Ricki Rendazzo, Reed Richards, and Bubbles Bursting

Meryl Streep? Tom Cruise? Pac-Man? Vacation? It's like the 1980s all over again in movie theaters. It was a weak weekend overall with a ton of miniscule new releases and underperforming wide newbies. Meryl Streep had her worst opening weekend in a film sold on mostly on her presence since Prime (2005) before she regained her box office clout with The Devil Wears Prada. The only true success story this weekend was the word of mouth for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation which held on to #1 for another weak. It is definitely a fun summer picture but the "best in the series!" reviews feel like a bit of an overstatement. It's not quite as ambitiously staged and exciting as Ghost Protocol, but it's better than the other action films around it which makes it seem that much better. That opera scene with at least four simultaneous agendas in play and all the deadly assassins totally confused by each other sure is a kick, though, don't you think?

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What did you see this weekend?

I did try to see one movie repeatedly this weekend but The Boyfriend never let me finish the senten --  "I know where this is leading and I'm not seeing the new Tom Cruise!" so I'll go alone tomorrow. (What can I say? I like stunts.) But the closest subway wasn't running this weekend anyway so it was a perfect DVR & Netflix catch-up plus Smackdown-focused weekend.

Tom Cruise is in danger again. But he can survive anything with derring-do

BOX OFFICE
July 31st-August 2nd estimates
01 Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation $56 NEW
02 Vacation $14.8 NEW 
03 Ant-Man $12.6 (cum. $132.1) Review, Podcast
04 Minions $12.2 (cum. $287.3)  Tim on the Minions phenom
05 Pixels $10.3 (cum. $45.6) Review
06 Trainwreck $9.7 (cum. $79.7) Podcast
07 Southpaw $7.5 (cum. $31.5) Which Jake do you love most?, Podcast
08 Paper Towns $4.6 (cum. $23.8)
09 Inside Out $4.5 (cum. $329.5) Podcast
10 Jurassic World $3.8 (cum. $631.5) Blockbusters vs. Oscars

Oscars vs. Blockbusters? No, It Isn't That Simple.

Jurassic World just beat The Avengers box office tally to become the third highest grosser of all time (when you don't adjust for inflation) which has Awards Daily wringing its hands over what the Academy should do to better honor the types of films people pay to see. As you may have guessed The Film Experience has strong feelings about this topic (including suggested new Oscar categories) all of which we will share with you right now...

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What Did You See This Weekend?

I had a busy movie weekend with Southpaw (better than it should be), Ant-Man (fun but also *shrugs*), a second viewing of Tangerine, and a double-podcast recording session (coming soon). Last night I nearly slipped into a coma of boredom when accidentally catching a half hour of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. (As I type this The Boyfriend is watching The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One but not even Julianne Moore can get me near that. The appeal of that franchise continues to escape me -- not scary, not moving, dull action sequences -- and since it does I'm not sitting through a padded four-hour finale.)

Pixels high concept was so review and quality-proof that it seemed likely to explode just from brand(s) familiarity alone (like, oh, Jurassic World). But nope. Slightly lower on the list Jake Gyllenhaal had his best opening where he was the main draw since Jarhead in 2005. (I'm not  counting Prince of Persia since the video game was the main draw and no one seems to remember that movie just 5 years later, including Jake Gyllenhaal). 

What did you see this weekend?

BOX OFFICE
Early Estimates. July 24th-26th Weekend
01 Ant-Man $24.7 (cum. $106) 
02 Pixels $24 NEW 
03 Minions $22 (cum. $261.5) Tim on the Minions phenom
04 Trainwreck $17.2 (cum. $61.5) Podcast
05 Southpaw $16.5 NEW 
06 Paper Towns $12.5 NEW
07 Inside Out $7.3 (cum. $320.3) Podcast
08 Jurassic World $6.8 (cum. $623.7)
09 Mr Holmes $2.8 (cum. $6.4) 
10 Terminator Genisys $2.4 (cum. $85.6) Review

Box Office: Amy and the Ant (Man)

It was a good week to be Amy Schumer. Thursday saw her among the Best Actress nominees at the Emmys from a very competitive field and the very next day her first star vehicle movie (which she also wrote) opened to great numbers, even slightly higher than those for the more established female comic headlining a summer movie, Melissa McCarthy in Spy (which has had solid staying power and recently topped $100 million)

It was also a decent week to be Marvel Studios executives, too. Despite low grosses (comparatively for Marvel) a $57 million opening for Ant-Man has to be considered a big success given a) the characters microscopic profile in pop culture, b) a non bankable star -- Paul Rudd is well-loved but he has never been a box office draw c) a troubled production history and d) a release date in the summer in which people are just starting to be critical of Marvel Studios after ten years of drooling all over anything they did. 

And of course it continued to be great summer to be Jurassic World which has amassed a simply spectacular fortune despite being merely an OK retread. Every other movie that's grossed over $500 million has had a lot more going for it in terms of newness or critical raves. I'm not trying to be mean -- it's hardly the worst movie in the top ten of all time (that honor belongs to Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace or Shrek 2) -- but the distinct probability that it could threaten Titanic's (1997) domestic gross to become the second most popular movie of all time (if you don't adjust for inflation) is unthinkable and quite depressing. So let's not think about it and become depressed... 

Happy thoughts then: What was most wonderful about your weekend?

BOX OFFICE
Early Estimates. July 17th-19th Weekend
01 Ant-Man $57.5 NEW WIDE
02 Minions $47 (cum. $213.4) Tim on the Minions phenom
03 Trainwreck $30 NEW WIDE
04 Inside Out $11 (cum. $305) Inside Out Articles
05 Jurassic World $10.4 (cum. $610.1) Jurassic Articles 
06 Terminator Genisys $5 (cum. $80) Review 
07 Magic Mike XXL $4.4 (cum. $58.5) Review
08 The Gallows $3.8 (cum. $17.8) 
09 Ted 2 $2.3 (cum. $77)
10 Mr Holmes $2.2 NEW LIMITED