What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, January 3, 2016 at 1:05PM It was bound to happen given that earth's population and movie ticket prices constantly grow but The Force Awakens will be overtaking Avatar (2009) for #1 hit of all time in the US (NOT adjusted for inflation) sometimes this week. The new-old adventure from that galaxy far far away is just $20 million shy of that particular record now.
Beyond Star Wars there's quite a lot going on though -- including solid ticket selling moves by various Oscar players -- which we'll discuss after the jump...
Brad Pitt is gonna stop you right there. Have you seen The Big Short yet?
BOX OFFICE WIDE
New Year's Weekend
01 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $88.3 (cum. $740.2) Review
02 Daddy's Home $29 (cum. $93.6)
03 The Hateful Eight $16.2 (cum. $29.5) Hated It
04 Sisters $12.5 (cum $61.7) Review
05 Alvin and the ChipmOh God Make It Stop $11.8 (cum. $67.3)
06 Joy $10.4 (cum. $38.7) Reviewish
07 The Big Short $9 (cum. $32.9) Review & SAG Ensemble
08 Concussion $8 (cum. $25.3) Review
09 Point Break $6.8 (cum. $22.4)
10 Hunger Games is Finally Over $4.6 (cum. $274.2)
11 The Good Dinosaur $4 (cum. $114.7) Review
12 Creed $3.9 (cum. $103.4) Review
13 The Danish Girl $1.5 (cum. $6) Interview
14 Brooklyn $1.3 (cum $20.8) Review
15 Carol $1.2 (cum. $5) Production Design, If You Haven't Seen It, FYC Sarah Paulson
Daddy's Home, Sisters, and even those damb CGI chipmunks proved very smart counterprogramming bids with Christmas time releases as 'dumb comedies to pass the time if you don't care about the 'Best of Year' conversation' which -- let's be honest outside our little bubble -- is basically most of the population and why we can't have nice things. Creed, somehow got stuck outside the Oscar conversation (pity that) but it just crossed the $100 million mark so there's a nice triumph for Director Ryan Coogler and Star Michael B Jordan as their profiles continue to rise. Next up for Coogler is Marvel's Black Panther and next up for Jordan is presumably whatever he decides he wants...
Tim Roth in what surely was mean to be the Christoph Waltz roleMeanwhile in Oscar land...
Quentin Tarantino had about the best wide opening you could imagine was possible from a disgusting talky 3 hour western in which nothing happens for about 2 and a half hour except for constant physical abuse of the one female character (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and constant verbal abuse of the one black character (Samuel L Jackson) -- have I mentioned that I loathed nearly every second of this movie? The intermission was all right.
The Big Short is doing great business at exactly the right time to win Oscar's attention and Yes, I'll fess up: I did not see this one's Oscar futures coming. After seeing it at AFI I was so sure it wasn't going to make a dent being strictly as a commercial play
Carol had it's first million dollar weekend (though it's still on less than 200 screens - argh)
The Revenant is still doing insane business on only 4 screens so expect an enormous box office tally next weekend when The Suffering of Leonardo goes wide. One presumes they just decided to avoid the opening weekend of the other auteur driven gorey western that's very long but super light on plot.
In the deeper recesses of the chart a moment of silence for France's Oscar entry Mustang which has just not caught on for some reason. It's still under $200,000 without a strong per screen average which is a real shame because it's so damn good, and accessibly entertaining too. It's chief competitor for Best Foreign Film Son of Saul is performing more strongly so we'll see if it can continue to gather steam in the weeks to come but I prefer Mustang.
WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND?
Reader Comments (49)
I saw Scorsese's "New York, New York" on the MGM-HD Channel and "Youth" in theaters. Jane Fonda was the only worthwhile thing about that silly, silly film.
In other, more important news, "Carol" finally comes to my local cinema this weekend!!!
I finally saw Trumbo - and it was a really entertaining movie, much better than the various reviews I read led me to believe. And really, Helen Mirren is a hoot!
Carol: Really good, though I don't quite love it at Film Experience levels and I'm worried if it follows the Far From Heaven path in my memory that I'll downgrade it pretty considerably in a couple years. But I look forward to seeing it again without the weight of expectations. Remarkable work done in all departments.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: Largely breezy fun. Cruel note: it made less money than The Fantastic Four remake.
