Amazon's documentary about Melania Trump saw a significant drop in its second weekend at the box office, while Crypto.com made a record-breaking purchase of the domain AI.com for $70 million, and a march supporting California's billionaires drew a small crowd. These events, along with Waymo's expansion plans and an AI project to recreate lost footage from Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons," dominated recent headlines.
The documentary "Melania," which Amazon acquired for $40 million and spent $35 million to market, grossed an estimated $2.37 million in its second weekend, a 67% drop from its opening. The film has earned a total of $13.5 million so far, primarily in the United States, making it unlikely to break even, according to TechCrunch. The film's poor performance saw it fall to ninth place on the charts, after placing third the previous weekend.
Crypto.com's founder, Kris Marszalek, made the most expensive domain purchase in history, buying AI.com for $70 million. The deal, paid entirely in cryptocurrency, will see the site debut during the Super Bowl, offering users a personal AI agent. "If you take a long-term view – 10 to 20 years – AI is going to be one of the greatest technological waves of our lifetime," Marszalek told the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, Waymo, the Alphabet-owned self-driving company, is expanding its robotaxi services. The company now operates in six markets, including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and plans to add over a dozen new international cities, including London and Tokyo. Waymo has $16 billion to fuel this expansion.
In San Francisco, a march supporting California's billionaires drew a small crowd, with the San Francisco Chronicle counting around three dozen attendees. The event, organized by Derik Kauffman, was held to protest the Billionaire Tax Act, a proposed state ballot measure. According to Mission Local, journalists nearly outnumbered demonstrators at the event.
Finally, a startup is working on recreating lost footage from Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" using generative AI. The project, led by Edward Saatchi, stems from a genuine love of Welles and his work, according to an in-depth profile by The New Yorker's Michael Schulman. Saatchi recalled watching films in a private screening room with his movie-mad parents.
AI-Assisted Journalism
This article was generated with AI assistance, synthesizing reporting from multiple credible news sources. Our editorial team reviews AI-generated content for accuracy.
Deep insights powered by AI
Continue exploring
Discussion
AI Experts & Community
Be the first to comment