It's Halloween-time at the Box Office

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (October 27th-29th)
W I D E 800+ screens	L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide
1. 🔺 JIGSAW  $16.5 new	1. 🔺 LET THERE BE LIGHT $1.8 on 378 screens new
2.  BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN $10 (cum. $35.5)	2. 🔺 THE FLORIDA PROJECT $539k on 145 screens (cum. $2.1) REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2
3. GEOSTORM  $5.6 (cum. $23.5)	3.🔺 LOVING VINCENT $449k on 114 screens (cum. $2.1)
4. HAPPY DEATH DAY  $5.0 (cum. $48.3)	4. 🔺  GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN $330k on 213 screens (cum. $633k)
5. BLADE RUNNER 2049 $3.9 (cum. $81.3) REVIEW | SHORTS | "BESTS"	5. 🔺 THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER $221k on 33 screens (cum. $392k)  REVIEW

Moviegoers were in a horror mood -- what else is new? -- which is appropriate for Halloween time. Three of the top five were specifically seasonal while It logged what is probably it's last week in the top ten with another 2 million for its historical box office winnings. It's the highest grossing horror film ever now but only #4 of all time (not adjusted for inflation) in terms of R-rated films. It won't be able to overtake any of the top three: The Passion of the Christ, Deadpool, and American Sniper since it will surely lose a huge swath of theaters next weekend when everything at the multiplexes has to make room for Thor: Ragnarok...

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What did you see this weekend?

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (October 13th-15th)
W I D E 800+ screens	L I M I T E D excluding prev. wide
1. 🔺 HAPPY DEATH DAY  $26.5 new	1.🔺 THE FLORIDA PROJECT $401k on 33 screens (cum. $623k) REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2
2. BLADE RUNNER 2049 $15.1 (cum. $60.5) REVIEW | SHORTS | "BESTS"	2. TIL DEATH DO US PART $319k on 400 screens (cum. $3.2)
3. 🔺 THE FOREIGNER  $12.8 new	3. THE STRAY $300k on 430 screens (cum. $1.2)
4. IT  $6 (cum. $314.9) REVIEW | 5 TAKEAWAYS	4. A QUESTION OF FAITH $155k on 228 screens (cum. $2.1)
5. 🔺  THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US $5.6 (cum. $20.5) REVIEW	5. 🔺 AMERICAN SATAN $132k on 55 screens new
6. AMERICAN MADE  $5.4 (cum. $40.1)	6. 🔺 MARK FELT $123k on 89 screens (cum. $257k)
7. KINGSMAN 2  $5.3 (cum. $89.6)	7. STRONGER $115k on 174 screens (cum. $4) REVIEW
8. LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE  $4.3 (cum. $51.5)	8. JUDWAA 2 $110k on 106 screens (cum. $1.4)
9. MY LITTLE PONEY  $4 (cum. $15.5)	9. 🔺 GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN $55k on 9 screens new
10. 🔺 VICTORIA & ABDUL  $3.1 (cum. $11.3) REVIEW	10. HUMAN FLOW $47k on 3 screens new
🔺 = new or significant expansion numbers (in millions unless otherwise noted) from box office mojo

It was a rough weekend for awards hopefuls that weren't named Victoria & Abdul. Dame Dench's new vehicle moved into the top ten in its fourth weekend when it finally went wide. Other movies seeking adult audiences had a rougher go of it. The biopics Marshall and Professor Marston & The Wonder Women both opened outside of the top ten despite plentiful screens. (I took in Professor Marston and though it's a niche subject, it's surprisingly good with yet another excellent performance from the ever reliable Rebecca Hall.) More biographical awards hopefuls Goodbye Christopher Robin and Breathe also failed to attract much interest in their platform debuts. It's a tough world out there for non-genre titles that would like adults to go to the movies again!

The weekend's best per screen averages went to the documentary Human Flow and A24's The Florida Project which added 29 screens in its second weekend. WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND?

Andy Serkis's Directorial Debut Arrives This Year

Chris here. With War for the Planet of the Apes arriving in theatres next weekend, we're already seeing the reawakened thinkpieces about an honorary Oscar for Andy Serkis that comes with what seems every motion capture performance from the actor. But now we can add another level to his multi-hyphenate talent as the risk-taker is now taking up the directing reigns with this fall's Breathe.

The true story tragic romance stars recent Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield as the polio-stricken Robin Cavendish, with The Crown's Claire Foy as his wife Diana. This is technically Serkis's second directorial effort, with his take on The Jungle Book filmed prior and now in CGI-heavy post-production. Jungle is maybe a more expected journey for the motion capture virtuoso, so Breathe makes a somewhat more intriguing choice despite it's quite familiar plot. Perhaps it's the film's spirit of innovation that calls to him, as Cavendish helped create a wheelchair equipped with a respirator.

Breathe will open the London Film Festival and open stateside on October 13. Take a look at the trailer and tell us your thoughts in the comments!

First Look at Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in "Breathe"

by Murtada

While we wait for Nathaniel’s first Oscar predictions of the 2017 season (soon) let's discuss one of the films that might contend, Andy Serkis’ Breathe. The new drama announced an October 27th release date in the UK with a US plan still forthcoming. A la The Theory of Everything (2014) it is the true life story of a marriage altered by disease. Based on the life story of its producer, Jonathan Cavendish’s parents, Breathe, is about a man who is struck by Polio in his late 20s...

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