Oscar History
Film Bitch History
Welcome

The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)

Follow TFE on Substackd

Powered by Squarespace
COMMENTS

 

Keep TFE Strong

We're looking for 500... no 390 SubscribersIf you read us daily, please be one.  

I ♥ The Film Experience

THANKS IN ADVANCE

What'cha Looking For?
Subscribe
« 7 Bullet Points: Fall Festival Fallout & Oscar Chart Updates | Main | The Oscar Foreign Film Submission List - We're Almost There! »
Sunday
Sep272015

Box Office: Vampire Hospitality, Unique Internships, and Drug Wars

Though Hotel Transylvania 2 and the Anne Hathaway/Robert DeNiro pairing in The Intern surprised no one by taking the top two spots at the weekend box office, the big story was at the tail end of the top ten chart where Denis Villeneuve's possibly Oscar nomination bound cartel-drama Sicario landed despite still being in very limited release still, with less than 60 locations. That's what's called playing to sold out crowds. I split the charts below into limited and wide release though so Sicario takes the #1 spot on the limited half of the cinema equation. We just talked about that stunning drama on the podcast

There don't seem to be estimates on SPC's German Oscar contender Labyrinth of Lies which is a pity since we're curious.

BOX OFFICE WIDE
800+ screens (Sept 25th-27th)
01 Hotel Transylvania 2 $48 NEW Tim on the director Genny Tartakovsky
02 The Intern $17 NEW 
03 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials $13.8 (cum. $51.4)
04 Everest $12.1 (cum. $22.1) 
05 Black Mass $11 (cum. $42)
06 The Visit $6.5 (cum. $52)
07 The Perfect Guy $4.6 (cum. $48.7)
08 War Room $4.2 (cum. $55.9)
09 The Green Inferno $3.5 NEW
10 A Walk in the Woods $1 (cum. $27.2)
11 Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation $.9 (cum. $193.4)
12 Grandma $.8 (cum. $5.1) Review, Poster

BOX OFFICE LIMITED
Under 800 Screens - Excluding Previously Wide (Sept 25th-27th)
01 Sicario (59 screens) $1.7 (cum. $2.2) Podcast, Emily on a roll
02 Pawn Sacrifice (781 screens) $1 (cum. $1.3)  
03 Lost in Hong Kong (28 screens) $.5 NEW
04 Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos (364 screens) $.2 (cum. $8.8) 
05 Meet the Patels (63 screens) $.2 (cum. $.4)
06 Unbranded (58 screens) $.1 NEW
07 Sleeping With Other People (102 screens) $.1 (cum. $.3) Review
08 Stonewall (129 screens) $.1 NEW InterviewReview, Podcast
09 Goodnight Mommy (28 screens) $.1 (cum. $.2) Interview, Oscar Submission
10 Phoenix (85 screens) $.08 (cum. $2.8) Interview
11 Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (10 screens) $.04 (cum. $.2)
12 The New Girlfriend (45 screens) $.04 (cum. $.09) Review

Sicario's success excepted, it was a bloodbath at the arthouse. Stonewall met vitriolic reviews (my "D" grade review is somehow comparatively nice!) and a disastrous less than $1000 per screen average despite a fairly well publicized opening weekend. In other weak openings, 99 Holmes, the housing crisis drama with Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield debuted on only 2 screens and Mississippi Grind, a pool shark drama with Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds, on only one (what the hell, movies !?) and with those extremely nervous toes in movie theater waters, neither made even the top 12 at the arthouse despite well liked indie directors pairing famous stars with reliable well loved character actors to the tune of positive reviews.

Finally, we neglected to mention the opening of the French trans drama The New Girlfriend (starring Romain Duris, left) last week and though the François Ozon drama hasn't made much of a stir at the arthouse (an entire year's wait for a release after its festival debut can't have helped) but it adds to 2015's strong impression that the floodgates are now open for the T to be amply represented in LGBT cinema.

What did you see this weekend?

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (16)

Still too swamped for the theater lately but hoping to rally soon. @ home I caught two Doris Day movies I'd never seen before - "That Touch of Mink" and "The Thrill of it all". Have to give the advantage to "Mink", but it's also maybe the most virginity obsessed of all Day's films. It's not innuendo, it's just the actual plot.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDave S.

