April 19, 2024
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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
So $33 million is a really bad opening for The Lego Movie 2 right?
I would say it’s devastating, Lego was the flagship for their whole animated division. If it performs like Smallfoot and Storks what’s the use of having one?
If this drops by such an amount I would think the dragonriders are nervous going into next weekend
I enjoyed “High Flying Bird” although it feels very much like one of Steven Soderbergh’s casually tossed off divertissements like “Unsane” or “The Girlfriend Experience” (as opposed to one of his “Major Works”).
But the performances by Andre Holland and Zazie Beetz are as good as any we’re likely to see this year.
So, yeah: definitely watch it.
I’m not too surprised by the opening for Lego Movie 2. I’ve honestly seen more spots for How To Train Your Dragon 3, which is still a couple of weeks away from its opening.
Wasn’t crazy about the first two “Dragon” ‘toons, both of which I thought were wildly overrated..
Have pretty much zero interest in a third outing.
Def a vid title for me.
Let me put it to you this way: Lego came out, and my wife was pregnant. Lego 2 came out, and now I have a four year old. That’s WAY TOO LONG A TIME, to put out a sequel. They also, seemingly, made the mistake that Warners loves to make… THEY DIDN’T SELL THE MOVIE! What’s the movie about? You want people to spend coin in 2019, then you need to EXPLAIN THE FUCKING MOVIE! It’s like, not hard to do this. They used to do this all the time, but they love to be vague. If you can’t specifically tell people what’s going on, then people aren’t going to spend their damn money.
It’s a sad development for the Lego movies, but a sequel should have been in development with the original film. Waiting this long, even though they’ve had other Lego films over the four years, just did this franchise in, and Chris Pratt is totally fucking gross now. Totally fucking gross. #EllenPageDontPlay
wasn’t there the same amount of time between the Deagons, Kung fu pandas and Madagascar’s? That didn’t seem to hobble them any? Perhaps the spinoffs poisoned the well a bit? Whatever it is they will be unpacking this all year.
Anecdotal, but the opening-night crowd at Landmark in D.C. for the Oscar-nominated shorts was less than capacity for the 7:30 animated slate. That’s a dip – not a lot, but still, a dip – from the last time I saw the animated shorts at that theater. The 5 p.m. show of live-action shorts was maybe half full, but I chalked that up mostly to the just-getting-off-work start time. I wonder, though, if we’ll see a slight drop in opening-weekend grosses for the shorts, which had been building in recent years.
And just to be clear, I’ve seen the first Lego movie and I’ve never seen the first two How to Train Your Dragon movies.
Was there a typo in that hashtag?
#EllenPageDon’tPray
I think Lego Movie has an uphill climb because it tarnished its reputation by putting out stuff no one cared about. I think it’s not so much about selling the story, but more about letting us know this is Grade A Lego Movie and not just Filler Lego Movie. Hell, at this point I don’t know if there’s any difference.
Here’s the thing though: Lego Batman, is the best Batman movie of the 21st century. Yes, I mean this in totality, because it just gets Batman in ways no other cinematic adaptation ever has. Also, Ninjago is fucking great. If you have a heart and a soul, then Ninjago will move you. Especially, if you ever wanted a relationship with your dad to work out, when it’s been a pain otherwise.
Seriously, the Lego movies are fucking magical, and they deserve to be spoken about with reverence, because MOVIES BASED AROUND A FUCKING TOY BRICK, SHOULD NOT BE THIS SPECIAL!
Finally, HC, I went through and looked at dates, and it seems those movies take between 3 to 5 years between sequels. That’s just too damn long for a kids movie, because you are totally relying on the same kids to like the exact same thing over long periods of times, and being a kid and having kid shows, that doesn’t always work. Lego, seems to have just not aged up, and that killed the franchise.
Here’s a fun fact: Marvel Studios has produced, in the amount of years it took to make all three of the How to Train Your Dragon movies, 24 films. 24. Sure. There is a lot of HTTYD CN/Netflix content over that time, but that’s 11 years. That’s just… too damn long.
The Lego movies seem like they would be decent, but their jokiness and parody inherently make them feel like throw-aways. I think their challenge is to sell the quality, like this is gonna be the movie everyone needs to see, and not just doing as many off-shoots as possible. Two movies in one year is a bit too much as Star Wars has found out.
That’s a decent opening for What Men Want, if it follows the book club trajectory Paramount has a solid win. Looking at other singles and doubles, dogs journey home and Escape Room hung in quite nicely, and there is a decent chance Upside could outlast Glass. Always happy when the little guys elbow their way in
HCat: Re the Pet Semetary trailer. Definitely gave WAY too much away in the trailer but I still found it effective. I’m excited for Wendigo stuff. But as JSP points out some studios don’t know how tho sell the movie. And some way oversell them. Finding that mid point in a trailer and marketing is a real skill.
The PS trailer almost totally shows the biggest kill of the movie (or at least what was in the original). I am very excited they are switching things up so it is not a carbon copy of the original but perhaps they showed too many of the cards. To be honest nothing in this trailer was nearly as effective of the jump scare of the truck going by when they are looking at the house, that was just beautiful.
So the Lego movie has held up for JS, but what about the rest of you? I think I’ve seen it twice since the theater and the initial rush certainly wore off. The original’s ending was so perfect and out of nowhere there is no way they can come up with something with the same impact for the sequel. Are people thinking, sure it was nice at the time but its not something I will follow forever?
Movieman, thanks for the Slaughterhouse recommendation, its funny that that came at the same time we were talking about libraries because the main reason I was trying to figure out how to request through their system was an attempt to get my hands on old George Roy Hill films like Henry Orient, Hawaii, and Period of Adjustment. Was a huge Vonnegut fan in college and oddly of the four film adaptions Slaughterhouse is the only one I haven’t seen.
So it means absolutely nothing other than trying to read tea leaves, but Aladdin is being released on the same weekend that Disney has grabbed for years. Its previous four releases were Solo, Pirates, Looking Glass, and Tomorrowland. The tag line on the trailer might as well be “We fully intend to loose hundreds of millions of dollars on this.”
(in fairness POTC was profitable, but OOF)
Have you watched “S-5” yet, Hcat? I haven’t seen it in years, but loved it at the time. (Saw it–twice–during my freshman year of high school, lol.)
“Henry Orient” is wonderful, and the young Jane Fonda was so kittenishly adorable in “Period.”
Was mildly disappointed in “Hawaii” when I finally caught up with it a few years back on TCM. Especially since it was the rare GRH movie that Pauline Kael actually liked. What did you think?
S5 is sitting at the top of my netflix queue and since I culled it down to one at a time (and they are slow to get here) If I can get Captain from Castille watched and in the mail tomorrow I may get it by the weekend.
