'Hobbit' extends No. 1 journey with $36.7 million

Tiny hobbit Bilbo Baggins is running circles around some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" took in $36.7 million to remain No. 1 at the box office for the second-straight weekend, easily beating a rush of top-name holiday newcomers. Part one of Jackson's prelude to his "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the Warner Bros. release raised its domestic total to $149.9 million after 10 days. The film added $91 million overseas to bring its international total to $284 million and its worldwide haul to $434 million. "The Hobbit" took a steep 57 percent drop from its domestic $84.6 million opening weekend, but business was soft in general as many people skipped movies in favor of last-minute Christmas preparations. "The real winner this weekend might be holiday shopping," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. Tom Cruise's action thriller "Jack Reacher" debuted in second-place with a modest $15.6 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. Based on the Lee Child best-seller "One Shot," the Paramount Pictures release stars Cruise as a lone-wolf ex-military investigator tracking a sniper conspiracy. Opening at No. 3 with $12 million was Judd Apatow's marital comedy "This Is 40," a Universal Pictures film featuring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprising their roles from the director's 2007 hit "Knocked Up." Paramount's road-trip romp "The Guilt Trip," featuring "Knocked Up" star Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand, debuted weakly at No. 6 with $5.4 million over the weekend and $7.4 million since it opened Wednesday. Playing in narrower release, Paramount's acrobatic fantasy "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away" debuted at No. 11 with $2.1 million. A 3-D version of Disney's 2001 animated blockbuster "Monsters, Inc." also had a modest start at No. 7 with $5 million over the weekend and $6.5 million since opening Wednesday. Domestic business was off for the first time in nearly two months. Overall revenues totaled $112 million, down 12.6 percent from the same weekend last year, when Cruise's "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" debuted with $29.6 million, according to Hollywood.com. Cruise's "Jack Reacher" opened at barely half the level as "Ghost Protocol," but with a $60 million budget, the new flick cost about $100 million less to make. Starting on Christmas, Hollywood expects a big week of movie-going with schools out through New Year's Day and many adults taking time off. So Paramount and other studios are counting on strong business for films that started slowly this weekend. "'Jack Reacher' will end up in a very good place. The movie will be profitable for Paramount," said Don Harris, the studio's head of distribution. "The first time I saw the movie I saw dollar signs. It certainly wasn't intended to be compared to a 'Mission: Impossible,' though." Likewise, Warner Bros. is looking for steady crowds for "The Hobbit" over the next week, despite the debut of two huge newcomers — the musical "Les Miserables" and the action movie "Django Unchained" — on Christmas Day. "We haven't reached the key holiday play time yet," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner. "It explodes on Tuesday and goes right through the end of the year." In limited release, Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden manhunt saga "Zero Dark Thirty" played to packed houses with $410,000 in just five theaters, averaging a huge $82,000 a cinema. That compares to a $4,654 average in 3,352 theaters for "Jack Reacher" and a $4,130 average in 2,913 cinemas for "This Is 40." ''The Guilt Trip" averaged $2,217 in 2,431 locations, and "Monsters, Inc." averaged $1,925 in 2,618 cinemas. Playing just one matinee and one evening show a day at 840 theaters, "Cirque du Soleil" averaged $2,542. Since opening Wednesday, "Zero Dark Thirty" has taken in $639,000. Distributor Sony plans to expand the acclaimed film to nationwide release Jan. 11, amid film honors and nominations leading up to the Feb. 24 Academy Awards. Opening in 15 theaters from Lionsgate banner Summit Entertainment, Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor's tsunami-survival drama "The Impossible" took in $138,750 for an average of $9,250. A fourth new release from Paramount, "The Sopranos" creator David Chase's 1960s rock 'n' roll tale "Not Fade Away," debuted with $19,000 in three theaters, averaging $6,333. Universal's "Les Miserables" got a head-start on its domestic release with a $4.2 million debut in Japan. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $36.7 million ($91 million international). 2. "Jack Reacher," $15.6 million ($2.5 million international). 3. "This Is 40," $12 million. 4. "Rise of the Guardians," $5.9 million ($13.7 million international). 5. "Lincoln," $5.6 million. 6. "The Guilt Trip," $5.4 million. 7. "Monsters, Inc." in 3-D, $5 million. 8. "Skyfall," $4.7 million ($9 million international), 9. "Life of Pi," $3.8 million ($23.2 million international). 10. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $2.6 million ($6.6 million international). ___ Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak: 1. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $91 million. 2. "Life of Pi," $23.2 million. 3. "Rise of the Guardians," $13.7 million. 4. "Skyfall," $9 million. 5. "Wreck-It Ralph," $7.3 million. 6. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2," $6.6 million. 7. "Pitch Perfect," $6 million. 8. "Les Miserables," $4.2 million. 9. "Love 911," $3.2 million. 10. "De L'autre Cote du Periph," $3.1 million.

