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Guardians Vol. 2 still raking in cosmic ticket sales

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 continued its hyperspeed performance over the weekend in North America, approaching a quarter-billion dollars in ticket sales for its first two weeks.

The lighthearted Marvel flick about a band of misfit space adventurers logged US$63 million (S$88 million) in ticket sales over the Mother's Day weekend, box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

That gave Guardians, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, just over half the combined ticket sales of the top 12 movies showing in the US and Canada. It has taken in over US$630 million worldwide.

Its strong showing kept it far ahead of second-place Snatched from Fox, a new release starring Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer as a mother and daughter on a wild jungle adventure, which netted US$17.5 million over the weekend.

In third place was King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, a new release from Warner Bros., which took in US$14.7 million. Variety called it a "paltry sum" considering the US$175 million spent to produce the film. King Arthur stars Charlie Hunnam in the title role, with support from Jude Law and Eric Bana. - AFP


U2 take top spot among live acts for US tour

Guardians Vol. 2 still raking in cosmic ticket sales U2 take top spot among live acts for US tour
PHOTOS: REUTERS

Irish rockers U2 kicked off the US leg of their Joshua Tree tour on Sunday with a few jabs at the new political landscape.

U2 started with one of their even earlier songs, Sunday Bloody Sunday and its opening lines, "I can't believe the news today", before roaring through New Year's Day, Pride, and the whole Joshua Tree LP played in the order of its tracklist.

Bono largely steered clear of the overt references to US President Donald Trump that had peppered his performances during the election campaign. But more guarded references to modern-day events kept breaking through.

"Some of you think that the dream is dead. Maybe that dream is just telling you to wake up," Bono said during Pride, as the words of Martin Luther King were projected behind him.

The screen switched to images of models in front of a faded American flag and vast desert landscapes.

Other scenes showed the destruction in Syria and a girl there appealing for help.

Speaking about the band's charitable organisation One, which fights poverty, Bono urged the crowd to "organise" for change.

"Nothing scares ... politicians like people getting organised. That's how it should be, the government scared of the people, not the other way around," he said.

U2 will play 33 shows to 1.7 million people during the Joshua Tree tour. It is the top-selling concert in the US this summer, according to ticket seller StubHub, with most shows already sold out. - REUTERS

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