Golden Oldies Rule The Box Office
Sunday, June 14, 2015 at 4:03PM Fact: People love themselves from prehistoric monster movies.
Jurassic World (aka Jurassic Park 4) took absolutely no chances whatsoever on losing the collective global nostalgia for Steven Spielberg's original dino-blockbuster, modelling itself almost exactly on its predecessor. The only plot elements and story beats missing in this very very familiar movie are the kind you can't regurgitate: Spielberg's brilliance, Laura Dern's Face o' Wonder, and that scene with the dinosaur poop. As a result its opening weekend was big enough to fund the development of a real life theme park with ½ a billion in worldwide grosses in just 3 days. It's now the second biggest opening of all time after Marvel's The Avengers (2012). Which means that it's fairly certain that Jurassic Park 4 or Star Wars 7 will be the Crowned Champ of 2015 when the year wraps up. Sorry about it Avengers 2, Hunger Games 4, Furious 7, and Originality; you've all lost!
This way towards ridiculous grosses, you monster!
WIDE RELEASE
June 12th-14th Weekend
01 Jurassic World NEW $204.6 Jurassic Park Articles
02 Spy $16 (cum. $56.9) Rose Byrne FYC
03 San Andreas $11 (cum. $119.3)
04 Insididous Chapter 3 $7.3 (cum. $37.3)
05 Pitch Perfect 2 $6 (cum. $170.7) Review
06 Entourage $4.3 (cum. $25.8)
07 Mad Max: Fury Road $4.1 (cum. $138.6) Review & Podcast & Random Articles
08 Avengers: Age of Ultron $3.6 (cum. $444.7) Review & Marathon & Podcast
09 Tomorrowland $3.4 (cum. $83.6) Review
10 Aloha $.9 (cum. $18.9) Review
UNDER 800 SCREENS
June 12th-14th Weekend
01 Love & Mercy 573 screens $1.7 (cum. $4.7)
02 I'll See You In My Dreams 246 screens $.8 (cum. $2.9)
03 Home 584 screens $.7 (cum. $119.3)
04 Furious 7 357 screens $.5 (cum. $350.7) Review
05 Far From the Madding Crowd 366 screens $.4 (cum. $10.7) Review
06 Cinderella 270 screens $.2 (cum $199.2) Review
07 Ex Machina 194 screens $.2 (cum. $24.7) Review & Podcast & Random Articles
08 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl NEW 15 screens $.2 Review
09 Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 234 screens $.2 (cum. $68.8)
10 Woman in Gold 198 screens $.1 (cum. $32.2)
The story in limited release was also oldies but goodies: The Beach Boys & Blythe Danner. Love & Mercy got quite an enthusiastic critical (and audience) response and Mama Paltrow continues to headline the non-story story of the summer in that her movie has received very little press but has somehow found an audience anyway and steadily accumulated a very nice little gross for a septugenarian romantic drama. Do you think Bleecker Street will have the guts to fund her an Oscar campaign?
What did you see this weekend?
I saw the dinosaurs (guilty), finished up Sense8, and wisely decided not to binge Orange is the New Black but to truly savor it this time. I'm savoring my visitation privileges with these convicts this year for as long as I can manage will-power wise. Maybe I can make it last through Mid July?!?
Reader Comments (28)
I'm sad that Spy isn't knocking the socks off the box office. It deserves to make more money than the hideous Identity Thief at the very least. Will you post your review?
But yay for nostalgia. Chris Pratt really does have the best luck doesn't he!
I saw Jurassic World on Friday. It leans heavily on nostalgia and the script is nothing to write home about but it has some fun moments and I went in with extremely low expectations, so for a one time viewing - that I saw for free - I enjoyed it. My Best Friend loves Sense8 but after Jupiter Ascending, I need some distance from the Wachowskis. Also, I've yet to watch any of the Netflix shows in earnest (I tried with Between but the first episode sucked, so I haven't bothered with the rest).
As with your statement on The Avengers: Age of Ultron, not sure about your statement about the top grosser of 2015. Star Wars: The Force Awakens looms large.
the movie is bound to hit the International Top 10 Box Office Kingdom and Bryce Dallas Howard is officially going to give Jessica Chastain a run for her money in the minds of producers, studios, and some directors.
I saw Heaven Knows What this weekend. With an Oscar Worthy performance from Arielle Holmes.I hope she gets some kind of awards nomination she deserves an Oscar nominattion, but won't get one, because it's a small independent movie that alot of people or Oscar voters won't see. I hope the Gotham awards or The Independent Spirit Awards give her a well deserved Best Actress nomination
A genre TV weekend for me mostly: about to finish bingeing the queer as fuck Sense8 and loving it warts and all, much as I love Orphan Black, which I'll be watching later, along with the season finale of Game of Thrones and new episodes of Penny Dreadful and Orange Is the New Black.
Last night I did watch Chaplin's City Lights at the Los Angeles Theatre, the same movie palace where it had its premiere and was the grand opening presentation in 1931. The last five minutes of that movie kill me every time (and this was the first time seeing it on a big screen).
Finished Sense8, started S3 of OITNB, AND watched Jurassic World. I'm such a rebel.
Joe i keep forgetting abotu that one.
I saw Love and Mercy, in which everyone gives a great performance.
