Patrick & Vera conjure up a big opening weekend

Don't be scared, Patrick. It's just money!

While The Conjuring 2 didn't quite equal its predecessor it came close which is saying a lot in this summer of underperforming sequels. It also helped that it's budget was only $40 million so it's already well on its way to profit. Contrast that to Warcraft's $160 million budget with a $24 million opening. Ouch. Still its foreign performance (nearing $300 million) should help it turn a profit. But one is reminded of The Golden Compass, another would be franchise that chose to end on a cliffhanger rather than telling a full story. Despite doing well overseas it never got a sequel.  Maybe let your audience decide if they like your movie before ending with "to be continued..."?

None of the new limited releases did particularly well including our beloved The Fits which earned $16K in just 4 theaters. Even Love & Friendship & The Lobster appear to have peaked last weekend but we'll see if they can hold screens or expand again next week.

Expect a ton of the current movies to lose all oxygen next weekend when probable behemoth Finding Dory swims into town.

arrows indicate gaining or losing screens

TOP TEN WIDE
🔺01 The Conjuring 2 $40.3 NEW 
🔺02 Warcraft $24.3 NEW
🔺03 Now You See Me 2 $23 NEW 
▫️04 TMNT: Out of the Shadows $14.8 (cum. $61) 
🔺05 X-Men Apocalypse $10 (cum. $136.3) )  Review, Podcast
🔻06 Me Before You $9.2 (cum. $36.8) Review
🔻07 Angry Birds $6.7 (cum. $98.1)
🔻08 Alice Through the Looking Glass $5.5 (cum. $62.4) 
🔻09 Captain America: Civil War $4.3 (cum. $396.8) Review
🔻10 The Jungle Book $2.7 (cum. $352.6)

TOP TEN LIMITED
Under 1000 screens. Excluding previously wide. 
🔺01 Love & Friendship $1.5 (cum. $9.5) Review, Podcast
▫️02 The Lobster $991K (cum. $5.1)  Reviewish, Podcast
🔺03 Maggie's Plan $690K (cum. $1.1)  Review
🔺04 Te3n $284K NEW 
🔺05 Weiner $166K (cum. $760K) Review 
🔻06 The Man Who Knew Infinity $161K (cum. $3.1) 
🔻07 The Meddler $135K (cum. $3.9) Review 
🔺08 The Wailing $133K (cum. $551K) 
🔺09 Sing Street $69K (cum. $2.9)  Review, Who's the MVP?, Podcast 
🔻10 A Bigger Splash $60K (cum. $1.8) Reviewish, Podcast
 

WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND? I caught Warcraft (don't judge) and The Conjuring 2 (fun scares and Patrick sings!!!!!) and the Lupita Nyong'o Tony-nominated play Eclipsed (heartwrenching). Busy weekend. 

New Laura Linney Movie Tops The Box Office

Don't you love headlines that are technically true but twisted to serve an agenda? If The Film Experience ran the world movies led by great actresses would always be event movies. Unfortunately for now we're stuck with The Lovely Laura Linney as a police chief within the context of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. [sigh] But what can you do? Summer is cruel that way.

 arrows indicate gaining or losing screens

TOP TEN WIDE
🔺01 TMNT: Out of the Shadows $35.2 NEW
🔺02 X-Men Apocalypse $22.3 (cum. $116.4) Review, Podcast
🔺03 Me Before You $18.2 NEW Review
▫️04 Alice Through the Looking Glass $10.6 (cum. $50.7) 
🔻05 Angry Birds $9.7 (cum. $86.6) 
🔻06 Captain America $7.5 (cum. $388.9)  Review
🔻07 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising $4.7 (cum. $48.5) Podcast
🔺08 Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping $4.6 NEW 
🔻09 The Jungle Book $4.2 (cum. $347.4)
🔻10 The Nice Guys $3.5 (cum. $29.1)  Shane Black, Review

TOP TEN LIMITED
Under 1000 screens. Excluding previously wide. 
🔺01 Love & Friendship $2.1 (cum. $7) Review, Podcast
🔺02 The Lobster $1.5 (cum. $3.6)  Reviewish, Podcast
🔻03 The Man Who Knew Infinity $283K (cum. $2.9)
🔻04 The Meddler $257K (cum. $3.6) Review
▫️05 The Wailing $224K (cum. $302K) 
🔺06 Weiner $215K (cum. $607K) Review  
🔻07 A Bigger Splash $160K (cum. $1.7) Reviewish, Podcast
🔺08 Maggie's Plan $153K (cum. $406K) Review
🔻09 Sing Street $46K (cum. $2.8)  Review, Who's the MVP?, Podcast 
🔺10 Dark Horse $45K (cum. $199K)  Review 
 

WHAT DID YOU SEE THIS WEEKEND? 

