Will long Labor Day weekend mean another coronavirus spike?

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Americans headed into Labor Day weekend — the unofficial end to the Lost Summer of 2020 — amid warnings from public health experts that backyard parties, crowded bars and other gatherings could cause the coronavirus to come surging back.

“I look upon the Labor Day weekend really as a critical point,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert. “Are we going to go in the right direction and continue the momentum downward, or are we going to have to step back a bit as we start another surge?”

The rise in infections, deaths and hospitalizations over the summer, primarily in the South and West, was blamed in part on Americans behaving heedlessly over Memorial Day and July Fourth.

The landscape has improved in recent weeks, with the numbers headed in the right direction in hard-hit states like Florida, Arizona and Texas, but there are certain risk factors that could combine with Labor Day: Children are going back to school, university campuses are seeing soaring case counts, college football is starting, more businesses are open, and flu season is around the corner.

And a few states are heading into the holiday with less room in hospitals than they had over Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Alabama, for example, had about 800 people hospitalized with the virus on July 1. This week, it has just under 1,000.

More beaches will be open on Labor Day than on Memorial Day, but Fauci said that is not cause in itself for concern, as long as people keep their distance.

“I would rather see someone on a beach, being physically separated enough, than someone crowded in an indoor bar,” he said.

The outbreak is blamed for about 187,000 deaths and almost 6.2 million confirmed infections in the U.S., by far the highest totals in the world. Cases of COVID-19, which spiked from about 20,000 per day to around 70,000 during the summertime surge in the South, are now down to about 40,000.

Dr. Albert Ko, a Yale University epidemiologist, said he is concerned about students heading back to school across the nation next week after coming back from holiday travel and a weekend of social gatherings.

“Any transmission events that happen here could be amplified unless we’re careful about it,” Ko said. “Whether it’s going to be a perfect storm, l don’t think so. People are aware of the risk, and people have been socially distancing. But this is certainly a concern.”

Associated Press

‘Hitman’s Bodyguard’ leads slowest Labor Day weekend in about two decades

LOS ANGELES | A disastrous domestic summer box office is ending on a low note.

Without any fresh competition in wide release, “Hitman’s Bodyguard” appears the be the holiday weekend’s movie of choice. The Lionsgate release with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson at the center should earn $13.4 million from 3,370 locations over the four-day weekend.

Its seemingly imminent win would make “Hitman’s Bodyguard” the only flick this summer to retain the top spot on the domestic box office charts for three consecutive weekends. “Dunkirk,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” each stayed first for two frames.

But while the action comedy is certainly profitable at this point, its threepeat is less due to the movie’s overwhelming popularity, and more attributable to the lack of alternatives. This — the first Labor Day weekend in recent history without a new wide release — is tracking to have the lowest four-day total for the holiday in nearly two decades.

The 28 movies currently in release are tracking to bring in about $95.5 million, according to ComScore. Not since 1998 has the Labor Day domestic box office dropped below a $100 million four-day total. The last time there were no wide releases over Labor Day weekend was in 1992.

Of the weekend’s medium-sized launches, Sony’s re-release of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is faring best. The 40th anniversary theatrical event is set to take in $2.3 million for the four-day holiday weekend from 901 locations.

Meanwhile, TWC’s long-delayed release “Tulip Fever” is not finding its audience. The historical drama starring Alicia Vikander is expected to earn $1.4 million from 765 locations.

A unique collaboration between Marvel Television and ABC Studios brought “Marvel’s Inhumans” to 393 Imax screens in North America, where it is expected to earn $1.5 million. And Pantellion’s “Do It Like an Hombre” is looking at about $1.4 million for the four days at 382 locations.

Otherwise, “Annabelle: Creation” should remain in the two slot for Warner Bros. The horror sequel has an estimated three-day tally of $7.3 million from 3,358 locations, and is tracking for $9.3 million with the extended holiday.

While “Tulip Fever” might fail to crack the weekend’s top 20, TWC has the third and fourth highest-grossing movies of the weekend. “Wind River” is expecting an $8 million four-day total from 2,602 spots.

The animated adventure “Leap!” should follow close behind with $6.6 million from 2,705 locations. “Logan Lucky” should round out the top five with a reported $4.4 million three-day and estimated $5.6 million for the entire holiday.

The summer box office, which ends after this coming Monday, is still on track to end with less than $4 billion in North America for the first time since 2006. Major flops including “King Arthur” and “Valerian,” as well as several big-budget sequels that underperformed should serve as a wake up call to studios that are used to splashy features with familiar faces equaling ticket sales.

While this Labor Day weekend is especially low for overall grosses, the frame has not historically been an especially huge source of revenue — August and September are traditionally thought of as a dumping ground for the industry between summer blockbusters and awards season contenders.

Last year, for example, “Don’t Breathe” led the pack during its second weekend with just under $20 million. The year prior, “War Room” landed in first with $13.4 million.

Still, the month of August has been especially slow for the industry, especially with nothing to match last year’s record-breaking “Suicide Squad.”

So the film business looks ahead to next weekend when “It” is expected to enter the scene with a bold statement, and potentially reignite what is a marketplace in a dire state.

source: interaksyon.com

Actress Jenny McCarthy marries pop star Donnie Wahlberg

Actress Jenny McCarthy and pop star turned reality television star Donnie Wahlberg have tied the knot in Chicago, family and media said on Sunday.

McCarthy, a former co-host of the daytime talk show, “The View,” and Wahlberg, part of 1980s boy band New Kids on the Block, held their ceremony in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles, WGN-TV said.

The couple announced their engagement in April, with plans to wed Labor Day weekend in New York City.

Donnie’s brother, actor Mark Wahlberg, was not at the ceremony, but posted a message and video on photo sharing site Instagram saying he and his family “wish we could be there.” “Congratulations from all of us,” it said.

Donnie and Mark Wahlberg currently co-star on a reality television show called “Wahlburgers” that focuses on brother Paul’s Massachusetts restaurant.

source: interaksyon.com