Not one for television but I watch Grace and Frankie just to bask in the greatness of Fonda. I had no idea how much I missed her. Its a shame she let her career go dormant for all those years. Ideally she could talk her niece into a guest spot on an episode next season. I would love to see her onscreen again if just for a little while.
Since we are talking Roy Hill was wondering what you thought of Millie.
re the new aladdin, the image i saw of will smith’s extremely literal live action blue cartoon genie rustles my jimmies, like the uncanny valley in reverse (too scared to watch the trailer)
I’m shocked Netflix actually has a DVD copy of “S-5,” Hcat!
One of the factors that inspired my recent library explorations was an inability to find most older titles (some obscure-ish, others not so much) on Netflix…including several that I got from them a decade or more ago, but which are now conspicuously MIA on Netflix.
“Millie” is a bit top-heavy, but still good fun.
Totally top heavy, whimsy is not supposed to weigh that much. I don’t think I have ever seen a campier film. It is fun but seems like the turning point where musicals started getting too lavish, too large. It works better than the other gilded and bloated productions of the time (Camelot, Oliver, Doolittle, Dolly), but its not nearly as effervescent as its trying to be. Of course I sort of feel that way about The Sting also.
Yeah, I’ve always preferred GRH when he went “small.”
“Garp,” “S-5,” “Henry Orient,” “Waldo Pepper,” even “Funny Farm.”
“Butch & Sundance” and “The Sting” are movies I can’t find serious fault with, but neither wowed me the way they did everyone else.
I actually like the four musicals you mentioned more than “Millie:” yes, even “Dr. Dolittle” and “Camelot,” both of which I watched again fairly recently. Was surprised at how much better they were than their reps. (Of course, I loved both movies as a kid.)
“So it means absolutely nothing other than trying to read tea leaves, but Aladdin is being released on the same weekend that Disney has grabbed for years. Its previous four releases were Solo, Pirates, Looking Glass, and Tomorrowland. The tag line on the trailer might as well be “We fully intend to loose hundreds of millions of dollars on this.”
That’s what happens when you create a monopoly and only have yourselves in competition. I still love Tomorrowland and Solo though.
I have never been able to get through Dolittle (chitty Chitty bang bang either). I like Dolly well enough, but its all hat, the set design and lavishness crushes the really simple story.
I remember loving Oliver! (cant forget the exclamation point, it certainly earns it) as a kid and the songs stand up but man the thing is like 50% prancing. Oliver! feels like they tried to make a David Lean Musical.
Believe it or not, “Chitty”–which I disliked as a kid: thought it was a raging bore–seemed a lot better when I gave it another look a few months back on TCM. Somebody needs to do a (non- musical, and maybe non-British) reboot.
“Oliver!” was one of my “passion” films as a wee bairn. Probably couldn’t be objective if I tried. I watched David Lean’s “Oliver Twst” over the holidays and developed a hankering to give Carol Reed’s musical iteration another look. Hope I don’t regret that decision. (Mark Lester was–and remains–annoyingly twee, though. Bleuch!)
“Dolly” was another movie I worshipped as a queer-in-the-making kiddie. The last time I saw it was in college: a washed out print with faded colors that nearly wrecked the damn thing for me. I’ve always considered it the last great Old School Hollywood movie musical. And Dolly (Streisand) asking Horace (Matthau) if she can salt his beets turned me onto beets. No lie.
Re: “Dolittle.” I loved the Hugh Lofting books as a kid, and the movie–which I had to wait an inordinate amount of time to see back then: “big” cities got it in Xmas 1967; we didn’t get it until June ’68–definitely hit my sweet spot. Was apprehensive about revisiting it, but a fourth (or was it fifth?) viewing last year only confirmed my original enthusiasm. It’s way better than its stinky rep (Leslie Bricusse’s “DD” score remains his career highlight) even though some of the f/x seem laughably primitive in the CGI era.
Too bad William Dix didn’t play the title role in “Oliver!” He’s that rare British kid actor who doesn’t make my teeth ache.
A lot of people (not just H’wood insiders) complained about “DD” receiving a Best Picture nomination at the time. But it was hardly the least worthy of that year’s nominees. (I’m looking at you “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”) Talk about a movie that hasn’t aged well!
FUNNY FARM is absolutely wonderful in every way.
Chevy Chase, despite allegedly being an amazing prick, was one of the smoothest and most natural comedic actors. I watched Caddyshack the other night because, well, it’s Caddyshack. He is so funny and charming. God I love that movie. “Do you take drugs Danny?”
Every scene with Knight and Dangerfield is money.
Sorry to change the topic.
2 other off-topic things;
Dumbo is feeling like a return to form for Burton. I hope I’m right. Mind you, I liked Big Eyes as much as David, and Frankenweenie is a delight, but Alice casts such a HUGE pall.
Also, Disney apparently wants to do something with the Nightmare Before Christmas property. Probably a smart business. But otherwise I give this an emphatic NOPE! And I’m not even it’s biggest fan. But just don’t touch it.
Skeleton Jack is my kid’s favorite character in the world, so the chance she can see him in some new adventure? YEP! Seriously. They already made a sequel, with a game, and that game is freaking terrible. Give people some money, and some time, and let’s have Jack and Sally go do something else.
I agree about Dumbo, because that last trailer? Freaking tingles and all that good stuff. I love Dumbo, so here’s hoping the film pays it off.
Also, I’d love Tomorrowland more. If it wasn’t a libertarian fantasy. I simply cannot separate the libertarianism from Bird. It’s just all over everything he has written and directed, and thank some alien in a volcano Cruise has a say over M:I.
Finally, I love Funny Farm, because it’s such a perfect comedy. It just works so damn well, that I never have gotten bored with it. I also wish, that Aladdin didn’t look so damn cheap. I get why it looks this way, because it’s tied into those old Arabian Nights films. I get it, but the level of cheap is just so staggering for a Disney movie. When it fails… no one will care, because we can all watch the original.
Oh yeah. Yesterday, is going to make a lot of fucking money. It just has that, “SPECIAL,” sort of vibe to it.
I can’t imagine they will leave Nightmare alone, especially at the rate they are plowing through these properties. Nightmare had a remarkably long tail, theyre still merchandising it when things that made two to three times as much on release have fallen into the ether.
Love Caddyshack and Funny Farm as well, will throw Seems Like Old Times and Foul Play out there as well as rewatchable nostalgic comfort picks. It seems like all comedians film picks were hit and miss back then but wow when Chase missed he missed by a mile. Under The Rainbow and Modern Problems were two of the worst comedies of the 80s.
I might eventually give Dolittle a chance now Movieman. It just looks so “Marvelous Men in Their Flying Machines” which I found terribly lumbering. But for questionable musicals of the era I still have Star, Paint Your Wagon, and Sweet Charity higher on the must see list.
I remember actually enjoying “Paint Your Wagon” back when I was young: never saw it again, though.
