Weekend box office: Croods is a rare pandemic hit and Nomadland just opened
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 10:28PM by Nathaniel R
so sad we'll never get to see this one on the big screen!
We haven't been checking in with the box office regularly because it's so uneventful. But it's good to glance on occassion. Here's the US box office top ten (links go to reviews). There's a few thoughts after the jump as well.
- The Croods New Age $1.7 (cum. $50.8)
- The Little Things $1.2 (cum. $11.8)
- Judas and the Black Messiah $905k (cum. $3.3)
- Wonder Woman 1984 $805k (cum. $42.6)
- The Marksman $781k (cum. $11.4)...
- Monster Hunter $520k (cum. $13.4)
- Nomadland $503k *new*
- Land $500k (cum. $1.6)
- News of the World $241k (cum. $11.7)
- The War with Grandpa $233k (cum. $20.3)
Croods has become one of the biggest theatrical hits of the pandemic era.
Nomadland premiered to half a million but is that good or bad? It doesn't seem great given that the entirely less buzzy Land with less of a movie star (Robin Wright) opened to $1 million just last week. But then again Nomadland is also on Hulu so presumably that would lessen enthusiasm to see it on the bigscreen (something many more films will be contending with in the future -- particularly Warner Bros films since even the would be blockbusters will be on HBOMax simultaneously.)
Meanwhile Denzel Washington (The Little Things), Liam Neeson (The Marksman), and Tom Hanks (News of the World) continue to be reliably bankablee though their numbers are usually much bigger than $11 million.
Promising Young Woman fell out of the top ten this week but has amassed $5.1 million during its run thus far. How good is that exactly in this climate? It's tough to say but it's not bad. To compare it to past Best Actress titles would it have topped out at something like Room's $14 million or Still Alice's $18 million in a normal year? Or would it have kept growing to get to like a Blue Jasmine $33 or The Favourite $34 kind of place? It obviously wasn't going to become a Silver Linings Playbook $132 type smash but it is easy to imagine different scenarios. How well do you think it would have done in a COVID-free world?
SO WHAT FILMS DID YOU SEE THIS PAST WEEK?
Reader Comments (26)
I saw NOMADLAND... on the big screen! So glad the cinemas are back. It's a very moving film, although I don't think it withstands the breathless hype, which was probably inevitable especially considering the film's modesty. It's also somewhat hard to look past the dissonance of a major Hollywood actor slumming it among actually disenfranchised people, but thankfully McDormand is so good it's not as concerning as it might have otherwise been. Her scenes with the nomads, especially Swankie, are truly beautiful and heartrending.
jonathan -- i am very jealous of you right now.
I saw Nomadland on Hulu. I had a chance to see it a drive-in about 40 minutes from where I live, but there was only *one* showtime and the scheduling didn't work out for us. I really wish it had. There would have been something especially perfect about seeing that movie at a drive-in.
That said, it was still achingly beautiful on our TV screen. My favorite scene was near the end - Fern's last conversation with Bob Wells. "I'll see you down the road." Tears. Everything both beautiful and wrong about the new nomad-steading right there, distilled in that speech.
The case of Promising Young Woman is very interesting. If it had been released in April as planned, would it have sustained buzz to the end of the year? Would Mulligan be looking at a potential win? I have many doubts.
Glad it worked out the way it did for the movie. I think it could’ve been a real breakout, topping $100 million with the right campaign and buzz.
Two intense films I was embarrassingly unfamiliar with:
1) Guillermo del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (2001), with Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi and Irene Visedo.
2) Elaine May's MIKEY AND NICKY (1976), with Cassavetes, Falk, Ned Beatty et al.
This week I tackle Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, Minari, The Father and News of the World. (Not in any particular hurry to watch The Little Things and Hillbilly Elegy.)
Promising Young Woman could've topped 50 mil with the right ad campaign. Then again, without COVID it would have opened in April and with blockbuster competition, so it's difficult to say.
Without COVID, films that would have reached blockbuster status include obvious plays like Tenet and Soul, but also News of the World as well. Also possible Onward and Call of the Wild would've made it back in March were it not for the pandemic.
I showed Born Yesterday to the boyfriend for the first time and the themes of political corruption and willful ignorance helping that corruption are SO timely. Also Judy Holliday gets a lot of flack for winning that Oscar but it is a brilliant comedic performance.
I am also lucky to be living in a country (Australia) that is able to have cinemas open.
