PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
‘A Quiet Place’ roars to top spot at box office with $50M debut
John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” has opened with a thunderous $50 million in ticket sales for the year’s secondbest debut after “Black Panther.”
The Paramount Pictures thriller far exceeded expectations to land one of the top opening weekends for a horror release. Directed by Krasinski and starring him and real-life wife Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place” is a badly needed hit for Paramount. It’s the studio’s best non-franchise opening since 2014’s “Interstellar.” Steven Spielberg’s virtual-reality adventure “Ready Player One” slid to second with $25.1 million in its second weekend.
The R-rated comedy “Blockers” also shrugged off a recent comedy slump in theaters for a solid $21.4 million debut.
Chance the Rapper to address Dillard University’s 2018 grads
Grammy Award-winning artist Chance the Rapper will deliver this year’s commencement address to graduates of Dillard University in New Orleans.
The school’s 82nd Commencement ceremonies for more than 200 graduates will be held May 12 on the campus’ historic Avenue of the Oaks.
Dillard President Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough said the performer, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, is part of a new wave of artists who can openly talk about faith while being in hip-hop, balancing the secular and the sacred. In 2017, the 24year-old’s independent project “Coloring Book” became the first streamingonly album to be nominated and win a Grammy.