Box Office crashing during the pandemic

By the looks of the weekend box office -- the single worst in 20 years -- you weren't at the movies this weekend. Every movie suffered a massive drop but for those which were still in the process of adding theaters and they didn't score with strong per screen averages. Here's how the current releases fared...

Weekend Box Office March 13th-15th (ESTIMATES) 🔺 = new or expanding / ★ = recommended
WIDE RELEASE (800+ screens)	PLATFORM TITLES
Onward	Hope Gap
1 ONWARD  $10.5 (60.8) --down 73%	1 PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE $178k  (cum. $3.7) - down 66%  TOP TEN LIST ★
2 🔺  I STILL BELIEVE  $9.5 *new*	2 🔺  HOPE GAP $55k (cum. $99k) up  79% REVIEW

Click to read more ...

What should have been Meryl's third?

by Cláudio Alves

Daniel Day-Lewis may be the best triple Oscar winner among actors, but that doesn't mean he's the best performer of the bunch. It just means that he's had the luck of getting awards for his very best efforts. Historically, if we can count on the Academy for something it is to award the right people for the wrong movies. That started early -- Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for Morning Glory in the same year she was eligible for George Cukor's Little Women?

In any case, neither Hepburn or Day-Lewis are the subjects of this piece. That would be Meryl Streep, the most nominated actor ever and proud winner of three Oscars. Her first two victories, for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice, are usually considered among the best in their respective categories, but the same can't be said for her third triumph...

Click to read more ...

Today in Showbiz History: Julie Andrews in "My Fair Lady"

by Nathaniel R

We've discussed the Oscar wars of My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins (1964) before but have you ever wondered how history would have been different if Julie Andrews had scored the movie role in My Fair Lady after playing it on Broadway? Would there have been a different Mary Poppins? Would they have waited and wouldboth films hav won Best Picture in separate years? Would Julie Andrews never have won an Oscar at all (since so many saw her very atypical Oscar win and Audrey's own lack of a nomination as a way to shame My Fair Lady, the movie, for not hiring her?! The ripple possibilities are endless...

Click to read more ...

Links

EW Scarlett Johansson covers the magazine and talks Black Widow
Guardian Guy Lodge curates a Max von Sydow mini-fest for us
Disney+ Frozen 2 is now streaming three months ahead of schedule.
EW Judi Dench delighted by her Razzie nomination for Cats
Coming Soon new Wonder Woman 1984 motion poster

Coronavirus 

The New Yorker "what the coronavirus crisis means for watching movies"
The Oatmeal "How to touch your face less" practical advice for a pandemic time
IndieWire AMC and Regal are limiting capacity to 50% at their movie theaters to help stop the quick spread of Coronavirus
IndieWire Cannes is now waiting until April 15th to decide on whether to cancel Cannes in May (French movie theaters have now closed)
Deadline Emmy campaigning forced to change due to industry shut downs and fears

Fassbinder Double Feature: "Ali" & "Maria Braun"

by Cláudio Alves 

In these days of "social distancing" and delayed releases, the cinephiles among us must satiate our hunger for cinema in the privacy of their own homes. Streaming services are saviors during such trying times, offering a respite from the chaos. Among them, The Criterion Channel continues to shine brightest as a paragon for the promotion of the seventh art's best triumphs. Just this month, two of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's most beloved and accessible masterpieces were made available for streaming. We're talking about 1974's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and 1979's The Marriage of Maria Braun.

Join us as we peruse the glamor and doom, fear and fury of these singular films…

Click to read more ...