What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 5:09PM by Nathaniel R
| Weekend Box Office (October 13th-15th) |
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| W I D E 800+ screens |
L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide |
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| 1. 🔺 HAPPY DEATH DAY $26.5 new | 1.🔺 THE FLORIDA PROJECT $401k on 33 screens (cum. $623k) REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2 |
| 2. BLADE RUNNER 2049 $15.1 (cum. $60.5) REVIEW | SHORTS | "BESTS" | 2. TIL DEATH DO US PART $319k on 400 screens (cum. $3.2) |
| 3. 🔺 THE FOREIGNER $12.8 new | 3. THE STRAY $300k on 430 screens (cum. $1.2) |
| 4. IT $6 (cum. $314.9) REVIEW | 5 TAKEAWAYS | 4. A QUESTION OF FAITH $155k on 228 screens (cum. $2.1) |
| 5. 🔺 THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US $5.6 (cum. $20.5) REVIEW | 5. 🔺 AMERICAN SATAN $132k on 55 screens new |
| 6. AMERICAN MADE $5.4 (cum. $40.1) | 6. 🔺 MARK FELT $123k on 89 screens (cum. $257k) |
| 7. KINGSMAN 2 $5.3 (cum. $89.6) | 7. STRONGER $115k on 174 screens (cum. $4) REVIEW |
| 8. LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE $4.3 (cum. $51.5) | 8. JUDWAA 2 $110k on 106 screens (cum. $1.4) |
| 9. MY LITTLE PONEY $4 (cum. $15.5) | 9. 🔺 GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN $55k on 9 screens new |
| 10. 🔺 VICTORIA & ABDUL $3.1 (cum. $11.3) REVIEW | 10. HUMAN FLOW $47k on 3 screens new |
🔺 = new or significant expansion numbers (in millions unless otherwise noted) from box office mojo |
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It was a rough weekend for awards hopefuls that weren't named Victoria & Abdul. Dame Dench's new vehicle moved into the top ten in its fourth weekend when it finally went wide. Other movies seeking adult audiences had a rougher go of it. The biopics Marshall and Professor Marston & The Wonder Women both opened outside of the top ten despite plentiful screens. (I took in Professor Marston and though it's a niche subject, it's surprisingly good with yet another excellent performance from the ever reliable Rebecca Hall.) More biographical awards hopefuls Goodbye Christopher Robin and Breathe also failed to attract much interest in their platform debuts. It's a tough world out there for non-genre titles that would like adults to go to the movies again!
The weekend's best per screen averages went to the documentary Human Flow and A24's The Florida Project which added 29 screens in its second weekend. WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND?
Reader Comments (40)
Detroit
Which has the good qualities of its director and all the problems of its director.
"Florida Project" - I'm still processing. I liked "Tangerine" better, but this is clearly very good - and Dafoe is great.
"Happy Death Day" is just fun enough but never fully takes off; the lead performance is very strong, though. I actually had more fun with McG's Netflix movie "The Babysitter" - which is fairly trashy but kind of perfect for VOD. Again helped by two appealing leads.
A rewatch of Beloved - enjoyed it very much, yet made me angry that the exceptional Kimberly Elise and Danny Glover still don't have an Oscar nomination between them...
I had a 1972 weekend King of Marvin Gardens Dern,A superb Burstyn and Nicholson,The Effect of Gamma Rays Joanne Woodward and The Heartbreak Kid Charles Grodin.
Not sure why you're lamenting the failure of some of these mediocre Oscar wannabes. Both Breathe & Christopher Robin aren't very good, and Marshall looked like too many other biopics. As as you said, Marston was super niche so not surprising there.
Florida Project which has legitimate buzz is doing well, and that's because you need legitimate buzz.
I'm not surprised by the success of "Victoria and Abdul" it's a very satisfying movie. I saw "Blade Runner 2049" which has some good moments but it's way to long and slow.The story did not need such an extended running time. Ryan Gosling was good as the new blade runner and I would like to see him made another movie with the delightful Ana de Armas The director seemed to think he was making an art house picture not a sci-fi thriller. The struggle of humans vs their robots slaves was better serve in the excellent "West World" remake.
"The Innocents", a re-watch of "Beverly Hills Cop II", and "Village of the Damned" (original version).
The Exorcist (1972) and Halloween (1978). Two of the best horror films of all time.
There was a great film festival in Montreal & I was very lucky to see two of my favorite films so far this year: "Call me by my name" & "Wonderstruck" really two EXCELLENT films!...
Finally saw IT: enjoyable if inconsistent. Excellent casting except for Stranger Things re-tread. Also some questionable special effects and adult styling. Overall though watchable and memorable with a few child performances that seem destined to be “remember when...” highlights of future star careers. Most excited to see how they cast Ben in the future. I am not familiar with the mini-series or book but based on his character arc and the 80s riff I think Jerry O’Connell would be an immensely satisfying adult Ben.
Does BATTLE OF THE SEXES' underwhelming performance at the Box Office mean I don't have to endure another awards season of Emma Stone's eyes bulging earnestly as she pretends to be woke? (all the while stealing roles from my compatriots?)