Disliked “Star!” and “Sweet Charity” at the time of their original release(s), but rewatched both fairly recently and my initial “meh” response was pretty much confirmed. (I watched the extra-long “director’s cut” of “Star!,” too. Talk about a slog!)
Pretty remarkable what a giant artistic leap Fosse made between “Charity” and “Cabaret.”
Re: Chevy Chase movies.
I liked “Under the Rainbow” in 1981, lol. Never had the urge to revisit it, however. “Modern Problems” IS a major stinker, and “Foul Play” never quite did it for me. “Seems Like Old Times” was a lot of fun, but Charles Grodin makes any movie better.
For my money, Grodin gave one of the two or three funniest performances ever in “Heaven Can Wait” (one of my all-time favorite comedies.)
Gee JS, you say libertarianism like it’s a bad thing.
I’m curious what your take is on Fighting with my Family. I don’t really see the point of the film from the WWE. If they’re trying to bring in new wrestling fans with a root for the underdog style film, how are they going to deal with the fact Paige doesn’t wrestle anymore? Hey, glad you liked Paige, now tune in for a different female wrestler? Regular wrestling fans know Paige suffered a career-ending injury at the ripe old age of 25.
Heaven can Wait is perfect. And a perfect juxtaposition to Millie and Dolly (though of course not a musical). Wait slides along on a cloud, sometimes literally, and for how broad it gets with its murder subplot it never swerves into Blake Edwards type slapstick. You have the revved up performances of Grodin and Cannon and the understated Mason and Henry (honestly Henry is able to get belly laughs out of me just by standing there), and all anchored by Beatty’s gloriously goofy character who has all the joy and enthusiasm of a slightly high golden retriever.
Is there a trailer out for Yesterday? That’s probably the top of my summer must see list.
Yes, it’s an absolutely perfect movie, Hcat.
I always refer to “Heaven Can Wait” as “the last great Hollywood screwball comedy,” and have shown it in class as a screwball exemplar. Works for my students in ways that vintage screwball (“His Girl Friday,” “Bringing Up Baby,” et al) fails to do (alas).
It’s a movie that has pretty much everything, including an ending that never fails to moisten my eyes.
Love the “Yesterday” trailer! Definitely has the feel of a major summer sleeper. So gratifying to see Danny Boyle lighten up.
Now wouldn’t you consider more recent things like 9-5, Beetlejuice, Dave, Groundhog Day, Eternal Sunshine also screwball? Are Albert Brook’s comedies too low key to be considered screwball?
I think we always associate screwball with that certain Howard Hawks rhythm and patter but that’s just the theatrical manner in which films were shot at the time. But I would certainly say that things like Dodgeball, the Hangover films, and Nancy Meyers fit the screwball mode.
I’d definitely include “Tootsie,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “Groundhog Day” under the screwball umbrella.
But “Heaven Can Wait” stands alone because it truly felt like the last great screwball comedy in the hallowed tradition of ’30s/’40s movies. In that sense, it’s almost the last gasp of a classic genre that helped define “Golden Age” Hollywood.
Hawks, Lubitsch, Wilder, Sturges….
Nobody loves Brooks as much as I do, but only “Defending Your Life” seems really screwball (or “Screwball Lite”) to me.
I would certainly throw Real Life which in many ways is even more broad than Defending.
But I see what you mean about Heaven. And it speaks to its greatness that it can be mentioned in that company without being a winking derivative of it like What’s Up Doc?
With all the praise for Heaven Can Wait, I’d highly recommend seeing the movie its based on: Here Comes Mr. Jordan. It won two Oscars and stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes. There’s even a Criterion Collection edition available. Came out in 1942.
Not that there’s anything wrong with “What’s Up, Doc?” which is pretty darn wonderful in its own right.
I love “Here Comes Mr. Jordan,” Pete. The template is so seemingly fool-proof that it’s mind-blowing how someone as talented (and smart) as Chris Rock could have completely blown it in “Down to Earth.”
Does anyone really believe that all these films are opening Memorial Day weekend?
Aren’t Ad Astra” and “Brightburn” competing for the same audience?
Ditto “Aladdin” and “Minecraft”?
Only “Booksmart” has a demo to itself, but a holiday weekend release feels suicidal.
Gotta feeling May 24th will have an even bigger shakedown than (originally top-heavy) March 22.
Ad Astra
Sci-Fi Thriller Fox Wide
Aladdin (2019)
Fantasy Buena Vista Wide
Booksmart
Comedy Annapurna Pictures Wide
Brightburn
Horror Sony / Screen Gems Wide
Minecraft
Animation WB Wide
Returning to an earlier thread:
Hcat: I’ve never thought of “Real Life” as screwball.
The faux doc set up–a spoof of PBS’ ’70s water cooler phenom “An American Family”–feels more like a precursor of today’s “reality TV.”
Maybe one of the reasons “Defending” seems more “screwball”-friendly to me than Brooks’ other films was because the fanciful afterlife setting is so evocative of the heavenly scenes from “Heaven Can Wait” and “Here Comes Mr. Jordan.”
The giant dead horse, Brooks attempt at seducing the wife, his solution at the end are all pretty broad, he downplays it well. The difference between Brooka and other comedians is that the topsy turvy conditions of the plot usually cause them to spin upwards out of control, but Brook always spirals downward crushed by the pressure. The protagonists always rise to the challenges of their ridiculous predicament, while Defending and Mother are really the only ones where he meets a satisfactory resolution. Though Romance, Mother, and America couldn’t really be seen as screwball, is there sort of a definition where the hero is affected by wacky outside forces rather than Brook’s hells of his own making?
I think Brightburn and Minecraft are sacrificial lambs. Minecraft especially, there is not going to be a wide audience for this, Warners has a very crowded May, and there is no other decent place on the schedule for it. They are probably hoping that tossing the trailer onto Pikachu is their best hope of getting their audience in the theater for what is probably just a token release prior to home video.
Interesting points, Hcat, but Brooks–who I’ve always linked with Woody Allen (lazy, I know)–has never really tackled classic screwball conventions the way, say, Woody
did in movies like “Bullets Over Broadway” and “Manhattan Murder Mystery.”
In some respects, “Broadcast News” (which Brooks only acted in) is closer to the spirit of genuine screwball than any of his own films.
Re: the Memorial Day Weekend logjam.
I’m fully anticipating that at least two, if not more of those titles to be repositioned before May.
Annapurna can’t seem to commit to a date for their Linklater movie–it’s bounced around from October ’18 to March, and now has an August opening slated–so I can definitely see “Booksmart” being pushed back as well.
And I thought “Brightburn” was generating major fanboy buzz/heat. Why do you think it’s a sacrificial lamb for Sony?
Looking at the release schedule, the three wide releases I am most interested in all drop the same day. Yesterday, Mangold’s car racing flick and Limited Partnership (Haddish and Byrne, who are never not funny even in inferior product) all premiere on June 28th.
