Box Office: Melissa Shows Batman Who is 'Boss' (and Other Female Hit Stories)
Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 6:27PM To keep ourselves entertained, we like to spin the box office charts so it's not just "copy/paste" from week to week. So let's look at the box office top ten through the lens of current movies with female leads. Melissa McCarthy (in a photo finish for #1 with superheroes) and Helen Mirren keep proving their box office consistency over and over again, don't they? We're also happy to see Sally Field doing so well in what could have been a blink and you'll miss it VOD movie. Field's already outperformed last year's senior female sleeper indie hits Grandma and I'll See You In My Dreams.
But the 10 female names below make up such an odd odd sorority you must admit...
TOP TEN FEMALE LEAD MOVIES THIS WEEKEND
01 The Boss (Melissa McCarthy) $23.4 NEW Melissa McCarthy
03 Zootopia (Ginnifer Goodwin) $14.3 (cum. $296)
04 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (Nia Vardalos) $6.4 (cum. $46.7)
06 Miracles From Heaven (Jennifer Garner) $4.8 (cum. $53.8)
07 Gods Not Dead 2 (Melissa Joan Hart) $ 4.3(cum. $14.1)
08 Divergent: Allegiant (Shailene Woodley) $3.6 (cum. $61.8)
09 10 Cloverfield Lane (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) $3 (cum. $67.9)
10 Eye in the Sky (Helen Mirren) $2.8 (cum. $10.4)
13 Hello My Name is Doris (Sally Field) $1.6 (cum. $9.3)
21 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Tina Fey) $.2 (cum. $22.7)
As for the films we aren't including in this spun chart, Batman v Superman: Birth of Manic Depressive Anti-Heroes at #2 is still a ginormous money-devourer even if with $296.6 domestically and $780 globally it's underperforming given it's behemoth budget and its launch pad to dozens of other proposed movies (there's already a huge crack in the foundation? Yikes). Meanwhile the latest stop on Jake Gyllenhaal's 'look what i can do on screen -- anything!' tour flopped coming in 15th for the weekend atnearly 900 screens. While it's true that Jake runs circles around his movie Demolition the fact that his starpower alone couldn't wallop what looks like the most unpleasant movie-watching experience of all time (Hardcore Henry took $5 million finishing at #5 for the week) is just f***in' depressing.
This is why we can't have nice things.
tfw you won the internet pic.twitter.com/BuOykvPiyB
— JASON (metalmeatwad) (@MichaelNotCera) April 7, 2016
Anyway -- What did you see this weekend?
I mean, other than WITNESS (1985) on Netflix which you surely watched for Tuesday Night's Best Shot. (Can't wait for this one since that movie is such a beauty.) I personally couldn't take in any movies people have heard of because I'm cramming for my upcoming "New Directors" jury duty at the Nashville International Film Festival which kicks off this weekend.
Reader Comments (30)
I saw The Lobster this week and loved it. Colin Farrell is excellent in a tricky role, in tune to weird tones Lanthimos is working in. And it's fun to see that Lanthimos is able to make a movie that's less austere without compromising his style.
Marguerite, which had a few nice moments but was almost painfully boring. I pray Florence Foster Jenkins is a better film.
Stayed home all weekend and watched High and Low which was a surprise kidnap mystery from Kurosawa. Highly recommended.
I try to keep an firmly open mind, but nonono on HARDCORE HENRY. Waiting in line this weekend I felt the need to intervene in the lives of people buying tickets for it. I wanted to have a conversation about choices and consequences.
Planning to watch Witness tonight so I can start writing my post for it. It will be a new experience for me.
I saw a college production of Spring Awakening which I loved and this Wednesday I will be seeing the touring production of Newsies.
I stuck to TV this weekend - finished The People vs. OJ Simpson, started The Path and Outlander season 2, and continued working my way through Daredevil season 2. I am up to episode 5.
Anyone else watching The Path? I liked the pilot a lot. Meaty part for Michelle Monaghan. Hugh Dancy getting another plum role squarely in the Hannibal wheelhouse. Really interesting world building. I'm definitely sold for now.
I saw "The Boss" I laugh my ass off , it was my Birth Day & Melissa McCarthey is the best thing you can wish for...
I'm so pleased that the Melissa McCarthy film has had a successful opening, in spite of some of the dire predictions by certain media outlets. It's like they can't stand that a woman is as much of a box office draw, as certain men.
Quoting Mark Harris on twitter:
"She has literally not starred in one box-office failure since emerging with Bridesmaids. And analysts still can't wait to write her obit."
There are a lot of bro films out there that I don't understand the appeal of, but I accept that male leads can be teflon sometimes. (Liam Neeson, Eddie Murphy, Will Smith)
Good for Melissa - I hope she works with other talented writers and directors besides Paul Feig and enjoys a good long run.
As for the two options proposed by Mr. Whitty, seeing the movie is clearly the safer one, so that's a point in favor of the film. Besides, I think there are other movies far worthier of such derision - unlike so much of the bland, homogenized product clogging multiplexes, "Hardcore Henry" is at least doing something interesting and innovative with the form. I think that's something that deserves more respect.
