April 18, 2024
The Hot Blog
amit on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
Christian on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
YancySkancy on: Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Hcat on: Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: I Should Be Doing Box Office
Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
see all »
[twitter-widget username="DavidPoland" hiderss="true" hidereplies="true" hidefrom="true" items="3" showts="60" title=" " targetBlank="true"][twitter-widget username="MCNTweets" hiderss="true" hidereplies="true" hidefrom="true" items="3" showts="60" title=" " targetBlank="true"]
Quote Unquotesee all »
It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
Is this for current Turkeys or are we talking about Young Sherlock Holmes, Alexander, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Allied etc.?
Or perhaps the largest of them all Rules Don’t Apply, which in the Fox accounting ledger was outgrossed in non adjusted income by Don Ameche films back when movie tickets were priced in ‘bits’
What about future turkeys like Robin Hood?
I’ll be happy for Thanksgiving to arrive just to not see another Robin Hood trailer.
Creed 2 is rapidly approaching that status as well.
Robin Hood is a perfect example.
Is anyone else worried about Creed 2? Its in different directorial hands, Stallone wrote the script which he did not contribute to last time, and the addition of Drago makes thematic sense but I don’t know if that’s the way to go. I thought Creed was the only sequel that got anywhere close to the original, if this is a Rocky IV level film (which I admit has its very of the 80s charms) it will be a giant comedown.
The TV spots I’ve seen for Creed 2 are pretty bad, and Stallone’s co-writer only has credit for a TV short. Would not be surprised if it’s a giant comedown.
Steven Caple Jr.’s “The Land” was terrific, so I’m holding out hope for “Creed 2.”
Pretty safe to predict that “Ralph Breaks the Internet” (and “Creed”) will be the big November 21st winners.
“Robin Hood”? Meh. I’m getting Daniel Radcliffe/ “Frankenstein” vibes.
“The Front Runner”? Still don’t believe it’s actually going wide next week. If it does, it’ll make Sony’s 2017 Thanksgiving release (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.”) look like “Incredibles 2.”
The b.o. forecast for “Green Book” isn’t great. Yeah, it’ll have some legs, but I still think Universal is making a big mistake by opening it wide this soon. An Xmas Day limited release with expansion in January makes a lot more commercial (and Oscar) sense. Especially since it’s widely considered to be the early favorite for BP.
“Fantastic Beasts,” “Grinch” and “Instant Family” will all bank some nice Turkey weekend bucks.
Thanks to Halloween and Grinch, Universal overtook WB for the #2 spot in market share, they probably will hold onto it next weekend but it is a horse race until the end of the year coming down to what tanks worse Aquaman or Mortal Engines (of course the Mule will probably outgross Marween but I can see that being close for the first two weeks, Mule will have legs).
“Mortal Instruments,” er, “Mortal Engines” looks like the biggest YA franchise wannabe disaster since “The Darkest Minds.” Unless it’s based on some hugely popular book series that tweens have devoured en masse globally (and which I’m completely oblivious to), I can’t imagine this not being DOA.
Peter Jackson’s reconstituted WW I doc that’s playing for two nights in December via Fathom Productions could outgross it.
“Aquaman” will be OK; “The Mule,” boffo; and “Marwen”…..yeuch/ugh/any combination thereof. Whenever I’m trapped into seeing the perfectly nauseating trailer, I feel like barfing.
Zemeckis needs to retire from directing feature films. ASAP.
HC, the Rockys are fine except for 5. 5? We don’t talk about 5.
I’m expecting Creed II to deliver about the same kind of experience as Rocky II – a comedown from the (surprisingly sensational) original but still pretty good.
Movieman, I think you’re off about Green Book – November (Thanksgiving weekend) to me seems like the perfect time to release it as it gives Academy voters more of a chance to see it with an audience – a critical thing for this kind of movie. What you’re suggesting is a Hidden Figures-like release pattern, while I’ve long believed that if Hidden Figures was released in November (or October) it would’ve won Best Picture.
JS, I am sure I will end up watching V again someday. The Rockys are sort of like the Bonds, the highs are transcendent, the lows are groaning but still rewatchable.
The films seem to follow his physique, and I prefer the shaggy bulky shuffling Rocky and Rocky films to the slick brightly lit marble of III and IV (where both the films and Stallone were remarkably cut). III gets by on its flash and humor. IV only really works as a time capsule, this was the 80s in America and as an instructional piece on how to properly cut a music video montage.
One of the largest flaws of the ongoing series was killing off beloved people just for emotional effect. Carl Weathers was as crucial to the Rocky movies as Stallone, losing him and Meredith took a lot of the joy out of the films.
Mark- “Green Book” will have an uphill battle holding onto screens everywhere but the biggest cities by mid-December. It’s just the Darwinian nature of today’s multiplex era.
Since most Oscar voters watch movies as screeners at home anyway, I don’t think hoi polloi reaction is much of a factor.
Interesting theory about “HF,” but I bet it wouldn’t have been as big a hit if it had been a 2016 Turkey Day release.
Of course, all conventional Oscar rules have been thrown out the window since
instituting the preferential ballot system; the demographic expansion of the voting pool; and widening the field of BP contenders from five to whatever # they damn well feel like that particular year.
So maybe you’re right, maybe I’m wrong.
Bill Goldman’s famous line about “nobody knowing anything” (in Hollywood) has never been truer than it is today.
Hidden Figures hit just perfect, strong word of mouth from festivals and then dropped so it wouldn’t compete with the shopping season and was the most recent film in the conversation.
Green Book will not be nearly as family friendly so its release pattern makes a little more sense following closer to Three Billboards and the Churchill film last year.
Yeah, but those two movies were (very) slowly platformed, Hcat. Most cities (like mine) didn’t get them until early 2018.
Universal seems determined to give “GB” a saturation break next week: which could dissipate its buzz if it underperforms, commercially dwarfed by more ostensibly escapist fare like “Beasts 2,” “Ralph 2,” “Creed 2” “Grinch 3” and possibly “Instant Family.”
HC. Stallone did an AMA with AICN during the Balboa release, and he pretty much confirmed he viewed killing of character as a plot device. It’s so weird, that everything in ROCKY from three onward is death. Death of Mickey, Creed, career, and Adrian. It’s already a different sort of series, then Stallone goes and makes four of the six movies about killing characters, to make Rocky feel something.
I found Overlord to be a mixed bag. The opening ten minutes is amazing. Tense and well-staged and quite thrilling. But the middle section drags a bit and I could have done with a little less time in the village. Also, and maybe I’m getting old, but in the first half everything is shot like AVP: Requiem. I could hardly see a damn thing. The home stretch has some cool moments and good effects, and the sound effects are great throughout, but I feel like it fails to capitalize on its potential. I wanted and expected it to be a little more batshit crazy in the third act. There’s not enough time in the basement with the doctor and his undead creations. I found the last 10-15 minutes pretty underwhelming all things considered. And I agree with leah and movieman re: the total lack of acknowledgement of racial issues at that time. Overall, not bad, but disappointing.
Also, I am not a fan of Split and think Unbreakable is OK not great, but while watching the trailer for Glass before Overlord all I could think was holy shit this is going to make so much money. Tons of money.
Overlord, seems to be exactly like a COD expansion. Starts off exciting, then ends like a turd on a hot sidewalk.
Aside from that? Glass is going to have a killer opening MLK weekend, and should have a pretty good run til the Lego movie comes out.
I know that it’s already dead, but “The Front Runner” is perfectly decent: smartly written and well-acted w/ an undeniable topical resonance. Plus, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, comfortably clocking in at 113 minutes (including end credits).
Liked that the supporting cast seemed almost entirely derived from some of my favorite recent cable series (“Halt and Catch Fire,” “Silicon Valley,” “Girls,” “The Deuce,” etc.). My biggest beef was the distractingly overdone “period smoking.” But that’s always been one of my pet peeves. Overall, I enjoyed it more than “The Post,” another fact-based recent film that combines politics and journalism.
I might have liked it even better if I hadn’t been forced to watch an online screener with my name emblazoned in the middle of the (too small) screen for the duration of the movie. Whenever I find myself in the unenviable position of watching a feature-length film on my laptop, I can’t shake the sensation that someone is holding a gun to my head.
I have no trouble believing The Front Runner is better than The Post, which didn’t do much for me, and a perfectly decent movie. The cast is good, the writes know the story inside and out, and I like some of Reitman’s work a lot. But it’s also a story I feel like I know really well, and it seems so quaint nowadays. I don’t know I just have little desire to see it.
JS what is a COD? For the non-gamers here.
“The Front Runner”‘s inability to gain any traction whatsoever seems especially poignant when you consider that Hugh Jackman was the toast of 2018 after “Logan” and the freakishly successful “Greatest Showman.”
Guess there really are no movie stars anymore.
Movieman, it sounds like they are making the screeners obnoxious enough that they want to drive you to theaters to see it correctly. This isn’t an academy screener is it? Is it for the purposes of a review?
As for movie stars, I agree in part. Things have certainly shifted away from talent, I blame Ovitz for giving them so much power in the 90s that the studios are not going to loose control again. But aside from Cruise, and for quite a run Murphy, stars always had hard up and downs. Beguiled for Eastwood right in the middle of a remarkable run, almost every other movie for Reynolds (Prime Cut, Man who Loved Women, At Long last Love) and Chase (remember Under the Rainbow?). Beloved stars like Hanks and Robin Williams went through years of flops and breakevens before reaching the stratosphere. Jackman will be fine, maybe not the top draw anymore, but his next musical should do gangbusters. They are not movie stars because they don’t have flops, they are movie stars because they come back from flops.
