Box Office: Ant-Man Grows, Mr Rogers Moves In, and LaKeith Stanfield Phones In
Sunday, July 8, 2018 at 5:00PM by Nathaniel R
I've been reading mixed things on the success level of Marvel's latest superhero flick The Search for Michelle Pfeiffer in the Quantum Realm. Some say it's opening weekend of $76 million is a big step up from Ant-Man's debut, others think that that's all too low for a Marvel film at this juncture in their history. It does work as a nice after-dinner mint for the heavy meals of Black Panther/Infinity War (though I could've done without the bitter aftertaste of its post credits sequence.) At any rate this is the last Marvel Studios film for awhile. We now have a eight-to-nine month break from Marvel heroes unless of course Black Panther becomes a big Oscar conservation. The next Marvel Studios film is Captain Marvel (March 8th, 2019) which will be followed by the as yet untitled Infinity War Part Two (May 3rd, 2019).
| Weekend Box Office Estimates (July 6-8) |
|
| W I D E 800+ screens |
L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide |
 Ant-Man and the Wasp |
 Sorry to Bother You |
| 1.🔺 ANT MAN AND THE WASP $76 *NEW* |
1. 🔺 WHITNEY $1.2 on 452 screens *NEW* |
| 2. INCREDIBLES 2 $29 (cum. $504.3) | 2. SANJU $1.2 on 359 screens (cum. $5.9) |
| 3. JURASSIC WORLD FALLEN KINGDOM $28.5 (cum. $333.3) REVIEW |
3. 🔺SORRY TO BOTHER YOU $717k on 16 screens *NEW* |
| 4. THE FIRST PURGE $17.1 *NEW* |
4. 🔺 THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS $717k on 51 screens (cum. $1) REVIEW |
| 5. SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO $7.3 (cum. $35.31) REVIEW |
5. 🔺 LEAVE NO TRACE $425k on 37 screens (cum. $800k) TRAILER DISCUSSION |
In other box office news, the LaKeith Stanfield starring comedy Sorry to Bother You opened to very full houses (albeit only 16 of them) which bodes well for significant expansion and the popular Mr Rogers doc Won't You Be My Neighbor? went wide...
 Won't You Be My Neighbor? |
 Hearts Beat Loud |
| 6. UNCLE DREW $6.6 (cum. $29.9) | 6. HEARTS BEAT LOUD $268k on 169 screens (cum. $1.8) SOUNDTRACKING |
| 7. OCEANS 8 $5.2 (cum. $126.7) CATE'S PROMO SUITS | HATHAWAY MVP | 7. 🔺BOUNDARIES $236k on 224 screens (cum. $362k) |
| 8. TAG $3.1 (cum. $48.3) |
8. AMERICAN ANIMALS $156k on 135 screens (cum. $2.5) |
| 9.🔺 WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? $2.5 (cum. $12.3) | 9. THE CATCHER WAS A SPY $104k on 52 screens (cum. $490k) |
| 10. DEADPOOL 2 $1.6 (cum. $314.5) BRIEFLY ON THE PODCAST | 10. GOTTI $82k on 100 screens (cum. $4.2) |
| 🔺 = new or expanding its theater count numbers (in millions unless otherwise noted) from box office mojo |
|
Won't You Be My Neighbor? is now the top grossing doc of 2018, surpassing previous champ RBG. Obviously American arthouse audiences needed to spend some quality time with these progressive heroes given the current cancerous cultural and political climate that's threatening America's future for virtually everyone -- yes, even the future of most straight white men (i.e. those not in the 1% of wealth)... but they don't seem to have realized it yet. It's worth noting that both of those documentaries about American icons are likely to beat 2017's highest grossing doc so this has been a potent year thus far for documentaries. Will the interest keep up?
In more mainstream news Incredibles 2 passed the $500 million mark domestically making it the third highest grosser of 2018 (all are superhero films) and only the 8th film to reach that 1/2 billion mark at home this decade.
What did you see this weekend?
Reader Comments (27)
Interesting to see that Documentaries are having a great year so far at the box office.
Whitney or 3 Identical Strangers could also cross the 10 million mark too, if they some longevity.
I saw Paddignton 2 (pure delight, one of 2018's best so far), A Very English Scandal (the 3rd episode is the best one, Grant and Wishaw are great) and Maurice (loved the novel, and the movie didn't disappoint).
And to finish Four Weeding and a Funeral ( Kristen Scott Thomas is lovely and a start turn from Hugh Grant). Interested to see how will Mindy Kalling adapt this to a TV series
So it was a gay old weekend with Hugh Grant
A re-watch of The Outsiders and earlier today, Ant-Man and the Wasp....
