ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

Record Concert Grosses: As expected, the Rolling Stones were the top concert act in North America through the first six months of 1999 and led a parade of performers who helped the concert industry hit an all-time high in ticket revenues. According to the trade publication Pollstar, which tracks concert grosses, the Stones have taken in $65 million this year, followed by the George Strait Country Music Festival ($32 million), the Dave Matthews Band ($31.2 million), Shania Twain ($30 million), ‘N Sync ($22.4 million), Rod Stewart ($20.3 million), Billy Joel ($15.4 million), Elton John ($14.5 million), Black Sabbath ($13.8 million) and the joint Jay-Z and DMX package ($13.7 million). Thanks largely to skyrocketing ticket prices, the top 25 tours generated $399 million from January through June, shattering the previous record for that six-month period, set in 1994 with a take of $353 million, according to Pollstar.

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Divorce Court: Mick Jagger will learn the size of the dent to his $240-million fortune when Jerry Hall takes him to a British divorce court Friday. The courtroom battle--which is expected to last only a few days--looks to be particularly bitter as lawyers for the Rolling Stones frontman will argue that his 1991 wedding to the Texan supermodel on the Indonesian island of Bali was not legal under British law. But legal experts say the couple’s 22-year relationship will have more bearing on the settlement than their legal marital status. Neither Jagger nor Hall--who is reportedly seeking up to $48 million--is expected to attend the proceedings at London’s High Court. Despite the pending divorce, the two have recently been spotted in friendly situations, including a picnic together last weekend while their son James played a cricket match.

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Three Tenors and a Diva: Aretha Franklin will join the Three Tenors for their July 17 concert in Detroit. She’s scheduled to sing the national anthem to kick off the concert, and may also join Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo for an encore. Franklin’s appearance was suggested by Pavarotti, who became friendly with the diva after she stepped in at the last minute to sing “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot” after he was taken ill at the 1998 Grammy Awards. The concert is the tenors’ only scheduled North American appearance this year. Separately, Pavarotti announced Monday that he will open the SuperDome Olympic Games venue in Sydney, Australia, with a Nov. 6 concert. The $132-million SuperDome will be the site of basketball and gymnastics competition during next year’s Summer Olympics.

TELEVISION

Dinosaurs on ABC: ABC will air “Dinotopia,” a six-hour Hallmark Entertainment miniseries based on the best-selling James Gurney books, in 2001. Plans call for the miniseries to combine live action, computer-generated imagery and animatronics. Robert Halmi Sr. (“Gulliver’s Travels”) will executive produce.

MOVIES

Violence Deters Fewer Viewers: Despite recent debates over the impact of violent movies and TV programs on young people, a new nationwide study shows that Americans are less upset by violent films than they used to be. The Associated Press poll found that only 40% of adults said they would be less likely to see a movie if they knew it contained violence--a full 20% lower than those who answered the question the same way a decade ago. Meanwhile, a third of the more than 1,000 respondents cited violence as the big screen’s biggest problem, about the same percentage who said tickets cost too much. In addition, 17% said movies aren’t as good as they used to be, and 13% cited too much sex.

QUICK TAKES

Cable’s VH1 will air the first two songs from the first U.S. concert of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s reunion tour, July 15 in New Jersey. The concert coverage will air that night midway through the cable channel’s 7:30 p.m. program “Bruce Springsteen: Legends.” . . . Former 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell was charged with aggravated battery Monday after he allegedly struck a man in the face with a whiskey bottle at a Miami Beach nightclub. Police said the man, Mathieu Fabrice, had blocked the rapper’s view of a show. Fabrice suffered cuts and a possible broken nose. . . . The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, which makes its debut tonight as the Hollywood Bowl’s resident jazz ensemble, will also make its European debut at next week’s “Umbria Jazz ‘99” festival in Perugia, Italy. . . . Two hosts of American-style talk shows on German television have received anonymous death threats from viewers who say their shows are too vulgar, German prosecutors said Monday. The threatening letters have demanded that the popular shows change their low-brow content.