Holly to Bolly: Solid opening for Star Trek Beyond, Gemma Atkinson excited about Bollywood debut, and more

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Solid opening for Star Trek Beyond

Proving that there's still life left in one of Hollywood's most durable franchises after 13 movies and six television series, Star Trek Beyond – which was partly filmed in Dubai – debuted to a solid US$59.6 million (Dh218m) over the weekend in North America. Paramount has also announced that a sequel – the fourth in the rebooted series – is in the works, with Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as Captain Kirk's father, last seen in 2009's Star Trek. The latest chapter in the sci-fi saga performed respectably but failed to match the opening takes of the two previous films in the series – $70.2m for Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013 and $75.2m for Star Trek four years earlier. – Reuters

Kabali breaks box-office records

Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali shattered box-office records on the day of its release, leading to speculation that a sequel will be announced soon. Producer Kalaipuli S Thanu shocked trade analysts with the announcement that the film had made about Rs250 crore (Dh1.3 million) in India alone, of which Rs100 crore came from Tamil Nadu and Rs150 crore from outside the state. In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, Thanu confirmed the strong possibility of a sequel, saying that director Ranjith and he had left the ending of the gangster flick open with plenty of options for a sequel. The final decision will, however, only be made if Rajinikanth gives the project his approval. – Sonali Kokra

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan signs up for Padmavati

After much speculation about who would portray Deepika Padukone's husband in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Padmavati, Indian newspapers are reporting that Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has landed the role. At IIFA this year, Deepika Padukone expressed her admiration for Khan and said that she looked forward to working with him soon. According to Indian newspaper DNA, Bhansali earlier approached Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Ali Zadar to play Raja Rawal Ratan Singh, but none were keen to play second lead to Ranveer Singh's Allaudin Khilji, whose obsession with Rani Padmavati is at the centre of the film. – Sonali Kokra

Kangana takes to the ramp

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut seems to make news and keep gossip mills abuzz no matter what she does. On Sunday, she catwalked as the showstopper for designer Manav Gangwani at the FDCI India Couture Week 2016. She said afterwards that she wanted Gangwani to design her first wedding dress. When asked by surprised reporters if she intended to marry more than once, the National Award-winning actress quipped, "Why not? If one happens, then I think many more can happen." – Sonali Kokra

Gemma Atkinson excited about Bollywood debut

British actress Gemma Atkinson, who is set to make her Bollywood debut with the suspense-thriller film Fever, says that being involved with the Indian film industry is "amazing". The 31-year-old, best known for playing Lisa Hunter on British TV soap opera Hollyoaks, said: "It's really exciting. I have had loads of nice messages from people over in India. "Being involved with Bollywood is amazing. Someone told me their film scene is bigger than Hollywood and I couldn't believe it." Fever, which also stars Rajeev Khandelwal, Ankita Makwana and Gauhar Khan, is due for release on August 5. – IANS

Hollywood stars hold climate-change rally

More than 1,000 people joined Hollywood actors including Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover in Philadelphia on Sunday, the eve of the Democratic National Convention, to protest about climate change and environmental issues. Sarandon, who campaigned on behalf of defeated presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who lost out in the nomination battle to Hillary Clinton, said that the rally’s turnout was proof that the endeavour was not politically motivated. “Our commitment hasn’t ended,” she said. “This is not just about one election. We want real progressive politics and we want to say thank you to Bernie for igniting this spark.” Many in the crowd wore Sanders shirts, badges and lanyards. There was little mention of Clinton or Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. – AP