What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, December 16, 2018 at 11:50PM by Nathaniel R
What did you see this week? I caught up with Ralph Breaks the Internet and *gasp* Paddington 2 (I regret my life choices that put the latter off this long). Here's what general audiences and big city moviegoers were checking out...
| Weekend Box Office (Estimates) (December 14th-16th) |
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| W I D E 800+ screens |
PLATFORM / LIMITED excluding prev. wide |
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| 1 🔺 Into the Spider-Verse $35.4 on 3813 screens *NEW* Review |
1 🔺 The Favourite $2.5 on 439 screens (cum. $6.7) Review, Podcast ❤️ |
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| 2 🔺 The Mule $17.2 on 2588 screens *NEW* |
2 🔺 Mary Queen of Scots $700k on 66 screens (cum. $961k) Review |
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| 3 The Grinch $11.5 on 3759 screens (cum. $239.2) Posterized |
3 🔺 Vox Lux $244k on 325 screens (cum. $433k) Review Podcast |
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| 4 Ralph Breaks the Internet $9.5 on 3575 screens (cum. $154.4) | 4🔺If Beale Street Could Talk $219k on 4 screens *NEW* Review |
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| 5🔺 Mortal Engines $7.5 on 3103 screens *NEW* |
5 At Eternity's Gate $188k on 178 screens (cum. $1.4) Review |
Into the Spider-Verse ruled the weekend on both brand-awareness, superhero infallibility (still... we keep wondering when the bubble will burst) and good word of mouth, the latter because the film is actually very good. In other key wide release news, Clint Eastwood is still a draw, and Mortal Engines is off a rough start given its $100 million budget.
Meanwhile Creed passed the $100 million mark and those who were quick to dub Green Book a flop might be chagrined to know that the film is hanging in there week to week and will eventually make a profit, if not quickly, since it's already earned as much as its budget (minus the P&A budget of course which can be substantial)
Bohemian Rhapsody has begun to lose screens in its 7th weekend. Overall it's performing very similarly to A Star is Born, from week to week by just a few million less... and they'll end the year as the 11th and 12th biggest hits of 2018 unless Aquaman and Mary Poppins Returns both do gangbuster business and push them down a couple of notches (which is not unlikely).
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| 6 Creed II $5.3 on 3107 screens (cum. $104.8) Michael B Jordan, Podcast |
6 🔺 Ben is Back $145k on 29 screens (cum. $254k) Review |
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| 7 Bohemian Rhapsody $4.1 on 2213 screens (cum. $180.4) Review, Podcast |
7 Can You Ever Forgive Me? $140k on 166 screens (cum. $7.2)Review, Podcast ❤️ |
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| 8 Instant Family $3.7 on 2860 screens (cum. $60.2) |
8 🔺 Anna and the Apocalypse $135k on 138 screens (cum. $413k) |
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| 9 Fantastic Beasts 2 $3.6 on 2606 screens (cum. $151.6) |
9 Free Solo $132k on 100 screens (cum. $10.7) |
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| 10 Green Book $2.7 on 1215 screens (cum. $24.6) Review, Podcast |
10 🔺 The House that Jack Built $40k on 33 screens *NEW* |
In limited release Can You Ever Forgive Me has pushed itself over 7 million while The Wife (slightly resurgent post Globe/SAG nominations -- which led to a significant if short re-expansion last week) has finally crossed 8 million. The best per screen average of the week went to If Beale Street Could Talk on just four screens. Capernaum earned a decent $9,000 per screen average given the tiny release without much publicity... hopefully awards season will boost its visibility.
But the big limited release news is still The Favourite, expanding to over 400 screens this weekend, it nearly hit the top ten.
Reader Comments (39)
The Favourite - liked everything about it except for the slow, Lynchian dissolve right at the end; it didn't fit with everything that came before it. I'm only nitpicking though. And the category fraud is real: the three main performances are all leads.
Mrs. Miniver - I've already forgotten it.
On the Waterfront - very much deserving of its all-time classic status.
I saw Roma on Netflix and it was wonderful.
“Tea with the Dames” aka “Nothing like a Dame”.
Four Dames of the British theatre, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Eileen Atkins, talk about life and art.
Followed by tea and cakes. A lovely afternoon.
I saw Beale Street and loved it. Plan to see again tomorrow because it can't come to the affordable multiplex soon enough.
