This weekend’s box office was an all-around disappointment for several Hollywood studios as two sequels, and a “woke” comedy all found lower than expected debuts with Men in Black: International, Shaft, and Late Night coming nowhere near expected ticket sales.
While Men in Black finished the weekend in the number one slot, with a meager $28.5 million in ticket sales, it still earned only about half what its predecessors earned upon their respective debuts. The three previous MIB outings all earned over $51 million on their first weekends in theaters, Variety reported.
Sony had expected at least a $30 million debut but fell well short of that. Overseas revenue rang in at $73.7 million in 36 markets but the nwest entry in the series is underperforming previous installments overseas, as well. The film will likely earn back its $110 production costs, but as a summer tentpole film, it is a crashing failure.
MIB, though, at least figured into the top five. The other big summer sequel released this weekend didn’t even land in the top five films as Warner Bros. Shaft barely scared up $8.3 million in sales despite studio expectations of a $15 million opening, Box Office Mojo reported.
Further, despite glowing reviews and loving woke comments, Amazon Studio’s Mindy Kaling-fronted comedy Late Night was also a major disappointment. Despite a soft opening last weekend in the hopes of generating positive word of mouth, Late Night only earned about $5.1 million for its wide release this weekend. For a film that Amazon spent $13 million to acquire, Late Night will be burning the midnight oil to try and earn back that investment.
Meanwhile, the rest of the top five are holdovers from previous weeks.
Finishing second is Universal and Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets 2, which dipped nearly 50 percent in ticket sales but brought in another $23.8 million to make a total earning of more than $92 million in domestic sales. The animated flick also earned an additional $8.5 million overseas for an international take of $155 million.
Third place was claimed by Disney’s Aladdin. The Will Smith musical earned $16.7 million for its fourth weekend bringing its total just short of $264 million. Overseas the film has made $461 million to date.
Coming in fourth, Disney’s latest X-Men installment, Dark Phoenix, earned another $9 million adding to a very disappointing $51 million in total domestic sales for its second weekend. But, even more disastrously, the superhero flick dipped a whopping 72.6 percent in audience participation over its debut weekend.
Rounding out the top five is Paramount’s Elton John biopic, Rocketman. The film dipped another 36 percent in audiences for this, its third weekend in theaters, and earned another $8.8 million for a domestic amount of $66 million.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
Andreas Mundt, President of the German Federal Cartel Office | Rolf Vennenbernd/DPA via Belga
Meet US tech’s new (German) antitrust nemesis
While European competition czar Margrethe Vestager grabs the headlines, Germany’s antitrust chief is charting new waters too.
PARIS — Even President Donald Trump knows by now that America’s tech giants need to keep a close eye on Europe’s antitrust czar Margrethe Vestager — or the EU’s “tax lady” as he calls her.
But there’s another, less flashy trendsetter on the other side of the Atlantic who demands equal attention if the likes of Facebook and Amazon want to understand which way the winds of competition policy are blowing: Andreas Mundt, Germany’s ambitious antitrust supremo.
While Vestager has dominated the headlines for her high-profile cases involving Google and Apple, it is the soft-spoken Mundt who is carving out some of the more innovative approaches to handling tech companies. Indeed, Vestager says that she is closely tracking Mundt’s probe into Facebook’s privacy policies to see whether there are potential lessons for a case at the pan-European level.
In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO, Mundt gave an update on deepening his Facebook investigation and offered indications that he could focus his next efforts on another of the hottest topics of the moment: e-commerce.
More active on social media than the somewhat technophobic Vestager, the president of the Bundeskartellamt said he has a Facebook account and also uses networks such as YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram.
“I want to know what I’m talking about,” the German competition chief said on the sidelines of the Concurrences conference in Paris. His own professional experience with social media has helped shape his concerns and made him more cautious. “I do not provide a single data more than is absolutely necessary, I am very much aware of the dangers.”
The recent scandal in which Facebook passed on personal data of about 87 million users did not come as a shock. “I was a bit surprised so many people were so surprised,” he said. “It is clear that Facebook does something with the vast amounts of data it gathers. That is [its] business [model],” he added.