JS mentioned Lego, do people think its going to be as big as the first? It hit like a breath of fresh air when first released but I found the sugar rush a little annoying upon repeat viewing. As a kids movie it should do strong business, but I doubt the movie going audience is going to go batshit nuts over it like we did the original.
It’s the content not the star. Political movies typically don’t do well right? And it seems like a case of the wrong movie at the wrong time.
Yeah, political movies have always been a dicey proposition, SB.
For every “All the President’s Men” (talk about the right movie at the right time!) or “Fahrenheit 9/11” (ditto) there’s a FILL IN THE BLANK.
Not even “The Post” w/ the Spielberg/Hanks/Streep imprimatur did gangbusters.
Weirdly, Spielberg’s “Lincoln” was as much a political movie (or a movie about politics/the political process) as it was a Lincoln biopic, and that did great.
I think a major problem w/ “Front Runner” is that few people–at least the ones who regularly buy movie tickets–remember Gary Hart. Or even know who he is.
Sony cancelled “FR” screenings in NE OH, Hcat.
That odious digital screener was the only available option.
Glad I got the chance to see it since there’s a (very) good chance it won’t be opening anywhere near me.
Yeah you’re definitely right about Lincoln. And I don’t know how you get people interested in a movie about Gary Hart in 2018. That’s a tough sell. I know who he is and closely follow politics and still can’t muster much enthusiasm.
I see the same fate for Vice later on this year. Every day is political fatigue, buying a ticket to see it play onscreen is not an idea of a great night out. Not that I will want to turn my mind completely off but the deep delights of The Favorite and Widows will probably work just fine.
That’s probably true. I don’t know much about it other than Cheney/Bale/McKay. Will they sell it as a dark comedy? Model it after The Big Short? But yeah I’d much rather see Widows and The Favourite.
Buzz on “Vice” is through the roof: kind of remarkable since it (apparently) hasn’t screened before an audience yet.
But I can’t see it really catching fire at the box-office even with rave reviews and multiple Oscar nominations.
“W” tanked. The fact that it wasn’t great (although better than most gave it credit for) may or may not have factored into its ho-hum b.o. performance.
By looking at the cast it will certainly have a comedic Doonesbury vibe. But Vice is a tough sell, and Annapurna is still finding their legs. It it hits 20 Million they should be popping champagne corks.
The cast will definitely be the selling point for “Vice.”
That and Oscar nods/rave reviews (in that order(.
Do Millennials even know who Dick Cheney is? (I’m not trying to be funny.)
And definitely: Annapurna has been having trouble finding its sea legs. But “If Beale Street…,” “Vice” and “Destroyer” should help establish their “brand.” The same way A24 (who, surprisingly, is pretty much sitting out this awards season) did w/ “Moonlight,” “Ladybird,” “The Witch” and “The Disaster Artist.”
I am sure VICE will be a fine movie, but it’s not for anyone who remembers Dubya. A LOT OF PEOPLE FORGOT THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS OF THIS DECADE WERE BULLSHIT, and those people should be forced to see it. I will just wait to see it on Netflix, because fuck paying to see a movie, about that motherfucker.
I’d love my edit button back. Please.
HC, we know you don’t love fun. We understand. :D! Lego Movie is better, like Lego Batman, upon multiple viewings. Lego Movie isn’t even a sugar rush. It’s about as emotional and moving, as a moving about father and son bonding could ever be. It’s a rather profound movie, that’s just so damn endearing.
SB, Call of Duty have been adding zombie nazi games expansions, for eight years now? It’s been a while. That’s basically what Overlord is, and there’s also those zombie nazi movies. It’s just totally nothing new, and it’s weird JJ and Co. thought, “LET’S ADD TO THIS FUCKING SPACE!” Absolutely fucking weird.
Mojo has “Green Book” adding an add’l 1,000 theaters on the 21st which is an
“Are you in, or are you out?” # of screens.
Baffling, especially when you consider that Universal has “Mortal Engines” and “Marwen” both opening wide-wide next month. Are they just going to keep adding “GB” theaters on a weekly basis (w/ the PSA dropping incrementally)?
And Sony is allegedly expanding “Front Runner” onto 500 screens next week which is even more bizarre.
Why bother at this point? Is it a contractual thing?
JS, Lego Batman has diminishing returns as well for me.
“It’s about as emotional and moving, as a moving about father and son bonding could ever be”
Happily concede that the end is wonderful and adds an entire star to the movie (I even like the other Phillip/Lord son/dad dynamic in meatballs and almost get misty with ‘take a coat’), rewatching the journey to get there though has become tedious to me. Perhaps its the difference between viewing it at home and in the theater. There is a massive amount of visual information being slung at you the entire time and maybe I personally process that better on the big screen. Don’t get me wrong I would recommend the movie to anyone who hasn’t seen it just like I would something like Speed Racer, which also hasn’t kept the same luster as the first viewing.
My comment was simply that Lego came out of nowhere with next to no expectations and knocked it out of the park. Since people will have high expectations for the sequel, it cannot be the same lovefest, the closest comparable I can think of would be The Matrix.
As for Green Book, looking back over the year Focus has dropped everything but Neighbor on too many screens right off the bat, everything gets squashed as quickly as I do playing Frogger.
“Nobody knows anything”
…..except that the wit and wonder of William Goldman will be missed. That is guaranteed.
Yep. Goldman was a class act.
My personal favorite Goldmans?
His fantastic adaptation of Woodward and Bernstein’s “All the President’s Men” (screenplay) and “The Princess Bride” (book: it was a childhood favorite of mine).
I always looked forward to his yearly Oscar column (was it in New York Magazine or Premiere?), too.
And no one has ever summed up Hollywood better than Goldman in his justly-legendary “Nobody knows anything” line.
Which is truer now than ever, isn’t it?
My favorite adaptation of his was probably the perfect distillation of King’s Misery. Wonderfully paced, tight and terrifying.
Butch and Sundance is an all timer or an original, one of the most wonderful films ever made.
Ghost and the Darkness needs to be remade, there is so much there and instead it was simply turned into a creature feature and vanity project (Douglas chews on his lines harder than the Lions chew on femurs). There is an EPIC film in there somewhere that was only hinted at with the product that hit the screen.
I am getting tired of losing titans.
Every time I watch it–and I see it at least twice a year since it’s become part of my curriculum–I’m astonished at how spectacularly lucid Goldman’s adaptation of the Watergate tome is.
Even my most slow-witted students have no trouble following it: and Goldman achieves that crystalline clarity/narrative through line without dumbing things down.
I said exactly the same thing about VICE about 2 weeks ago.
Looks great. Love Bale. But with the misery I feel every day with 45 and his destruction of Democracy, I don’t know that I want to pay $10 and sit in the dark with Dick Cheney for 2 hours.
If it’s good I’ll see it later, but I HATE that man.
The Princess Bride. The world would suck without it, and with that… we need to constantly thank William Goldman for it.
And I could watch All the President’s Men for a year without being bored. It’s such a wonderful movie, that I constantly hope other movies, in a similar vein, live up to it. There’s just a handful of people ever as talented as Goldman, and we are lucky he decided to use his writing to entertain.
Puzzled by the generally positive reviews for “Instant Family.”
Wahlberg and (especially) Byrne are fine, but I found the kids pretty damn annoying.
The whole thing is just so thuddingly predictable…and way too long at 119 minutes.
I actually prefer Sean Anders’ “Daddy’s Home” movies.
Here we go again.
Underwhelming bows for “Instant Family,” “Widows” and (!) “Green Book,” although I’m sure all three will eventually pick up steam.
A predictably strong, if hardly record-shattering “Fantastic Beasts” launch.
“Grinch” continues to rally the troops although it’s best days are probably behind it w/ “Ralph” debuting next week.
“Overlord” and “Spider’s Web” both collapsed after softish openings, and Amazon isn’t even bothering to post figures on “Beautiful Boy” so I’m assuming that’s officially dead, too.
Rank* Title Friday
11/16
(Estimates)
1 FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros.
4,163 $25,700,000
— / $6,173
$25,700,000 / 1
2 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
4,141 $8,908,000
+253% / $2,151
$97,284,280 / 8
3 INSTANT FAMILY
Paramount
3,286 $4,500,000
— / $1,369
$4,500,000 / 1
4 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
3,810 $4,250,000
+135.5% / $1,115
$116,435,859 / 15
5 WIDOWS
Fox
2,803 $4,200,000
— / $1,498
$4,200,000 / 1
6 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
2,010 $1,185,000
+122.8% / $590
$182,675,907 / 43
7 THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
2,635 $1,129,000
+179.2% / $428
$40,321,690 / 15
8 OVERLORD
Paramount
2,859 $1,060,000
+92.7% / $371
$14,952,889 / 8
9 THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB: A NEW DRAGON TATTOO STORY
Sony / Columbia
2,929 $715,000
+71.8% / $244
$11,505,523 / 8
10 NOBODY’S FOOL
Paramount
1,301 $600,000
+119.7% / $461
$27,227,618 / 15
11 VENOM (2018)
Sony / Columbia
1,307 $500,000
+142.3% / $383
$208,601,043 / 43
12 BOY ERASED
Focus Features
409 $398,000
+589.7% / $973
$1,749,950 / 15
– CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
555 $255,000
+163.3% / $459
$4,433,185 / 29
– THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
593 $215,000
+133.9% / $363
$27,658,193 / 43
– HALLOWEEN (2018)
Universal
922 $194,000
+56.9% / $210
$158,290,140 / 29
– SMALLFOOT
Warner Bros.
