Split Decision: "Weapons"

In the Split Decision series, our writers pair up and face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't or has mixed feelings about. Tonight, JUAN CARLOS and NATHANIEL  discuss  Weapons.

WEAPONS © Warner Bros

JUAN CARLOS: Hi, Nathaniel! The last time we did a Split Decision together was for Killers of the Flower Moon. Also about the horrors of American society, but we're now faced with a different kind of horror.

Where do we start? People thought Weapons was just part of the boom that the genre is experiencing right now (never out of style, by the way). There was considerable fanfare since the director's previous work was the cult hit Barbarian back in 2021. And lo and behold, a surprise hit on all accounts. Personally, it took me a while to convince myself to watch the film. Not the biggest fan of watching horror in cinemas (weird, but I do love the experience of watching horror films with my mom at home). But the advanced praise on Amy Madigan was enough for me to go to the cinemas. I thought she was phenomenal and am personally rooting for her to win the Oscar (in a solid lineup for Supporting Actress) and the film itself... hmmm.

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How was your holiday weekend at the movies?

by Nathaniel R

Labor Day weekend is not traditionally big box office though people almost always turn out for Denzel Washington and his third Equalizer film did very well given how Labor Day usually goes. Instead people head outdoors historically this weekend, desperate to catch the last rays of summer. Accidentally I was the latter this time even though I am decidedly not a summer person and avoid the sun like a vampire much preferring the dark cold of the movie theater. I was miserable on Monday with the heat but my friends wanted a picnic. So my moviegoing was home-bound. How about you? 

Weekend Box Office Sept 1-4 Holiday Weekend 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM  (spotty reporting this holiday week from the indie set)
EQUALIZER 3	THEATER CAMP
1 🔺 THE EQUALIZER 3 $42.8 *NEW* 3965 screens	1 🔺 THE GOOD MOTHER (US, drama)  $367k *NEW* 423 screens

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What did you see this week?

by Nathaniel R

Moviegoing is slowing down as summer winds down. It's the way of things. Even "Barbenheimer" is finally losing theaters though the legs are still impressive; Barbie will cross the rare $600 million domestic mark by next weekend and Oppenheimer crosses $300 any day now which is in its own way even more impressive given the limits of the prestige biopic genre. In an effort to not lose their standings in the "biggest hits of the year" race, Super Mario Bros the Movie and The Little Mermaid reexpanded though Barbie and Oppenheimer have officially leapfrogged them in receipts. Did you hit the movies this weekend? We caught Emma Seligman's irreverent absurd Bottoms which was very funny and surprisingly* violent.

* I skipped the trailer on that one and only went because I loved Emma Seligman's debut, Shiva Baby. 

Weekend Box Office Aug 25-27 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
GRAN TURISMO	BOTTOMS
1 🔺 GRAN TURISMO $17.4 *NEW* 3856 screens	1 🔺★ BOTTOMS (US, comedy)  $461k *NEW* 10 screens

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Weekend Box Office: "Blue Beetle" (temporarily) dethrones "Barbie"

by Nathaniel R

After a full month at the top of the box office charts, Barbie finally slipped to second place. But only barely as the comic juggernaut is still selling tickets robustly. In fact I went to it again with friends who hadn't seen it this weekend. The film to unseat Barbie was a new superhero picture Blue Beetle, but given the character's low profile in the DC universe of caped crusaders, it's unlikely he'll hold #1 status next weekend...

Weekend Box Office Aug 18-20 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
BLUE BEETLE	PASSAGES
1 🔺 BLUE BEETLE $25 *NEW* 3871 screens	1 🔺★ OLDBOY (South Korea, action) $493k *RERELEASE* 250 screens
2  ★ BARBIE $21 (cum. $566.8) 4003 screens	2 ★ THEATER CAMP (US, comedy) $135k (cum. $3.4) 130 screens

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What did you see this past week?

by Nathaniel R

Barbenheimer is still reigning in theaters and by quite a lot both movies still gathering impressive per screen averages in their fourth weeks and enviable global grosses too ($1.1 billion and $648 million respectively). The weekend's new wide releases, the dracula picture The Last Voyage of The Demeter and a sci-fi comedy Jules didn't make much of an initial impression with moviegoers. Meanwhile the bisexual drama Passages starring Ben Whishaw and Franz Rogowski (with a sex scene that will make you believe they were actually f***ing on set) expanded to 41 theaters.

Weekend Box Office Aug 11-13 🔺 = new or expanding /  ★ = Recommended
WIDE (Over 600 Screens)	LIMITED / PLATFORM
BARBIE	PASSAGES
1 ★ BARBIE $33.8 (cum. $526.4) 4,178 screens	1 ★ THEATER CAMP (US, comedy) $274k (cum. $3.1) 410 screens
2  ★ OPPENHEIMER  $18.8 (cum. $264.2) 3761 screens	2 🔺★ PASSAGES (France/Germany, drama) $85k (cum. $172k) 41 screens

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