Penny Dreadful, S2, E07-E10: The recent mentions of it at TFE encouraged me to finish the second season and I have to say I stopped at exactly the wrong time. The last third was quite remarkable. I'll probably watch the Billie Piper excoriation repeatedly (the writing was terrific) and the performances really became of a piece with each other.
re: box office
Glad to see Brooklyn crack twenty million. Really wish SPC stopped buying foreign films if they plan on releasing them in December (possibly the worst time to release Son of Saul). Floored that Room will likely not hit ten million (unless they expand it again upon strong oscar success)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Fun, glorious disposable fun. I've already forgotten most of it. What I remember: Ridley and Boyega had no (romantic) chemistry, so I hope that's not what they were heavyhandedly hinting at. And I never liked Adam Driver until this movie, but he was the clear acting MVP.
@ Tyler: lucky you re: NYNY. I could watch that on a regular basis.
(In campaign strategy news, the first physical screeners arrived: Beasts of No Nation, The Big Short.)
"2001: A Space Odyssey" on 70mm! Tucson's Loft Cinema debuted its "70mm Showcase" series last night to a packed house. "Lawrence of Arabia" next month... :)
I saw The Big Short, Joy and Carol.
The more I think about The Big Short, the more I think that it was really well done. It was a challenge to adapt that material in such an accessible, entertaining way. And Christian Bale, in particular, was outstanding.
I really enjoyed Joy and am befuddled by the middling reviews. Yes, it's a bit messy, but after how overpraised certain films were this year, it's weird to see something that is so underpraised. I found it so enjoyable and think that Lawrence probably gives her best performance in it. Russell's characters always seem like people I actually know, which is one reason I respond to his work.
Carol was a disappointment, I'm sorry to say. I thought it would be my favorite film of the year, but I wasn't really emotionally invested in it. The costumes, production design, score and cinematography were all exceptional, but the two lead characters were not compelling to me. I would have rather seen a film about Sarah Paulsen's character, or Kyle Chandler's Harge.
" It Follows" on DVD- very creepy atmosphere and some scary moments but the movie was a bit slow- the director was clearly influence by John Carpenter. If you like indie horror it's a worth a look.
Just got back from Carol and damn if it didn't completely win me over with just the opening credits. PERFECTION. My movie-going partner was so entranced he stayed in his seat all the way through the end credits, which he NEVER does. Blanchett was phenomenal but I was not as sold on Rooney Mara I'm sorry to say. The camera sure does love her but most of the time I thoguht she was nearly somnambulant. Can't believe she won Best Actress at Cannes for this. The movie itself though really is a thing of beauty.
I saw Sisters. No it's not groundbreaking. I wouldn't say it's dumb either, but I liked it enough and laughed consistently during the party stuff. Bobby Moynihan and Samantha Bee are pleasant surprises and I loved the appearance of past 30 Rock/Parks and Rec actors and Renee Elise Goldsberry too.
Saw The Big Short and loved it... Bale and especially Steve Carrel were excellent.
Screenplay was very good... I liked it way more than Spotlight.
Sorry to say what I thought was going to happen when I saw Carol did happen ... too much prior hype ( especially here ), had my expectations too high... I thought it was beautiful, but cool in story ( cool meaning atmosphere )... I do not see it winning acting awards, but maybe in other categories... I apologize... I really wanted to love it.
The "overhyped" comments about Carol bum me out for moviegoers. Mostly because I think it's all there on the quality front.
Honestly, I think some of the resentment is the distributor's fault. When you have a gem of a movie that people are dying to see, the longer they're forced to wait and READ about how phenomenal it is breeds resentment and impossible expectations. Even the best movie of the year isn't worth marinating in hype about for weeks and weeks (months if we go all the way back to Cannes).
Even as a Carol fanatic, my love for the film was somewhat soured by the "Why am I seeing this in January?" frustration.
I saw "45 Years" and "Youth" in one night. The former was devastating and Rampling, of course, ought to be nominated. The ending is a heartbreaker. "Youth" just went over my head. A lot of striking imagery but I could not relate to any of the characters. It would be laughable for Jane Fonda to be nominated for her one scene when it isn't even a Beatrice Straight-type home run of a scene. It's barely a bunt.
*especially living in Boston which is a city that distributors often take very good care of. 99 percent of the time I'm very lucky.
It Follows was very good
Also recently saw Ant Man which was much more enjoyable than I was expecting. best marvel film in recent history I think; you can definitely feel Edgar Wright's influence
I'll toss in Hateful Eight since I saw that Tuesday and...didn't like. Like, I think it's Quentin's worst film and would work a million times better if the film just ended at intermission. Credits roll and walk out the door.
