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British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
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Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
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Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
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Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
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New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
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Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
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Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
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Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
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India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
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Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
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Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
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Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
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Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
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Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
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Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
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'Minecraft Movie' strikes gold to dominate N.America box office
Warner Bros. new video game-based film "A Minecraft Movie" smashed records in its opening weekend in North American theaters, digging up an estimated $157 million in ticket sales, analysts said Sunday.
That total for the film, made along with Legendary Pictures and starring Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge, far surpassed expectations, making it the year's biggest domestic release.
It was also the most successful adaptation ever from a video game, bettering the $146 million opening of 2023's "Super Mario Bros. Movie."
With $144 million in overseas ticket sales, film's estimated $301 million take more than doubled its non-paltry $150 million production budget, Variety reported, crediting in part the huge popularity of the video game, which has sold more than 300 million copies.
"The domestic box office has been asleep in 2025, and this is an overdue wakeup," said analyst David A. Gross.
He said the film had remarkable cross-generation appeal and that while reviews were "not good, these pictures are made for moviegoers, not critics."
In a very distant second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period was MGM's "A Working Man," an action thriller starring Jason Statham, at $7.3 million.
In third, at $6.7 million, was "The Chosen: Last Supper Part 2," the latest episode in a faith-based series about Jesus and his disciples from Fathom Events.
Fourth place went to "Snow White," at $6.1 million. Made for an estimated $250 million, the film's domestic total of just $77.4 million in three weeks out, coupled with $90 million in sales overseas, is considered a major disappointment for Disney.
And Universal's horror film "The Woman in the Yard," starring Danielle Deadwyler, placed fifth, at $4.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Death of a Unicorn" ($2.7 million)
"The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1" ($1.9 million)
"Hell of a Summer" ($1.8 million)
"The Friend" ($1.6 million)
"Captain America: Brave New World" ($1.4 million)
P.Keller--VB