Box Office Christmas: Star Wars, Hidden Figures, and More...
Monday, December 26, 2016 at 7:00PM 
Star Wars is just going to be a thing every Christmas as ubiquitous as Santa one supposes. Rogue One continued to dominate the box office though if you ask your editor here it's kind of... dull (*dodges tomatoes*) and people wouldn't care much about it if it wasn't "a Star Wars". At the very least it's a bummer that it turned out to be just an exact prequel to the original Star Wars -- it really ought to have had an Episode III½ header -- and not a stand-alone adventure with some fresh ideas about that galaxy far far away.
Box office charts with a few points of discussion after the jump. What did you see this weekend?
TOP BAKERS DOZEN
(Significant expansions this week are noted by an arrow)
01 Rogue One $64.3 (cum. $286.3) Review
02 Sing $35.2 (cum. $55.9) NEW
03 Passengers $14.8 (cum. $22.1) NEW
04 Why Him? $11 (cum. $11) NEW
05 Assassin's Creed $10.2 (cum. $17.7) NEW Review
06 Moana $7.4 (cum. $180.4) Review
🔺 07 Fences $6.6 (cum. $6.8) Capsule
🔺 08 La La Land $5.7 (cum. $13.6) Reviewish & How Rare Is It?
09 Office Christmas Party $ (cum. $)
10 Collateral Beauty $ (cum. $) Review
11 Manchester by the Sea $3 (cum. $19.7)
12 Fantastic Beasts $2.9 (cum. $214.2)
🔺 13 Jackie $1.2 (cum. $3.5)
In sad box office news it looks like Arrival (just outside this chart) isn't going to make it to $100 million at the US box office despite its initially staying power (it will cross $90 this week but just lost 3/4ths of its theaters). The box office this year is another reminder of why Hollywood resists making non-franchise originals: people prefer sequels to anything new. That's true whether the original titles are among the strongest films in the marketplace (Arrival) or the weakest (Passengers), they're just harder sells period for "brand' conditioned moviegoers. The question is how to get the moviegoing public back to the days when they use to not fear originals and treated sequels more like originals (i.e. if they heard it was good, they'd go, but otherwise not necessarily). What would it take?
In happier news, the highly enjoyable / mainstream appeal history drama Hidden Figures was the biggest new draw in limited release making $515K on 25 screens. On far fewer screeners but also debuting well for the festive weekend were Patriot's Day ($161K), Silence ($131K ... but the highest per screen average of any film this weekend), and Julieta ($91K). Live by Night ($33K) and A Monster Calls ($30K) had a harder time attracting moviegoers on only 4 screens each.
WHAT DID YOU SEE?
Reader Comments (21)
I saw La La Land, and liked parts of it but overall the movie did not work for me. It's often loud and really superficial. I know I am in the minority but it is way overhyped (IMHO). The leads are very appealing.
I took kids to see "Sing" which is light and fun but I failed to see the point of hiring big name stars to do cartoon voices if you barely recognized them? I had to wait for the credits to realized that Reese Witherspoon and Scarlett Johansen were in the the movie ( Johansen was much more effective as the seductive snake in " The Jungle Book" )
I saw Jackie Friday and IMO, Natalie Portman gives the performance of the year. I especially thought it was interesting how director Pablo Larrain chooses to make a cerebral psychodrama rather than a traditional biopic.
I also saw Fences today. Felt stagey but I thought the performances were absolutely fantastic. Though as great as Denzel is, I thought Viola Davis owned the movie. Her cathartic breakdown she has towards the middle is surely going to be her Oscar clip.
I saw Loving and was very impressed. The performances of Edgerton and Negga are sublime. I also like Jeff Nichols' understated strategy. Far preferable to the emotional bullying these stories usually entail.
Fences isn't much of a transfer if judged by that standard, but here we have six superb performances preserved for history and won't have to rely on those lucky enough to have seen it on Broadway. Thank you, thank you, thank you Denzel and everyone else responsible.