Brightburn is Screengems and I always assume those are sacrificial (they haven’t topped 30 million since August of 2016). But honestly I always presume any Sony release are going to tank or underperform. No one was more surprised by Venom and Jumanji than me, though I still haven’t seen either.
Your mention of Woody got me thinking, now that people refuse to work with him and we will not be getting new projects, wouldn’t now be decent time to start remaking some of his work that didn’t reach their full potential? I would love to see someone else take a crack at Broadway Danny Rose (good movie, great idea, but thought it could have been funnier), and Melinda and Melinda was such a fantastic idea but sloppily executed its a shame to let a great idea whither on the vine like that.
Hcat- To be perfectly honest, I’d rather see new Woody Allen movies than reboots of his early films (even ones like “M&M” that weren’t great despite having a fantastic premise).
No complaints from me about “B’way Danny Rose.” I thought it was perfectly lovely.
Don’t be surprised if one (or more) of those June 28th movies winds up with a new date before summer hits.
Maybe it’s due to a sluggish marketplace, but I can’t recall a period where distributers tinkered so frantically with release dates.
Everything seems a little off this year since everyone is giving such a wide berth to Endgame and Lion King. Nothing but counter programming is coming two weeks before or after Endgame.
March is as barren as any month in recent memory.
A Marvel; Tyler Perry going back to the Madea well; an off-brand cartoon; a generic YA romance (that sounds like a dozen other YA romances).
Snooze.
I’ve got a hunch that release dates for pretty much everything–except “Marvel,” “Endgame” and “Lion King”–are basically TBD.
I wouldn’t even be surprised if Disney blinks and moves “Aladdin.”
Maybe following “Lion King” would make more sense.
Judging from people’s reaction to the trailer, premiering directly to the Disney Plus streaming service might be the better play.
Hcat- I second that emotion, lol.
Any delay from having to endure “Aladdin” would be welcome.
What was Guy Ritchie’s last good movie? “RocknRolla”?
Can’t believe Disney was happy with the way Will Smith’s genie looked. I mean, it was like something out of Delgo.
Remaking Broadway Danny Rose? Thread has jumped the shark.
You more of a Jade Scorpion fan?
Before anyone gets to work remaking an old Woody, I’d really like to see his unreleased Amazon film (“A Rainy Day in New York” w/ Timothee Chalamet and Elle Fanning).
And while we’re on the topic of newly persona non grata directors, how about the latest Polanski (“Based on a True Story” w/ Eva Green)? That’s the same movie Sony Classics was slated to release in late 2017 for awards consideration.
JS, my youngest daughter grew up up watching NBC all the time. She new Tim Burton’s name when she was 5. I got her a Burton autographed picture of Jack for Christmas one year. She’s sixteen now and she likes Corpse Bride a lot more these days. Me, I’m a Frankenweenie guy. I’m rooting so freaking hard for Burton. He’s brought me so much joy. I maintain Sleepy Hollow is a masterpiece.
Thing is, I cannot wrap my head around a live-action remake of NBC so I don’t know what they are going to do.If they go CGI sequel purists will poop their pants (and as a stop-motion lover I’d question it). I’m all for more but I’m stumped as to what they will do and would rather see it left alone than a botch job. I get visions of Ron Howard’s Grinch, which I HATE HATE HATE, and I shudder.
Snow White has to be in the pipeline, huh? And how about The Black Cauldron. I’d be down for that big time.
How long before a live-action “Frozen”?
Or will it simply be a film version of the (critically lambasted) B’way musical?
On a semi-related note, isn’t someone making an animated version of “Beetlejuice”? Or am I imagining things?
I have always wished that Frozen and UP were live action to begin with.
I keep thinking about what the next adaptions would be and keep going back to ones they have already tapped like Dalmations, and Jungle Book. Robin Hood wouldn’t really make sense because without it being animals its just Robin Hood. Tramp and Aristocats are too animal heavy but I can certainly see The Rescuers going over like gangbusters. I can also see Brave and Wall-E getting the treatment down the line.
Going live action for Nightmare would only be acceptable if it was done entirely with life size puppets. Human movement through motion capture would break the magical spell. Thank God Aardmann has never attempted a live action film with a CGI Gromit.
Anyone else notice that IMDB.com has no director listed for next month’s “Wonder Park”?
Weird.
Thank heavens for “Us” and “Dumbo.” Otherwise March would be a complete and utter wasteland.
I’m anxious to see “Greta,” but have doubts whether it’s really going wide on March 1st.
Unless by “wide” Focus means the same half in/half out Labor Day weekend dump-release they gave “The Little Stranger” which deserved better.
“Anyone else notice that IMDB.com has no director listed for next month’s “Wonder Park”?”
Three directors were involved, I believe. Maybe there’s some arbitration going on?
Three directors?
Lol.
On the basis of the trailer, it looks like it was assembled by a mass media conglomerate.
Wait.
It was, wasn’t it?
‘sleepy hollow’ has been on rotation on cable here and i watched it again the other night for the first time in ages; at least it’s got style and is well-constructed, qualities lacking in 98% of movies nowadays.
(i watched it with my kid, who’s a certified T burton fan – nightmare before xmas is his all-time fave flick, perhaps it’s a gen zed thing – but SH was one of the burton’s he hadn’t seen. he really liked it but was quite taken aback with the boy masbath basically being in servitude already at a young age, which led to an interesting conversation about child labour laws and how the effort to end the rank exploitation of children even in so-called democracies is only a fairly recent thing, so thanks TB for that teachable moment!)
edited for a shitload of typos
Is it too late to add a “Modern Era” screwball comedy pick to the previous conversation?
P.J. Hogan’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”
Do I really need to explain that choice?
At this point, “Captain Marvel,” “Us,” “Dumbo,” “Pet Sematary” and even “The Avengers” underperforming doesn’t seem entirely out of the question, does it?
From this vantage point, the only true success stories of the year to date have been “The Upside,” “Escape Room,” “A Dog’s Way Home” and possibly (too early to tell) “What Men Want.”
I guess my silly prediction that “Death Day 2” could beat “Alita” turned out to be crackpot. Not that “Alita” has anything to celebrate. Or “Isn’t it Romantic” (where’s the “?”) for that matter.
Did “Death Day” arrive too soon after the first movie?
Or was the core demo (tweener females) hip to the fact that there’s noting appreciably new here: that it’s basically the same film?
When James Cameron, Blumhouse horror and a rom-com (on Valentine’s Weekend, no less) all post blah opening figures, there’s definitely something afoot.
Friday
2/15
(Estimates)
1 ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Fox
3,790 $7,530,000
-13.6% / $1,987
$16,246,232 / 2
2 THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
Warner Bros.
