Box Office: Amy and the Ant (Man)
Sunday, July 19, 2015 at 12:00PM 
It was a good week to be Amy Schumer. Thursday saw her among the Best Actress nominees at the Emmys from a very competitive field and the very next day her first star vehicle movie (which she also wrote) opened to great numbers, even slightly higher than those for the more established female comic headlining a summer movie, Melissa McCarthy in Spy (which has had solid staying power and recently topped $100 million)
It was also a decent week to be Marvel Studios executives, too. Despite low grosses (comparatively for Marvel) a $57 million opening for Ant-Man has to be considered a big success given a) the characters microscopic profile in pop culture, b) a non bankable star -- Paul Rudd is well-loved but he has never been a box office draw c) a troubled production history and d) a release date in the summer in which people are just starting to be critical of Marvel Studios after ten years of drooling all over anything they did.
And of course it continued to be great summer to be Jurassic World which has amassed a simply spectacular fortune despite being merely an OK retread. Every other movie that's grossed over $500 million has had a lot more going for it in terms of newness or critical raves. I'm not trying to be mean -- it's hardly the worst movie in the top ten of all time (that honor belongs to Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace or Shrek 2) -- but the distinct probability that it could threaten Titanic's (1997) domestic gross to become the second most popular movie of all time (if you don't adjust for inflation) is unthinkable and quite depressing. So let's not think about it and become depressed...
Happy thoughts then: What was most wonderful about your weekend?
BOX OFFICE
Early Estimates. July 17th-19th Weekend
01 Ant-Man $57.5 NEW WIDE
02 Minions $47 (cum. $213.4) Tim on the Minions phenom
03 Trainwreck $30 NEW WIDE
04 Inside Out $11 (cum. $305) Inside Out Articles
05 Jurassic World $10.4 (cum. $610.1) Jurassic Articles
06 Terminator Genisys $5 (cum. $80) Review
07 Magic Mike XXL $4.4 (cum. $58.5) Review
08 The Gallows $3.8 (cum. $17.8)
09 Ted 2 $2.3 (cum. $77)
10 Mr Holmes $2.2 NEW LIMITED
Reader Comments (78)
I saw Tangerine at SF Embarcadero. Great little film about hot mess cross-dressing hookers in LA, shot on an iPhone. The effect of putting a movie shot on a phone on a movie screen was striking. The smack talk by the hookers is spot on.
Kudos to RJ and Me34 (in the other thread about Schumer) for being level headed and not resorting to attacking others. Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite movies, but I would be irrational to say that it does not have racial issues.
Dear Melissa --
this breaks my heart and I get the anger about it -- I do. well as much as white gay boy from detroit can get it at least. Viola Davis is one of my favortie actresses and a hero for explaining this so eloquently in interviews to people who don't get it - particulary the "too dark" issue. this is the part i have trouble getting though i have no wish to call you a troll or a hater (but i think we both agree that you're angry since you keep calling yourself that). I see this all the time with liberals and progressives... this in-fighting... how can we make any progress if we let divisions rip us apart or if our frustrations are taken out on people who are actually in the ways that count in the broader sense on our side, even if they're not always from our side and don't get every issue about our particular side.If feminists of every color do not band together in feminism, but instead just constantly criticize each other (i was pretty horrified back at Oscar time when Patricia Arquette's awesome attacks on sexism and wage inequality were immediately undermined by her fellow feminists -- because she's a privileged white women who probably doesn't totally get what's going on with women of color.). To me that is misdirected anger and falls under the same umbrella as the constant liberal criticism of Barack Obama for the past eight years (falling right into the hands of his racist haters pretty consistently) when he has been a damn good president who has accomplished more than seems humanly possible given the insanely virulent and disrespectful atmosphere he's had to work in.
I guess i'm just confused at what people want when they draw these lines in the sand.