I also liked La La Land a lot. But what was with all the blather about "authentic" jazz vs "phony" jazz? Which was which? Except for a couple of minutes of some incredible music by some older musicians, the rest all sounded pretty indistinguishable. And for me the MVP without a doubt was Ryan Gosling. Emma was ok but she's nowhere near the excellence of Portman or Negga.
And I just can't keep silent about the trailer for Patriots Day. Oh. My. God. "I have my rights" sez woman in headscarf. "You don't have shit" sez police interrogator. I felt like Donald Trump was cumming in my face for two minutes.
I saw La La Land, Lion, and Fences. Really liked all three but with reservations. La La Land was hampered by paper-thin characterizations, Lion's first half is MUCH stronger than it's second half, and Fences had third act problems. But all three contained some of my favorite cinematic moments of the year. La La Land in particular had moments that just soared.
I saw Sully with the family. Good but forgettable. Now all I think about is how Carol is going to become a holiday classic down the line. Then I thought about a remake with Kyle Chandler as Carl, Jake Lacey as Terry the shop boy he falls in love with, Cate Blanchett as Marge his wife Rooney Mara as Regina the nagging girlfriend and Sarah Paulson as Abe, Carl's former lover now best friend. Because of course Sarah can play a man!
Saw LION on Christmas Day. Cried my eyes out. Honestly would've wanted for the younger Saroo to stay a bit longer. Maybe got to see more of how Kidman raised him with his brother.
I bingewatched and loved Fleabag. Also saw closet monster, which is very strong and i would kill to have watched in my teen angst years. Also saw the red turtle, a bummer.
Hmm, saturday i watched take me to the river, boring. And a classic, Wages of Fear, which i also did not like.
I guess it was hatewatching for me this time.
"Hidden Figures" was our family Christmas movie this year, and everybody loved it. Applause from the audience at the end. My family said "If this doesn't win Best Picture, then the Oscars are just a sham". When pressed for comment, I said that the Oscars love stories of male suffering.
Also saw:
"Hunt for the Wilderpeople", made us laugh and cry. A really good movie from New Zealand, the NZ bush looks gorgeous in the film.
"Rogue One": extremely disappointing. Totally forgettable.
"L'Avenir" (Things to Come): didn't like this one either.
"La La Land": Quite a lot of fun.
I loved Ryan Gosling and his obvious delight in dancing, and concentration on playing the piano.
The thing about Emma Stone for me, is that I always find her the least interesting character in whatever movie she's in. The least successful parts of this film were the extended close-ups of her face, where you thought, okay I know what this is supposed to signify, but hmmm it isn't happening really. It's just surface.
I was sick last week which totally screwed up my moviegoing plans, so now I'm working double to make up for lost time. I saw:
Things To Come - Did NOT care for at all outside of Huppert's performance. Too quiet, too heady, I nearly fell asleep multiple times which I NEVER do. Didn't find anything particularly cinematic about it at all. A disappointment.
Jackie - Absolutely tremendous. This should be sweeping practically every category everywhere - it is SO much more than Portman's towering performance in the role she was born to play.
Fences - Viola Davis IS A LEAD. PERIOD. This category fraud WILL NOT STAND! Both she and Denzel are goddamn fantastic. I was totally enraptured by it. May all the rest of the films of Wilson's plays be this good. This was GREAT to watch with an audience, too. Lots of gasping and "OOOOOOOOOOH"-ing and applause for Viola.
A Monster Calls - Absolutely beautiful. When a film is this good at manipulating you, I don't care that it's manipulative. Upon leaving the theater, I said out loud to no one in particular, tears streaming down my face, "Just give it the awards. ALL THE AWARDS." So I guess we know why they moved it to Christmas. I don't think it will ever be as impactful as on that first viewing, but DAMN was that first viewing an effective one. J.A. Bayona has the goods, and the cast (especially Felicity Jones and young Lewis MacDougall) is top-notch. I don't think I've seen a film this good at getting inside the head of a child dealing with grief, and the animated sequences are just gorgeous.
