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. 

Powered by Squarespace
DON'T MISS THIS

Follow TFE on Substackd 

COMMENTS

Oscar Takeaways
12 thoughts from the big night

 

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
« 1944: The Three Caballeros | Main | Podcast: Wonder Wheel, Wonderstruck, BPM, and Last Flag Flying »
Sunday
Oct292017

It's Halloween-time at the Box Office

by Nathaniel R

Weekend Box Office (October 27th-29th)
W I D E
800+ screens
L I M I T E D
excluding prev. wide
1. 🔺 JIGSAW  $16.5 new  1. 🔺 LET THERE BE LIGHT $1.8 on 378 screens new 
2.  BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN $10 (cum. $35.5) 2. 🔺 THE FLORIDA PROJECT $539k on 145 screens (cum. $2.1) REVIEW 1REVIEW 2 
3. GEOSTORM  $5.6 (cum. $23.5)  3.🔺 LOVING VINCENT $449k on 114 screens (cum. $2.1)  
4. HAPPY DEATH DAY  $5.0 (cum. $48.3) 4. 🔺  GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN $330k on 213 screens (cum. $633k)
5. BLADE RUNNER 2049 $3.9 (cum. $81.3) REVIEW | SHORTS | "BESTS"  5. 🔺 THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER $221k on 33 screens (cum. $392k)  REVIEW

 

Moviegoers were in a horror mood -- what else is new? -- which is appropriate for Halloween time. Three of the top five were specifically seasonal while It logged what is probably it's last week in the top ten with another 2 million for its historical box office winnings. It's the highest grossing horror film ever now but only #4 of all time (not adjusted for inflation) in terms of R-rated films. It won't be able to overtake any of the top three: The Passion of the Christ, Deadpool, and American Sniper since it will surely lose a huge swath of theaters next weekend when everything at the multiplexes has to make room for Thor: Ragnarok...

6. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE  $3.7 new 6. 🔺  JANE $151k on 25 screens (cum. $231k) 
7. ONLY THE BRAVE  $3.4 (cum. $11.9) 7. 🔺 ALL I SEE IS YOU $135k on 283 screens new
8. THE FOREIGNER  $3.2 (cum. $28.8) 8. 🔺 WONDERSTRUCK $126k on 42 screens (cum. $213k) REVIEW    REVIEW 
9. SUBURBICON  $2.8 new 9.  MARK FELT $94k on 185 screens (cum. $665k)  
10. IT $2.4 (cum. $323.7) REVIEW | 5 TAKEAWAYS  10. 🔺 THE SQUARE $76k on 2 screens new REVIEW 

🔺 = new or significant expansion

numbers (in millions unless otherwise noted) from box office mojo 

 

[Tangent: Reporting on Breathe now in its third weekend is all messed up with reports of its weekend gross way larger than its cumulative gross which is of course impossible. So we left it off the chart though it would probably be on the limited release top ten. Who knows what it made. We had begun to discount the film's Oscar chances when it had struggled to find anyone to see it in its second platform week -- it seriously had one of the worst per screen averages we'd ever seen for a new Oscar hopeful last weekend -- usually a sign that a film won't continue to expand. If it somehow rallied this weekend we will have to rethink.]

Swedish Oscar submission and Cannes winner The Square led the field of new terms of per screen average with crowded showings albeit only in two theaters. Strangely in a reversal of fate nobody is going to see its Cannes rival another masterful Oscar contender, France's BPM -- this makes us weep. The Square's per screen average this weekend was higher than BPM's total gross to date!  Another excellent queer film, God's Own Country, opened to decent numbers but really both films should be selling out arthouses. How to get the LGBT community to support LGBT movies again?

Among the wide releases Jigsaw, an extension of the long running but absent-for-6-years Saw franchise was the easy winner. But when you compare it to the franchise in general it had the second worst opening, defeating only Saw VI from 2009 a year before the series vanished (temporarily). 

