Marvel expands Infinite with ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’

Also, Ranbir Kapoor and Honey Singh to collaborate for Roy and 300 sequel slays box-office rivals

An image from Marvel Comics’ first all-ages digital comic. Marvel Comics / AP Photo

Marvel expands Infinite with ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’

Two years after launching its Infinite line of digital comics, Marvel Entertainment is ex­panding the offerings online with its first all-ages titles as it tries to attract younger readers. Marvel announced the news at the annual South By Southwest event in Austin, Texas. The Marvel editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso, and Kristin Vincent, the vice president of its digital products, call the new Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man digital title the publisher's first for kids in the Infinite format. By taking tales from the television series of the same name, the publisher hopes the digital comics will find an audience among children who are more used to reading on a tablet than traditional paper. – AP

Ranbir Kapoor and Honey Singh to collaborate for Roy

Ranbir Kapoor, who stars in Bhushan Kumar's forthcoming film Roy, may collaborate with the rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh for a special song for the film. "I share a very close relationship with Honey Singh. He also recently did a song for us for Bhoothnath Returns. We are contemplating with the idea of having Honey Singh and Ranbir Kapoor for a song," Kumar said. The T-series head said that filming will start in April. "Ranbir is playing Roy in the film. It will be widely shot in South Africa and Mumbai, filming from April 1," Kumar said. – The National staff

300 sequel slays box-office rivals

The ancient Greek fantasy-action movie 300: Rise of an Empire rose to the top of the North American box office this weekend, according to estimated figures from Sunday. The gory follow-up to the 2007 hit 300 raked in US$45 million (Dh165m) in its opening weekend, although it fell short of the $70.9m the original film earned on opening. The latest film, based on an as-yet-unreleased graphic novel by Frank Miller, sees the return of several characters from the first film, notably the fearsome Persian king Xerxes played by Rodrigo Santoro. In second place was the animated children's film Mr Peabody & Sherman. – AP