Entertainment News Roundup: US lawmakers quiz Disney CEO over Xinjiang; Hungarian orchestra conductor invents music-enhancing and more

Won't Share 'Tenet' Box Office Data, Angering Rival Studios People who closely follow box office earnings have noticed a surprising lack of transparency surrounding ticket sales for "Tenet," the $200 million-budgeted sci-fi epic from director Christopher Nolan that released last weekend in U.S. theaters.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

U.S. lawmakers quiz Disney CEO over Xinjiang connection to 'Mulan'

A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers urged Walt Disney Co CEO Bob Chapek to explain the company's connection with "security and propaganda" authorities of China's Xinjiang region during the production of live-action war epic "Mulan". Disney's $200 million live-action remake of its animated classic about a female warrior in ancient China has run into controversy for being partly filmed in the Xinjiang region, where China's clampdown on ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims has been criticized by some governments, including the United States, and human rights groups.

Hungarian orchestra conductor invents music-enhancing face mask

When he saw a sea of face masks around Budapest, Hungarian orchestra conductor Ivan Fischer had an idea; turn an unpopular pandemic necessity into a tool of music appreciation. Fischer's music-enhancing face mask has two plastic cups shaped liked life-size palms attached to the mask's strings and designed to fit around the wearer's ears, allowing concertgoers in the age of coronavirus to enjoy improved acoustics. Warner Bros.

Won't Share 'Tenet' Box Office Data, Angering Rival Studios

People who closely follow box office earnings have noticed a surprising lack of transparency surrounding ticket sales for "Tenet," the $200 million-budgeted sci-fi epic from director Christopher Nolan that released last weekend in U.S. theaters. Since "Tenet" premiered, Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, has parceled out carefully selected breadcrumbs of data to reporters and rival studios. Traditionally, studios share box office information on a daily basis. That's not the case with "Tenet."

'He changed the way we live': British designer Terence Conran dies at 88

Terence Conran, a renowned designer and restaurateur credited with modernising British retail and decor, has died aged 88, his family said on Saturday. Conran made his name in the 1960s with the Habitat home-furnishing store, known for its contemporary pine furniture, brightly coloured fabrics and tasteful kitchenware which proved a big hit with the public.

Israeli top model Bar Refaeli sentenced in tax evasion case

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli was sentenced on Sunday to nine months' community service and her mother was ordered jailed for 16 months for tax evasion on earnings from her international career. The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model, now a popular TV personality in Israel, had pleaded guilty to tax offences under a plea bargain that also included her mother and agent, Tzipi Refaeli.

Disney's 'Mulan' opens weak in China with $23.2 million at box offices

Walt Disney Co's live-action remake of "Mulan" pulled in $23.2 million over the weekend at box offices in China, a slow start for the big-budget epic about a Chinese folk hero in its most important theatrical market. The debut for "Mulan" fell short of director Christopher Nolan's "Tenet," which grossed $29.8 million in China a week earlier. Unlike "Tenet," "Mulan" was tailored to draw big audiences in the country.

'Nomadland' wins top prize at masked and distanced Venice film festival

"Nomadland", a U.S. movie about a community of van dwellers traversing the vast American West, won the Golden Lion award for best film at the Venice film festival on Saturday. The film, by U.S.-based Chinese director Chloe Zhao, stars Frances McDormand as a widow in her 60s in a depressed Nevada mining town who turns her van into a mobile home and sets out on the road, taking on seasonal jobs along the way.

K-pop group BTS revels in a milestone but misses celebrating with fans

For K-pop superstars BTS, 2020 is turning out to be a good year, with the group becoming the first Korean act to debut at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart -- if only they could celebrate with their fans. The group's first English-language song, "Dynamite" logged nearly 34 million U.S. streams and 300,000 sales in its first week -- the biggest digital sales week for any artist in nearly three years.

Biggie Smalls crown likely to fetch top dollar at Sotheby's first-ever hip hop auction

It started out as just a plastic prop from a party shop but the gold colored crown that American rapper Biggie Smalls wore on the last photo shoot before his death could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at Sotheby's first-ever hip-hop auction. After highlighting sneakers and handbags in recent years, Sotheby's in New York is dedicating its September auction to hip-hop culture, featuring some 120 lots that will include boomboxes, photos of Snoop Dogg and Louis Vuitton luggage.

(With inputs from agencies.)