Saw "Roma". Expert black and white photography - but I was never moved. Also "The Favourite". Enjoyed it more in retrospect than while actually watching. Lots of ideas to chew on and - in this case - I WAS ultimately moved. Hope Colman, McCarthy, Collette and Gaga are among the actress nominees come Oscar time. Each is a worthy contender, though I think I'm leaning toward Colman for the win. Also watched Zarah Leander's 1940 take on Mary, Queen of Scots, "Das Herz der Konigin". Fascinating. Beautiful costumes. Marvelous sets. The dank, mist- laden atmosphere - indoors and out - reminded me of Welles' "Macbeth" but on a bigger budget, Maria Koppenhofer rocks the Elizabeth role. But Leander's Mary commands center stage, as she should. Ravishing face, melancholy charisma on full display. Perpetually choosing - and being undone by - the wrong men. The film's not really a musical - but music and song (from composer Theo Mackeben) are beautifully woven throughout. The non-Leander selections suggest Brecht and Weill on a highland excursion. While Zarah's songs - sombre and evocative - make excellent use of that deep purple instrument of hers.
Not a film that would captivate everyone, perhaps. But I definitely felt it.
Roma: everything with Cleo's pregnancy was quite moving, so I feel bad for the heartless bastards who weren't moved (I kid)...I will say outside of that subplot there was a distinct sense of remove that might have prevented further investment. Regardless, wonderful film and one of the best of the year if not THE best of the year. Cuaron is a master at composing gorgeous frames.
Mortal Engines: it's really too bad that so many blockbuster originals are often poorly made or well-made but unfairly maligned by critics (meanwhile there's so much fawning over the umpteenth Spider-man picture or the latest Marvel film)...this one belongs somewhere in between. It's well-made from a technical crafts perspective, and the concept itself is pretty cool, but boy is that script dire...
I saw The Favourite which I adore...Then Roma Which I HATED EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF it.... Wow! What a sorry peace of self-serving filmmaking ...(It's gorgeous that it is) but I've rarely seen a more self-important issueless movie...
I finally got to watch Widows, and I love it! It was fun, but Viola didn't do much acting-wise, and the movie didn't warranty much award buzz around it, EXCEPT for Elizabeth Debicki, who is brilliant!
Re: The Favorite.. I would go far as to say Colman supporting and Weisz/Stone leads. It felt like Stone had the most screen time by far and we stayed with her arc more completely. Colman was great but was generally reactionary to their machinations, and had noticeably less screen time than the other two.
Paddington 2 deserves to WIN Best Production Design and the fact that nobody is even talking about it as a possible nominee in the category (nor was it nominated at BAFTA last year) is an awards season sin (awards sea-sin?) of the highest caliber.
finally watched "Hereditary" and thought it was extraordinary
I agree with the crowd, Toni Collette is underrated and overdue for an Oscar win
Saw Spider-man: into the Spider-verse based on the reviews and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The animation stlye is incredible, the plot gloriously fun and nice mix of pathos and laughs.
And The House that Jack Built, which I can't understand why anyone would walk out of given it was less luridly controversial than Antichrist. Sure there some grotesquely put together scenes, but I was mostly bored or put-off by the paper thin characterisations.
I watched the first two thirds of Black Panther at home and then had to be somewhere else. Looking forward.to finishing it off. I'm liking it so far. I'm not inyo the Marvel films, but this one was stand-alone enough that I didn't feel left out. The story moves at a clip, the production design, costumes and make-up are all very eye-catching, and the actors are in the zone. And I can see what a giant leap in representation it is. If it gets a Best Picture nomination, it will be deserving, for all the above reasons.
Go, Clint! 88yo and rocking the box office.
This feels like Gran Torino all over again: no Oscar nominations despite reaching a large audience and being a substantial hit.
Maybe if the Oscars were still held in March, Clint could be nominated. Alas, as is we get Top Ten best of the year lists and nominations before the year even ends, so who cares about end of year releases.
I saw Roma, and was so moved by it I immediately watched it again. It is beautiful, and very heartfelt -- and I do not get the hate by some people in this comment thread. Were you not loved as children?
Roma - A great example of how a movie should be all about the details. The sounds, the "sets," the supporting cast. Every single thing was given attention so that the story doesn't have to do all the heavy lifting. A real stunner.
The "reimagining" of Eva with Isabelle Huppert and Gaspard Ulliel - I think the reviews have been unnecessarily unkind. It's not a great movie, but I appreciate that the movie doesn't take a salacious route. Isabelle is great, as always. Gaspard has a tough role, but is a solid.
