Box Office: Hit Missions to Mars & Mexico
Sunday, October 4, 2015 at 1:57PM The Martian is attempting to beat Gravity's October record this weekend. The charts only reflect studio Estimates so we'll see tomorrow for sure. At any rate the all star space adventure (yes, there is much more than Matt Damon therein) is an immediate big hit. Can something this light and fun -- we'll talk about it on the podcast tonight but it doesn't exactly run deep -- make inroads to awards glory?
In other box office news Sicario continues to perform well surviving its wide expansion with ease. Word of mouth should continue to bolster it because hotdamn it's intense. It's also quite a strange double feature with The Martian (though both are good times at the movies) since Blunt feels like she's in consistently more danger than Damon even though she's wearing body armor and fully armed and people are rarely firing at her while he's stuck alone on an inhospitable planet without breathable air, lasting supplies, or food.
Finally Grandma, a movie we've been rooting for since January is starting to lose theaters after a totally respectable run. While it never quite crossed over (which is harder and harder to do these days with shorter theatrical windows - see also the similar grossing word of mouth gem I'll See You In My Dreams) it'll end its theatrical run with over $6 million theatrical which is plenty to keep it in play for Best Actress honors (people have been nominated with a lot less) if the campaign is strong and especially if The Globes are there for Lily in Musical or Comedy actress. Do you think they will be?
BOX OFFICE WIDE
800+ screens (Oct 2nd-4th)
01 The Martian $55 NEW Matt's foot-in-mouth tour
02 Hotel Transylvania 2 $33 (cum. $90.5) Tim on the director Genny Tartakovsky
03 Sicario $12 (cum. $15) Podcast, Emily Blunt
04 The Intern $11.6 (cum. $36.5) Review
05 Maze: Runner: The Scorch Trials $7.6 (cum. $63.2)
06 Black Mass $5.9 (cum. $52.5)
07 Everest $5.5 (cum. $33.1)
08 The Visit $3.9 (cum. $57.6)
09 War Room $2.8 (cum. $60.5)
10 The Perfect Guy $2.4 (cum. $52.6) Review
BOX OFFICE LIMITED
(Oct 2nd-4th)
01 The Walk (448 screens) $1.5 NEW (cum. $1.9) Review
02 Grandma (315 screens) $.4 (cum. $5.8) Poster Blurb, Lily Tomlin's Filmography, Review
03 Sleeping with Other People (392 screens) $.2 (cum. $.6) Review
04 Meet the Patels (78 screens) $.1 (cum. $.7)
05 Talvar (51 screens) $.1 NEW
06 Goodnight Mommy (43 screens) $.4 Interview, Oscar Submission
07 Learning To Drive (115 screens) $.1 (cum. $3.1)
08 99 Homes (19 screens) $.1 (cum. $.1) The return of Andrew Garfield
09 Southpaw (303 screens) Re-Release $.07 (cum. $52.2)
10 Un Gallo con Muchose Huevos (112 screens) $.07 (cum. $8.9)
WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND?
I came down with a brutal cold after waiting in line in the cold for an hour for Steve Jobs (and being turned away roughly 15 people before making it inside) so it looks like I'll be emptying my DVR instead of moviegoing *sniffle*
Reader Comments (32)
Surprised you didn't mention Freeheld's disastrous debut.
Good for the movie. A surefire Oscar contender for me (solid acroos the board) Box office will only help. Don't understand why isn't in the awards section in the top 10! The Danish Girl?? Give me a break! And take some faith in Carol, Nat! Dammit!
Caught up with:
Testament of youth
A pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence
The tale of princess Kaguya
and they were all beautiful but somewhat disappointing.
And saw the first 3 eps of Scream Queens...it´s sadly a flop. The tone is all over the place and the bitchiness gets tired real quick.
To compensate I rewatched Captain America: The winter soldier. Still top-tier Marvel.
Heartbroken for Freeheld. What a disaster.
haajen -- i so agree on CA:WS as you know
Jows & George -- i readily admit that Freeheld premiered at exactly the wrong time for me between all that's been going on and during festivals and whatnot. since its Julianne I will obviously need to make amends and see it.
chofer -- i have yet to see any evidence that Danish Girl will not go over well with voters/public/awards. I'm not sure why people are thinking this. I've seen the movie. I have a hard time imagining it notgetting at least a small pile of nominations (even if it misses Best Picture)
I've seen both The Martian and Sicario this weekend , and both were good enough. But honestly, I liked the book a lot more than the movie ( The Martian ) - though it's always like that for me, not sure why I keep doing this. As for Sicario, I loved the acting in it, though I didn't get what exactly it was trying to tell me. Or maybe it wasn't?
Regarding Sicario don´t know if it´s been talked about round here but I found it really disappointing when the focus shifted from Blunt to del Toro near the end. Still a good flick but not the masterpiece many claim it to be. And please, give Deakins his Oscar now!
