Box Office Bourne Again
Monday, August 1, 2016 at 5:40PM Off blog my weekend was rough so I didn't make it to the movies. But here's to hoping you did. Nostalgia for Matt Damon's return to the Bourne franchise was greeted with enthusiam by moviegoers and what suffered as a result was nostalgia for another return over at Star Trek Beyond which took a big tumble in its second weekend. Meanwhile yet another nostalgia play (it's all about revivals these days) Ghostbusters became yet another $100 million domestic hit for Melissa McCarthy (she has six of them now) though the problem with this one is that it cost far more than her other films to make.
In other box office news: Cafe Society is about to outgross Woody Allen's last feature (Irrational Man) and it's only been out for a week; The Legend of Tarzan is now the 11th most popular film of the year (but with its hefty price tag will it get a sequel?); and if you want to see Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic (which you really should because it's quite good) get to it in the next couple of days because it's per screen average didn't fare too well with this weekend's significant expansion so it's unlikely to stick around much longer; and we can maybe finally say goodbye to the Ice Age franchise on their fifth outing. Their international box office is what's been keeping the series afloat but the fifth film is significantly underperforming so cross your fingers if you're screaming "enough already" every time that once funny squirrel bounces across your movie theater screens chasing a nut in a trailer.
TOP TWENTY
🔺01 Jason Bourne $60 NEW Review
▫️ 02 Star Trek Beyond $24 (cum. $105.7) Review
🔺03 Bad Moms $23.4 NEW
🔻04 Secret Life of Pets $18.2 (cum. $296.1)
🔺05 Lights Out $10.8 (cum. $42.8)
🔺06 Ice Age Collison Course $10.5 (cum. $42.1)
🔻07 Ghostbusters $9.8 (cum. $106.1) Review
🔺08 Nerve $9 NEW
🔻09 Finding Dory $4.2 (cum. $469) Review
🔻10 Legend of Tarzan $2.4 (cum. $121.8) Review
🔻11 Hillary's America $2.3 (cum. $8.6)
🔺12 Cafe Society $2.2 ($3.9) LIMITED RELEASE Review
🔻13 Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates $1.4 (cum. $43.9) Review
🔺14 Captain Fantastic $1 (cum. $2.4) LIMITED RELEASE Review
🔻15 Central Intelligence $910K (cum. $125.3)
🔻16 The Infiltrator $817K (cum. $14.3) Review
🔺17 Absolutely Fabulous $800K (cum. $3.3) LIMITED RELEASE Review, Production Design
🔻18 Purge: Election Year $703K (cum. $78.3)
🔻19 BFG $416K ($52.1) Review
🔻20 Hunt for the Wilderpeople $350K (cum. $2.9) LIMITED RELEASE Review
What movies did you catch this past weekend?
Next weekend Suicide Squad opens and will surely dominate the conversation and may well feel like the end of summer movie season though there are a few weeks left of that. The really interesting contest is the following week when Florence Foster Jenkins battles both Pete's Dragon and those anthropomorphic R rated food items from Sausage Party. Tough to say which film might survive that brawl.
Reader Comments (18)
I saw "Star Trek : Beyond" which was good but a bit slow until the final act sends it into action hyper drive. I did not see the point of making Sulu gay- actually he had no romantic interaction with the man who is suppose to be his husband - just like the "gay" couple in "Independence Day" they were sexless.
Since the last box office post two weeks ago, I've seen 10 Cloverfield Lane (on a plane), The Lobster (in a theater), Apartment Zero (on YouTube) and Looking: The Movie. Plus I binged Stranger Things, season 2 of Grace and Frankie and chunks of UnREAL and Mr. Robot. While watching parts of both conventions. And battling flu symptoms. In a foreign country. Needless to say, my head is spinning.
Still haven't seen the two flicks ruling the box office, but I'm with Nathaniel about Captain Fantastic. Go see it. (It and The Lobster are my current top two of the year.)
I went to the Traverse City Film Festival last week, which wrapped up Sunday night. Created by Michael Moore, it was their 12th year. Incredible, and the Cherry Capital of MI was hoppin'!
I saw "Life, Animated," Roger Ross Williams' latest doc about an autistic young man who grew up using Disney movies to express himself. Feel-good, but in the best sense. His mother spoke afterwards. Lovely.
Got to see Orson Welles' daughter Beatrice introduce the Criterion restored "Chimes at Midnight." Amazing what Welles did on a very low budget and she was quite the entertaining speaker.
I LOVED By "Sidney Lumet!" What a wonderful interview interspersed with scenes from his best TV and film work. Doc director Nancy Buirski did a great job with the 14 hour interview she inherited, and then making meaning of Lumet, the man, and Lumet, the director.
Really enjoyed Werner Herzog's "Lo and Behold," his take on the Internet. Werner runs the gamut covering the pros and cons of the Net...though hearing his Mike Myers "Dieter"-esque tones at 9 a.m. was a bit surreal.
The other highlight was "Eat That Question," the Frank Zappa doc. Just Zappa in his own words, with a bit of his music. Zappa was so fucking right on politically from the get go, that all his political and social comments were downright eerie.
