Weekend Box Office
Monday, May 23, 2022 at 11:48PM by Nathaniel R
Downton Abbey: A New Era didn't open half as well as its predecessor which is a pity since it's a better film and a great night out for fans. Perhaps it's true that adult audiences just aren't returning to the theaters in the way younger audiences have? Still there was one piece of good news this weekend for fans of adult-oriented movies...
| Weekend Box Office May 20th-22nd 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it |
|
| WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS) | PLATFORM RELEASES |
 DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA |
 HAPPENING |
| 1 DOCTOR STRANGE IN... $32.3 (cum. $342.7) |
1 2000 MULES $765k *NEW* |
| 2 🔺★ DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA $16 *NEW* | 2 THE ROUNDUP $101k *NEW* |
| 3 THE BAD GUYS $6.1 (cum. $74.4) |
3 THE DUKE $100k (cum. $1.2) |
| 4 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 $4 (cum. $181.1) | 4 ★ PETITE MAMAN $42k (cum. $705k) |
|
5 🔺 MEN $3.2 *NEW* |
5 Y COMO ES EL? $41k (cum. $1.4) |
| 6 ★ EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE $3.1 (cum. $52.2) |
6 🔺★ PLEASURE $30k (cum. $52k) |
| 7 FIRESTARTER $1.9 (cum. $7) |
7 🔺 MONTANA STORY $19k (cum. $42k) LUX AETERNA $15k (cum. $35k) |
| 8 FIRESTARTER $1.9 (cum. $93.1) |
8 🔺 GOOD MOURNING $16k *NEW* |
| 9 ★ THE LOST CITY $1.5 (cum. $99.3) | 9 LUX AETERNA $15k (cum. $35k) |
| 10 ★ THE NORTHMAN $1 (cum. $33) | 10 ★ HAPPENING $10k (cum. $153k) |
The Good News: Everything Everywhere All At Once continues to have miraculous holds from week to week (off just 5% in its... 9th weekend!) and due to that it's still hanging on to theaters each week. In fact it has a better per screen average than any other wide release apart from the top two this week. It is now officially A24's top grosser domestically, having passed Uncut Gems this weekend. Globally it's still quite a ways behind Hereditary though since that Ari Aster horror film was much more popular overseas than the current sci-fi comedy whatsit has been.
Meanwhile we didn't think The Lost City would be able to hit $100 million since it moved so quickly to streaming but we were wrong. Perhaps it's continued legs in theaters (off just 11% in its 9th weekend) suggest that not that many people have Paramount+ yet in order to watch it for free.
Next week Doctor Strange will fall from its #1 perch since Tom Cruise returns in Top Gun Maverick arriving on wings of big P&A spends and rave reviews. The real question mark next weekend isnt Top Gun but The Bob's Burgers Movie. It's hilarious just like the TV show but will people come out for a movie version of a show that's still on TV? They did for The Simpsons Movie way back when but it was a much different moviegoing climate.
What have you been watching?
Downton Abbey, The Lost City, box office
Reader Comments (6)
I can't believe there's people who are stupid enough to watch bullshit from a convicted criminal who spouts Fascist rhetoric.
I saw this weekend
Two 1970's Barbara Stanwyk TV horror movies Taste of Evil and House that would not Die.
Charade after reading Claudio's Almost There post.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Rupaul's Drag Race Raven should have won.
The Changeling with George C Scott.
Went to Down20n Abbey in Dolby Atmos lol - the Mrs. Harris trailer shook my seat....and my soul. No plot, no stakes, just vibes. Approximately 5 hours of nonsense. I kinda loved it and so did the packed Saturday matinee with the oldest people I have seen in my life. I bailed on the tv show after the third season, but I'm feeling this works far better as a film series at this point. It's nice to spend a couple soothing hours with a murderer's row of British character actors every now and then.
Also went to see Men. Loathed it. Sick of horror grief metaphors and the climax was disgusting and irritating. Jessie Buckley is still as magnetic as ever and Rory Kinnear is fun.
I saw Bullitt (1968) with Steve McQueen in the big theatre. There were more people in the theatre than I’ve experienced lately.
I had seen it before some years ago, but I couldn’t resist when I saw the movie listings had categorized the genre as “action, fantasy”. So now there’s a general agreement that all those tough guy movies of yesteryear are really just fantasies? Fascinating.
Steve McQueen is still fresh and utterly appealing. He reminded me of our family’s corgi, who treats all alpha dog attempts with scorn, as she is a professional working dog not an idiot playing games. Steve doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone.
I also saw Fiddler: The Journey to the Screen, about director Norman Jewison (he’s 95 now) making the film of the theatrical hit, Fiddler On The Roof. Everyone involved seemed very committed.
John Williams was the music director of the movie, and he stressed how Jewison as a director was intensely musical. That must be the highest praise Williams could give a director.
Jewison said there was an awkward moment when he was being asked to direct, when he said, you realize that despite my name, I am not actually Jewish?
And everyone shook their heads that a movie about the transitoryness of “home” and the places that disappear, should have been shot in Yugoslavia, a country that no longer exists.
What I always appreciate about Norman Jewison is that the actors in his movies seem their clearest, purest self, like all the stuff that obscures them is lifted away.
Jewison directed Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair, and Steve’s physical presence, like a thing of nature, shows a playful joy.
I caught up with best pictures nominees I hadn't seen yet:
The Guns of Navarone I enjoyed way more then I thought I would. I was also getting a LOT of celluloid closet vibes, if you know what I'm saying.
Ivanhoe I didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. And despite some of the actors involved and the historical characters, I didn't get as much of a celluloid closet vibe as I should have.
The Blind Side- I can see why Bullock won. It's not a bad performance but for the movie to work there needed to be movie star level charisma and Bullock consistently brought it. As for the movie itself, the criticism, especially from Oher himself, is very much warranted. I was cringing a lot.
Saw DOCTOR STRANGE 2 last week which I enjoyed, plus DRAMARAMA on Tubi which was a delight, and tonight a rewatch of FIREBIRD which was a beautifully shot film although a bit cold due to its subject matter and historical context.