Danny Puff

LOS ANGELES (AP) Resurrected demons and resurrected dinosaurs are helping to put some life back into the weekend box office.

The demonic horror remake "Evil Dead" debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

In a tight fight for second-place were two holdovers, the animated comedy "The Croods" and the action flick "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," both with an estimated $21.1 million. Final numbers Monday will sort out which movie comes out ahead.

Steven Spielberg's 3-D debut of his dinosaur blockbuster "Jurassic Park" came in fourth with $18.2 million. That's on top of the $357.1 million domestic haul for "Jurassic Park" in its initial run in 1993.

Released by Sony's TriStar Pictures, "Evil Dead" added $4.5 million in 21 overseas markets, giving it a worldwide start of $30.5 million. Shot on a modest budget of $17 million, the movie is well on its way to turning a profit.

The remake was produced by the 1983 original's filmmakers, director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert, and its star, Bruce Campbell. The new "Evil Dead" lays the gore on thickly for the story of a group of friends terrorized and possessed by demons during a trip to a cabin in the woods.

"It's one crazy ride, that movie. I have to think Sam Raimi is so proud in remaking this film that it turned out so well," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "It's such a visceral ride, where you're holding on to your seat or holding on to the person next to you."

Paramount's "G.I. Joe" sequel, which had been No. 1 the previous weekend, pushed its domestic total to $86.7 million. The movie also added $40.2 million overseas for an international haul of $145.2 million and a worldwide take of $232 million.

"The Croods," a DreamWorks Animation release distributed by 20th Century Fox, raised its domestic total to $125.8 million after three weekends. Overseas, the movie did an additional $34.1 million to lift its international total to $206.8 million and its worldwide receipts to $333 million.

Universal Pictures' "Jurassic Park" reissue opened in a similar range of other recent blockbuster 3-D releases such as "Titanic" ($17.3 million) and "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" ($22.4 million).

None of the new movies or holdovers came close to the domestic business being done a year ago by "The Hunger Games," which led over the same weekend in 2012 with $33.1 million in its third weekend. But collectively, Hollywood had a winning lineup of movies that gave revenues a lift from last year.

Domestic receipts totaled $134 million, up 8.5 percent from the first weekend of April a year ago, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. That uptick comes after three-straight weekends of declining revenue and a quiet first quarter in which domestic business has totaled $2.47 billion, down 11.4 percent from the same point in 2012.

Hollywood set a record with $10.8 billion domestically last year, and 2013's releases so far have been unable to match up. Studios are counting on a strong start to the summer season as "Iron Man 3" arrives the first weekend in May and such sequels as "Star Trek: Into Darkness," ''The Hangover Part III" and "Fast & Furious 6" quickly follow.

"When you have a record box-office year like we did in 2012, every weekend in 2013 is becoming a challenge to best or even equal what we did the year before," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "The summer movie season can't come a moment too soon. We definitely need it."

In limited release this weekend, director and star Robert Redford's "The Company You Keep" started well with $146,058 in five theaters for a healthy $29,212 average. That compares to an $8,595 average in 3,025 cinemas for "Evil Dead."

"The Company You Keep" also features Susan Sarandon and Shia LaBeouf in the story of a 1970s fugitive on the run for three decades for a robbery that left a security guard dead.

"Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle's "Trance" opened with $136,103 in four theaters for a $34,026 average. The twisting thriller features James McAvoy as an amnesiac art thief whose accomplices enlist a hypnotist (Rosario Dawson) to crack his memory.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Evil Dead," $26 million ($4.5 million international).

2 (tie). "The Croods," $21.1 million ($34.1 million international).

2 (tie). "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $21.1 million ($40.2 million international).

4. "Jurassic Park" in 3-D," $18.2 million ($3 million international).

5. "Olympus Has Fallen," $10.04 million.

6. "Tyler Perry's Temptation," $10 million.

7. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $8.2 million ($13.6 million international).

8. "The Host," $5.2 million ($3.5 million international).

9. "The Call," $3.5 million.

10. "Admission," $2.1 million.

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $40.2 million.

2. "The Croods," $34.1 million.

3. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $13.6 million.

4. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $10.9 million.

5. "Identity Thief," $6.4 million.

6. "Evil Dead," $4.5 million.

7. "Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami," $4.4 million.

8. "Running Man," $3.7 million.

9. "The Host," $3.5 million.

10. "Wreck-It Ralph," $3.4 million.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) A court has ended the first week of jury selection in a civil case over Michael Jackson's death with 60 potential jurors selected.

Jury selection will resume Monday and is expected to stretch into the following week in an effort to find enough people to hear a case filed by Jackson's mother against concert giant AEG Live.