No movies and not much TV, but between two of my own performances I caught a matinee of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Sublime.
I saw The Invitation and Demolition. Liked them both.
I watched a few weird films on Netflix and Amazon I knew nothing about.
Confine (Amazon Prime) is a one house suspense/thriller that would have worked better if it maintained the relative silence of the opening reel. A former model crippled in an unspecified accident is now agoraphobic. Someone breaks into her apartment. The first reel is an inspired reimagining of Wait Until Dark (the relative freedom obtained by having wireless devices and constant access to the outside world adds some great tension as the model tries to hide from her would-be captor). Then it gets all wordy and super-abusive and layers on way too many twists. So close.
The Chosen (Netflix) is a cool child possession movie. It plays off the apocrypha of the Bible, specifically Lillith, Adam's first wife. She won't bend to his whim, so God punishes her to never have children. Now she haunts the Earth, marking children and giving their families 6 days to sacrifice 6 members of the bloodline or else she drags the child to hell. The protagonist's reaction to the challenge is refreshingly honest. He actually struggles with the choice every time and only feels worse as he gets closer to saving his niece. I'd rather a slower horror film that tries something different than a faster one that's all cliche.
The Falling (Netflix) is the weirdest film I watched (which is saying something). It's a BBC film about teenage girls in the 1970s coping with the death of their best friend. They all start fainting and suffering from mass hysteria, claiming they're actually sick. The school, their families, and their unaffected friends don't believe them. It's a well-acted film (Maisie Williams is the lead and she's phenomenal in this) that doesn't particularly have a plot, or character arcs, or internal logic. It does have a lot of style and a strong look at the teenage psyche. I guess it's a horror/romance/suspense/slice of life/coming of age film with pretty pretty trees?
I stuck to television (because it friggin' snowed on Saturday!) and caught up on The Americans, which is the best thing on television right now. Also caught up on Vice, which was so depressing that I broke down and ate like 912,590,813,476 cupcakes. Damn the boyfriend for making them.
I love Melissa McCarthy. I won't see The Boss, but I do love Melissa McCarthy.
I saw The Danish Girl, and wow, Eddie Redmayne is irritating.
TV/streaming, mostly. Finished Seasons 2 of Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax. My gawd, Sarah Lancashire is a fantastic actress.
Seeing a screening of Sing Street tonight. Excited because the director, John Carney, will be doing a Q&A afterwards.
I just watched that video of Aaron Tveit and Gavin Creel on repeat.
I watched Begin Again on Netflix, its a really cute movie, not amazing but perfect for a Friday night at home on the sofa eating pizza after a long week. Keira Knightley is her usual charming self and has a nice singing voice and she has good chemistry with Mark Ruffalo
A Bigger Splash - some really lovely moments in there but I somehow had to make myself enjoy it. Another role that Blanchett smartly let go of, along with Winslet's Triple 9 role.
I watched Sicario on a DVD I borrowed from the public library. I thought it was pretty great. Solid performances and the movie made sense which is saying something for that kind of movie.
@Paul Outlaw - isn't that show so fun?
I saw The Boxtrolls - very creative and unique, I loved how dark and weird it got, but at times I found it a bit boring and I didn't love how it equated drag/crossdressing (which it conflated) with grotesque villainy.
I also saw Here Comes Mr. Jordan which actually made me laugh out loud in spots. Robert Montgomery was fun to watch even if his leading lady (can't even remember her name) was a bit dull. I read Cary Grant was supposed to be the lead, and I love him, but Montgomery has a blue collar feel to him that works much better for this story than Grant's elegant persona.
A friend invited me to " Batman vs Superman" which is better than I expected - it's still too long- gee did we really need the Batman in bondage dream and the Ben Afleck shows off his body montage? Wonder Woman saves the movie at the end. The people who made this thing really hate Superman.
I watched Mr Skeffington for about the fifth time. A great old Warners melo that doesn't get enough respect.
Finally rewatched Patton after many years. Really holds up.
Tracked down The Honeymoon Killers. Odd and disturbing.
@ DJDeeJay
A pretty perfect musical: old-fashioned yet off-the-wall. Frothy yet dark. Small-scale with amazing production values. I wanted to see it again right away.
I watched High Sierra and got introduced to Ida Lupino. I now want to seek out the films she directed.
Brookesboy- I am going to watch Mr. SKeffington later next week. Is it good?
@Paul Outlaw - that is the perfect way to describe it. I wonder if it could/will be turned into a movie?
Hi Tom, it's sooo good. It's all done in the grand style of all those classic melodramas of the period. Bette Davis has a somewhat atypical role in playing a great beauty who captivates New York society, and Claude Rains gets a rare lead role. Wonderful music and production values, despite Jack Warner's traditional miserliness. A memorable tearjerker with an emotional twist at the climax.
Thanks brookesboy!
tom, you're gonna love it!
Has anyone heard about Sing Street? Is it good?
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tfw you won the internet .... hahahahahah this got me!