Florida Project. I could pick apart where it felt overlong but the choices are so purposeful and the direction so great that I was still gutted by the end. Beautifully empathetic and well observed. Will stick with me.
tonytr -- it's more lamenting that movies made for adults have to be great and buzzy to sell any tickets but any CGI would be blockbuster aimed at everyone can make $20 million even if people shrug immediately thereafter. It's a big problem for the future of the industry.
also even if you do make a good movie (battle of the sexes) it's difficult to sell tickets. so it's more of a general lament ;)
I saw "The Florida Project" at a matinee. It was packed - and mainly with seniors. Who seemed to love it. I know I did. It's at least as good as the great "Tangerine". And Sean Baker's confirmed his status as one of the most exciting directors around. I suspect once the year end critics awards start piling up, this will be a front runner in several Oscar categories including Picture and Director. Dafoe has supporting actor all but sewn up. And I suspect many critics will be including both Brooklynn Kimberly and Bria Venaite in their end of year honors for actress and supporting actress. Judging from the reaction of the crowd I saw it with, I suspect this one's going to emerge as more than just a reviewers' favorite. I think it's going to wind up as one of the season's major crowd pleasers.
I saw PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN. I thought it was fantastic. Formulaic yet fantastic. Also, Rebecca Hall needs to stop being so damn underrated!!!
I also watched FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 2, PROM NIGHT, and THE HOWLING. -
All four films I watched on the same day, by the way!
Matt St.Clair: If you have Netflix, watch Cult of Chucky NOW.
That having been said, I spent most of my weekend watching time on Mindhunter. It's...hmm. It's not "bad", but In terms of quality and tone relative to Netflix, it is to the best Marvel Netflix shows what GLOW is to Orange is the New Black.
As good as "The Florida Project" is, I kind of doubt its crossover hit potential - I suspect it's too plotless for a lot of audiences. I wish it the best, though.
I finally saw Elle.. Huppert is excellent in a complex role but alas a tad too chilly for my liking.. I alws find her performances leave me cold, same feeling w The Piano Teacher. Like the ice never melts! 😂
Overall the film is underwhelming for me, maybe all the hypes raise my expectation too high..all the loose ends tied up too neatly.. One major beef.. Watever happened to the cat??!! Its like it disappears n is completely forgotten at the 2nd half!! considering it was a pivotal character in the beginning of the show.
Things to come IMO is the betta performance w more warmth n humanity.
@emma I don't get the bashing on Emma. It's her best performance. Like ever.
Pretty sure if Emma Stone solved world hunger and ended all wars, @emma would still begrudge her.
ANYWAYS... this weekend I finally saw The Babadook. It's October after all and Halloween is just around the corner. Pretty good. Also had a bit of a Brie Larson weekend seeing Kong: Skull Island and Free Fire. Both better than I expected and actually technically proficient/interesting, but something was missing.
I saw Blade Runner 2049. I'm glad I saw it on the big screen, because it sure is PRETTY, but nearly every single scene went on for much longer than necessary. I enjoyed it, but didn't LOVE it. I do, however, think it has value and I would definitely prefer more movies like it than like the endless parade of beyond-formulaic and just-enjoyable-enough superhero movies that glut the cinema screens nowadays.
The Florida Project - incredible!
The Meyerowitz Stories - liked it more than I expected (Sandler was much, much better than Stilller!), but I needed a lot more Emma Thompson and it really bothered me the sister didn’t get a proper “story”/chapter.
Mindhunter (first 4 episodes) - it has me intrigued, a lot of the supporting cast is very strong.
@Ryan, Cal:
My beef with Emma Stone is that she took a white-washed role in ALOHA. As a Chinese person who barely sees any of my people on screen, that was bad enough. But what exacerbated the annoyance of that was her constantly giving trite soundbites throughout awards season, like 'this goes out to anyone who's ever had the door slammed in their faces' at the Golden Globes.
What about all the Asian actresses who weren't even given the chance to have the door slammed in their faces when she stole their role?
So I daresay my beef with her is fair.
@Emma I take it you hate Katharine Hepburn too , because if you Dont, i would stay clear from The Dragon Seed.
Saw Head of Passes at the Mark Taper Forum. Phylicia Rashad deserves a 2nd Tony for her work here.
Emma - you seem unhinged. Seek help.
I only watched Blade Runner 2049 and the latest Baumbach which were both really good.
I saw Blade Runner 2049 which I thought was too long and meandering.
I also caught Battle of the Sexes which was great, and I thought Emma Stone was fantastic - a new high for her and her most mature role to date. In my screening, there were a bunch of teenagers who clearly didn't know the outcome of the match, let out yelps of tension throughout and were genuinely happy when she won. It was very cute.
The Meyerowitz Stories was superb - great to see Hoffman tackle a great role again and I think it's Baumbach's best work.
