Tom Cruise Soars to Highest Ever U.K. Opening With ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs Paramount+ prepares for its splashy, star-studded U.K. and Ireland launch in London on Monday, Paramount’s president and CEO of streaming Tom Ryan spoke to Variety about the rebranded company’s global streaming biz expansion that, besides being powered by original content, stands out in the field for its diversified model.This model involves a mix of platforms and partnerships, combining direct-to-consumer and a la carte offerings with a market-by-market approach.

George Ezra scores his third Top 5 album with Gold Rush Kid, as it claims this week’s highest new entry on the Official Irish Albums Chart.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £12.1 million ($14.8 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” scored £5.5 million in its third weekend and now has a mighty total of £50 million, jetting towards being one of the highest grossers of the year in the territory. In third place and in its sixth weekend, Disney’s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” collected £398,401 for a total of £41.5 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterUniversal’s dino-sized “Jurassic” franchise is showing no signs of extinction at the box office.“Jurassic World Dominion,” the sixth installment in the long-running series, pulled in a monster $176 million from 72 international markets over the weekend, bringing its overseas total to $245 million. Combined with its $143 million domestic debut, the film stands at a robust $389 million and will imminently cross the $400 million mark.Directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt, “Dominion” opened in 57 new foreign markets this weekend, including China, the United Kingdom and France.China, which has been increasingly hostile to Hollywood films, embraced the film, where it opened in first place with $52.5 million.

Coronavirus infections in the UK are estimated to have risen for the first time since March at the height of the Omicron wave. A total of 989,800 people in private households in the UK are estimated to have had the virus in the week ending June 2, up from 953,900 the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Post Malone’s fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache earns a Number 3 debut this week, becoming the rapper and singer’s fourth Top 10 album in Ireland.

Guns N’ Roses performed AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ for the first time ever at a concert in Spain.The band were performing at Estadio Benito Villamarin when they debuted their cover of the classic track earlier this week. You can view the performance below.It was the second concert of their current European/UK tour which kicked off in Portugal last weekend.During that show at at the Passeio Marítimo de Algés in Oeiras they also covered AC/DC’s ‘Walk All Over You’.During their concert in Spain the band also performed a cover of Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ alongside a host of GN’R classic tracks including ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘You Could Be Mine’, ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’.Their continued nod to AC/DC’s back catalogue comes as no surprise.

Leicester Tigers confirmed the news of Youngs’ death on Wednesday, saying in a statement: ‘Leicester Tigers are deeply saddened by the news that Tiffany Youngs has passed away after her heroic battle with illness. ‘On behalf of everybody at the club, we send our condolences to the Youngs and Sands families. The club will be providing no further details and asks that the Youngs and Sands families have their privacy respected at this time.

Top Gun triumphs as it reclaims Number 1 on the Official Film Chart, fending off The Batman to claim its second week at the top.

Fontaines D.C. have shared a new video for their track ‘Roman Holiday’, in which they recreate a ‘70s heist movie – scroll down the page to watch it now.The track is taken from the band’s latest album ‘Skinty Fia’, which arrived in April and topped the charts in the UK and Ireland.In the video, which was directed by Sam Taylor, Fontaines take on new monikers, including frontman Grian Chatten’s Marty “Stir” Crazy and guitarist Conor Curley’s David Leatherman.

Ronnie Wood celebrated his 75th birthday with The Rolling Stones as they opened their 60th anniversary tour in Madrid, Spain. As well as his milestone birthday, the rock band’s guitarist was also marking 47 years since he joined the group as they took to the stage on Wednesday evening at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Beth Orton has released a new single today (May 31) called ‘Weather Alive’ – check it out below.It’s the title track from her new album, which is released on September 23 via Partisan Records – her first for the label. You can pre-order it here.A statement about the new album describes it as “a record that collates memories and experiences spanning a lifetime, with stories that touch on struggles, on healing and of beauty.”Collaborators on the album include The Smile’s drummer Tom Skinner, Mancunian jazz star Alabaster dePlume, multi-instrumentalist/composed Shahzad Ismaily, and The Invisible’s bassist Tom Herbert.Listen to ‘Weather Alive’ here:Orton heads out on tour in support of Alanis Morissette later this month before taking ‘Weather Alive’ out on tour this October across the UK and Ireland.Tickets for her headline tour will be on sale on June 10 here.

Kelsey Parker has opened up about starting her 'year of firsts' as she attended her first wedding without her husband Tom. The Wanted singer tragically died, aged 33, in March 17 months after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

The Wanted star Tom Parker's grieving widow Kelsey is using healing crystals as she attempts to cope with the aftermath of his death. Kelsey shared a snap of the crystals online.

Tom Parker 's widow Kelsey has taken her first holiday since her husband sadly passed away.

Tom Parker’s widow Kelsey took to Instagram on Friday to tell her followers about her upcoming weekend that would be “bittersweet” after the death of her beloved husband. Kelsey, 32, shared a video of herself on her Instagram story telling fans that she had travelled to Ireland to celebrate her friend’s wedding, which is the first she’s attending since Tom’s death.The Wanted star Tom died age 33 in March following a brave battle with brain cancer. Speaking to the camera, Kelsey told her followers: “Hey guys, so I've just got to Ireland today.