Holiday Box Office goes 'Under the Sea'
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 11:57PM By Nathaniel R
Apologies for the radio silence. I've been struggling with my newish day job (had to finally admit last year that movies weren't keeping a roof over the head *sniffle* and go back to corporate America) but I have hope that I a personal rhythm / balance will soon be found again. For the holiday weekend I saw no movies but visited friends who have a home on Fire Island. I'd already seen the weekend's big draw, Disney's live action remake of their own fable The Little Mermaid...
| Weekend Box Office (actuals) May 26th-29th 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = Recommended |
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| WIDE (Over 800 Screens) | LIMITED / PLATFORM |
 THE LITTLE MERMAID |
 MASTER GARDENER |
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1 🔺 THE LITTLE MERMAID $118.8 *NEW* 4320 screens |
1 🔺 THE WRATH OF BECKY $168k *NEW* 274 screens |
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2 FAST X $28.5 (cum. $113.4) 4088 screens |
2 BLACKBERRY $149k (cum. $1.3) 123 screens |
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3 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 $26.8 (cum. $306.3) 3940 screens |
3 MASTER GARDENER $118k (cum. $525k) 155 screens |
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4 THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE $8.2 (cum. $560.8) 3148screens |
4 IT AIN'T OVER [Doc] $51k (cum. $352k) 57 screens |
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5 🔺 THE MACHINE $5.8 *NEW* 2409 screens |
5 ★ SANCTUARY $51k (cum. $140k) 10 screens |
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6 🔺 ABOUT MY FATHER $5.3 *NEW* 2464 screens |
6 ★ THE STARLING GIRL $44k (cum. $124K) 114 screens |
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7 🔺 KANDAHAR $2.8 *NEW* 2105 screens |
6 ★ THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS (Italy) $36k (cum. $200k) 49 screens |
 YOU HURT MY FEELINGS |
 THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS |
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8 🔺 YOU HURT MY FEELINGS $1.7 *NEW* 912 screens |
8 ★ SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS $24k (cum. $1.7) 32 screens |
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9 EVIL DEAD RISE $1.3 (cum. $66.5) 921 screens |
8 ★ JOYLAND (Pakistan) $19k (cum. $256k) 8 screens |
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10 BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER $1.1 (cum. $16.3) 1339 screens |
9 MONICA $19k (cum. $130K) 53 screens |
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only 10 movies in wide release :( |
10 KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC (Japan) $16K (cum. $1.0K) |
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11 CHILE '76 (Chile) $12k (cum. $80k) 9 screens |
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12 ★ L'IMMENSITA (Italy) $17k (cum. $81K) 101 screens |
While I was at the island at a party I talked to one young guy who was raving about it "10 out of 10 -- everything I wanted"... which is basically what I heard post all-media screening. Which, well, I can't remotely agree given my deep love of the animated film though I do confess it was a bit better than expected given Disney's extremely feeble creativity these days when it comes to their live-action cannibalization of their own IP. In other words it's much less dismal than Beauty and the Beast (2017) or Aladdin (2019).... so there's that. Who knew that Dumbo (2019) of all movies, as average as it was, would look so good in retrospect since it actually had some ideas about itself independent of the source material.
I'm limited release nothing did all that well. (sigh)
Next weekend: Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse will give the mermaid a run for the top spot. And two weeks out the British lesbian indie Blue Jean, that was a draw for awards across the pond a handful of months ago, finally arrives in the US along with yet another Transformers movie. In other words, the summer is off to a slow start so it might be time for us all to communally watch some old movies again soon.
What did you watch this weekend? I'm eager to see both You Hurt My Feelings and The Starling Girl and WILL go to something.
The Little Mermaid (2023), box office
Reader Comments (12)
What I saw this past weekend were La Haine as a Blind Spot film and Atlantique by Mati Diop as the latter is just phenomenal.
Sorry Nathaniel for going back into the world of offices and such. Just make sure your office has some color and other things to make it stand out.
This week I watched the 1963 war picture, Captain Newman, MD.
Novelty singer Bobby Darin (Splish Splash. I was taking a bath) was nominated as Best Supporting Actor. If you recall, Darin suffered from severe congenital heart defects. He neglected to take his antibiotic prior to a routine teeth cleaning, contacted an illness, and died in his early 30s.
The script (written by Nora Ephron’s parents!) is a thinly veiled bio pic of Army psychiatrist Ralph Greenson who became distinguished by first identifying post traumatic stress disorder in WWII vets. After the war, Greenson became a physician to celebrities with mental health issues. Most notably he treated Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Vivien Leigh.
Gregory Peck, in a follow up performance to his Oscar winning work in To Kill a Mockingbird, plays Greenson (aka Captain Newman, MD). The narrative follows Newman’s unorthodox treatment of deeply disturbed, combat weary soldiers.
