Box Office: Little Willie Style
Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 5:41PM Absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder. Will Smith quit headlining movies very abruptly 5 years ago. He stuck a toe back in box office waters last year for another Men in Black but the one-time king of summer movie blockbusters couldn't even beat a Jesse Eisenberg ensemble picture or a 6th edition of a long-in-the-tooth franchise with no bankable stars outside of that franchise? That's some sort of wake-up call but to whom and for what? Will? The Smith Family Players? M Night?
For his next trick, he'll make Will Smith giant-sized bankability disappear
BOX OFFICE TOP TEN
01 FAST & FURIOUS 6 $34.5 (cum. $170.3)
02 NOW YOU SEE ME $28.5 *NEW*
03 AFTER EARTH $27 *NEW* M Night Shyamalan's Fall
04 STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS $16.4 (cum. $181.1) The Dumbing Down of Star Trek
05 EPIC $16.4 (cum. $65.1)
06 THE HANGOVER PART III $15.9 (cum. $88)
07 IRON MAN THREE $8 (cum. $384.7) Reviewed & Podcasted
08 THE GREAT GATSBY $6.2 (cum. $128.2) Reviewed & Dreamt About
09 MUD $1.2 (cum. $16.8)
10 THE CROODS $.6 (cum. $180.5)
In limited release Frances Ha nearly cracked the top ten in its third week and will pass Margot at the Wedding's gross quickly. The real test will be if it can break through to Squid and the Whale levels without the aid of awards buzz since we're not in the season. Meanwhile, Before Midnight, which in a perfect world would be a $100 million blockbuster, wasn't very aggressive in expansion in its second week. I wonder what the future will hold for it?
What did you see this weekend?
I binged (hence the lack of posting) with two oldies having big anniversaries Adventures in Robin Hood and Cleopatra - good christ but that movie is a slog to watch in one sitting! - and three 2013 offerings (The East, Mud, and What Maisie Knew) so I should write something about something soon, shouldn't I?
Reader Comments (22)
I saw "Before Midnight" and really did not like it. Julie Delpy talks and complains through the entire movie and Ethan Hawke looks like he is miserable wearing a wig. The only scenes that rang true were in the beginning when Ethan Hawke says goodbye to his son at the airport, and an dinner scene with other actors. Otherwise, it's Julie and Ethan talking nonstop (and ignoring Greece) and it seems horribly forced and painful.
I saw "Frances Ha," and I was surprised how much I loved it. It's so charming and delightful with Frances as the Annie Hall of whatever this generation is called. I saw "Before Midnight" last week, so it has been a great week in movies for me.
I saw Frances Ha, which was lightly enjoyable (and has a killer soundtrack), and Mud. McConaughey and Tye Sheridan were terrific, and Witherspoon, aside from her arrest video, gives her best performance in years.
Saw Behind the Candelabra, I liked it a lot, and was just as impressed by Damon as Douglas. One (small) advantage to it going to HBO instead of the big screen is we don't have to deal with a studio trying to campaign Damon in support when he's such a strong co-lead. I also loved Debbie Reynolds tiny part.
Still waiting for Frances Ha and Before Midnight to get to Montreal. Get here already!
Since its Sunday release I have seen Behind the Candelabra on DVR recording 4 times. I don't know why, I was just so taken with Damon's performance (which I think should be the one winning awards).
I saw Elaine May's A New Leaf on TCM. Very raw and with its charms (it was shot in a period where the 70s were still shaking off the 60s artifice) though I don't rank it higher than The Heartbreak Kid or (prepare for a shock) Ishtar.
Saw Todd Haynes' Safe for the first time. Wow.
My friends and I were quite intrigued by all the promos for NOW YOU SEE ME so we ended up seeing that one and while not a great film at all, it was solidly fun summer fare. At the very least, it was refreshingly original for a heist film.
I saw Before Midnight, and the hotel room / final dinner scenes really destroyed me. Is it too greedy to hope for a fourth? I do think it might be the weakest of the bunch (the early sections with Ethan + the two men outside and the long, long dinner scene dragged a bit for me), but it's still stellar, thoughtful cinema.
Can't wait to see Frances Ha. Also have to catch up with Star Trek and Gatsby (I've been busy!). Not sure if What Maisie Knew and Epic are gonna happen.
I saw "Iron Man 3" which is well made but these super hero movies all look the same after a while- last week "The Great Gatsby" which I enjoyed but doesn't quite work- I thought the bromance between Gatsby and Carroway was more believable than Gatsby's passion for that whiny Daisy. Lurhmann really must make another musical- and 'Behind the Candelabra" is one of the best films of the year- HBO really should have given it a theatrical release- there is Oscar worthy work both in front and behind the camera.
Smith was obviously the big selling point with After Earth, but I suspect part of why it failed isn't because of Smith, but because of his absence - it was pretty clear that AE was the Jaden show, with Will playing supporting dad (off screen and on). That's exactly the kind of muddy concept that Will is allegedly said to want to avoid in his films (it's one of the reasons he turned down Django Unchained, right?) but I guess his desire to pump his kid's career up overwhelmed other possible concerns.