Memorial Day Long Weekend Champs

It's not the story that the media will cover but it looks like the winners of Memorial Day weekend are... limited releases. Love & Friendship, Whit Stillman's funny Jane Austen adaptation cracked the top ten list on just 500-ish screens. The Lobster also had a great weekend on just over 100 screens. 

The other significant happening: Captain America: Civil War overtook Deadpool this weekend to become 2016's biggest hit.

 

Otherwise the long weekend was disappointing with two underperfoming blockbusters as the big tickets. Though Apocalypse's $80 million would be spectacular for many films its still a disappointment as its a far lower opening gross than that of its X-Men predecessor Days of Future Past. Meanwhile Alice Through the Looking Glass, a sequel no one was clamoring for from a film that was a fluke phenomenon based mostly on its absurdly lucky timing post-Avatar back in 2010, opened to $34 million. With a $170 million budget that's rough. Not as rough as Johnny Depp's offscreen trouble though, as an ugly divorce from Amber Heard is brewing. She's accused him of domestic violence and obtained a restraining order, his friends have rushed to defend him, the internet is circling him with torches. That's how these things go.

What did you see this weekend?

Arrows indicate losing or gaining screens

TOP TEN
🔺01 X-Men Apocalypse $80 NEW  Review
🔺02 Alice Through the Looking Glass $34.1 NEW
▫️03 Angry Birds $24.6 (cum. $72.2) 
🔻04 Captain America: Civil War $19.7 (cum. $377.1)  Review
🔺05 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising $11.4 (cum. $40.6) 
🔻06 The Jungle Book $9.2 (cum. $340.7) Articles
▫️07 The Nice Guys $8.1 (cum. $23.5) Shane Black, Review
🔻08 Money Monster $5.5 (cum. $35.2) Jack O'Connell
🔺09 Love & Friendship $3.1 (cum. $4.1)  Review
🔻10 Zootopia $1.1 (cum. $336.1)  Reviewish

TOP TEN LIMITED
Excluding previously wide & Love & Friendship which remarkably hit the top ten!
🔺01 The Lobster $942K (cum. $1.7) Reviewish, Podcast
🔻02 The Meddler $700K (cum. $3.1) Review
🔺03 The Man Who Knew Infinity $630K (cum. $2.4)
🔺04 A Bigger Splash $530K (cum. $1.4) Reviewish, Podcast
🔺05 Weiner $216K (cum. $344K) Review
🔻06 Sing Street $154K (cum. $2.8)  Review, Who's the MVP?, Podcast
🔺07 Maggie's Plan $136K (cum. $225K) Review
🔻08 Hello My Name is Doris $87K (cum. $14.2) Review, Sally Field
🔻09 Dark Horse $44K (cum. $139) Review
🔻10 A Hologram for the King $44K (cum. $4.1) Review

Angry Birds, Angrier Superheroes.

Team Red took the box office crown this weekend. No, not the metallic team red but the feathery one. Despite an unfashionably late arrival well past the Angry Birds craze that swept phones years ago, the family audience is insatiable these days. Not that the other Team Red, Iron Man and His Amazing Friends had anything to worry about having crossed a billion globally already. Here at home Captain America Civil War leapfrogged both Zootopia and Batman v Superman this past week to become the 2nd most popular film of the year (Deadpool is still #1... for now). Neighbors 2 and Nice Guys weren't as lucky because adults don't go to movies anymore without their children but wait for streaming (sigh). In platform releases, Love & Friendship (which is so damn enjoyable) and The Lobster had successful if minor expansions. 

