Suicide Squad&nbsp;held on for a third straight week as the top money-maker at North American box offices, easily brushing off the competition, industry estimates showed yesterday. Ben-Hur, meanwhile, bombed on its debut. 
 
Suicide Squad&nbsp;hasn&#39;t been a favourite with critics, but moviegoers plunked down $20.7 million over the weekend to see Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie play a band of criminals hired to carry out secret missions. 
 
Since it opened three weeks ago, the movie has earned $262.3 million. 
 
Trailing at number two for a second week was Sausage Party, the raunchy animated comedy with Seth Rogan as the leading voice. It made $15.3 million, down from last week&#39;s $34.3 million take. 
 
War Dogs, a new release with Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, opened in third place with $14.3 million in ticket sales its first weekend out. 
 
A comedy-drama about two arms dealers in over their heads supplying weapons to US forces in Iraq, its blend of light entertainment and serious subject matter got mixed reviews. 
 
Kubo and the Two Strings&nbsp;landed in fourth place on its first weekend out, pulling in $12.6 million. 
 
Praised as visually stunning, the 3-D stop-motion adventure fantasy set in ancient Japan is about a one-eyed boy on a quest who must battle the gods with a magical instrument. 
 
The remake of Ben-Hur, meanwhile, went down in flames its debut weekend in North American theaters, earning only $11.4 million and coming in fifth place. 
 
The $100 million epic with Jack Huston as the chariot racing Jewish nobleman Judah Ben-Hur &quot;derailed spectacularly&quot; because it was apparently unable to get beyond its core Christian audience, Variety said. 
 
Rounding out the top ten films of the weekend are: 
 
- Pete&#39;s Dragon&nbsp;($11.3 million) 
 
- Bad Moms&nbsp;($8.1 million) 
 
- Jason Bourne&nbsp;($8 million) 
 
- The Secret Life of Pets&nbsp;($5.8 million) 
 
- Florence Foster Jenkins&nbsp;($4.3 million) 
 
(AFP)

'Suicide Squad' hasn't been a favourite with critics, but the movie has earned $262.3 million since it opened three weeks ago

Suicide Squad held on for a third straight week as the top money-maker at North American box offices, easily brushing off the competition, industry estimates showed yesterday. Ben-Hur, meanwhile, bombed on its debut. Suicide Squad hasn't been a favourite with critics, but moviegoers plunked down $20.7 million over the weekend to see Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie play a band of criminals hired to carry out secret missions. Since it opened three weeks ago, the movie has earned $262.3 million. Trailing at number two for a second week was Sausage Party, the raunchy animated comedy with Seth Rogan as the leading voice. It made $15.3 million, down from last week's $34.3 million take. War Dogs, a new release with Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, opened in third place with $14.3 million in ticket sales its first weekend out. A comedy-drama about two arms dealers in over their heads supplying weapons to US forces in Iraq, its blend of light entertainment and serious subject matter got mixed reviews. Kubo and the Two Strings landed in fourth place on its first weekend out, pulling in $12.6 million. Praised as visually stunning, the 3-D stop-motion adventure fantasy set in ancient Japan is about a one-eyed boy on a quest who must battle the gods with a magical instrument. The remake of Ben-Hur, meanwhile, went down in flames its debut weekend in North American theaters, earning only $11.4 million and coming in fifth place. The $100 million epic with Jack Huston as the chariot racing Jewish nobleman Judah Ben-Hur "derailed spectacularly" because it was apparently unable to get beyond its core Christian audience, Variety said. Rounding out the top ten films of the weekend are: - Pete's Dragon ($11.3 million) - Bad Moms ($8.1 million) - Jason Bourne ($8 million) - The Secret Life of Pets ($5.8 million) - Florence Foster Jenkins ($4.3 million) (AFP)

'Suicide Squad' tops box office, 'Ben-Hur' bombs

Hollywood star Will Smith says he is convinced &quot;Suicide Squad&quot; will be a box-office success. 
 
Smith appears alongside Margot Robbie and Jared Leto in the much-discussed new comic-book movie and the actor is sure that fans of the characters will enjoy watching them on the big screen, reported Female First. 
 
&quot;The thing with this movie, it&#39;s the beauty of comic-book films in general, that there&#39;s a built-in curiosity, so that is part of an entire world that people have already seen seven, eight, ten movies within the world,&quot; Smith said. 
 
Because of the fans&#39; long-time love of the characters, the actor said they are likely to flock to the cinema to see the movie - and he&#39;s confident they won&#39;t be disappointed. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t think that getting people is going to be an issue. It&#39;s when they get there are they going to be an issue.&quot; 
 
It&#39;s like when they are going to like what they see, and we all feel very confident that when you sit down, you&#39;re going to really enjoy getting to meet the &quot;Suicide Squad&quot;. 
 
