THE DUDS just keep coming this summer in North America, from The Mummy to Alien: Covenant to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The season has been what critics politely call lackluster for Hollywood studios — but don’t expect them to stop churning out more bombs.

That’s because as badly as so many franchise films and reboots have done in the world’s biggest cinema market, they’ve racked up solid ticket sales elsewhere. Theater-goers in America thought Paramount Pictures’ fifth Transformers was pretty much a yawner, but in China they liked it. And No. 6 is already in the works.

“Look at the casualties just this summer,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a Los Angeles-based analyst for ComScore, Inc. “If they only had North America, it would be a monumental disaster for the studios.”

For now at least, the rest of the world — China in particular — is supporting Hollywood’s love affair with series, sequels, and rehashes like The Mummy, Universal Pictures’ new take on a story that’s been told dozens of times. The risk is that sequel fatigue will set in overseas too. Chinese moviegoers are becoming more choosy, and the fastest-growing film market is slowing down. That’s a challenge for studios such as Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner, Inc.’s Warner Bros., which plan and schedule movies years in advance.

Jonathan Papish, an analyst for China Film Insider, described as a “disaster” the $250 million that Transformers: The Last Knight is projected to record in the world’s most-populous country. The reason: the previous version from Viacom, Inc.’s film division pulled in 17% more, “a worrisome sign for both Paramount and other Hollywood studios who have become far too complacent thinking that Chinese audiences will swallow whatever garbage they shove down their throats.”

This Transformers opening in China, at least, was about 30% bigger than the opening for the previous one, according to Box Office Mojo.

Not every sequel or franchise entry has fallen flat in North America, of course. Wonder Woman, Warner Bros.’ fourth episode in the DC Extended Universe series, has taken in $346 million domestically and is one of the year’s top films. Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 topped the box office for two weeks and has taken in $383 million domestically.

And there are some big-hitters coming. Sony Corp.’s Spider-Man: Homecoming is expected to take in $301 million in North America after its release this weekend, according to BoxOfficePro.com. War for Planet of the Apes, out July 14 from 21^st Century Fox, Inc., could grab $165 million.

But the second-quarter domestic box office ended down 3.6% from a year ago at $2.7 billion, Barton Crockett, an analyst at FBR & Co., said in a note. He blamed disappointing sequels; even with a better-than-expected Wonder Woman, he predicts a 15% decline for the third quarter.

Chinese box-office sales fell in June, as local movies as well as Hollywood imports failed to meet expectations. This month, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC pushed back its forecast for China’s movie market to overtake the US to 2021 from 2017.

This weekend, Universal’s Despicable Me 3 will test the Chinese market, after opening in first place in 44 out of 46 countries, according to data from the film division of Comcast Corp. A new installment in another Universal series, The Fate of the Furious, enjoyed strong demand in China, taking in $393 million there earlier this year.

Even with big budget films flopping at home, movies can earn money for years to come from digital downloads and sales to Netflix, Inc. and other streaming sites and cable-television channels. The latest — and last — Pirates of the Caribbean may have missed expectations when it came out May 26, but it could end up generating a net profit of $219 million, according to an estimate from Wade Holden, analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence.

That hasn’t stopped some analysts from complaining that studios have focused too much on making big-budget features.

“There is an over reliance on sequels,” said Richard Greenfield, a media and technology analyst at BTIG LLC. The major studios “are so worried about investing in an unknown property that they are all just relying on sequels and hoping that sequels will save them.”

While Disney has had tremendous success, Greenfield said it’s not bulletproof. “The danger is that investors are essentially assuming that a movie like Star Wars will be successful forever.”

As much as any studio, Disney has tied its future to sequels and remakes. The company’s 2017 schedule includes eight films, of which six fit that profile, according to Box Office Mojo.

Disney said its strategy sets it apart from the competition — in 2016 its film business had its most profitable year ever. Other studios trying to ape it have had less success. Sony, for example, tried and failed to refresh its 1984 hit Ghostbusters last year in the hope that it could spawn a new series.

In any event, many future slates are laden with new installments of existing worlds of characters. 21^st Century Fox and Sony, which license Marvel characters, are planning more X-Men and Spider-Man chapters.

