Monday, December 22, 2014
NEWSMAKERS
Hard ‘Hobbit’ to break? Film tops box office
NEW YORK
While Hollywood continued to wrestle with the fallout of the Sony hacking scandal, the weekend box office offered the solace of a moviegoing truism: Hobbits sell.
Peter Jackson’s final installment of his six J.R.R. Tolkien adventures, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” debuted with $56.2 million over the weekend and $90.6 million since opening Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Another final installment in a trilogy, “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” opened in a distant second place. The Fox comedy, which features Robin Williams’ final performance, took in $17.3 million, well off the pace of previous franchise entries.
Rounding out the top five were: “Annie,” $16.3 million, third place; “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” $8.1 million, fourth; and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1,” $7.8 million, fifth place.
Brokaw’s good news: Cancer is in remission
NEW YORK
Tom Brokaw says his cancer is in remission.
The veteran NBC newsman announced Sunday that, after months of chemotherapy, he soon will begin a drug maintenance program.
Sharing with colleagues what he called “very encouraging news,” Brokaw’s internal memo noted that a year ago his future was “more uncertain than I cared to acknowledge.”
Last February, he revealed that six months earlier he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow, and was being treated.
Associated Press