Outside the charts The Snowman (reviewed) left the top ten in only its second week despite losing no theaters,  nun drama The Novitiate (reviewed) with an Oscar-buzzing Melissa Leo opened to a $7526 per screen average, Battle of The Sexes crawled over the $12 million mark while basically leaving theaters (I remain mystified it didn't catch on, as it's so entertaining), and though Victoria and Abdul lost its first theaters it's been a solid arthouse hit with nearly $18 million in the til already. 

It's also worth noting that some of Oscar's 170 eligible documentaries are in theaters right now, with Jane, Faces Places, Human Flow, and Kedi  leading the documentary box office and Chavela also opening.

WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND?

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (34)

I saw Call Me By Your Name yesterday. What a wonderful film. So romantic, and so beautifully done all round.

After Loving Vincent last week and now Call Me By Your Name, my 2017 at the movies is finally looking up!

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterEdward L.

Interestingly, I recently saw a mediocre film with great performances and a mediocre film with a terrible performance. The first is Una which is rather uneven in execution but the acting by Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn makes up for it.

The next is The Snowman. Yikes. I don't know what is going on with Michael Fassbender's career.

Lastly, I got to binge watch Season 2 of Stranger Things. Just as thrilling as Season 1.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterMatt

Blade Runner 2049. An orgy for the eyes and ears. Too much Jared Leto, though.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterArkaan

Thor: Ragnarok = Fun Fun Fun

Blanchett is absolutely Camptastic! As is Jeff Goldblum!

I'd say everybody gave a wonderful performance.

There is a scene where Hela is fighting the Valkyries that's one of the most extraordinary scenes in a movie, ever. It's like a moving Renaissance painting.

The film has its pitfalls, but overall, it's undoubtedly one of the best Marvel movies ever made.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterYavor

I re-watched Jack Clayton's classic ghost story " The Innocents" (1961) great performances from everyone specially the children and glorious black and white photography by Freddie Francis

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterJaragon

I saw the Florida Project. I'm still thinking about my impression of it. I think I admired it more than I liked it--the pacing seemed a little off. That said, the last act was phenomenal.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered Commentercatbaskets

Isn't it premature to call "BPM" DOA? It's a competitive time of year, and it's hardly playing anywhere; in Chicago we have to wait three more weeks for it.

"Stranger Things 2" - still fun, still very weirdly paced. I swear the plot doesn't kick in until episode 3.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDave S.

I finally saw The Beguiled — on a plane. There were a few scenes that the nosy woman seated next to me didn’t approve of.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterJames from Ames

I saw loving Vincent. Beautiful but I was kinda bored. Also finally watched Okja on Netflix. Very heavy handed but fun and lovely.

And yes ! Everyone go see BPM and Gods Own Country !

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterJoseph

I saw Blade Runner: 2049; was hyped going in based on the great reviews, but left feeling disappointed. It all just felt a little underwhelming, particularly the story.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterMDA

The Killing of a Sacred Deer-- Awesome. I loved The Lobster, and this was a very worthy follow-up for Lanthimos. The whole cast is excellent but the meatiest role is the character of Martin, and Barry Keoghan really gives a star-making performance. He's incredible in this. He's completely deserving of a Best Supporting Actor nod, but the film is so out there and I can't see it really getting any Oscar love. Also, this is another feather in Kidman's cap. It's a small role but a great addition to her filmography.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterJoe

@Joe

I felt Colin Farrell was the most deserving of his cast for Oscar recognition. When it attempts to confront the boy and his mother at their home the second time sealed it for me.

The sight of Pfeiffer in the Orient ads makes me want to see the movie despite early buzz the whole thing is a dud. I miss Pfeiffer so much.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered Commenter/3rtful

I saw The Beguiled and I was left utterly disappointed. The film was so pointless and it was hard to relate to any of the characters as they weren't well fleshed out. I am thinking of watching the original to see how different they are, but then the original isn't so easy to find in my neck of the woods. Does anyone know if the original is worth watching?

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterhickory

The Florida Project. The movie seems 30-45 minutes too long, and meanders a bit. The meandering meant I cared less and less about any of the characters. I found myself looking at my watch wondering "Where am I going to dinner? What am I doing tomorrow?" Felt nothing at the end. At least with Tangerine and Starlet, the characters with bad traits still had some likability about them. Not here. Oh well. Better luck next time, Sean Baker.

