Was King Kong a Box Office Monster?
Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 5:00PM What did you see this weekend?
check out that monster-sized beard on KONG SKULL ISLAND director Jordan Vogt-Roberts!
After catching up on TV shows like Big Little Lies and Feud, I went to Kong: Skull Island with a friend. Afterwards I eagerly read Chris's review, nodding a long at most of it. It's an easy-sit with surprising charm (mostly by way of John C Reilly's ad libbing... he seriously saves the movie from its paint-by-numbers blockbuster strategy) but wow was it disposable. Will anyone remember anything about it in a year's time?
And this to build a whole franchise on? Not too many of my audience members stayed for the stinger after the credits but that it was an enjoyable visual tease of other iconic kaiju like Godzilla, Ghidra, and Mothra. While the film opened at #1 it seems likely that Warner Bros was looking for much bigger numbers to launch a whole franchise on. The last installment of Godzilla, for example, opened to over $90 million. Perhaps by pairing them in Kong vs Godzilla (due in 2020) they can get closer to $100? Box Office charts for the weekend and some related news items are after the jump...
My how John Wick has grown (as a franchise)TOP WIDE
01 Kong Skull Island $61 NEW Reviewed
02 Logan $37.8 (cum. $152.6) Reviewed
03 Get Out $21 (cum. $111) Reviewed
04 The Shack $10 (cum. $32.2)
05 Lego Batman Movie $7.8 (cum. $159)
06 Before I Fall $3.1 (cum. $9)
07 Hidden Figures $2.7 (cum. $162.8) Podcast
08 John Wick 2 $2.7 (cum. $87.4)
09 La La Land $1.7 (cum. $148.4) How Rare It Is!, on the Production Design, on the Costume Design
10 Fifty Shades Darker $1.6 (cum. $112.9)
11 Lion $1.3 (cum. $48.6) Review, Nicole, Cinematography Interview
12 Fist Fight $1.3 (cum. $30.5)
TOP LIMITED
01 Badrinath Ki Dulhania $850K NEW 152 theaters
02 A United Kingdom $500K (cum. $2.5) 317 theaters
03 Kedi $322K (cum. $1.0) 114 theaters Reviewed
04 The Ottoman Lieutenant $173K NEW 216 theaters
05 The Salesman $170K (cum. $2) 105 theaters Review, Interview
06 Personal Shopper $92K NEW 4 theaters Review, Poster
07 The Last Word $74K (cum. $114K) 25 theaters
08 Paterson $62K (cum. $1.8) 51 theaters Review and the Production Design
09 Land of Mine $60K (cum. $188K) 40 theaters
10 My Life as a Zucchini $55K (cum. $174K) 52 theaters Interview
11 The Sense of an Ending $42K NEW 4 theaters
12 Toni Erdmann $41K (cum. $1.3) 45 theaters Review, on the Screenplay
Notable box office news from the week:
• Kedi became the second documentary to pass the $1 million mark at the US box office this year (the first was the Oscar nominated I Am Not Your Negro). I actually tried to see that this weekend before settling on Kong Skull Island but was alarmed to find that it had already left NYC despite doing so well.
• Paterson inched past Jim Jarmusch's last arthouse hit Only Lovers Left Alive to get a smidgeon closer to 2 million than it did.
• Lion surpassed Manchester by the Sea in last year's Best Picture nominee grosses (it's now the 5th most popular globally and the 6th most popular of the 9 films here at home)
• Moonlight became A24's top grosser in the US (though it's still behind The Witch and Ex-Machina if you're counting their success globally)
• John Wick Chapter Two has now doubled the gross of its predecessor (in domestic box office)
• The Salesman crossed the $2 million mark and is still in over 100 theaters. So, if 2017 is anything like 2016 for foreign films at the box office, it'll end up as one of the top dozen or so foreign hits of this year when all is said and done.
Godzilla, John Wick, Kedi, King Kong, box office
Reader Comments (21)
I saw "Get Out" which was better than I expected a very well crafted exercise in terror and suspense ; it only becomes a horror film at the end. The racial aspect of the story is well handled what could have easily become a Spike Lee type lecture is done in a more subtle but biting fashion. The added touches of humor are a big plus.
I would fuck with that beard.
I don't know, but turn me on. A lot! 😱
Thursday night I saw Heavenly Creatures on the big screen and finally got to see the brutal ending.
