- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
Anime 'Dragon Ball' roars to top of N.American box office
Computer-animated martial arts film "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero," the 21st in the Japanese franchise, seized control of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of $20.1 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
That impressive result for the film from Crunchyroll -- which called it the best global opening ever for an anime movie -- proved a bright spot in a tepid August, easily outshining the $11.6 million take of another new release, Universal's "Beast."
"This is another outstanding Crunchyroll anime opening," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. He said Crunchyroll, 95 percent owned by Sony, now "dominates the genre."
Gross rated "Beast," meantime, as having only a "fair opening" for the Friday-through-Sunday period -- at least "for an action adventure film featuring a beast."
The beast, in this case, is a huge rogue lion that pursues a recently widowed man (Idris Elba) and his daughters when they go on safari. Iceland's Baltasar Kormakur directs.
Sony's action-thriller "Bullet Train," which topped the box office the last two weekends, slid to third at $8 million. Brad Pitt plays a paid assassin on a train seemingly loaded with them.
In fourth was the still high-flying "Top Gun: Maverick," which took in a substantial $5.9 million in its 13th week out. The Tom Cruise vehicle has pulled in $683 million domestically and $703 million overseas.
And in fifth, down three spots from last weekend, was Warner Bros.'s animation "DC League of Super-Pets," at $5.8 million.
August is always slow at the box office, "but with no big releases during the last two weeks, business has dropped more than normal, to roughly -40 percent below August 2019," Gross said, "and that's how it will continue until October."
Rounding out the weekend's top 10 were:
"Thor: Love and Thunder" ($4 million)
"Nope" ($3.6 million)
"Minions: The Rise of Gru" ($3.5 million)
"Where the Crawdads Sing" ($3.2 million)
"Bodies Bodies Bodies" ($2.4 million)
A.Zimmermann--CPN