What did you see this weekend?
Monday, August 15, 2022 at 9:02PM by Nathaniel R
Hollywood is living dangerously. There's are very few potential sleepers and almost no blockbuster hopefuls coming for a few months (unless something really surprises) despite a fairly strong box office summer. (Why on earth are potential sleeper rom-coms Bros and Ticket to Paradise waiting the end of September/end of October when the landscape is so barren starting in Mid-August? ) As a result the movies that are already out are holding pretty well. Especially Top Gun: Maverick which continues to defy all reasonable expectations, climbing back up to #2 in its *gulp* 12th week in theaters. But talk about killing the Grand Return To Moviegoing by starving audiences! We'd like to think audiences would just start being more adventurous and seeing some limited releases but realistically that's not what they do (sigh)...
| Weekend Box Office August 12th-14th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it |
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| WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS) | PLATFORM RELEASES |
 TOP GUN MAVERICK |
 INU-OH |
| 1 BULLET TRAIN $13.4 (cum. $54.4) |
1 🔺 LAAL SINGH CHADDHA (India) $1.4 (cum. $1.8) *NEW* |
| 2 ★ TOP GUN MAVERICK $7 (cum. $673.7) |
2 🔺★ E.T. (Re-release) $1.0 *NEW* |
| 3 DC SUPER PETS $7 (cum. $58.1) |
3 🔺 EMILY THE CRIMINAL $669k *NEW* |
| 4 ★ NOPE $5.3 (cum. $107.5) |
4 🔺★ INU-OH (Anime) $190k *NEW* |
| 5 THOR: LOVE & THUNDER $5.3 (cum. $325.4) |
5 MARCEL THE SHELL... $163k (cum. $5.3) |
| 6 MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU $5 (cum. $343.8) |
6 🔺 EMERGENCY DECLARATION (South Korea) $123k *NEW* |
 BODIES BODIES BODIES |
 HANSAN: RISING DRAGON |
| 7 WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING $4 (cum. $72.1) | 7 HANSAN: RISING DRAGON (South Korea) $82k (cum. $605k) |
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8🔺 BODIES BODIES BODIES $3.2 (cum. $3.5) *WIDE EXPANSION* |
8 HALLELUJAH LEONARDO COHEN (Doc) $62k (cum. $650k) |
| 9 ★ ELVIS $2.5 (cum. $141.2) |
9 ★ EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE $54k (cum. $650k) |
| 10 🔺 FALL $2.5 *NEW* |
10 ★ FIRE OF LOVE (Doc) $36k (cum. $815k) |
| 11 EASTER SUNDAY $2.4 (cum. $9.9) |
11 🔺 SUMMERING $32K *NEW* |
| 12 🔺 MACK & RITA $1 *NEW* |
12 ★ A LOVE SONG $25k (cum. $79k) |
| 13 THE BLACK PHONE $1 (cum. $87.7) |
13 🔺 FREE CHOI SOO LEE (Doc) $11k (cum. $21k) *NEW* |
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14 JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION $662k (cum. $373.1) There are 14 movies currently in wide release but a lot of these would be losing theaters quickly now (given the per screen averages)... IF any movies were there to replace them. |
14 CLAY DREAM (Doc) $10k (cum. $15k)
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WIDE RELEASE NOTES
Audiences didn't show for the new Diane Keaton comedy Mack & Rita but turned out in bigger numbers for the expansion of the Gen Z slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies. I personally was not remotely interested in the latter until I learned it was directed by Halina Reijn who made the Dutch erotic drama Instinct (2019), which as quite good and Oscar submitted in its year. Still not sure if I'll see it (slasher being my all time least favourite genre) but... maybe.