@jaragon
Re: the big names doing animation voicework that lesser knowns could be doing just as well. I asked a friend who's in the business this same question recently. And he told me the celebrity signings are all about attracting investors and high profile collaborators. If you tell them you've already got Reese Witherspoon and Scarlett Johansson, they'll immediately see this as a solid, marketable project and be eager to get on board.
Saw La La Land and was very underwhelmed (seemed like the straight male cinephile's version of a 'musical' and I just did NOT respond emotionally to it at all, despite musicals being my jam). Performances and songs were a let down, but the direction was mostly great.
Also saw Rogue One, and inexplicably LOVED it. Probably my favorite Star Wars film. I see all the criticisms and flaws (and can't even disagree), but it still really sung for me. One of the best times I've had in a cinema all year.
Thought La La Land was fantastic, but the last 15 mins, especially, was a masterpiece!
re: How to 'Make Originals Great Again'?
I know it's not a unique hot take - but I think it's all down to the expense of cinema. I can totally see why someone, who isn't a cinema-lover like us and is just going to the movies to kill some time with some friends on the weekend, would hesitate at shelling out so much money on something there is no guarantee they will actually like. Why not spend the money to see a repeat of something you already enjoyed, and catch the original film when it's on Netflix or a dodgy torrent site.
Decent originals always find an audience in the end. It just sometimes takes a while before it's on DVD (in the old days) or streaming sites (nowadays).
@Ken
Yeah I see it as way to sell the project to investors- but when Disney did it the star voices even showed in the look of the animated characters - and for those who have seen the movie the pig is named Rosita- but there is nothing Latino about her except when she dances to Bamboleo which is one of the best stand alone sequences in the film.
I stayed home and played catch up The Little Prince. Did nothing to my yearly rankings because of that on-the-nose third act. Then I stayed home and watched High and Low and wondered why Tatsuya Nakadai never became a heartthrob. He so has the face for it!
If Friday counts as part of the weekend I saw Dangal in theatres, which was simultaneously problematic and glorious.
There is no Star Wars in Christmas 2018 if you are bothered by it.
Catching up on the year this weekend: Café Society, The Fits, Hell or High Water, Florence Foster Jenkins. I REALLY liked all of them (surprise, surprise). About to dive into The VVitch...
Fences: More than what I expected in some ways and less in others, but still extremely impactful. The way that Wilson could weave multiple themes (infidelity, classism, racism, the generation gap, mental illness, physical abuse) into his works and make nearly every one resonate from beginning to end was truly masterful. The ensemble ranges from very good to absolutely outstanding with each performer having at least one stellar moment. Russell Hornsby really impressed me, and I've never seen Washington performance so vulnerable.
Hidden Figures: Another film that I wholeheartedly believe would have been a hit with a late summer release date, especially considering how many high-profile tent poles belly flopped this year. Talk about a crowd pleaser that would have been great counterprogramming considering the social climate. I can't tell you how many times the audience in the theater in which I saw the movie erupted into fits of applause. Save for Jim Parson who was doing Sheldon Lite, it also has a very strong ensemble, especially the three leading ladies. I don't know why Taraji P. Henson's name isn't more in play in the best actress race. I'd swap Stone out for her in a heartbeat. She hits every note just right and then fleshed out the melody even more the such wonder subtle touches -- and her breakdown scene, what a gut punch.
Big week:
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM - the first HP universe movie I have actually liked. Maybe it's because of the lack of those annoying kid(-come adult) actors
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC - excellent. Hope Mortensen gets that nomination
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN - regular teen movie beats with very good performances from Steinfeld and Harrelson
PATERSON - loved it. The life I would love to lead
MOANA - Disney beats all hit, but still good
ALLIED - a good director and two good leads try to do their best with a mediocre script (and largely succeed)
HIGH-RISE - WTF? But worth the watch.
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