Mother of Australian surfers killed in Mexico gives moving tribute to sons at a beach in San Diego

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mother of two Australian surfers killed in Mexico delivered a moving tribute to her sons Tuesday at a beach in San Diego.

“Our hearts are broken and the world has become a darker place for us,” Debra Robinson said, fighting back tears. “They were young men enjoying their passion of surfing together.”

Her sons, Callum and Jake, were allegedly killed by car thieves in Baja California, across the border from San Diego, somewhere around April 28 or 29.

Robinson also mourned the American who was killed with them, Jack Carter Rhoad.

The beachside location where she spoke, across the border from the Baja California city of Tijuana, was no coincidence. She noted that her son Callum “considered the United States his second home."

Robinson noted that her son Jake loved surfing so much that, as a doctor, he liked to work in hospitals near the beach.

“Jake’s passion was surfing, and it was no coincidence that many of his hospitals that he worked in were close to surfing beaches,” she said.

Choking back tears, Robinson conveyed a final message that coincided with her sons' adventurous lifestyles.

“Live bigger, shine brighter, and love harder in their memory,” she said.

Robinson thanked Australian officials and supporters there and in the United States.

While she thanked Mexico’s ambassador to Australia, she notably did not thank the local officials in Baja California who eventually found the bodies of her sons and Carter Rhoad.

Their killers dumped the bodies of the men into a well about 4 miles (6 kilometers) away from where they had been attacked at a beachside campsite. Investigators were surprised when, underneath the bodies of the three foreigners, a fourth body was found that had been there much longer. It was unclear if the body was related to the current case.

The fact that such killers are not caught or stopped in the overwhelming majority of cases in Mexico has led some Mexicans to protest that authorities only investigate such disappearances when they are high-profile cases involving foreigners.

Robinson said that her sons' bodies, or their ashes, will eventually be taken back to Australia.

“Now it’s time to bring them home to families and friends,” she said. “And the ocean waits in Australia.”

Prosecutors have identified three people as potential suspects, two of whom were caught with methamphetamines. One of them, a woman, had one of the victims’ cellphones when she was caught. Prosecutors said the two were being held pending drug charges but continue to be suspects in the killings.

A third man was arrested on charges of a crime equivalent to kidnapping, but that was before the bodies were found. It was unclear when or if he might face more charges.

The third man was believed to have directly participated in the killings. In keeping with Mexican law, prosecutors identified him by his first name, Jesús Gerardo, alias “el Kekas,” a slang word that means quesadillas, or cheese-filled tortillas.

He had a criminal record that included drug dealing, vehicle theft and domestic violence, and authorities said they were certain that more people were involved.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a radio station in the Robinsons’ home town of Perth in Western Australia state that every parent felt for the family’s loss.

“I think the whole nation’s heart goes out to the parents of Callum and Jake Robinson. It is every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a son or a daughter. To lose these two brothers is just awful and my deepest sympathies and condolences and I’m sure the whole nation’s with the parents and with the other family and friends of these two fine young Australians,” Albanese told Perth Radio 6PR.

Albanese said he was reminded of when his only child Nathan Albanese traveled last year at the age of 22 to a musical festival in Spain.

“You do worry, but you think as well that’s part of the Australian right of passage, is traveling around with a backpack and meeting people and it’s how you grow as a person as well so you want to encourage them,” Albanese said.

In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California — also known as the Sea of Cortez — from the Baja peninsula. Authorities said they were victims of highway bandits. Three suspects were arrested in that case.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

In this image taken from video, Australia's Debra Robinson stands with her husband Martin, following a media conference on the beach in San Diego, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 following the deaths in Mexico of their two sons during a surfing trip. The sons, Callum and Jake, and U.S. friend Jack Carter Rhoad, were allegedly killed by car thieves in Baja California, across the border from San Diego, somewhere around April 28 or 29. (Channel 9/POOL via AP)

In this image taken from video, Australia's Debra Robinson with her husband Martin, address the media on the beach in San Diego, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 following the deaths in Mexico of their two sons during a surfing trip. The sons, Callum and Jake, and U.S. friend Jack Carter Rhoad, were allegedly killed by car thieves in Baja California, across the border from San Diego, somewhere around April 28 or 29. (Channel 9/POOL via AP)

A demonstrator holding a bodyboard written in Spanish " No more violence" protests the disappearance of foreign surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

A man holds flowers during a tribute to 3 missing surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

Surfers throw flowers during a tribute to 3 missing surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

A demonstrator holding a bodyboard written in Spanish " I don't want to die" protests the disappearance of foreign surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

A demonstrator holding a bodyboard written in Spanish " They just wanted to surf and they were executed" protests the disappearance of foreign surfers in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

Mother of Australian surfers killed in Mexico gives moving tribute to sons at a beach in San Diego

Mother of Australian surfers killed in Mexico gives moving tribute to sons at a beach in San Diego

The photos of the foreign surfers who disappeared are placed on the beach in Ensenada, Mexico, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. (AP Photo/Karen Castaneda)

John Krasinski’s imaginary friends movie “IF” claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $35 million North American debut was also a bit lower than some projections.