Mundt, who is also the chairman of the International Competition Network, distinguished the scandal from his own investigation into the firm.
“We are more looking into the generation of the data, while these affairs look at what in the end happens with the data,” he said.
In a preliminary view in December, Mundt’s BKartA held that Facebook abused its dominant position as a social network in Germany by obliging users to allow it to collect data from third parties. The case is of interest because legal experts want to see how Mundt folds the privacy concerns into the overarching abuse of dominance charge.
The probe can lead to an order that Facebook adapt user terms in the country of 83 million people, but not a fine — unless the company fails to change its conduct.
Mundt’s team is now evaluating Facebook’s answers to its preliminary assessment, and it“might still need [to conduct] some further investigation in the market.”
There are obvious parallels between Vestager, 50, and Mundt, 57. They are both liberals with three children, who hail from small political parties. Vestager is from the Radikale Venstre, while Mundt is from the FDP.
But they don’t always see eye-to-eye; Mundt is far from being simply a trailblazer for the Danish commissioner.
On several occasions since he was appointed president of the Federal Cartel Office in 2009, Mundt has stood up to Brussels’ attempts to make him walk the European line.
Trailblazing on e-commerce
The most recent contretemps concerns Mundt’s approach to e-commerce.
In a landmark judgment over the cosmetics company Coty, the European Court of Justice ruled that manufacturers should be allowed to prevent distributors from selling their luxury goods on online marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay.
There is now debate, however, over which producers can dictate where their goods are sold. According to the European Commission, the Coty ruling applies to all categories of products.
“We are not so sure,” Mundt responded, suggesting that the ruling could only apply to luxury goods.
He added that the German competition authority is now mulling whether to take a closer look at online retailers that also operate as e-commerce platforms. During a panel debate on online distribution immediately after the interview with POLITICO, Mundt mentioned Amazon as a retailer with the potential to keep rival retailers off of its own site.
“I’m not saying they do that, but they have the means,” Mundt said, while noting he is “a quiet admirer of [Amazon founder] Jeff Bezos.”
Despite concerns raised over the company at an academic level, Amazon has so far escaped large-scale antitrust fines or heavy regulation of its dual role as a marketplace and a retailer.
The company settled one probe into its e-book practices with the Commission last year and will be subject to increased transparency requirements if and when a proposal regulating platform to business relations enters into force.
But a call by companies such as Spotify and Deezer to include a ban on platforms favoring their own services did not make it to the Commission proposal from the end of April. By breaking into this territory, Germany could set a precedent in the realm of e-commerce regulation that would attract global attention.
Mundt’s activity in the digital domain seems to know few limits. In October, he launched a sector inquiry to explore consumer protection issues surrounding comparison shopping websites.
In February, BKartA started a similar study assessing the online advertising market, including Google’s digital tool called Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP, which boosts traffic to mobile websites.
In terms of the legal tools required to police e-commerce platforms, a 2017 Commission decision fining Google €2.4 billion for favoring its own comparison shopping service is coming to be seen as a useful precedent.
Asked whether that decision could be a framework for his agency to tackle abuse in the digital sector, Mundt said: “This is all very inspiring.”
Mark Scott contributed reporting.
This article is part of POLITICO’s new coverage of competition, antitrust and state aid issues, Competition Pro. This coverage includes the Fair Play newsletter every Monday morning. Email [email protected] to request a complimentary trial.
The Norwegian prodigy continues to star in front of goal with one pundit declaring his skills clearly haven’t come from his father
Borussia Dortmund attacker Erling Haaland has his mother to thank for his outstanding footballing prowess, according to former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness.
Haaland set more records on Tuesday night as he struck twice in Dortmund’s 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
After tapping home the opening goal, Haaland then restored Dortmund’s lead with a thunderous strike just moments after Neymar had equalised for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
More teams
While the 19-year-old was criticial of his performance, it’s clear the teenager is set for a very bright future in the game as he looks to enjoy a playing career that suprasses that of his father.
