The Weekend Report

The final installment of Maze Runner, The Death Cure, navigated to the top of the weekend charts with an estimated $23.6 million. Also debuting nationally was Hostiles following five weeks in limited release. It ranked third with $10.1 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Hollywood leaves the weekend to holdovers, with just the final Maze Runner opening wide. Hostiles expands and finds some buyers, but didn’t have the Oscar rocket fuel it had hoped for. The Shape of Water expands into the Top 10, joining The Post as the only Best Picture nominees in the 10.

The DVD Wrapup: In Search of Fellini, In Her Name, High School Sinks Into Sea, Jigsaw, Argento’s Opera, Red Trees and more

I can’t remember the last time I was so charmed by a movie that was dumped into limited release, received mixed reviews and could be lost in the shuffle of January releases that receive little fanfare. Maybe, though, I can help draw attention to In Search of Fellini if I point out the romantic fantasy’s “Simpsons” connection. (Everybody loves “The Simpsons.”) In Search of Fellini was adapted from a one-woman play co-written by Nancy Cartwright, who, since 1989, has been the voice of Bart Simpson on Fox’s trail-blazing animated series. Before that, however, the Ohio native joined an acting class taught by Milton Katselas. He recommended that she study Federico Fellini’s La Strada, which starred Giulietta Masina as the street urchin sold by her mother to circus strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) to be his comic foil. Cartwright recalls performing “every imaginable scene” from the movie in her class and spending several months trying to secure the rights to produce a stage adaptation. Like the protagonist in In Search of Fellini, she visited Italy with the intention of meeting Fellini and requesting his permission in person. Although she never met the Maestro, Cartwright kept a journal of the trip and later co-wrote the play upon which it was based.

The Weekend Report

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle continued at the top of the weekend charts with an estimated $19.7 million. Two newcomers followed with OK launches. 12 Strong _ the fire and fury (and hoof beats) saga of the Afghan conflict _ grossed $16.3 while the bank heist caper Den of Thieves had a $15.2 million opening. In limited wide debut the musical romance Forever My Love bowed with a sentimental $4.5 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

This is the weekend where Split opened to $40 million last year and xXx3 to $20 million. Nothing like that this year. Although a horror film, Split had a strong appeal to women. 12 Strong and Den of Thieves, no. The one female reach-out, Forever My Girl, looking like warmed-over Nicholas Sparks, is on only 1,115 screens and may be adversely affected by The Women’s March. These three new titles will not gross as much this weekend as the opening of Split last year. Oscar expansions should turn up in the Top 10 next week, following nominations. But there’s no big opener until February 9.

The DVD Wrapup: Matinee, Crooked House, Jawbone, Cook Off!, Blue World Order, Into the Amazon, Tuxedo Park and more

I wonder if kids today, are being prepped for the possibility of a nuclear strike. I haven’t read any reports of people stockpiling goods or hurriedly digging holes in their backyards for bomb shelters, as was the case during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s possible that Americans not only have convince themselves that cooler heads will prevail, as they did then, or they no longer can be conned into believing that ducking underneath a desk and covering their heads could protect anyone from becoming toast. Fifty-five years ago, however, that’s all the hope American school children were given. In Joe Dante’s wonderfully nostalgic Matinee, kids living in Key West, Florida – 90 miles from Cuba, where Soviet missiles were being pointed directly at them – were allowed to take a break from ducking-and-covering exercises long enough to enjoy a movie about a man who turns into a giant ant after a botched X-ray exam at the dentist.

The Weekend Report

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle took top spot for the holiday frame with an estimated $27.1 million. Not far behind with $18.6 million was The Post that went wide after three weeks in exclusives. (All figures reflect 3-day figures; chart will be updated tomorrow). Three national debuts opened respectably. Ticking-clock The Commuter landed third with $13.2 million while family-targeted Paddington 2 cuddled up to $10.5 million. Proud Mary, advertised as kin of John Cassavetes’ 1980 thriller Gloria, bowed to $9.8 million.

Friday Box Office Estimates

Jumanji continues as king of the jungle. The Post expands pretty much as expected. Liam Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra team up again and do a little better than Run All Night, but not as well as Non-Stop. Proud Mary comes up short of tracking, but not as badly as it probably deserves. And Paddington 2 starts slow, but should pop up to #4 for the weekend as kids flood the room today and tomorrow.

The DVD Wrapup: 68 Kill, Bad Day for the Cut, Friend Request, Tiger Hunter, CERN, Conduct!, Macon County Line and more

January is also prime time for studios to dump disappointments and question marks into theaters, before a fast turnaround on video. Occasionally, an overlooked gem will sneak into circulation – last year’s The Founder and Split, for example — but it won’t be because anyone saw it coming. I’ve found a few titles that fit that description.

The Weekend Report

Unlike Blade Runner 2049 moviegoers were undeterred that they hadn’t seen 1995’s Jumanji (both were box office disappointments at the time of their respective releases) and put its sequel Welcome to the Jungle on top of the weekend chart with an estimated $36.1 million. The session’s sole new wide release – from a more vigorous franchise – Insidious: The Last Key was close behind with a $29.2 million debut.

With the Golden Globes hours away, a number of titles did strategic expansions including such contenders as Darkest Hour, I, Tonya and Molly’s Game. The trio maintained strong commercial momentum.

Friday Box Office Estimates

The first weekend of 2018 is already stronger than the first weekend of 2017, led by a single newcomer, Insidious 4, whose Friday gross is about 2.5x last year’s first release, Underworld 5. Likewise, top holdover Jumanji 2 is about 25% stronger than last year’s Hidden Figures. And Star Wars: The Last Jedi is about 10% ahead of Rogue One, both on their 22nd day, as TLJ heads to something around $625 million domestic, aka #5 all-time domestic. Molly’s Game and Darkest Hour expand significantly while a few still-limited awards hopefuls expand incrementally.

The DVD Wrapup: Chavela, Teacher, Shadowman, Shock Wave, Laugh-In and more

After getting sober, with the help of natural healing agents introduced to her by an Indian family that took her in, Vargas returned to the stage in 1991, performing at a bohemian Mexico City nightclub called “El Hábito.” Many fans of her recorded music, including Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, had assumed that she had succumbed years earlier. When he learned that Chavela was performing in Mexico, Almodóvar arranged for his personal muse to headline sold-out concerts in Madrid, Paris and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Although she had long dreamed of singing in such venues, her “overnight success” came late in her life. In her autobiography, Vargas also came out, which opened the door to a new demographic.

The Weekend Report 4-Day Chart

The 4-day holiday doesn’t vary much from expectations set in the 3-day estimates, aside from Pitch Perfect 3 being softer and All The Money In The World, Molly’s Game and Darkest Hour being stronger. It’s all within a couple percentage points and not really a story to worry about on New Year’s Day.