I also watched Clue, which just gets better and better with age. That type of physical ham comedy is just so sadly missing in film right now. Lesley Ann Warren ... Madeline Kahn ... Michael McKean ... Tim Curry ... even Colleen Camp ... the whole cast ... geniuses, all of them.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterCharlieG

@Dave S.

In NYC, after only two weeks, it's already losing screens at the Angelika. Not a good sign. They'll run movies FOREVER if people are still seeing them.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterJoseph

@hickory

I rented the original "The Beguiled" from Netflix on DVD (remember those??) . It's a bit overheated but Geraldine Page is a hoot and more interesting than Nicole Kidman's version of the character. And Colin Farrell is much more intriguing and sexier than Clint Eastwood by far. I completely understand why Coppola didn't have the female slave character in her film due to our PC era and people would have torn her apart. But it certainly would have added another realistic layer to the story.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterAnthony

A re-watch of American Psycho. Whatever happened to Dorsia's?

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterthevoid99

Saw 'BPM', 'Killing of a Sacred Deer', 'God's Own Country' and 'The Square'.

When viewing 'BPM' and 'The Square', I can't help but wonder how 'The Square' won the Palme D'or this spring. It's maddening and confusing.

Yes, 'God's Own Country' is a gem. Go catch it if you can. And if anyone knows where I can find that red sweater Gheorghe wears throughout the movie, let me know. I want it. Haha.

October 29, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterPeter

Don't get the critical/cinephile love for Yorgos Lanthimos.

Didn't like The Lobster but thought Killing of a Sacred Deer looked phenomenal and that his style would be more suited to a horror thriller. I was wrong. He takes whatever genre he's working with and makes it as anti-audience friendly as he possibly can. Yorgos is clearly up his own ass.

So the film is a metaphor and a re-telling of a Greek myth...if it's not scary or even all that thrilling or suspenseful (the entire film is directed without much energy or attempts to illicit anything other than maybe brief shock at a few choice moments), and there aren't any characters to root for in the absence of thrills...then what's the point?

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered Commentertonytr

Saw God's Own Country (absolutely beautiful; I was in tears the last ten minutes or so) on Friday, followed by the Live From Lincoln Center broadcast of the Broadway revival of Falsettos (which I had seen live in November) on PBS, because apparently I was just in the mood to cry a lot that night. Watching Falsettos, I got angry all over again that Block, Borle, and Rannels didn't win Tonys for it - not to mention the production itself!

Today I saw Killing of a Sacred Deer, which was... good? It's either four stars or one star, mostly because I'm not sure the internal logic of the film's world made as much sense to me as it needed to. But DAMN does Lanthimos know how to build tension and create a looming sense of dread! His movies make me feel unsafe in the best possible way. Frankly, THIS is the horror movie everyone should be seeing for Halloween!

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDancin' Dan

CharlieG
How could you EVER forget to mention Eileen Brennan ?

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDg

Baby Driver - creative.

Manifesto - loved it. A film to be discussed, like mother!

Thor: Ragnarok - fun and funny.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterMarcelo - Brazil

Would TKOASD have benefited from being marketed as more of a horror movie or would it have gone the way of mother!.

Why are the knives out for MOTOE remake.It's not like there has been a big screen Agatha Christie whodunit recently.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered Commentermarkgordonuk

Saw THE FLORIDA PROJECT and PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN and liked them both. Enjoyment of the former was unfortunately marred by how obviously torturous it was for my husband, who can't stand "screaming kids" in real life and wanted to know why I would drag him to a movie filled with them. I did agree they could have been toned down a bit, but I was quite moved by the end.