Alf-Inge Haaland represented the likes of Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City two decades ago, but for Souness, the son’s skills already far outweight his father’s.
“He’s always on the half turn, he’s not squared up looking at his own goal. He’s really pacey. He’s got that sixth sense that all the top strikers have,” Souness said of Haaland to Virgin Media.
“He’s in the right place at the right time. He looks like he’s quicker than anyone, he’s bigger than anyone. He’s got a great chance of being a top man, hasn’t he?
“His mother must have been a good player because his dad was a plodder.”
Haaland has now scored 10 Champions League goals in just seven appearances, reaching the tally four games quicker than any other player in the competition’s history.
The Norwegian star has also now bagged 11 goals across his first seven games for Dortmund, with Souness adamant Haaland’s decision to move to Germany rather than Old Trafford was the right one.
“It’s easier to play at Dortmund than it is at Manchester United right now,” Souness said.
“He’d be under lots of pressure. But he won’t be there long. I doubt he’ll go to Man Utd, but if he keeps scoring goals, he’s destined for Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.”
European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Moscovici: Eurogroup needs new monitoring scheme to keep tabs on Greece
Financial affairs commissioner calls for ‘enhanced surveillance.’
Eurozone finance ministers “need to invent something new” to ensure Greece sticks to its reform commitments once it exits an €86 billion European rescue program in August, said European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.
“This is not business as usual. It would be false to pretend that the Greek case is exactly the same as Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus [which were also bailed out in the eurozone’s debt crisis],” Moscovici, who oversees the Commission’s economic and financial affairs portfolio, said in an interview with POLITICO Brussels Playbook.
“We must not go in the opposite direction and create a fourth program in disguise. I don’t want the troika, or the institutions, now to go to Athens in just different suits,” the commissioner said. “But obviously we need to follow up on decisive strategic items with quite detailed commitments. That has a name — enhanced surveillance.”
Details of how that follow-up monitoring will work are among the key issues on Greece still to be resolved at Thursday’s Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers, as they look to sign off on a yearslong, costly rollercoaster ride that took the eurozone close to collapse.
Moscovici was keen not to underplay the significance of the meeting.
“Everybody is acting as if it was normal,” he said. “It’s not normal. It’s fantastic. Just imagine that we were not able to find a solution Thursday. What would be the message sent for the [European Council on June] 28th?”
“Things are not yet done. It’s not precooked, but we are on the right track,” Moscovici added. “I’m very confident that we have the building blocks for a conclusion. No, I’m actually sure.”
Other issues that ministers still need to hammer out include the size of a final payment for Greece — seen at between €10 billion and €15 billion — and buying back more expensive loans, such as from the International Monetary Fund, to keep financing costs down.
“€15 billion is more convincing than 10, and it’s easier to buy back with more money than with less,” Moscovici said. “But that’s probably one of the figures that will need to be adjusted at the last moment.”
On how long debt maturities should be extended — to keep markets sweet — Moscovici said there is a need for “substantial, but not ridiculous” measures. “Some say 15 years, some say seven, some say 10. Double digits are better than single digits.”
Macron, Merkel reform push
Moscovici welcomed the “Meseberg declaration” on eurozone reform put forward by the leaders of France and Germany Tuesday.
“It was crucial that they showed that they keep the momentum.”
“That final push by the leaders was very positive because the wording seems to be even clearer than what the finance ministers prepared,” the commissioner said, acknowledging there are still unanswered questions on just how big a budget the eurozone could have, whether it’s part of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework, and what the money would pay for.
“There is a need for a lot of work to define exactly what it is — but it is a political breakthrough. It is the first time ever that we consider having a budget dedicated to stabilization investment. That also means convergence and that is a political signal which is absolutely decisive,” he said.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (R) gestures as he welcomes British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) after her arrival at the EU headquarters in Brussels to hold a meeting on Brexit talks on February 20, 2019 | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images
Juncker: I’ve got Brexit fatigue
Commission president ‘not very optimistic’ a no-deal Brexit can be avoided.
