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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

Weekend Estimates

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111 Responses to “Weekend Estimates”

  1. JSPartisan says:

    Black Panther, is going to be a 600m dollar movie, and possibly propel Infinity War into the Avatar domestic territory. How exactly are the Marvel Studio films PEAKING right when this ten year journey comes to an end? That’s absolutely insane.

  2. Bulldog68 says:

    Not only a $600m movie, it will have to implode for it not to be Marvel’s biggest movie domestically ever. It only needs $62m and because of these fantastic weekends it’s ahead of The Avengers by $50m. I can’t imagine it would cede that much ground even though Avengers may start having better week days. BP may still have as much as $100m left in the tank if it continues to hold this way.

    Just phenomenal.

    In what I think is a weird twist, no doubt Marvel built the foundation upon which this success is built, but I think BP might have actually benefited from Wonder Woman too. Many of the columns prior to release mentioned WW in equal measure if not more so than BP’s first successful appearance in Civil War. BP benefited from WW being so good, with the right director and right star belonging to an underrepresented sect of Hollywood. These two movies actually compliment each other arguably more so than any other movies in their respective universes, and would actually make a great evening watching back to back. They are both so unique

  3. Dr Wally Rises says:

    This weekend actually holds one of the most quietly significant box office stories in history. Honestly, hear me out. Unless someone can think of another example, Jumanji might just be the first contemporary movie to still be in the top ten making money in theatres while at the same time also being released on home video (it dropped on ITunes and Amazon this week, with the Blu Ray out on the 20th). I don’t recall that ever happening before (outside of re-releases, 3D conversions of old blockbusters etc). Now, is that a comment on the movie’s longevity? Or a commentary on the rapidly contracting theatrical window? My guess is a little of both, but if a new blockbuster can continue to do business in theatres while also still being a keystroke away on home video, is that one more step on the ultimate road to day-and-date?

  4. Heather says:

    Regarding Jumanji..I’m surprised Sony didn’t delay the home video release after seeing the legs it had. Same with the greatest showman.

  5. Bender says:

    Frozen was released on DVD March 18th 2014, its 117th day in theatres where it was #11. Two days before on the Sunday it was 9th place.
    Avatar was 13th place when its DVD was released, it was in its 124th day in release.
    Jumanji will be in release 90 days when the DVD hits.

    Greatest Showman is not released until April 10th, still a ways away.

  6. EtGuild2 says:

    Speaking of that, some late-2017 updates:

    *COCO became Pixar’s 3rd biggest worldwide grosser this week. Internationally, it’s #4 just behind DORY, and #1 among the studio’s first-run originals (NEMO’s cume is partly the 3D re-release).

    *JUMANJI looks like it’ll eventually pass SPIDER-MAN to become Sony’s all-time domestic grosser….unless Sony pulls it more quickly than I’d expect to avoid the ignominy of JUMANJI 2 being it’s top all-timer.

    *GREATEST SHOWMAN has a good chance to become the 2nd biggest non-Disney animated/princess musical of all-time behind GREASE still. Closing in on CHICAGO.

  7. Night Owl says:

    I think Black Panther is definitely guaranteed to be their biggest domestically at this point, bumping Avengers (and the Last Jedi for that matter). Jurassic World may hold on to its spot though.

    I’m not sure about Infinity War honestly. It looks..busy. It will open beyond massive of course; but Civil War (with almost all the characters) was $408 million domestic. Guardians 2 got strong reviews and went up by next to nothing domestically. Iron Man 3 post-Avengers saw a just under $100 million boost, which would be healthy. Black Panther brought in the casuals and the once a year movie crowd. They are less likely to be back. Black Panther might bump the opening but if Wakanda is a 15 minute sequence near the end or something? Eh, that’s not going to interest the casuals. I think Marvel would be thrilled with $500 million domestic. Expectations beyond that should be measured.

  8. JSPartisan says:

    Iron Man 3 is a billion dollar movie, because of the international post Avengers boost. Civil War, was the biggest movie of its year. Guardians made slightly more money than the previous, but it still made money. Everything they’ve made for the last two years but Doctor Strange, because it’s Doctor Strange, has made over 800m dollars. They are peaking right now, and Infinity War is the culmination of it all.

    Black Panther and Wakanda, are a big part of that movie. The ending of that movie might culminate in Wakanda. Let me just point out again twitter, where the word going around is this, “I can’t believe I can go back to Wakanda in under two months.” You get enough of those folks who saw Black Panther, to see it. You are getting into rarified air.

    If Infinity War does 500m. That’s under performing, but you are taking the argument Geoff had for years over that movie. Baseline for Infinity War, has to be 600m, and yes, that is insane.

  9. David Adams says:

    It’s still nuts to me to realize that Black Panther will still be in first run theaters when Infinity War opens. (I’m sure Disney will hold opening night double features on 4/25 and/or 4/26)

  10. palmtree says:

    Infinity Wars will do Avatar numbers at the least. BP’s numbers are only a taste of the goodwill and rabidness of the audience for this franchise.

  11. Bulldog68 says:

    Infinity Wars definitely has a shot at the Opening Weekend title. Legs to propel it past Avatar may be difficult. BP has basically had four weeks to itself. IW will face Deadpool 2 in wk 3 and Han Solo in wk 4. That’s a lot of high profile franchise product, that will prove more than just a Wrinkle in Time.

