Box Office: Grey Whips His Competition
Monday, February 16, 2015 at 2:00PM Amir here, apologetic about the terrible pun in the headline, and bringing you the weekend’s numbers with a glass of wine and a pair of handcuffs.
Valentine’s Day just passed on by and more than any other year, it felt like a zenith for Capitalism and a nadir for humanity. 50 Shades of Grey came close to breaking February’s all-time record thanks to a massive audience who, going by the statistical reports of their age, mostly went to see what their mothers are secretly into. I won’t be watching the film until tomorrow night – I haven’t spent more than the cheap Tuesday ticket price on any film that won the weekend’s box office since… Toy Story 3? – so I’ll reserve my opinion on the film, but I’m genuinely looking forward to it. No, really. (Here's Nathaniel's review) Public response has been mixed, and if you, like Ana and me, are feeling masochistic, have a look at any conversation about the film on twitter and pull your hair in frustration at the short-sightedness, mob mentality and unbearable zero tolerance policies that are increasingly dominating our film discourse.
Sharp Dressed Men ruled the box office this weekend
TOP OF THE BOX OFFICE
Click on the highlighted titles for past articles on that film
01 50 SHADES OF GREY $85 new review
02 KINGSMEN: THE SECRET SERVICE $36.2 review soon
03 SPONGEBOB MOVIE $31.6 (cum. $94.8)
04 AMERICAN SNIPER $16.5 (cum. $304.2)
05 JUPITER ASCENDING $9.2 (cum. $32.3) podcast
06 PADDINGTON $4.1 (cum. $62.3)
07 SEVENTH SON $4.1 (cum. $13.4)
08 THE IMITATION GAME $3.5 (cum. $79.6)
09 THE WEDDING RINGER $3.4 (cum. $59.7)
10 PROJECT ALMANAC $2.7 (cum. $19.5)
11 BLACK OR WHITE $2.5 (cum. $17.3)
12 THE BOY NEXT DOOR $1.7 (cum. $33.7)
13 STILL ALICE $1.7 (cum. $4.6)
Kingsman: The Secret Service came a distant second with $35m, which is actually really strong. Add to that the international haul and this can be labelled a big success, especially considering that Colin Firth has only ever had two films open above 20 million, neither of which featured him in the lead. His highest opening ever, so congratulations to the Oscar-winning actor who might now have a spoof franchise on his hand.
Best Picture Watch: American Sniper is inching toward the top of the 2014 pile and by my estimation should be there in exactly 15 days. Whiplash finally passed the $10m mark, meaning that Winter’s Bone remains the last English language Oscar nominee to fail to break out of single digits (at $6.5m).
Toronto was at a whopping -41 degrees this weekend, so I didn't muster the courage to leave the house for a film, but I rewatched, among other things, The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is still my favourite of the best picture nominees by a wide margin. What did you watch this weekend?
Reader Comments (17)
I saw Whiplash with some friends in the front row. So it was a literal and metaphorical experience. I'm still digesting the themes, but suffice it to say the craft on display was thrilling.
I also rented The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Two things: The Chastain should be among the nominees for Best Actress (for this) and for Supporting (AMVY). Also, what a glorious directorial feat.
I saw Whiplash with some friends in the first row. So it was a literal and metaphorical experience. Still digesting the themes, but the craft on display was undeniable.
I rented the Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. This was quite affecting in every aspect; it's one of the best films of last year. Why The Chastain was not included in the dialogue for Best Actress is bewildering. She should be up for lead for this role and for supporting for AMVY.
I rewatched Hud for the fourth or fifth time. Just keeps getting better. The stark camerawork is pure visual poetry.
I decided to keep the weekend before the Oscars movie-free, passing on a screening of 50SoG Friday evening. I feel refreshed.
Ugh, I strongly disliked Kingsman. It isn't without some solid moments or acting, it's just that the whole is so self-congradulatory a bouts its impishness.
Paul: Great minds. I took the weekend off as well as I just needed a break from the BS of Oscar season. I love film and film making and the awards season, but this year..........it just seems sillier and more vicious that usual.
I streamed "And The Oscar Goes To" -- a new documentary from Epstein and Friedman (who directed "Common Threads" and "The Times of Harvey Milk"). All the expected clips -- Sacheen Littlefeather, Whoopi as Elizabeth I -- but also lots of fun backstage footage I'd never seen before and new interviews with folks like Mirren, Clooney and Del Toro talking about their Oscar wins (and sometimes losses). A fun watch leading up to the big show Sunday.
