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'Dark Knight' brightens box-office outlook

LOS ANGELES, July 21 (UPI) -- "The Dark Knight," the new Batman movie from Hollywood, shattered records and led the U.S. box office back from a bit of a summer slump, industry analysts said.

The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures release grossed an estimated $155.4 million in its first weekend, outdoing the previous record holder, "Spider-Man 3," which took in $151.1 million when it opened in May 2007.

Overall, the domestic box office collected $250 million in ticket sales, easily surpassing the record for largest total three-day gross, $218.4 million, set in June 2007, Daily Variety reported.

The new Meryl Streep musical, "Mama Mia!" opened at $27.6 million and holdovers such as "Hancock" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth" continued to perform well, helping the box office to a 64-percent improvement over the grosses for the corresponding week in 2007.

Overall grosses had been lagging substantially behind 2007 figures, but this weekend's numbers virtually erased the deficit, Variety said.

However, box office analysts said there were some downbeat results, with the family comedy "Space Chimps" opening to $7.3 million and "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" losing 71 percent of its opening weekend gross.

"The Dark Knight" set records for opening day ($67.8 million) and midnight showings ($18.5 million).

McCartney wows French Canadian crowd

QUEBEC CITY, July 21 (UPI) -- Former Beatle Paul McCartney rocked Canada's Quebec City Sunday night where 200,000 mostly French fans celebrated the city's 400th anniversary.

McCartney arrived in the city a day earlier from New York and hastily arranged for giant screens to provide translation of his English, although he spoke a greeting in French at the beginning of the outdoor show, the Globe and Mail reported.

He and his band opened with the Wings song "Jet" and then progressed into a mix of Beatles and Wings songs, the report said.

Two Quebec bands opened for McCartney and sang almost exclusively in English, which rankled separatists, the report said. The concert was held on the historic Plains of Abraham, where the British defeated the French in 1759, which led to sovereignists' complaints in the week running up to the concert, the report said.

However, McCartney arranged for the province's blue and white fleur-de-lis emblem to be displayed on the large monitors during the show, which drew roars of approval, the newspaper said.

Fergie may appear in movie musical 'Nine'

LOS ANGELES, July 21 (UPI) -- U.S. hip-hop artist Fergie reportedly is in talks to play a role in the movie musical, "Nine," which was inspired by Federico Fellini's film, "8 1/2."

The original Fellini film was the basis for the successful Broadway musical, "Nine," which is to be adapted for the big screen.

If negotiations go well, Fergie would play sexy Saraghina and join a cast that includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cottilard, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren and Judi Dench, Variety.com reported.

The role would be Fergie's first major part in a movie. She had a small role in the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez project "Grindhouse."

Rob Marshall is to begin filming "Nine" in October, the entertainment industry trade paper said.

Stars line up for 'Monk' milestone

LOS ANGELES, July 21 (UPI) -- Eric McCormack, Howie Mandel, Sarah Silverman, Sharon Lawrence and Angela Kinsey are to appear in the 100th episode of "Monk," USA Network has announced.

Also slated to guest star on the milestone episode of the TV comedy about an obsessive-compulsive detective are Brooke Adams, Ricardo Chavira, Kathryn Joosten, Jarrad Paul, Tim Bagley, David Koechner, Andy Richter and John Turturro.

The episode is to air Sept. 5, during the seventh season of the show, which stars Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award winner Tony Shalhoub as the titular sleuth.

In the upcoming 100th episode of the series, a magazine news show, "In Focus," covers Adrian Monk's handling of a serial killer case, in which four people were killed. After watching the segment, Monk sees interviews with his closest friends and adversaries and realizes something about the case leaves him unsettled, USA Network said.