(again: this is coming from my perspective that Amy Schumer is an important feminist comedienne and we desperately need loud, funny and talented feminists of all types and colors and creeds to wake the world up)
@Nathaniel if White feminists bring forth issues that involve women of all colors then I have no issues with them. J.K. Rowling recently defended Serena Williams from mean spirited attacks, I have no problem with that,when will Miley Cyrus, Lena Dumham and Taylor Swift do the same? They say nothing unless White women are attacked. I just don't understand how you don't see that as an issue. Take Bill Cosby and R. Kelly both awful, but no one cares that R. Kelly abused several underage Black girls it's like wtf and it's disturbing ( from all races)I'm not saying let's ban Amy Schumer or kill her, I'm just saying that some of her material is not helpful and harmful. These celebrities are not so HOLY that they are above criticism. Feminists should work together but is it too much asking them to recognize and be aware of their privilege. I would be an idiot if I totally ignored the fact that I'm a lighter skinned Black woman and I am seen as less dangerous then someone with a darker hue,
Kylie Jenner posted a picture of herself in cornrows and the hashtag Whitegirlsdoitbetter (has been since deleted) A young a Black actress Amandla Stenberg calls her out on it and people are mad at Amandla And reducing her to an angry Black girl. Stuff like this bothers me and is part of a bigger issue.
I think Amy Schumer does more for women than A LOT of comedians. And she does it by being pretty darn funny. And I think attacking her over what it obviously not her intention is completely missing the point and weakens the positive impact she can have. She is not the bad guy and no one listens to her racially insensitive jokes and says "Damn Right!". Absolutely no one. I think her "stupid brat" act is funny and it is her way of highlighting ridiculous stereotypes and making us laugh at them and mock them. I watched her movie this weekend and laughed my ass off constantly.
JK Rowling made an amazing point as well but JK Rowling is not a comedian so they make their points differently and they should not be compared.
@Tony T thanks for reading and not listening no one compared Schumer to Rowling.
This is what I'm talking about the whole reply was about defending Amy Schumer and ignoring the Black woman's concerns like they are not valid. WTF You guys just don't get it and never will I'm afraid.
I'm hearing all the concerns. I m just saying that there is waaaaaaaaaay more to be concerned about than a comedian's innocent attempt at comedy. I think the energy better be put fighting the right people.
This really doesn't seem like the place to talk about seeing Ant-Man, Trainwreck, Serena, and Me & Earl & The Dying Girl, but that's what I saw this weekend.
I like Amy Schumer's comedy a lot, and I think she's trying to think through her racial privilege more than she did earlier in her career. That said, I also see that she falls down repeatedly in those attempts and seems more maladroit on race than maybe any other subject she touches. (I might be wrong, but I think she's renounced the line about Larino men ...though it's alarming that it even happened, as were some of her jokes at the Sheen roast. Then again, I also wouldn't stand by everything I expressed in my 20s and don't envy folks who have to grow and learn in public.) Anyway, makes sense to me that some audiences—especially but not only people of color—would be rubbed very much the wrong way, even incensed, by what Schumer puts out there. Also makes sense that her overall project and POV as a comedian would resonate for some people and deeply rankle others, partially but not only along identity lines. Even if I couldn't see any of this myself, I hear Nikki and Melissa saying how deeply they feel this way—that they find her misguided at best, and unfunny or pernicious at worst, in ways that remind them of other public figures who claim good intention. Came through loud and clear. I get that many of us appreciate what we see as Schumer's willingness to be polarizing and feel strongly that she's on the side of right (not THE Right), but for that very reason of going out of her way to provoke, reactions to her are going to vary hugely, and nobody's wrong for loving or hating what she does, right? Especially if our standpoints or our political commitments aren't the same? This all got pretty heated, and probably hurtful on many sides, but it seemed to start with Nikki and Melissa saying that what others (not in this thread) have called Schumer's "blind spot" about race reads to them as something bigger and worse than a "blind slot." I don't fully agree and might not even be paraphrasing fairly (I hope I am), but my agreement isn't remotely the point. I learned from what Melissa and Nikki said, and from their desire to be heard without needing to be convinced of some other perspective, and also from what a lot of other people said, too. I think we just missed a few steps of "I hear you" or "I can see that" or "Tell me more so I can get where you're coming from" before rushing to defend someone a lot of us love from the idea that other peiple might not love her (to say the least) and have trenchant, considered reasons for being upset by her and suspicious of her. Just my 2¢ as someone who's been listening but not yet participating.