493 $100,000
+61.2% / $203
$81,033,168 / 50
– GREEN BOOK
Universal
25 $93,000
— / $3,720
$93,000 / 1
– THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
171 $44,000
+6.5% / $257
$10,494,793 / 50
– GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
Sony / Columbia
307 $33,000
-5.5% / $107
$46,262,127 / 36
– THE FRONT RUNNER
Sony / Columbia
22 $19,000
+396% / $864
$110,169 / 11
– INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
130 $18,000
+186.7% / $138
$608,338,195 / 155
– DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Buena Vista
92 $8,000
+101.3% / $87
$99,146,899 / 106
I don’t know if we’ve mentioned it but Hate you Give has hung in there pretty well all these weeks.
No one is going to go and see Widows. It’s a niche movie, and stating it changed the action game ignores… the F&F movies, the Raid, and yadda yadda yadda. I am sure it’s exceptional, but it should have been released in January. It would have found an audience. Now? It’s going to be out on “Video” by February, and people will discover it. It sucks, but that’s the way of the world in 2018.
And Grindlewald is going to need the Chinese to bail it the fuck out. That’s what they get, for employing Depp.
Caught up w/ “Hunter Killer” at a discount house and–shockingly–didn’t hate it. In fact, I found it pretty tolerable overall for:
(A) a Gerard Butler movie; and
(B) a submarine movie (sub movies aren’t my favorite genre: I wasn’t even crazy about “Das Boot” although I do love “Crimson Tide”).
Got a feeling it’ll be a popular rental in a few months.
I’m pretty sure Fox had Oscar in their eyes by choosing a mid-November date for “Widows,” JS.
It’s Steve McQueen’s follow-up to “12 Years a Slave” and stars awards magnet Viola Davis.
Reviews are strong, and I think it’ll do OK in the long run (Oscar nods or not). It didn’t cost a fortune either, so it should at least break even.
(Fingers crossed ’cause it’s a darn good movie.)
Widows is certainly aiming for the older crowd which often gives it longer legs. Given the amazing reviews and its pedigree it should hang around long after Family fades into the ether. And given the reviews Gindewald should disappear by Christmas.
Almost a shame about Family though, the guy tries for a less slapstick comedy that’s apparently semi-autobiographical and it gets creamed. Maybe they should have waited for Christmas, I don’t see the family compromise we are all going to the show what can Aunt Judy stand movie of the season (a la Showman, Bucket List etc.)
Well Duh – Poppins
Variety got an early look at “Vice:”
’Tis the season for latter-year revelations. With Adam McKay’s new film “Vice,” a follow-up to his 2015 Oscar winner “The Big Short,” a major one has landed, though it’s hardly a surprise: Christian Bale might be in line to receive his second Academy Award to date, for his uncanny portrayal of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Any glance at the film’s trailer made it clear that the 44-year-old actor, who previously won the supporting actor prize for 2010’s “The Fighter,” had undergone one of his famous transformations for this production, packing on the pounds, shaving back his hair, sporting makeup effects to bridge the gaps between actor and portly politico. It was a true immersion. I talked to him on Variety’s “Playback” podcast the day after he wrapped nearly a year ago, in fact, and he was happy to shake the lingering effects of the performance at the time. But a trailer is one thing. To see Bale in all his glory as the Machiavellian Cheney for two-plus hours is another thing altogether.
The film packs an infuriating punch as McKay writes history with lightning yet again. The question for pretty much anyone that he, production company Plan B and distributor Annapurna hopes to engage with this material over the holidays is whether we’re ready to dissect it all. Is the move-going audience — indeed, are Academy voters — ready to take stock of all this chapter in history with the depressing news glowing up at us from our mobile devices on a daily basis? It would be a hell of a time to hand someone an Oscar for portraying this particular man, and that takes nothing from Bale’s brilliant work. By the same token, “Vice” could be argued as the most urgent and important film in the race this year. One just wonders if the stomach is there for it.
We’ll survey the lead actor category more in-depth in an upcoming column, but it’s safe to say Bale joins “A Star Is Born” multi-hyphenate Bradley Cooper on the top tier of the competition. If the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. accepts Annapurna’s comedy placement for “Vice” (they may well, but this is far less of a comedy than “The Big Short”), then the two actors will likely split the Golden Globe prizes, which will send them headlong into phase two of the season.
But Bale isn’t the full story here, of course. It’s an inspired ensemble McKay has once again pulled together, from Amy Adams as Cheney’s wife Lynne (a Lady Macbeth-like figure) to Steve Carell’s irreverent Donald Rumsfeld to Oscar winner Sam Rockwell’s clueless George W. Bush. They and others should help secure a Screen Actors Guild bid for best ensemble, and Adams ought to be along for much of the awards season journey with Bale as well.
Beyond that, it’s an excellently crafted piece of work. Within the scenes, editor Hank Corwin wrangles what must have been a ton of footage into the kaleidoscope of a mysterious personality. That work along with Nicholas Britell’s delicate score and Greig Fraser’s intimate photography really take you straight into Cheney’s beating, failing heart, and they’re likely to pick up their share of Academy support.
On the whole, “Vice” is quite a sobering entry in the ongoing 2018 canon. It will be interesting to see how viewers and voters alike take to a movie that simply leaves you feeling like crap. But that’s also kind of the point. No one gets off easy here. It’s an unflinching analysis. And in the film’s final moments, culpability is quite pointedly assigned.
Enjoy the ride home from this one.
Please point out to us all. Where the legs from Widows are going to come? Again. It just seems to me like Widows is going to get slept away on Wednesday, and that bums me out. FOX are really just not giving a shit, and I get it. I really do, but Widows deserved better than what it got. Based on the director’s name alone.
Terrible expansion for “A Private War” and a just OK widening of “Boy Erased,” but the biggest story of the weekend is the lackluster limited bow of “Green Book.”
I bet marketing execs at Universal are scratching their heads right now.
November 16-18, 2018
Weekend
1 N Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald WB $62,200,000 – 4,163 – $14,941 $62,200,000 $200 1
2 1 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) Uni. $38,165,000 -43.5% 4,141 – $9,216 $126,544,280 $75 2
3 2 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $15,700,000 -49.7% 3,810 -190 $4,121 $127,885,859 $52 3
4 N Instant Family Par. $14,700,000 – 3,286 – $4,474 $14,700,000 $48 1
5 N Widows Fox $12,300,000 – 2,803 – $4,388 $12,300,000 $42 1
6 4 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $4,678,000 -53.6% 2,635 -1,131 $1,775 $43,870,690 $120 3
7 5 A Star is Born (2018) WB $4,350,000 -46.3% 2,010 -838 $2,164 $185,840,907 $36 7
8 3 Overlord Par. $3,850,000 -62.3% 2,859 – $1,347 $17,742,889 $38 2
9 6 The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story Sony $2,500,000 -68.0% 2,929 – $854 $13,290,523 $43 2
10 7 Nobody’s Fool Par. $2,260,000 -65.9% 1,301 -1,167 $1,737 $28,887,618 $19 3
11 8 Venom (2018) Sony $1,930,000 -60.7% 1,307 -1,044 $1,477 $210,031,043 $100 7
12 18 Boy Erased Focus $1,280,000 +68.8% 409 +332 $3,130 $2,633,950 – 3
13 13 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $880,000 -39.0% 555 +164 $1,586 $5,058,185 – 5
14 10 The Hate U Give Fox $815,000 -60.3% 593 -515 $1,374 $28,258,193 $23 7
15 28 A Private War Aviron $725,000 +268.8% 865 +827 $838 $1,091,521 – 3
16 9 Halloween (2018) Uni. $715,000 -82.1% 922 -1,795 $775 $158,814,140 $10 5
17 12 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $587,016 -59.5% 558 -218 $1,052 $6,406,020 – 6
18 19 Free Solo NGE $491,825 -35.0% 187 -79 $2,630 $8,960,308 – 8
19 11 Smallfoot WB $457,000 -69.7% 493 -825 $927 $81,390,168 – 8
20 N Green Book Uni. $312,000 – 25 – $12,480 $312,000 – 1
21 21 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $160,000 -65.0% 171 -224 $936 $10,610,793 – 8
22 17 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Sony $135,000 -84.8% 307 -1,212 $440 $46,364,127 $35 6
23 22 Mid90s A24 $125,000 -68.9% 84 -256 $1,488 $7,159,255 – 5
24 33 Maria by Callas SPC $110,507 +13.2% 29 +3 $3,811 $484,009 – 3
25 23 Suspiria Amazon $93,950 -74.4% 53 -208 $1,773 $2,234,330 – 4
26 32 Incredibles 2 BV $93,000 -24.3% 130 -10 $715 $608,413,195 – 23
27 N At Eternity’s Gate CBS $92,000 – 4 – $23,000 $92,000 – 1
28 20 Hunter Killer LG/S $75,000 -89.7% 194 -763 $387 $15,639,791 – 4
29 41 The Front Runner Sony $72,000 +39.7% 22 +18 $3,273 $162,169 – 2
31 37 Burning WGUSA $65,000 -15.2% 25 -2 $2,600 $300,954 – 4
30 N A Cool Fish CL $65,000 – 15 – $4,333 $65,000 – 1
32 42 Border Neon $55,001 +14.1% 30 +14 $1,833 $339,169 – 4
33 35 Colette BST $51,522 -43.2% 86 +5 $599 $5,070,062 – 9
34 36 Last Letter CL $37,000 -54.0% 23 +5 $1,609 $155,025 – 2
35 39 Disney’s Christopher Robin BV $34,000 -47.8% 92 -30 $370 $99,172,899 – 16
36 38 A Simple Favor LGF $30,000 -56.5% 101 -26 $297 $53,526,171 – 10
37 46 The Wife SPC $18,103 -39.5% 25 -10 $724 $7,773,121 – 14
38 43 What They Had BST $10,326 -71.7% 24 -29 $430 $254,061 – 5
39 53 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $2,825 -83.0% 5 -9 $565 $81,975 – 7
40 47 Bodied Neon $1,277 -95.5% 3 -14 $426 $112,734 – 3
41 – Letter From Masanjia Ammo $1,265 – 1 – $1,265 $23,401 – 3
TOTAL (41 MOVIES): $170,223,617 +1.6% 37,275 -3,804 $4,567
<<Last Weekend <Last Year View Index: By Year | By Weekend
The main thing I remember about W is Richard Dreyfuss’ perfect performance as Cheney that got almost no recognition. He was so good.
