Oscars give Slumdog Millionaire box-office boost as child stars readjust

Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire enjoyed the biggest box-office bounce since Titanic in the US at the weekend, taking a remarkable $12.2m (£8.6m) in its 16th week of release. Danny Boyle's film, which won eight Academy Awards a week ago, has now taken $115m (£81m) in the US, and is approaching the $200m (£140m) mark at the global box office. Its fortunes contrasted sharply with those of squeaky-clean Christian singers the Jonas Brothers who failed to take the US top spot from Madea Goes to Jail. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience could manage only $12.7m (£8.9m) on debut in comparison with the Tyler Perry comedy's second-week take of $16.5m (£11.6m). Videogame adaptation Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li was the only other new entry to make the top 10 at the weekend, battling its way to an insipid $4.6m (£3.2m). Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reported that the young street children who starred as Jamal and Latika in Slumdog Millionaire were not adjusting well to life back in Mumbai, following their sojourn to the US for last weekend's Oscars. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, and Rubina Ali Qureshi, nine, are said to be struggling to cope with a return to their old lives after being exposed to the bright lights and glamour of LA. Azhar reportedly spent the weekend vomiting and has developed a high temperature since returning home. Doctors said he was suffering from fever and exhaustion. His mother, Shameem Ismail, told the Telegraph: "It has all become too much for him. He is very ill and has not recovered from going to America and all the media interest since we got back." The pair's families have been promised flats away from the slum by the Mumbai housing authority and Slumdog producer Christian Colson. "I don't want to live here in the slum anymore," said Rubina, who was still wearing the dirt-stained ballgown she was given for the Oscars ceremony. "I don't want to sleep on the floor anymore. I want a proper bed and to live where the air does not smell of poo. I have realised how bad life is here. I just want to get out."