And I confess:
I was completely wrong about Elizabeth Banks.
I thought she was a bland and interchangeable blonde. She's not. I've liked her more each time I've seen her, and she is wonderful in this. The script is very slender and it's her unspoken reactions that are so perfect. She needs to be on the shortlist for awards.
I saw Far From the Madding Crowd. Carey Mulligan charming, Michael Sheen good, Matthias S. very sexy, but it was too long, too melodramatic and they could have nixed the soldier story and made a tighter film. In moments, it reminded me of The French Lieutenant's Woman or Out of Africa, but those films were infinitely more adult, complex and successful.
Saw Love and Mercy and was blown away by the performance of Paul Dano, especially
however, John Cusak did a great job as the older Wilson .. best he has done in years..
also thought Elizabeth Banks was excellent... hope the 3 of them are remembered at awards time... I think not... too early and not enough hype on the movie ( big mistake )
"Jurassic World" is fun but an absolute cartoon. My best pitch for the sequel: a stealth remake of "Force Majeure" set during the same events of "Jurassic World".
I saw Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Jurassic World, and Spy this weekend - and Spy was the clear favorite. I haven't laughed so much at a movie in a long time.
"I saw Far From the Madding Crowd. Carey Mulligan charming, Michael Sheen good, Matthias S. very sexy, but it was too long, too melodramatic and they could have nixed the soldier story and made a tighter film."
The book's fans would have been very angry if they nixed the soldier story. I really liked it but it was a little short. The book has too much story for a barely 2 hour movie.
I saw Jurassic World. Yes, some parts of the movie made me cringe and think "How did this get into the final cut?" But when the gates opened and I saw the park, I felt like a kid again.
Then I watched Cabin in the Sky. My gosh is Ethel Waters talented!
I saw I'll See You In My Dreams tonight. Really enjoyed it. Lovely understated indie that did what it wanted to do extremely well. The whole cast shined. I can't quite see Danner going all the way to Oscar with it, but maybe there will be a campaign and some career tribute love?
Also WTF with Spy not killing it at the box office? I assume it will be one of those that just keeps going and going and going and rises back up after a few weeks when people realize it's actually way more entertaining than Jurassic a World... If ever a movie deserved to be a big commercial success...
I finally saw Spy, which has to be the funniest Feig/McCarthy collaboration yet... or at least the most consistently so. Rose Byrne was a haughty delight, although perhaps an Oscar FYC is pushing it a bit far. Statham only gets one note to play but he plays it like a freaking virtuoso. Janney and Law take their stock characters and run with them flawlessly. But once again, Melissa McCarthy proves what a fresh, unique comic voice she has in addition to being a fabulous actress. The character shouldn't work, but in her hands I believed every twist and turn. By far the most fun I've had at the movies all year. Its box office performance seems oddly underwhelming to me, though. Is it McCarthy fatigue?
Watched Boys Night Out with Kim Novak, James Garner and Tony Randall. Kim Novak really can act!
Agree with everyone that Spy should be doing better, even if it's not exactly doing poorly. I think Tammy, while not awful, contributed to the "she only plays an obnoxious doofus" perception that everyone seems to mention now with McCarthy. But she doesn't do that in Spy! Go see it, people!
Paul Outlaw - what do you think of this season of Orphan Black? I haven't liked it as much as the first two seasons but it's finally starting to really pick up toward the end.
Originality has lost, indeed.
This weekend I watched Journal d'une femme de chambre and La belle et la bête. So it was a Léa Seydoux weekend. And boy does she delivers, she is pretty amazing in Journal, and even makes a not so inspired movie like belle/betê shine a little bit.
DJDeeJay: I like what Season 3 is doing (still need to see the most recent episode), but it's not as thrilling to watch as Season 1. Might have to do with the Castor stuff, which despite Ari Millen's good work, hasn't been as much fun as I'd hoped.
Paul Outlaw - I agree about the Castor stuff. Plus, as much as I love Allison and Donnie, I'm finding their storyline too disconnected and sitcommy (why do I care how her neighborhood is zoned?).
I finally got around to seeing "Mad Max: Fury Road" this weekend. That bad-ass Charlize was the best thing in it and Tom Hardy's grunts were sexy as hell. As for the movie itself . . . meh. It was just a never ending series of car chases and crashes. I also watched the first three episodes of "Orange is the New Black". I'm going try to hold out and not devour the whole season in one sitting.
"...(why do I care how her neighborhood is zoned?)."
Exactly.
A cri de Coeur for Blythe Danner's Oscar consideration. She creates a character as simple, deep and admirable as all of us moving through life. Martin Starr continues to amaze with his versatility. He's right with her in their scenes together.
Maybe people are getting too dumb now even for Melissa McCarthy? Dinosaurs = amusement park ride. I worry for adult cinema post-Streep, because Sandra Bullock is more popular than any other actress right now besides Jennifer Lawrence, and even they can't sell an adult film besides Gravity or Katniss. American Hustle, Suffragette, Oscar Isaac .. . Rare birds in an increasingly dull commercial world for film. Mad Men last episodes quite good.
I was a L A Pride all weekend, so.... does porn count?
"Penny Dreadful" which is both Classic Universal Horror and a Hammer Film