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Hillsborough charity single tops British chart

A charity single devoted to the victims of Britain's worst-ever sporting disaster has topped the U.K. singles chart to become a Christmas No. 1. The Official Charts Company said Sunday that The Justice Collective's version of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," sold nearly 270,000 copies, beating out a debut single by music talent show winner James Arthur. Members of the collective, who include ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and former Spice Girl Mel C, are raising money for the families of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which saw 96 Liverpool fans crushed to death at Sheffield Wednesday's ground. Many authorities blamed the fans for the crush, but years of campaigning from the families eventually led to an inquiry which held police and emergency services responsible.

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Serpico: Pacino played me better than I did

New York City police whistle-blower Frank Serpico says Al Pacino played him better than he did himself. Pacino played the detective who exposed widespread police corruption in the 1973 movie "Serpico." The Daily News (http://nydn.us/RMNYcB ) interviewed the real-life Serpico in Ghent, in New York's Hudson Valley, for a story published Sunday. The 76-year-old retiree spoke weeks after the death of fellow whistle-blowing ex-detective David Durk. Serpico smiled as an interviewer noted he is ranked No. 41, just behind Lassie, on the American Film Institute's list of movie heroes. He says that's "good company." The newspaper says Serpico keeps busy trying to finish a book and taking solitary walks. Serpico and Durk's efforts resulted in front-page newspaper stories and a city panel that recommended reforms to prevent police corruption.

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Witch burns, audience on fire at Vienna opera show

VIENNA (AP) — At the end of the evening, the witch was toast Sunday — or more precisely a gingerbread cookie — and the audience at Vienna's Volksoper loved it. Of course, with many at the performance of "Haensel und Gretel" at Vienna's second opera house under the age of 6, one could argue that it was an easy sell. And yes, the fairy tale set to music by Engelbert Humperdinck is bound to please kids, even if the singers and the orchestra are sub-par — which they weren't this evening. For the youngsters it's mostly about the action on stage. Like past generations, the children at Saturday's performance watched wide-eyed, captivated by the story of the brother and sister who get lost in the woods, are captured by the witch and finally escape her by tossing her in the oven, where, in this version of the tale, she turns into a huge gingerbread cookie. But more than half of the audience Saturday was adults without children, which tells us that there is much more to this opera than just a fairy tale that Vienna's "Omas" and "Opas" take their grandkids to, come Christmas. Humperdinck worked with Richard Wagner, the master of German operatic folklore, and his music, is Wagnerian — rich, lyrical and vaguely reminiscent of some of the German master's early works. The vocal line is melodic and ranges from pretty to the sublime, evoking occasional frissons even from gray-haired opera goers who have long outgrown fairy tales. This is music worth performing well. And it was, this Saturday. As Gretel, Rebecca Nelsen started off well and grew stronger. Her light-lyric soprano was a good fit for the role and she mugged her way admirably through the part of the young waif who saves her and her brother before they turn kids the witch has turned into gingerbread back to life. Mezzo Adrineh Simonian was Nelsen's perfect dramatic foil as the bumptious older brother who narrowly escapes turning into the witch's Sunday roast. Her voice — and acting — harmonized well with Nelsen's performance. Robert Woerle was a witch with a difference. The Volksoper version of a production from Karl Doench that premiered more than two decades ago has a man in that role, and what Woerle doesn't deliver terms of voice, he more than compensates for in terms of the creepy factor. His solo "Hur, hopp" as the witch rants about his evil plans for the kids, was a highlight Saturday. Sebastian Holecek was strong as Peter, the children's poverty-stricken father, tossing off his signature "Ach, wir armen, armen Leute (Oh, we poor, poor, people)" in a powerful and carefree manner that belied the difficulties of this aria. But Gertrud Ottenthal, as his wife, occasionally had to slide into some of her higher notes. Also good: Sera Goesch as the Sandman and Claudia Goebl as the Dew Man. In the orchestra pit, conductor Alfred Eschwe did justice to the full Germanic tapestry of the score, weaving a polyphonic musical manuscript to the onstage goings on. A work for kids? Not only. Richard Strauss, the great German composer of the early and mid-20th century, described Haensel und Gretel as "a masterwork of the highest quality," and its creator as "a great master."