I saw 50 Shades of Grey.
Generally, i liked it.
*shrug*
I was never bored. lol. I spent the whole movie thinking that he was honestly going to murder her at some point. Christian Grey is hilariously creepy. There's problems with the depiction of BDSM, Christian himself is a bit of a narrative mess and there was intentional and unintentionally funny moments but overall, i've seen worse.
Plus, that toast thing was kind of hot.
I watched Godzilla again and liked it even more. Still blown away by the sound effects of the monsters.
Desplat (deservedly) is getting much love for his Budapest and Imitation Game scores, but he did a damn fine job on Godzilla as well. Probably my favorite opening credits of the year (remember this one Nat when FB awards come around).
-41? You're my hero!
I saw "Jupiter Ascending" a true-what-where-they-thinking-movie. I do wish they would have given Mr Tatum a dance number...
I saw Paddington, Jupiter Ascending, Into The Woods, and The Theory of Everything. (I hadn't seen a movie for a couple of weeks).
I love Sally Hawkins and completely understand why Paddington would like to be a member of her family.
When Sean Bean, Channing Tatum, and the British actress playing the Aegis captain were on together, the action movie started to come together.
The actors in Into the Woods had to struggle against the production design, trying to make a specific and cohesive experience. They lost. I wanted to go out and heap awards on Wes Anderson's production team. Even Jupiter Ascending had its own specific look.
Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are terrifically charming, and skilled actors. And Professor Lupin was in it! Even Glenda Jackson, the wonderful but inexplicably forgotten Best Actress was in it (on a TV soap he was watching).
It's my birthday today (well, it's almost over so in some places it isn't anymore). I'm 22. Didn't really have any plans. I went to see Still Alice by myself haha. I had already watched it online like a month or two ago but wanted to see something and was curious about how I'd feel on a second viewing.
I was very pleased to see that I felt much better about the movie seeing it the second time. All of the performances, the script, the direction... it all came off so much stronger. I actually think it's a great movie and Julianne fully deserves to win. Something someone said about the film a while back, about it not being believable that Alice doesn't seem to have any friends, which I hadn't thought about up to that point, definitely holds true. It's weird. But only if you think about it, I guess haha. Either way, I'm glad I saw it. Was even more emotionally affecting in the theatre. Reminded me of the importance of seeing movies in the cinema.
Anyway, I thought this convo I overheard while walking out of the theatre was funny...
Lady 1: How did it end in the book?
Lady 2: Um... agh. I can't remember.
LOL
I watched the following Julianne Moore movies in my "watch everything of hers" homework: Laws of Attraction, Evolution, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (in preparation for Mockingjay later), the BL Stryker episode called "High Rise" (Julianne & Burt pre-Boogie!), Short Cuts, The Ladies Man (horrible movie but she is hysterical in her scene as "Bloopie the Clown"), & Body of Evidence. She's been in a LOT of crap.
I also binge-watched Jane Campion's mini-series "Top of the Lake." Wonderful.
I saw Jupiter Ascending, which would be a Percy Jackson-level YA miss were it not for the super imaginative creature/costume/production design and some truly jaw dropping visual effects. Yes, it's a silly movie with a trite theme, stock characters, and cluttered plotting, but they sure do dress it up nice. It's a fun movie - deeply flawed, but fun. Like a Harry Potter movie on quaaludes.
And then just to make sure my movie karma was in balance, I saw Timbuktu for a second time. Loved it the first time, loved it more the second. I think it's a movie I'm going to come back to often over the years - so wise, funny and sad.
I saw The Last Five Years and loved it. It feels a bit like a trifle, but it's fun, touching, and well-acted and sung. I wonder if people were muted about it because the direction is a little silly or because people have a thing against musicals and this one in particular seems to wear its heart on its sleeve.
I have now seen all the movies in the BP, scripts, directing and acting Oscar fields, except for The Judge and I'm torn as to whether to be a proper completist or just skip it and learn to live with it. I really don't want a movie so apparently (literally?) shitty to be the last taste of the 2014 Oscar season.
How did The Last 5 Years fare? wasn't it opening this weekend? I thought the Anna Kendrick mania would be stronger.