(PTI)

Smith says because of the fans' long-time love of the characters, they are likely to flock to the cinema to watch the movie

Hollywood star Will Smith says he is convinced "Suicide Squad" will be a box-office success. Smith appears alongside Margot Robbie and Jared Leto in the much-discussed new comic-book movie and the actor is sure that fans of the characters will enjoy watching them on the big screen, reported Female First. "The thing with this movie, it's the beauty of comic-book films in general, that there's a built-in curiosity, so that is part of an entire world that people have already seen seven, eight, ten movies within the world," Smith said. Because of the fans' long-time love of the characters, the actor said they are likely to flock to the cinema to see the movie - and he's confident they won't be disappointed. "I don't think that getting people is going to be an issue. It's when they get there are they going to be an issue." It's like when they are going to like what they see, and we all feel very confident that when you sit down, you're going to really enjoy getting to meet the "Suicide Squad". (PTI)

Will Smith confident 'Suicide Squad' will be a success

Actor Will Smith and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers for Muhammad Ali&#39;s funeral on Friday June 10, joining a list of notable athletes, entertainers and politicians to mourn the boxing legend&#39;s death. 
 
Former US President Bill Clinton, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal were among those previously announced as participating in public events as the world grieves the loss of the boxer, showman and antiwar activist who captivated global attention in the 1960s and 1970s. 
 
One of the transcendent figures of the 20th century, Ali, died on Friday at age 74. Family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced the details of the memorial services on Monday June 6. 
 
Smith played Ali in the 2001 movie of the same name, earning an Oscar nomination and becoming a family friend. London-born Lewis, who went on to represent Canada in the Olympics, is one of three boxers along with Ali and Evander Holyfield to have held the heavyweight title three times. 
 
They will be joined by relatives and family friends in carrying the casket through Ali&#39;s home town of Louisville, Kentucky on Friday. 
 
More than 30,000 tickets will be distributed to the public for two memorials scheduled for Thursday and Friday in sports arenas in the city. 
 
About 300 fans who could not wait gathered on Monday outside Ali&#39;s childhood home for a memorial led by Islamic leaders, a dance group and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. 
 
Dwight Richardson, 32, a youth counsellor, brought seven kids he works with so they could learn about Ali&#39;s message. 
 
&quot;People might not like it, but if you stand up for what you believe in, then you won&#39;t be a pushover,&quot; Richardson said. 
 
Ali who suffered from Parkinson&#39;s disease for many years and his family had planned his funeral for a decade. 
 
Official events start with a private ceremony on Thursday, followed by an Islamic service for the public at Freedom Hall, the site of Ali&#39;s last professional fight in Louisville, where he defeated Willi Besmanoff on Nov. 29, 1961. The service will be led by Imam Zaid Shakir of California. 
 
On Friday, Ali&#39;s family will gather for prayers, to be followed by the funeral procession through Louisville. The route will include a boulevard bearing Ali&#39;s name on the way to the Cave Hill Cemetery. 
 
The main service will take place at the KFC Yum! Center on Friday afternoon, when Clinton and Crystal are scheduled to deliver eulogies. 
 
In addition, Fischer announced an &quot;I Am Ali&quot; Festival on Wednesday with programming for children.

Will Smith had played Ali in the 2001 biopic based on the legendary boxer's life. Lennox Lewis is among the three boxers who have held the heavyweight title three times

Actor Will Smith and former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will be among the pallbearers for Muhammad Ali's funeral on Friday June 10, joining a list of notable athletes, entertainers and politicians to mourn the boxing legend's death. Former US President Bill Clinton, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and comedian Billy Crystal were among those previously announced as participating in public events as the world grieves the loss of the boxer, showman and antiwar activist who captivated global attention in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the transcendent figures of the 20th century, Ali, died on Friday at age 74. Family spokesman Bob Gunnell announced the details of the memorial services on Monday June 6. Smith played Ali in the 2001 movie of the same name, earning an Oscar nomination and becoming a family friend. London-born Lewis, who went on to represent Canada in the Olympics, is one of three boxers along with Ali and Evander Holyfield to have held the heavyweight title three times. They will be joined by relatives and family friends in carrying the casket through Ali's home town of Louisville, Kentucky on Friday. More than 30,000 tickets will be distributed to the public for two memorials scheduled for Thursday and Friday in sports arenas in the city. About 300 fans who could not wait gathered on Monday outside Ali's childhood home for a memorial led by Islamic leaders, a dance group and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. Dwight Richardson, 32, a youth counsellor, brought seven kids he works with so they could learn about Ali's message. "People might not like it, but if you stand up for what you believe in, then you won't be a pushover," Richardson said. Ali who suffered from Parkinson's disease for many years and his family had planned his funeral for a decade. Official events start with a private ceremony on Thursday, followed by an Islamic service for the public at Freedom Hall, the site of Ali's last professional fight in Louisville, where he defeated Willi Besmanoff on Nov. 29, 1961. The service will be led by Imam Zaid Shakir of California. On Friday, Ali's family will gather for prayers, to be followed by the funeral procession through Louisville. The route will include a boulevard bearing Ali's name on the way to the Cave Hill Cemetery. The main service will take place at the KFC Yum! Center on Friday afternoon, when Clinton and Crystal are scheduled to deliver eulogies. In addition, Fischer announced an "I Am Ali" Festival on Wednesday with programming for children.

Will Smith, Lennox Lewis to be pallbearers at Muhammad Ali's funeral

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'Suicide Squad' tops box office, 'Ben-Hur' bombs

Will Smith confident 'Suicide Squad' will be a success

Will Smith, Lennox Lewis to be pallbearers at Muhammad Ali's funeral