Box Office: The Tree of Hungover Pandas in Paris

I know I said I was taking today off but I ended up drawing instead. I am not a summer person. (I am the opposite of bears, my form of hibernation involving air conditioning in summertime and avoiding bright light.) But moving on to more pressing movie matters...

Memorial Day Weekend at the Box Office proves that it's a repetitive world with tons of franchise action (Bridesmaids 2 already has a greenlight, right? If not, it can't be far off.) It all blends together for me.

Pandas are total lightweights.

The Box Office (4 Day Weekend Actuals!)

01 THE HANGOVER PART II new $103.4
02 KUNG FU PANDA 2 new  $60.8
03 PIRATES 4 $50 (cumulative 163.6)
04 BRIDESMAIDS 1 $20.7 (cumulative $89.3)
05 AVENGERS PREQUEL #2  $12 (cumulative $162.4)
06 THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, 5TH EDITION $7.8 (cumulative $197.3)
        and leaving the world o' franchises behind...
07 MIDNIGHT IN PARIS $2.5 (cumulative $3.4)
08 RIO $2.4 (cumulative $135.4)
09 JUMPING THE BROOM $2.3 (cumulative $34.6)
10 SOMETHING BORROWED $2.2 (cumulative $35.1)

The success stories of the week -- honestly everyone and their dog monkey knew that the Hangover and Panda sequels would sell tickets -- were in limited release: Midnight in Paris and The Tree of Life had, by a significant margin, fuller houses than any other films.

If Woody's annual offering continues to generate this kind of interest he may be looking at a Match Point / Vicky Cristina Barcelona level success. Both of those films had real legs at the box office topping out at about $23 million domestically and nearing $100 million globally and both went on to a bit of Oscar play. For those who are curious about how he has such free reign despite never having "hits" in the traditional sense, it comes down to low budgets and a global fanbase which has been far more loyal to him than American audiences. Nearly all of his movies are much more successful overseas which is definitely not the norm... for American comedies especially.

Though it's sort of off topic, I still maintain that had Dreamworks done a better job with Match Point's release -- it was a sleeper waiting to happen but they held back and held back losing all of its Critics/Cannes/"Comeback!" steam before that lame weekend-after-Christmas Oscar glut strategy -- it would have been even bigger. Midnight hasn't even gone wide yet so things are looking very good IF they keep expanding. As for The Tree of Life... the latest augmentation of the Malick Mystique could have conceivably landed in the top ten had it been less timid about revealing itself; the theaters were packed but they numbered only four.

Oscar Predictions Updates Coming Wednesday. (Working on them now.) My reflections on The Tree of Life coming later. I'm mystified that so many web critics can write huge pieces on complicated movies without time to reflect or edit their words mere moments after they see them... but that's the way film criticism is going. It's an instantaneous world. Alas. (I know I need to speed up, shut up!)

What did you see this holiday weekend?
If it wasn't a holiday for you, did you still have time for a movie or three?

Cannes Winners: Kiki, Malick, and More

The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival wrapped up today with the jury awards.

Some awards announcements feel like deflations to robust film festivals but not this year. Major conversation pieces won big, extending the buzz if not adding much in the way of a surprise element that can sometimes send hype spinning in new directions.

First and foremost I, personally, must let out a whoop of joy at the news that Kirsten Dunst took Best Actress. I've long been a champion of her underappreciated gifts. She's one of those rare actresses who is just as skilled at both comedic and dramatic roles and her filmography will eventually have the last laugh over her many detractors.  Her "comeback", artistically speaking, probably started with All Good Things this December. She won very complimentary reviews and a last minute Oscar campaign even though the film itself didn't get much attention. [The Film Experience Interview from Kirsten Dunst if you missed it.]

