science and sports.

His childhood home in Rajiv Nagar, Patna, will be turned into a memorial, where all his personal memorabilia and belongings, that include thousands of books, his Meade 14’’ LX-600 telescope, flight-simulator, will be on display for his fans and admirers.

The actor’s family, who used to fondly call him Gulshan, will also maintain his social media accounts as legacy accounts to keep his memories alive.

Rajput started his acting career with television after dropping out from Delhi Technological University in the early 2000s. He was one of the few talents to have made a successful transition to movies.

The actor made his Bollywood debut in 2013 with Kai Po Che!. In past seven years, he had featured in a number of hits including blockbusters Neeraj Pandey’s MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore by Nitesh Tiwari.

Tiwari’s 2019 hit was Rajput’s last theatrical release.

On Thursday, it was announced that Dil Bechara, which is the actor’s last movie he shot for, will premiere on Disney + Hotstar on July 24.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bihar, Mar 5: A complaint has been filed before a court in Bihar against lyricist Javed Akhtar over his remarks on the FIRs being registered against expelled AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the wake of Delhi riots.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday by Amit Kumar, a local advocate, before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Thakur Aman Kumar.

On the basis of a newspaper report, the complainant has alleged that Akhtar's remarks were seditious and promoted religious hatred.

The media report was based on Akhtar's tweet of February 27 that "So many killed, so many injured, so many houses burned, so many shops looted so many people turned destitute but police has sealed only one house and looking for his owner. Incidentally, his name is Tahir. Hats off to the consistency of the Delhi police."

The violence in northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. The former Rajya Sabha member was heavily trolled for the tweet.

In a subsequent tweet, Akhtar who asserted that he is a non-believer and a rationalist, had clarified that he was not asking "why Tahir but why ONLY Tahir and not even an FIR against those who have openly threatened violence in the presence of the police".

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on March 25.

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July 3,2020

Mumbai, Jun 3: Investigators will subject the cloth allegedly used by actor Sushant Singh Rajput to hang himself to "tensile strength" analysis to determine whether it can bear the weight similar to that of the filmstar, as part of probe into his death, an official said on Friday.

Rajput (34) was found hanging at his suburban Bandra residence on June 14.

According to the investigators, the actor ended his life by hanging himself from the ceiling using a green coloured night gown made of cotton.

No suicide note was found from the spot, the police had said then.

Besides viscera from the actors body, the police also sent the gown for chemical and forensic analysis at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in suburban Kalina, he said.

It will take at least three more days to get final forensic report, the official said.

To ascertain the exact cause of death, forensic experts will check pattern of ligature marks around the actors neck and also determine the strength of the gown with the help of "tensile strength" analysis, he said.

The tensile strength test will technically establish whether the cloth can bear around 80kg, the weight of the actor, he said.

The test will help determine if there was any foul play, the official said.

Tensile strength is maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched.

Viscera analysis will help in checking whether there were any traces of chemical, poisonous or narcotics substance in his body, the official said.

"Usually, it takes eight to ten working days to get s report from the FSL in regular cases. But since this case is sensitive, experts are taking more precautions to avoid any kind of error in their analysis," the official said.

The forensic report of the actors mobile phone is also awaited, he said.

Recently, the police received the final post-mortem report of the actor from Cooper Hospital, which mentioned the cause of the death as asphyxia due to hanging"

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