  12. Bulldog68 says:

    And I just took a peak at the August schedule, unless I’m missing something, it looks wide open for the Last Blockbuster of Summer flick like GotG1 and Suicide Squad was able to capitalize on.

  13. palmtree says:

    Actually, Deadpool is week 4 and Solo is week 5. Remember, they pushed Infinity Wars up a week to April 27th. Smart choice considering the discussion we’re having. I think it’ll be well into $600m by the time the competition hits.

    And I’m guessing IW legs will take it above $700m, assuming it’s a good movie of course. If the movie sucks, then none of this will be possible.

  14. JSPartisan says:

    Exactly, Palmtree. If Infinity War is a freaking slog, and doesn’t take full advantage of the awesomeness of Wakanda. 500m is good. Seeing as Marvel Studios has two years of working these things out. BP can help IW get close to that rarified air.

    What will be interesting, is Deadpool 2. If it’s as bad as those test screenings are supposed to lead us to believe. If it’s a turkey. If Solo is a turkey, and the best movie in theatres for the entire month of May is INFINITY WAR. It could fit into it’s own slot, and be the 800m dollar movie.

    Again, there are a lot of ifs, but I am standing with Infinity War needing to make 600m domestic to not be considered, “disappointing.”

  15. Alex says:

    I think one should not ignore Wonder Woman / Justice League when looking at BP and Avengers. There was a significant decline in audiences. So clearly not everyone who watched WW watched JL after that, despite WW being in it. Besides reviews and drama behind the scenes, there are 2 groups of people that matter here. Those who just want to see the movie because auf WW in the lead in her own story as a female hero front and center and who maybe catch up with her in JL on netflix later. And there are those who watched WW because of the hype, found it just “good” and that’s not enough reason to watch her again in JL

    The same could happen again with BP/Avengers. On a much higher level than WW/JL of course. Avengers will still make more than a billion easily. And BP is better than WW and the last Avenger still a better movie than JL.

    But just like WW, BP is not without some some major flaws people recognize, so it might be possible, that Avengers does not suddenly lands above 1.5 billion again.

  16. EtGuild2 says:

    I’m surprised that there’s any debate whatsoever about BLACK PANTHER topping AVENGERS 1 domestically at this point. It’s running 10 days ahead, which means it’s already going to be chipping away at it’s $11 million sixth weekend starting today.

    JURASSIC WORLD is the domestic target, and the most interesting to me is whether it can crack the Top 10 worldwide. It’s running alongside BEAUTY AND THE BEAST during it’s Japanese (final territory) opening (BATB is 11th but FROZEN is a horrible comp because of Japan), and it’s crushing it domestically by such a wide margin at the same point in time it should be able to overcome those svelte Japanese legs.

    LAST JEDI worldwide looks like a heavy lift at the moment, but who knows.

  17. Gonzalo says:

    I nor my 17 year-old son watched ‘Black Panther’ but We intent on seeing ‘Infinity War’. That movie is the must-see movie of 2018 (and, probably, ‘Deadpool 2’).

  18. Hcat says:

    Took the family to see Black Panther, and even my wife who has never had interest in seeing a MCU movie before loved the hell out it. It will be a horse race between BP and IW, partly because we have no idea how much more BP has in its tank. There is a massive audience for IW but BP might be crossing over into original Star Wars/Batman territory as far as cultural phenom.

    JS, where did you read about Deadpool test screenings? Curious but I find it entirely believable, I thought Deadpool would age like the Hangover movies, once the initial fun of the bawdy charm wears off they would become desperate and rote. Sounds like it might have happened sooner rather than later though.

  19. EtGuild2 says:

    Crazy BLACK PANTHER possibility: The movie could become the first release this decade to spend 5 weekends at #1, and the second release this century (AVATAR).

    How nuts is that? TOMB RAIDER is only tracking at $25-$30 million so it seems quite possible.

  20. JSPartisan says:

    The thing with WW and JL, is that the DCEU has nothing in common with the MSCU. Wonder Woman became what it was, in spite of the DCEU. It had to overcome the stink of those films, have amazing legs, and be something the country really needed in 2017.

    BP, is part of a franchise that has had 4 of 5 movies, that have made over 800m dollars. It is a beloved franchise, and that gets a caveat the DCEU films have never ever had… people live them… a lot.

    BP, may have brought people into the fold, that have never once thought about these movies. Again, it’s all conjecture at this point, but an Avengers movie not making JW money at this point… after what happened with BP, would be a massive let down.

    HC, Grace Randolph brought up it up on her last video. It was the first that I heard/read about it. I’d imagine, that they are taking TJ Miller out of film, because f that guy. Nevertheless, Deadpool is a really rewatchable movie. Unlike the Hangover films, that I still can’t believe were a thing.

  21. Dr Wally Rises says:

    The first Hangover holds up. Not just because it’s funny. Because it has a sturdy, properly structured, cleverly constructed screenplay.

  22. Stella's Boy says:

    I found Thoroughbreds a little disappointing. I love the cast and they are all outstanding. I was certainly intrigued from the start and kept expecting it to become more than a low-key curiosity and mildly engaging. It just never does though. It never kicks it into high gear. Just didn’t make much of an impression on me outside of admiring the performances. Anton sure was a great actor. So sad.

    It’s fun to see a trailer for something you’ve never heard of. Doesn’t happen all that often, but it did today. Gemini played before Thoroughbreds. That one totally slipped under my radar. Looks promising.

