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Media Notes: August 11, 2024

Tom Cruise Closes Out Paris Olympics

Tom Cruise dropped from the heights of the Olympic Games stadium in Paris. The stunt happened during the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday. Later, the Top Gun actor arrived at the Hollywood sign where he added the Olympic rings.

The scene then changed to a beach in California. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed. Los Angeles will host the next Summer Games in 2028.

Disney Unveils Billions of Dollars in Theme-Park Expansions

The scope and details of the tens of billions in planned investment in Disney’s Experiences unit came into clearer focus Saturday night.

The announcements came as part of Disney’s three-day D23 Expo, during a presentation that unfolded over nearly three hours at an arena near Disneyland in Anaheim. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the division and a short-list candidate to succeed Bob Iger as Disney’s chief executive, regaled theme-park habituĂ©s with his vision for growth.

“Everything we’re going to share with you tonight is an active development,” he told the crowd, which Disney counted at 12,000. “I just want to be clear to all the fans out there: This isn’t blue sky.”

The Experiences division that includes theme parks, cruises and videogames produced 69% of the entertainment giant’s operating income in fiscal 2023. [WSJ]

How Kevin Costner Really Feels About the Change in Plans for Horizon: Chapter 2

The 69-year-old remains undeterred by the decision to take Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2 off the summer release schedule instead of putting it in theaters Aug. 16, just seven weeks after the first film opened.

“It was so dismissive, that Field of Dreams would fade immediately,” Costner told E! News in an exclusive interview. “And we’re still doing celebrations of it. Men and women, sons and daughters, it’s stood the time of decades, now generations—and that’s how I try to make movies. That’s what I see for Horizon.” [E!]

Who won at the box office this weekend? The Reynolds-Lively household

In the Ryan Reynolds-Blake Lively box-office showdown, both husband and wife came out winners.

Reynolds’ Marvel Studios smash “Deadpool & Wolverine” remained the top movie in North American theaters for the third straight week with $54.2 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it’s now surpassed $1 billion. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” though, was closely followed by “It Ends With Us,” the romance drama starring Lively, which surpassed expectations with a stellar $50 million debut. [AP]

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