Disney has laid out several years worth of Marvel superhero offerings and at least a six-picture series of Star Wars movies. Meanwhile, the company is revisiting Mary Poppins and Mulan.

“Studios are rushing these sequels,” said Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. “If you want to get the domestic audience back, you’ve got to do something a little outside the box.” — Bloomberg

CELESTE LEGASPI, the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) icon, is back for a solo concert slated on Aug. 5 at the Theatre in Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.

“I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if not for my father, (National Artist for Visual Arts) Cesar Legaspi’s centennial,” Ms. Legaspi told reporters during a press conference on July 4.

She added that it’s been a long time since she last did a solo concert — the last, one she reckoned, was before the Musical Theatre Philippines’ (Musicat) production of Katy in 1988.

“I feel very excited and challenged… it’s been so long since my last concert [but I] take comfort in the fact that my songs are excellent material,” she said.

The Filipina songstress was the voice behind hit songs of the 1970s and ’80s such as “Tuliro,” “Sabado,” “Mamang Sorbetero,” and “Saranggola ni Pepe,” among many others.

Her Aug. 5 concert, entitled simply Celeste, also serves as a tribute to the works of her father, National Artist for Visual Arts Cesar Legaspi, with Ms. Legaspi showcasing his Gadgets series, first painted in 1947.

“My father did four Gadgets and it would be beautiful for the audience to see how the work evolved,” she said, adding they’re planning to present the works of Mr. Legaspi in a “really stunning way.”

“[The concert] will be a trip down memory lane,” she said of her set list which will not include contemporary songs.

Ms. Legaspi admitted to being “apprehensive” about doing the concert because she fears the younger audience members will not be able to recognize her songs.

Despite her apprehensions, Ms. Legaspi, who prides herself on pushing for excellence in all that she does, is looking forward to the one-night show, and so is Solaire Entertainment director, Audie Gemora.

“It makes perfect sense to bring the original diva, Celeste Legapi [to Solaire],” Mr. Gemora said in a press release, noting that crooner Basil Valdez’s successful concerts in April and May showed there is an audience for the Filipino music icons.

Ms. Legaspi will be joined by composer Ryan Cayabyab as the musical director while the Company and acapella group Baihana will be performing alongside her.

Celeste will be held on Aug. 5, 8 p.m., at the Theatre in Solaire.

For tickets, visit www.ticketworld.com or call 891-9999. — Zsarlene B. Chua

NEW YORK — The boom in streaming shows no signs of slowing down in the United States, with music consumption soaring nearly 10% so far this year, an analytical firm said Wednesday.

BuzzAngle Music, in a report for the first half of 2017, said listeners in the world’s biggest music market streamed an average of 10.8 billion songs each week, after never crossing the 10 billion point a year earlier.

Audio streams were up 58.5% from the first half of 2017. In welcome news for the industry, a growing number of listeners paid for services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal, with subscriptions now accounting for 78.6% of audio streams.

Overall music consumption — which includes streams, downloads and physical sales — grew by 9.9% from the same period last year. That growth outpaced the 6.5% growth charted for the first half of 2016.

The music industry has enjoyed several years of fast-growing revenue thanks to streaming — which brings listeners unlimited, on-demand choices online — after two decades of decline or stagnation.

But while streaming’s growth has boosted the bottom line for now, two other major formats are facing decline. Digital downloads on platforms such as iTunes tumbled nearly 25% in the first half of 2017, while CD sales slipped 3.9%.

Sales of vinyl — which has seen a rebirth thanks to hardcore music fans — jumped by more than 20%, although the historic format remains a sliver of the industry.

English songwriter Ed Sheeran’s Divide has been the year’s top-selling album to date, followed closely by two hip-hop works that benefited strongly from streaming — Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. and Drake’s More Life. — AFP

ROME — US actress Annette Bening will preside the jury for this year’s Venice International Film Festival, organizers said Wednesday.

“It was time to break with a long list of male presidents and invite a brilliant, talented, and inspiring woman to chair our international competition jury,” the prestigious festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, said in a statement.

“A sophisticated and instinctive actress, able to portray complex shadings of character, Annette Bening brings to her roles an understatement, a warmth and a natural elegance that makes watching her films a wonderful and ever-enriching experience,” enthused Barbera of the American Beauty star and two-time Golden Globe winner.

