Audiences didn't feel divided about Civil War
Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 11:19PM Only two new wide releases hit this weekend but there was only one Money Monster and it wasn't Money Monster but that superhero-filled Civil War. Naturally the good Captain didn't make room for them in his second weekend, planting himself like a tree. "No, you move." Speaking of plants with no give - The Jungle Book isn't budging either. The next two weekends will be a tougher test for both The Avenger's and Mowgli's staying power since five new multiplex friendly movies enter the fray soon: Angry Birds, The Nice Guys, and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising are next (I'm hearing surprisingly good things about all three. WTF?); and for Memorial Day Weekend the Alice in Wonderland and X-Men sequels challenge all of them for summer box office dominance though they're sure to win the gaudy sweepstakes.
Which of those five upcoming pictures are you planning to see and what did you catch this weekend?
Arrows indicate losing or gaining screens
TOP WIDE RELEASES
01 Captain America: Civil War $72.6 (cum. $295.9) Review
🔻02 The Jungle Book $17.1 (cum. $311.1) Articles
03 Money Monster $14.7 NEW Jack O'Connell
04 Darkness $4.9 NEW
🔺05 Mother's Day $3.2 (cum. $28.7)
TOP TEN LIMITED
Excluding previously wide.
🔺01 Sing Street $619K (cum. $1.9) Review
🔺02 The Man Who Knew Infinity $508K (cum. $.9)
🔺03 Green Room $411K (cum. $2.7)
🔺04 The Meddler $372K (cum. $1) Review
🔻05 Hologram for the King $233K (cum. $3.8) Review
06 The Lobster $190K NEW Reviewish
🔺07 A Bigger Splash $189K (cum. $.3) Reviewish
08 Love & Friendship $133K NEW Review
09 AmeriGeddon $131K NEW
🔻10 Compadres $150K (cum. $2.9)
I saw Love & Friendship on Jose's recommendation and it was delightfully arch and funny. I especially enjoyed Chloe Sevigny's awful American accomplice to Lady Susan's shady lady antics. Then I returned to Civil War because my bestie wanted to see it. My opinion didn't budge an iota from the first time (which is generally not a good sign that the movie will continue to grow in estimation). In short: good movie but the least of the three Captain Americas, largely because it's much slower, longer (they've been jumping 10 extra minutes with each Cap movie!) and loses the focus on the All American Super Soldier to set up multiple future franchises from Spider-Man: Homecoming to The Black Panther to Avengers: Infinity War Pts 1 & 2 (the latter two will be getting a title change and won't be Parts 1 and Parts 2 as the public has finally caught on to that cheat for extra dollars for one movie).
Reader Comments (19)
"Angry Birds, The Nice Guys, and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising are next (I'm hearing surprisingly good things about all three. WTF?)"
(1) You heard good things about Angry Birds?! lol wasn't expecting that.
(2) OF COURSE you heard good things about Nice Guys. It was a given that this film was gonna be good. Shane black - Ryan Gosling - Russell Crow - Yes, please!
(3) Neighbors 2 - glad you heard good things! First one was lots of fun but was worried about the sequel.
Of those 5, the only one I plan to see is Neighbors - if I can make time for it around Love & Friendship, Bigger Splash, Sunset Song and High Rise.
With nothing in theaters begging my attention, I caught a screening of Happy Together, which is so beautiful. Tony Leung is a god.
I ended up seeing Money Monster a second time last night. It is fantastic as a bitterly funny tragicomedy in which all the men are pretty much screw ups, and the women are the only ones who know what they're doing. I'm excited for Jodie. And I have to say, I loved seeing all the photos and videos of Jodie and Julia together in Cannes and especially that standing ovation video of the both of them trying to hold back tears. So sweet.
Looks like next weekend will be a flood after a relative drought (in Chicago, at least). Looking forward to Neighbors & Nice Guys, plus I expect The Lobster and the Stillman to finally hit.
I already griped about "A Bigger Splash" on your official review, but a few days distance hasn't really altered my "B minus-ish" initial reaction. There really is a lot of good there, but one performance imbalances the whole thing. I even think this is a good genre for Guadagnino to work in, but maybe I wanted it to be *more* of a genre film?
I'll be seeing Neighbors 2, The Nice Guys and X-Men: Apocalypse of the five upcoming releases (No interest in Angry Birds and not enough interest in Alice 2 to overcome my feelings about the first film). It's interesting that you think Civil War is the least of the three Cap films. Although I've come to like the first film with multiple viewing, it definitely feels like the most lightweight of the three and the purposeful corniness goes a little too far.
Everybody Wants Some!! opened in the UK this weekend. Just thought it was brilliant (sure it's aimless and has a decidedly straight male gaze) - I don't think I've ever seen a film capture those first days if going to university.
