Sting is selling his music catalog, including hits he made with the Police and as a solo artist, joining a chorus of stars who are cashing in with investors who see value in licensing their songs.Universal said Thursday that its music-publishing arm bought the catalog, including "Every Breath You Take," "Roxanne" and "Fields of Gold." Financial terms were not disclosed.In recent months, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young and others who sold millions of albums to Baby Boomers have sold their recordings, songwriting catalogs or both. Buyers typically get the permanent right to use the artist's songs or recordings in commercials, movies, television shows and other formats.Prices are rarely disclosed, but music industry experts put Springsteen's sale to Sony Music Entertainment in December at $550 million and Dylan's deal the same month with Universal Music Publishing Group at between $300 million and $500 million.Sting, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, helped form the Police in London in the 1970s as its lead singer, songwriter and bass guitar player. The band combined new wave rock, reggae and jazz, and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Between his work with the group and as a solo artist, Sting has won 17 Grammy awards and numerous other honors. Universal said he has sold more than 100 million albums. In 2019, music-licensing agency BMI said "Every Breath You Take" had surpassed "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" to become the most-played song in its catalog.Sting still performs live concerts and has acted in more than a dozen movies.In a statement issued by Universal Music Group, Sting said he wants his work used to connect with longtime fans in new ways and "to introduce my songs to new audiences, musicians and generations."

Although the box office has yet to fully recover from the pandemic, at least one studio has good reason to celebrate this Fourth of July weekend. Universal Pictures currently has the top three films at the domestic box office with “F9,” “The Boss Baby: Family Business” and “The Forever Purge,” according to studio estimates Sunday. It’s the first time that’s happened for Universal since 1989, when the studio had “Sea of Love,” “Parenthood” and “Uncle Buck” topping the charts, and the first time for any studio since 2005.

As expected, the “Fast & Furious” sequel “F9” maintained the top spot in its second weekend in North American theaters. The film added an estimated $24 million over the weekend and is projected to take in $32.7 million by the end of Monday, bringing its domestic total to $125.8 million. Worldwide, “F9” will likely surpass the $500 million mark on Monday.

In second place, the animated “Boss Baby” sequel surpassed expectations opening with $17.3 million for the weekend and $23.1 million including Monday. “The Boss Baby: Family Business” features Alex Baldwin voicing the worldly toddler. And in third place, the latest Blumhouse venture, “The Forever Purge,” is expected to gross $12.8 million in ticket sales through Sunday and $15.9 million over the four-day weekend.

Although the three films may share a studio name, they’re also all different genres with different audience bases: A PG-13 action pic, an R-rated horror and a PG-rated family film. Almost half of the audience for “The Boss Baby 2,” for example, was 12 and under, while 64% of the audience for “The Forever Purge” was in the coveted 18 to 34 range and also very ethnically diverse.

While it’s a bit unconventional for a major studio to open two big films on the same weekend, Universal’s head of domestic distribution Jim Orr said they simply saw an opportunity and have historically had great successes on the Fourth of July weekend.

“This weekend is just a great glimpse of what we do constantly. which is provide theatrical audiences with a diverse slate of quality films,” Orr said. “The results speak for themselves.”

The varied slate, he said, is something the studio takes great pride in.

“We have films for every single audience out there,” Orr added. “We have tremendous partners, with DreamWorks and Blumhouse, and we also have some of the biggest franchises in the industry with the Fast saga.”

Paramount’s “A Quiet Place Part II” landed in fourth with an estimated $4.2 million over the three-day weekend and a projected $5.6 million including Monday, bringing its total to $145.8 million in its sixth weekend. “The Hitman’s Wife's Bodyguard” took fifth with $3 million for the weekend.

“We are still in an unusual marketplace,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. “But this is a solid weekend— “81% of theaters are open in North America and moviegoers had a smorgasbord of options. This feels like truly the first fully fledged summer weekend.”

The based-on-a-Twitter-thread film “Zola” also had a strong opening on 1,468 screens. The film about a road trip to Florida gone wrong has earned an estimated $2.4 million since Wednesday. According to studio A24, many of the New York and Los Angeles showings sold out this weekend.

"'Zola’ is disproving the notion that only blockbusters will bring people to the theaters," Dergarabedian said.

And despite also being available on Hulu, Questlove's “Black Woodstock” documentary “Summer of Soul” earned $650,000 from 752 theaters. Although a somewhat modest number, Searchlight said it's the best performing documentary of the year so far.

The successes are also notable for what they were up against outside of theaters. This was a weekend where there were quite a few at-home streaming options as well, with Amazon Prime Video’s Chris Pratt blockbuster “The Tomorrow War” among them.

The Universal films accounted for over 77% of the total projected grosses this weekend, which was the third-best of the pandemic (behind last weekend's “F9” opening and the first “Quiet Place 2” weekend), according to data from Comscore.

But the reign likely won't continue for long. Next weekend, Disney and Marvel's “Black Widow" hits theaters. And even “Black Widow” has a caveat, despite being the first Marvel movie in almost two years: It'll also be available to rent on Disney+.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “F9,” $24 million.

2. “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” $17.4 million.

3. “The Forever Purge,” $12.8 million.

4. “A Quiet Place Part II,” $4.2 million.

5. “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” $3 million.

6. “Cruella,” $2.6 million.

7. “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,” $2.3 million.

8. “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” $1.3 million.

9. “In the Heights,” $1.3 million.

10. “Zola,” $1.2 million.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Busch Gardens, Walt Disney World Resort, and Universal Orlando have made changes to their COVID-19 guidelines.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

On Thursday, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay no longer took temperature checks upon entry.

"We are committed to the health & safety of our employees, guests, and the animals in our care. Our guidelines have been updated to remove temperature screenings for our guests, and we continue to operate with enhanced health and safety measures, including limited capacity, reservations, physical distancing, enhanced cleaning and sanitation procedures, and face-covering requirements," the park said in a statement.

The park said it would also be "altering physical distancing protocols in certain locations within the parks from six to three feet. The additional space will allow more access to venues while allowing guests to maintain appropriate physical distancing."

For more COVID-19 guidelines at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, click here.

Walt Disney World Resort

Following the advice of the CDC and local health officials, Walt Disney World Resort will phase out the on-site temperature screenings at the parks for cast members beginning May 8 and guests beginning May 16.

"We will continue to follow the guidance of health and safety leaders going forward and most importantly encourage people to get vaccinated," the website stated.

As of now, temperature screenings are required for entry at some locations. Guests have to undergo a temperature screening with no-touch thermometers before entry.

The park asks guests to check the temperatures of everyone in your party as an extra layer of precaution.

For more COVID-19 guidelines at Walt Disney World Resort, click here.

Universal Orlando

Starting Thursday, May 6, Universal Orlando will no longer take temperature checks upon entry.

The park has also changed their social distancing between travel parties. It has been reduced to 3 feet (1 meter) instead of 6 feet.

"Still, most of our original safety protocols remain unchanged—from wearing face coverings across our Resort to our ongoing dedication to cleanliness and sanitization," the website stated.

For more COVID-19 guidelines at Universal Orlando, click here.

Lisette Lopez at WFTS first reported this story.