I'm shocked and delighted that IFC is actually giving Frances Ha a semi-legit theatrical release, though I'm also kind of bummed that it appears to have already hit its peak in just 133 theaters. It's a perfect early summer movie - as much so as Moonrise Kingdom was last year and Midnight in Paris the year before - but will probably have to settle for a fraction of the gross. Then again, for a black and white indie with no recognizable name actors, I guess even a million bucks is pretty damn spectacular.
As for me, I went to the opposite end of the moviegoing spectrum and saw Fast 6. A little bloated in the first hour, but ultimately a great ride. I love how the series has turned into this weird, big hearted family saga, and the action scenes were pretty spectacular. Though I enjoyed Iron Man 3 and STID, Fast 6 is easily the best of the early summer blockbusters.
And finally (with apologies for the long post), I'm so so so happy that the rancid Hangover series has finally hit a wall commercially!
I saw Mud last weekend and fell in love with it. Nichols captured what it feels like to be young and adventurous and, at the same time, learning some of life's hard truths. The film is so warm and colorful without becoming trite (o.k., maybe a little, but acceptably so). He also got some fantastic performances from his entire ensemble. McConaughey, of course, is the marquee, but I also really enjoyed the interplay between Sheridan and Ray McKinnon (a great character actor who really deserved awards traction a few years ago for That Evening Sun). Reese Witherspoon, recent transgressions aside, was also good in a relatively thankless role.
The Smith family is starting to skeeve me out with their pushing their kids out into spotlight. Granted, these kinds of films wouldn't draw my attention anyway, but I will not support any of them for that reason. The last Will Smith film I legitimately enjoyed was I, Robot--and even that was silly popcorn fare.
Bollywood movie "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" came in at # 9 with $1.6 million +. I think box office mojo updated their charts. I saw that this weekend. It was silly pop corn fun.
Mike, Before Midnight isn't coming to Montréal until the 21st...and Frances Ha won't be here until the 28th. Bummer!
I almost went to see Now You See It (which I will definitely see eventually), but all I ended up seeing this weekend was The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Not badly done, with good performances from Riz Ahmad and Liev Schreiber. Poor Kate Hudson, though...getting stuck in such an unsympathetic character role.
I saw Network since I had never seen it before. Loved the media satire, hated the romance between Dunaway and the "middle-aged" (since when is late 50's middle-aged?) Holden, which competely slowed the last act down to a drag.
Also saw "The 39 Steps" - was not prepared for Hitchcock to throw a screwball romantic comedy in the middle of a murder mystery, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Bill the Bear: Thanks for the info! Is there a resource out there to know when things are getting here?
Saw "The Broken Circle Breakdown" and cried my eyes out. It really is heartbreaking, very much worth seeing though.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024519/
I was going to mention that Bollywood movie making the top ten, but KD beat me to it.
This weekend I saw AFTER EARTH (crap), THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (stunning, an all time favourite), BRINGING UP BABY (lovely, funny), and JEZEBEL (insane, but with a great Bette Davis performance).
Mike, this is the site I use to find out when films are coming to Montréal:
http://www.cinoche.com/films/a-venir.html
It's not 100% accurate, at least a few weeks out from the due date, but it's the best source I know of for this information.
Went to see Now You See Me this weekend, and thought it was a blast. Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm a sucker for a good heist flick, and the addition of magicians made this one feel different and kinda special. The audience really enjoyed it, too, laughing very often and even applauding at the end.
Saw Frances Ha last weekend and absolutely adored it. Greta Gerwig was fantastic, and the depiction of the modern dance company (especially in performance) was dead-on. Easily the best of 2013 thus far - barring Before Midnight (EXPAND ALREADY!!!!).
Mike in Canada - tribute.ca is usually a dependable source as well, but it won't always make the distinction between different Canadian cities, so unless you live in Toronto, you might have to wait a week or two longer than the release date posted there.
Last Remaining Seats started in LA this weekend, so I got to see a print of "To Catch A Thief" in the old Orpheum Theatre on Saturday night. The costume designer from Mad Men was there to talk about Edith Head! I almost died of classiness.
Other than that, I was pretty much subject to my roommate's viewing whims, so we watched "Rocket Boys" (meh), "Hulk vs Wolverine" (double meh), and "Cabin in the Woods" (not meh, but at this point over-watched in my apartment).
Thanks, guys! No longer will I have to find out on Friday morning what I'm seeing Friday night!
I think I've given up on Baumbach. I found The Squid and the Whale to be the worst kind of film school moviemaking. Over the weekend I watched Margot at the Wedding, and it was only slightly less obnoxious. More of the same: unlikable and unrelatable characters possessing no logical motivation for their hateful behavior, violent tonal shits in the script, overly sexualized and stilted portrayal of children, incoherent storytelling and nonexistent insight, and just a pervasive air of nastiness. The two saving graces were Nicole's perceptive performance and a creative use of music. I'm not sure if that last scene was a homage to Midnight Cowboy or The Graduate, but it didn't come off.