Spectre shoots to $73 million, misses Skyfall mark

Robert F. Bukaty / AP photo

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

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Greg Allen / Invision / AP

It took the combination of James Bond and Charlie Brown to save the American box office after a disastrous few weekends of flops. Both Spectre and The Peanuts Movie reinvigorated moviegoers who turned out in droves to check out the new fare, including buzzy limited-release titles such as Spotlight. Spectre took an easy first-place spot with an estimated US$73 million (Dh268m), according to Rentrak estimates, to become the second-biggest Bond opening of all time. The 24th film in the series stars Daniel Craig and reportedly cost $250m to produce. In the United States, Spectre failed to live up to the record-breaking standard set by Skyfall, which debuted to $88.4m in 2012 and went on to become the first film in the franchise to earn more than $1 billion worldwide. Sony's president, Rory Bruer, says they had not expected the new Bond film to surpass the success of Skyfall as the competition had changed. Spectre's worldwide take is a different story. It has earned a whopping $300m worldwide in less than two weeks and still has yet to open in a few major markets, including China. – AP

Texas Chainsaw Massacre actor dies at age 68

Gunnar Hansen, who played the mentally disturbed, masked killer in the chilling 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, has died of pancreatic cancer at age 68, his agent said on Sunday. Hansen's character, Leatherface, murders several people in a house and uses a chainsaw on some of his victims in the low-budget horror film. A native of Iceland, Hansen lived in Maine for the past 40 years, working mostly as a writer and actor. Hansen is survived by his partner of 13 years, Betty Tower. Hansen recently published a memoir, Chainsaw Confidential, giving readers what Eisenstadt called a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Before he died, Hansen had started pre-production of a film called Death House that he created, wrote and produced, Eisenstadt said. It will be produced early next year in his memory. – Reuters

Nick Jonas reveals diabetes woes

Singer Nick Jonas says diabetes can be hard to live with and admits that he has to be very careful about his diet. The Chains hitmaker, who is known for his chiselled physique, was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes 10 years ago.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Jonas shared that he was terrified when he was diagnosed with the blood-sugar disease, reports the Female First celebrity website. He said it was scary at first and the initial step was to learn about carbs and sugar intake effect on his levels. The singer revealed he has had a couple of "diabetic episodes", a recent one when he was walking home and his sugar level dropped and he almost passed out. Jonas says he follows a low-carbohydrate diet but doesn't let diabetes hold him back. – The National Staff

Arjun Kapoor to make TV debut with reality show

Actor Arjun Kapoor is making his TV debut with the seventh season of stunt-based reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi.

On the big screen, Arjun was last seen in the January release Tevar with Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha. His next release is the romantic film Ki and Ka, directed by R Balki, co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan. It is due to be released next year. – IANS

5 Seconds of Summer frontman falls offstage

5 Seconds of Summer band member Michael Clifford is on crutches after a fall on stage. The Hey Everybody hitmakers were headlining Radio 1's Teen Awards when Clifford slipped down a hole in the stage in front of 10,000 shocked fans, reports Female First. The musician tweeted a photo with "WHY DO I ALWAYS HURT MYSELF ... all good geezers. On crutches for the next few days. don't look at me funny pls lolz. Thanks radio 1 for having us! Wembley Arena doesn't like me much." It is the second time Clifford has got hurt at the famous London arena – he was hit in the face by pyrotechnics during the band's headline tour. – The National staff