I was especially impressed by the way there were a good 10 characters in the team all with their own inner-lives and personalities; they all felt like real people.
BJT - your comment made me smile because I said literally the exact opposite when I left that movie. I was disappointed how low-stakes it felt for the first days of school - it seemed to me it could be any couple of days in the life of those bros. And it bugged me how little personality I saw in that group of guys - they seemed saddled with a single trait each: the talkative one, the dumb one, the vain one, the jerk, the other dumb one who's from the South, the protagonist...
Which is just to say how interesting it is to me how differently people can see the same movie. I'm glad people are enjoying a Linklater, even if I don't get to be one of those people this time.
Kate Beckinsale doing promotion for L&R is so exquisite to watch. what were your thoughts on her performance ?
Hi Mike in Canada,
Thanks for your comments - it's amazing when we have exactly opposing positions on the same topic, and I'm sure we probably don't even disagree on aspects of the movie it just reached different parts of our experience that made us react in different ways.
Civil War may go down as the biggest disappointment of the summer. I genuinely loved The Winter Soldier, so I really let down that Civil War turned out to be what was basically Avengers 3 / launching pad for other Marvel spinoffs that will suck my wallet dry. Between this and Batman v Superman, I think I've officially reached peak superhero-movie fatigue. Im exhausted.
The Angry Birds movie could be the kind of thing that sounds like something that should never be made, but ends up being surprisingly watchable. Like that Grumpy Cat christmas movie. Or Sharknado 2.
MrW:
If they can make a movie of Minions, they can make a movie of anything !
"The Nice Guys" looks very funny... this week I survived "The Huntsman: Winter's War" or " Frozen Goes Ballistic"- this is the sort of popcorn fantasy adventure movie which should be fast and fun- not slow and depressing ( dead babys really?!) - Charlize Theron as usual is gorgeous and campy but whose idea was it to cast Jessica Chastain who looks embarrassed and bored even when she gets to make out with Thor.
I'll be lining up for X-Men: Apocalypse for sure, while everything else will depend on my mood on any given day.
Tonight was a double feature of Concussion, which plays like an extended episode of Dr. Quincy: Medical Examiner, and Secret in Their Eyes, which is outright terrible. I wish I knew how any of the actors involved were roped into it. They all must have owed someone a favor.
I saw Sing Street, and the more I think about it, the more problems I have with it. The ending is really silly, and I don't understand the brother character (we're supposed to believe his options are limited, and he's what, 21 or 22?). And if people think Linklater's characters lacked individual personality, they should see this one.
I also rewatched Inglourious Basterds, which is leaving Netflix. I so wish Tarantino would make another movie that good again.
A Bigger Splash was gorgeous. Tilda must have loved making that because (a) she barely had to memorize any lines and (b) she got the most amazing wardrobe. Her "costumes" were absolutely gorgeous. The movie has problems, but was good overall. Fiennes is so good, but it's such a divisive and annoying role. The surprise for me was Dakota Johnson. I guess it's good to see her get something good considering that awful Fifty Shades nonsense she has been subjected to.
I could not agree more about your assessment of Captain America: Civil War, Nat. It wasn't bad, but it was way too long & so unfocused. The whole Spiderman side scenes/subplot were ... odd? An afterthought? Diminishing returns here. Also, that movie completely failed the Bechdel test despite having Johansson and Olsen on screen. Whyyyyy? You can't give them two lines together? Really?
Watched Streetcar Named Desire for the 95th time. I never know how I feel about the movie. I appreciate it, but I don't love it, I guess?
I have not been to the movies in far too long, so I went twice this weekend. First to A Bigger Splash, which was gorgeous but slightly empty. The final act offered up nothing that shed any light on these characters or their relationships (those flashbacks were just strange), and while I can appreciate some ambiguity in my films, this one just left too much up in the air. Still, the performances were great and WOW did it look fantastic.
Then I went to Sing Street, which was unreservedly great. I love how Carney makes the power of music come through so strongly on screen. There was one scene of making music that, honest to goodness, rivaled the "Falling Slowly" scene from Once, and we all know how great THAT was. Went home and immediately downloaded the soundtrack, which is just as much fun as the film. Probably my favorite film of the year so far, give or take The Mermaid.
Saw A Bigger Splash - loved everything about it (I could see how people wouldn't like Fiennes, but I think he was great in a very difficult part) until it started to seem a little long toward the end. I'm not sure it needed to go as far as it did or shoehorn in a weird "white privilege" angle, but still, it was worth it if even just for all the Italy- and people-related eye candy.
Saw High-Rise. Truly dreadful and unpleasant. Also, it left a scummy film on me I still can't wash off.