In a startling sequence, Newman administers a narcotic to Corporal Jim Tompkins, played brilliantly by Bobby Darin. The approximately 12 minute sequence is Darin lying prone on a cot with his eyes shut as he relives a tragic air battle. I was glued to the screen and immediately rewound the film to watch his performance again.
never talk to twinks at parties - it's a waste of everybody's time
i finally watched 'close' and it destroyed me [it's four days later and i'm still mopey]
Didn't watch much and those I saw were a mixed bag
The Sheltering Sky misunderstood 1990 drama with a great Debra Winger who should have replaced Meryl at 1990's Oscars.
Secret Behind The Door 1947 Fritz Lang noir thriller with Joan Bennett
Scream of the Wolf Peter Graves TV thriller,poor.
Deadly Games slasher thriller that was more funny than thrilling esp the lead actress
The Scalphunters 60's Lancaster/Savalas/Winters western,quite fun.
Nathaniel: I saw The Starling Girl several months ago at The Milwaukee Film Festival. Definitely check it out. Scanlen's the real deal.
I also saw The Starling Girl at the Milwaukee Film Festival. I wonder if you were in the same showing, Michael R!
This weekend, I saw You Hurt My Feelings, and really enjoyed it - I probably enjoyed it more because I saw it in a theater that was quite full, with mostly women over 40. It's really fun to see comedies with a crowd. I also saw Seven Samurai for the first time, and not to shock you all, but it's a great film. (This is my second year doing the "Criterion Challenge" on Letterboxd, and it's been helpful in helping me prioritize watching unseen classics like Seven Samurai.)
Busy weekend! I got out to The Starling Girl, You Hurt My Feelings, and The Little Mermaid.
The Starling Girl does feel a bit familiar at times, but Scanlen is wonderful in it. Pullman is also really strong and Wrenn Schmidt really stood out to me. I loved You Hurt My Feelings - was laughing throughout which was a bit awkward in my mostly empty theatre. One of my favourite film marriages in a while. Both well worth prioritizing before they disappear from theatres. (probably by like....next week unfortunately)
And then yeah The Little Mermaid....certainly one of the better live action remakes, but that means very little. Sacrificing a glittering gold castle (with an arts endowment large enough to support an orchestra helmed by a crab) for a bunch of mermaids hanging around rocks because that's realistic and what the ocean looks like....where is the ZAZZ?
Succession finale - duh. Kieran Culkin deserves all the awards going for his performance this last and final season.
Also, needed some lols so we watched Shotgun Wedding. I know, I know, but Jennifer Lopez is still the bomb. And Jennifer Coolidge was doing her best Jennifer Coolidge. Reminded me that JLo was robbed for an Oscar nom for Hustlers.
Also, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel finale. Not a fan of the final season. But boy, Rachel Brosnahan looks great in period frocks.
I saw live theatre this week at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada (3 hours driving from Detroit, 3 hours from Buffalo - allow extra time at the border- and 2 hours from Toronto). If you attend the TIFF film festival, consider adding a day to go to Stratford.
I saw “King Lear” with Paul Gross (“Slings and Arrows”) as Lear. The last time he was at the Festival was 20 years ago when he played Hamlet. So this was a popular choice that everyone was excited about.
And I saw “Richard II”, which I loved. It was a disco version, set in a vaguely 1970s 1980s NYC club scene during the AIDs epidemic. It was beautifully thought out, directing, acting, sets and costume. With an elongated thrust stage, you really have to plan your sight lines and movement carefully. It was a lot of fun, which isn’t something you often say about a Shakespearean historical tragedy where the protagonist dies.
I actually got a phone call from the Festival afterwards, asking me what I thought of Richard II. Apparently there had been complaints. But with the play’s description and photo on the website, and the huge screen in the lobby warning you that there was semi-nudity and simulated sex, how could someone be surprised? So the Festival was phoning everyone who had seen the play (!), not just listening to a few complainers. This is an organization that doesn’t fool around.
You're still getting my $2.50, Nathaniel! Hopefully, you can at least work from home.
I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, 3, since these are more fun and irreverent than some of the other Super Heroes. Surprisingly, it has some virtual and perceived cruelty to animals, since it's about how Rocket came to be. Entertaining, though not as good as the first one.
Kieren Culkin better win for his work on "Succession" this year.
Also watched "Unbelievable" on Netflix, with Toni Collette and Merritt Weaver as detectives chasing a serial rapist, and Kaitlyn Dever as a victim who wasn't believed. Based on true events. From 2019, but it was new to me.
I've been sick so I caught up on my DVR
Jackie- This might be Natalie Portman's best performance. The costumes and art direction were fantastic as well
Cruella- earned that Oscar for costumes. Not much else to celebrate.
Eternals- The not Un-Marvel Marvel movie and I mean that in the best way. The sound and visual effects were great
Johnny Guitar- It was called beauty and the beast in the west and Sterling Hayden was the beauty (so true) It's a mishmash of themes and not sure how I feel about it yet.
The Enchanted Cottage- Overly sentimental but you get caught up in it.
So terrible