DVD Geek: A Taste of Honey, Miles Ahead, Love & Mercy, The Comeback, Miss Sadie Thompson 3D

Between the appeal of listening to the problems of a troubled friend, and creating a captivating replication of real dialogue and emotions in condensed dramatic form, The Taste Of Honey is consistently engrossing.

The Weekend Report

Don’t Breathe became the air apparent as it scared up an opening estimate of $25.9 million. The session’s other new national debut was the actioner Mechanic: Resurrection that ranked fifth with a $7.3 million tally. Additionally two films got a limited wide launch. The pre-political romance Southside With You inaugurated with modest approval of $2.8 million while Hands of Stone — the fictionalized early years of boxing champion Roberto Duran — bowed to a low blow of $1.7 million. Greater, a fact-based college football drama, fumbled with $640,000 at 434 stadia.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Don’t Breathe scares up almost $10 million since Thursday night showings, while Suicide Squad snags $3.33 million. Jason Statham kicks out $3.3 million with Mechanic: Resurrection.

DVD Geek: Only Angels Have Wings

A classic production from the greatest year of movies, 1939, the action scenes are terrific, not only because of realistic special effects, but because the editing is precise in its suspense, and the dramatic sequences are equally dazzling, with Hawks’ legendary overlapping dialog and complex yet organic character blocking.

The Weekend Report

Suicide Squad made it a triple as it held top spot with an estimated $20.7 million. Three debuting national releases opened to middling results with fact-based seriocomedy War Dogs faring best with $14.2 million and the animated adventure Kubo and the Two Strings grossing $12.5 million. And definitely losing the chariot race was Ben-Hur with $11.2 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

A mediocre set of openings that fits perfectly with the time on the movie calendar. Suicide Squad continues to defy critics on its way to being the #3 all-time August release. And the arthouses aren’t looking very good, with only A Tale of Love and Darkness managing to crack the $10k per-screen bar for the weekend.

The Weekend Report

Suicide Squad took a sharp second weekend hit, but nonetheless led the current session with an estimated $43.9 million. Two national newcomers followed, the ribald frank Sausage Party with $33.4 million and family adventure Pete’s Dragon that didn’t breathe fire with its $21.5 million box office. Also bowing in medium-wide release was the upscale bio-oddity Florence Foster Jenkins with solid but not SRO results of $6.5 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

The heroic fight by a hot dog to get deep into a bun before being stuck in someone’s mouth, Sausage Party, starts well, slightly better than Superbad opened in 2007. This includes strong Thursday night numbers, which brings into question what the multiple over the weekend will look like. The Friday number is identical to Friday 2 of Suicide Squad. So which one will have the worse multiple? It’s a race. Disney, which has so many amazing openings, can’t seem to get liftoff on non-Big 4 titles, even their best one in years, Pete’s Dragon. And Florence Foster Jenkins arrives with a $1,300 per-screen on a very specific but semi-wide 1528 screens. Not a flat note… but no high C.

DVD Geek: Vacation

Only one test is necessary to judge a comedy—does it make you laugh?—and by the conditions of that test, the Warner Home Video release, Vacation, is a total success.

The Weekend Report

It was one for the books – record books – as Suicide Squad bowed to a muscle-flexing estimated $134.7 million. The session’s other freshman national release – Nine Lives – confirmed that cute cat videos are best seen on You Tube with a less than purrrr-fect $6.4 million gross.

Best of the exclusive bows was the coming of age Little Men (a non-Alcott) that opened to $28,300 from two engagements. Alternative expanders Indignation and Don’t Think Twice both experienced effective broadenings.

Friday Box Office Estimates

The critical gas wasn’t lethal, as Suicide Squad arrives to this summer’s second highest opening day. Even if the film is hamstrung by buzz, even X-Men:Apocalypse did 2.5x opening, which for Squad would mean a $162 million domestic start. Or use the Captain America: Civil War 2.37x Friday weekend as the measure and get to $154 million. Meanwhile, Nine Lives won’t open to nine million.