This post was originally published on here As global leaders in artificial intelligence call for a pause in the technology’s advancement, developers across Inuit Nunangat are continuing community-led efforts to develop Inuktitut-language AI tools.
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This post was originally published on here The government-funded Institute for Information Industry (III) and industry partners have developed an artificial intelligence-powered technology that turns old photographs, voice recordings and family stories into personalized videos for use in dementia care, the organization said Sunday.
Democratic advantages in the races for governor in Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alaska reflect deep unhappiness with President Trump and the economy. A Republican leads in Kansas.
The current weekend: October 2 to 4, 2026
1) Verity opening
– This is an excellent opening for an original psychological thriller. The weekend figure is well above average for the genre, in spite of weak reviews and audience ratings (a C+ CinemaScore). The reception is not hurting the film — audiences are showing up in big numbers.
This is the fourth adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel. The story is different than the first three. This is a psychological and erotic thriller, while the first three were romantic and melodramatic.
With a reasonable budget of est. $40 million, the picture is going to be very profitable. It’s an excellent start:
Colleen Hoover’s previously adapted novels are:
It Ends With Us in Aug 2024, a romantic drama, opened domestically to $50 million, finished with $351 million worldwide, made 57.7% overseas, 55 on Rotten Tomatoes with an A- CinemaScore — a smash around the world (Sony);
Regretting You in Oct 2025, also a romantic drama, opened domestically to $13.7m, finished with $90m worldwide, made 46% overseas, 28 on RT with a B CinemaScore — solid but not a big hit (Paramount);
Reminders of Him in May 2026, a romance, opened domestically to $18m, finished with $89m worldwide, made 45.5% overseas, 56 on RT with another B CinemaScore — solid again but not big a hit (Universal).
2) Digger opening
– This is a weak opening for a Tom Cruise movie. For a black comedy, the numbers are not bad, but black comedies are small films and this isn’t a small film, it’s a Tom Cruise movie. Sentiment declined during the last 10 days, and the opening crumbled.
The reception is divided at best. Critics’ reviews are mixed, and the CinemaScore is weak (a C+ CinemaScore). These films have an edge that makes them dark, and they have a message. The comedy walks a fine line, and when it misses, it misses:
– The production cost was expensive (between $150 and $180 million, depending on who you ask), and Tom Cruise and co-writer/director Alejandro Iñárritu get a significant piece of the domestic gross.
Even with respectable ancillary income based on the film’s pedigree, the movie is going to lose a lot of money.
Digger, Warner Bros., Paramount and the pending studio sale
– On Friday afternoon, news broke that the co-chairs of Warner Bros., Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, will leave the studio this Tuesday, on the first day that Paramount owns Warner Bros.
Mr. De Luca and Ms. Abdy have run Warner Bros. Pictures since June 2022, and their tenure has had extreme ups and downs. They will be remembered for a remarkable run from April 2025 to early this year, when the studio had eight consecutive films that opened to No. 1 at the box office.
Setting aside Warner Bros.’s long-running franchises (Dune, Wonka, Godzilla, The Conjuring, Final Destination, and DC Comics, which is managed separately), Mr. De Luca and Ms. Abdy are known to take several risks each year on singularly unique films that do not easily fit into a genre.
Last year, that strategy produced three outstanding movies: Academy Best Picture One Battle After Another, Best Picture nominee Sinners, and Weapons.
– Digger is one of these films — auteur-driven, not easily characterized, with top talent, and expensive. Alejandro Iñárritu has made excellent and ambitious films (Amores Perros, Babel, Best Picture Birdman, and Best Picture nominee The Revenant, et al.), and Tom Cruise speaks for himself. Digger is an eccentric story, and Warner Bros. deserves credit for taking the risk.
But Digger collapsed this weekend, and the new management of the combined Paramount and Warner Bros., David Ellison, Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, will soon decide what kind of movies they want from WB. Paramount does not have a recent history of making big, auteur-driven films like this — that strategy appears to be over and out.
3) Where we are now
– This weekend compares favorably with last year, but it’s below pre-pandemic box office levels because this weekend in 2019 and 2018 had big superhero openings (Joker and Venom). With only 4 superhero titles per year now, instead of 7 before the pandemic, it’s unavoidable.
Otherwise the lineup is competitive. Verity is over-performing and the current pictures in release are a broad mix playing to diverse audiences.
The next big superhero movie is Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, coming in mid-December. The last Avengers ranks No. 2 all-time at the box office with $2.8 billion worldwide.
It’s a sad weekend in several ways, but everyone will survive:
Our last two posts were:
AVENGERS: ENDGAME ENCORE re-release | HEART OF THE BEAST | PRIMETIME | FORGOTTEN ISLAND openings | Where we are now | September 25 to 27, 2026 weekend here
RESIDENT EVIL 8 | SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM openings | Are younger audiences returning to moviegoing? | Where we are now | September 18 to 20, 2026 weekend here
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FAIRFIELD — The October movie premieres continue with a few opening in limited release on Wednesday (Oct. 7) including: