What did you see over the holiday weekend?
Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 2:26PM by Nathaniel R
The long holiday weekend proved to be an old school "movie star" weekend. Tom Cruise managed his best opening weekend ever (not adjusted for inflation) as Top Gun Maverick finally opened after a long long COVID delay. Mysteriously, Sandra Bullock's 10 week old adventure romcom The Lost City was up 29% despite losing theaters as if everyone suddenly remembered that they'd meant to see it all along...
| Memorial Day Weekend Box Office May 27th-30th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it |
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| WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS) | PLATFORM RELEASES |
 TOP GUN MAVERICK |
 THE ROUNDUP |
| 1 🔺★ TOP GUN MAVERICK $160.5 *NEW* |
1 F3 FUN AND FRUSTRATION $1.1 *NEW* |
| 2 DOCTOR STRANGE IN... $20.3 (cum. $374.7) | 2 2000 MULES $224k (cum. $1.2) |
| 3 🔺★ THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE $14.8 *NEW* |
3 THE ROUNDUP $135k (cum. $417k) |
| 4 ★ DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA $7.4 (cum. $29.9) | 4 🔺 MONTANA STORY $129k (cum. $184k) |
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5 THE BAD GUYS $5.6 (cum. $82.3) |
5 THE DUKE $103k (cum. $1.3) |
| 6 ★ EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE $3.2 (cum. $57.5) |
6 Y COMO ES EL $32k (cum. $1.4) |
| 7 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 $3.1 (cum. $185.7) |
7 ★ PETITE MAMAN $30k (cum. $764k) |
| 8 ★ THE LOST CITY $2.2 (cum. $102.2) |
8 ★ PLEASURE $21k (cum. $96k) |
| 9 MEN $1.5 (cum. $6.2) | 9 HIT THE ROAD $12k (cum. $122k) |
| 10 FANTASTIC BEASTS 3 $1 (cum. $94.9) | 10 🔺 RITE OF THE SHAMAN $8k *NEW* |
Meanwhile... The Bob's Burgers Movies got off to a solid start but sadly Downton Abbey 2 had the kind of drop that doesn't indicate long legs. It's a pity since it's better than the first movie. And finally, in its 4th weekend Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ousted The Batman (which was cut short by moving to streaming too quickly) as 2022's top grosser.
In limited release Montana Story expanded to nearly 300 screens and the South Korean police drama The Roundup at only 12 screens had a good weekend. The latter stars the always reliable Ma Dong-seok (Eternals, Train to Busan, The Gangster the Cop and the Devil) and at home in Korea it's been huge, becoming the #2 grosser of 2022 behind only the Sorcerer Supreme.
What did you see over the weekend?
Reader Comments (19)
I didn't see anything at the theater. But Crimes of the Future is premiering here in Chicago at the Music Box Theatre on Wednesday, and we'll be seeing it next week. Cannot wait.
But I did watch a classic on TV this past weekend--Julia Misbehaves from 1948. Greer Garson is in top comic form and just a delight. A very young Elizabeth Taylor plays her daughter. My mission is to spread the gospel and evangelize as many new converts to the altar of Ms. Garson. She is a screen treasure. Sigh.
A highlight of the holiday was gathering together to watch the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Disney+ thriller didn’t disappoint. The production was stellar, Ewan McGregor had his charisma on high, and the story was old school cliffhanger at its best.
The only disappointment is that the limited series just missed the Emmy deadline. This is terrific storytelling that would surely have been justly rewarded in the upcoming award race.
Does the Lost City's success prove people missed Chaning Tatum or that Pitt and Bullock are still major box office draws same as Cruise or both.
Finally got aroudn to two movies I meant to see weeks ago - THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT and THE NORTHMAN. Both were worth the wait.
And for the life of me I cannot see how anyone could give TOP GUN MAVERICK (which I also saw) a glowing review. Yet another sequel that just ticks of the nostalgic boxes of the first. The male ego rebel aesthetic was just overdone, and Ie sympathised most with the Jon Hamm character. And the young actors were just awful in their scenes.
@ Brookesboy- For Greer Garson, if people don't want to start with Mrs. Miniver, introduce them to Random Harvest- also made the same year as Mrs. Miniver. Also Blossoms in the Dust with Marsha Hunt.
I saw Hairspray, which was fun but just fine. I also rewatched the Letter (1940) for the first time in years and it holds up much better then I though it would.
@ Brookesboy- For Greer Garson, if people don't want to start with Mrs. Miniver, introduce them to Random Harvest- also made the same year as Mrs. Miniver. Also Blossoms in the Dust with Marsha Hunt.
I saw Hairspray, which was fun but just fine. I also rewatched the Letter (1940) for the first time in years and it holds up much better then I though it would.
A short film from MUBI in Scenes with Beans and a re-watch of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Altered States on the big screen (where William Hurt's butt belongs)
Saw Men on the big screen and, umm, it was underwhelming. Garland is great at creating atmospheres in his films, but he can never quite integrate his ideas into a compelling story. If the message of the film is that men are weak, then that's small comfort to women who endure their abuse of power in so many countless ways daily.
I saw MEN and was more or less happy with it. The firs 75 minutes is brilliant. The ending? Well...
It should have either gone over the edge into surreal aesthetics (like PESONA, IMAGES or MULHOLLAND DR.) or embraced black comedy, like a Stuart Gordon H.P. Lovecraft adaptation. But it played that crazy ending straight and... I've got to admire the audacity, but it didn't quite work for me. Still, I'd rather have a batshit crazy film like this than a safe pastiche like X.