4,303 $4,450,000
+100.3% / $1,034
$45,925,359 / 8
3 ISN’T IT ROMANTIC
Warner Bros. (New Line)
3,444 $4,180,000
-5.4% / $1,214
$10,425,347 / 3
4 WHAT MEN WANT
Paramount
2,912 $2,930,000
-9.9% / $1,006
$28,160,328 / 8
5 HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U
Universal
3,207 $2,845,000
+4.2% / $887
$6,556,500 / 3
6 COLD PURSUIT
Lionsgate/Summit
2,630 $1,505,000
+14.3% / $572
$16,627,332 / 8
7 THE UPSIDE
STX Entertainment
2,781 $1,340,000
+4.3% / $482
$89,947,031 / 36
8 GLASS
Universal
2,449 $957,000
+1.8% / $391
$101,587,915 / 29
9 THE PRODIGY
Orion Pictures
2,530 $848,644
+2.8% / $335
$8,714,118 / 8
10 GREEN BOOK
Universal
1,618 $650,000
+18.1% / $402
$63,655,401 / 92
11 SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Sony / Columbia
1,207 $435,000
+43.2% / $360
$181,190,904 / 64
12 AQUAMAN
Warner Bros.
1,264 $420,000
+26.4% / $332
$329,906,102 / 57
– MISS BALA
Sony / Columbia
1,172 $245,000
-24.3% / $209
$13,136,198 / 15
– BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
562 $232,000
+52.8% / $413
$211,263,709 / 106
– THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD
Warner Bros.
626 $220,000
+52.1% / $351
$14,491,347 / 61
– A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
843 $210,000
+109.3% / $249
$209,221,688 / 134
– A DOG’S WAY HOME
Sony / Columbia
880 $200,000
(actual)
+39.3% / $227
$39,651,394 / 36
– RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
1,354 $174,000
+229.9% / $129
$197,861,244 / 87
– ESCAPE ROOM
Sony / Columbia
635 $155,000
-11% / $244
$55,255,767 / 43
– THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
324 $127,000
+31.1% / $392
$30,670,285 / 85
– VICE
Annapurna Pictures
702 $116,377
+24.3% / $166
$45,636,614 / 53
– MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Buena Vista
345 $94,000
+42.3% / $272
$170,122,203 / 59
– BUMBLEBEE
Paramount
584 $92,000
+22.4% / $158
$126,133,658 / 57
– THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING
Fox
415 $74,000
+78.9% / $178
$16,019,074 / 22
– IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Annapurna Pictures
165 $45,038
-21.5% / $273
$13,959,695 / 64
– FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY
MGM
4 $35,967
+4.9% / $8,992
$70,241 / 2
– EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA
FIP
43 $11,000
-25.5% / $256
$1,123,088 / 15
– REPLICAS
Entertainment Studios
12 $700
-54.8% / $58
$4,042,535 / 36
–
I think a lackluster trailer for HDD2U is at least partly to blame. It’s a rehash of the first one and made it look like almost the same damn movie. I figured that wouldn’t matter because people seem to like the first one a lot, but maybe it did. Tracking was way off, too.
Isn’t Glass successful even if it came in below expectations? Over $100 million domestic and $225 million worldwide on a budget of $20 million. Seems OK.
There is no financial benchmark that would deem Glass unsuccessful.
I am curious Movieman, what do you think underperforming would look like for those properties? Certainly no one is expecting Panther numbers for Marvel or Get Out numbers for Us. Wouldn’t 80 million domestic be gangbusters for Pet Sem? Can’t find how much they spent on it, but I can’t imagine it’s more than 30. And as long as Avengers pulls say 85 percent of the last entry that’s got to be considered a win
I think the benchmark “Glass” failed to reach is the one Universal, and perhaps even more, the fanboy-generated media (and isn’t all media fanboy-generated today?) put on it.
For months it was referred to as “The First Blockbuster of 2019.” And certainly matching the domestic “Split” gross seemed like a no-brainer.
“Underperforming”? Hmmm.
Anything less than $300-million for “Marvel”/”Avengers;” under $200-million for “Dumbo;” under $100-million for both “Pet Sematary” and “Us.”
Maybe I have unrealistic, pre-2019 expectations for some of these films.
The first time I saw the “Pet” trailer, I thought it was going to be the biggest horror movie since “It.”
I’m no b.o. expert at all, but surely anyone remotely invested in the Marvel Universe by this point will see Captain Marvel so they’ll be up to speed for Avengers, which they’ll see because, duh, the last one ended on a major cliffhanger. Might even pick up some folks like me and the girlfriend, who caught up late with Infinity Wars on streaming but will see the follow-up in the theater.
Where the hell does the MCU go from what will be the no-doubt enormously successful Endgame, though? Just more B-character sequels until the inevitable Iron Man and Cap reboots?
I’m guessing the screen count on “Ruben Brandt” is incorrect (more likely 2 vs. 22 screens).
Does anyone know which “War and Peace” is being re-released?
Could it be the 6-hour Russian version from 1968? I was finally able to locate a DVD copy recently, and found it the very definition of “slog.” Or maybe it’s one of those movies that needs to be seen on a “big” screen.
(I looked it up, and it IS the Russian “W&P.” Apparently this new incarnation runs 7, not 6 hours. All I can say is, “Yikes!”)