Victoria & Abdul - a tad overlong and the denouement did not quite do it for me. Though Judi Dench was compulsively watchable, Ali Fazal reminded me of Victor Banerjee as Dr Aziz in A Passage to India: cloying and irritating and obsequious but ultimately winning (it was just their roles and not a critique of their acting skill set). There are a lot of delightful moments mostly involving Dench's Queen Victoria (and that speech to Bertie about her sanity is an Oscar clip moment). Might get a nomination but I know she's not going to win for this. But then again what do I know?
Rewatched Once and loved it once again. Now I see it more about music with the two lead characters doing what non-actors do: talk non-spectacular things in unspectacular ways. It sometimes tricks you into believing you are watching a docudrama instead of a fiction film. Having since known all the songs used in the film, I marvel at the little layers that reveal themselves upon rewatching and realise that songs take up a big part of the story and serve as the voice of the characters in conveying what they want/feel much more evocatively and persuasively than non-sung words. I'm sure that was the point but I didn't quite catch that the first time.
I also decided to see Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven again but this time with a bunch of young adults. I forgot how exciting and truly memorable the last 10 minutes of the film were. The race for the prize in slow-mo was cathartic even if the outcome was not what Ali wanted in the end. And then there's that ending: quietly uplifting despite what came before that.
@kermit_the_frog -- I agree about the excellence of Kimberly Elise in Beloved. She was the one that I remember most from the movie. That quiet rage and those expressions on her face -- so believable and unbelievably brilliant. She's the one true thing for me in that film.
@Matt St.Clair -- I agree that Rebecca Hall is so underrated that when a film like Christine comes along, she does not quite get the recognition she deserves (although thanks to LAFCA for at least recognising her alongside Huppert in Elle). And I think I am probably in the minority here, but Hall's performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona eclipsed everyone else in that film, yeah including Penelope Cruz's brilliant turn. Except for a friend in grad school who also thought the same way, no one I know remembered Hall's performance in that film.
One of the few places star power still really matters: films for the oldies. Not at all surprised VICTORIA & ABDUL is going well. MRS BROWN only got to $9mil, so this one will beat that one's inflation figures.
I saw A DEATH IN THE GUNJ, which is curiously an interesting pairing with VICTORIA & ABDUL, although they're nothing alike. It's an interesting look at the class within the first generation of Indians who've grown up without British rule. Flubs the ending, but it's well made and has interesting things to say.
Also watched ONE OF US and THY FATHER'S CHAIR. One was infinitely more satisfying than the other, but I'll be reviewing them in Doc Corner so won't say just yet!
And tonight I saw HAPPY DEATH DAY, which was fun and it felt good to see a slasher movie again.
Nothing in theaters, but did catch some films on DVD: ACCIDENTIAL LOVE which was entertaining, although a bit clunky. While there were no Jake Gyllenhaal-in-the-shower shots like I've seen a lot lately in the other films of his I finally caught up recently, there was a perfectly mustached James Marsden. Also, watched WHAT'S UP DOC? which featured a very appealing Ryan O'Neal. Wasn't too sure about Barbra Streisand, but she ended up winning me over a little bit.
The Meyerowitz Stories - I laughed out loud throughout, particularly at the scenes between Stiller and Hoffman. That said, I do agree that it bothered me that the sister did not get a full-fledged arc, although she has the best moment in the film (and Baumbach has a good track record with female representation).
Cat People and Curse of the Cat People - These were my first Val Lewton films, and they were great. I actually liked the sequel a bit better than the original, as the plot was more fully realized, although Cat People was more technically accomplished.
I saw Blade Runner too, and really liked it and how it both told its own story and linked up with the original. I didn't mind the length either -- the pleasure of these films is being able to seep in the feel and the colors of its world.
We watched Baby Driver (pretty entertaining) and The Beguiled (very disappointing)...
Just finished Mindhunter. The David Fincher directed front and back duos are the highlights, essentially Zodiac 2 and 3. The other 6? Kinda filler. (Fincher Parts: B+. Rest: B-.)
Owl: I'm with you on Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (though Cruz is phenomenal in it).
Not really a feature but the fan flick Never hike alone was awesome! Easily one of the best Jason Voorhees flicks (not saying much but it was great fun).
Also Souvenir with Huppert, charming but slight.
Saw some old movies and new ones:
Johnny Belinda - started kind of meh but got more interesting and complicated as it went along.. The actors were good (Agnes Moorehead is always worth watching) and the relationship between the doctor and Wyman's character became endearing by the end. I did end up feeling more emotionally involved than I realized once the court scene kicked in.
The Florida Project - good but not great. Loved "Tangerine" more - while that film was just propulsive, this one was a bit TOO meandering. Yes, I get that that was the point, but there was just one too many scenes of the kids hanging out under the stairs, etc. Dafoe was great (LOVED the scene with the creepy guy) and the kids were fantastic. I didn't love the ending in the moment because I wanted more time with these characters but looking back on it I really like it.
Battle of the Sexes - so entertaining and surprisingly tense considering I knew how it ended. Great cast (although Shue was maybe not so great; also: hello Austin Powell!), interesting textures and I really appreciated that they a) didn't ignore the queer story or b) barely included it as some half-hearted gesture but really brought it to the forefront.
I watched My Little Pony the Movie for the sixth time. So I'm a brony, and proud of it.