Even Jean-Claude Juncker’s had enough of Brexit.
The European Commission president said Thursday he is suffering from “Brexit fatigue.”
Juncker, who held talks with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday evening, told members of the European Economic and Social Committee he is “not very optimistic” that a no-deal Brexit could be avoided.
“If no deal were to happen, and I cannot exclude this, this would have terrible economic and social consequences in Britain and on the Continent, so my efforts are oriented in a way that the worst can be avoided. But I am not very optimistic when it comes to this issue,” he said.
“In the British parliament every time they are voting, there is a majority against something, there is no majority in favor of something,”
He added: “I have something like a Brexit fatigue … This is a disaster.”
Pop sensation Ariana Grande said in an interview with Vogue released Tuesday that she will happily risk selling fewer records to speak out on issues like gun control and Trump-era “fuckery.”
The wide-ranging interview covered several topics — from the artist’s childhood to her ex-boyfriends — but it briefly focused on politics, with Vogue describing Grande as “passionately pro-LGBTQ” and “passionately anti–Donald Trump.” The “7 Rings” singer proudly exclaimed that she would “rather sell fewer records” and “be outspoken” on what she views as “some fuckery” in the world.
“I would rather sell fewer records and be outspoken about what I think is some fuckery than sell more records and be . . . Switzerland,” she told the magazine. “Am I allowed to say that? I love Switzerland. The fake wokes are waiting to attack!”
This is not the first time Grande has waded in political waters. Grande appeared at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. last year, singing “Be Alright” to attendees.
The Grammy Award-winning artist also told Elle magazine last July that she would not stay silent on hot button issues, promising to use her “privilege” to “help educate people.”
“There’s a lot of noise when you say anything about anything. But if I’m not going to say it, what’s the fucking point of being here?” Grande said.
“Not everyone is going to agree with you, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to shut up and sing my songs,” she continued. “I’m also going to be a human being who cares about other human beings; to be an ally and use my privilege to help educate people.”
This year, Grande opened up voter registration booths are her concerts, set up by the liberal activist group HeadCount.org.
Last month, the “thank u, next” singer donated six-figure proceeds from a concert to Planned Parenthood, seemingly as a response to the passage of Georgia’s pro-life heartbeat bill.
British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt | Tariq Mikkel Khan/AFP via Getty Images
UK foreign secretary backs Trump’s Nord Stream 2 criticism
Britain has expressed ‘concerns’ over pipeline to Germany ‘in private,’ says Jeremy Hunt.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Tuesday he agrees with U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of Germany for supporting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
“[Trump] points out that there is a contradiction between asking America to spend more as proportion of its GDP on defense and contributing to NATO and, at the same time, doing an economic deal with Russia that is going to mean Russia is richer and more able to sped money on weapons that could potentially be used in an offensive way,” Hunt told BBC radio this morning.
He added: “We have made it very clear that we are very concerned about the Nord Stream 2 project for precisely the reasons that President Trump says … as an ally of Germany we have expressed those concerns in private, but they know those are our views and we are quite open about it.”
Trump surprised his fellow NATO leaders at a summit in July when he lashed out at the contentious Gazprom-led project, accusing Germany of being “totally controlled by Russia.”
Nord Stream 2 is meant to carry 55 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea when it is completed in 2019, doubling the capacity of the existing Nord Stream pipeline.
The pipeline has caused deep divisions with the EU, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their commitment to the project at their joint meeting last week.
Publishing powerhouse HarperCollins has released the book of Breitbart News Entertainment Editor Jerome Hudson’s highly anticipated book, 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Know, which promises to deliver the counterintuitive facts the establishment media have worked so hard to hide.
On the most axial issues facing the nation; your professors; your politicians in Washington, DC; TV talking heads; and Hollywood celebrities don’t want you to know that:
Black and Hispanic students are more underrepresented at America’s top colleges and universities than before affirmative action.
Hispanics constitute over half of Border Patrol Agents.