Saw the great new documentary "Peace Officer" about the militarization of the police. It won both the Jury and Audience award at SXSW. I found it very powerful and thought provoking. It focuses on the personal story of a former police chief who formed a SWAT team in a small town in Utah just to see the same team kill his son in law in a home confrontation. Incredibly moving stuff and highly recommended.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterSFOTroy

i haven't even heard of this SFO Troy so thanks for sharing.

September 27, 2015 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

Good for Anne Hathaway... I wasn't sure if her career really was over due to the public hatred.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterBia

Pleased and surprised for "The Intern" - that's way more than "Ricki and the Flash" managed, for instance.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDave S.

I am interesting to know what others think of 'The New Girlfriend.' Lots to like, but the whole was a bit scattered for me.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterBrian Zitzelman

Yesterday I was Everest, which was OK. Mostly catching up on TV Friday and Saturday, though.

Today I attended my first NYFF screening - Marcel Ophuls extraordinary, monumental documentary Memories of Justice. It's about the Nuremberg trials, post WWII German denial, the Algerian War, Vietnam, war crimes, art, moral relativism... A movie with so many layers, digressions and shades of grey that it's almost impossible to encapsulate. Suffice to say I was completely blown away by it. An overwhelming tour de force, and one of the best documentaries I've ever seen - and with Ophuls there to do an intro and Q&A, as if the movie wasn't enough. A very special experience.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterRoark

My showing of Sicario this early afternoon was totally packed, which I wasn't expecting. Good to see a strong box office report for it! And much like after I saw Edge of Tomorrow, Emily Blunt seriously inspires me to get in shape.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAmes

None of the top 10 would even get $1 from me. I saw The New Girlfriend in a festival and it is pretty great. Heard the Sandra showmance may already be over since Our Brand is Crisis is a dud, and it was only for PR.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterTom Ford

I did not like THE NEW GIRLFRIEND. Especially from Ozon who should know better than to treat subject matter like that so frivilously. It's not that he made a comedy, it's that he made it so shallow and didn't utilize the story to truly say anything about any of the characters.

Johnny Depp in BLACK MASS isn't happening, right? The movie isn't happening elsewhere and nobody seems particularly jazzed about his performance enough to make it to the final five.

September 27, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterGlenn Dunks

Mississippi Grind is a wonderful movie, I hope the distributors can figure out a way to find an audience for this smart film. This was one of my favorites at TIFF this year.

99 Homes is also very good, with fine performances by Shannon and Garfield.

September 28, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDavid Low

I didn't see any mention of MEET THE PATELS. Did any of you see MEET THE PATELS? Great critics review and great audience response.

September 28, 2015 | Unregistered Commentervasant K. patel

I made a deal with the guy I'm dating that for every horror film I make him watch (or Law and Order: SVU marathon I make him sit through) I have to watch a Harry Potter movie, starting with the first, which is every bit as inert as I remember (the reason I never returned to the franchise thereafter). Thankfully, the second one is marginally better. I consider it a small price to pay to introduce someone to The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, and The Omen for the first time.

September 28, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterTroy H.

I had seen "The New Girlfriend" at the Outfest Film Festival. While I'm a big fan of Ozon and the film looks beautiful, It was a little disappointing. The film was lacking in passion and really needed more of a sense of fun, considering the plot.

I did see "The Intern" and it was an entertaining bit of rom-com fluff. Thankfully, the romance did not involve Hathaway and DeNiro.

September 28, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAnthony

Eh, still watching pretty bad movies from the public library near the cabin in the woods. I saw John Wick and liked it well enough for what it was, a junky B movie with lots of mayhem. But with not too much at stake (they're all bad guys), it didn't even carry the gravitas of, say, Taken.

Then I watched The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I suppose there are worse ways to employ "elderly" British thespians, but my only walk away intrigue was to wonder just how tall Dev Patel really is, or is everyone around him really truly shrinking? :-)

September 28, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDave in Hollywood

Saw "The Contender" for the first time as the buzz around "Room" reignited by interest in finally seeing Joan Allen's Oscar-nominated performances (and her other critically acclaimed ones). Really was surprised by the way the film went, and it was nice seeing it as a showcase for her. I'm a tiny bit surprised Jeff Bridges managed an Oscar nomination for his role, as it wasn't a very showy one at all.

September 29, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterGeorge P.
Member Account Required
You must have a member account to comment. It's free so register here.. IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED, JUST LOGIN.