February 15-17, 2019
Weekend
1 N Alita: Battle Angel Fox $27,800,000 – 3,790 – $7,335 $36,516,232 $170 1
2 1 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part WB $21,215,000 -37.8% 4,303 – $4,930 $62,690,359 – 2
3 N Isn’t It Romantic WB (NL) $14,210,000 – 3,444 – $4,126 $20,455,347 – 1
4 2 What Men Want Par. $10,920,000 -40.1% 2,912 – $3,750 $36,150,328 $20 2
5 N Happy Death Day 2U Uni. $9,816,000 – 3,207 – $3,061 $13,527,500 $9 1
6 3 Cold Pursuit LG/S $6,000,000 -45.6% 2,630 – $2,281 $21,122,332 – 2
7 4 The Upside STX $5,590,000 -21.1% 2,781 -591 $2,010 $94,197,031 $37.5 6
8 5 Glass Uni. $3,859,000 -38.5% 2,449 -805 $1,576 $104,489,915 $20 5
9 6 The Prodigy Orion $3,150,065 -46.2% 2,530 – $1,245 $11,015,539 $6 2
10 7 Green Book Uni. $2,751,000 -20.1% 1,618 -531 $1,700 $65,756,401 $23 14
11 9 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Sony $1,965,000 -35.4% 1,207 -519 $1,628 $182,720,904 $90 10
12 8 Aquaman WB $1,885,000 -41.1% 1,264 -938 $1,491 $331,371,102 – 9
13 12 They Shall Not Grow Old WB $985,000 -42.3% 626 -201 $1,573 $15,256,347 – 9
14 10 Miss Bala Sony $970,000 -64.7% 1,172 -1,031 $828 $13,861,198 $15 3
15 29 Ralph Breaks the Internet BV $916,000 +167.9% 1,354 +956 $677 $198,603,244 $175 13
16 11 A Dog’s Way Home Sony $890,000 -54.6% 880 -1,129 $1,011 $40,341,394 $18 6
17 16 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $870,000 -33.2% 562 -277 $1,548 $211,901,709 $52 16
18 23 A Star is Born (2018) WB $810,000 +48.4% 843 +387 $961 $209,821,688 $36 20
19 14 Escape Room Sony $620,000 -60.7% 635 -704 $976 $55,720,767 $9 7
20 20 The Favourite FoxS $570,000 -30.0% 324 -281 $1,759 $31,113,285 – 13
21 21 Vice Annapurna $539,972 -17.1% 702 -5 $769 $46,060,208 – 8
22 24 Cold War (2018) Amazon $404,350 -22.3% 247 -23 $1,637 $3,550,917 – 9
23 19 Mary Poppins Returns BV $385,000 -53.6% 345 -497 $1,116 $170,413,203 $130 9
24 15 The Kid Who Would be King Fox $335,000 -76.9% 415 -1,431 $807 $16,280,074 – 4
25 27 Stan & Ollie SPC $260,170 -39.5% 210 -142 $1,239 $4,749,419 – 8
26 42 Arctic BST $256,510 +185.3% 63 +48 $4,072 $445,094 – 3
27 31 If Beale Street Could Talk Annapurna $210,006 -22.6% 165 -101 $1,273 $14,124,663 – 10
28 36 Capernaum SPC $193,301 +35.3% 136 +73 $1,421 $993,350 – 10
29 46 Everybody Knows Focus $191,000 +168.2% 23 +19 $8,304 $286,206 – 2
30 30 Free Solo NGE $180,046 -44.6% 108 -45 $1,667 $16,238,727 – 21
31 50 Never Look Away SPC $135,654 +249.4% 31 +28 $4,376 $259,955 – 9
32 N Fighting with My Family MGM $131,625 – 4 – $32,906 $165,898 – 1
33 40 The Wife SPC $69,657 -26.5% 77 -22 $905 $9,211,223 – 27
34 55 Lords of Chaos G&S $53,654 +94.1% 25 +21 $2,146 $101,391 – 2
35 33 Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga FIP $47,000 -81.1% 43 -149 $1,093 $1,159,088 – 3
36 51 The Invisibles Greenwich $35,311 -4.3% 19 +1 $1,858 $171,772 – 4
37 65 To Dust Good Deed $29,243 +244.2% 15 +14 $1,950 $40,134 – 2
38 N War and Peace (2019 re-release) Jan. $22,000 – 1 – $22,000 $22,000 – 1
39 N Ruben Brandt, Collector SPC $6,394 – 22 – $291 $7,737 – 1
40 N Hotel by the River CGld $5,870 – 1 – $5,870 $5,870 – 1
41 63 Replicas ENTMP $3,000 -65.8% 12 -17 $250 $4,044,835 – 6
BOSP, just a little family known as the… Fantastic… 4. That’s the future: the FF and the X-Men. They are also doing the Eternals, so there’s that shit.
To be fair, and I am the last to defend Marvel, but quite a few of us said the same thing about Iron Man and Thor in comparison to spidey and Wolverine. Black Panther was hardly a marque player prior to the film
This article certainly makes the War and Peace restoration and re-release seem to be worth seeing:
https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/2/15/18223285/war-and-peace-sergei-bondarchuk-adaptation-1966
Bilge Ebiri on the making of war and peace
I guess I was right about “War and Peace” working best on a really big screen! And apparently in a (much) better print than the muddy-looking one I saw.
Will try to seek out the Criterion edition when it’s released.
I am mixed on Cold Pursuit. It wasn’t as good as I expected. On the one hand it’s incredibly funny and the tone is just right. I laughed quite often. It also nicely subverts the Liam Neeson gets revenge pic a little and doesn’t go where you think it will. Some of the supporting performances are pretty good. On the other hand, it has many problems. The cops are useless and serve no purpose and could easily be dropped without losing anything. The main villain gives a terrible performance and is lame. It’s way too long and does not justify its length. It wastes Laura Dern. And poor Native Americans they get no representation wide release studio movies and then when they do they are violent drug dealers. It’s definitely a mixed bag. Not surprised it isn’t doing well.
Finally caught up with First Man. Perfectly fine movie, but not surprised it got no traction during the Oscar season. Something about how muted Gosling was really kept me out of the film emotionally.
Though they did a fantastic job on the ‘balsa wood’ aspect of it. It made space travel look truly truly terrifying and claustrophobic.
Also got halfway through Old Man and Gun. Decent as well, glad I am watching it, put positioning these films as awards contenders sort of raises expectations in a way that works against them as sturdy entertainments.
One of the things I most loved about “First Man” was how…quiet it was.
Which is precisely why audiences rejected it, I think.
But audiences gave the bum rush to “The Right Stuff” in 1983, too. Now it’s (rightfully) considered to be one of that decade’s best films.
At least “TRS” got a ****load of Oscar nominations.
Anecdotal but this morning two co-workers and I were discussing instances of movies we’ve seen where other people have walked out or fallen asleep. One of them said that they experienced both when she and her husband saw First Man (and for the record they both liked it).
I routinely fall asleep when watching some of the most monumental achievements in film.
Lawrence of Arabia
2001
Once Upon a Time in the West.
I blame the lush sweeping scores, especially Lawrence, the only thing that puts me down faster is the Caillou theme song.
At home, sure, I get that. I fall asleep while laying on the couch watching a movie all the time. But in theaters too?
No, I don’t recall ever falling asleep in a theater when a paying customer, the 3 gallon drum of Coke Zero they sell me to accompany my movie watching probably cuts the chance of dozing to a minimum.
We had a Valentine’s Day double feature:
Cold Pursuit is a good revenge drama with a black comedy edge. Really, the main thing wrong with it is that was a slightly better revenge drama with a black comedy edge in 2014, the first time Hans Petter Moland filmed the story as In Order of Disappearance starring Stellan Skarsgard. I’m sure it’s not technically a shot-for-shot remake, but it hits all the same beats, only in snowbound Colorado instead of snowbound Norway, with Liam Neeson meting out justice instead of Skarsgard.
The trailer for Isn’t It Romantic so strenuously over-explains the film’s rather simple premise, that it spoils most of the best bits and surprises. So despite a few laughs and a committed cast, it’s ultimately no more fulfilling than many middling examples of the genre it sends up. And it’s not spoiling anything to say that the fantasy structure (caused by a conk on the head like 2017’s Amy Schumer vehicle I Feel Pretty) pretty much kills the stakes and renders many of the characters one-dimensional, if that. The meta concept might’ve been something in the hands of a Charlie Kaufman (including a harder sell), but the screenwriters come from the same world of sitcoms and traditional romcoms that this film is supposedly satirizing. An outsider perspective could have made the difference, but A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas director Todd Strauss-Schulson isn’t quite the guy. It’s a shame, because I like Rebel Wilson, and she shows she can act here, instead of just relying on her comic deadpan (which also gets a workout).