LIMITED RELEASE NOTES
Nothing made giant waves in the arthouses though the Bollywood dramedy Laal Singh Chaadha and the Korean action film Emergency Declaration found their audiences. The week's highest per screen average (wide or limited) went to the MUBI distributed documentary Free Choi Soo Lee playing on just one screen. Despite semi decent starts interest in the comedy I Love My Dad, the psychological horror film Resurrection and the docu-drama My Old School didn't seem to last in their second, third, and fourth weekends respectively and they fell off this chart.
NEXT WEEKEND
The only "big" movie next weekend is the Idris Elba vs a lion film called Beast (review forthcoming). But there's a few limited release titles including Orphan: First Kill as well as the very well-reviewed Brazilian doc The Territory.
GIRL PICTURE
What did you see these past few days?
We'd already seen the visual wonders of Inu-Oh so we took in the new Finnish picture Girl Picture (which didn't report numbers; not everything does anymore) because of Ben's interview with the director. So glad we took his advice! It's a great coming-of-age movie about three teenage girls in contemporary Finland. Go see it if it comes to your town. You won't regret it.
Mack & Rita, box office, moviegoing
Reader Comments (16)
Stuck at home with very mild covid this weekend (I made this far without it, so an accomplishment). Finished up the 1951 supporting actress films. In total, I watched 9 1951 films plus The Night of the Hunter.
Strong recommend for Ozu's Early Summer. I've learned over the last two years that I am quite fond of post-WW2 Japanese family dramas, and this one is great.
I follow Diane Keaton on Instagram and I don't think even she promoted Mack & Rita!!!
I saw Bullet Train which was fun and stooopid, and very, very bloody violent. Taylor-Johnson, Henry, and Brad all have great chemistry, and Taylor-Johnson does sleazy very VERY well!
The Anarchists doc series on HBOMax, which reminded me a lot of a real life White Lotus. And since when do anarchists go to “conferences” in Acapulco? Some messed up, bat-shit crazy people out there willing to follow charlatans to the ends of the earth.
Woodstock 99 doc, both versions on HBOMax and Netfix - more bat-shit crazy people and greedy producers leading to chaos and death
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris - cute, in a Hallmark Channel sort of way. Period sets seemed very high school stage-y unlike bigger budget movies or TV shows like Queen’s Gambit, The Gilded Age, Julia, or any ordinary BBC period drama.
Prima Facie, National Theatre Live, starring Jodie Comer in her West End debut. Oh my gawd, she’s getting a Tony next year, mark my words.
Honestly, except for Mrs Harris, I need a palate cleanser, like a sweet, funny musical where no one is assaulted or murdered.
The previous weekend I was locked up in COVID quarantine, so I went nuts this weekend past going to the cinema repeatedly.
The good:
- OLDBOY 4K restoration. Never seen it before, glad I got to see it on the big screen first
- THE CONFERENCE. Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil" is on full display here
- EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH (IRREDUCTIBLE). Wasn't as bad as I thought it might be
- THE FORGIVEN. Older bro McDonagh's latest treatise on guilt and how we deal with it. Good performances from Caleb Landry Jones, Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes anchor this thriller/social commentary. I am not sure as to why it isn't more widely discussed.
- A TASTE OF HUNGER. Really solid piece on the way bad people play with other folk's emotions. If it had only ended about 4 minutes earlier than it did, then it would have gotten a spot on my "Best of 2022" list
The average:
- MARGRETE: QUEEN OF THE NORTH. I am always on board to see Trine Dyrholm do her amazing acting work. But the script in the first half just let it down, with remarks about female emancipation that just wouldn't have been said in 14th Century Europe, and a drawn-out pace. Improved in the second half, but not enough to save it.
A couple of I Am Groot shorts, a Korean short called The Recorder Exam that is just beautiful though it just left MUBI 36 minutes ago, and a re-watch of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis on Amazon Prime as I hadn't seen that film in years.
Omg Nathaniel, BODIES BODIES BODIES is legitimately SO GOOD.
Omg Nathaniel, BODIES BODIES BODIES is legitimately SO GOOD.
Wow, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise atop the box office. The AMC network should go ahead and debut their "Interview with the Vampire" TV series right now instead of October.