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Bethenny Frankel and husband of 2 years separating

Bethenny Frankel and husband Jason Hoppy are separating. The 42-year-old TV personality, chef, author and entrepreneur told The Associated Press Sunday that the split brings her "great sadness." "This was an extremely difficult decision that as a woman and a mother, I have to accept as the best choice for our family," Frankel said. "We have love and respect for one another and will continue to amicably co-parent our daughter who is and will always remain our first priority. This is an immensely painful and heartbreaking time for us." Frankel and Hoppy were married in 2010 and have a daughter, Bryn, who was born that same year. The couple's courtship and marriage were documented in two reality series, "Bethenny Getting Married?" and "Bethenny Ever After..." Frankel gained fame as a star of "The Real Housewives of New York City." Since her stint on the Bravo show, she has written four books, released a fitness video and founded her Skinnygirl line of cocktails, shapewear and nutritional supplements. She launched a talk show, "Bethenny," over the summer that is set to air nationally on Fox stations in 2013.

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Lupus forces singer Toni Braxton into LA hospital

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles. The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she's been hospitalized because of "minor health issues" related to Lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. "But no worries!," Braxton wrote to fans. "I will be out any day now." The 45-year-old singer of "Un-break My Heart" revealed two years ago she has Lupus, a potentially deadly autoimmune disease that killed Braxton's uncle. She also suffers from a narrowing of the blood vessels in her heart. Braxton said in a recent "20/20" interview that doctors told her the Lupus diagnosis meant her performing career would likely be diminished and the disease helped push her into a recent bankruptcy.

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Rolling Stones added to Sandy benefit concert

NEW YORK (AP) — The Rolling Stones will join the artists already booked for next week's televised Superstorm Sandy benefit show in New York City, which producers said Friday would be the most widely available live concert ever. The Stones join a trio of 1960s British rock royalty on the bill, including Paul McCartney and the Who. Among the other artists scheduled to appear are Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Eric Clapton, Eddie Vedder, Billy Joel, Roger Waters and Chris Martin. The "12-12-12" concert at Madison Square Garden will be available on television or online to some 2 billion people, said James Dolan, one of the producers. A total of 34 U.S. television networks have agreed to show the concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday. Harvey Weinstein, the movie executive who is producing the show along with Cablevision chief Dolan and John Sykes, head of Clear Channel Communications Inc., said that $30 million has been raised for victims of the storm, which hit the New York City region hard on Oct. 29. The "Concert for New York," a benefit run in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, had raised $19 million by the same point on its way to a total of $65 million. The Robin Hood Foundation will distribute proceeds of the Sandy benefit to storm victims in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The concert is sold out. Producers urged fans who don't already have tickets not to buy them through brokers like StubHub, where people have been trying to sell seats at a price higher than the list prices of $150 to $2,500. Weinstein said there were counterfeit tickets offered for sale. While StubHub has agreed to donate its fee for selling tickets to the Sandy relief efforts, producers say there's no way to recover markups that scalpers receive. They had no estimate of how many of the tickets were bought by people or companies that intended to resell them. "We're not going to make that our focus," Dolan said. The concert lineup is "99 percent" set, Sykes said. McCartney is the closer, followed by a finale involving many artists. It's scheduled to end around midnight, but may go longer. "We're not going to pull the plug," Weinstein said. Many actors and other personalities will introduce segments profiling storm victims, including Sean Combs, Brian Williams, Jon Stewart, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, Chelsea Clinton, Adam Sandler, Seth Meyers and Leonardo DiCaprio. The participating U.S. networks do not include the major broadcast networks. The lineup will include HBO and Showtime, public broadcasting stations in New York and Philadelphia, and a host of smaller cable networks like the Cooking Channel, Military History and VH1 Classic.