Katherine Jackson claims the company failed to properly investigate and supervise the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Jackson's June 2009 death.

Potential jurors have filled out a 24-page questionnaire that assesses their knowledge of the case, Jackson's family and their views on celebrities and multimillion dollar verdicts.

In-person questioning of potential jurors will begin on Wednesday.

AEG has denied wrongdoing.

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NEW YORK (AP) If you're upset that the Rolling Stones won't be coming to your city on their upcoming tour, don't be too stressed the rockers say more shows may be added.

"Normally when you announce a tour like this, you announce part of it, you leave it to be, you see what happens, you might do a date here and another date there. You don't want to be completely hand fast, so you do leave some dates in between," Mick Jagger said in an interview Thursday. "So we'll see what happens."

The Stones announced this week that they'll kick off their "50 and Counting" tour in Los Angeles; the date will be announced later. The second show is in Oakland, Calif., on May 5. They'll also visit Las Vegas, Toronto, Chicago and Boston, and wrap in Philadelphia on June 18.

On Friday, the band said second shows have been added in Toronto and Chicago.

The announcement came months after the foursome performed a sold-out, five-city stint in New York, New Jersey and London.

Jagger called those shows a test.

"We just said, 'Let's do these five shows before Christmas and see how it goes and see if we enjoy it, see if the audience seems to have a good time, and if that works, then we'll try to see if we'll do more,'" he said. "We still wanted to keep it kind of limited. We didn't want to have that yawning (tour) of hundreds of shows lined up for the next 18 months. I just thought it would be good if we booked a small tour, and then, you know, if we want to do more, we'll do more."

The Stones have at least three days in between tour stops, a sign that more shows may be added. Or the time could be used for rest.

"I think it's a little bit of both," Keith Richards said in a separate interview Thursday. "The band wants to pace themselves, but at the same time ... I guess what's been announced is the bare-bones and we will play it by ear from there."

The Stones' last global tour kicked off in 2005 and wrapped in 2007.

Jagger, 69, said he's getting older and performing can be tough.

"I just have to train a lot and keep really fit. I want to do these moves, but I can't do them because if I did, I'd probably screw up," he said, laughing. "You just got to do what's within your capabilities. I don't want it to look wrong, so I'm going to stay within my boundaries."

The Stones' recent tour featured special guests such as Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga, and there could be more surprises onstage.

"I have a feeling there's more openness about playing it the same way," Richards said. "I can't name names or make promises, but that area of the show is open."

The veteran band, which also includes Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, will headline the Glastonbury Festival on June 29 and will perform at London's Hyde Park on July 6. Former bandmate Mick Taylor, a member of the Stones from 1969 through 1974, will be a special guest throughout the tour.

"I realized how much, not just (how I) myself have missed it, but I could tell from the other guys. They don't say so, but I can tell," Richards said of performing together. "It's what we're good at."

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Online:

http://www.rollingstones.com/

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Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MusicMesfin

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NEW YORK (AP) Nora Ephron will be the subject of an HBO documentary being made by her one of her sons, journalist Jacob Bernstein.

The network said Friday that the project, titled "Everything is Copy," will also have Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter as executive producer.

Ephron died at age 71 last year. She was the writer behind films "When Harry Met Sally," ''You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle." Her last project is the current Broadway play about journalist Mike McAlary, with Tom Hanks in the starring role.

The documentary's title is a reference to Ephron's feeling that all of life's experiences provide fodder for a writer.

The documentary project was first reported in the Hollywood Reporter.

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LEWIS RUN, Pa. (AP) Wesley Snipes has been released from a federal prison in Pennsylvania.

Snipes was convicted in 2008 on tax charges. He was released Tuesday and placed under home confinement. A Bureau of Corrections spokeswoman said Friday he'll be overseen by the New York Community Corrections Office until July 19.

Snipes has appeared in dozens of films, from "White Men Can't Jump" and "Demolition Man" in the early 1990s to the "Blade" trilogy. He entered the McKean prison in December 2010 to begin a three-year sentence for failure to file income tax returns.

Snipes belonged to a group that challenged the government's right to collect taxes. Prosecutors say he failed to file returns for at least a decade and owed millions of dollars in back taxes.

Snipes had appealed in an Atlanta court, saying he didn't get a fair trial.

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OSLO, Norway (AP) The family of a prominent Parisian art dealer is demanding that a Norwegian museum return an Henri Matisse painting seized by Nazis under the direction of Hermann Goering, in the latest dispute over art stolen from Jews during World War II.

The painting at the center of the dispute, Matisse's 1937 "Blue Dress in a Yellow Armchair," depicts a woman sitting in a living room. It has been among the highlights of the Henie Onstad Art Center near Oslo since the museum was established in 1968 through a donation by wealthy art collector Niels Onstad and his wife, Olympic figure-skating champion Sonja Henie.