I watched Advantageous, with is pretty damn close to the inverse of Ex Machina in following two women (technically a mother and daughter) flirting with technology provided by the mother's employer (a man) that would set them up for a much better life. The technology involves painless cosmetic alteration to any human form you want without actually undergoing cosmetic surgery. It's also set in an almost Handmaid's Tale universe where the government and big business are slowly but surely forcing women out of jobs so they have no choice but to stay home. Male gaze, feminism, body autonomy, beauty, and manipulative marketing are hit harder than in Ex Machina with much more compelling, rather than shocking, results. Pair them together for a double feature on Netflix and learn to feel feelings.
I watched Kumiko: The Treasure Hunter and loved everything about it except that it's that film. The production design, costumes, score (my winner now), acting, concept, editing--all great. The final product left me feeling hurt, confused, and like I was subjected to an experiment to recreate the mental anguish caused by Dancer in the Dark without any of the joy for the main character.
I watched a pretty terrible revenge exploit film with a great leading performance and wonderful production design called Bound to Vengeance. The woman seeking revenge isn't given enough of a voice in her own story and she's stuck literally dragging around her abuser to get her revenge.
The Big Short. Excellent. Would be okay if it won Best Picture, just like The Social Network was best picture.
Jessica Jones. Surprisingly well done and entertaining.
Yeah, the new Star Wars. It was Good Enough, but a day later all the little flaws keep appearing to before me, like new cracks in the vase. I think the main problem is that it is saddled with having to set everything up all over again, and after the first (very good) 40 minutes or so started to hit the same old marks as its predecessors from the 70's & 80's. I felt a bit of its energy flag in the midsection. The lightsaber battle in the forest was gorgeous though. I bet the next one will be better - I hope at least it will strike out into some new territories and not just keep recycling those (much loved) Greatest Star Wars Hits.
Carol was great, my favorite film released in 2015. Admittedly, I didn't see a lot, all the good movies come out so late in the year. We've already started playing the annual Jan/Feb catch up game.
Spotlight was ok. Story was good, but there was a distinct lack of any filmmaking excitement.
Still think The Martian is the most overrated thing in a long time. If it gets a lot of Oscar love will be annoyed.
Yes to a Fonda nominated she has waymore screen time than Straight.
Youth. Meh.
Hayden W. - I completely agree with you. I thought Weinstein had something up his sleeve with this release strategy but all he did was sour the film by making those who would have enjoyed it wait too much and rise their expectations to the roof, and for those who wouldn't have enjoyed it anyways to not go see it at all when it finally got released. Brooklyn - which is a fine film but below Carol - has already 20 million in the bag. At this point, I doubt that Carol will get there and also, if critic prizes was what Weinstein was waiting for - they didn't really come either. Pity for such a great film.
I saw Joy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, both of which I enjoyed.
I just saw Carol and omg Cate Blanchett sweep me off my feet why don't you. I was literally swooning in the theater. I think Mad Max is better in terms of cinematography but man this movie is so good. I genuinely thought hype would kill it.
Carol (finally). I'm so sad. It had flickers of greatness, but it was only okay. Cate was great (of course). And Sarah Paulson gives the best performance I've seen from her. I thought Rooney Mara was terrible. And the script is suspect. But overall, there's something about the pacing of Todd Haynes' movies that makes me want to scream "get on with it!" So sad. I REALLY wanted to love it.
99 Homes. It was totally ... fine.
The Danish Girl. What a steaming pile of poo-like drivel. I don't get the Vikander love. I've seen pretty much everything she's ever been in. I just don't get it.
I have had a break from the cinema since Christmas Day. Have been binge-ing on series instead, which I don't get to do during the year because ZI see so many movies! Fargo season 2, Please Like Me season 3, Grace and Frankie, and others.
Have done a bit of filling-in-the-gaps of Woody Allen's filmography. BANANAS, PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM and BROADWAY DANNY ROSE. And also finally succumbed to the lure of an old VHS tape (and basically giving up on my chance of ever seeing it for the first time on the big screen) and watched the only film of my favourite director, Stanley Kubrick, that I hadn't viewed yet - BARRY LYNDON.
In theaters_
Danish Girl--I thought this was ... OK. My sense is that most people here hated it--I did not hate it. I found it involving and liked the performances, but it was missing something. That said, Alicia Vikander is really quite marvelous and nomination-worthy in it.
Auntie Mame--with Rosalind Russell. Had never seen it before. Lots of fun.
Double Indemnity--I had never seen this before either, and quite liked it. It's a bit tough to see a film like this, which clearly was a template for so many noir-ish thrillers that followed, and find it truly suspenseful. But I enjoyed it a lot and the performances hold up.