The U.S. settled more refugees in 2018 than any other nation.
Half of federal arrests are immigration-related.
Amazon paid $0 in taxes on $11.2 billion in profits in 2018.
Taxpayers doled out $2.6 billion in food stamps to dead people in less than two years.
World leaders flew to Davos to discuss global warming in a fleet of 1,700 private jets.
90 percent of plastic waste comes from Asia and Africa.
“Jerome is a fighter, a nightmare for Hollywood elites, and an integral part of the Breitbart family,” said Breitbart News President and CEO Larry Solov. “This book is a must-read for anyone who still cares about truth prevailing in America’s public discourse.”
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow said, “Jerome does something invaluable with this book: he precisely and concisely gives you history and arguments you can use to combat the left, or at least understand it. I learned a lot from this book and was reminded of a lot of things I wished I remembered. Buy two copies, and give one to a friend.”
From immigration to health care, education, crime, climate change, Silicon Valley’s tech takeover, race relations, you name it — 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Know offers a side of the story that the mainstream media do not want you to know.
“Once you’re done reading 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Know, you’ll never trust the powers that be to give you the whole truth again,” HarperCollins said.
In 2013, Jerome began writing for Breitbart News. He now leads a team of reporters who specialize in highlighting the vast disconnect between Hollywood and everyday Americans. His work covering the Hollywood elite was featured in the New York Times days after President Donald Trump’s election.
Prior to coming to Breitbart News, Jerome worked as a senior research fellow at the Government Accountability Institute, heavily involved in uncovering government corruption alongside New York Times bestselling author and Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer. He is also a member of the Project 21 Black Leadership Network, serving on the organization’s National Advisory Council. Recently, Jerome participated in Candace Owens’ BLEXIT rally and delivered a rousing speech.
According to HarperCollins, 50 Things They Don’t Want You to Knowis slated to hit bookshelves nationwide September 17. Pre-order your copy today.
Brussels and Washington believe they have found a recipe for a speedy transatlantic trade deal: Think small.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is pushing to “finalize outcomes” with the EU by November, when America will hold critical midterm elections that will determine President Donald Trump’s ability to govern. The EU has agreed to push for this “early harvest.”
It is increasingly clear that severe differences over cars and farming mean a mega deal will have to wait. Instead, any near-term deal will focus on regulatory cooperation on topics such as car blinkers, cosmetics, insurance and driverless vehicles.
Still, even that mini-deal is attractive. Trump wants a success story for the impending elections, while Brussels wants to create goodwill that will stop Washington following through on threats to impose higher tariffs on the European car industry.
Susan Danger, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, said one school of thought for how to move forward is “to do things piecemeal and address the low-hanging fruit.”
“Once you get some momentum up, people believe that things can be done, and then they’ll do more things,” she said.
The “early harvest” approach should enable EU and U.S. negotiators to avoid the toxic political backlash that killed the far more wide-ranging Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, which collapsed in 2016. To its vocal critics in the EU, TTIP was cast as an American Trojan horse that would undermine Europe’s food and environmental standards.
“Of course business would like to have a more ambitious deal that, for instance, includes services — of course we would like that,” said Luisa Santos, director for international relations at BusinessEurope, which represents companies from 34 countries. “But if the objective is to have a positive outcome in a relatively short period of time, then the scope needs to be limited.”
A peace deal on certification
Strategically, Lighthizer and Republican senators like Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies, hope that a swift truce with the Europeans will enable them to convince the president to team up with the EU against their real bogeyman on the trade front: China.
Concretely, this means postponing more difficult discussions on slashing tariffs and focusing on the alignment of safety standards or certification for products like cars, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. “The more immediate focus is now on the area of regulatory cooperation,” the European Commission said last week.
But it also means doing a number of small side deals — such as an EU-U.S. agreement on drug inspections inked last year — rather than aiming for a traditional, all-embracing trade accord.
Elena Bryan, a former senior U.S. trade negotiator in Brussels, said this approach makes sense: “In most cases, tariffs are not the biggest barrier. It’s often the behind-the-border barrier, in the form of different standards or other divergences. You need to address those issues to make the tariff reduction meaningful.”
