Monday, January 23, 2017
At box office, ‘Split’ rules inauguration weekend
NEW YORK
M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller “Split” blew away box-office expectations, earning $40.2 million in ticket sales over inauguration weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Vin Diesel action sequel “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” opened in second place, with $20 million.
Rounding out the top five were: “Hidden Figures,” $16.3 million, third; “Sing,” $9 million, fourth; and “La La Land,” $8.4 million, fifth.
Madonna defends her anti-Trump speech
NEW YORK
Madonna is defending her fiery, expletive-laden speech at the women’s march, saying her words were “taken wildly out of context.”
The singer said at the Washington, D.C., march Saturday that she had at times been angry after the election and had thought “an awful lot about blowing up the White House.” In a statement Sunday on Instagram, Madonna said she was trying to express there are two ways to respond to Donald Trump’s election: with hope or with outrage. She said she hopes to effect change “with love.”
Madonna wrote that she doesn’t promote violence and people should listen to her speech “in its entirety rather than one phrase taken wildly out of context.”
Cable news networks broadcasting her speech cut away after Madonna used several expletives. MSNBC later apologized.
Associated Press