Box Office: Mission Impossible, Theater Camp, and more
Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 5:00PM By Nathaniel R
Tom Cruise is an eternal draw at the box office but Mission Impossible still came in under expectations. Was it that clumsy "Part One" in the title (on the SIXTH film in a franchise no less)? Movies are starting to move away from this since the audience can often feel had as in 'my ticket doesn't get me the full movie?' Note that Spider-Verse dropped it's "part one" title before release even though it literally ends on a cliffhanger...
| Weekend Box Office July 14th-16th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = Recommended |
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| WIDE (Over 700 Screens) | LIMITED / PLATFORM |
 DEAD RECKONING PT 1 |
 THE MIRACLE CLUB |
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1🔺 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE -DEAD RECKONING PART ONE $54.6 *NEW* (cum. $78.4) 4,327 screens |
1 🔺 THE MIRACLE CLUB $664k *NEW* 678 screens |
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2 SOUND OF FREEDOM $12.1 (cum. $89.6) 3265 screens |
2★ PAST LIVES $537k (cum. $9.4) 386 screens |
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3 INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR $13 (cum. $58) 3188 screens
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3 🔺 THEATER CAMP $301k *NEW* 6 screens |
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4 INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY $12.2 ($145.6) 3,865 screens |
4 PSYCHO PASS: PROVIDENCE $210k *NEW* 419 screens |
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5 ELEMENTAL $9 (cum. $125.6) 3235 screens |
5 THE LESSON $45k (cum. $284k) 140 screens |
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6 ★ SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE $6 (cum. $368.8) 2,577 screens |
6 🔺THE LEAGUE $45k *NEW* 140 screens |
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7 TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS $3.4 (cum. $152.7) 2,041 screens |
7🔺 AFIRE $38k *NEW* 4 screens |
 NO HARD FEELINGS |
 THEATER CAMP |
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8 ★ NO HARD FEELINGS $3.2 (cum. $46.5) 2,053 screens |
7 🔺 BLACK ICE $28k *NEW* 144 screens |
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9 JOY RIDE $2.6 (cum. $10.7) 2,820 screens |
8 ★ CONTEMPT (Anniversary Restoration) $16K ($78k) 5 screens |
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10 THE LITTLE MERMAID $2.3 (cum. $293.9) 1,615 screens |
9 🔺 LAKOTA NATION [doc] $8k *NEW* 1 screen |
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11 ★ ASTEROID CITY $1.1 (cum. $26.3) 713 screens |
10 THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND... $7k (cum. $118k) 3 screens |
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12 RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN $1.0 (cum. $14.4) 1,761 screens |
11 THE WICKER MAN (Anniversary) $6k (cum. $25k) 5 screens |
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13 THE FLASH $750k (cum. $106.8) 778 screens |
12★ REVOIR PARIS (France) $6k (cum. $44k) 5 screens |
In happier news the new indie comedy Theater Camp had the weekend highest per screen average" and Past Lives, which had fallen out of wide release after a well earned expansion, is nearing $10 million which is quite a feat given that it's an indie with no bankable stars that's largely subtitled and it isn't even playing during awards season. If you haven't seen it yet you're only hurting yourself. It's a marvel.
One thing we think is really strange about the US box office is the fact that Super Mario Bros is still the top grosser of the year. Across the Spider-Verse isn't even close. Isn't that weird?
Next weekend - Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Chris Nolan's Oppenheimer arrive to suck all the oxygen out of the room for the other movies and then (hopefully for Hollywood) cause an explosive chain reaction of moviegoing.
A lingering question: Will Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One have legs... and not just Tom Cruise's legs in perpetual motion.
What did you watch this past week? I caught a critics screening of Oppenheimer (review soon) but opted out of the critics screening for Barbie since we couldn't bring a guest and that seems like the kind of movie you simply have to see WITH friends, don'cha think? Otherwise it's been quiet with the movies after cramming for those "best of the year, halfway mark" articles.
Reader Comments (15)
All I saw this weekend was a short film starring Raffey Cassidy and a re-watch of Iron Man.
I've been trying to get through as much of my Netflix DVD queue as possible, before that option ceases in September. So randomly I saw:
-- Class of 1984 - cult schoolkids-are-hooligans classic with babyfaced Michael (no "J" yet) Fox
-- Caged! - Eleanor Parker goes from naive prison newbie to hardened criminal. Predictable 70+ years later, but still very watchable. The last 1950 Best Actress nominee (Davis, Baxter, Holliday, Swanson) I had yet to see.
Is there a specific reason for not mentioning the incredible success of Sound of Freedom? I have not seen it but there is already a release date in my country.
"One thing we think is really strange about the US box office is the fact that Super Mario Bros is still the top grosser of the year. Across the Spider-Verse isn't even close. Isn't that weird?"
No. Considering that Super Mario Bros is a thousand times better movie than Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse I'm not surprised. And hopefully the Oscars agree with me.
James from Ames
I'm curious to see if you have a ranking of the 1950 Best Actress nominees.
Catching up on some Oscar films:
La Cage Aux Folles- thoroughly enjoyed. Well deserved director nom
Mrs. Brown- better then I thought but where was the buzz for Billy Connelly?
Tomorrow watching A Soldier’s Story
I feel like most people would rank Parker last when reviewing the 1950 best actress slots. But she isn’t giving a 5th place performance. If this movie had come out a year earlier she easily is second probably challenging de Haviland for the win.
@TomG - Billy Connolly was BAFTA and SAG nominated for Mrs Brown (albeit in different categories: lead at BAFTA, supporting at SAG), so he was definitely in the mix. Category confusion may have cost him the nomination in the end.