Green Book makes it about the white guy, and it’s hard for modern audiences to watch a movie about racism. Where the WHITE GUY IS THE ONE WHO LEARNS something. We just don’t live in a world anymore, for moviegoers at least, where they want to see the white guy figure out he’s a bigot, and needs to change.
Agree, JS.
But TIFF audiences clearly felt differently than we do.
Here’s something from Deadline this afternoon: (it pretty much says what I’ve been saying ever since “Green Book” won the Audience Award in Toronto):
Universal’s limited launch of Participant Media/DreamWorks’ Green Book on 25 locations with a national campaign was not good at all, per various sources we’ve spoken with, earning $313K at 25 locations. Universal says that there were a number of locations sold out; rivals tell us that just wasn’t the case. The biggest problem here: Selling the idea to the audience of what exactly a Green Book is (or was). Universal is crossing their fingers that this former Focus Features release, which took them by surprise and has earned an A+ following the top prize at TIFF, will generate enough heat in the weeks to come, especially after Globe noms. The film should have received more of a platform, even a Christmas Day platform launch, to rocket boost itself to higher figures.
Let’s juxtapose Green Book to other pics that have launched at a similar number of locations: Fox’s Hidden Figures, which also generated a lot of heat out of TIFF, opened at 25 locations on Christmas day and made $515K on its opening day alone, grossing $1.46M in its first week. Fox held the movie on that theater count for two weeks before going wide in close to 2,500 locations during the first weekend of 2017, followed by a 3,000-threshold break over the MLK holiday, ultimately ranking No. 1. Even The Hate U Give made more than Green Book during its opening weekend, with $512K at 36 sites. Green Book will increase to around 1,000 locations on Wednesday. Academy screening yesterday received a standing ovation, so it’s in awards voters’ hearts.
JS, regarding the legs, older audiences are not an opening weekend crowd and critical darlings can take time to catch on. Blackkklansman opened at 10 million and ended at 5x that, Book Club (while not an obvious comparision to widows was the oldest audience wide release of the year) also did 5x opening. A final gross anywhere between them would be a win for Widows. I’m not saying its defenitely going to happen, but I still think its chances are quite good. We’ll just see how it shakes out.
Looks like China loves their symbiote…
Venom repeated at #1 this weekend in China, beating Fantastic Beasts 2. Venom earned $51 million, while FB2 debuted with $37.5 million.
^ The $51 million quote came from Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru. Variety is saying Venom made $87.2 million in the 2nd weekend. A drop of just 14%? Can that be right?
https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/china-box-office-venom-spectacular-second-weekend-1203032056/
Long live the resurrected news feed.
Vice looks pretty real, 10-12 years after the fact. Michael Moore told the truth in real time, and his film made over $100M.
Watched Cam over the weekend. It’s quite interesting. Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. Weird but pretty engaging. Madeline Brewer is really good and it’s nice to see Melora Walters again. It’s worth checking out.
Sounds like Creed II is mostly the movie we feared Creed would be but wasn’t thanks to Coogler’s ace-level direction and desire to elevate the material. Kind of what I’d anticipated. Still looking forward to watching but keeping expectations in check.
I loved “Creed” (it ranked #4 on my 2015 10-best list), so “Creed 2” was bound to be a disappointment which, sadly, it kind of is.
Too much of it felt boilerplate-cheesy, which is something no one could say about Ryan Coogler’s original. As dependably strong as Jordan and Thompson are, my favorite performance was actually turned in by Phylicia Rashad.
Stallone seemed positively re-energized as an actor in “Creed” (probably should have won the Oscar), but he’s back to phoning it in here.
Newcomer Florian Munteanu is a spectacular physical presence, but I’m not sure whether he can act. Hoping to find out in subsequent movies.
I think I might have actually enjoyed “C2” more if it had revolved around the twisted family dynamics of Munteanu, Dolph Lundgren and Brigitte Nielsen. At least that would have been a movie we hadn’t seen (many, many times) before.
Maybe they could come up with Drago as a spinoff film for next Christmas and that way MGM gets its own universe to play with. Think of the potential for Jonah Hill’s dramatic turn as a man who never knew his ne’er do well father in “Pauly Jr.”
Congratulations to Kevin Costner for no longer being the worst Robin Hood ever!! It was quite a run.
Don’t give them any ideas, Hcat.
Although after the success of “Creed 2” (chances are good that it will actually outgross the original: go figure), all bets are off. By 2022 we could all be nostalgic for “Rocky V.”
Yeah, we definitely dodged a bullet w/ another potential Taron Egerton franchise.
I didn’t think he could make a worse movie than “Kingsman 2,” but “Robin Hood” comes pretty damn close.
Wish I could have seen the “Hood” Owen Gleiberman reviewed in Variety. Now that movie sounded like fun!
But Costner’s Robin Hood gave us a gloriously hammy performance of the Sheriff by Alan Rickman. “And call off Christmas!” is a line we still toss around at my house.
Costner’s Robin Hood can’t be the worst for reasons of so-bad-it’s-good-osity. Honestly, it’s a charming movie, and Costner non-existent accent does nothing to alter that fact.
Costner’s Robin Hood movie wasn’t very good, but it came at a time when Kev was an indomitable force at the box-office. Pretty much everything he touched back then turned to gold. “The Bodyguard” was equally terrible, but also raked in the bucks.
“The Untouchables,” “No Way Out,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “Dances w/ Wolves,” “J.F.K.”….
Costner–like only Tom Cruise and possibly Julia Roberts at the time–was a bona fide movie star.
It took the trifecta of “Wyatt Earp,” “Waterworld” and (especially) “The Postman” to finally take him down.
Wyatt Earp, Waterworld, and yes, even The Postman are glorious follies that all shoot for the moon and brim with a lunatic ambition. I’ll take any of those movies now over boilerplate 2018 studio product like The Meg, Venom, Skyscraper etc.
You can say this for Costner – at the apex of his career he had the stones NOT to just turn out easy-gig sequels to Robin Hood or The Bodyguard but took a sharp left turn into risky territory, and in this period he also turned in the best performance of his career in Eastwood’s A Perfect World too. Love that movie. “In three seconds I’m gonna break your nose. That’s a threat.’. BAM! ‘And that’s a fact. Think you can understand the difference?’.
Agree w/ you about Costner, Wally.
Costner displayed major stones for taking the sort of risks he did with his “brand” in the ’90s.
The fact that they didn’t pan out doesn’t diminish their laudable (nay, quixotic) ambition.
And, hell yes.
I’d rather sit through “The Postman”–as misbegotten and frankly tedious as it was–again than a meretricious hack job like “The Meg.”
‘a perfect world’ is one of my all-time faves
(the best part of ‘waterworld’ is the largely still publicly untold tale of making it; a dear old friend was a grip on the big island locations and from the shit he told me that went down it’s really a small wonder nobody lost their life in that epic fuckarow)
https://coolmomtech.com/2018/10/interactive-native-land-map-indigenous-peoples-day/
(with my annual “take that genocidal madman off yer $20 note” post in honour of my beloved great gran)
There’s a reason why they turned it into a stunt show, Leah.
What kind of, “NO FUN,” motherfucker do you have to be, to not enjoy Costner’s Robin Hood? It’s absurdist, in every single fucking way, and that’s why it’s still an enjoyable movie. My god, is it too damn long, but it has some fun set pieces, and a great finale. It’s just one of those defining 90s movies, and it’s soaking in the gloriousness of 1991.
Leah, you may be interested to know that in January they’re re-releasing Waterworld in a newly restored deluxe Blu Ray edition including the little-seen three hour ‘Ulysses’ TV cut which was closer to Kevin Reynolds’s vision before he and Costner came to odds, as well as a tantalising feature length documentary.
My pre-order is already in.
So Re Robin Hood:
Loved Rickman in it but you have to admit it’s not in the top half of his villain roles, He was better in Die Hard and Quigly and chewed the same amount of scenery in Potter as in RH but wisely took smaller bites.
Will concede that Bodyguard is a not good film that is entirely rewatchable, hell I throw Revenge in that pile as well, but Hood is poorly acted, ill paced and dingy looking. If it weren’t for Rickman and the power ballad we would not be talking about it.