    On the other hand, Deadpool 2 looks even worse than Deadpool. That’s one bad trailer that isn’t half as funny or clever as it thinks it is. Looks really stupid.

    I keep trying to like the MCU more. My kids are into it and that’s fun, but they like the movies far more than I do. Recently we watched Spiderman: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok. They’re fine. I didn’t hate them, so that’s an improvement. But I didn’t find them as wonderful as most people seem to. They’re too long and overstuffed and often quite boring. Different strokes.

  23. Glamourboy says:

    JS, I think Black Panther may even end up being as infamous as TFEOC but I do think that SCO is going to be even bigger than TGM, that is if DZ and RA deliver better than a NFTE movie.

  24. Hcat says:

    Stella, found the new Spidey rather boring as well as with most reboots they overcompensated in the opposite direction, so while they did a nice job on the teenage Spider-Man learnin the trade aspect I don’t remember a single stand out action sequence. Raimi at least knew how to move the camera so you’re swinging through the buildings alongside Spidey. And even with that Raimi was only 1 for 3 (but oh what a one).

  25. JSPartisan says:

    GB, ITHTFC.

    HC, yeah. If you are still pining for Spidey 2. The glory and the wonder of finally having Pete, as he should be on screen. Probably won’t work for you, but Homecoming has amazing action sequences that few marvel Studios movies have ever touched.

  26. Alex says:

    @JSPartisan

    The point I’m trying to make is that undoubtedly many watched WW or BP expecting something that goes beyond the comicbook movie standards. Movies they mostly ignored. In WW a unqiue womens perspective on war and combat and maybe an alternative solution instead o more fighting. But it all ended with a big fight, like any other move before. Why should they be interested in WW further story (JL). There’s no real difference.

    The same for BP. The movie promised a glimpse in a different (partly fictional) society, rarely seen in movies. And it shows a lot of it. Great. But does the movie do something interesting with that? You know, like a 100 movies before that showed alternative societies and what it means for the people living in it? No, again it’s bascically the same old stuff as in previous movies. The plot is again too much about some boring futuristic super weapons as seen in Iron Man 1 and 2, as a side plot in Avengers 1, The blue laser things in Captain America 1 and the helicarriers in Captain America 2. Am I missing one?

    Wakanda is advanced in tech, but terribly backwards in other aspects of life. What a beautiful conflict for a great movie. Large parts of the world moved on to become a democracy, to give the people a voice, but Wakanda stayed a monarchy. Why?
    What about men and women? Is there a chance for women to become ruler? What if that Q clone wants to be queen? The ruler is chosen by combat. She barely weighs 100 pounds. Is she expected to win against big muscular men that weight twice as much? Or is there an option to decide who rules by playing chess instead?
    What about the common people. Some live in skyscrapers, some in huts. Can they choose freely where they want to live or are they bound to their tribe (there were 5 right?). Monarchies normally don’t grant that kind of freedom. They can’t leave their country. Why should we believe they can leave their village?

    Super Duper Technology is in way too many movies. It’s boring. And when a movie is boring, minds wander and people start to think about other stuff that would make a movie more interesting. That’s not good and for many that happend with BP.

    How awesome would it have been if Killmonger didn’t come to Wakanda to take weapons out of the country, but instead came to Wakanda to bring them democracy.

    It’s a solid superhero movie but not good enough to convince many people, that rarely see these kind of movies, but gave it a try, to stick around for the next one. So it might be possible that Avengers 3 doesn’t improve on Avengers 1.

  27. Stella's Boy says:

    Agreed hcat. I saw it a few days ago and would not characterize any of the action as amazing. I did like Holland. Very appealing kid.

  28. Bulldog says:

    @Gonzalo, I was wondering why no interest at all in BP? People have their individual tastes of course but one would think that if you’re fan of The Avengers, you’d at least be interested in its characters.

    Also too, with Marvel movies getting better and better quality wise IMO, what about BP did not make you even curious to check it out?

  29. Hcat says:

    Alex, though I am loathe to defend comic book movies there is some differences between WW and BP and the rest of the genre. They dig into the morality deeper than the usual plug the hole in the sky narratives, and while we are probably reaching a time where it has been said enough the importance of their representation onscreen is immense. I am not sure if anyone was looking for an Amazon to find an alternative solution, they were there specifically to see Wonder Woman kick ass.

    Coogler has now directed two movies with the most hackneyed templates (superhero origin with daddy issues, Rocky, nuff said) and made them remarkably fresh. You knew there would be a Calvary charge in Panther yet my pulse quickened when it came. You knew Creed was going to go for a run yet when it happened it felt fresh, and when the theme kicked in during the final fight…well damn that’s why I watch movies.

  30. Bender says:

    Is there anything better than being the only person in the theatre?!? I cant think of one. I did spend the first 15 minutes worrying/hoping that no one else would interrupt my relaxation. If they didn’t do those annoying ‘theatre checks’ every 20 minutes I woulda been in absolute heaven.
    Just saw Gringo. What a surprise. I loved it. Very funny.

  31. JSPartisan says:

    Alex, it’s called Black Twitter, and it disagrees with you on seeing more Black Panther. Also, BP is fine as it is, and you seem to be missing the point of an African nation being the most technology advanced on earth. Being the most powerful nation on earth.

    HC, we wanted to see Wondie stick it to the patriarchy, and we got that in spades!