Finally got around to watching First Reformed, and kind of wish I hadn't. Am very much not in line with the critical consensus on it. But more than that, I don't get what people are seeing in that Hawke performance. He's fine/good. But honestly I thought Cedric did a bit more with much less.
Since people are commenting on the category placement re: The Favourite - I can get on board with Weisz as supporting, although it's a reach. But Colman and certainly Stone seem to be leads. And I'm sad to see that low number for Vox Lux. I've thought about it often over the last 10 days and the more I do the more I admire it.
Not everyone has to like the same things. Roma is the most acclaimed film of the year. It has more than enough defenders. It's ok that others dont like it.
Saw Beale Street, which I absolutely adored. I was right there in it alongside the characters from the first second that gorgeous score kicked in, and was totally immersed the whole time. I don't understand people who find it "cold", though - my audience was laughing and OOOOOOH-ing throughout, especially during the scene where the two families come together for Tish to make the baby announcement. I do wish it had ended with something more... final? Felt like it ended with an ellipses and I would have preferred a period. But still, it's gorgeous and probably my favorite of the year.
I also saw Burning, which is a near perfect distillation of Haruki Murakami's writing style to the screen. The cinematography is STUNNING, and Steven Yeun is great. Given how elliptical the whole thing is, I was kind of surprised that the ending was more conventional, but it had a LOT of impact. Pity that the first third or so moved so slowly.
I saw the crowd pleasing "Green Book" the most bromantic movie of the year. The script is structured like a romantic comedy and it was a different type of movie Tony and Dr Shirley would have ended in bed together. But this is a feel good odd couple road comedy and Oscar is going to love it.
MINOR SPOILER ALERT
The gay reveal is awkward and leads no where. And the easy way is resolved seems highly unlikely in 1962
Jaragon -- i felt the same way about the gay stuff in that film
FR -- i love it when people recognize Debicki's genius
Paranoid -- i'm kind of eager to do a screen time count at some point. Lanthimos claims that Colman actually has the most screen time (!) but it felt like Stone to me, too. but just barely. All three are constantly in it, with variations of which two are in the frame.
The Favourite - I also loved it until towards the end, though in retrospect I'm appreciating the ending more. All 3 leads were brilliant, but I especially felt that Emma Stone is being even a bit underrated here. Just amazing. I expected Colman's performance to be more of the pure comedic variety, didn't realize how dramatic it would get. She's obviously deserving of all her accolades and then some.
Roma - Quite an achievement, no doubt, but I was surprised at how small-scale it felt at most times. Certainly a great film, though I question whether or not it's a little unfair that Cuaron's status might be giving it a boost that other great foreign language films just can't seem to get.
A bunch of documentaries like Dawn Wall and They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (both very good).
One more thing regarding the categories for The Favourite actresses. I sometimes like to look at it through the lens of "what happens to who?" or "who's all the action regarding?" instead of a strict screen time test. That's why I felt that Alicia Vikander actually WAS supporting in The Danish Girl. It's hard to justify any of the 3 in The Favourite as supporting though. Weisz would be the closest, since her main storyline that doesn't revolve around one of the other two characters involves just a short stint in a whorehouse. There is no way in h-e-double-hockeysticks that Emma Stone's character could ever be considered supporting. If anything, she's the main lead.
My small Canadian city had an advanced screening of Beale Street on Thursday the night before it opened in NY and LA - so bizarre but blessed.
Admired and would nominate for lots of things but didn't outright love.
Nathaniel- I thought the gay episode could have been cut of the film with out making a difference- the love story is really between the two leads- also if the wanted to have a gay reveal it could have been done is a more subtle fashion- I find it hard to believe that in 1962 it could have been resolved that easily- speaking of gay films have you ever seen Ventura Pon's "Caresses" (1998)?
Roma and At Heaven's Gate... I liked them both. Roma is NOT for everyone. It is a slice of life and expertly done.
I fell right into the atmospheric scenes.
I saw The Favourite and was frankly underwhelmed. It's very pretty but ultimately empty. I would not nominate anyone for that weird and unlikable movie.
I think the gay bit in Green Book was done the way it was - no build up, no follow up, just five minutes over and done - was so the whole thing could be audience-tested and if it didn't "play" it could be neatly excised from the film with no one noticing. As it is, I agree with Jaragon - no way things would have played out that way in 1962.