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Wagner wins over La Scala's ardent Verdi fans

MILAN (AP) — Richard Wagner won over La Scala's ardent Verdi followers during the gala season premiere on Friday with a production of "Lohengrin" that packed surprises -- including the last-minute arrival of German soprano Annette Dasch in the role of Elsa after two singers fell ill with the flu. Dasch, who has sung the role in the Bayreuth festival since 2010, got a call at her home in Berlin at 6 p.m. Thursday to take the stage for Milan's premiere cultural event the next evening. "It's one of those moments when you think, c'mon, what kind of person am I? Am I courageous? Yes I am! So I will just do it," Dasch said back stage after the show, already changed into jeans and clutching her 10-month old daughter who traveled with her nursing mom and was still wide-eyed after a nearly 5-hour dose of Wagner from backstage. Not an hour early, Dasch was taking curtain calls in a 15-minute long ovation along with Barenboim, tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the role of Lohengrin, Evelyn Herlitzius who portrayed Ortrud and Rene Pape as Heinrich der Vogler. Few singers have faced been called to one of the world's premier stage on such short notice. La Scala was forced to look abroad after not one but two sopranos fell ill. Anja Harteros had to cancel with the flu both the premier and a preview performance for youth earlier in the week, which was performed by Ann Peterson, who herself then fell ill. Dasch arrived in Milan at midnight Thursday. On Friday, she spent time with conductor Barenboim -- he put it at five minutes -- and some two and a half hours with director Claus Guth. Dasch had worked previously with both Barenboim and Guth -- and had even sung Elsa to Kaufmann's Lohengrin in Bayreuth. "I just tried to focus and really listen to what Claus had to say with the concepts. With Barenboim, I know he is literally the best accompanist in the world. ... So I knew I had the support," she said. Both Barenboim and Kaufmann praised Dasch's adaptability and performance. "It was full of surprises even for us. Usually the surprises are for the audience, but this time also for us, for me certainly, another soprano, who fortunately I already knew," Kaufmann said. "I have to say what she did was truly a miracle. To keep calm, she was fantastic." She didn't miss a step -- not even when her 18th Century dress, in keeping with Guth's decision to set the fairytale in the Victorian era -- caught on the stage. She just circled around once until it freed. Barenboim was elated with the evening -- citing the orchestra "capable of playing like hardly anyone in the world," the "stupendous" chorus and "top-notch" singers. He acknowledged that a double illness was not normal even in the dramatic world of opera, but said he knew Dasch could step in having worked with her previously -- though never on Wagner. He said he has seen her voice develop from Mozart when she was young to more mature Wagner roles. "Dasch, according to me, will be a great Wagnerian singer," Barenboim said. The audience was completely won over from the first act, applauding enthusiastically at both breaks and giving no credence to media criticism that La Scala was inaugurating its dual bicentennial celebrations of its own Giuseppe Verdi and German icon Wagner with a Teutonic classic. "Wagner always wins when you play the music well," Barenboim said. Premier Mario Monti, a La Scala regular, took a break from the grueling job of reforming Italy's economy and after Thursday's moves by Silvio Berlusconi's center-right party to pull support from the government. He went back stage to meet the singers during one of the intermissions. With no time to rest on her laurels, Dasch heads back to Berlin early Saturday for an evening performance of Mozart's "La finta giardiniera" (The Gates of Love). "Something completely different," she said.

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Long-sealed Notorious B.I.G. autopsy released