I saw a "few" more...but these were the highlights!
I saw Dressed to Kill for the first time. Desperately waiting for De Palma (the documentary) to leak. Confession I never knew that Ann-Margret and Angie Dickinson were two different people. I kept Ann-Margret's face in mind whenever I heard Angie Dickinson's name. Dickinson is Ellen Barkin before Ellen Barkin. Nancy Allen was Brian's wife and muse and it's entirely alien to me she was ever anything other than Officer Anne Lewis.
@ /3rtful
You mean you've NEVER seen Carrie?!?!? (Because she will always be Chris Hargensen to me.)
I saw Carrie. It was odd she was a super bitch in it.
I also saw the new Star Trek: Beyond. It is okay for fans but overall not great. During the fight scenes at the end I felt like I was watching a TV show, and then I realized it is a TV show.
I also saw many films on many planes coming back from Italy. 10 Cloverfield Lane (very B-movie effective; I liked the female lead and John Goodman), Hail Caesar! (the old movies within the movie are great, but the film itself is kind of a giant meta meh), and Jungle Book (this was mildly entertaining but seemed very much like a live-action cartoon, and I wondered if they just lifted it from the old animation).
Stranger Things on Netflix is very entertaining. The sheriff fills out his pants nicely in the front and back. Winona Ryder seems very manic and random with her walking and acting, maybe she will calm down as the show goes on? I hope so.
I am looking forward to seeing Florence Foster Jenkins, Café Society, and Captain Fantastic.
@ /3rtful
Nancy Allen and PJ Soles were the template for cinematic mean girls.
Great! Now I can talk about Bad Moms and the comedic brilliance that is Kathryn Hahn in a star-making turn that would net her an Oscar nomination in a just, fair world. The movie itself is an outdated premise held together by a series of clichés masquerading as a script with enough raunch to justify the title and distract from the fact that the characters are more ideas and types than people. Thankfully, the cast is an ensemble of capable comedy vets, which is why I laughed so hard in spite of the obvious jokes. I should not have had the good time that I did at the theater yesterday afternoon, and Hahn's performance accounts for most of my enjoyment. Whenever she's on screen there is no looking away, while most of the time she's off you wish she'd come back. After seeing her in The Visit last year and now this, I see that her time on that crime procedural Crossing Jordan from about a decade back was such a waste of her depth and range.
Troy -- she's great in everything. also super in Captain Fantastic and Transparent recently... and remember how good she was in that otherwise forgettable Jennifer Aniston comedy Wanderlust, too?
I'm kind of hearing rumblings that Suicide Squad might be in for BvS level toxic reviews. BvS was barely affected because it's a Batman movie and people had been clamouring for that title fight for THIRTY YEARS, good or not. Suicide Squad, though? The success of this is definitely riding on the perception of quality (as ALL franchises are when they actually start, and this IS a start), so if it's not actually there...? I know early projections are leaning on at least a $100 million opener (some projections as high as $145(!) million, because I guess box office analysts think EVERYONE who saw BvS are sheep), when $75-80 seems more plausible (an opening up to 1.5x higher than Guardians of the Galaxy for a movie with middling marketing, a kind of alienating concept and coming from a studio with a BAD critical reputation to begin with? Don't buy that for one second.), but if it's truly BAD, I would actually NOT be surprised at a $40-50 million final total.
I watched Brief Encounter. I have felt enrapture ever since.
"I'm kind of hearing rumblings..." This s where you lost me.
40 to 50, Volvagia? Ha. I'd be shocked if it doesn't do 40 on "Friday" alone.
Watched Broadcast News in-between 1977 viewings. I can see why Holly Hunter ranked highly in the "shoulda won the Oscar for it" list here.
@Tom - Brief Encounter is one of my favorite movies of all time. I once watched it three times in a row ... cried every time (and I don't believe in emotions!).
I saw Absolutely Fabulous. It was not perfect, but better than expected. Good escape-ism for the summer for those who loved the series.
I also watched The Happy Ending, with Jean Simmons. Very dated movie. Bored housewife turns to booze and pill-popping and eventually walks out on her husband. Shirley Jones has a great supporting turn in this. Simmons was a great actress (best thing about Elmer Gantry IMHO). But her work really petered out in the late 60s. Wish she had done more.
Also watched Just a Gigolo with William Haines. Such good fun. He really was a pretty great actor.
Suicide Squad is at 33% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, so I think it's more than a rumbling that it's not great (nor even good).
Haven't caught up on movies lately but we're almost done with season 1 of Mr. Robot. Holy crap is that show great. Rami Malek is flat-out fantastic. Christian Slater is fine, doing a nicely toned-down version of his usual crazy schtick, but it's also Carly Chaikin and Martin Wallstrom that I think are doing terrific work. And the show, despite its focus problem (I really don't need a whole episode devoted to that jail subplot), is just completely unpredictable and manages a tricky tone between dark/grim and fun. Also: surprise BD Wong cameo as a trans hacker genius!