Is that a disappointment? An ominous sign of the box office times? Or is the final story on “ IF " yet to be written? It's not just your imagination: In these bumpy early weeks of the 2024 summer box office season, in which nothing has been a runaway hit and every new movie has more and more pressure to succeed, “IF” hit a nerve.

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, and an army of A-list voices including Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Maya Rudolph, “IF” was an original idea from Krasinski, who wrote, directed and co-stars.

Paramount debuted the film, which cost a reported $110 million to produce, in 4,041 locations in North America. Internationally, it earned an estimated $20 million from 56 markets, adding up to a $55 million global debut.

“Families came out in force and they loved the film,” said Chris Aronson, who heads Paramount’s domestic distribution.

There are several somewhat contradictory narratives swirling around its performance as well. With its PG-rating, “IF” was the first major family friendly film to open in theaters in weeks. And unlike a front-loaded superhero or horror movie, family pics are often running a marathon not a sprint. Last June, Pixar’s “Elemental” was assumed to be dead on arrival when it opened with $29.5 million domestically. But it continued earning throughout the summer and ultimately made nearly $500 million globally.

“IF” got middling reviews from critics (it's currently sitting at a “rotten” 49% on Rotten Tomatoes), but, as with “Elemental,” audiences gave it a solid A CinemaScore this weekend. The studio considers it a successful debut and is optimistic about its longevity as summer actually begins for school age children.

“I think it bodes well for moviegoing in general as we move into the summer movie season," Aronson said. "Kids are out of school starting this coming week and I couldn’t think of a better film to be in the marketplace than this one: It’s new, it’s fresh, its original, and it’s such a heartwarming film.”

“ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ” continues to be a bright spot. In just 10 days, it surpassed $100 million domestically and $237 million globally. It came in second place in its second weekend with $26 million (down 55%).

But there also hasn’t been a major movie moment akin to last year’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer” in quite some time. Last year on this weekend “Fast X” opened to over $60 million.

“This is a very unusual summer. It got off to an unusual start without a Marvel movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The box office has been in a holding pattern 20% down from last year.”

“IF” wasn’t the only new film to open this weekend either. Lionsgate’s horror “The Strangers—Chapter 1” overperformed with a $12 million debut from 2,856 locations. The innovative marketing campaign staged some viral moments by bringing the “strangers” to major events, from the Trump trial to Coachella.

The Amy Winehouse biopic “ Back to Black " opened in North America to an estimated $2.9 million from 2,010 screens.

The filmed-for-IMAX documentary “ The Blue Angels ” also made $1.3 million this weekend from 227 screens. It’s playing on the premium large format screens through May 22 before flying to Prime Video on May 23.

The summer, which for Hollywood begins the first weekend in May, is still getting started and could rev up next weekend with the infusion of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Garfield Movie."

Dergarabedian noted that Memorial Day weekend is a time when moviegoers play can play catch up with films they've missed and heard about. For a film like “IF," which picked up over the weekend with word of mouth buzz, that could bode well. Still, there is no sugar-coating the reality that the 2024 box office is not going to build on 2023.

"On almost every level this is a non-traditional summer in the lineup of films and the trajectory of the box office," Dergarbedian said. “But collectively these films should have a solid Memorial weekend.”

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

1. “IF,” $35 million.

2. “Kingdom of hte Planet of the Apes,” $26 million.

3. “The Strangers—Chapter 1,” $12 million.

4. “The Fall Guy,” $8.5 million.

5. “Challengers,” $2.9 million.

6. “Back to Black,” $2.9 million.

7. “Tarot,” 2 million.

8. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” $1.7 million.

9. “The Blue Angels,” $1.3 million.

10. “Unsung Hero,” $1.1 million.

This image released by Amazon Prime shows a scene from the documentary "The Blue Angels." (Amazon Prime via AP)

Actor Marisa Abela attends the premiere of Focus Features' "Back to Black" at AMC Lincoln Square on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

This image released by Focus Features shows Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in a scene from "Back to Black." (Focus Features via AP)

This image released by Focus Features shows Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in a scene from "Back to Black." (Focus Features via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Cailey Fleming, left, and Ryan Reynolds in a scene from "IF." (Jonny Cournoyer/Paramount Pictures via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Ryan Reynolds, from left, Cailey Fleming, the character Blue, voiced by Steve Carell, and the Blossom, voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, in a scene from "IF." (Paramount Pictures via AP)

Emily Blunt, left, and John Krasinski pose with the character "Blue" at the premiere of Paramount Pictures' "IF" at the SVA Theatre on Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

John Krasinski, left, and Ryan Reynolds attend the premiere of Paramount Pictures' "IF" at the SVA Theatre on Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ryan Reynolds poses with the character "Blue" at the premiere of Paramount Pictures' "IF" at the SVA Theatre on Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Cailey Fleming, left, and John Krasinski pose with the character "Blue" at the premiere of Paramount Pictures' "IF" at the SVA Theatre on Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)