I saw a few films this week all old.
Frankie and Johnny - Pfeiffer in one of her best performances,supporting cast wonderful
Double Jeopardy - Ashley Judd in peril thriller,TLJ doing the chasing again
Handle with Care - Johnathan Demme's 1977 CB Radio comedy,very enjoyable,he was always good with actors and no change here.
US Marshalls - TLJ chasing Wesley Snipes this time,silly but exiting.
Deathsport -Roger Corman sci-fi cheapy with ropey dialogue,threadbare sets and confused acting,a hooty mess.
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden - Kathleen Quinlan in a Golden Globe nominated performance.
@ Harmodio & @TomG - I agree 100% with TomG. I'd rank Parker last out of the five, but only because she was up against some titanic performances. In another year, she'd be a definite contender.
But I'm not going to fall into the trap of ranking the other four for you, haha. People have OPINIONS.
Eleanor Parker didn’t deserve that 1950 Best Actress nomination for Caged. The Academy should have recognized Katharine Hepburn’s deft comedic work in the classic Adam’s Rib. On an interesting side note, character actress Hope Emerson appeared in both films and stole her scenes.
@TomG - I love Eleanor Parker in Caged. That's a really great nomination, and I suspect it would be more talked about if it wasn't in that year. But I also think her being there is why 1950 is one of the all time great line-ups.
In addition to new films (Asteroid City, Mission Impossible, and Dial of Destiny), I had the chance to watch some Kevin Costner films, the Untouchables and JFK. While the Untouchables has its moments, I think JFK is a pure masterpiece. It's pretty amazing to see the cast that Stone gathered and then the way he put them together while also editing the story. It's probably one of Costner's best performances.
All -- i would not rank Parker last in 1950! For me Baxter is easily in last place (though I'll admit she's doing stronger work than i thought when I was younger) . It's still not exactly a subtle performance. I think the film is so great that it naturally rubs off on her. But yeah, choosing between Davis, Swanson, and Holliday is craziness. All worthy winners.
I was recently on vacation and saw several films on the plane:
Blue Jean--I liked this one quite a bit and thought the lead performance from Rosy McEwen was superb.
EO--Disorienting (in a good way!). It stayed with me.
Last Night in Soho--The first quarter or so was dazzling, and then it just completely fell apart. A disappointment.
Emily--Solid. Enjoyed it overall, didn't love it. I hope Emma Mackey gets more opportunities--she has a great screen presence. The film did inspire me to purchase Wuthering Heights, which I somehow have never read.
Sorry to say but in the new future movie theaters will be extinct .... for two reasons:
1). So many streaming channels
2). There are no real big movie stars to draw people in
Summer isn’t the same without any Smackdown movies to view…
I did go to see Past Lives. (I will say that I was distracted midway through trying to figure out where I seen the woman’s husband before. That face…hmmm. The friends reunite, but Where did I see that guy before?!? I had to look it up afterwards and, oh, ‘First Cow!!!’) The film was giving me ‘An Affair to Remember’ vibes, then ‘Casablanca’ feelings with the 3rd wheel husband. For the finale…I really wanted a ‘Shakespeare in Love’ ending….To see this on the big screen, you can not beat the New York City cinematography.
-The Blues Brothers (1980). Summer classic.
-Weekend -(Godard/1968?)-I basically couldn’t wait for the main couple to die. To keep my attention level up, I had to imagine Warren Beatty & Faye Dunaway wanting to repay Bonnie & Clyde influencer Godard and take the leads.
-Curly Top (1935). Shirley Temple. Ugh, the undertones of the male Lead… :(
-Cancel My Reservations/Bob Hope. He never fails to entertain.
I saw a couple of action films before the Barbenheimer weekend, Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible. For me, they proved again that Writers Are Important, that good writers deserve to be paid a lot. A good story is more memorable than explosions, stunts, and action sequences. That BOTH these films were chasing a Rimbaldi device is so threadbare.
Indiana Jones:
I agree with the critics that there was a misunderstanding of Indy’s character, starting the movie with him alcoholic, alone, unappreciated. Intellectually curious, clever, adventurous people stay interested and interesting their whole life long, and communicate their enthusiasm to others, young and old.
There was too much casual killing of colleagues, friends, acquaintances, bystanders, that was unnecessary (and irritating). Killing people isn’t the only way to move a story forward. Get a better story.
Mission Impossible:
In Mission Impossible, they had the good sense to bring in Henry Czerny, who deftly weaves implausible stories into something almost believable. I always sit back and enjoy the way he covers plot holes.
Watching and listening to Tom Cruise in close-up is disconcerting. He has aged to look like Mr. Potato Head, and while I believe he is perfectly sincere and committed to the lines he is saying, I feel no emotional connection to his character at all.
And the oh-so-tired movie trope of giving “emotional depth” to the “hero” by killing off another character, is one that nobody likes anymore. This is what writers are for (and should get paid fairly), to avoid this kind of stupidity.
James from Ames
Well I am going to put my ranking of the Oscar nominated actresses of that year.
_Best Actress in Leading Role:
1- Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard
2- Bette Davis - All About Eve
3- Anne Baxter - All About Eve.
4- Judy Holliday - Born Yesterday
5- Eleanor Parker - Caged
Katharine Hepburn should have been nominated for Adam's Rib.
And since I'm writing about Actress, I'm going to do my Supporting Actress ranking.
_Best Actress in Supporting Role:
1- Celeste Holm - All About Eve
2- Nancy Olson - Sunset Boulevard
3- Thelma Ritter - All About Eve
4- Josephine Hull - Harvey
5- Hope Emerson - Caged