  32. palmtree says:

    The only way Avengers 3 doesn’t top Avengers 1 is if the movie isn’t good, as in sucks hard. Because if the movie achieves even just the minimum of the ambition it set out to do, it’ll sell.

  33. YancySkancy says:

    “JS, I think Black Panther may even end up being as infamous as TFEOC but I do think that SCO is going to be even bigger than TGM, that is if DZ and RA deliver better than a NFTE movie.”

    Anyone know where I can get one of those Enigma code-breaking machines?

  34. palmtree says:

    “Is there anything better than being the only person in the theatre?!? ”

    I’ve been seeing movies on the morning of opening day, and it’s rather glorious. No lines. No sold out screenings. Only hard-core movie lovers who woke up early like me to beat the rush. And to top it off, you exit the movie with your entire day still ahead of you.

  35. JSPartisan says:

    Yancy, GB is successfully taking the piss out of me, because I so had it coming. I PUSHED THE ABBREVIATIONS TOO FAR! TOO… DARN… FAR!

    I saw the movie Redbelt, with just my girlfriend. It was a totally surreal experience.

  36. spassky says:

    “If they didn’t do those annoying ‘theatre checks’ every 20 minutes I woulda been in absolute heaven.”

    @Bender… what did you want to do in there? haha

    I got real close to a solo “Bladerunner 2049” and then… fat guy showed up, took off his shoes, and propped his feat on the headrest two seats down from me. [Insert MoviePass is ruining the theater experience polemic]

  37. cadavra says:

    And while we’re at it, what is ITHTFC?

  38. JSPartisan says:

    I totally had that f*coming.

    Here’s a question: what does Hollywood do about China? It’s been the center, the hub, of international box office. Now, it’s basically regressing to what it was, and that cannot be a good thing for any industry from an outside country. Especially an industry in Hollywood, that has used those Chinese dollars to prop those international grosses.

  39. Alex says:

    @JSPartisan

    I have no doubt, that Black Twitter is all for that. I read a 100 times this past few months how important representation is and it’s not difficult to understand. I mean there are also russian and chinese superhero movies for that very reason.

    And I am not missing the point of anything. We have a pretty good school eductation here in Germany and history and economics is a big part of it. Even if I lived under a rock the past 38 years, I would know enough just after a few days. We have many newspapers that writes about culture and I am forced to pay 17.50€ a month so that I can watch 100 hours of cultural tv programs a week instead of 1 hour of the bachelor. And Black Panther was discussed extensively everywhere.

    And there it is, where the discussion also goes beyond black twitter, beyond representation and beyond the MCU. And not just here, but without a doubt in many other countries, too. And one of the main topics was what it means that the most technology advanced and powerful nation on earth also has one of the most backward societies on earth. As explained above in my 2nd post.

    There simply are many different POVs when you have a movie shown all over the world and is seen by people with different backgrounds and expectations. And many for which BP was the entry point to the MCU it was also already the exit. Because it was more interested in technology than humans.

  40. palmtree says:

    Alex, BP doesn’t have a monarchy exactly. Even though it’s based on blood, you still have to earn that power and can lose it to one of the other families. As a country not touched by colonization, it’s best not to think of it in terms of Western systems. Rather they developed a system unrelated to Western thought and history, and it has what seems to be a benevolent ruling class that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else for many possible reasons (vibranium, isolationism, culture, etc.).

    But even so, the idea that the way Wakanda is structured is backwards ignores a lot of progressive things about it. For example, the women in Wakanda are pretty powerful and are considered warriors, scientists, and leaders. I don’t see this being equally the case in many advanced Western countries.

    And as far as technology goes, BP has plenty of scenes that do not revolve around technology, but that puts human relationships, characters, and emotions at the forefront. Certainly it does this more than the average Marvel movie. In fact, I enjoyed it emotionally more the second time as I noticed more the character and thematic development that I missed the first time around. Maybe you could try to watch it again?

  41. Pete B. says:

    Yancy, it’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one scratching my head on Glamour’s post.

  42. Alex says:

    @palmtree.

    Regarding strong women and earning that power. Let me quote myself from my 2nd post:

    “What about men and women? Is there a chance for women to become ruler? What if that Q clone wants to be queen? The ruler is chosen by combat. She barely weighs 100 pounds. Is she expected to win against big muscular men that weight twice as much? Or is there an option to decide who rules by playing chess instead?”

    There seems to be a glass ceiling. And nobody of these strong women cares.

    I’ll see the move again when it arrives on blu-ray. And yes, the movie cares a lot about it’s people and often goes deeper than most other MCU movies. But it stays away from some tough issues. Like the one mentioned just now. Advanced tech talk, not much talk about an advanced society. A little bit dissapointing. Like a said solid movie. Like most MCU of the last few years. But not what it could have been.

  43. Hcat says:

    I just want to say I fell pretty hard for little sister, I haven’t had a movie crush this bad in awhile but man I hope she finds a ton of work after this. But that did make me wonder when they fled the castle with the last of the power weed, why the sister who was also of royal blood drink it down. I get that she wouldn’t have an army behind like the mountain king but it didn’t seem to cross her mind.

  44. JSPartisan says:

    The Harry Potter prequel trailer is fun, then Johnny Depp up shows. Boo.

  45. Bulldog says:

    “JS, I think Black Panther may even end up being as infamous as TFEOC but I do think that SCO is going to be even bigger than TGM, that is if DZ and RA deliver better than a NFTE movie.”