I saw Sicario and it's a solid B movie. It's violent but it's often boring, and the use of ominous music reminded me of Jaws and other 70's thrillers. I thought Benicio was great, but Emily Blunt is merely fine and has a largely thankless role. I would only see it if you can tolerate a film with constant scenes of people being murdered.
I finally saw Grandma, and enjoyed enough of it, Sam Elliott's scenes in particular. But it's not a strong movie in terms of design and production, and the acting is uneven, sometimes within performances. I'd be shocked if Lily had enough goodwill to make it through to a nomination, much as I like that late-career narrative.
There aren't "constant" scenes of people getting murdered, but alrighty. It infuriates me when so-called cinema lovers call a movie that's patiently suspenseful boring.
The Lobster, Labyrinth of Lies, and Victoria
Saw SICARIO this morning. Very tense moments. Good stuff. Saving THE MARTIAN for my birthday in a few weeks.
Ouch, that number for The Walk!
Saw "Sicario," and haven't been this disappointed by a widely acclaimed film in a long time. It's hard to gainsay the craft - it's very well made - but the script, which is clunky and predictable, does everything in its power to work against it. What is this film saying about the war on drugs that hasn't been said before? What is it conveying about American exceptionalism and our constant meddling and inflaming of violence that hasn't been conveyed countless times before with far greater nuance?
I'm also surprised more people haven't objected to the film's politics, which seem to skew conservative (a couple of critics have taken note of this: read this excellent piece from Reverse Shot: http://reverseshot.org/reviews/entry/2098/sicario). Why is Emily Blunt's gender constantly used to emphasize her weakness, and why is she the ineffective counterpoint to imperious, getting-shit-done men, at least one of whom (Del Toro) is uncomfortably written/performed/shot to be a nearly supernatural icon of masculine cool? It's not sitting well with me.
Jonathan -- i didn't get that from the movie at all. we had a short discussion of this on the podcast but I felt that the movie was amply aware of the ugly politics of its characters, rather than endorsing them, and was damning of their own dangerous sense of superior everything skills.
Some mild spoilers ahead for "Sicaro":
Hm, I haven't listened to the podcast. I agree it's obviously very aware of their ugly politics, but I think it comes dangerously close to endorsing them (implicitly, anyway, or even inadvertently) by counterposing their male bravado with Blunt's frailty and ultimate impotence. The film also seems to want us to have even a modicum of empathy for Del Toro's character, which seems problematic to me. The fact that he accomplishes his mission with such seeming righteousness, even if it doesn't amount to much on a macro level, and that we're to resign ourselves along with Blunt to the fact that men like him have the power and there's nothing we can do about it, worries me.
Yesterday I caught up with some stuff I'd missed in theaters: Kingsmen - surprisingly nimble, clever, and twisty; Exodus - first rate digital spectacle, but, as is often the case with Sir Ridley, like the Cliff's notes version of his own film; Unbroken - only got halfway through this, but it's ok so far, lumpy and predictable at times, but not so bad overall.
Today I did a double header of revival screenings at NYFF: Manoel de Oliveira's final film, Vision, Memories & Confessions, a lovely, highly autobiographical essay film; and Rocco and His Brothers, which absolutely deserves its reputation as one of the great masterpieces of Italian cinema.
Adelutza -- Yeah, it can be difficult to go into a movie with a clean slate of expectations when you've read the book. Most book-to-film adaptations end up being mixed bags for me. I can only think of three movies based on books I had read where the movie absolutely improved on the book. They are: The Firm, Everything is Illuminated, and Winter's Bone.
Isn't the takeaway that the U.S. supports Columbian drug cartels, in order to keep Mexico in line, during their ongoing "war" on drugs? And that they kill people and lie about it? Oh, and that Emily Blunt needs to get her eyebrows done. That is actual dialogue.
I saw Sicario this weekend. This sort of film is not usually my cup of tea (I don't generally run out to the theater to see violent FBI dramas), but it was quite good. Blunt and Del Toro were excellent. I know Blunt is getting a lot of (deserved) praise for the film, but I actually thought Del Toro gave the standout performance. He was genuinely electric in this. As for Blunt, I've seen her in only four films--this, Devil Wears Prada, Into the Woods, and Edge of Tomorrow. Those are such very, very different films. Her range is QUITE impressive. It seems like she is starting to get meatier roles--she's on a roll! I hope that continues for her. She's a great talent but has been in a lot of films I've had no interest in seeing. Last year I was really won over by her work in Into the Woods in particular. I thought she was Oscar-nom worthy and that film's MVP.
I also have to say I loved the pacing of the Sicario. The tension just built and built and built.
I had an eclectic Netflix weekend of Beaufort, Birth of a Nation, and The Kite Runner. Wasn't overwhelmed by any of them, though Beaufort's second half was solid.