I'm sorry that Professor Marston isn't doing better, box office wise. It is a little slow and overly earnest - and I kept wondering why none of the characters seemed to age over the course of 20 years - but overall engaging and *so* well acted. Rebecca Hall, in particular, is a gem.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterlylee

God help me, I saw Suburbicon last night. I want it erased from my memory, but I know that's impossible. Tonally, it's all over the place and the entire experience just seemed completely and utterly pointless. Is it a VERY dark comedy (Oscar Isaac and the great Julianne seemed to think so) or is it a cautionary drama (Matt Damon and many of the supporting cast seemed to think so)? That's a directorial problem, so I guess I have to blame Clooney. Blech!!!!! It's RARE for me to hate a film, but I hated it!

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDennis

I watched The Others. It's been years since I've seen it, and I had forgotten how good it is. The house feels like another character, and the cinematography/production design are fantastic. It's probably one of my favorite Kidman performances.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterArabella

Certain Women - really lovely. All the actresses were great and who knew Jared Harris was such a chameleon? Didn't recognize him at all and he was great. Not sure I agree with others that Gladstone should've been in the Supporting Actress race (last year's line-up is pretty solid) but she was really endearing and heartbreaking.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer - so incredibly disturbing and uncomfortable but very well done in its own way. Farrell and Keoghan are fantastic (I'd argue Keoghan is a co-lead) and Kidman, though her character is less developed, is also intriguing, although I feel like her role borders on co-lead as well.

It Comes at Night - I completely forgot that audiences felt the trailer and movie pulled a bait-and-switch but now having seen it I understand it. It's very well done for what it is but it does set you up to want a different story than the one it's interested in. That final shot is devastating.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDJDeeJay

Oh yeah, I also watched the broadcast of Falsettos and it was so good, although I think the parts were better than the whole. Each scene, especially in the first act, goes on for just a little too long, each song has just one too many verses. But the actors were fantastic. Block's "I'm Breaking Down" was just a hysterical tour-de-force.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDJDeeJay

Dancin' Dan: That's also the problem with The Lobster's world, to be frank. Probably to an even greater extent than with Sacred Deer. Sacred Deer's just a suburban commentary. The Lobster is supposed to be about a world that structures itself around forced animal conversion that looks entirely normal and somehow Lanthimos isn't getting his mad scientist on with the visual world building elements. I wanted to see a walking pumpkin pass through the lawn. I wanted a scene in a classroom with power points discussing the progression to this society, with decaying corpses of photo real versions of Sonic the Hedgehog characters as a discarded first plan. I wanted that hotel to have a giant f-off Tesla Coil in every room. Instead of stuff like that, we get a hodgepodge of arthouse and dystopia cliches.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterVolvagia

@Volvagia - If people are turned into animals, why would there be a walking pumpkin?

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDJDeeJay

Saw WONDERSTRUCK, which I liked a lot. Way better than Hugo, mainly because Todd Haynes is genius at period details and mood. And many kudos to casting, cuz those kids are great.

And in anticipation of the new Haynes pic, I rewatched CAROL on Netflix (but physically recoiled when the TWC logo appeared). I know it's major sacrilege here on TFE, but my opinions on Cate Blanchett remain the same. She is a technically fantastic actress, but chilly. Not just in Carol, but in everything. I rewatched Notes on a Scandal and Elizabeth recently, and my opinion still holds. Also, it reaffirmed that I definitely want more Sarah Paulson performances.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterPam

DJDeeJay: Because a mad scientist would have tried the walking vegetables thing as another avenue? The Sonic style animals thing would be approach #1, sentient veggies would be approach #2 (and a walking pumpkin would imply the mad scientist in charge of this got closer with that than the first approach) and the hook of The Lobster would be approach #3.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterVolvagia

@Volvagia - that would only add visual clutter just to make a point, and you would be the only person in the audience who understood that point. There's world-building and then there's distractions.

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterDJDeeJay

I saw The Florida Project and I found it so very, very annoying. I really disliked the characters (except possibly for Willem Dafoe) and I wished the kids would stop screaming. I also thought Sean Baker needed to give everyone a moment to breathe. And Bria Vinaite is a fairly terrible actress. Why cast her, other than as a gimmick?

October 30, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterSuzanne
Member Account Required
You must have a member account to comment. It's free so register here.. IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED, JUST LOGIN.