    Paging Alan Turing…paging Alan Turing. Or maybe Glamourboy is just fucking with us.

  46. JSPartisan says:

    Yeah. That’s the joke.

  47. palmtree says:

    Alex, can women in Wakanda challenge the king? Yes, it is possible. The movie makes it clear, because it actually happens at one point! And Okoye, a woman, is frequently described as being the best fighter in Wakanda. People aren’t challenging T’challa bc he’s a good guy, not because of a glass ceiling.

  48. movieman says:

    Bender- Funny you should mention private screenings and “Gringo” in the same post.
    I had precisely that: a private screening of “Gringo” on Sunday afternoon.
    It is fun, although like most shaggy dog Tarantino derivatives it does run on a bit.

    Yes, theater checks are damn annoying, especially since they don’t accomplish a damn thing.
    For example, I’ve never seen any of those hall monitors even attempt to stop the crazy texters or chatty cathy’s from spoiling the “moviegoing experience” (what a charmingly old-fashioned concept!) for everyone else.

  49. Alex says:

    @palmtreee
    Ok, I missed that once a woman challenged a king to a fight. But chess is still not an option right? A large part of womens (non violent) fight for equality in the real world is the removal of hurdles that give one gender an unfair advantage.

    Like I said early on, the movie failed to deliver on some suggestions that it has more to offer than your average (good) MCU film. And this issue above ist part of the reason. It simply doesn’t do too much interesting with its unique location and history beyond basic king/usuper stuff and some fancy tech.

  50. palmtree says:

    It’s funny that you should mention chess as a way for an African woman to beat men, because Disney made a movie about that only a few years ago: Queen of Katwe. Very few people saw it despite it being a pretty good movie.

    So in answer to your question, I’m not surprised they didn’t go with chess. I happen to love chess and would probably have been riveted, but as far as creating an expensive blockbuster, I don’t see that working. It’s easy to criticize their choices, but it’s much harder to actually solve how to make it both interesting AND profitable.

  51. Hcat says:

    Alex,

    I am not comprehending why, after decades of male superheros there is finally some female representation and you feel they should play board games. The whole point is the fighting, a physical depiction of resistance in a visual medium. Wakanda and Paradise Island are no more the real world than Gotham, so why should the former need to play by different rules than the latter?

  52. Ray Pride says:

    BTW, feel free to spell words out…

    The acronyms are getting out of hand!

  53. palmtree says:

    Ray, FOMO much?

  54. Ray Pride says:

    More of a GBBRSH problem.

  55. cadavra says:

    Why can’t we just use a key word, like SHAPE or BILLBOARDS? Often when I see POTC I’m unsure if they mean PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN or PASSION OF THE CHRIST.

  56. JSPartisan says:

    Just running it into the ground. I swear to god, that I knew this was going to happen. I kept doing it, and just ignored the consequence. Darn it. Just. Darn it.

  57. Night Owl says:

    I kind of find it perfect how this thread has gone over 50 comments without ever mentioning the only big weekend release. Not much to say. Wrinkle wasn’t offensively bad and it wasn’t very good. Well intentioned. Boringly shot (who shoots a sci-fi/fantasy in 90% close ups?? I was having Les Miserables PTSD flashbacks!). Some grace moments from the cast. Just, “meh”. Moving on.

    I can’t guess Black Panther’s worldwide final at this point. China word of mouth is nothing to write home about so don’t expect much more there. But domestic should definitely make up for some of that. We will see.

  58. EtGuild2 says:

    Not sure what is going on with the weekday numbers (Spring Break and nasty weather?), but BLACK PANTHER’s Monday/Tuesday takes are monstrous. Sub-20% drops suddenly ups the chances of hitting $650 million substantially.

    It’ll now quite possibly become the second fastest movie to $600 million on Sunday, definitely Monday, beating JURASSIC WORLD by four or five days.

  59. Hcat says:

    Would like to also point out that Death of Stalin was IFC’s biggest debut since Boyhood. I know there are plenty of people that adore Veep, but the wait for another feature by this guy was almost unbearable. Hope they are able to capitalize on this and make it a must see for the indie crowd.

    Thought that Wrinkle might be the Tomorrowland, Looking Glass entry for Disney this year, but given that they kept the budget to a hundred million they may leave Worldwide release with only the marketing costs on the table to be made up from DVD and television. That should be a rosier output than say Cars 3 last year (assuming the floor for Pixar movies remains 200 million).

  60. Dr Wally Rises says:

    “JS, I think Black Panther may even end up being as infamous as TFEOC but I do think that SCO is going to be even bigger than TGM, that is if DZ and RA deliver better than a NFTE movie.”

    This thread is reminding me of Bruno Kirby’s first scene with Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam -‘Scuse me Sir, seeing as how the VP’s such a VIP, maybe we should keep the PC on the QT, because if it leaks to the VC, he could end up MIA, then we’d all be put out on KP’.

  61. Hcat says:

    Quickly scanned the Danny Boyle Bond Announcement linked to Variety (thank you Mr. Pride) and saw him mention that he was working on a script from Richard Curtis which at first I thought was referring to Bond 25 and I thought “Man this is going to be a disaster”. Luckily that’s just the project that’s Boyles going to pre-Bond.
    But how do they not have a Bond script yet? What the hell has been happening since the last installment, are they still just counting the money? Its not like EON has a lot of stuff on their plate.

