FILM

Depp fails to show for surprise SAG win

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: that Keith Richards impersonation paid off.

Johnny Depp failed last night to show up to collect his best actor award from the Screen Actors Guild, the last big awards ceremony before the Oscars. The 40-year-old, who in mitigation lives in Paris, was a surprise winner for Pirates of the Caribbean.

The SAG award winners often turn out to be Oscar winners, and the other honourees - Charlize Theron for Monster, Tim Robbins for Mystic River, Renee Zellwegger for Cold Mountain and the Lord of the Rings cast for best ensemble - are all favourites for next week's awards. Depp is still the bookies' outside choice for the best actor Oscar. In the last nine years, the choices of SAG awards for best actor and actress have matched those of the Oscars all but once. However, last year's winners - Daniel Day Lewis for Gangs of New York and Renee Zellwegger for Chicago - did not chime with the Academy. Adrien Brody and Nicole Kidman turned out to be the Oscar winners. The SAG awards rounded off the gong season for this year. Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman were awarded best adapted screenplay for American Splendor.

US box office still under Rings' spell

Miranda Otto as Eowyn in The Return of the King

The Return of the King has topped the US box office for the third weekend in a row. The final part in Peter Jackson's fantasy triptych made an estimated $30.8m (£17.1m) this weekend and has so far grossed more than $292m (£162.4m) in the US, where it is on course to beat the final total of $340m (£189.1m) garnered by its predecessor The Two Towers. In second place Steve Martin continued his commercial renaissance following the success of Bringing Down the House last year. Family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen picked up $21.9m (£12.2m) as it held its ground in a week of few new releases. Third place went to old favourites Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, in Something's Gotta Give. The comic tale of two middle-aged lovers who meet in unusual circumstances climbed back into the spot with a weekend haul of $12.5m (£7m). British films continue to do well following the success of Gurinder Chadha's Bend it Like Beckham and Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later in the US last year.