Working Girl--I haven't seen this in years. It is completely and utterly charming. I loved it. I was surprised by how won over I was by Melanie Griffith (I don't remember her having been a highlight for me when I had seen it previously). It actually made me sad that she really didn't do anything noteworthy afterwards.
RIP Vilmos Zsigmond
The Big Short. Went in with moderate expectations, but ended up loving it. I'm surprised at the number of contrary critics actually. I think it will easily get a Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Picture nomination. I think we may also see some surprise nominations in director and actor (Carrell). The kind of movie I want to see again.
I live in Germany and I absentmindedly bought a ticket to the German version of "Carol" three days ago. Just imagine how frustrated I was after sitting through fifteen minutes of ads and trailers. Two days later, finally Carol in English and I must say I was blown away by the film. Cate Blanchett was exceptional. I actually think she deserves to win Best Actress this year.
JOY, which was better when it was simply being a feel-good caper. The opening 30 minutes were rough with all of those flashbacks showing us stuff that had already been told to us.
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, which is trash. Disgraceful.
I saw Trumbo too. Not a very good movie, but I do think Cranston deserves a lot of credit for giving it the life it has. Louis CK was great at playing a character who is both himself and a 1950s lefty.
My first thought after Helen Mirren's performance was surprise it's gotten so much traction (except for it being Helen Mirren). Second thought was maybe she deserves credit for having fun with such an over-the-top person being the villain.
@CharlieG - When it comes to Vikander and Rooney Mara I agree with you, the hype machine has gone into overdrive with them and it leaves me feeling grumpy.
I made a deal with my nephew - I went with him to "The Big Short" and he went with me and saw "Brooklyn". And we both had a better time than we expected. He wasn't ashamed to say that he welled up during "Brooklyn" and we both laughed more than we expected in "The Big Short".
But when it comes to Steve Carrell - it's like he's trying to hard these days. ( IMHO )
Best of all I watched the BBC production of "Gypsy" with Imelda Staunton. That was entertainment.
I was forced to see "The Big Short" and really enjoyed it. It earns its laughs and anger. I didn't particularly like any of the performances, but Steve Carell's stays with you the longest, but the characters are kinda sloppily written.
Spotlight was sold out (in the 'burbs THIS NEVER HAPPENS), so pouted, went home and watched the rest of Master of None, a surprisingly sweet comedy, and the last two episodes of the X Files in prep for the reboot later this month, Also finished Making of a Murderer, and watched a couple other docs - Shout Gladi Gladi and Muscle Shoals, all really good.
I just saw Carol in a Cincinnati theater and was so annoyed by audience members gasping and squealing with delight when they recognized buildings and landmarks and verbally debating with one another about whether or not they were correct about where that location was. I still loved the movie but I guess I have to wait for the bluray to fully immerse myself into this world.
*The Hateful Eight - with apologies to our host, I loved it. Loved the road show presentation, loved the movie. I saw this Thursday and it was a great way to close out 2015, movie-wise.
*Magic Mike XXL - the first hour of bro bonding humor bored me, but the second hour, which answers & inverts the first, was really subversive, fun, and genuinely surprising.
*Black Coal, Thin Ice - solid Chinese noir.
*Terminator Genisys - the worst movie of 2015? Maybe!
*Creed - the only 2015 rebootquel that actually felt like it earned its existence (and that includes Star Wars).
Finally saw Carol too and I think it lived up to the aforementioned hype. ESPECIALLY the acting. Mara & Blanchett IMO deliver two of the finest acting performances ever committed to screen. Mara especially had me going "how does she DO that?" a lot. Too bad about the category fraud probably ruining her chances at a win.
Binged the Australian series Secrets & Lies. Mostly a whole lot of nothing with exceptionally wooden acting and trite storylines.
45 Years was a good film with great performances. I wasn't wholly sold on the Rampling-Must-Be-Nominated train until the very last scene. Courtenay was excellent and it's too bad he'll likely be overlooked. I was so hoping she would request Rush's "2112" at the anniversary party when going over the music on the phone.
Finally saw Carol too and I think it lived up to the aforementioned hype. ESPECIALLY the acting. Mara & Blanchett IMO deliver two of the finest acting performances ever committed to screen. Mara especially had me going "how does she DO that?" a lot. Too bad about the category fraud probably ruining her chances at a win.
Binged the Australian series Secrets & Lies. Mostly a whole lot of nothing with exceptionally wooden acting and trite storylines.