FYC for Best Supporting Actor-Michael Pena.
I saw " The Incredibles" which is an OK but pointless sequel. "Bao" the delightful short that precedes it- is a wonderful and true animated film.
Hannah Gadsby: Nanette
What Glenn said.
Thanks Glenn.
MInd explaining why you didn’t like the Ant-Man post-credits sequence? I havent seen it yet, but I saw spoilers and it does seem to beg a few questions.
I saw THE SEARCH FOR MICHELLE PFEIFFER and it was - OK? Diverting but plodding and it felt like it was full of plot holes. And of course Pfeiffer was barely in it! There should be a warning on the poster for Actressexuals to not get their hopes up. I was a big fan of BLACK PANTHER and THOR: RAGNAROK but I don't get why so many mediocre Marvel films like this seem to get an easy pass from critics.
I watched RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK on Netflix for the first time in many years (Alfred Molina!) and it holds up well.
Also A WRINKLE IN TIME - I liked the first two-thirds, and loved all the actresses, but found the ending a letdown. I didn't think the actor playing Charles Wallace was up to what he was required to do at the end. And the design suddenly seemed flat after being really colourful and interesting up to that point. Still, not the disaster I was half expecting.
"Sorry to Bother You" is a real experience. Some of the laughs don't land because the situations are too uncomfortably close to reality - but that's a fine problem to have. It's most similar to dark satires like "Little Murders" or "Putney Swope". I think I loved it.
My local arthouse cinema has been doing an Aki Kaurismaki retrospective, so my weekend included LA VIE DE BOHEME, THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST and LIGHTS IN THE DUSK (all great, especially the ones with the wonderful Kati Outinen).
Also saw the Australian film HOUNDS OF LOVE (maybe signs of a new visionary director?) and the French film BACK TO BURGUNDY (not bad, although the family flashbacks were too cliched).
Nat: As far as Marvel goes, I wouldn't be, entirely, surprised at a "surprise" theatrical Daredevil movie in November. Season three filmed for seven months, which is just enough time to make me suspect a piggybacked movie production on top of the season three shoot. Which, if so, would make me really happy, honestly. Movies being expected to, at least somewhat, follow the aesthetic and pacing of an existing TV series was a lot of fun, mostly because even the bad ones feel somewhat like a bad episode of the show. When was the last one? Star Trek: Nemesis? That'd be sixteen years ago now. Yeah, Marvel trying to revive that idea would be awesome.
I saw "Ocean's 8" and liked it quite a bit - when I got home from the movie + dinner, I was immediately googling heist/con/grift movies I could stream. I don't have much of a preference in terms of genre, other than biopics are often bad and I'll watch almost any heist/con/grift movies to see how they do it.
I ended up rewatching "The Sting" - I forgot how much of that movie is Robert Redford running from people - leaping over staircases, coming up with clever ways to escape. A solid movie, for sure.
I saw "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" a few weeks ago and loved it. I pretty much agree with Tim Brayton's take on it (https://www.alternateending.com/2018/06/wont-you-be-my-neighbor-2018.html) in that it's not a very well constructed doc, but just seeing clips of Fred Rogers for awhile is a balm for the soul.
I want to see "Whitney" when it hits my city.
Glow season 2 - okay but way too much time on the Peri Gilpin character. She’s just not that interesting
The Devil Wears Prada - I had not seen this since it opened, and it holds up remarkably well. It’s shot so beautifully and is a gem
Sorry meant Betty Gilpin
@jono - I'm watching GLOW right now, and I love how much the supporting players knock it out of the park every time they are given a chance.
See Kia Stevens (Tamme), esp. ep 4 where she has the "Parent's Day" with her son at Stanford, and Sunita Mari (Arthie) in her conversation with Sam in the hospital hallway. Sheila the Wolf is given some great moments too.
It’s shot so beautifully and is a gem!!
Watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" which somehow is 3 hours long. It says it was filmed on the actual location, but, having been there, how in the world did they add in an entire crew up there?
I love Shelley Winters, but where was her Oscar clip? I think I prefer her in "A Place in the Sun" instead.
Just finished watching "Husbands and Wives" thinking of was renting "Crimes and Misdomeanors".
Oops.
Woody and Juliette were creepy, and I hated the Documentary style directing and editing, but it's good Woody Allen, thanks ot Mia, Liam, and Judy Davis, who DOES deserve that nomination. Looking at IMDB, she won almost every award BUT the Oscar!
Coming up: "Freehold" and "20th Century Women", which I believe did okay around these parts last year.
