Box Office: 'Nope' Flies while 'Marcel' Takes His Sweet Time

by Nathaniel R

Once again Jordan Peele proves he's one of the rare celebrities who is bankable behind the camera. His third film as a director brings him a third #1 finish, as Nope nabs the biggest original film opening weekend since... Peele's own previous hit Us (2019) opened to $71 million. Any win for original filmmaking feels so good, doesn't it? More after the jump...

Weekend Box Office (Estimates) July 22nd-24th 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended links if we've written about it
WIDE (OVER 800 SCREENS)	PLATFORM RELEASES
NOPE	FIRE OF LOVE
1 ★🔺 NOPE $44.3 *NEW*	1  🔺 MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON $874k (cum. $2.9)
2 THOR: LOVE & THUNDER $22.5 (cum. $276.6)	2 ★🔺 FIRE OF LOVE [DOC] $133k (cum. $283k)

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Streaming: Why doesn't "Persuasion" work?

by Nathaniel R

Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis star in "Persuasion"

Jane Austen's final completed novel Persuasion has been adapted to screen several times, but unlike her most famous novels, theatrical motion picture fame as eluded it. The latest non-theatrical screen adaptation, via Netflix this time, has met with such harsh reviews that we almost didn't watch it. Nevertheless the extremely alluring faces of Dakota Johnson, Henry Golding, and Cosmo Jarvis beckoned as did the reliable wit of Jane Austen herself. We gave in and pressed play. Unfortunately it's difficult to argue with the consensus this time around...

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"Till" Trailer and Director's Notes

by Nathaniel R

United Artists has released the trailer for Till, which begins its platform release on October 7th, 2022. The new feature film documents the long determined journey of Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) as she sought justice for the lynching of her 14 year-old son Emmett Till which occurred on a 1955 trip to visit his cousins in Mississippi. Through her determination her son's murder raised major awareness of social injustice and racism and became a major catalyst in the then nascent Civil Rights Movement. Emmett Till's death has inspired or been referenced in multiple books, poems, plays, movies, and television episodes. Documentaries and shorts about Emmett Till and his family have also been made but, as far as we can tell, Till is the first narrative feature film adaptation. Might it be heading to Oscar nominations?

We had the pleasure of attending a conversation with the director Chinonye Chukwu about the film last week. Highlights from that conversation and the Till trailer are after the jump...

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"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Trailer & "The Multiverse Saga" Timeline

by Nathaniel R

Queen Bassett contemplates the future of Wakanda (as we contemplate the future of the MCU)

We try not to care about the MCU because it's become so dominant as to be oppressive on movie culture BUT we did grow up reading Marvel comic books so it's hard to look away. Phase Four of Marvel's Cinematic Universe has brought (comparatively) mixed reactions with people griping that the work is getting sloppier, particularly vfx and action-wise, in their rush to have literally dozens of subfranchises under the overall MCU umbrella. We'd also argue that they're getting a bit lazier in character development, trusting that comics lore and general fan culture will sell everything rather than putting the personality onscreen where it needs to be.

We hope it improves soon and if it's going to, Wakanda Forever (trailer below just dropped) would be the ideal place to right the ship what with a strong proven director and cast (Ryan Coogler and several cast members returning), a beloved property, and one of Marvel's most intriguing characters (at least on the page) being introduced...

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Tweetweek: Nope, Crawdads, and the ongoing saga of the great Barbie vs Oppenheimer war of 2023

!!!

Gore Vidal, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, James Dean, and Anthony Perkins all lived together at Shirley MacLaine’s house in Malibu in the summer of 1954, before any of them had really “made it” in Hollywood. I’d like to watch a stage play/film about THAT.

— Just Jack (@luxurytrash_) July 22, 2022

Yes please. Would very much like to see this movie. More curated tweets for you (so you don't have to waste time on Twitter) are after the jump...

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