What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 2:24PM 
Moviegoers are officially tired of The Divergent Series as its third installment was off 44% from the previous film. And they've still got one film to go! Studios will soon (hopefully) realize that not every book adaptation deserves multiple movies. Damn you Hunger Games & Hobbit & everything else that encouraged this awful trend of greed over storytelling purity; plodding along when you should set hearts racing is an anti-audience move. Zootopia and Deadpool continue to be huge hits. In fun news, Sally Field's vehicle Hello My Name is Doris got within a ferry ride's distance of the top ten with a million dollar weekend even though it's only on 128 screens. Well done, Sally!
WIDE RELEASES
01 Zootopia $38 (cum. $201.8)
02 The Divergent Series: Allegiant $29 NEW
03 Miracles From Heaven $15 NEW
04 10 Cloverfield Lane $12.5 (cum. $45.1)
05 Deadpool $8 (cum. $340.9) Reviewish
LIMITED RELEASES
less than 800 screens excluding previously wide
01 Hello My Name is Doris $1 (cum. $1.1) 128 screens Review
02 Kapoor & Sons - Since 1921 $.9 NEW 143 screens
03 Anomalisa $.7 (cum. $3.4) 573 screens
04 The Lady in the Van $.4 (cum. $8.7) 301 screens Review
05 The Other Side of the Door $.1 (cum. $2.7) 227 screens
OTHER PICTURES
The Bronze, a foul mouthed comedy about Olympic medalists, waited over a year past its buzzy Sundance launch to arrive in theaters and did so (on over 1000 screens) with almost no promotion. I didn't even realize it was opening until I was looking up movie times for something else and I pay attention to release dates. The result was an absolutely bleak $361 per screen average, which is bound to be the worst of the year for a wide release.
In extremely limited release Midnight Special opened at 5 locations with a strong $184,000 which bodes well for its future. Arnaud Desplechin's My Golden Days (interviewed) earned $27,000 on 3 screens, Argentina's Oscar submission from 2015 El Clan (Nathaniel's review) finally opened to $12,500 on 3 screens and Krisha (Daniel's review) opened to $10,250 on 2 screens.
What did you see this weekend?
Reader Comments (23)
There are no other major family/animated releases scheduled through to the end of April, so Zootopia has a lot of gas left in the tank.
I think the studio's strategy with Divergent was basically to act as if it was an uber-popular franchise and hope that doing so would convince people it was true and go see it. So they split the last book, because popular YA franchises do that now.
No trips to the theatre for me this week. I rewatched Do the Right Thing on Friday and Fanny and Alexander on Saturday.
Catching up on The People v OJ Simpson and, four episodes in, very pleasantly surprised...
Caught the Crouching Tiger sequel on Netflix. What a completely unnecessary movie. Worth playing in the background while you do something else, but only if you have a 4k tv
"Pee Wee's Big Holiday" did not disappoint. Maybe a little modest in its ambitions, but a fair return to form. Manganiello was perfect for this, but I also want to know who else they considered for that part.
I saw " 10 Cloverfield Lane" which starts off as good psychological thriller until the preposterous final act. I'm all for good twists- but this one felt as if they had changed reels and I was watching out takes from a Michael Bay movie.
I saw Hello, My Name is Doris. While not boring , I wasn't that enthralled by it. Sally Field was good but , really, just another quirky indie . Nothing to write home about.
Glenn's pissed you didn't celebrate her birthday.
http://giphy.com/gifs/cruella-de-vil-101-dalmations-WEow98Rbp89I4
Yesterday, Bad Santa (a re-watch) and just now, Knight of Cups (which I thought was fuckin' great).
Saw <I>The Bronze. Not as bad as the reviews made me think going in, but I didn't care anyways because Sebastian Stan was playing a gymnast who gets naked. So YES.
Nathaniel, have you seen Zootopia yet? I'mm curious to see what you think of it. I think it sparks a necessary conversation for kids (much like Inside Out did last year, though a very different conversation) and beyond that it's a fun and often clever buddy-cop comedy. I really want to hear what you have to say...
There's still so much I need to see, since living in Mexico curses me with very late release dates (we're not getting Hail Caesar until April 22, for example, and they cancelled the premiere of The Witch, though it look like they've changed their minds and we'll be getting it end of April), but I'm hoping to get to everything eventually...
I saw Deadpool. NOT my cup of tea. On the bright side, I finally saw LOVE IS STRANGE. What a beautiful, delicate and sweet movie. Alfred and John were just perfect. This was the 1st Ira Sachs film I saw. What should I watch next of his? Also when will LITTLE MEN open?
Rewatched Minions, Spy and It's a disaster. The former is an underrated comedy featuring among others America Fererra and Julie Stiles.