Leah, A Perfect World was the most baffling box office disappointment I have ever came across I remember reading trades in complete disbelief, the number one box office star teams with last years Oscar winning director with a lead from the film that broke every possible recor the preceding summer. It got wonderful reviews and good advance word. What the hell more did people want?
re the impending new blu of ‘waterworld’ w/documentary, oh my gosh that should be interesting — i wonder if enough time has passed now that people behind the scenes feel more empowered to open up and spill their guts… if so, gird your loins for flying sparks haha, holy shit (i have a long version of ‘waterworld’ on a fucking ancient VHS from back in the day in my drawer, i wonder if this is the famed TV cut, i never thought about it. my hilarious old combo VHS/DVD player gave up the ghost a few years back while actually in the process of playing the OG SW on tape and i never got around to replacing it, i may have to remedy that)
hcat, i wish i knew why some really good movies just fizzle at the box office, i mean my gut tells me that ultimately it comes down to word of mouth – and why a gem like ‘a perfect world’ would fail to generate such buzz is inexplicable to me (though having looked up the box office stats so i have some idea of which i speak the worldwide BO of 135mil on what appears around a 30mil prod budget seems alright) – so it’s an enigma wrapped up in a sausage. at least it exists.
I just imagined the perfect bomb that would still get greenlit for a $100 million+ budget: Robin Hood and Peter Pan team up to fight vampires in a steampunk world. Just enough heat to get some people on the Internet to say, “Hey, here’s an interesting thing. Let’s celebrate and/or laugh at it!” But, you know, not enough to get millions of people to buy a ticket.
You’re right, Joe. I could definitely imagine some clueless studio exec greenlighting that premise. I’m sure Guy Ritchie would sign on to direct.
Why not go whole hog and make it a “…dystopian steampunk world populated by YA zombies”?
Friday
11/23
(Estimates)
1 RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
4,017 $21,735,000
+111% / $5,411
$50,535,000 / 3
2 CREED II
MGM
3,441 $14,129,000
+58.7% / $4,106
$34,642,000 / 3
3 FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros.
4,163 $11,820,000
+85.6% / $2,839
$99,287,238 / 8
4 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
3,960 $11,597,000
+143.2% / $2,929
$161,831,250 / 15
5 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
2,927 $5,220,000
+98.1% / $1,783
$143,379,253 / 22
6 INSTANT FAMILY
Paramount
3,286 $4,635,000
+77.6% / $1,411
$27,886,508 / 8
7 ROBIN HOOD (2018)
Lionsgate/Summit
2,827 $3,460,000
+77.9% / $1,224
$8,555,000 / 3
8 WIDOWS
Fox
2,803 $3,060,000
+118.6% / $1,092
$20,690,819 / 8
9 GREEN BOOK
Universal
1,063 $2,052,000
+96.2% / $1,930
$4,409,401 / 8
10 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
1,202 $1,145,000
+118.1% / $953
$189,145,173 / 50
11 THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
1,757 $1,087,000
+151.6% / $619
$47,494,698 / 22
12 OVERLORD
Paramount
1,223 $430,000
+83% / $352
$19,505,026 / 15
– BOY ERASED
Focus Features
672 $414,000
+176% / $616
$3,796,637 / 22
– NOBODY’S FOOL
Paramount
608 $340,000
+142.9% / $559
$29,947,263 / 22
– VENOM (2018)
Sony / Columbia
585 $292,000
+101.4% / $499
$211,219,620 / 50
– THE FRONT RUNNER
Sony / Columbia
807 $235,000
+135% / $291
$674,563 / 18
– CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
426 $215,000
+162.2% / $505
$5,648,746 / 36
– THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
4 $190,572
— / $47,643
$190,572 / 1
– THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB: A NEW DRAGON TATTOO STORY
Sony / Columbia
983 $130,000
+44.4% / $132
$14,166,400 / 15
– THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
260 $125,000
+212.5% / $481
$28,717,674 / 50
– AT ETERNITY’S GATE
CBS Films
30 $74,769
+116.9% / $2,492
$261,493 / 8
– THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
110 $36,000
+125% / $327
$10,724,328 / 57
– INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
106 $22,000
+214.3% / $208
$608,472,207 / 162
– DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Buena Vista
55 $6,000
+200% / $109
$99,197,554 / 113
I’ve been saying for months that “Ralph” would hit as big as “Incredibles 2” did last summer (super heroes and videogames are America’s favorite pastimes, after all), and it looks like it could possibly beat “Frozen”‘s all-time Disney Thanksgiving weekend record.
Don’t think it will do $600-million domestic, though.
But “Ralph” should have no trouble becoming the top-grossing year-end studio release.
“Favourite” should have the best PSA for a limited break all year.
Well done, Yorgos.
Movieman, you’re right. Every time I think there’s a window closing on YA fiction, another opens. Harry Potter led to The Golden Compass, but then Twilight happened and then led to all the things that tried to imitate it and failed, but then The Hunger Games came along and led to around now, and I’m sure something else will come up.
The Golden Compass is going to be a TV show, because that’s apparently a world worth showing properly. While the Hunger Games and Twilight, all have enough of base storytelling, that they are probably going to get remade again.
Here’s the thing about YA stuff: they are ADULTS now, so it’s the stuff that’s going to keep coming out, and hopefully it doesn’t suck.
Ralph isn’t going to beat Frozen. It’s good, but it sure as shit isn’t special like Frozen. Even if it does… guess what? Frozen 2, is going to destroy everything next year, so it’s a fleeting moment for ol’Ralph.
November 23-25, 2018
Weekend
1 N Ralph Breaks the Internet BV $55,672,000 – 4,017 – $13,859 $84,472,000 – 1
2 N Creed II MGM $35,293,000 – 3,441 – $10,257 $55,806,000 – 1
3 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) Uni. $30,210,000 -21.7% 3,960 -181 $7,629 $180,442,250 $75
4 1 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald WB $29,650,000 -52.3% 4,163 – $7,122 $117,117,238 $200 2
5 3 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $13,855,000 -13.6% 2,927 -883 $4,734 $152,014,253 $52 4
6 4 Instant Family Par. $12,500,000 -13.8% 3,286 – $3,804 $35,751,508 $48 2
7 N Robin Hood (2018) LG/S $9,125,000 – 2,827 – $3,228 $14,220,000 – 1
8 5 Widows Fox $7,955,000 -35.6% 2,803 – $2,838 $25,585,819 $42 2
9 22 Green Book Uni. $5,443,000 +1,598.7% 1,063 +1,038 $5,120 $7,800,401 – 2
10 7 A Star is Born (2018) WB $3,005,000 -30.0% 1,202 -808 $2,500 $191,005,173 $36 8
11 6 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $2,725,000 -42.9% 1,757 -878 $1,551 $49,132,698 $120 4
12 13 Boy Erased Focus $1,158,000 -12.5% 672 +263 $1,723 $4,539,637 – 4
13 8 Overlord Par. $1,090,000 -71.2% 1,223 -1,636 $891 $20,165,026 $38 3
14 11 Nobody’s Fool Par. $890,000 -59.8% 608 -693 $1,464 $30,497,263 $19 4
15 12 Venom (2018) Sony $780,000 -60.5% 585 -722 $1,333 $211,707,620 $100 8
16 35 The Front Runner Sony $630,000 +735.9% 807 +785 $781 $1,069,563 – 3
17 14 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $593,000 -33.6% 426 -129 $1,392 $6,026,746 – 6
18 19 Free Solo NGE $496,066 +6.1% 146 -41 $3,398 $9,693,201 – 9
19 N The Favourite FoxS $420,000 – 4 – $105,000 $420,000 – 1
20 18 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $350,520 -39.8% 254 -304 $1,380 $7,019,669 – 7
21 9 The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story Sony $347,000 -86.1% 983 -1,946 $353 $14,383,400 $43 3
22 15 The Hate U Give Fox $327,000 -58.1% 260 -333 $1,258 $28,919,674 $23 8
23 32 At Eternity’s Gate CBS $211,728 +128.0% 31 +27 $6,830 $398,452 – 2
24 30 Maria by Callas SPC $158,893 +64.4% 55 +26 $2,889 $682,291 – 4
25 21 Night School (2018) Uni. $139,000 -58.3% 167 -203 $832 $76,874,280 $29 9
26 16 A Private War Aviron $135,000 -80.8% 226 -639 $597 $1,402,868 – 4
27 24 The House With A Clock In Its Walls Uni. $131,000 -24.2% 145 -50 $903 $68,294,580 $42 10
28 23 First Man Uni. $123,000 -49.5% 135 -193 $911 $44,576,830 $59 7
29 17 Halloween (2018) Uni. $121,000 -82.7% 171 -751 $708 $159,114,295 $10 6
30 25 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $95,000 -42.0% 110 -61 $864 $10,783,328 – 9
31 N Shoplifters Magn. $88,000 – 5 – $17,600 $88,000 – 1
32 36 A Cool Fish CL $80,000 +12.4% 18 +3 $4,444 $221,872 – 2
33 39 Border Neon $76,984 +28.8% 37 +7 $2,081 $457,944 – 5
34 37 Wildlife IFC $67,864 +3.8% 73 -22 $930 $839,058 – 6
35 29 Mid90s A24 $60,000 -47.8% 38 -46 $1,579 $7,269,808 – 6
36 34 Incredibles 2 BV $57,000 -29.5% 106 -24 $538 $608,507,207 – 24
37 31 Suspiria Amazon $49,300 -48.5% 34 -19 $1,450 $2,341,420 – 5
38 33 Hunter Killer LG/S $40,500 -52.2% 101 -93 $401 $15,744,044 – 5
39 N The World Before Your Feet Greenwich $22,000 – 2 – $11,000 $27,626 – 1
40 40 Colette BST $16,074 -68.6% 34 -52 $473 $5,121,722 – 10
41 44 Disney’s Christopher Robin BV $16,000 -51.7% 55 -37 $291 $99,207,554 – 17
42 49 Tea with the Dames IFC $13,772 -15.5% 21 -3 $656 $832,142 – 10
43 50 The Wife SPC $8,964 -34.0% 16 -9 $560 $7,784,170 – 15
44 47 El Angel Orch. $8,384 -61.8% 8 -3 $1,048 $74,163 – 3
45 N Becoming Astrid MBox $5,121 – 3 – $1,707 $5,121 – 1
46 41 Last Letter CL $4,150 -89.9% 4 -19 $1,038 $176,040 – 3
47 65 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $3,115 +3.6% 5 – $623 $87,146 – 8
48 67 Shoah: Four Sisters Cohen $1,683 -40.7% 3 +2 $561 $6,613 – 2
Nic Roeg and Bernardo Bertolucci in the same weekend?!?