  62. Ray Pride says:

    No BOND, ACTUALLY?

  63. Bulldog says:

    With all the talk of having a black Bond, I’d be way more interested if Idris Elba was the heavy.

  64. Triple Option says:

    Was the previous Bond script thrown out per condition of Boyle coming on board?

    cadavra wrote: Why can’t we just use a key word, like SHAPE or BILLBOARDS?”

    That’s what I try to do. I’ll do other abbr if I’ve previously written it out in that same post. Some of these concoctions seem more difficult to figure than just writing it out. We don’t need to be rude to people here but I wish there was a way to alert people when I skipped a post because it wasn’t worth the effort to try to figure out.

  65. palmtree says:

    Once there’s a consensus abbreviation, we should just go with that. SHAPE makes sense, sure, but BILLBOARDS is twice as long as SHAPE to type out. 3BB isn’t that confusing, is it?

  66. JSPartisan says:

    The Shape of Water already has an abbreviation: FFtM

    Outside of that, they apparently had a script, HC. Craig talked about it. It was basically, the beginning of Live and Let Die in movie form. After the ending of Spectre. I would hope Bond would get better than that garbage. Here’s hoping Boyle fixes it, and gives this Bond a proper send off. Seeing as the next Bond, will most likely be… a millennial Bond.

  67. Hcat says:

    I don’t care who the next Bond is as long as the only do a trilogy. We’ve had a 1. 2, 4 Craig’s our five Connery six and Moore 7. They can start over after that but I just like the symmetry that would give.

  68. Ray Pride says:

    3BB looks like either weird B2B jargon or a sexual perversion.

    It’s not how long it takes to type, it’s just turning a paragraph all MEGO. (My Eyes Glaze Over)

  69. palmtree says:

    “3BB looks like either weird B2B jargon or a sexual perversion.”

    Wouldn’t that only make one more interested in reading it? 😀

    Besides I thought Lex was gone.

  70. brack says:

    I follow Lex on twitter. He’s pretty entertaining and not as bad as he was on here.

  71. amblinman says:

    The new trailer for Avengers. Jesus. It’s going to make *all* the money.

  72. JSPartisan says:

    It may be the first ever… 300m dollar opening weekend. The idea of that, sounds/reads insane, but it’s “seems” possible. I’d imagine, that it could also break every quickness record, that TLJ or TFA established.

  73. spassky says:

    You don’t think it’s overkill? Will people ever be sick of Marvel heroes? It looks cool, but outside of the people who will go to these every time, are an excess of people interested in another marvel movie within 2-3 months?

  74. AdamL says:

    I was hoping Nolan would direct the next Bond. I would have been excited to see that, but Boyle is just a little bit of a shrug. That said, I’m positively in raptures compared to when they were hiring hacks like Tamahori. What on earth were they thinking back in the dark days?!

    I suspect they’ve been reading scripts for a while and have rejected Purvis and Wade’s latest, which is good news. It was time for those two to be retired from the franchise.

  75. Hcat says:

    I would agree that Apted and Spottiswoode were wrong for the gig, but Tamahori had made some above average flicks prior to his Bond and Campbell returned to deliver the series best. EON has always avoided heavy hitters like Nolan for the franchise.

  76. Bulldog says:

    Seeing that Panther has been in some circles viewed as a Bondesque type of flick, maybe Ryan Coogler could take the helm.

  77. Bulldog says:

    And looks like BP just had a bigger 4th week gross than TFA. And it’s not even summer to goose up those weekday numbers. Stunning.

  78. Hcat says:

    Don’t they still have an unwritten rule where the Bond director has to be a subject of the Queen?

    But I would love to see Coogler do an entirely original story. He had his Batman moment now he needs his Prestige and Memento.

  79. Bulldog says:

    What would you consider Fruitvale Station? He wrote it.

  80. Spassky says:

    Based on a true story

  81. brack says:

    I think Black Panther has only stoked the fire for Infinity War. It’s already set record presales in less than 24 hours. Having all the characters finally meet from Phase 2 and 3 will pay off methinks. The trailer is brilliant, giving just enough without really giving away anything. I’m excited.

  82. leahnz says:

    i hope the avengers ALL FUCKING DIE

    “they were hiring hacks like Tamahori”
    gtfoh

  83. JSPartisan says:

    Leah… so tacky.

    Spassky… No.

  84. Stella's Boy says:

    spassky yes. I see a preview for another Avengers movie and I want to gouge my eyes out. But you know different strokes.

    The Edge and Once Were Warriors are outstanding films. Tamahori isn’t a hack. “What one man can do another can do!”

  85. JSPartisan says:

    Yeah. I see a trailer for some random horror movie, and I am like, “Oh wow. Some ahole wants to kill some people again just cause. Wow. How interesting.” Turnabout, is fair play :D!

    Here’s the thing: Superman is 80 years old this year. Batman is 79 years old. Spider-Man is 56 years old. While Cap is 71 years old, and Tony is 55, and T’Challa is 52. Realize, that these characters have been popular, since our grandparents were young and having fun. My dad, actually, so it’s rather weird to want them to go away, when they have relatively just showed up on screen.