I saw Deadpool. NOT my cup of tea. On the bright side, I finally saw LOVE IS STRANGE. What a beautiful, delicate and sweet movie. Alfred and John were just perfect. This was the 1st Ira Sachs film I saw. What should I watch next of his? Also when will LITTLE MEN open?
Rewatched Minions, Spy and It's a disaster. The former is an underrated comedy featuring among others America Fererra and Julie Stiles.
The only reason I keep watching these "Divergent" movies is Theo James
Binged (6 movies, plus 2 earlier in the week) on the local French Film Festival. Highlights: ASPHALTE (known locally as MACADAM STORIES) and the wonderful Isabelle Huppert and Gerard Depardieu playing versions of themselves in the haunting VALLEY OF LOVE.
Also saw and loved THE LADY IN THE VAN (my antithesis towards these lazy films aimed at the aging baby boomer market meant I delayed seeing this, but it was wonderful, topped off by that meta-moment at the end with Alan Bennett) and A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE (yet another great submitted movie that, along with THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT, would've made a better Foreign Language Oscar winner than the over-rated SON OF SAUL).
I saw Deadpool, which was fine, and a bunch of TV.
Last week I saw Embrace of the Serpent and loved it. Can't wait to see it again.
I finally saw 1949's "The Heiress" for the first time after a wonderful write-up in Ken Anderson's blog, http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-heiress-1949.html
Still a very powerful movie! William Wyler's directing is so economical in his storytelling and getting brilliant but restrained performances from his stars, "The Heiress" holds up. My young fella remarked that the only other actress who could have played the part of old maid Catherine was Bette Davis. I filled him in on why Wyler had had is fill of Bette years ago...but I thought it was an apt comment. Olivia DeHavilland's two big set pieces, Catherine getting jilted, and at the finale, getting her revenge--are brilliant. We both were a bit teary-eyed!
So the next day, my guy walks in the door with a DVD rental, "a musical to cheer us up after last night's movie!"
He picked Judy Garland's version of "A Star is Born!"
I tried to soften the blow ; )
Nothing at the theater this weekend, but at home, I'm getting caught up on The People vs. O.J. Simpson, which is really stellar television. Sarah Paulson is giving the performance of her career on this show.
Also binged the NBC comedy Superstore, which is way funnier than it has any right to be.
Finally, after hearing the trivia bit about Spotlight being the first Best Picture to only win two Oscars since The Greatest Show on Earth, I Netflixed said Greatest Show. Talk about false advertising. What a mess this spectacle is - I hesitate to even call it a film as it feels like a patched together quilt of stock footage, bad special effects, hokey acting, poor writing and uninspired plot. What was Jimmy Stewart thinking, wandering into this?
Started an official weekly movie night yesterday with Toy Story; bunch of fun and it's always nice to watch something you hadn't seen in a while. It's looking like A Fish Called Wanda next week.
I went to watch Microbe & Gasoline, the new Gondry film, playing as part of the French Film Festival in Sydney. I really enjoyed it.
The Robber Bridegroom at the Roundabout, super fun and kitschy, but sat next to a snoring granny and an unsmiling pregnant lady. Leslie Kritzer was MVP, while channeling her spirit animal, Carol Burnett.
I saw Deadpool during the week and it was EXACTLY what I needed. Best Opening Credits sequence in a good long while.
And speaking of great opening credits sequences, what a thrill to see VERTIGO in 35mm at the Metrograph! The print showed its age a bit, but the film did not, and I'm pleased to say that NYC's newest repertory house is indeed a very worthy place to see movies, with nice seats, a big screen, and reasonably priced, unique concessions. And what a delight to see something projected ON FILM. I didn't even care about the occasional pop and hiss on the soundtrack or the flaws and dirt on the print - the whole thing looked stunning, and not just because it's fucking VERTIGO. I also loved seeing it with a crowd, because of some interesting laughs the film got. Chief among them was when Scottie tells Judy to dye her hair blonde (like Madeline's), she protests, and he says "It can't matter to you!" HUGE laughter, and not entirely undeserved,
Oh yeah, and I also saw 10 Cloverfield Lane which was fine but would have been better all around if I wasn't waiting for the twist all but promised by the film's name. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a Final Girl for the ages.
I saw two movies this weekend I've been meaning to get to. The first was The Impossible. I thought it was an interesting take on the tsunami and aftermath, but not definitive.
I also saw Clouds of Sils Maria. I kind of didn't get this one. Yes, I understand all the many meta layers and all, but it just amounted to not all that much in my mind. Kristin Stewart was natural and competent which I think grading on her own curve, makes it an A+ for her.
I saw The Thin Blue Line after hearing it referenced so frequently in regards to Making of a Murderer. It's equally as disturbing as its successor and while the re-enactments seem cheesy now, the overall effect of the film is chilling.
I also just saw Results because I wanted something light and fun. Unfortunately, it was just...kinda light. I just didn't care about the characters and it felt like a waste of time.