What did you see this past weekend?

by Nathaniel R

Since I'd already seen Barbenheimer, I opted for a repertory screening (Under the Tuscan Sun, which I'd actually never seen. Why isn't Diane Lane in more things these days?), a play (Let's Call Her Patty starring Rhea Perlman, suddenly busy again considering she's also in Barbie), and a TV season I've always meant to watch (Happy Valley season 1. All of you who raved about it several years ago were correct). Over lunch on Saturday, I ran into two friends who were on their way to see Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One which surprised me since neither of them had seen Barbie or Oppenheimer! 

Were you part of the moviegoing throngs that hit Barbie or Oppenheimer in their strong second weekends or did you opt to catch an older film, a different wide release, or did you hit the arthouse theater? 

Weekend Box Office July 28-30 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
DISNEY'S THE HAUNTED MANSION	THE FIRST SLAM DUNK
1 ★ BARBIE $93 (cum. $351.4) 4,337 screens	1 🔺 THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (Japan, anime) $645k *NEW* 581 screens
2 ★ OPPENHEIMER  $46.7 (cum. $174.5) 3647 screens	2 🔺★ THEATER CAMP (US, comedy) $632k (cum. $1.5) 295 screens
3 🔺 DISNEY'S THE HAUNTED MANSION $24 *NEW* 3,740 screens	3 THE ESSENTIAL CHURCH (christian right wing doc)  $253k *NEW* 301 screens
4 SOUND OF FREEDOM $12.8 (cum. $149.3) 3,411 screens	4  ★  PAST LIVES (US / South Korea) $117k  (cum. $10.3) 95 screens
5 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE -DEAD RECKONING PART ONE $10.6 (cum. $139.1) 3,191 screens	5  ★ THE MIRACLE CLUB (Ireland/UK) $96k (cum. $1.6) 121 screens
6 🔺 TALK TO ME $10.4 *NEW* 2,340 screens	6  GO WEST (US) $26k (cum. $202k) 18 screens
7 INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY $3.9 (cum. $167) 2,165 screens	7🔺 BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE'S PRESIDENT (UK/Uganda) $18k *NEW*  2 screens
ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE	KOKOMO CITY
8 ELEMENTAL $3.4 (cum. $145) 2,105 screens	8 HAVE YOU GOT IT YET? THE STORY OF SYD BARRETT & PINK FLOYD (UK, doc)  $17k (cum. $40k) 24 screens
9 INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR $3.2 (cum. $78.1) 1,914 screens	9 KOKOMO CITY (US, doc) $15K *NEW* 1 screen
10 ★ SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE $1.4 (cum. $378.7) 833 screens	10 32 SOUNDS (US, doc) $12K (cum. $116k) 3 screens
	11 THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY (US, drama) $10K *NEW* 3 screens
	12 ★ LAKOTA NATION VS UNITED STATES (US, doc)  $6k (cum. $22k) 16 screens
	13 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (US, action thriller) $5k *NEW* 28 screens
	14 ★ THE BEASTS (France/Spain, thriller) $5k *NEW* 1 screen
only 10 movies in wide release	15 ★ RETURN TO DUST (China, drama) $2k (cum. $20k) 3 screens

After just two weekends, Barbie and Oppenheimer are both in the top ten grossing films of the year already (#4 and #8 at this writing). Barbie will undoubtedly beat Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (#3) and Across the Spider-Verse (#2) so the big target is Super Mario Bros Movie which is the year's highest grossing domestic release with $574 million to date. 

In other box office news, Jennifer Lawrence's comedy No Hard Feelings has topped $50 million which is quite good for the troubled R-rated comedy genre these days.

Next weekend We're back to franchises with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Meg 2: The Trench facing off. In limited release things are more exciting since the new releases include the music drama Dreamin' Wild, the Ukranian Oscar submission Klondike, the Sundance hit Shortcomings, and the very adult bisexual drama Passages starring Ben Whishaw, Franz Rogowski, and Adele Exarchopoulous.

Comments

[Glenn Dunks]

I saw SISU, which I appreciated took more inspiration from FURY ROAD than JOHN WICK when it comes to its action, but why was it in English and the lead character's indestructibility saps the movie of all tension.

