Entertainment News Roundup: Squid Game helps revive Indonesian cafe; Kourtney Kardashian and drummer Travis Barker engaged and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Box Office: 'Halloween Kills' Scores Bloody Great $50.3 Million Debut, 'The Last Duel' Bombs

Universal and Blumhouse's "Halloween Kills" topped the weekend box office with a $50.3 million debut. That's a bloody good showing considering that the film is being release simultaneously in theaters and on-demand via Peacock, NBCUniversal's in-house Netflix challenger. That kind of distribution pattern has depressed ticket sales in recent months, with films like Warner Bros.' "Cry Macho" and "The Suicide Squad" failing to resonate with moviegoers when they were made available at the same time on HBO Max. An exclusive theatrical release wasn't enough to save "The Last Duel," a lavish historical epic starring Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and, venturing very far afield from the Cambridge/Southie milieu that made them stars in "Good Will Hunting," Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The drama, which is set in 14th century France, bombed, grossing a pallid $4.8 million. That's a disastrous result given that the film cost north of $100 million and a sign that older audiences remain skittish about returning to theaters when COVID and its variants are still circulating. The film was inherited by Walt Disney after it bought 20th Century Fox Studios in 2019. Ridley Scott, who also oversaw this fall's "House of Gucci," directed. Critics were kind, but that couldn't save the movie, which is limping to a fifth-place finish.

Red light, green cash: Squid Game helps revive Indonesian cafe

An Indonesian cafe is jumping on the global Squid Game bandwagon, hoping to fuel its pandemic recovery by recreating some of the games from the South Korean television series in its cafe space. In a dark room with neon lights, patrons are greeted by staff dressed as the ominous hooded and masked guards in the nine-part thriller, holding toy guns and ushering them toward the end of the room where the "red light, green light" playground game starts.

Kourtney Kardashian and drummer Travis Barker engaged

Reality television star Kourtney Kardashian and musician Travis Barker are engaged, with the couple sharing pictures of what appears to be a marriage proposal on a beach. The couple both uploaded on Instagram photos of themselves amid an arrangement of red roses and white candles by the sea, with Kardashian adding the caption "Forever".

Pan-African film festival opens in Burkina Faso amid COVID19 and security challenges

Africa's premier film festival opened in Burkina Faso on Saturday with a colourful ceremony showcasing choreography, and acrobatic and musical acts from some of the continent's biggest names, including Senegalese Grammy nominee Baaba Maal. With a backdrop of Islamic militant attacks in the Sahel West African nation https://www.reuters.com/world/death-toll-burkina-faso-attack-rises-80-2021-08-19 and the coronavirus pandemic, the glitzy ceremony saw a tribute to the country's military and to former president and revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/after-34-years-sankara-murder-trial-begins-burkina-faso-2021-10-11.

Hollywood film-crew union reaches tentative deal, averting strike

A union that represents about 60,000 behind-the-scenes workers in film and television reached a tentative deal with producers on Saturday, averting a strike that threatened to cause widespread disruption in Hollywood, negotiators said. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which includes camera operators, make-up artists, sound technicians and others, said negotiators agreed to a new three-year contract.

Netflix's 'Squid Game' estimated to be worth about $900 million - Bloomberg News

"Squid Game," Netflix Inc's biggest original series launch, is estimated to be worth almost $900 million for the streaming giant, Bloomberg News reported late on Saturday, citing figures from an internal Netflix document. The nine-episode thriller, in which cash-strapped contestants play childhood games with deadly consequences in a bid to win 45.6 billion won ($38.58 million), became an international hit after it launched last month.

Motion Picture Academy CEO Hudson to step down in 2023

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that hands out the Academy Awards, said on Monday Chief Executive Officer Dawn Hudson would step in 2023 after more than a decade at the helm.

Disney postpones several Marvel sequels and fifth 'Indiana Jones' film

Walt Disney Co on Monday delayed the release of Marvel Studios' sequels to "Black Panther," "Thor" and "Doctor Strange" by several months and pushed the next big-screen outing for adventurer "Indiana Jones" to 2023. "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" moved to May 6, 2022, from March 25, Disney said in an updated release schedule.

Disney+ magic fades: Barclays downgrades Walt Disney after three years

Walt Disney's stock received a rare Wall Street downgrade on Monday, as Barclays called for bold changes from the media giant to reverse slowing growth at its Disney+ streaming service. Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek last month hinted at a slowdown in Disney+, saying fourth-quarter global paid subscribers will grow by "low single digit" millions compared with a rise of 58.5 million in the previous three months.

Russian actor and director making first movie in space return to Earth after 12-day mission

A Russian actor and a film director making the first move film in space returned to Earth on Sunday after spending 12 days on the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz MS-18 space capsule carrying Russian ISS crew member Oleg Novitskiy, Yulia Peresild and Klim Shipenko landed in a remote area outside the western Kazakhstan at 07:35 a.m. (0435 GMT), the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

(With inputs from agencies.)