What did you see this weekend?

The odd proposition of The Great Wall didn't excite moviegoers in the States -- Matt Damon leading historical fantasy fiction about China's great wall and monstersWhaaa?-- but its huge price tag (150 million budget) doesn't mean it will lose big since it's already made over 200 million overseas. Generally speaking director Zhang Yimou knows how to wondrous spectacle movies but this movies reviews leave something to be desired. Nevertheless it was a relatively quiet weekend with not much changing as the maintream titles played steadily and the Oscar titles are beginning to decline as the conversation around the Oscars nears its end point.

But did anyone see I Am Not Your Negro's huge box office gross coming? You never can tell with documentaries which ones will convince people to buy tickets en masse. In specialty theaters the Mexican rom-com Everybody Loves Somebody also opened to strong numbers.

the great Zhang Yimou directing... Matt Damon in The Great Wall?

TOP WIDE 
01 Lego Batman Movie $34.2 (cum. $98.7)
02 Fifty Shades Darker $20.9 (cum. $89.6)
03 The Great Wall $18 NEW 
04 John Wick Chapter Two $16.5 (cum. $58.6) 
05 Fist Fight $12 NEW

TOP LIMITED 
01 Everybody Loves Somebody $1 NEW 
02 I Am Not Your Negro $975K (cum. $3.2) Review, the nominated docs
03 Oscar Nominated Shorts $600K (cum. $1.6) Doc Shorts Ranked
04 Jolly Lib 2 $330K (cum. $1.3)
05 A United Kingdom $270K (cum. $360K)

Podcast: Smackdown Companion Discussion

Nathaniel welcomes fellow team members Murtada, Chris, and Abstew to discuss this year's Supporting Actress race. It's a verbal companion piece to the "Smackdown" we just held. 

Index (42 minutes)
Longform discussion of this year's supporting actress contenders Nicole Kidman, Viola Davis, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Octavia Spencer, their futures, their films. What, if anything new, did they reveal to us this year and what would we like to see next from them?

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Smackdown Companion - 2016 Supporting Actress

7 Days Until Oscar. Best Actress & Best Actor as a Package Deal

We're but one week from Hollywood's High Holy Night! With the magic number 7 today let's look at the 7 films which produced matching his & hers Oscars. This is, as you can surmise from the low number, an uncommon occurence! This rare feat requires so many perfect elements to be in place. Just being an iconic movie couple doesn't remotely cut it (notice how Gone With the Wind, Bonnie & Clyde, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf don't appear to cite three quick examples) as it almost always requires two narratives beyond 'loving the film' as well as the absence of a formidable opponent without their own powerhouse narrative in not one but two separate categories.

Here are the 7 films which managed to win both lead acting Oscars... 

Click to read more ...

Ask Nathaniel

Give me questions for this week's Q&A. Gimme!

Smackdown '16: Nicole, Viola, Michelle, Naomie, Octavia

Presenting the Supporting Actresses of '16. This year's slate of nominees features a selfless adoptive mother, a doting but suddenly resentful wife, a woman whose tragic past has suddenly resurfaced, a savvvy mother hen and supervisor struggling to gain respect, and an addict who makes her sensitive son's life a nightmare of instability.

THE NOMINEES 

One long-time-coming breakthrough for an exciting actress (Get it Naomie Harris), two Oscar winners elevating their films with warmth and precision (Kidman & Spencer), and two Oscar darlings who arguably should have won already attacking tragic material (Williams and Davis). Who will be triumphant in the smackdown?

THIS MONTH'S PANELISTS

Though we usually arrange for special guests including actors, writers, and film critics, for the first Smackdown of the new season, we opted to do it all 'in house' with only TFE crew just to get the series back up and running: Nathaniel, Abstew, Chris, and Murtada (you can read about the team here) are discussing the nominees. And now it's time for the main event... 

2016
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN 

Click to read more ...