    Why I posted the above in response to SB, is that I never see those horror trailers and go, “I just want to gouge my eyes out.” It’s such a needlessly expressive response, because I don’t root for movies only a fraction of the US will see, to disappear. I watch horror trailers all the time on YouTube. It’s called the UHM trailer channel. Subscribe if you have not already. The thing is, even joking about being violently repulsed by a genre that millions of people love, is a bit rude.

    Outside of that, Tamahori is far from a hack. If you haven’t seen The Edger or Once Were Warriors, then you are really missing out on some amazing filmmaking.

  86. JSPartisan says:

    WHILE and the FRIGGIN’ EDGE!

    Also, I am not stating that I haven’t been rude. I am sure, you can search, and there’s some garbage comment about some genre. It was ridiculous on my part, and it’s just not something I “get” anymore.

  87. leahnz says:

    old-school action/adventure thrillers have mostly gone the way of the dodo. bart the bear lives on in our nightmares

    js, i’m not packing my bags for a guilt trip because i’m sick of the superhero glut – particularly of the contrived superhero team-up battles where the stakes are low because the spectacle isn’t believable in your gut, there’s no real sense of peril in a OTT shitshow orgy of nonsense – seemingly the culmination of the steady decline in real-world, properly staged and executed action by directors with innate flair and a natural eye for the art of action cinema (with a few exceptions; whoda thunk the director of ‘monster’ would be one of few to produce the type of clean, rousing old-school action that gives me that thrilling, dangerous sensation in my nethers)

    also how does it ever matter if the avengers are killed off, they’ll just get a do-over in 2 yrs

  88. brack says:

    Asking for 90s actions movies to come back is like asking for Westerns to make a comeback. Not gonna happen.

  89. Stella's Boy says:

    Right brack so we just rewatch the good ones. Just the other day I watched The Last Boy Scout for the first time in ages. Such a fun flick.

    Very well-said leah. Captures how I feel. I am so sick of them and the trailers are painful to sit through. Not going to apologize or feel bad for honestly feeling that way. And horror is crapped on all the time. Used to it. Different strokes.

  90. JSPartisan says:

    And my reverse, 90s action movies had zero stakes, and most of the stakes were all tropes. It works both way, but it is what it is.

    Any Avenger who dies, matters. This is the biggest franchise on earth. Earth. Not the US, but Earth, so anyone of them dying is going to lead to a lot of internet ink, a lot of videos, and so on and so forth. Again, death in fictions suck, for the most part, because they never represent what death really is. Also, Doc Strange has a time stone, so wanting someone to “die,” for your “gut,” is weird. Whatever :D!

    SB, I wasn’t crapping on it, but making a point that you get really defensive about horror. Yet, you have no problem crapping all over stuff other people like.

  91. movieman says:

    Agree w/ Leah.
    I have almost zero enthusiasm about another “Avengers.”
    Or another “Jurassic,” “Mamma Mia,” “Hotel Transylvania,” “Purge,” “Deadpool” and “Ant-Man” either.
    Feels like I’ve already seen them, multiple times.
    Same old, same old, yada-yadda.
    Summer 2018 looks exceptionally cruel on paper.
    The only sequels/reboots I’m not actively dreading are “Sicario 2,” “The Incredibles 2” and the femme-driven “Ocean’s.”

  92. palmtree says:

    The superhero team-up thing is just a soap opera and/or workplace comedy, and it’s about seeing all the characters you’ve seen in the past 18 movies packed into one movie. Even if the action sucks, it’s still a bunch of characters I care about having fellowship. And after all this build up, they’ve earned it.

    And then if they all died, that would actually be kinda cool in a Red Wedding sort of way. At this point, they could do almost anything as long as we see these characters doing what they do.

  93. brack says:

    You know what’s easy to do? Not pay attention to movies you don’t care about seeing. I’ve never seen Mama Mia or Hotel Transylvania. It has nothing to do with quality, it’s simply because I don’t care. Do I feel the need to moan about them? No.

  94. movieman says:

    It’s my job, Brack. I have to see them.
    Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised; more often not.
    But see them I must.

  95. Stella's Boy says:

    It’s fun to talk about movies though.

  96. Triple Option says:

    I think the superhero team up is based on studios’ fear of not making enough money on one film with only one character. Add more, make it bigger, that’s the only way to answer anything in modern day America.

  97. leahnz says:

    a note: since there’s fellow devourers of horror on here maybe check out ‘the ritual’ (i think it’s on US Netflix), lord knows when it comes to horror i’m jaded and cynical at this point but i found it kinda creepy and unsettling and it’s managed to stay with me

    (was there any ‘annihilation’ discussion here in a thread that i happened to miss? questions, to quote roy batty)

  98. Stella's Boy says:

    I saw The Ritual and really enjoyed it. Cool creature. It is pretty creepy and unsettling. Good little flick.

  99. leahnz says:

    oh yay, glad people are seeing it

    obviously one of the challenges (perhaps THE challenge) in making effective horror is to find that special groove within the classic horror structure wherein the build-up and momentum to the inevitable third-act reveal is maintained right through the climax, such a delicate balancing act given the ramping-up of tension, chills and suspense is all undone if the pay-off scares are underwhelming/overblown. it’s a special feeling in the gut when it’s done well.
    (i mean this applies to all narrative cinema to a degree, really, but in particular to horror given its visceral nature. i’ll never understand the lack of props and respect good horror film-making seems to get in the film-making hierarchy, genuinely creeping people out is quite difficult)

  100. JSPartisan says:

    I saw the Ritual trailer, and it looked like the same thing that most new horror loves to do: a twist on something. I passed it, and watched El Ministerio Del Tiempo. It’s cool to see how Spain shows a time travel story. It’s so different than the English speaking world.

