No box-office charts this weekend as SAG is this evening (we're expecting repeat winners from the Globes but for maybe a shock Ensemble win for Get Out). The top ten movies were mostly middle America aimed stuff while the Oscar buzzing titles have all finally gone wide but just barely (most between 800-1000 screens). The exception to this divide between all-quadrant aimed releases and adult awards fare is The Post which is benefitting from its triple starpower (Spielberg. Streeps. Hanks) adding another $12 million to its tally.
The weekend's loser is arguably Call Me By Your Name whichwent wide after 9 full weeks -- more than 2 months after it hit theaters and a full years after its Sundance bow! Audiences have apparently lost their once-obvious curiousity about it. This 20th century strategy of platforming just doesn't vibe well with how people consume their media these days. There are so many options out there that if you wait and wait and wait people simply move on. This is not the 90s, Sony Pictures Classics, so wake up! When you're handling art films with marketable angles (stars, controversy, Oscar buzz) you can... you must... move swiftly (or at least not slowly) to find your audience. If you wanna play that wait-wait-wait game with something harder to sell that you need major word of mouth on (like, oh, subtitled films) go ahead but not an awards vehicle with stars that's inspiring multiple internet memes as this movie did already sometime ago! Despite the addition of over 600 news screens the romantic drama couldn't even crack the top 20. If it isn't a major player at the Oscar nominations this Tuesday its theatrical life is about to end.
What did you see this weekend?
ICYMI
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Sunday, February 4, 2018 at 11:51PM 