Museum Director Tone Hansen said it had been unaware the painting was stolen by the Nazis until it was notified in 2012 by the London-based Art Loss Register, which tracks lost and stolen paintings.

She said Onstad bought the painting in "good faith" from the Galerie Henri Benezit in Paris in 1950. The Benezit gallery "has no record of collaborating with the Nazis, as many galleries did," she said in an interview.

Although the war ended almost 70 years ago, disputes over looted art have become increasingly common in recent years, in part because many records were lost, and in part because an international accord on returning such art was only struck in 1998.

But the case of the Matisse is somewhat different in that its former owner, Paul Rosenberg, was one of the most prominent art dealers in Paris before the war, which he survived by fleeing to New York. Art Loss Register Director Chris Marinello said the records in this case are unusually clear.

According to a biography published by New York's Museum of Modern Art, Rosenberg was one of the preeminent modern art dealers of his day, and personal friends with Picasso and Matisse, among others.

Art Registry documents show he purchased "Blue Dress" directly from the painter, having noted the purchase in 1937 and put it on display in the same year, Marinello said. After the war, Rosenberg re-established his business and sought to recover more than 400 works that had been taken by the Nazis.

Marinello showed The Associated Press documents that name the piece now on display in Norway as among those missing after the war.

He slammed the Henie Onstad art museum for "stonewalling."

"The evidence is overwhelming. They just don't want to resolve this," he said.

Paul Rosenberg died in 1959. His family has remained prominent, as his son Alexandre was a war hero and later began his own art dealership.

Among surviving family descendants are Anne Sinclair, the French journalist and ex-wife of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss Kahn.

Another granddaughter, American lawyer Marianne Rosenberg, said Friday she didn't wish to antagonize the museum, but hoped that it would come to realize that it is wrong in every sense of the term.

The paintings seized from Paul Rosenberg and other Jewish victims of Nazi aggression were taken "under difficult conditions, in a cruel and unfair situation," she said in a telephone interview from her office in New York. "We honor my grandfather Paul's memory ... by doing what he would have done: we wish to recover that which we consider ours."

The lawyer representing the museum, Kyre Eggen, said it was significant that Onstad didn't know where the painting came from.

Under Norwegian law, if a person has had an item in good faith for more than 10 years, that person becomes the rightful owner, he said.

That argument runs against the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, to which Norway is a party. The principles say that owners of looted art should take into account the difficulty that Jewish war survivors faced in reclaiming lost property after the Holocaust, and that owners of looted art should in all cases seek a fast and fair solution.

The Seattle Art Museum returned a Matisse to the Rosenberg family in 1999, after initially making similar arguments.

Eggen also argued that it is possible Rosenberg sold the painting himself between 1946 and 1950.

But Marianne Rosenberg rejected that possibility. Art Loss Register documents show Paul Rosenberg notifying French authorities the piece was missing in 1946, and his family again listing it as among missing pieces it was seeking in 1958.

"The Rosenberg family has since the end of the war assiduously and continuously sought the recovery of the paintings it lost," she said. "We have never sought to recover paintings not lost."

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BEIJING (AP) Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr. has traveled to Beijing to promote "Iron Man 3," which was filmed partly in China and features well-known Chinese actors.

At a news conference Saturday, Downey who reprises the role of Tony Stark in the upcoming movie said he's fascinated with Chinese culture and loves Chinese movies, while urging the local audience to see the superhero film.

"Iron Man 3" was financed in part by the Chinese company DMG, which has created for the movie the role of Dr. Wu, played by the Chinese actor Wang Xueqi.

DMG chairman Xiao Wenge said introducing Chinese culture to the world is a core mission of his company. China also is a major overseas market for Hollywood movies.

"Iron Man 3" opens internationally later this month.

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP) Tired of grumbling about economic austerity? Maybe it's time to sing about it.

So say two Americans living in Estonia.

Inspired by a lively social media exchange between Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, the two expats have composed an operetta that offers point and counterpoint on the value of austerity an ever more prominent reality in Europe's struggling economy.

"Music and economics are not mutually exclusive," said Eugene Birman, who composed the music for the oeuvre premiering Sunday as part of the annual Estonian Music Days festival. Scott Diel wrote the lyrics.

In the 16-minute performance, an Estonian soprano presents both sides of the online spat, accompanied by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.

Last year Krugman, writing in his blog in The New York Times, questioned the benefits of Estonia becoming "a poster child for austerity defenders" after the nation saw economic output collapse by nearly 20 percent during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Unemployment soared and many Estonians fled the country for work elsewhere in Europe.

