Chappie tops slow weekend at box office

Plus: Garth Brooks and Hall of Fame pals hold football camp in Buffalo; Emma Watson urges more men to fight for gender equality; and Zarine Khan set for Telugu debut.

Dev Patel in a scene from Chappie. Stephanie Blomkamp / courtesy Columbia Pictures / AP Photo

Neither a hyper-intelligent robot nor Vince Vaughn could save the North American box office this weekend, which is down 38.5 per cent from the same weekend last year, according to Sunday estimates from the box-office firm Rentrak. While Neill Blomkamp's R-rated Chappie might have taken the No 1 spot in its 3,201-cinema debut, its modest US$13.3 million (Dh48.8m) gross is hardly anything to celebrate. It's a career low for Blomkamp, whose previous films Elysium and District 9 debuted at $29.8m and $37.4m, respectively. The distributor Sony remains optimistic about its $49m film starring Hugh Jackman about a police robot (voiced by Sharlto Copley) who learns how to think and feel. The R-rated Vaughn comedy Unfinished Business fared even worse, opening at No 10 to a dismal $4.8 million. The $35m film about a chaotic European business trip also stars Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson. In its second weekend in cinemas, Will Smith's Focus fell an estimated 46 per cent to take second place with $10m, bringing its domestic total to $34.6m. – AP

Brooks and Hall of Fame pals hold football camp in Buffalo

Forget the friends Garth Brooks might have in low places. The country music star has some high-profile buddies he can count on as well. Such as Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas, for example. The Pro Football Hall of Famers were among numerous current and former athletes to join Brooks in holding a football camp for more than 100 children at the Buffalo Bills’ practice facility on Sunday. Brooks’s Teammates For Kids foundation holds a camp at each of concert stop. He was in Buffalo closing a six-show, four-night stop as part of Brooks’s first major tour in 15 years. Also taking part in the camp were the new Bills coach Rex Ryan and several players, Buffalo Sabres players, and New England Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski, who grew up in Buffalo. – AP

Emma Watson urges more men to fight for gender equality

The British actress Emma Watson on Sunday urged more men and boys to take a stand for women’s rights and be proud to be feminists in a bid to add momentum to a global campaign to unite men and women for gender equality. Watson, 24, a goodwill ambassador for UN Women, used International Women’s Day to add impetus to the HeForShe campaign that was launched in September last year and encourages men and boys to join the fight for equal rights. So far, 240,000 men have pledged their commitment online, according to the HeForShe website, including the US President Barack Obama and the actor Matt Damon, but there is a target to mobilise one billion men and boys by July. “There has been a groundswell of support but we need more men to take a stand for gender equality,” Watson told a discussion on gender equality at Facebook’s London headquarters. “Men often think that feminism is a women’s word ... but if you stand for gender equality, you are a feminist.” Watson said the campaign was not about men saving women and also called upon women to support the campaign. “It’s uncomfortable and awkward for women to acknowledge there is a problem, but we need to understand we are complicit.” – Reuters

Zarine Khan set for Telugu debut

The Bollywood actress Zarine Khan, who has worked in films such as Veer and Housefull 2, is set to make her Telugu debut in an as-yet-untitled film opposite the actor Meka Srikanth. "Zarine has been finalised as one of the leads in the film. She is paired with Srikanth and will join the sets of the film later this month," a source said. To be directed by Sudhir Raju, the film will go into production soon and also features Esther Noronha and Prachi Sinha in important roles. Khan's forthcoming films include The Legend of Michael Mishra, due out on March 20, and DOA: Death of Amar, which will be released sometime this year. – IANS