Another quiet weekend in theaters with only one major new wide release
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 1:00PM By Nathaniel R
The situation didn't improve at the box office post-Thanksgiving without much in the way of new films for people to see. That said, in the absence of competition Violent Night performed above expectations, thanks to the "Violent" in the title and its memorable marketing hook 'Santa Claus goes to war with criminal intruders in a rich family's home'.
| Weekend Box Office (actuals) Dec 2nd-4th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = Recommended |
|
| WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS) | LIMITED / PLATFORM |
 VIOLENT NIGHT |
 THE FABELMANS |
| 1 BLACK PANTHER WAKANDA FOREVER $17.5 (cum. $393.6) | 1 ★ THE FABELMANS $1.2 (cum. $5.5) 638 screens |
| 2 🔺 VIOLENT NIGHT $13.4 *NEW* |
2 🔺 HIT: THE SECOND CASE $600k *NEW* 280 screens |
| 3 STRANGE WORLD $5 (cum. $25.6) | 3 ★ THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN $235k (cum. $8.2) 320 screens |
| 4 ★ THE MENU $3.4 (cum. $24.6) | 4 ★ TÁR $87k (cum. $5.2) 97 screens |
| 5 ★ DEVOTION $2.7 (cum. $13.7) | 5 🔺★ THE INSPECTION $85k (cum. $270k) 138 screens |
| 6 🔺 I HEARD THE BELLS $2 *NEW* |
6 🔺 SPOILER ALERT $82k *NEW* 6 screens |
 BONES AND ALL |
 EO |
| 7 BLACK ADAM $1.5 (cum. $165) | 7 TILL $81k (cum. $8.8) 127 screens |
| 8 BONES AND ALL $1.1 (cum.. $6) |
8 ★ AFTERSUN $46k (cum. $874k) 75 screens |
| 9 ★ TICKET TO PARADISE $854k (cum. $66.5) | 9 ★ ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED $35k (cum. $87k) 10 screens |
| 10 QUINTESSENTIAL QUINTUPLETS MOVIE $502k *NEW* | 10 ★ 🔺 THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER $33k *NEW* 29 screens |
| 11 ★ SHE SAID $405k (cum. $5.3) | 11 ★ DECISION TO LEAVE $28k (cum. $1.9) 40 screens |
| 12 LYLE LYLE CROCODILE $400k (cum. $45.7) |
12 ★ EO $28k (cum. $85k) 6 screens |
| There are just 12 movies in wide release at the moment. This time in 2019 there were 14... |
13 DECIBEL $24k *NEW* 21 screens |
| ...plus about 5 more than were just under that mark in moderate release as opposed to just 1 now (The Fabelmans). |
14 ★🔺 HUNT $16k *NEW* 30 screens |
Triangle of Sadness left theaters after a fairly successful run at arthouses with a $4 million domestic gross which is great for a movie with no bankable names behind or in front of the camera and without the benefit of Oscar nominations... yet. Glass Onion (a one week experiment from Netflix) also vanished. But many of the remaining awards hopefuls are still kicking and probably counting on the forthcoming awards season and top ten lists to breathe a second wind into their sails at the box office. Or a first wind if they haven't really expanded yet like the Best Documentary Feature contender All the Beauty and the Bloodshed or Poland's donkey picture Best International Feature Film contender EO which are both still fairly new in theaters.
NEXT FRIDAY: Hollywood is still fast asleep. Empire of Light and The Whale both arrive in limited release and Spoiler Alert expands but otherwise the entire industry seems to just be waiting around for Avatar Way of the Water (December 16th). They gave Black Panther Wakanda Forever an entire month without competition and since it didn't perform nearly as well as its predecessor it wasn't able to buoy the ships around it in the water! Heavy sigh. The streamers are trying a little harder to provide entertainment for the masses. Apple TV+ and Netflix are both releasing their presumed heaviest hitters this Friday: the slave drama Emancipation, and the stop-motion wonder Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, respectively.
What did you see this past week? I saw The Fabelmans a second time (love it so!) and was otherwise catching up with FYC screeners so I made it an Best Animated Feature trio and watched Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. All quite enjoyable and all *might* end up nominated in that category but we'll see.
Christmas movies, Violent Night, box office, moviegoing
Reader Comments (13)
I saw the Banshees of Inisherin this week and adored it - all the performances are great and i especially admire how Barry Keoghan is able to fit his oddball persona into so many kinds of movies. Loved him.
Weirdly, i saw it because it seems to be leaving town - I thought for sure it would stick around at least until the Golden Globe nominations were announced.
A first-timer in The Tenant (awesome film) and a re-watch of a Donald Duck/Chip n' Dale short in Corn Chips.
The Menu seems to be overperforming.
I saw The Fabelman's for the first time this weekend, and was surprised by how much I liked it. This is the third major director releasing an autobiographical fiction work this year. Armageddon Time, while it had its charms, was mixed, and Bardo was bloated and awful, I couldn't work up any excitement for Fabelman's. So happy it surprised me!