And David, I don't think the theme of the film is that men are weak. I think it is ultimately about men resenting women's reproductive capabilities and trying to overcompensate via the creation of toxic patriarchal cultures and religious ideologies. Its imagery comes, I think, from French feminist psychoanalysis, which posited a lot of weird ideas about male desires to give birth and the violence that impulse ultimately takes.
Finally saw EEAAO and I get the hype - what fun it was! (don't see it in the front row of a small movie theatre though) - Michelle Yeoh and original filmmaking for the win.
Fantastic Beasts 3 has really done quite terribly hasn't it? Being outgrossed by The Lost City domestically with that IP - Trash Rowling really has damaged her legacy beyond repair.
Love Greer Garson. What a lady. One of my favorite films of hers is the hard-to-find VALLEY OF DECISION with Gregory Peck and a very shrill Jessica Tandy. Saw it recently and it's still lovely and romantic.
Caught up with S2 of HACKS, and oh my gawd, Jean Smart is so good in this! I definitely want to see an Emmy showdown between her and my other pick, Sarah Lancashire (for JULIA).
Still haven't seen EEAAO, but watched the magnificent Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek Discovery. Her character is so great and snarky, which she nails completely.
Also binged TEN PERCENT (the English-language remake of CALL MY AGENT!). It was fine, some great John Morton dialogue (he of W1A, etc.) but it wasn't French, so...but did have Clémence Poésy (who's currently in The Essex Serpent) in one funny episode.
Loved Top Gun: Maverick and I'm not a fan of the original. It was such a great capital M Movie experience and my audience ate it up. Stunning aerial photography and a strong ensemble cast.
Really liked Montana Story as well. Yes, it's a familiar indie drama where you know this family is gonna cry repeatedly, confront each other over past wrongs in an extended dinner scene, and HEAL by the end credits, but it's intimate and gorgeously shot. Owen Teague is a wonderful surprise and Haley Lu Richardson is great as usual.
I watched YENTL for the Best shot episode but mostly otherwise caught up with tv as i'd already seen TOP GUN MAVERICK and BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE
Pam -- isn't season 2 awesome? I think it's better than season 1 actually
Mike -- hear hear on the correct placement of the Hurt butt.
MrRipley -- good point. It's probably the combo actually. I think people really did miss Channing Tatum (i know i did and DOG also did fairly well)
Brookebsoy & TomG -- i never understood the fuss about Random Harvest but I absolutely love Garson in Mrs Miniver. That film's reputation really bugs me because i think it's an excellent homefront war drama.
Tom--Random Harvest is in my Top Ten of All Time. It's a perfect melodrama with one of the best endings of any film ever made. She and Colman are one of the great couples of the silver screen. My online movie club recently watched Mrs. Miniver. Many of them did not know who she was, and they fell in love with her. I also recently rewatched Madame Curie and that is such an underrated film. It's hard to make staring at a piece of mud sexy, but she and Pidgeon pull it off. I love Blossoms in the Dust. Greer also played the sister of Marsha Hunt in Pride and Prejudice, which is still my favorite adaptation of the novel.
Pam--I also recently rewatched The Valley of Decision. I agree, it's really a special film. Greer and Peck have great chemistry, and she really holds the film together with her charisma and empathy. The camera loves her, but her stunning performance is still the main thing. I agree about Jessica--wow, her character really was a witch LOL. Also, the film debut of Dean Stockwell at age 8. Sublime film.
I, too, am a fan of Greer Garson. She got saddled with a ton of similar feeling roles in the 1940s, but boy did she excel at selling them and providing them with depth. I really love her work in Mrs. Parkington. She's so good when she gets to have good material with other women, and there she just delights with Agnes Moorehead.
I wish we'd gotten to see Garson do more on screen, especially during her 1940s hot streak. But, she really was a special movie star.
I also really love the Julia Misbehaves trailer, which has Greer carefully warning the audience that she isn't playing her typical role: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckB6A34MDy8
It's incredible that the Bullock film went up even though it's already on streaming. I have to imagine that Paramount plus only has a few subscribers, and Sandra Bullock is someone people want to see on a Big Screen. Hurray for the last movie stars.
Nathaniel--I agree about Miniver. She is mesmerizing and I think Greer is one of the best Best Actress winners of all time for that performance. The moment of Carol's death is so moving. The film's reputation is unfairly that of outdated propaganda. I agree with you that the film is so much more than that. It is one of the best family dramas built around a war theme. And Wyler's slow build in the first act of the movie is a really inspired decision. Greer said that she never understood his reputation as a director who demanded take after take. That wasn't her experience. That's probably a testament to her formidable skill as an actress.
I adore Random Harvest, but it does ask a lot of its audience in one aspect. The film asks you to accept the questionable premise that if you fall in deep love with someone, that you could forget that if something physically traumatic were to happen. If you can get past that, then I think the film works beautifully. But I will admit that the plot is batshit insane. But I also think that's part of its charm.
PS. I think you just coined my favorite new phrase--"Hurt butt". Yassss!
I do want to see Top Gun: Maverick, but I decided to wait until this coming weekend, in part because the upswing in COVID had me hesitant to go to a jam-packed theater.
I watched The Lost City on Paramount (I am temporarily subscribed for The Real World New Orleans Homecoming which is great, I like that cast - other than Julie - so much) and was surprised by how good it is. The reviews really did not do it justice, but maybe I partially enjoyed it because there are so few movies like that made today.
I also watched Resurrection, which was unsurprisingly great, and the Sheryl Crow documentary on Showtime, which was entertaining.
Joe--Thank you for posting that trailer. Talk about a trailer with an irresistible hitch! I too wish we'd gotten to see Garson do more during her 1940s hot streak. She truly was a special star.