Abominable and Judy both meet eager audiences

Weekend Box Office Actuals September 27th-29th  🔺 = New or Expanding / ★ = Recommended
W I D E	PLATFORM / SPECIALTY TITLES
Abominable	Judy
1 🔺  Abominable  $20.6 *new*	1 🔺 Judy $2.9 on 461 screens *new* QUICK TAKE
2 Downton Abbey $14.3 (cum. $58.3)  DAME MAGGIE	2 🔺 Nothing to Lose 2 $606k on 97 screens *new*
3 Hustlers $11.3 (cum. $80.5) REVIEW, PODCAST ★	3 🔺 Linda Ronstadt... $385k on 247 screens (cum. $2.2) REVIEW
4 It Chapter Two  $10.2 ($193.7)	4 Official Secrets $149k on 260 screens (cum. $1.6)
5 Ad Astra $10 (cum. $35.3) REVIEW ★	5 Chhichhore $136k on 78 screens (cum. $1.9)

numbers on that chart are pulled from boxofficemojo

Judy and Abominable were the stories of the weekend, both opening well. Despite opening on 461 screens, Judy was the 7th highest grosser of the weekend with a promising $6313 per screen average. A good launch for Renée Zellweger's Oscar campaign which will expand to more cities/theaters next weekend and probably also a sign that adults are ready for the Oscar-aiming fare to arrive. Abominable benefitted from an opportune release date, despite being that rarity: a non-sequel. It's been over a month since the last animated feature with a wide release and that was the underperformer Angry Birds 2 so demand was high. 

Reader Writes: Kris takes a trip to Telluride

We've been tinkering with the idea of a weekly or bi-weekly column where we hear some film talk from readers beyond just the comments section. So let's kick that off. Here's Kris Mascarenas to talk Telluride which just wrapped... - Editor

Long time reader, first time writer here reporting on Telluride Film Festival which wrapped up on Monday.   It was my second time at the festival, the first being in 2015 when Carol, Room, and Spotlight all premiered.  For the uninitiated, Telluride is located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. There is one road in and out of town and the moment you arrive, you can feel how truly special this town is.  It is a low-key festival with no paparazzi, and if you are lucky you can run into actors and directors while waiting in line for your morning coffee. 

I was on hand opening night for Judy but first there was a tribute to Renee Zellweger, and clips of her movie played (Chicago, Cold Mountain, Nurse Betty, and inexplicably... Miss Potter) before she was awarded the Silver Medallion...

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Podcast: Once Upon a Time ... in Listener Questions

with Murtada Elfadl & Nathaniel R

 

Index (59 minutes)
00:01 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: stars, tension, pacing, violence
27:00 Skin starring Jamie Bell: Murtada hates it
Listener Questions...
30:00 Feelings about Renee Zellweger playing Judy
35:00 Our favourite Brad Pitt roles
37:00 Alternative history movies
39:00 Best cats in movies?
41:45 Who is the next Nicole Kidman? 
49:00 Smackdown scheduling
50:20 Sharon Tate's legacy 
51:30 What happened with Mask (1985) at the Oscars? 
55:00 Is 2019 a weak film year? 

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Articles referenced in this recording
• Jason's review of Once Upon a Time...
• Murtada on the Judy trailer
• Nathaniel on Mask 

Once Upon a Time in Listener Questions

Renee Zellweger Sings as Judy Garland

by Murtada Elfadl

The buzz is building fast and loud for Renee Zellweger's performace as Judy Garland in Judy. All we needed was to check the voice. Will she sing or will she lip sync a la Rami Malek? Well without further ado check it out.

This is not an exacting impersonation per se from Renee but rather an interpretation. It's just a few notes from one song...

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