Indiewire tells me the shorts collections, which I earlier posted looked to be a bit under-attended on opening weekend at my Landmark theater in D.C., are continuing their trend of strengthening in box-office again this year. I suppose the Oscar producers’ decision to include the shorts presentations among the televised awards won’t hurt the collections’ box-office take.
I continue to root for MADRE among the live action shorts, although this year I have neither a strong favorite *nor* a short I’m rooting *against,* like that dreadful Kobe Bryant animated short from last year, which, of course, won the Oscar.
Proving one person’s chicken salad is another’s chicken shit: I thought the main villain in Cold Pursuit was the best part of the movie.
As for sleeping in theaters: when the wife & I saw Denzel’s Man on Fire, the only other patron was asleep in the front row and snored the entire film. When the lights came on, he woke up, looked back at us, gave a thumbs up and said “good movie!”
You must have really hated the movie then Pete. Just kidding. My friend thought he was fine. I just didn’t find him to be a menacing, memorable, love-to-hate villain. I’ve griped about it before but I feel like that type of villain is incredibly rare these days.
My last experience with a loud sleeper was Bad Times at the El Royale. Dull movie and I totally understand why he fell asleep. Unfortunately, in a totally empty theater, he sat right next to my friend and I and started loudly snoring about 20 minutes in.
Actually Stella, I wasn’t fond of the movie at all. Had I seen the TV spot beforehand where it’s compared to Fargo, then I’d have known not to bother.
If you want some villains, have you seen Alita yet?
Funny you should ask. I am seeing Alita tonight. $6 in 3D on an ultrascreen. Tuesday deal. Can’t pass that up. Good villain?
Well that was unexpected. Certainly makes me want to see a sequel. Will international box office make that happen?
Well it hasn’t opened in China or Japan yet so those could be robust markets for it.
But the question is now that it is falling under Disney’s umbrella what are they going to want to do with it. Ape’s are done, another Ice Age is unlikely, X-Men (and possibly Deadpool) will move to MCU. Fox proper is not going to have many franchises to exploit. And since its Cameron a sequel will take at least half a decade to mount anyway. If Avatar connects again, they are going to want as many properties as possible with his name on it.
Anyone who can play Lady Macbeth and WWE wrestler Paige (that would be British wunderkind Florence Pugh) deserves every acting award known to womankind.
I think Pugh is going to be around for a long, long time.
And I can’t wait to see what she does next.
“Fighting w/ My Family” is expertly done, and the very definition of an old-fashioned feel-good movie.
20 years ago it would have been sneaked extensively prior to opening, and become a major sleeper hit (crossing over from arthouse to multiplex like, say, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”).
The best it can reasonably hope for today is cult status on home video three months after opening in theaters.
Never expected “Dragon” to open that well.
Did anyone really think two months ago that it would have a bigger opening than “LEGO 2”?
Or maybe I’m biased because I’m not a “Dragon” fan.
Ironic that “The Upside”–originally intended as TWC’s big Oscar movie for 2017–outgrossed “Green Book.”
Friday
2/22
(Estimates)
1 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD
Universal
4,259 $17,490,000
— / $4,107
$17,490,000 / 1
2 ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Fox
3,802 $3,140,000
+96.1% / $826
$51,821,068 / 9
3 FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY
MGM
2,711 $2,550,000
+47940.7% / $941
$2,765,021 / 9
4 ISN’T IT ROMANTIC
Warner Bros. (New Line)
3,444 $2,225,000
+135.2% / $646
$28,483,742 / 10
5 THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
Warner Bros.
3,833 $2,185,000
+94.3% / $570
$75,789,039 / 15
6 WHAT MEN WANT
Paramount
2,389 $1,480,000
+122.5% / $620
$41,341,066 / 15
7 HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U
Universal
3,212 $1,450,000
+171.8% / $451
$18,072,880 / 10
8 THE UPSIDE
STX Entertainment
2,148 $890,000
+122.5% / $414
$97,419,409 / 43
9 COLD PURSUIT
Lionsgate/Summit
2,320 $870,000
+83.3% / $375
$24,655,567 / 15
10 RUN THE RACE
Roadside Attractions
853 $759,000
— / $890
$759,000 / 1
11 GREEN BOOK
Universal
1,253 $562,000
+82.9% / $449
$68,079,686 / 99
12 GLASS
Universal
1,446 $465,000
+89.6% / $322
$106,627,055 / 36
– TOTAL DHAMAAL
FIP
202 $235,518
— / $1,166
$235,518 / 1
– SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Sony / Columbia
743 $205,000
+37% / $276
$184,245,025 / 71
– AQUAMAN
Warner Bros.
741 $190,000
+69.4% / $256
$332,365,547 / 64
– BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
424 $165,000
+65% / $389
$212,658,500 / 113
– THE FAVOURITE
Fox Searchlight
288 $160,000
+90.1% / $556
$31,727,728 / 92
– A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
745 $160,000
+42.2% / $215
$210,393,198 / 141
– VICE
Annapurna Pictures
702 $148,176
+79.4% / $211
$46,630,826 / 60
– THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD
Warner Bros.