EO was captivating, Pearl was solid horror faire, and the rest all in the in B/B- range: The Inspection, Causeway, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, The Eternal Daughter, Strange World.
I also got some Animated Feature contenders out of the way (althoiugh mine were in a cinema) - I believe both GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S [PINOCCHIO and STRANGE WORLD are worhty contenders.
I also saw THE MENU and..... well, I know TRIANGLE OF SADNESS is the "eat the rich" contender at this year's awards but, for me, that was a blunt instrument setting up and hitting easy targets, whereas TM was so much more satisfying in its manipulations and monologues from all of the guilty characters, but especially Ralph Fiennes psychopath. It's one of my favourite films of the year.
And did a couple of final watches ready for tonight's AACTA awards - GOLD (for Best Makeup and Hair), and ABLAZE (Best Documentary) - both were good.
I just watched She Said and, with all due respect to Nathaniel's anti-"category fraud" crusade, I now get why Carey Mulligan is being pushed in Supporting. While Megan is very much integral to the story, I feel the film takes Jodi's point of view for the most of the movie, and there's even a whole segment in the middle where Jodi dominates the screen. Frankly, I would have liked this a bit more if it had gone the Spotlight route of focusing on the team (because it would have meant more scenes of Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan in a room with Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher. Beyond that, I found the movie to be an effective journalism thriller that also examines how these reporters juggled their mission with their empathy for the victims.
I also watched Bones and All this weekend, and while I recognize the film is not for everyone, I loved it. I found it very moving, quite romantic, anchored by a pair of indelible performances from Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, which grounded the proceedings enough that it gave the rest of the cast the room to go broader and make the world around them feel weirder (I know Mark Rylance's performance is divisive, I thought it hit just the right register). I love it when filmmakers can go this off-beat.
And I watched Tár, which I later discussed with my film club. We all loved it, though a few scenes did spark some heated discussions, particularly the famous Julliard scene. I've looked up the quotes from that scene several times and find myself agreeing with a lot of what Tár says about reducing someone's talents to their identities. I personally would have shaved off a few subplots, but Cate Blanchett is mesmerizing as always (even if the role is admittedly tailor-made for her) and I love how ambivalent Todd Field is when it comes to condemning her, allowing what we see in the film enough room to permeate with his audience and asking us to make up our own minds.
I didn't see anything this past weekend, but I did see SHE SAID yesterday and unlike Richter I'm even MORE confused as to why they've decided to campaign Carey Mulligan in supporting when she is clearly a co-lead.
Yes, Zoe gets the most scenes with the victims, but Mulligan's character has plenty of scenes without Zoe AND we get to see a full character arc for her as well. It's just dispiriting especially when you have actresses like Ehle and Morton who should probably be in the conversation MORE but they aren't because of this decision.
I saw Good Luck To You Leo Grande which I enjoyed with Emma Thompson being all Emma Thompsony.
The Shining which is still class then Vivian Kubrick documentary on the making of it.
Kes heartbreaking British Classic,with one of the best juvenile performances.
Hostile Witness silly stage bound Ray Milland thriller.
Next of Kin unusual Aussie 80's horror.
Aftersun I rarely watch new film releases twice so close together,it still had the same effect.
@Ryan T - the actual supporting actresses in She Said are so good, right? I loved Patty Clarkson too. In a just world, Samantha Morton would be picking up a few prizes here and there and showing up on a few prediction lists.
Ryan T.: I said I get it, not that I agree with it. Whenever you have a film with two leads of the same gender, one will be pushed Supporting, and all I was saying is after seeing the film, I get why they'd go with Carey Mulligan (given that there is a whole section of the film she's not leading, and that appears to be enough for them). Yes, I would rather they would push Patricia Clarkson, or Jennifer Ehle, or in an ideal world Samantha Morton who steals the entire film with a five-minute scene.
I did a double feature on Monday of The Inspection and Bones & All. I really liked them both. I thought Union was fantastic in TI. She would be on my Supporting Actress ballot. And I loved B&A as well. So great seeing Jessica Harper and Chloe Sevigny continuing the "one scene wonders" trend this year.
I saw and loved "The Fabelmans." It is such a generously told story that is surprisingly less sentimental than I expected from Spielberg. Right now it's my favorite film of the year.
I also saw "The Inspection" which I liked for the performances but felt the film overall was on the thin side. Jeremy Pope is a star.
I saw The Fabelmans.
Michelle Williams plays a Manic Pixie Dream Mom.
I was surprised at the film’s fragmentary nature, a series of linked anecdotes with the Spielberg stand-in as the hero.
It reminded me of listening to one of my grandfathers, filling in the fragments from things you’ve heard before. There’s no point in questioning or interrupting him, although you’re pretty sure his time hardened version of stories isn’t exactly what actually happened. You listen because you love him, but sometimes those blind spots can be a lot.
The Fabelmans reminded me of Jessica Chastain’s cameo in Armageddon Time.