What did you see this weekend?

by Nathaniel R

Continuing the trend for Marvel, Thor Love and Thunder had the best opening weekend for a Thor film ever. Not that that meant that people were enjoying it. Eventually the sloppier ever-increasing franchises from Marvel will catch up to them but for now, people are still showing up like each one is a must-see event, regardless of word of mouth.  

Weekend Box Office July 8th-10th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	PLATFORM RELEASES
THOR LOVE AND THUNDER	MARCEL THE SHELL...

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Stage Door: The restless moving "Chains"

'Stage Door' is our new theater column. We'll review plays and musicals but, because this is a film site, we'll end each column with related movie suggestions. - Editor 

Mr & Mrs Charlie Wilson, the suddenly precarious couple at the heart of "Chains"

The work of British playwright Elizabeth Baker (1876-1962) has never been adapted to the cinema but not for lack of worthiness. Her most famous play, "Chains", is currently enjoying a revival Off Broadway. On the night we attended we learned, via the introduction, that the Mint's artistic director worried during its pandemic-forced delay that "Chains" might not resonate to modern audiences. The Mint forged ahead anyway only to realize that the fears were unfounded; class struggle and existential dilemmas are timeless topics...

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How many of the spring/summer hits will Oscar recognize?

by Nathaniel R

How many of the year's critically embraced / audience approved movies from the first half of the year will Oscar recognize? Savvy awards fans know that if you open very late you dont necessarily need audiences (or even the critics to a lesser extent) because the voters haven't had time to process the various responses. The only "influence" then becomes the publicity and the awards campaigns themselves, which is what the distributors prefer. That way they control the messaging.

If you open earlier than the second half of December, it's a completely different story. Critical and audience response completely matter as your film takes on various consensus markers like  "surprise hit" or "flop" or "respected but didn't connect". All sorts of things happen that unconsciously or consciously affect voting. In short, both critical and audience approval have to be there in order to generate enthusiasm that will justify a campaign later in the year. In that sense we have only four movies that have opened at this writing in 2022 that we must take seriously for prizes at year's end. They are...

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YNMS x 4: Amsterdam, The Woman King, The Last Movie Stars, and Luck

A lot of this actually happened.

Let's talk trailers. Here are the five latest we've seen (though we skipped a few "final trailers" because we don't need to see that much of new movies before we actually see them!) Talking to you, Nope! We've seen more then enough and we WANT to be surprised, that's especially helpful with jump genres like thriller or horror where surprises are a huge part of the pleasure.) After the jump we'll break down five new trailers into quick Yes No Maybe So responses as is our habit. Provide your own in the comments... 

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Final Emmy Predictions: Limited Series/TV Movie and Acting Categories

By: Abe Friedtanzer, Chris James, Cláudio Alves, and Nathaniel Rogers

There's a competitive race afoot in the Limited Series category, which sports competitors like "Dopesick," "The White Lotus" and "Maid."

We’ve come to the end of Team Experience’s Emmy Awards predictions. As we discussed the past two days, the Drama and Comedy categories can often default to past nominees. With the Limited Series and TV Movie categories, nominating panels are dealing with blank slates each year. Over the past ten years, the concept of a Limited Series has gone from being a less-popular oddity to a popular way to tell the buzziest of stories. Just this year, we saw three different ripped from the headline tech shows across three streamers. It doesn’t have to be all dramas or true stories. Mike White used cringe comedy to create one of the most memorable pieces of TV this year with The White Lotus. There are no shortage of great programs to nominate, even if the number of slots may be less than its Drama and Comedy counterparts. Nominations for the 74th annual Emmy Awards will be announced at 8:30am on Tuesday, July 12th by Melissa Fumero and JB Smoove.

Some overall thoughts and Predictions from  Team Experience predicts after the jump...

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