448 $130,000
+23.8% / $290
$15,989,374 / 68
– MISS BALA
Sony / Columbia
515 $96,000
+34.3% / $186
$14,360,070 / 22
– RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Buena Vista
406 $90,000
+5.7% / $222
$199,582,967 / 94
– A DOG’S WAY HOME
Sony / Columbia
417 $60,000
-18% / $144
$40,968,272 / 43
– ESCAPE ROOM
Sony / Columbia
264 $53,000
+43.9% / $201
$55,985,826 / 50
– MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Buena Vista
234 $48,000
+22.8% / $205
$170,787,253 / 66
– IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Annapurna Pictures
127 $39,980
+30.7% / $315
$14,321,880 / 71
February 22-24, 2019
Weekend
1 N How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Uni. $55,527,000 – 4,259 – $13,038 $58,027,000 $129 1
2 1 Alita: Battle Angel Fox $12,000,000 -57.9% 3,802 +12 $3,156 $60,681,068 $170 2
3 2 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part WB $10,015,000 -51.9% 3,833 -470 $2,613 $83,619,039 – 3
4 40 Fighting with My Family MGM $8,012,000 +5,673.2% 2,711 +2,707 $2,955 $8,227,021 – 2
5 3 Isn’t It Romantic WB (NL) $7,510,000 -47.3% 3,444 – $2,181 $33,768,742 – 2
6 4 What Men Want Par. $5,200,000 -51.3% 2,389 -523 $2,177 $45,061,066 $20 3
7 5 Happy Death Day 2U Uni. $4,988,000 -47.5% 3,212 +5 $1,553 $21,611,880 $9 2
8 6 Cold Pursuit LG/S $3,300,000 -44.8% 2,320 -310 $1,422 $27,085,567 – 3
9 7 The Upside STX $3,210,000 -41.5% 2,148 -633 $1,494 $99,749,409 $37.5 7
10 N Run the Race RAtt. $2,273,050 – 853 – $2,665 $2,273,050 – 1
11 10 Green Book Uni. $2,088,000 -27.7% 1,253 -397 $1,666 $69,605,686 $23 15
12 8 Glass Uni. $1,764,000 -55.0% 1,446 -1,129 $1,220 $107,926,055 $20 6
13 9 The Prodigy Orion $1,148,915 -63.7% 1,331 -1,199 $863 $13,529,436 $6 3
14 N Total Dhamaal FIP $950,000 – 202 – $4,703 $950,000 – 1
15 12 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Sony $865,000 -57.2% 743 -464 $1,164 $184,905,025 $90 11
16 13 Aquaman WB $765,000 -58.7% 741 -1,461 $1,032 $332,940,547 – 10
17 23 Vice Annapurna $731,391 +27.7% 702 – $1,042 $47,214,041 – 9
18 20 A Star is Born (2018) WB $700,000 -10.4% 745 +102 $940 $210,933,198 $36 21
19 16 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $645,000 -34.2% 424 -138 $1,521 $213,138,500 $52 17
20 19 The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2019 Magn. $598,000 -26.7% 410 +40 $1,459 $3,205,431 – 3
21 14 They Shall Not Grow Old WB $550,000 -45.8% 448 -178 $1,228 $16,409,374 – 10
22 21 The Favourite FoxS $540,000 -16.2% 288 -36 $1,875 $32,107,728 – 14
23 31 Arctic BST $522,452 +116.0% 257 +242 $2,033 $1,076,550 – 4
24 15 Ralph Breaks the Internet BV $399,000 -60.1% 406 -948 $983 $199,891,967 $175 14
25 36 Everybody Knows Focus $355,000 +84.2% 71 +67 $5,000 $728,000 – 3
26 17 Miss Bala Sony $350,000 -63.4% 515 -657 $680 $14,614,070 $15 4
27 26 Cold War (2018) Amazon $330,421 -20.5% 259 +12 $1,276 $4,125,211 – 10
28 18 A Dog’s Way Home Sony $262,000 -69.9% 417 -463 $628 $41,170,272 $18 7
29 24 Bumblebee Par. $210,000 -52.5% 228 -560 $921 $126,921,045 $135 10
30 25 Mary Poppins Returns BV $195,000 -53.1% 234 -111 $833 $170,934,253 $130 10
31 22 Escape Room Sony $195,000 -67.5% 264 -371 $739 $56,128,826 $9 8
32 34 If Beale Street Could Talk Annapurna $176,729 -19.1% 127 -38 $1,392 $14,458,629 – 11
33 41 Never Look Away SPC $167,599 +31.5% 80 +76 $2,095 $484,294 – 12
34 43 The Wife SPC $153,250 +119.4% 204 +127 $751 $9,417,262 – 28
35 38 Free Solo NGE $138,800 -26.3% 90 -18 $1,542 $16,488,721 – 22
36 37 Capernaum SPC $133,310 -29.8% 115 -21 $1,159 $1,234,005 – 11
37 30 Stan & Ollie SPC $126,335 -49.2% 128 -82 $987 $5,001,278 – 9
38 32 On the Basis of Sex Focus $120,000 -49.4% 129 -57 $930 $24,500,000 – 9
39 47 Lords of Chaos G&S $60,027 +17.8% 70 +45 $858 $180,807 – 3
40 N The Iron Orchard Santa Rita $49,250 – 8 – $6,156 $49,250 – 1
41 56 Birds of Passage Orch. $40,097 +73.7% 10 +8 $4,010 $81,959 – 2
42 46 Qué León (What A Lion) Spanglish $38,011 -26.6% 12 -10 $3,168 $1,352,734 – 5
43 49 The Invisibles Greenwich $23,600 -27.6% 19 – $1,242 $208,369 – 5
44 54 To Dust Good Deed $19,927 -27.2% 17 +3 $1,172 $69,290 – 3
45 69 Ruben Brandt, Collector SPC $6,913 +14.5% 3 +2 $2,304 $18,225 – 2
I didn’t expect Dragon to open that well. The first two I can barely remember. My kid actually fell fast asleep in the third, which was a first at the movies. Can’t blame him. It’s just not all that compelling. Not sure why the reviews and box office are so good.
Totally agree, SB.
I still can’t believe the first “Dragon” spawned a sequel, let alone two.
None of them have been remotely compelling, or even particularly interesting, to me.
But I’m obviously not the target audience, lol.
I wonder if Disney will try keeping “MPR” in theaters long enough to surpass the domestic cume of “The Greatest Showman.”
It’s still $3-million (and change) short.
Unless they fudge the books by including drive-in grosses for “The Avengers” and/or “Toy Story,” I don’t see it happening.
But Disney is brilliant at creative bookkeeping.
The Dragon movies, have grown with their audience, and have continued to put product out between movies. They are also super duper fucking good movies, that will just give you feels.
They did this, by making a ton of material for years and years and years. It’s connected to the movies, and it filled the gaps in between. This is something the Lego movie should have done, because this sort of thing can work.
Now… the Oscars… are the OWN GOAL of Award Shows. Black Panther deals with race issues better than Green Book, but here are these fucking older white gentleman rewarding the wackest ass movie they could reward. The scene of bunch of middle aged white men, accepting the reward for this movie is a wrap on the Academy Awards. If anything screams, “OUT OF FUCKING TOUCH!,” it’s that reward going to those men.
Oh yeah! FUCKING AWARD SEASON IS FUCKING OVER! BOOYAKACHA!
I was looking forward to “Greta” despite the mixed-to-negative reviews coming out of TIFF last fall.
It starts out like gangbusters, but quickly deteriorates into abject stupidity.
I spent the last 40 minutes groaning in my seat.
Huppert is, of course, fun to watch, but it proves that after this and 2007’s “The Brave One” Neil Jordan should stay as far away from NYC as possible.
WOM should be brutal.
Does anyone know whether Focus is planning to open “Captive State” as wide as “Greta” in two weeks? On the basis of the trailer, it looks like the most commercial Focus movie since “Atomic Blonde.”
Seems like a missed opportunity not to take it as wide as possible before “Us” hits on the 22nd.
Esp since it’s only competition (on March 15th) is a kiddie ”toon and yet another star-crossed YA romance. Double “yawn” on both counts.