Ilves, a former U.S. citizen who gave up his passport to serve in Estonia's government, reacted with a Twitter salvo that slammed Krugman for being "smug, overbearing and patronizing."

The English language operetta's title "Nostra Culpa" "Our Fault" in Latin is taken from one of Ilves' sarcastic tweets: "But yes, what do we know? We're just dumb and silly East Europeans. Unenlightened. Someday we too will understand. Nostra culpa."

In another tweet, Ilves suggested that the dispute boiled down to "a Princeton vs. Columbia thing" a reference to Krugman's professorship at Princeton University and Ilves' degree from Columbia University.

At a rehearsal this week, the orchestra led by conductor Risto Joost gave a powerful rendition of Birman's atonal score, as soprano Iris Oja tried to capture the sarcasm and indignation of Ilves' tweets.

"Silly. Eastern. Europeans? Unenlightened?" she sang, pausing after each word before bawling a high-pitched "Nostra Culpaaaa!"

Birman says he was fascinated by the "almost animalistic reaction" that he saw in Ilves' attempt to defend the honor of Estonia, a nation of 1.3 million, whose government raised taxes and cut salaries for public sector workers in response to the country's deep recession.

"A knightly crusade against the oppressor, if you will. Don't you think that's classic opera material?" said Birman, who was born in neighboring Latvia but grew up in the U.S.

Diel, who has followed Estonia's economic development in the past 20 years since it gained independence from the Soviet Union, picked up on the debate and proposed putting it to music to Birman.

Diel said the libretto is divided into two movements. The first quotes from Krugman's blog to reflect his Keynesian philosophy of spending your way out of crisis. The second part is based on Ilves' tweets.

Nowhere in the operetta are Ilves or Krugman mentioned, as the composers wanted to give the work a wider focus. "I thought this exchange between these two gentlemen was on some level a proxy for the larger argument," Diel said. "But let the listeners decide."

Birman, who also studied economics at Columbia, said it's not a piece about personalities or egos. "There is no winner or loser," he said.

With Cyprus joining the increasingly long list of European countries forced to swallow the bitter prescription of austerity steep budget cuts that trigger joblessness and social angst the theme hasn't lost its timeliness.

Birman's composition isn't easy to categorize. Oja said the work is best described as contemporary: "I find it very alive, almost like improvisation."

Neither Krugman nor Ilves responded to requests for comment. Birman and Diel said they had invited both to Sunday's performance but received no replies.

"Makes no difference to me whether they attend or not," Birman said. "It's not about particular persons."

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PHOENIX (Reuters) - The cowboy now has a home on the range in Arizona.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Friday signed legislation creating an annual "National Day of the Cowboy" to honor the Western state's "unique cowboy culture" and recognize its proper place in history.

"Many of the blessings enjoyed by Arizonans today are because of the contributions of our Keepers of the Range: The Arizona cowboy and cowgirl," Brewer, a Republican, said in a statement on Friday.

"These men and women - of all races and backgrounds - are among the truest symbols of the American southwest."

The cowboys will be honored every fourth Saturday in July. It will not be a paid legal holiday.

Arizona, which last year celebrated its 100th anniversary, becomes the fourth state in the nation to observe such a day, joining New Mexico, Wyoming and California.

(Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Xavier Briand)

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(Reuters) - Two senior U.S. senators welcomed a petition launched by former boxer Mike Tyson to have heavyweight champ Jack Johnson posthumously pardoned by President Barack Obama for race crimes a century ago.

Democratic leader Harry Reid and Republican John McCain, longtime Johnson supporters, joined fellow boxing champions Lennox Lewis and Laila Ali, the daughter of retired boxing legend Muhammad Ali, in backing Tyson's petition on grassroots campaign website Change.org.

The petition says Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world "is long overdue a pardon. Johnson paved the way for black boxers like me."

"Thanks to @MikeTyson for joining effort to pardon Jack Johnson's racially motivated conviction," McCain said on Twitter on Thursday.

"One great boxer standing up for another," Reid tweeted on Wednesday.

Reid and McCain, along with Senator William Cowan and U.S. Representative Peter King, introduced a resolution calling for Johnson's pardon in March. Pardons require presidential approval.

More than 1,400 people have signed the petition since Tyson launched it Wednesday.

Johnson, the world heavyweight champion from 1908 until 1915, was convicted in 1913 for transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. The law, meant to combat prostitution, was often used in the segregation era as a way to punish interracial couples.

Johnson, who was married three times, all to white women, was arrested in 1920 after seven years in exile and spent a year in jail. He died in 1946 at age 68.

At least two previous attempts to get Johnson pardoned have come to nothing in the past 10 years.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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