PS. Tom Ford, the characters in <I>Tangerine are not cross dressers, they're trans women, meaning they aren't "dressing as" women but identify 100% as women. I know those still sound similar to some people, but it's an important distinction, especially to trans folks and their allies. Hope you enjoy our podcast about the movie, posted soon.
Thanks, Nick!
Roark -- please tell me you just left the house once and stayed in the movie theater because THE HEAT THE HEAT everyone was melting.
Nick - as ever you are levelheaded and kind and say things we all wish we had said.
Melissa -- i'm really trying to understand but I'm still missing something.I guess the part that I feel i'm frequently missing or "not getting" as you suggest is why WOC do not feel they're included when white feminists argue for things like wage equality or against sexism. Sexism and wage equality are issues that touch all people (even men -- men are damaged by sexism, too, albeit in harder to define emotional ways but growing up in an anti-woman male-privilege culture is not helping men be well adjusted human beings). Patricia Arquette took so much heat for speaking out on wage equality from women. How is that not an issue that includes ALLskin colors? But people were angry with her. How are Lena Dunham's frequentt irades agains Bill Cosby her only rushing to defend white women? (I can't speak to the R Kelly thing as I don't follow his career but my understanding was everyone found his actions repulsive so I obviously missed something there too)
The only example along these lines I can think of is that very strange public discourse around the Chris Brown / Rihanna mess and that he didn't become a public pariah somehow. And the media (or at least some pockets of it) still has very icky "will they get back together" fantasies about that pairing. I chalked that up to our nation's sexism in genera but maybe there was some racial component I missed.
Nathaniel - I did most of my movie going early in the weekend when things were a bit more tolerable, but saw Trainwreck in the middle of the day yesterday. Felt like I was walking out into an oven afterwards. Dreadful. I wish I could stay inside for the next few days but work (and more movies!) beckon.
Nathaniel,
Do you honestly believe that White women and women are color are treated equally? How many White feminists spoke in outrage regarding the 14 year old Black girl in McKinney, Texas? Yet, they are quick to criticize Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Rihanna and question their feminism. There may be a wage gap between men and women, but isn't there one in regards to race? Most of Bill Cosby accusers are White all of R. Kelly's victims were Black. Are you blind? when has Lena Dunham ever publicly defended a woman of color. When you are on a major platform and speak about feminism and do not specifically point out the struggles of women of color, we do not feel included. Unless you are assuming that we are all equal? I think Melissa made her point pretty clear in talking about different skin tones. Bell Hooks a fair skinned Black feminist includes her darker skinned sisters in quite a few of her speeches and speak on their struggles of being darker skinned. What is so difficult for a White women to acknowledge their privilege. How is it difficult to understand that women of color and LGBT women do not have the same experiences as White women. Rooney Mara has been cast as Tiger Lily how many White feminist cared about that? So Obama in his speeches should never mention the LGBT community because there is no need? It seems to me that is what you are saying.
Let's not even go there with Chris Brown at the time an 18 year old boy and let's compare that to Roman Polanski a grown man. Not excusing what either did, but let's not go there shall we.
@Nathaniel are you suggesting that R. Kelly got the same amount of Backlash that Bill Cosby is getting. If so, no offense you are truly naive. Trapped in the Closet was a huge success for him no one banned his music and took his videos off the air. His victims weren't White so his backlash is nowhere near the same level. Honestly for me some people who claim to be fighting the same fight, but they are just as damaging as people like Trump because they do not see.