Jonathan: In the same year as a film that actually simply and coherently rebuked the implication of such attitudes, Fury Road ("Then who killed the world!?"), that's mega dumb. The best ending to best defuse those prickly issues without overturning anything else in the plot? Have her fire on him from the balcony and rip up the agreement. I know a lot of critics would bash that ending as "too sentimental", but what they went with should have attracted a LOT more criticism for exactly the reason you describe. Not universal hatred, sure, but more divided than a 93% score.
I saw the Martian which I liked overall but never really connected with either. It was Cast Away in Mars...with a bunch of other characters that were interesting enough I guess (I hated Donald Glover's attempt at Big Bangish characterization). Still, Damon is no Tom Hanks, so I'd be surprised if he did get an Oscar nom for The Martian.
At the movies:
- Sicario (excellent) & The Visit (good).
At home:
- The Collector (William Wyler, 1965), Avengers: Age of Ultron, & The Duke of Burgundy.
Ultron was the only thing close to a disappointment, but it wasn't terrible.
I only saw oldies this weekend (including Polanski's The Tenant , which I'm still digesting, for the first time), but I'm hoping to see both The Martian and Sicario soon, hopefully this week. Hearing that the former's like Cast Away in Mars kind of only makes me more excited to see it, even if that was meant as a dig.
Also looking forward to seeing The Lobster , which comes out in less than 2 weeks here in the UK. Looks wonderfully odd, surreal and fun. And I love me some Weisz! (is this latest slate of interesting roles with auteurs the mini-resurgence that I was expecting after The Deep Blue Sea but that never really happened?)
Slightly off topic, have you seen the first reviews for Bridge of Spies ? The Guardian's given it a fantastic 5-star review and says that both Hanks and Rylance are great, so they may easily make strong runs for noms (Rylance's a real actors' actor and they do owe Hanks for his Captain Phillips snub)
I saw The Martian. It was perfectly enjoyable, though a bit long, while I was watching it. It has already begun to fade from memory. There have certainly been worse BP nominees, but there are a lot of better movies this year. It's far from the gripping ride Gravity was - and I had a lot of problems with Gravity.
I can totally see the Globes honoring both Tomlin and Danner. I see their comedy line-up as Bullock, Danner, Lawrence, Streep, and Tomlin. Lawrence is the obvious choice for the win, but they might be too embarrassed to give her a third one so soon. In that case, Tomlin could certainly win it. In drama, they might nominate Blanchett for both roles, which they do from time to time. But if Room is a hit, Larson will take it.
"I would only see it if you can tolerate a film with constant scenes of people being murdered," said Tom Ford above about Sicario. That would apply to Black Mass, which I saw this weekend. Well-acted and gory. I actually need to watch it again, although I'm not really forward to that. Peter Sarsgaard (in this and Pawn Sacrifice) continues to impress as the Most Reliable Supporting Player. Afterwards I started imagining him in the Ed Norton role in Birdman, which is weird, because I really appreciated Norton in that.
Also saw The Martian, which I *much* preferred to Gravity, as long as we're comparing. I love when Ridley Scott gets the job done. What a fun flick!
And Straight Outta Compton, which was incredibly engaging and potent for a music biopic. I laughed, I cried, I cheered. (I didn't stay for the Q & A with cast members because I was not ready to think of those guys as "just acting.")
The movies are back!
PS. to adelutza and cash. I can't read a book prior to seeing its screen adaptation because they can rarely match/surpass my own mental images of the characters and situations. It only works if I've read the book years before the adaptation (LOTR) or if I read it afterwards.
I saw The Martian.
Ridley Scott is a master craftsman. I love his clarity of image, clear narrative line, and confident economy in how much is enough. The Mars landscape scenes reminded me of Lawrence of Arabia.
The supporting cast was a lot of fun.
I might have been more connected to the movie if I liked the leading man. For me, Matt Damon is a competent but dull actor.
I saw Sicario and agree with most here about the acting (great all round, even the smaller roles) and exceptionally paced story. There was so much tension in some scenes I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. I'll also add that the camera work was great, especially the final "raid."
I will say that all the dialogue between Emily Blunt's character and her partner about her appearance felt forced and out of place; more the type of crap you'd great in your standard rom-com.
I enjoyed The Martian very much. While it's true Ridley Scott can do sci-fi in his sleep, the direction is still superb - there's almost this wink you can see from the playfulness of some of the scenes and the dramatic touches that shows he's having fun, probably more fun than he's had since Thelma and Louise (which is very close in tone IMO to this movie). No coincidence this is his best film work since that classic. As for Damon, he's just excellent in this role, almost Jimmy Stewart-esque. It's probably not Oscar-worthy, but it would be hard to argue against a nomination. No one else really stands out except maybe Ejiofor - it's really the Damon show.
I think the movie, Scott and Damon will all be in the hunt for nominations, but ultimately could fall just short. Sound and VFX noms are guaranteed. Cinematography and Editing will be awfully tough this year so I don't know about that.
Those Globe best actress comedy predictions are spot on. For those who have stressful jobs, I highly recommend Dexter. It's the new Murder She Wrote for aging X'ers.