In a statement, Bening, who will be the first woman to preside Venice since French actress Catherine Deneuve in 2006, said she was “honored to be asked to serve as the president of the jury for this year’s event.

“I look forward to seeing the movies and working with my fellow jury members to celebrate the best of this year’s cinema from all over the world.”

Bening won her Globes in 2005 for Adorable Julia and in 2011 for The Kids Are All Right while she has received four Oscar nominations, including for best actress in 2000 for American Beauty.

Her predecessor presiding the Venice jury was British director Sam Mendes, who landed an Oscar for American Beauty.

ADRIEN BRODY HONORED
Meanwhile, US actor Adrien Brody will receive the prestigious Leopard Club Award when the Locarno Film Festival kicks off in Switzerland next month, organizers said Tuesday.

The 44-year-old, best known for his haunting role in the 2002 Oscar-winning Holocaust film The Pianist, will receive the award on Aug. 4 at the festival on the picturesque shores of Lake Maggiore.

The prize is awarded to actors “whose work has left a mark on the collective imagination” and has previously gone to stars including Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow and Andy Garcia.

“Brody gained a lasting place in the collective imagination of the movie-going public when he played composer Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist,” directed by Roman Polanski, festival organizers said.

The actor, who won an Oscar for that role, “has since demonstrated his status as one of the most versatile of actors, appreciated by filmmakers in Hollywood and beyond,” they added.

Brody started his film career in 1989 in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed segment of New York Stories. He has since worked with many of the world’s top directors, including Steven Soderbergh, Oliver Stone, Ken Loach, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, and Woody Allen.

The 70^th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will run from Aug. 2-12. — AFP

NEW YORK — Even A-list celebrities can be hurt by the venom on Twitter.

Lady Gaga has rallied to support Ed Sheeran after the English songwriter revealed he is avoiding Twitter due to abusive comments — some from Gaga’s “Little Monster” fan base.

“I wish all people on the Internet would be positive and loving and a part of creating an online community that is kind and empowering, not hateful and mean,” Lady Gaga wrote late Tuesday on Instagram as she posted a picture of herself with Sheeran.

“No reason to tear down an artist simply because they are on top,” she wrote.

Sheeran — whose Divide is the top-selling album so far this year in the United States — said earlier in the week that he was no longer reading Twitter. His account in recent weeks consists mostly of tour photos reposted from his Instagram feed.

“I go on it and there’s nothing but people saying mean things. Twitter’s a platform for that,” Sheeran told the British tabloid The Sun.

“One comment ruins your day. But that’s why I’ve come off it,” he said.

The ginger-bearded 26-year-old insisted he had not targeted Gaga, whose die-hard fans took him to task over a recent interview.

Speaking on Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio, Sheeran said he was open to outside advice as he did not want to feel “invincible” after his successes.

“I do not want to do the Super Bowl years later, after my biggest success, just to prove I’m still relevant,” he said.

Gaga put on a widely praised show in February during halftime of the latest Super Bowl, the title match of American football which is the top-watched event each year in the United States.

Gaga has been outspoken in fighting bullying, in part through her Born This Way Foundation.

Cyberbullying has drawn growing attention amid the rise of social media, with critics accusing President Donald Trump of crossing the line with recent posts. — AFP

NEW YORK — Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks — two leading women in hip-hop who were embroiled in a bitter, racially tinged row — have patched up with plans in the works for a collaboration.

Azalea unveiled over social media that Banks will appear on a track of Digital Distortion, the 27-year-old Australian’s upcoming second album, and said she wanted to move on from the feud. “I don’t expect you guys to understand why I would collaborate with someone who has publicly said they hope I die,” Azalea wrote on Twitter Tuesday, saying she wanted to “turn YEARS worth of negativity into a positive interaction.”

“Also I think females in rap need to really be unified to prosper. We need more collaborations to happen,” she tweeted.

Banks was a vociferous critic when Azalea found overwhelming commercial success with her debut album, The New Classic, in 2014. Azalea caused a stir by rapping in the dialect of an African American from the southern United States, despite being white and speaking in an Australian accent off-stage. Banks, who is African American, accused Azalea of profiting through racial appropriation in a series of Twitter posts that became increasingly heated. — AFP