Entertainment News Roundup: Analysis-Why TV audiences are tuning out the Tokyo Olympic Games; Amanda Knox criticizes 'Stillwater' film for profiting off her story and more

Knox, who spent four years in jail in Perugia, Italy, before being acquitted of the 2007 murder of her roommate, expressed her frustration as "Stillwater" opened in U.S. movie theaters this week. Broadway theaters to require COVID-19 shots and masks when shows reopen Broadway audiences will need masks and proof of vaccination when shows reopen in the fall, an industry association said on Friday, while the Metropolitan Opera plans to bar children under 12, who are ineligible to be inoculated against coronavirus.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Analysis-Why TV audiences are tuning out the Tokyo Olympic Games

Broadcasters will not be taking home any gold medals for how many people have watched the Tokyo Olympic Games so far. In several major markets around the world, the TV audience has fallen since 2016, as viewing becomes more fragmented and athletes compete in Japan when audiences are mostly asleep in the United States and Europe.

Amanda Knox criticizes 'Stillwater' film for profiting off her story

Amanda Knox, the American woman who was tried and acquitted of murder in Italy more than a decade ago, has hit out at a Hollywood movie that she said seeks to profit off her name without her consent. Knox, who spent four years in jail in Perugia, Italy, before being acquitted of the 2007 murder of her roommate, expressed her frustration as "Stillwater" opened in U.S. movie theaters this week.

Broadway theaters to require COVID-19 shots and masks when shows reopen

Broadway audiences will need masks and proof of vaccination when shows reopen in the fall, an industry association said on Friday, while the Metropolitan Opera plans to bar children under 12, who are ineligible to be inoculated against coronavirus. All of New York's 41 Broadway theaters are mandating documentation of full vaccination before allowing indoor entry to patrons, performers, backstage crew and theater staff for all shows, the Broadway League said in a statement. Masks are required for audience members.

Bob Dylan, UMG defeat 'Desire' co-writer's claims over catalog sale

Bob Dylan and Universal Music escaped claims on Friday brought by the estate of songwriter and theater director Jacques Levy -- who co-wrote the majority of songs on Dylan's 1976 album "Desire" -- seeking a share of Dylan's $300-million sale of his songwriting catalog to UMG late last year. New York State Judge Barry Ostrager ruled that Dylan and Levy's contract didn't entitle Levy's estate to any proceeds from the sale of Dylan's copyrights because the contract only granted him specific royalties from the songs.

Police in China detain Canadian pop star Kris Wu over rape allegation

Police in China said they have detained a 30-year-old Canadian man surnamed Wu on suspicion of committing rape, with state media identifying him as Chinese-born pop singer Kris Wu. Wu was being investigated over accusations made online of "tricking young girls into having sex with him," according to a statement by police in the Chaoyang district of the Chinese capital Beijing late on Saturday.

Hollywood agency slams Disney in heated dispute over Johansson's 'Black Widow'

One of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies on Friday hit out at the Disney movie studio in an escalating public dispute over claims by Scarlett Johansson that she had lost money over the release of her "Black Widow" movie. Bryan Lourd, co-chairman of the Creative Arts Agency (CAA), accused Disney in a statement of attacking the actress's character and of revealing her $20 million salaries for the superhero movie "in an attempt to weaponize her success as an artist and a businesswoman."

'Better Call Saul' star Odenkirk recovering from 'small heart attack'

Screen actor Bob Odenkirk, best known as the sardonic, morally conflicted criminal defense lawyer on television's "Better Call Saul," said on Friday he was recovering from a mild heart attack after collapsing on the set of his show earlier this week. Odenkirk, 58, fell ill in New Mexico on Tuesday during the production of the sixth and final season of his darkly humorous AMC cable network series and was taken to a hospital in Albuquerque for treatment.

South Africa's Ster-Kinekor bets on drive-in cinema under the stars

Under the stars of the South African night, the movie-goers who used to throng a cinema among the shops of Johannesburg's Sandton City mall, have since the pandemic watched the latest releases from a big screen in a rooftop carpark. Drive-in movies are enjoying a revival in many parts of the world, but for South Africa, the stakes are higher because of a slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout that makes a return to normality especially hard and leaves more businesses facing the risk of closure.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)