For example, there was an overweight White girl in one of my classes. Her White "friends " we're nice to her they never talked bad about her etc. They also never invited her to hang out or to parties. If she were to attend a party they would hand her their purses and bags to watch automatically assuming that she didn't want to dance. She was crying about this one day and stated they may as well call me fat like the bullies.
There is s huge difference between White women and women of color. If you don't see that then I don't know what else to say.
ryan
Good god no, but how on earth does that justify attacking white women for speaking out on feminist issues that affect all women and therefore help all women if we make any progress on the issues?I guess I'm asking what people want. If a white woman says " [insert quote about how awful unequal pay is]" should we disregard her comments because she did not say "[insert quote about how awful unequal pay is...and by the way when I say women I also mean women of color."
That seems so redundant. Must we start listing skin colors when we speak? How does feminist progress exclude black women when it doesn't name them specifically? That seems to be what i'm hearing. If you don't say "and women of color" when you say "all women" than some people think you're only talking about white women and excuse me but I think that's highly problematic and basically implies that WOC are not women and SHOULD feel excluded unless their skin color is also explicitly mentioned. This disturbs me. This strikes me as highly counterintutive and bad for everyone including people of color.
you also write
I did not bring up Roman Polanski nor compare them. That was wholly your doing. Also Chris Brown was 19 at the time and that is an adult. That is not a "boy". No man should be abusing their girlfriend and we should not excuse it whatever his color or hers is. And frankly even if he was 15 at the time we shoudl not excuse it. People should know that it's wrong to abuse people from much earlier than that.But the fact that this example (i was searching for an example to help me understand what you all felt was unfear treatment of black women in the media) makes you mad is the exact problem I'm talking about. i'm trying to understand and I'm asking questions and it's met with animosity.
Is the solution for me (white gay man) or for white women NOT to speak out against social injustices that they notice unless they notice ALL social injustices? That seems to be the argument.
FINALLY... Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily. We bitched abotu that right here. What I keep getting at is that TFE is not the place to be all "everyone ignores these isseus and no one understands them " I wrote furious articles abotu the whitewashing of Akira". We talk about stuff like this all the time. We have bitched about Hollywood's ignoring brilliant black actresses for years! When Lupita Nyong'o wasn't signed for multiple projects right after her Oscar win (as any white actress her age and beauty would have been) we bitched about that plenty.
this is another example of anger being directed at people who are on the same side. how does it help?
Melissa
No. As I explicitly stated. I don't follow R Kelly's career. I was only speaking from my personal experience and I've never met anyone who didn't find his actions repulsive. I was surprised to hear that people thought he was A OK. That hasn't been my experience.AGAIN... i feel people are avoiding my questions because they are angry. I am asking how these divisions and this anger for white feminists helps WOC. Anger can be a highly important catalyst for change. But Anger directed at people who are trying to fight the same fight (and are maybe sometimes clumsy about it) seems like a waste of valuable anger. It seems like we keep having great teaching opportunities but nobody learns anything because everyone is shouting at each other.
I don't see that it helps anyone, this infighting. Better that we all work together.
Well, I managed to catch four new films this past weekend, all of which opened here in Montréal on Friday. In order from favourite to least:
"Jimmy's Hall" -- The latest (and last??) Ken Loach, it tells the story of an Irish leftist, exiled for many years in the US, who returns to his home village to take up anew organizing the masses, against the opposition of the Church and the government. I like the fact that Loach is willing to wear his political heart on his sleeve.
"Spy" -- I'd avoided this one for weeks as I wasn't certain if I'd like it. (I was only iffy on McCarthy, not having liked her in "Bridesmaids," though I didn't like the film in general.) I was pleasantly surprised that "Spy" was much funnier than I'd thought, with Rose byrne being best in show, IMHO. (Jason Strathan was pretty good, too, as the worst blowhard on screen in ages.)
"Madame Bovary" -- Yet another version of Flaubert's novel, directed by Sophie Barthes (who did the 2009 film "Cold Souls," though I only just found that out) and shot in English with mostly a British cast. Mia Wasikowska played Emma Bovary, in a surprisingly passsionless way. In fact, the lack of passion in the whole film was my main complaint. (The costumes, particularly her dresses, should be looked at for Oscar consideration, if you ask me.)