Emily the Criminal-saw it opening day. I can't recommend this enough. John Patton Ford's first film, he wrote and directed it. It's an amazing debut for him. Aubrey Plaza, who also produced, stars. She is fantastic. The tension never lets up in this timely story. Best thing I've seen all year.
Fell into a Statham hole after and watched Wild Card and Wrath of Man. As a Statham fan, I enjoyed both, though Man is probably a little bit better. Wild Card has a huge cast in small parts.
Rewatched Fatal Attraction, still good. Tried to finish The Batman (failed).
Rewatched Birth. Kidman, Huston and especially Heche, who made a meal out of a small part. A film that is even better the second time.
I saw 3 amusing summer time movies: Bullet Train, Mack and Rita, and Bodies Bodies Bodies.
I probably appreciated Bullet Train more because I saw The Grey Man last week and I am so bored with that genre of action (although I still love Ryan Gosling).
Bullet Train is in colour unlike the Grey Man glop, and the action is limited to a specific small scale locale rather than destroying cities and neighbourhoods, and only specific people are killed rather than a zillion extras and bystanders. (Also, I’ve been fascinated by Bryan Tyree Henry since I saw him in “Widows”).
Mack and Rita has Diane Keaton, Taylour Paige, Loretta Devine.
If Taylour Paige is the millennial representative, then this movie doesn’t criticize millennials, as her character is patient, loyal, thoughtful, and a good friend no matter what the circumstances. The friendship between the two women (Taylour and young/old Diane) is the core of the story.
I found the movie a bit patchy, but instead of saying, like one reviewer did “this movie has no reason to exist”, use what you liked to give you more ideas for more actress-led movies. Eg: Wendie Malick And Patti Harrison as mother and daughter, Loretta Devine’s Detective Agency, Diane Keaton as corporate mogul again, besting the competition in a twisty tale. Taylour Paige as the lead in any genre, so talented, present, smart, and beautiful.
I liked Bodies Bodies Bodies although I generally avoid the horror genre (I get scared easily). But this one is more of a puzzle (with blood) than a scare. I admit it took me half the movie to figure out how many girls there were, and which was which. I kept thinking this one actress was 2 characters.
I watched "The Black Phone" Did I miss something? This movie was NOT scary; creepy in some parts but not scary. I kept waiting for a 'big reveal' or a twist...nothing. The music was the best part. What a dud.
Wanted to repeat what McGill said above for Nathaniel -- Bodies Bodies Bodies isn't really a slasher movie, although it plays with slasher formula stuff -- it's really more of a Whodunit just with some blood splashed on top. But not a ton of that either -- it's really not even that violent, comparatively speaking. Most of the deaths happen off-screen.
JA & McGill -- this is good to know. thanks. I'll probably see it then.
Brevity -- right? we're back in the 90s (AGAIN)
Florence Foster Jenkins- mildly amusing, although a lot of the times it felt like a sitcom stretched into a film
Indiscretion of an American Wife- there is a good movie in there somewhere. Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift are on two VERY different wavelengths but I am convinced they are trying their best to give a good performance. Perhaps the editing of the film- it was cut to barely an hour- ruined their performances.
Death of a Salesman- watched for the smackdown. Mostly unimpressed. I'm watching Detective Story tonight before I vote, so hopefully that one is better.
Echoing Ben Barton above ... Emily the Criminal is outstanding. Aubrey Plaza is fantastic, and I never expected this kind of performance from her. Highly recommend. Other than Everything Everywhere All At Once, it's the best thing I've seen all year.
Tom--As a huge Jennifer Jones fan, I am ashamed to say I have never seen this one. The beauty of the two stars just from viewing stills is intoxicating. I really need to watch this, though I am trying to see if I can find a print of De Sica's Terminal Station, which has a better reputation. Selznick just could not stop interfering in Jennifer's projects, and the more I read about his tantrums the more I dislike him.