Both were auteur gods to me during my cine-formative college years, and I still revere them to this day.
So very sad.
One was 90 and the other was 77, and they both lived pretty damn interesting lives. Also, it’s not like they are gone, because their movies will always be there. May they go somewhere else. Where someone needs some really talented directors.
What’s the deal with The Possession of Hannah Grace being the only wide release this weekend? Nothing else?
Nothing but expansions until the 14th. They’ve picked their horses and they are going to run with them. And at the end of the race Dragon Tatoo is going to the glue factory.
This is pretty good news for Widows, Green Book and Instant Family. Seems like these are the second and third choices of the weekends and this gives them continued screen access and a little room to breathe.
After seeing “Beautiful Boy,” “Boy Erased” and “Ben is Back,” I’m wondering why the filmmakers just didn’t team up to make one movie (“Beautiful Boy Been Erased” perhaps?) about a teenage opioid addict undergoing gay conversion therapy.
Would have saved everyone–including me–a lot of time.
All three are perfectly OK, but it felt like I was (basically) watching the same movie three times, especially since Lucas Hedges stars in two of them.
White boys suffering. Is Ben is Back also a true story? That’s the one I’m least familiar with. The other two look, well, perfectly OK, and I have little interest in them.
SB- To the best of my knowledge, “Ben” is the only one of the three that’s not “based on a true story.”
SB, they going to work overtime, to get Chalamet that god damn Oscar. I have no idea why Timothee Chalamet is so god damn important and why he needs an Oscar, but they going to get him that Oscar. No matter what.
Movieman, you need to combine all your movie scenarios and have:
“Beautiful Boy Ben Erased is Back” a film about a teenager dealing with his opioid addiction while undergoing gay conversion therapy in a dystopian steampunk world populated by YA zombies.
{You and Joe Straatmann can figure out if Robin Hood, Peter Pan, and vampires are involved too.}
$55 million opening weekend.
Great (horrible) idea, Pete, lol.
I don’t “get” Chalamet either, JS. But he’s not going to be nominated for “BB.” So there’s that.
On the other hand, I’ve been a Lucas Hedges fan since “Manchester by the Sea,” and even I think he’s been spreading himself a little too thin this season: “mid90s,” “Boy Erased,” “Ben is Back” and costarring on B’way–with Elaine May!–in a Ken Lonnergan play! Yikes.
That certainly seems to be the case JS. I was just reading something last night about how Chalamet fans need to chill out and dial it back a bit.
What’s with all the spam lately?
Pete, there’s gotta’ to be a love interest dying of cancer or something like that. You have to put the trying to repeat the draw of Fault in Our Stars in there because that one made the money, right?
Good point Joe. But if Ben is undergoing conversion therapy, is his doomed lover male or female? Hmmm…
Rank* Title Friday
11/30
1 RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
4,017 $5,744,000
+248% / $1,430
$99,282,233 / 10
2 CREED II
MGM
3,576 $4,950,000
+202% / $1,384
$69,286,284 / 10
3 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
3,934 $3,895,000
+252.1% / $990
$189,674,195 / 22
4 FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros.
3,851 $3,100,000
+127% / $805
$126,241,406 / 15
5 THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE
Sony / Screen Gems
2,065 $2,560,000
— / $1,240
$2,560,000 / 1
6 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
3,007 $2,265,000
+140.9% / $753
$158,588,150 / 29
7 INSTANT FAMILY
Paramount
3,376 $2,115,000
+204.2% / $626
$40,892,769 / 15
8 ROBIN HOOD (2018)
Lionsgate/Summit
2,827 $1,360,000
+133.7% / $481
$18,387,682 / 10
9 WIDOWS
Fox
2,393 $1,274,000
+121.7% / $532
$29,934,245 / 15
10 GREEN BOOK
Universal
1,065 $1,163,000
+119% / $1,092
$11,277,491 / 15
11 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
1,081 $560,000
+172.6% / $518
$192,477,436 / 57
12 THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
34 $371,148
+1028% / $10,916
$945,458 / 8
– THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
1,392 $291,000
+133.6% / $209
$50,050,909 / 29
– BOY ERASED
Focus Features
660 $168,000
+63.6% / $255
$5,160,437 / 29
– OVERLORD
Paramount
533 $121,000
+55% / $227
$20,730,015 / 22
– NOBODY’S FOOL
Paramount
385 $111,000
+146.1% / $288
$30,859,059 / 29
– VENOM (2018)
Sony / Columbia
425 $100,000
+160.5% / $235
$211,990,652 / 57
– CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
272 $92,000
+82.5% / $338
$6,333,770 / 43
– THE FRONT RUNNER
Sony / Columbia
807 $85,000
+39.5% / $105
$1,442,318 / 25
– AT ETERNITY’S GATE
CBS Films
48 $58,000
+174.4% / $1,208
$547,486 / 15
– THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
250 $58,000
+127% / $232
$29,074,139 / 57
– THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
114 $23,000
+72.3% / $202
$10,864,749 / 64
– ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE
Orion Pictures
5 $19,715
(actual)
— / $3,943
$19,715 / 1
– A PRIVATE WAR
Aviron
66 $13,500
-19.3% / $205
$1,481,607 / 29
– INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
93 $6,000
+403.4% / $65
$608,523,638 / 169
I think this is the first weekend since opening in early October that “ASIB” didn’t make the top ten.
A pretty remarkable achievement in this day and age.
Decent niche launch for “Hannah Grace” which again proves that teenagers will use anything as an excuse to leave the house.
November 30-December 2, 2018
Weekend
1 1 Ralph Breaks the Internet BV $25,756,000 -54.2% 4,017 – $6,412 $119,294,233 $175 2
2 3 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) Uni. $17,730,000 -41.7% 3,934 -26 $4,507 $203,507,195 $75 4
3 2 Creed II MGM $16,832,863 -52.7% 3,576 +135 $4,707 $81,169,147 $50 2
4 4 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald WB $11,200,000 -61.9% 3,851 -312 $2,908 $134,341,406 $200 3
5 5 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $8,100,000 -42.1% 3,007 +80 $2,694 $164,423,150 $52 5
6 6 Instant Family Par. $7,150,000 -41.9% 3,376 +90 $2,118 $45,927,769 $48 3
7 N The Possession of Hannah Grace SGem $6,500,000 – 2,065 – $3,148 $6,500,000 $9.5 1
8 7 Robin Hood (2018) LG/S $4,700,000 -48.9% 2,827 – $1,663 $21,727,682 $100 2
9 8 Widows Fox $4,400,000 -46.5% 2,393 -410 $1,839 $33,060,245 $42 3
10 9 Green Book Uni. $3,900,000 -29.1% 1,065 +2 $3,662 $14,016,491 $23 3
11 10 A Star is Born (2018) WB $1,905,000 -36.8% 1,081 -121 $1,762 $193,822,436 $36 9
12 11 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $1,299,000 -53.4% 1,392 -365 $933 $51,058,909 $120 5
13 19 The Favourite FoxS $1,105,000 +161.6% 34 +30 $32,500 $1,679,310 – 2
14 12 Boy Erased Focus $590,000 -49.1% 660 -12 $894 $5,581,437 – 5
15 13 Overlord Par. $405,000 -63.6% 533 -690 $760 $21,014,015 $38 4
16 14 Nobody’s Fool Par. $380,000 -57.8% 385 -223 $987 $31,128,059 $19 5
17 15 Venom (2018) Sony $380,000 -50.4% 425 -160 $894 $212,270,652 $100 9
18 17 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $350,000 -41.5% 272 -154 $1,287 $6,591,770 – 7
19 16 The Front Runner Sony $270,000 -57.3% 807 – $335 $1,627,318 – 4
20 22 The Hate U Give Fox $210,000 -35.7% 250 -10 $840 $29,226,139 $23 9
21 25 At Eternity’s Gate CBS $180,000 -18.8% 48 +17 $3,750 $669,486 – 3
22 26 Maria by Callas SPC $116,803 -28.1% 69 +14 $1,693 $873,836 – 5
23 34 Shoplifters Magn. $106,000 +18.7% 14 +9 $7,571 $238,260 – 2
24 36 A Cool Fish CL $95,000 +12.1% 35 +17 $2,714 $364,329 – 3
25 32 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $78,000 -24.6% 114 +23 $684 $10,919,749 – 10
26 37 Border Neon $76,920 +1.9% 73 +36 $1,054 $571,245 – 6
27 N Anna and the Apocalypse Orion $50,163 – 5 – $10,033 $50,163 – 1
28 28 A Private War Aviron $50,000 -62.5% 66 -160 $758 $1,518,107 – 5
29 39 Incredibles 2 BV $29,000 -49.5% 93 -13 $312 $608,546,638 – 25
30 60 Becoming Astrid MBox $18,934 +253.2% 15 +12 $1,262 $26,955 – 2
31 63 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $2,721 -41.1% 4 -1 $680 $96,747 – 9
32 64 Last Letter CL $1,100 -76.1% 1 -3 $1,100 $179,732 – 4
33 54 The Wife SPC $846 -90.8% 6 -7 $141 $7,788,275 – 16
TOTAL (33 MOVIES): $113,968,350 -47.4% 36,493 -4,825 $3,123
I’d like to officially take back my prediction that “Ralph” would be the top-grossing year-end release.