I watched UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN also recently (although I had seen it back in 2003 and didn't remember much) and thought it was really lovely and there's a bit where Diane Lane is in this white dress and she's just about one of the most beautiful people ever seen.

[Mr Ripley79]

A mixed viewing week with quite a lot of horror

Squirm 1976 killer worms cheapie.

Exorcist The Beginning terrible sequel on every level of bad.

Annie Hall Still very funny but I still don't get the love for Keaton in it.

Homicide 1991 David Mamet Police Thriller starring William H Macy.

Family Life Ken Loach drama about UK Mental Health care in the 70's,care was bad.

A Sound of Thunder Silly forgotten sci-fi horror with Aldi budget sfx.

[Ryan T.]

Finally got to check out THEATER CAMP and it's one of the funniest movies of the year for me. I there anything Molly Gordon can't do at this point? She needs a big breakout role.

I considered doing either one or both of BARBENHEIMER films for a 2nd time, but couldn't find the time. What a box office phenomenon those two films have been. Quite refreshing!

[James from Ames]

Hooray for the Under the Tuscan Sun love!

Diligently working through my Netflix DVD queue, I saw:

-- Shanghai Express, 1930s Best Picture nominee. It almost felt like a precursor to Stagecoach, the whole disparate crew traveling together, and the shunned "fallen women" actually being the best kind of people. God, Marlene was beautiful in this.
-- Wild Tales, Oscar-nominated foreign language film from 2014. Wildly uneven anthology, but had three really great HOLY SHIT moments for me.

[MM]

I went to IMAX theater and saw Oppie. Acting, sound mixing, music, and direction were all outstanding. But overall meh. And WHY was if filmed in IMAX? Didn't seem necessary to me.

[sandwichspy]

Under the Tuscan Sun is my tonic in troubled times. Very gentle, and allows me to see my challenges in a new light. Ladybugs!

[thevoid99]

I just took a break for the weekend and re-watched old Disney cartoons. Going to see Oppenheimer this weekend.

[McGill]

I re-saw “Under The Tuscan Sun” recently. I wanted to watch a Sandra Oh movie. I like the friendship between her and Diane Lane, and of course the golden Tuscan setting. Diane Lane wears some great dresses in this.

I didn’t go to the movies, I went to the theatre and saw a recent play by an indigenous playwright, “Women of the Fur Trade”. Three women friends (one First Nations, one Métis, one white settler) in the time of Louis Riel, talk about Riel, the Rebellion, and their own place in history. It was funny and clever, the theatre was sold out, and the audience loved it.

[Pam]

First, Happy Valley: FINALLY, Nathaniel. Gawd, some of us on here having been banging on about that one for 9 years. One of the best television characters of all time performed by one of the best actresses working.

Second, Diane Lane: Totally agree she should be in more things. I fell in love with her in A Little Romance (1979) and it was also when I realized that Laurence Olivier was the most ham-fisted, overrated actor on the planet (someone who is NOT overrated is Lancashire above). Lane was excellent in Lonesome Dove and A Perfect Storm, among many of her great roles.

Before I ditch MAX or HBO or whatever nonsense it is now, I watched 1st episode of S3 of How to John Wilson. I'm going to miss this quirky little love letter to life in NY. Also finished Nora from Queens. Awkwafina is so amusing.

Also, a few episodes of Praise Petey, a very funny animated series with Annie Murphy and John Cho voicing the leads (Hulu), about a young woman from NYC who has to take over her dad's cult town down south.

[brookesboy]

I am still trying to find a block of time to see Oppenheimer. But still basking in the pink glow of Barbie. Greta deserves all her success.

Our movie club watched The Pawnbroker. Rod Steiger's performance in Sidney Lumet's powerful film is shattering. I think he doesn't get enough credit for being a great actor. The fact that he was also brilliant in Doctor Zhivago that same year is mind-crushing. Such an emotionally overwhelming experience watching The Pawnbroker.

[Michael R]

Nathaniel: really want to hear your thoughts on Oppenheimer and Barbie. To shorthand it, for me I am:
Barbie ***1/2
Oppenheimer ***

[Michael R]

Everyone: I really want Robbie to get a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Thoughts? I thought she was spectacular.