Efforts to harmonize safety testing procedures, certification processes or product labeling across the Atlantic can draw on previous achievements from TTIP talks. The wastage of two differing testing and labeling regimes is a common bugbear of companies on both sides. A joint EU-U.S. report from January 2017, published as TTIP was going into deep freeze, highlights the “good progress” made on regulatory cooperation.
EU trade chief Cecilia Malmström stressed during a recent parliamentary debate that “regulators made a lot of progress during the TTIP talks.”
Some business groups have already signaled areas they feel are ripe for negotiation. The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU put out a position paper in March, recommending, for example, to harmonize testing and labeling requirements for cosmetics, a change that would save costs for companies who currently have to undergo different testing and labeling procedures on either side of the Atlantic.
“It’s also a test of political will, to see whether [a trade negotiation with Trump] is doable,” said Bryan, who negotiated TTIP and now works for the ECIPE think tank.
Not so simple
Not everybody, however, reckons that regulatory cooperation will be an easy task. Chemicals proved a difficult area during the TTIP talks, for example.
René Van Sloten from the European Chemical Industry Council said the U.S. and Europe were unlikely to harmonize laws regarding chemicals or recognize each others’ legislation: “This is out of the question as the two systems are too different.” However, there could be scope for sharing data and studies on the safety of chemical products, he added.
Other sectors like cosmetics proved equally tough during previous negotiations, said Reinhard Quick, a trade lawyer and member of the now defunct TTIP advisory group. He mentioned cars as one sector where both sides have made more progress so far and where they could build on that more easily.
Still, “I doubt whether you can sell that as an early harvest,” he said. In any case, the EU would need a new negotiating mandate before any negotiations could begin, which would further delay ambitions for quick wins, Quick said.
“I can’t imagine they would negotiate regulatory deals on the old TTIP mandate. This would immediately resuscitate many deeply rooted concerns in the civil society,” he said.
One EU diplomat said that doing narrow regulatory deals might spare the European Commission from trouble with France, which has insisted that all trade partners must ratify the Paris climate agreement, from which the U.S. withdrew. After all, a small deal on car blinkers might not even be perceived as a trade agreement, the diplomat said.
Marietje Schaake, a Liberal lawmaker in the European Parliament, warned that the American approach of first doing regulatory issues and then dealing with tariffs comes with a risk. “This underlines the sectoral approach that Lighthizer is known for,” she said. “He wants to negotiate sector by sector. But it’s an outdated concept, and it bears a clear risk: The hard issues get pushed to the back.”
First Lady Melania Trump shined a light on what she noted as the “dangers” associated with e-cigarettes and vaping among American youth during a historic address to kick off Red Ribbon Week.
Mrs. Trump, along with Breaking Bad star Dean Norris, delivered her address at the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) headquarters — the first time ever a sitting First Lady has visited the agency’s offices in Arlington, Virginia.
Wearing a black Prada dress and Manolo Blahnik black suede stilettos, Mrs. Trump warned of the uptick in e-cigarette and vaping use among young Americans.
“I will continue to address addiction as long as it affects our children, our youth, and our schools,” Mrs. Trump said. “We need to continue encouraging teenagers and young adults that have fallen into drug addiction to be brave enough to admit it, to talk about it, and to get help.”
“This also includes addiction associated with e-cigarettes and vaping,” she continued. “It is important to me that we all work to educate children and families about the dangers associated with this habit. Marketing these addictive products must stop. Today is an opportunity to be proactive in our efforts to eliminate drug use and addiction among our youth.”
After her address, schoolchildren presented Melania Trump with a bouquet of red flowers and she posed for photos with students who signed the pledge to live a drug-free life.
“In my time as First Lady, I have traveled to hospitals and visited rehabilitation centers where I have seen firsthand the horrible results of drug abuse,” Mrs. Trump said. “Our administration will continue working hard in fighting the opioid crisis.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.