It seems to have tapered off–after its boff Thanksgiving weekend bow–even more than the usual Disney ‘toon in the post-T-giving, pre-Xmas b.o. doldrums.
Maybe it was more front-loaded than I thought. It’ll still hit $200-million (minimum), though.
Guess I’ll throw all my eggs into the “Poppins” basket now, although “Aquaman” will give it a run for the (holiday moolah) crown.
“Marwen” and “Mortal Engines” look like the biggest losers, and “Second Chance” seems like a classic case of a movie opening doomed because of the wrong date. (It screams September/April to me.)
Potential sleeper? “Vice,” although maybe I’m biased because I love it so much (and found it so volcanically entertaining.)
Friday b.o. estimates
12/7
1 RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
3,795 $3,524,000
+219.8% / $929
$128,241,885 / 17
2 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
3,841 $3,334,000
+225% / $868
$211,619,175 / 29
3 CREED II
MGM
3,752 $2,837,065
+156.1% / $756
$88,986,462 / 17
4 FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros.
3,451 $1,785,000
+121.5% / $517
$140,187,524 / 22
5 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
2,953 $1,650,000
+125.7% / $559
$169,219,170 / 36
6 INSTANT FAMILY
Paramount
3,426 $1,560,000
+166% / $455
$50,120,742 / 22
7 GREEN BOOK
Universal
1,181 $1,099,000
+133.9% / $931
$17,140,911 / 22
8 ROBIN HOOD (2018)
Lionsgate/Summit
2,573 $958,000
+137.3% / $372
$24,662,193 / 17
9 THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE
Sony / Screen Gems
2,298 $940,000
+138.5% / $409
$9,271,549 / 8
10 WIDOWS
Fox
2,161 $900,000
+115.7% / $416
$35,955,806 / 22
11 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
1,631 $690,000
+197.5% / $423
$195,278,597 / 64
12 THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
91 $458,777
+362.8% / $5,042
$2,497,423 / 15
– THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
1,170 $230,000
+119.9% / $197
$51,810,194 / 36
– SCHINDLER’S LIST (2018 RE-RELEASE)
Universal
1,029 $229,000
— / $223
$229,000 / 1
AT ETERNITY’S GATE
CBS Films
172 $90,000
+350.5% / $523
$851,117 / 22
NOBODY’S FOOL
Paramount
368 $73,000
+157.5% / $198
$31,287,774 / 36
OVERLORD
Paramount
391 $73,000
+61.8% / $187
$21,293,409 / 29
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
265 $68,000
+77.9% / $257
$6,800,874 / 50
ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE
Orion Pictures
46 $47,010
+1059% / $1,022
$120,142 / 8
THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
235 $40,000
+73.7% / $170
$29,331,392 / 64
THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
136 $24,000
+137.5% / $176
$10,989,284 / 71
INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
66 $7,000
+239.6% / $106
$608,563,044 / 176
A PRIVATE WAR
Aviron
35 $6,400
-26.9% / $183
$1,551,408 / 36
FRANK AND AVA
Hannover House
1 $2,554
(actual)
— / $2,554
$2,554 / 1
December 7-9, 2018
Weekend
1 1 Ralph Breaks the Internet BV $16,141,000 -36.9% 3,795 -222 $4,253 $140,858,885 $175 3
2 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) Uni. $15,175,000 -15.4% 3,841 -93 $3,951 $223,463,175 $75 5
3 3 Creed II MGM $10,322,515 -38.0% 3,752 +176 $2,751 $96,471,912 $50 3
4 4 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald WB $6,805,000 -40.1% 3,451 -400 $1,972 $145,207,524 $200 4
5 5 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $6,000,000 -25.1% 2,953 -54 $2,032 $173,569,170 $52 6
6 6 Instant Family Par. $5,600,000 -21.9% 3,426 +50 $1,635 $54,160,742 $48 4
7 10 Green Book Uni. $3,935,000 +0.1% 1,181 +116 $3,332 $19,976,911 $23 4
8 8 Robin Hood (2018) LG/S
$3,585,000 -25.0% 2,573 -254 $1,393 $27,289,193 $100
9 7 The Possession of Hannah Grace SGem $3,175,000 -50.4% 2,298 +233 $1,382 $11,506,549 $9.5 2
10 9 Widows Fox $3,100,000 -29.6% 2,161 -232 $1,435 $38,155,806 $42 4
11 12 A Star is Born (2018) WB $2,530,000 +38.3% 1,631 +550 $1,551 $197,118,597 $36 10
12 14 The Favourite FoxS $1,430,000 +33.4% 91 +57 $15,714 $3,468,646 – 3
13 13 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $979,000 -27.1% 1,170 -222 $837 $52,559,194 $120 6
14 N Schindler’s List (2018 re-release) Uni. $551,000 – 1,029 – $535 $551,000 – 1
15 15 Boy Erased Focus $420,000 -30.5% 622 -38 $675 $6,335,227 – 6
16 26 At Eternity’s Gate CBS $310,000 +66.4% 172 +124 $1,802 $1,071,117 – 4
17 18 Venom (2018) Sony $305,000 -19.2% 388 -37 $786 $212,716,166 $100 10
18 17 Nobody’s Fool Par. $255,000 -33.3% 368 -17 $693 $31,469,774 $19 6
19 20 Free Solo NGE $252,641 -12.3% 182 +24 $1,388 $10,510,593 – 11
20 16 Overlord Par. $250,000 -38.3% 391 -142 $639 $21,470,409 $38 5
21 19 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $245,000 -27.7% 265 -7 $925 $6,977,874 – 8
22 79 The Wife SPC $222,547 +20,875.2% 421 +415 $529 $8,011,664 – 17
23 N Mary Queen of Scots Focus $200,000 – 4 – $50,000 $200,000 – 1
24 N Vox Lux Neon $162,252 – 6 – $27,042 $162,252 – 1
25 24 The Hate U Give Fox $150,000 -21.8% 235 -15 $638 $29,441,392 $23 10
26 42 Anna and the Apocalypse Orion $141,944 +169.9% 46 +41 $3,086 $215,076 – 2
27 27 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $108,495 -31.7% 196 -11 $554 $7,431,533 – 9
28 29 Maria by Callas SPC $102,313 -11.3% 149 +80 $687 $1,040,232 – 6
29 35 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $85,000 +5.7% 136 +22 $625 $11,050,284 – 11
30 N Ben is Back RAtt. $80,972 – 4 – $20,243 $80,972 –
31 34 Border Neon $52,626 -35.4% 74 +1 $711 $670,704 – 7
32 47 Suspiria Amazon $26,450 -15.7% 33 – $802 $2,448,069 – 7
33 44 A Private War Aviron $24,000 -50.8% 35 -31 $686 $1,569,008 – 6
34 49 Incredibles 2 BV $22,000 -25.0% 66 -27 $333 $608,578,044 – 26
35 51 Becoming Astrid MBox $7,739 -59.2% 13 -2 $595 $49,750 – 3
36 52 The World Before Your Feet Greenwich $6,366 -56.2% 4 -3 $1,592 $66,234 – 3
37 N Frank and Ava Hann. $3,062 – 1 – $3,062 $3,062 –
38 68 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $2,170 -20.2% 6 +2 $362 $110,032 – 10
So The Grinch is going to end up out-grossing Wreck-It-Ralph 2….once again, do NOT underestimate Illumination as a box office powerhouse. (This coming from some one who hasn’t seen an Illumination movie since the first Despicable Me)
Grinch certainly outperformed what I though it would do, crossing into that giant 100 million dollar desert between MI6 and Deadpool 2 with some gas left in the tank.
Also surprised by the holding power of Instant Family, after the shaky opening it looks like it will get into Game Night/Book Club territory. That would have been quite a win if they could have brought it in at half the cost.
Finally decided to start watching HBO’s limited (8 episode) Italian-language series, “My Brilliant Friend,” because it was hogging up too much space on my DVR.
The first 20-30 minutes were rough–I hadn’t read the book(s)–but wound up getting hooked. Watched 5 1/4 eps yesterday, which is the closest I’ve come to binge-watching anything in years.
If you’ve been hesitant to take the plunge w/ another cable series, give it a try. It’s exceedingly well-done and terrifically compelling.
I don’t know what channel its on, I’m thinking Starz, but the Get Shorty series popped up in my Netflix or Amazon feed so I thought I would give it a look since I am a HUGE Leonard fan and Shorty was my gateway book. It is EVERYTHING that is wrong with television. Two episodes in and nothing has really happened. The feature film did the whole story in less time than this is taking with the prologue.