I also belatedly saw Paddington 2 - what a joy! The production elements were fantastic and the final line of "Happy Birthday, Aunt Lucy" walloped me with emotion.
Chalk me up as another who doesn't appreciate Roma like everyone else. I expected there to be a much deeper exploration in the tangled grey area of employer/employee/"family" relations - what does it mean to be part of a family in name, but work for them at the same time? But apart from the early scene of Cleo's family bonding time interrupted by the request for tea, there wasn't much. The family seemed too good to Cleo to be believable for me (the mother doesn't bat an eye at Cleo's pregnancy in 1970, even the wayward father tries to comfort her, etc) - almost like this was a grand apologia from the director to his real-life housekeeper.
I watched a lot this week. End of the year catch up.
Spiderverse: Have some problems with structure, but this is great. Animation style is revolutionary.
Leave No Trace: Wish I saw this in a theatre. I think it would have worked on me even more. Very moving. Thomasin McKenzie is incredible.
Venom: So boring for the first half, but the second half is a riot. Laughed so much.
The Favourite: Lived up to all my expectations. Loved it. Usually fish-eye lenses really annoy me (ugh Tom Hooper and I despise Alejandro Inarritu) but I thought they were used really well here.
Vox Lux: Mess, but with some really interesting moments. Raffey Cassidy is really good in the first half. Natalie Portman is capital A actressing and....it's fine? Her performance reminded me of everyone in the 2013 August: Osage County.
We saw Shoplifters, and what a moving experience. The director had such a light touch with this bittersweet story. That ending will stay with me for a while. Just beautiful. I am hoping this film wins the Oscar.
ken s- you make a good point- the scene could have been cut for "running time" and no one would have noticed.
The Favourite - Directing, the movie! I like a lot of heavily stylized films, but I don't see the point in a lot of Yorgos's stylization - the fish-eye lens, the modernistic dance scene, the weird fade-out at the end. He just seems to be chuckling at his own private jokes. And I was uncomfortable at the sneering directed at women and their bodies - at first it was funny, but how many times do you have to laugh at beautiful women vomiting/looking dirty or scarred? The three main performances were great though (Stone especially) and I loved the production design and costumes.
Wildlife - Any Betty-focused episode of Mad Men did this better and in half the time. I think ready for a moratorium on domestic dramas set in the 1950s/1960s. Everything feels like it has been said about this period, and other eras are interesting, too.
Vox Lux - A lot of flaws, but I loved the audacity of Portman's performance. She is becoming one of the most exciting actresses.
A re-watch of Changeling plus a couple of first-timers in A Fantastic Woman and Vox Lux (PO'TMAN MOTHAFUCKA!)
Beale Street was awesome. From the moment you see Fonny and Tish, you know there is nothing but love between them—which makes his being framed and incarcerated all the more heartbreaking. The film brilliantly documents how too many young Black men become ensnared by the criminal injustice system and how hard their families/communities must work to free them from it. I don't get how anyone could call it boring; like Moonlight, it's a slow burn. I do agree that sometimes the narration isn't necessary but it's James Baldwin so why quibble? And SAG-AFTRA's snub of Regina King and the ensemble (Stephan James, Brian Tyree Henry and Colman Domingo are particularly outstanding) is criminal. I hope Oscar recognizes King as well as Nicholas Britell's haunting score and Barry Jenkins' genius with Director and Adapted Screenplay nods.
I am watching Darkest Hour which reminds me of The Iron Lady. Not in a bad way they are just reminding me I hope kids watch them to know anything about British history.
Paddington 2 managed three BAFTA nominations last year; Best British Film, Supporting Actor and Adapted Screenplay. Come on Academy! Put Paddington 2 into Oscar history.
Saw Wildlife, Free Solo, and The Favourite. I liked Wildlifeand Free Solo but LOVED The Favourite. Cannot wait to see it again. And yes Nathaniel all 3 women are leads. If I had to pick best in show it would be Stone but loved Weisz and Colman too.
I'm surprised people have an issue with the "gay stuff" in Green Book.
It's handled perfectly well. This is why I don't understand anyone noting so-called racial politics of the film. It's like the saying "It doesn't define me". It's irrelevant to Tony. But that, along with going to the bar, are deviations from Mr. Shirley's more stoic and reserved approach to the day to day. And it comes up later more profoundly. And there is a payoff, at the last stop.
That's how it felt to me anyway.