"Deli Man" -- Documentary on the rise and fall and somewhat difficult survival of the Jewish deli. The general story of the deli was mixed with a sort of biography of one particular deli owner, a NYC guy who runs a successful deli in Houston. Well, this guy isn't as interesting as the director seemed to think, so the end result was kind of unbalanced. You'll come out of the theatre hungry, though, if you do see it.
This may be out of place... But, really. Haven't we all experience some kind of discrimination in our lives? Maybe some of us on a daily regular basis. Wether it is a race, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, earnings, background, etc... We've all been discriminated one way or another and we all have discriminated someone else. For wathever the reason, even if we say it is because we are defending ourselves or (insert reason here).
Let's face it. I think we can all be blamed for it. Racism feeds racism, sexism feeds sexism, and so on.
The sole fact that we are talking about ourselves as "black guy/girl", "white guy/girl", "hispanic" kinda proves it.
If someone starts saying "I wanna talk in favor of black and white women's rights", I'm fairly certain that people will go nuts calling her/him a racist for pointing out that there are white and black women and not just say women.
Having said this, I find Amy Schumer hilarious. I do think she is a feminist and also think her jokes are pretty harmless. She makes fun of everything she thinks deserves to be criticize.
I'm a dark-skinned gay mexican guy, btw.
@Nathaniel,
But you are also avoiding their questions as well? when has Lena Dunham specifically defended a woman of color? When has Amy Schumer.
No man should never drug an underage girl or raped them.We should vilify Chris Brown for something he did when he was 19, but not Roman Polanski that is so productive. Let's string up all the young Black boys who made mistakes when they were teens and lock away the key. We can sit up here and defend Roman Polanski and Woody Allen is it because you like their movies or is it because they are White? Just asking, because I've notice that this seems to be a trend of yours? Why not be angry at all of them not just the Black ones. You constantly sit up here and defend your White idols like they do no wrong and is quick to hang a noose around a Black person. So please don't give that BS about working together, when you do the exact same thing as your idols. SUBTLE RACISM.
You cannot talk about feminism with Women of color without mentioning their race and vice versa. It's called intersectionality maybe you need to look that up in the dictionary. I really don't care how angry you are, you are obviously not seeing our point of view and you cannot change the way we feel about Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham. How about when These chicks talk about police brutality or defend a woman of color or acknowledge theirWhite privileges, then I will listen until then I personally don't want to hear shit they have to say. maybe you will never understand how we feel because you are not a woman of color or specifically a Black woman. Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham I FEEL ARE NOT ON MY SIDE AND NEVER WAS. YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT THEM . The only people who can ARE Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer.
@ Nathaniel, how is saying I'm aware that women of color, trans woman have it a lot worse? How is saying that my race makes it a bit easier for me than others. How is that a problem?The fact that you even asked those questions shows that you either don't understand what we are saying and or not listening. I kind of think that you are not listening because why would you even mention that I always talk about Whitewashing? I honestly don't think that was directed at you? I thought it was directed at people like Dunham. Why are you getting defensive? When has Dunham and Schumer? Every time someone tries to make you see their perspective you get defensive and attack, which makes them attack as well. Then no one is listening, you're just waiting to counterattack.
Nikki went a bit overboard, but can't say I don't blame her.
We criticize Schumer but that equates to hating her, attacking her and wanting her dead. You never even looked into her Hispanic joke because the only thing you want to do is defend her and I'm guessing that's something you can't defend.
Acknowledging people's differences and different struggles is harmful. Let's lump everyone into the same category. We might as well let only White women talk about feminism because all women are the same and there is no need to point out differences. Might as well put only White faces on the movie screens because we are talking about everyone.
Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer should never be criticized bc they are perfect and we are not allowed to criticize them. When we refer to a certain type of White feminism we are obviously talking about Nathaniel Rogers. We are too dumb to do understand the context of Amy Schumer comedy, do it's definitely not offensive.