Anyone get around to Drummer Girl? I flaked on recording the second episode so it might take awhile for me to hit.
Hcat- Was sidetracked by the plethora of year-end screeners, so “Drummer Girl” (all three parts) is safely stored on my DVR.
Planning to watch it as a Christmas present to myself.
Rank* Title Friday
12/14
(Estimates)
1 SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Sony / Columbia
3,813 $12,600,000
— / $3,304
$12,600,000 / 1
2 THE MULE
Warner Bros.
2,588 $5,850,000
— / $2,260
$5,850,000 / 1
3 MORTAL ENGINES
Universal
3,103 $2,820,000
— / $909
$2,820,000 / 1
4 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
3,759 $2,770,000
+180.4% / $737
$230,479,710 / 36
5 RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
3,575 $2,114,000
+191.1% / $591
$146,989,878 / 24
6 CREED II
MGM
3,107 $1,514,062
+122.9% / $487
$100,998,208 / 24
7 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
2,213 $1,170,000
+103% / $529
$177,468,200 / 43
8 INSTANT FAMILY
Paramount
2,860 $1,075,000
+131% / $376
$57,573,054 / 29
9 FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros.
2,606 $1,015,000
+88.4% / $389
$149,018,410 / 29
10 THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
439 $835,000
+516.3% / $1,902
$5,004,903 / 22
11 GREEN BOOK
Universal
1,215 $776,000
+87.9% / $639
$22,656,366 / 29
12 ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL
Fox
1,566 $740,000
+98.1% / $473
$2,023,920 / 3
– WIDOWS
Fox
1,228 $380,000
+44.8% / $309
$39,995,656 / 29
– THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE
Sony / Screen Gems
1,307 $365,000
+51.4% / $279
$13,089,905 / 15
– ROBIN HOOD (2018)
Lionsgate/Summit
1,720 $363,000
+54.1% / $211
$28,946,833 / 24
– A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
842 $300,000
+38.6% / $356
$198,438,074 / 71
– MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Focus Features
66 $233,000
+1364.3% / $3,530
$495,835 / 8
– THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
644 $132,000
+60.8% / $205
$53,233,799 / 43
– IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Annapurna Pictures
4 $81,575
— / $20,394
$81,575 / 1
– ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE
Orion Pictures
138 $45,927
+477.8% / $333
$323,622 / 15
– CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
166 $37,000
+57.9% / $223
$7,152,860 / 57
– A PRIVATE WAR
Aviron
50 $3,800
+34.2% / $76
$1,587,675 / 43
I guess NEON and Orion were overly optimistic (hubristic?) about expanding “Vox Lux” and “Anna and the Apocalypse.”
While I understand the latter (it’s Xmas-themed after all), the former is confounding. NEON should have gone slow and steady in the hopes of building cultish w.o.m.
Solid “Spider-Man” and “Mule” bows; predictably dismal showing for “Mortal Engines.”
December 14-16, 2018
Weekend
1 N Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Sony $35,400,000 – 3,813 – $9,284 $35,400,000 $90 1
2 N The Mule WB $17,210,000 – 2,588 – $6,650 $17,210,000 $50 1
3 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) Uni. $11,580,000 -23.0% 3,759 -82 $3,081 $239,288,710 $75 6
4 1 Ralph Breaks the Internet BV $9,589,000 -41.0% 3,575 -220 $2,682 $154,464,878 $175 4
5 N Mortal Engines Uni. $7,501,000 – 3,103 – $2,417 $7,501,000 $100 1
6 3 Creed II MGM $5,398,830 -45.9% 3,107 -645 $1,738 $104,882,976 $50 4
7 5 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $4,125,000 -32.8% 2,213 -740 $1,864 $180,423,200 $52 7
8 6 Instant Family Par. $3,720,000 -35.4% 2,860 -566 $1,301 $60,218,054 $48 5
9 4 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald WB $3,650,000 -47.5% 2,606 -845 $1,401 $151,653,410 $200 5
10 7 Green Book Uni. $2,780,000 -28.8% 1,215 +34 $2,288 $24,660,366 $23 5
11 N Once Upon a Deadpool Fox $2,600,000 – 1,566 – $1,660 $3,883,920 – 1
12 12 The Favourite FoxS $2,570,000 +70.9% 439 +348 $5,854 $6,739,903 – 4
13 10 Widows Fox $1,200,000 -61.9% 1,228 -933 $977 $40,815,656 $42 5
14 8 Robin Hood (2018) LG/S $1,187,000 -66.4% 1,720 -853 $690 $29,771,833 $100 4
15 9 The Possession of Hannah Grace SGem $1,180,000 -62.8% 1,307 -991 $903 $13,904,905 $9.5 3
16 11 A Star is Born (2018) WB $1,022,000 -58.4% 842 -789 $1,214 $199,160,074 $36 11
17 27 Mary Queen of Scots Focus $700,000 +259.4% 66 +62 $10,606 $961,835 – 2
18 13 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $545,000 -50.5% 644 -526 $846 $53,646,799 $120 7
19 29 Vox Lux Neon $244,000 +56.7% 325 +319 $751 $433,211 – 2
20 N If Beale Street Could Talk Annapurna $219,174 – 4 – $54,794 $219,174 – 1
21 18 At Eternity’s Gate CBS $188,000 -41.2% 178 +4 $1,056 $1,446,262 – 5
22 23 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $140,000 -45.3% 166 -99 $843 $7,255,860 – 9
23 30 Anna and the Apocalypse Orion $135,988 -4.4% 138 +92 $985 $413,683 – 3
24 34 Maria by Callas SPC $28,354 -72.5% 62 -87 $457 $1,139,545 – 7
25 N Capernaum SPC $27,588 – 3 – $9,196 $27,588 – 1
26 25 The Wife SPC $21,928 -89.5% 67 -354 $327 $8,152,924 – 18
27 41 Border Neon $16,358 -69.5% 31 -43 $528 $725,870 – 8
28 47 A Private War Aviron $14,000 -41.7% 50 +15 $280 $1,597,875 – 7
29 58 Becoming Astrid MBox $3,900 -61.1% 12 -3 $325 $64,793 – 4
30 69 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $1,759 -27.2% 3 -4 $586 $144,199 – 11
TOTAL (30 MOVIES): $112,998,879 +32.3% 37,690 -2,221 $2,998
Hcat- Finally started making my way through “Drummer Girl.” (I’ve watched the first four episodes and have just started #5.)
I love Park Chan-Wook and Florence Pugh, but it’s definitely slow-going.
The fact that I find the whole thing wildly confusing/hard to follow doesn’t help.
I have absolutely zero recollection of th 1984e George Roy Hill/Diane Keaton “Drummer Girl,” but I do know that it was shorter, lol.
From what I know of the George Roy Hill one the shorter length might have made it seemed rushed or tough to follow since it had so much plot to pack in.
Looked up what neighborhood Mortal opened to. A little above the Life of David Gale, a little below Dead Silence and Dream House. Devastating for anything, but for a hundred million dollar movie that they have been promoting for 12 months? There almost needs to be new adjectives made to accurately paint how terrible this is. There has got to be a thousand furious phone calls this AM. WE. DID. HALF. OF. PAN!!!!!!
The trailers for Mortal were so bad, and the really weird premise never gets explained or made sense of. And then for all the talk of this being the work of Peter Jackson, he didn’t even direct the damn thing. How could Uni let this happen?
And yet Marwen could still do worse!
Rank* Title Friday
12/21
(Estimates)
1 AQUAMAN
Warner Bros.
4,125 $28,000,000
— / $6,788
$32,700,000 / 1
2 BUMBLEBEE
Paramount
3,550 $8,460,000
— / $2,383
$8,460,000 / 1
3 MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Buena Vista
4,090 $6,700,000
+65.4% / $1,638
$15,514,671 / 3
4 SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Sony / Columbia
3,813 $4,850,000
+68.1% / $1,272
$52,950,063 / 8
5 THE MULE
Warner Bros.
2,656 $4,250,000
+141.2% / $1,600
$29,953,465 / 8
6 SECOND ACT
STX Entertainment
2,607 $2,480,000
— / $951
$2,480,000 / 1
7 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
2,780 $2,364,000
+57.9% / $850
$247,403,975 / 43
8 RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
2,495 $1,325,000
+56.5% / $531
$158,819,930 / 31
9 WELCOME TO MARWEN
Universal
1,911 $909,000
— / $476
$909,000 / 1
10 THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
790 $625,000
+129.1% / $791
$8,652,140 / 29
11 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Focus Features
795 $622,000
+746.3% / $782
$1,925,755 / 15
12 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
1,168 $515,000
+23.2% / $441
$183,346,798 / 50
– MORTAL ENGINES
Universal
3,103 $511,000
+17.5% / $165
$10,775,960 / 8
– GREEN BOOK
Universal
732 $365,000
+15.9% / $499
$26,488,971 / 36
– FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros.
682 $240,000
-22.5% / $352
$153,832,713 / 36
– ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL
Fox
1,428 $235,000
+24.7% / $165
$5,199,257 / 10
– A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
262 $90,000
-3.8% / $344
$199,811,727 / 78
– THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
241 $62,000
+8.1% / $257
$54,020,430 / 50
– ROBIN HOOD (2018)
Lionsgate/Summit
230 $27,000
-47.7% / $117
$30,346,419 / 31