NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Guardians 2’ rules as ‘King Arthur’ flops

LOS ANGELES

The first major box office flop of the summer movie season has arrived.

Studio estimates Sunday say director Guy Ritchie’s “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” opened to a bleak $14.7 million from more than 3,700 locations against a costly $175 million production budget.

The gritty reimaging of the Excalibur myth starring Charlie Hunnam as Arthur debuted in third place behind box office leader “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and “Snatched” at No. 2.

Rounding out the top five were holdovers “The Fate of the Furious,” with $5.3 million, and “The Boss Baby” with $4.6 million.

“The newcomers definitely had a tough time ... For most general audiences, ‘Guardians’ remains the go-to movie,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “It has incredible staying power.”

Neither “King Arthur” nor “Snatched” were well-received by critics, and audiences weren’t all that enchanted either, giving “King Arthur” a B+ CinemaScore and “Snatched” a B.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final domestic figures will be released today.

1. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” $63 million.

2.“Snatched,” $17.5 million.

3.“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” $14.7 million.

4.“The Fate of the Furious,” $5.3 million.”

5.“The Boss Baby,” $4.6 million.

6.“Beauty and the Beast,” $3.9 million.

7.“How to be a Latin Lover,” $3.8 million.

8.“Lowriders,” $2.4 million.

9.“The Circle,” $1.7 million.

10.“MET Opera: Der Rosenkavalier (2017),” $1.7 million.

District of Columbia representative takes crown as Miss USA

Las Vegas

The District of Columbia has won back-to-back Miss USA titles.

Kara McCullough, a 25-year-old chemist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was crowned Sunday during the event that took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip. She will go on to compete in the Miss Universe contest.

The runner-up was Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg, a student at Rutgers University studying marketing and Spanish. The second runner-up was Miss Minnesota Meridith Gould, who is studying apparel retail merchandising at the University of Minnesota.

Fifty-one women representing each state and the nation’s capital participated in the decades-old competition.

McCullough was born in Naples, Italy, and raised in Virginia Beach, Va. She wants to inspire children to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Last year, District of Columbia resident Deshauna Barber became the first military member to win Miss USA.

The three finalists were all asked to explain what they consider feminism to be and whether they consider themselves feminists. They modeled their final looks of the night during a performance of Pitbull’s “Options” featuring Stephen Marley.

Julianne Hough, Ashley Graham and Terrence J. hosted the show.

Associated Press