45 Years was a good film with great performances. I wasn't wholly sold on the Rampling-Must-Be-Nominated train until the very last scene. Courtenay was excellent and it's too bad he'll likely be overlooked. I was so hoping she would request Rush's "2112" at the anniversary party when going over the music on the phone.
I saw both Spotlight and Carol. I thought they were both great, and that Carol was beautiful to look at. I also completely agree with your FYC column on Michael Keaton. What a fantastic performance, such a quiet furiosity. He was the actor of the weekend for me, my actress of the year award still goes to Saoirse Ronan.
Steve Jobs 8|
and
Carol <3 <3
Carol - liked it quite a bit, but didn't love it. Every aspect of the film was first rate other than Mara's performance; she came off very cold and aloof, so I didn't buy their relationship. I might need to re-watch it. I haven't heard anything about Kyle Chandler's performance so I'll single him out for being dependably great as usual.
The Big Short - not nearly as clever or funny as it thinks it is. The constant collage of sounds and images was reminiscent of a cheap slide show you'd find on YouTube. And I understand the film was trying to make the main characters seem like the good guys, but I didn't fall for it. They were just as scummy and opportunistic as the banking industry.
The Hateful Eight - what a waste of life. All Tarantino movies end in a bloodbath, so twiddling my thumbs waiting for the inevitable was excruciating. You mentioned the long tracking shots of the stagecoach out in the snow being pointless Nathaniel, but I think those were included to justify the puzzling decision to shoot the film on 70 mm. Why he chose to do that when 90% of the movie takes place indoors, ostensibly to stroke his own ego, was a strange choice. It was also the first Tarantino movie to not feature even one interesting character; Jennifer Jason Leigh tried her best but she didn't have much to do unfortunately. By far his worst film.
Joy was the steepest decliner at -38.9%, so I think the word is out that it's a bomb.
I loved The Hateful Eight, but I will concede that Roth/Madsen and Bichir were given little to do but to be plot elements. The first time I watched it I found Roth over-the-top, however the second time I watched it I felt like he only acted like 'Hans Landa' because his character was pretending, and somehow I feel like he was a representation of what Americans think of Europeans- but then it turns out he was just as hateful as everyone else.
Still, it was a little much.
The Big Short is ok but can't hold a candle to 99 Homes
Creed is an adequate boxing movie (not a genre I much care for) but Sylvester Stallone is actually ok -- when you can understand him (a cauliflower mouth?) -- and Michael B Jordan is a true star
Beasts of No Nation - meh - very disappointing -- you'd be better off tracking down War Witch (Rebelle) a Foreign Film nominee from 2012, which is much, much more powerful
The Good Dinosaur - Needed my animation fix and it wasn't quite it. I have a joke about a dinosaur and his pet human getting drunk somewhere.
Oh -- and a TV binge for me as well: The Affair Season 2 (or How to Get Away With Murder, prestige edition) and Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (too much meta, not enough meat). Despite my irritation at times, I quite enjoyed them both.
Saw THE BIG SHORT, MACBETH, and CHIRAQ.
THE BIG SHORT: Could have done without the gimmicky "quick, look what was going on in the world at the time" montages, and I'm never a big fan of breaking the fourth wall, but overall it was a very smart and effective way to explain the financial crisis by making it an entertaining quasi-caper movie. I think it will leave a more lasting mark in more people's memories than even the best documentaries and books on the subject (including the book it was based on), and for that I'm glad it's doing so well.
MACBETH: More like MEH-cbeth. How can Shakespeare's shortest, darkest play be made so drearily dull? I actually fell asleep, which I never do during movies.
CHI-RAQ: A mess, with parts that were brilliant and parts that just left us scratching our heads. But you can't say it lacks guts or energy - or topicality. Samuel L. Jackson clearly having a ball is fun to see as well.
I saw Mr. Holmes, which was a little disappointing. McKellan is always good.
I saw The Hateful Eight in 70mm, and that was a lot more disappointing. I liked the mystery aspect, I liked the actors and the cinematography, and I could accept that they were all hateful and there were no heroes.
But I miss Sally Menke terribly, Tarantino's long time editor. This could have been a really good movie if it had had a ruthless editor.
Also, I've just about had it with casts of men, male ensembles, male star vehicles, etc. It makes a story boring and flat. I can't motivate myself to see Spotlight or The Big Short, because omg, not another cast of men.
I saw Carol in a packed theater and at the end, a few people grumbled, "That was slow!"
Why do these people show up to art films if they want fast-paced blockbusters?!! So annoying.
I agree with "Terminator Genysys" which is not only not very good but the convoluted screenplay makes no sense even for a time traveling sci-fi movie.