Let's ignore everything else they've been saying and drive home these points.
This is what I am getting from you Nathaniel this is what you are saying.
For the record, I know people had issues with Emma Watson's speech, I did not. Why? BECAUSE SHE ACKNOWLEDGED HER PRIVILEGE.
Melissa & Nikki... i really tried, I did. But I don't have the energy to keep typing at a the screen when obviously you don't want to hear what I have to say or respond to the questions I have asked which were genuine.I really did want to hear your answers. But you don't answer the questions, you just tell me 'i don't get it' and that i'm 'naive' and you claim i'm attacking you and i adamantly don'tt believe i did. I just asked "what purpose does it serve to point your anger in this direction". That doesn't feel like an attack to me. But then you up the ante and take it to extreme places.
furthermore it's a willful lie -- and all three of us know it -- to say that i am arguing that 'we might as well only have white faces on the screen'. Anyone who has ever read the site know that this is patently untrue so the only conclusion i can draw is that you want me to feel bad so you've made this conversational personal by undermining everything i've ever written on this very topic. So I'm a defensive? a little bit sure. You took a cause i firmly believe in and am proud of my record on and then pretended i was like a Donald Trump level racist or something.
Not kind. not nice.
so the conclusion i am forced to draw is that you have already prejudged anything I will next say because I happen to like the comedy of some people you don't (Woody Allen / Amy Schumer) and that you have also prejudged multiple artists and declared all their work uninteresting and them talentless because you were offended once or twice by them.
I hope you find a way in your personal life to work around these hard line stances of ME VS THEM. When i first came out of the closet I was really angry a lot of the time and I claimed "homophobia" constantly at first as I worked through my own issues. I am not so quick to attack people about it now unless they truly deserve it.
What i'm saying is that If I ignored every thing that anyone ever said because they were not like me (gay white man) or because they admired someone I didn't or if i stopped valuing art made by people i sometimes disagreed with or artist who don't get gay people (there are plenty of them) ... my life would get very small.
I hope yours doesn't. Peace out.
Nathaniel , you're funny that is all . Amy Schumer does not have to offend me to be talented I just don't find her funny. Lena Dunham said I didn't like her, never said she wasn't talented. Those things are omg different.
Nathaniel we can say the same thing you don't want to hear what we have to say either or you just don't want to hear it. You say we're not answering your questions, but guess what you're not answering mine. When you constantly come to us as if we are attacking Amy Schumer and not criticizing you ARE ATTACKING US. You say these things about valuing art yet you want to ban Chris Brown. Oh did I put words in your mouth, because you just did the same thing.
You still haven't answered whether or not you have a problem with her Hispanic joke. Do you? Asking people to be aware of their privilege and include others is not US vs THEM.
What purpose does it serve to point anger in their direction. Well for one maybe it will allow them to work through their own biases. If we don't speak up for others
Maybe it will allow them to use their huge platform so others can speak out about their struggles. Wouldn't it be cool if Emma Watson included a quote from Bell Hooks in her UN Speech. I don't hate Emma Watson, I don't hate Amy Schumer (offensive or not I don't find her funny)and I don't hate Lena Dunham. I hate the fact that the media puts them on a pedestal and they don't use their platform to highlight the struggles of people who are not like them. Covert racism is just as bad as overt racism. Racism can be intentional and unintentional both are equally bad. Your intentions are well, but I feel and I am only speaking for myself that you have some sort of bias when it comes to Black men. You hate rap and hip hop. You dehumanize Chris Brown and Michael Jackson . Yet you bend over backwards to defend Roman Polanski, Lena Dunham and Woody Allen. Hey none of us are perfect though. Reducing Me to being angry is not cool. I am not angry, these are my observations.
Bill, have you seen the Jennifer Jones version directed by Vincente Minnelli? It's quite amazing!
Did Lena Dunham just get grouped in with Roman Polanski and Chris Brown?
I can't.