I saw EARWIG AND THE WITCH and SEBERG, both of which were quite good (I can't understand the negative reaction to the latter). However, I also saw MONSTER HUNTER and THE MARKSMAN, which were absolutely awful and ordinary respectively.
Finally I've seen Music on VOD. And I have very bad news haters..... *whisper* it's a good movie.
I've been watching a lot of The Muppet Show on Disney+. So many fantastic actress guest appearances! Rita Moreno, Madeline Khan, Leslie Uggams, Liza Minnelli, Pearl Bailey, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett and the extremely talented, recently departed Cloris Leachman (RIP) among others.
Oh I finally saw yesterday what is so far my favourite movie this year ... "One Night In Miami" is fantastic ! Loved the script, the acting is superb - so uplifting, engaging and honest - King has a great hand with actors, also loved the tempo. Absolutely enjoyed it and I was a bit hesitant due to comparison to the ... good but for me to heavy handed "Ma Rainey".
Haven't seen Normadland, Minari, Promising & Father yet ... but for me the first movie I will fondly remember from 2020.
Watched "News Of The World" - okay but bit disappointing.
Still trying to digest Borat ...I switched off after the Blood Moon Dance - and carried on a day later .... as I wanted to see what the hype is about Bakalova.
I do think some stuff is extremely funny - and they are so bold - and sometimes shockingly relevant - but some themes I just think are just completely out off line - anyway .... I am very sure I don't need to see Bakalova nominated for this. It's the highest ranked prize for the craft in the world ... and improv is hard - but I still don't see the point... when there is rifined work out there ... thinking f..k it - am I getting older or should allow myself to be bit more "traditional" with my taste ? It's the Oscars ... Meryl, Bette, Bakalova ?
I saw Comedy/Horror film Freaky starring Vince Vaughn which was great fun.
Our Prime Minister has also announced cinemas can re open in May.
I had a great run this week on catching up on things.
Went from I'm Thinking of Ending Things to The Assistant to I Care a Lot to Irresistible.
I loved The Assistant, I Care a Lot and Irresistible were fine and I'm Thinking of Ending Things was not great.
I watched all five episodes of It's A Sin. Great limited series.
I read NYC is opening theatres soon. How exciting for you!
@ PP: But is it Hillbilly Elegy good or The Little Things good?
The worst movie I saw this weekend was I Care A Lot. It was so misanthropic, and it let its best character/performance (Wiest!) vanish in its second half... despite the fact that she was the impetus for the plot.
Other than that, I enjoyed everything I saw. I've been working my way through the Dietrich/von Sternberg films on Criterion (I am so glad they are finally streaming), and while I don't think any of them are masterpieces, they are all incredibly enjoyable and fascinating, and Dietrich is so charismatic. And the fashion is amazing!
I also saw Monsoon Wedding, Face/Off, and Joe vs. the Volcano for the first time, all of which were a lot of fun. I liked Monsoon Wedding enough that I am going to check out the other Mira Nair movies I haven't seen (I'm so disappointed Mississippi Masala isn't available anywhere, even on DVD from my library...).
Finally, I saw Promising Young Woman a second time and liked it even better this time, since I knew what was coming. What a stunning debut.
@Working stiff-watch it and tell me
I finally saw And Then We Danced which was thrilling really. In a just world, the leading man would be nominated for the Oscar. Talk about degree of difficulty!
I also saw First Cow which moves into the Best Of category for me along with Sound Of Metal. Ma Rainey is sort of in the "meh" category for me, along with Mank.
And Borat and Da 5 Bloods are borderline unwatchable, or should I saw it has taken me more than a month to get through either one of them.
Not totally sure about the Land/Nomadland question, but I suspect the audience that would go see Nomadland in theaters aren't going to theaters right now. Land has been marketed as more of an a-political film, and it's easy to see it pulling in audiences that aren't that concerned about the virus.
It's amazing to see the numbers for Wonderwoman - a high grosser even though it's on HBOMax.
@ PP: But then I'd have to watch all three of them...
@Working stiff-and then write and shoot your masterpiece. We are all waiting for it
I saw "The Falls" (2012) about two young mormom missionaries who fall in love. The leads have great chemistry
I saw "The Falls" (2012) about two young mormom missionaries who fall in love. The leads have great chemistry
Jaragon, make sure you watch the sequels to The Falls. The second film in particular really deepens the story and shows the trap that can befall even a smart person if they're stuck in mormonism / any fundamentalist type church.
Dave in Hollywood- yes I do plan to watch the rest of series