I saw The Night of the Hunter (in 35mm) at the art museum on Friday. And finally saw Get Out later that night.
Last night I showed my friend Cries and Whispers, which is just so insanely perfect. The final scene is one of the most touching moments ever put to film.
One of my local theatres of which I'm a member showed Singin' in the Rain (in 35mm) as tribute to Debbie Reynolds this afternoon. Later I think I'll be going back to the art museum to see Viggo in The Reflecting Skin (in 35mm).
A friend broke me down and convinced me to finally see Connie and Carla. A slip of a movie, but the cameo at the end was amazing.
That beard is impressive
I saw Miss Sloane and I enjoyed it. But every time Jake Lacy appeared in the movie I thought about Carol. And then Chastain would unleash some Sorkin-like dialogue and I was like 'shit, if I don't stop thinking about Carol, Miss Sloane is gonna jump right through the screen and kill me with her words.'
KEDI is still playing at Metrograph in NYC! There's still hope for your charming street cat fix.
Ez: I have no idea why someone watching Jake Lacy in anything would be thinking of Carol. Of the 7 identifiably "major" cast members in that, he's probably 7th place, performance wise.
1: Cate Blanchett
2: Sarah Paulson
3: Rooney Mara
4: Cory Michael Smith (Yes, it's small, and kind of a casting gag (And I only know it is because I watch a STUPID TV show), but it's still a good performance.)
5: Kyle Chandler
6: John Magaro
7: Jake Lacy
Another notable box office tidbit from this week... LA LA LAND is only the 2nd film in the past 3 years to spend 13 consecutive weeks in the top 10 (ZOOTOPIA was the other).
Ryan -- ooh, good trivia.
And I just looked it up and actually LA LA LAND is only the 5th film (!) since CHICAGO did it back in 2003 (16 weeks) to have spent 13 or more consecutive weeks in the top 10. AVATAR (14), FROZEN (16), and ZOOTOPIA (13) were the other three.
Gee Volvagia, thanks for that thorough list. I don't know how I have survived this long with my own thoughts and feelings.
Kong did better than it appeared it would (its weekend multiplier was great suggesting maybe word of mouth kicked in a little bit), but with Logan last weekend, Beauty and the Beast next, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2/Fast and the Furious/etc after that, who is going to remember Kong next *month* let alone this time next year. It's such an average film in so many ways, although I would not begrudge vfx and make up/hairstyling Oscar attention. Reilly is by far the best human in it.
Logan and Get Out.
I liked Logan, but preferred the previous The Wolverine with its strong distinct four female characters.
In Get Out, I liked the set re-decoration of her bedroom while she was eating Fruit Loops. And also the perfect use for those hideous stag head decorations.
Logan - impressed with the casting of Dafne Keen; she more than held her own in every scene. Also, how many hours a day does Hugh Jackman have to work out at age 48 to look like that?
And back to Scandi-noir:
Dicte (Danish TV show on Netflix) - Are all Danes impossibly and naturally gorgeous?
Lava Field (Icelandic TV show on Netflix) - Same as above?
The Beard is great, hope the Movie is better :-)
movie-store.online/
Saw GET OUT which I thought was good, but the hype made my expectations too high.
Also, CATFIGHT which was a thrill ride of a movie. Sandra Oh and Anne Heche were perfect!
Saw Get Out and co-sign everything Jaragon said. Really, really enjoyed it and thought it was incredibly well-made.
Also saw My Life as a Zucchini and thought it was great. Smart, sad, funny, touching.
Volvagia - even if Lacey had a small-ish part in Carol, it's really not that weird. Sometimes when you see an actor in a movie you're reminded of the last thing you saw them in.
I saw Sunday in the Park with Jake... er... George and it was glorious. Sat 12 feet from the stage and cried from joy the entire time. But dare I say, Annaleigh Ashford stole the show?
Jordan Peele became the first African American writer-director to ever make a $100mil picture on their first shot. Kudos!
Have you seen BEFORE I FALL? I love it! I've seen it twice. But it's surprisingly getting very little traction. Actressexual alert: Zoey Deutch is a star to keep an eye on, and supporting player Halston Sage is great as the Big Bithc. And there's a small part for Jennifer Beals, doing good work as mom.