Arrows indicate losing or gaining screens

TOP WIDE RELEASES
🔺01 The Angry Birds Movie $39 NEW
▫️02 Captain America: Civil War $33.1 (cum. $347.3)  Review
🔺03 Neighbors 2 $21.7 NEW 
🔺04 The Nice Guys $11.2 NEW Shane Black, Review
🔻05 The Jungle Book $11 (cum. $327.4)  Articles
▫️06 Money Monster $7 (cum. $27.1) Jack O'Connell
🔺07 Darkness $2.3 (cum. $8.4)
🔻08 Zootopia $1.7 (cum. $334.4) Reviewish
🔻09 The Huntsman: Winter's War $1.1 (cum. $46.6) Review
🔻10 Mother's Day $1.1 (cum. $31.2)

TOP TEN LIMITED
Excluding previously wide.
🔺01 The Meddler $777K (cum. $2) Review
🔺02 Love & Friendship $582K (cum. $780K)  Review
🔺03 The Man Who Knew Infinity $550K (cum. $1.6)
🔺04 The Lobster $408K (cum. $1) Reviewish 
🔻05 Sing Street $350K (cum. $2.4) Review, Who's the MVP?
🔺06 A Bigger Splash $338K (cum. $787K)  Reviewish
🔺07 Weiner $85K NEW 
🔺08 Maggie's Plan $66K NEW Review
🔻09 Hologram for a King $65K (cum. $4) Review
🔻10 Compadres $57K (cum. $3.1)

What did you see this weekend?

I caught The Lobster (unmissable in its singularity) and Neighbors 2 (enjoyable if not as funny as the original)

Audiences didn't feel divided about Civil War

Only two new wide releases hit this weekend but there was only one Money Monster and it wasn't Money Monster but that superhero-filled Civil War. Naturally the good Captain didn't make room for them in his second weekend, planting himself like a tree. "No, you move." Speaking of plants with no give - The Jungle Book isn't budging either. The next two weekends will be a tougher test for both The Avenger's and Mowgli's staying power since five new multiplex friendly movies enter the fray soon: Angry Birds, The Nice Guys, and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising are next (I'm hearing surprisingly good things about all three. WTF?); and for Memorial Day Weekend the Alice in Wonderland and X-Men sequels challenge all of them for summer box office dominance though they're sure to win the gaudy sweepstakes.

Which of those five upcoming pictures are you planning to see and what did you catch this weekend?

Arrows indicate losing or gaining screens

TOP WIDE RELEASES
01 Captain America: Civil War $72.6 (cum. $295.9) Review
🔻02 The Jungle Book $17.1 (cum. $311.1) Articles
03 Money Monster $14.7 NEW Jack O'Connell
04 Darkness $4.9 NEW
🔺05 Mother's Day $3.2 (cum. $28.7) 

TOP TEN LIMITED
Excluding previously wide.
🔺01 Sing Street $619K (cum. $1.9) Review
🔺02 The Man Who Knew Infinity $508K  (cum. $.9)
🔺03 Green Room $411K (cum. $2.7)
🔺04 The Meddler $372K (cum. $1)  Review
🔻05 Hologram for the King $233K (cum. $3.8) Review
06 The Lobster $190K NEW Reviewish
🔺07 A Bigger Splash $189K (cum. $.3) Reviewish
08 Love & Friendship $133K NEW Review
09 AmeriGeddon $131K NEW
🔻10 Compadres $150K (cum. $2.9)

 I saw Love & Friendship on Jose's recommendation and it was delightfully arch and funny. I especially enjoyed Chloe Sevigny's awful American accomplice to Lady Susan's shady lady antics. Then I returned to Civil War because my bestie wanted to see it. My opinion didn't budge an iota from the first time (which is generally not a good sign that the movie will continue to grow in estimation). In short: good movie but the least of the three Captain Americas, largely because it's much slower, longer (they've been jumping 10 extra minutes with each Cap movie!)  and loses the focus on the All American Super Soldier to set up multiple future franchises from Spider-Man: Homecoming to The Black Panther to Avengers: Infinity War Pts 1 & 2 (the latter two will be getting a title change and won't be Parts 1 and Parts 2 as the public has finally caught on to that cheat for extra dollars for one movie).