    Movieman, I am with brack. I also hold, that if you hate the movies that everyone else loves so damn much, that maybe you should get a job doing something that doesn’t make you miserable? I am not stating, that you suck for finding Summer fare miserable. Not at all. I just feel for a human being, that suffers is all.

  101. Stella's Boy says:

    There’s nothing wrong with a familiar story that’s told well. The Ritual is an eerie slow burn with a solid payoff. The creature is not what you’d expect and quite cool. But it helps if you actually like the genre. Certainly you can appreciate that.

  102. amblinman says:

    @JS The Ritual is the shit. It’s not a “thing” of another thing, just a well told story with a legitimately “what the fuck is THAT” thing at the center of it.

    On another note: I’ve given up hating superhero movies. Black Panther convinced me even with Marvel, it’s all about the movie and not the “genre”. I’m a huge 80’s/90’s action movie guy but those movies weren’t any better or worse than what’s popular now. HOWEVER, and I say this granting the fact that perhaps I’m sliding into “They don’t make ’em like they used to” age, but it seems we don’t have nearly as many solid journeymen directors as we used to. Harold Becker, Taylor Hackford, Tony Scot, etc (Scott could be a step above at times). There seemed to be a fleet of good filmmakers who could take vanilla genre pieces and tell the shit out of them.

  103. JSPartisan says:

    SB, I like the genre just fine. I saw the trailer for the Ritual, and I knew where it was going. Did I know the monster was some wigged out shit? No. It just’ something about modern horror shows/films, that irks me. Guess what though? Still not gouging my eyes out over something that you three enjoyed. Didn’t see the trailer and was like, “Can we stop making these things?” I accept that somethings aren’t for my sensibility, but it doesn’t mean I want to Jedha them.

    It’s just, it’s the Summer movie season, and not everything is for everyone. Referring to it as brutal? Ant-man and Wasp? Fun time Peyton Reed film? Brutal? There are brutal fills in the world, but a goofy superhero film being seen as, “Brutal,” is just a weird detachment for me. Again, brack is hundred percent right: just ignore it… even if it’s your job! Defer that stuff… if possible.

    Man, I would like to point to the A-Team film. I adore that film, and it was straight up an 80s updated action film. We know what happened: no one gave a crap about it. The world changed, and those journeymen directors became name directors. While the democratization of media thanks to tech and the internet, has made it where there are no journeymen. There are people who do Cop Car, then get a Spider-Man movie. The world has changed. Are we better or worse off, because of it? That’s on you.

  104. Stella's Boy says:

    In the past you have said you hate horror. But OK. As I have stated before i have kids who like them so I can’t ignore them. I like watching movies with them and they are into them. Plus, when people recommend movies to me and insist that something isn’t a typical superhero movie, I’m willing to give it a chance. Hoping to be surprised can be nice. Just doesn’t always happen. I didn’t hate Ragnarok or Homecoming. Just wasn’t all that impressed. Not to mention my friends like superhero movies and my workplace makes it impossible to ignore them. So that is in no way an option for many reasons.

  105. movieman says:

    Never used “brutal” to describe the “Ant-Man” sequel.
    Said that much of the summer slate appeared “cruel” (on paper).
    Wasn’t a fan of the first “Ant-Man” which I thought was something of a nothing-burger. The svelte run time was my favorite thing about it.

    “Summer movies” are part of the job description. I’ll survive, as will we all.

  106. Stella's Boy says:

    Also, whether I like them or not, they are an important part of culture right now. They matter. So I have no interest in ignoring them. Ignoring something you don’t like isn’t always viable or sensible. And with Logan, Wonder Woman, and Black Panther I liked three superhero movies in less than 12 months. So there’s that.

  107. Amblinman says:

    @JS I guess the difference is back in the 90’s a Cop Car would have led to an erotic thriller starring Andy Garcia instead of a giant franchise like Spider-Man. Now the rite of passage for actors is superhero movies instead of cop-chasing-serial-killers.

  108. movieman says:

    What SB said (including his three comic fave raves, although I’d add “Ragnarok” to the mix: it could be my favorite of that recent-ish bunch).

    A film critic can’t pretend comic book tentpoles (and their endless sequels, reboots, etc.) don’t exist because they have become “21st century Movie Culture.”
    To do so would effectively render said critic obsolete in a fanboy-dictated/dominated world.
    Parsing the great from the merely OK from the crap has always been part of the job.

  109. brack says:

    Well if it’s your job, I could understand not looking forward to another sequel, but I also wouldn’t care that much either. And hey, no Transformers this year, so it’s not going to be too bad of a summer, 😉

  110. cadavra says:

    Hey, my most-anticipated sequel this year is Tsui Hark’s latest DETECTIVE DEE adventure. If it’s one-quarter as good as RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON, which IMHO is the best action movie of at least the last quarter century, it’s gonna be a monster, at least for those lucky enough to be in a city where it’ll play and wise enough to seek it out.

  111. leahnz says:

    haha cadavra bringing the most cadavra of comments (when i was typing out that shit above about the sorry state of action flicks i actually thought to myself, back in the olden days there’d be cadavra with the much-needed asian action cinema angle, too funny)

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