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for the family of Notorious B.I.G. said Friday it's ridiculous that Los Angeles police have not arrested anyone for the rapper's 1997 killing, which has returned to the spotlight after coroner's officials released a long-sealed autopsy report. The report revealed that injuries cause by a single bullet killed the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, during a drive-by shooting in March 1997. Wallace was hit by four bullets after leaving a music industry event, but one that hit his heart, left lung and colon caused his death, the 23-page report states. Perry Sanders Jr. said he was not given any notice that the report would be released, and he criticized police for not closing one of Los Angeles' highest-profile unsolved murders, especially since he had been told that police had identified those responsible. "I've been advised by the homicide detective that was in charge of the investigation and is no longer with the department that the crime has been solved for several years now," Sanders told The Associated Press. "This was confirmed by at least one other person who is currently on the force, and it is ridiculous that an arrest has not been made for a crime that's allegedly been solved for several years." Both Los Angeles police and the FBI investigated Wallace's killing, which came just months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was gunned down in Las Vegas. The FBI looked into whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved in Wallace's shooting. The deaths of Wallace and Shakur have been the subject of rampant speculation about the motives. The one-time friends became rivals and instigators in an East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry during the mid-1990s. A 2011 book by former Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading claimed both murders had been solved, although no arrests have been made and federal prosecutors in 2005 declined to file charges after a lengthy, bi-coastal investigation. Wallace is from the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Police spokesman Richard French declined to comment, saying Wallace's killing remained an open investigation. The coroner's report had been sealed for more than 15 years until police lifted a hold on it last week, Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said. The report details the trajectory of each of the shots that hit the rapper and states there were no signs of alcohol or drugs in his system when he died. Sanders, who dropped a federal civil lawsuit against the city in 2010 in order to give investigators an opportunity to investigate further, said solving the case was more important than any lawsuit. "In no way shape or form is this about civil litigation," he said. "This is about the criminal justice system and it functioning properly." The lawsuit Sanders filed on behalf of Wallace's family and widow Faith Evans ended in a mistrial in 2005 after attorneys discovered the city withheld a trove of LAPD documents. The civil case could be refiled, although that has not yet occurred. In March 2011, the FBI electronically released files on its investigation, which were heavily redacted but shed new light on the efforts that investigators took to try to find those responsible for the rapper's death. Agents conducted surveillance and interviews in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York, the files showed. The FBI referred all questions on the case to Los Angeles police.

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Viral rapper PSY apologizes for anti-US protests

South Korean rapper and Internet sensation PSY is apologizing to Americans for participating in anti-U.S. protests several years ago. Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement Friday after reports surfaced that he had participated in concerts protesting the U.S. military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the Iraq war. At a 2004 concert, the "Gangnam Style" rapper performs a song with lyrics about killing "Yankees" who have been torturing Iraqi captives and their families "slowly and painfully." During a 2002 concert, he smashed a model of a U.S. tank on stage. "While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted," he wrote in the statement. "I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words." The 34-year-old rapper says the protests were part of a "deeply emotional" reaction to the war and the death of two Korean school girls, who were killed when a U.S. military vehicle hit them as they walked alongside the road. He noted anti-war sentiment was high around the world at the time. PSY attended college in the U.S. and says he understands the sacrifices U.S. military members have made to protect South Korea and other nations. He has recently performed in front of servicemen and women. "And I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology," he wrote. "While it's important that we express our opinions, I deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do so. In my music, I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I have learned that thru music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology." His participation in the protests was no secret in South Korea, where the U.S. has had a large military presence since the Korean War, but was not generally known in America until recent news reports. PSY did not write "Dear American," a song by the Korean band N.EX.T, but he does perform it. The song exhorts the listener to kill the Yankees who are torturing Iraqi captives, their superiors who ordered the torture and their families. At one point he raps: "Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers/Kill them all slowly and painfully." PSY launched to international acclaim based on the viral nature of his "Gangnam Style" video. It became YouTube's most watched video, making him a millionaire who freely crossed cultural boundaries around the world. Much of that success has happened in the U.S., where the rapper has managed to weave himself into pop culture. He recently appeared on the American Music Awards, dancing alongside MC Hammer in a melding of memorable dance moves that book-end the last two decades. And the Internet is awash with copycat versions of the song. Even former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, the 81-year-old co-chairman of President Barack Obama's deficit commission, got in on the fun, recently using the song in a video to urge young Americans to avoid credit card debt. It remains to be seen how PSY's American fans will react. Obama, the father of two pop music fans, wasn't letting the news change his plans, though. Earlier Friday, the White House confirmed Obama and his family will attend a Dec. 21 charity concert where PSY is among the performers. A spokesman says it's customary for the president to attend the "Christmas in Washington" concert, which will be broadcast on TNT. The White House has no role in choosing performers for the event, which benefits the National Children's Medical Center.

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