I am no fan of RBG, but its success is heartening. I have absolutely no relationship to Mr Rogers - I have no idea who he is or what his show was even about - but it's also good to see that film strike a cord. A possible $20mil gross for any doc these days is a mini miracle. WHITNEY's per theatre average + word of mouth suggests it won't get much further, but again a few million is an improvement on most. Sadly, I won't get to see it for a few weeks.
It's been so heartening to see people turn to NANETTE as well. Thank you Arkaan for the nod. Everyone who's watching it has been so impressed and it's all so well-deserved.
"Nanette" is one of the most phenomenal things I've watched. Hannah Gadsby turns comedy inside out several times, and I can't even believe where it ends up.
@glenn dunks - I think you're not from the US if I remember correctly - but Mr. Rogers was basic tv to us in the US. He was basically about love, compassion and kindness - one of the big things in the documentary is that black people were not welcome in public pools, and they contrast pictures of people pouring bleach into public pools with Mr. Rogers having, at the same time, a black man (Francois Clemmons) playing a police officer, who he invited to have cool his feet in a backyard kiddie pool with him.
It was basically the kindest and most loving way to say "FU" to the existing hierarchy.
Rebecca, you're correct. I am out of the realm of Mr Rogers by location and age. The film has no local release or film festivals set for that very reason, which is a shame as I'd love to see what y'all are do into. Alas.
I also wanted to mention LEAVE NO TRACE, which is one of the year's best movies and if it gets to half of WINTER'S BONE's $6mil gross we'll probably be lucky (which is a shame).
Thanks Glenn - I will check out "Leave No Trace" when I can.
I saw L'Amant Double at a very nice and cozy art cinema in Auckland. A couple were WTF'ing the entire time as the movie's narrative unfolds. I always liked François Ozon since Sous le sable. This one is more along the lines of Les Amants Criminels and is provocative and uncomfortable to watch and sometimes makes no logical sense -- stuff I like in movies. There are parts that remind me of a lot of films as disparate as Thelma, Vertigo, In Dreams, Dead Ringers, Wait Until Dark, Rosemary's Baby and even Elle. Is the story metaphorical? What is the meta-story of this story? One thing's for sure: Marine Vacth fulfils the promise she showed in Ozon's Jeune & jolie.
@Glenn Dunks To add more color to what @ Rebecca said about Mr. Rogers, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was on television at a time when, in many places, there were only about 2 or 3 channels nationwide. There was no Fox TV, no CW, no HBO, no ESPN. It was ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS, and usually, you could only pick up about 2 or 3 of the 4 channels at any given time.
In my area, Mr. Rogers came on right after school, and just about every school kid watched him. He would come into his fictional home and put on this blue sweater and comfy shoes. And he would feed his fish in a fish tank. There was this weird "land of make believe" with these really whack-a-doodle puppets. But, at the end of the day, Mr. Rogers was all about being nice and kind and being a good neighbor, etc.
Needless to say, that was in a long LONG ago America. Like, looooooong ago.
I got to American Animals, Tag and Ant Man. American Animals is great and my third favorite of the year so far. Tag is basic and watchable, but no one but Isla Fisher really stood out. She's very funny in it. Ant Man wasted Michelle Pfeiffer, their most heinous crime since wasting Tilda Swinton and Rachel McAdams.
It's heartening to see the Mr. Rogers doc (which I loved while also questioning how good it is as a documentary) doing so well.
This weekend, I went all in on repertory at the Quad in NYC: Pillow Talk on Friday and Looking for Mr. Goodbar on Saturday. I really liked both - Pillow Talk is adorable (Rock Hudson could have great chemistry with a rock, and the humor holds up better than I would have expected) and Goodbar is quite harrowing (that last shot will haunt me for a LONG time).
I just saw two movies on DVD. The first was Thor Ragnarok. I liked all the parts of it that weren't about fighting CGI characters. That whole series can use some humor and I'm glad they figured that out before it was too late.
I also saw Hostiles which I liked more than the reviews would indicate. I think I liked it more than The Revenant as far as "everyone is miserable and dies" kinds of Westerns go. I was surprised to see Timothee Chalamet show up in a small role. They wisely got rid of him quickly, lest he steal the whole movie from the rest of the cast.
I saw The Little Hours since a friend of the bf recommended it and it was...ok? It started off kinda funny but then got weird and the tone got confusing. Reading articles about it, I learned that people in theaters were laughing hysterically at places that I definitely did not find funny.
Also saw Harvey which was only okay. It's charming and fun in places but it really drags things out. Stewart was great, per usual. I have no idea what the Academy saw in Josephine's Hull utterly generic performance.