Gif via Rich at FourFour

Main Jury (Robert DeNiro was Jury President)
This jury, the jury that gets all the attention, hands out the prizes for the films in the main competition roster. But Cannes has several sidebars as well.
PALME D'OR The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick.
GRAND PRIX (runner up) The Kid With The Bike by the Dardenne Brothers who seem to win something each and every year and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

JURY PRIZE Polisse by Maïwenn Le Besco (we discussed her very briefly)
DIRECTOR Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive (making good on the critical excitement)
SCREENPLAY Joseph Cedar for Footnote
ACTOR Jean DuJardin for The Artist
ACTRESS Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia (see previous posts)

Camera D'Or (Jury President Bong Joon Ho, of Mother and The Host fame)
GOLDEN CAMERA (Best First Feature)  Las Acacias directed by Pablo Giorgelli [Argentina]

Un Certain Regard (Jury President Emir Kusturica of Underground and Black Cat White Cat fame)
PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD (tie) Arirang by Kim Ki-Duk and Stopped on Track by Andreas Dresen

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE Elena by Andrey Zvyaginstev
DIRECTING PRIZE Mohammad Rasoulof for Bé Omid é Didar

Critics Week  (Jury President Chang-dong Lee of Poetry and Secret Sunshine fame)
This jury concentrates on new directors (meaning first or second timers)
FEATURE Take Shelter (which played at Sundance) starring Michael Shannon & Jessica Chastain.
SPECIAL MENTION Snowtown (a controversial choice)
CID/CCAS and the OFAJ Las Acacias (which also won the Camera D'Or)

The Skin I Live In wins a Cinematography Prize. Notice the poster on the wall is the one they've been using for the film's teaser poster

C.S.T
VULCAN PRIZE (for an artist technician) went to cinematographer José Luis Alcaine for Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In (previous posts)
SPECIAL DISTINCTION went to Sound Designer Paul Davies and Editor Joe Bini for Lynne Ramsay's We Need To Talk About Kevin

Cross-CountryCinefondation and Short Films (Jury President Michel Gondry)
SHORT FILMS
PALME D'OR Cross-Country by Maryna Vroda
JURY PRIZE Swimsuit 46 by Wannes Destoop

CINEFONDATION
1ST PRIZE Der Brief (The Letter) by Dorotyea Droumeva
2ND PRIZE Drari by Kamal Lazraq
3RD PRIZE Fly By Night by Son Tae-gyum

In terms of the Oscar race, which rarely correlates with Cannes and doesn't need to, this still adds a helpful sheen of prestige to The Tree of Life, Melancholia and Take Shelter which will all see the US marketplace. Given the multiple prizes for the Argentinian debut film Las Acacias one also wonders if it will be Argentina's Oscar submission?

What do you make of all this? Did anything surprise you?

Cannes Check: A long weekend

Robert (author of Distant Relatives) here. It feels like the dog days of Cannes. Film reactions keep coming in and while they seem endlessly mixed or average it's always helpful to remember that when most of these films make their way to the states (in what could be a week or a year... or two years... or never) many of them will be greeted by accolades and Rotten Tomato scores upwards of 80%.

Let's start with the gems. Alex has already clued you in on the success of The Artist. There was one other big hit this weekend. The Dardenne Brothers at this point could direct a Sham-Wow infomercial and it would be accepted to Cannes. But there's a reason why. The Kid With a Bike is being received as one more of many high points in their career. Are the Dardennes in the running for their third Palme? [Rotten Tomatoes page]

Footnote by Israeli director Joseph Cedar, who had an Oscar nominee in Beaufort recently, is also finding itself plenty of fans, as the MUBI roundup will attest. The film, about an accomplished but underappreciated professor constantly at odds with his very appreciated academic son is being praised for its mixture of dry, often awkward comedy and meaningful family pathos.

If you've seen previous Cannes winner The Son's Room, you're familiar with the work of director Nanni Moretti. His entry this year is We Have a Pope which is about a reluctant pontiff seems to have not struck the right note between comedy and drama. "Intermittently amusing" is the faint praise coming from IndieWIRE. 

Fans of Korea's Kim Ki-duk (3-Iron, spring summer fall winter...and spring) will be happy to know that he's returned, albeit with an odd project. Arirang is a documentary in which the director has turned the camera on himself to record his crises of confidence after an actress almost died on the set of his film Dream. A few viewers find the process intriguing, but many echo the sentiment of AV Club's Mike D'Angelo who calls it "self-indulgent, useless, “therapeutic” one-man tripe."

Miss Bala

Un Certain Regard film Miss Bala, a tense film about a Tijuana beauty queen's encounter with gangsters is getting good to strong notices.  As usual MUBI has done a fine job of summing up.

You can now consider yourself caught up, except for the 500lb artistically narrated gorilla, which opens today.

[Editor's Note: Hi. It's Nathaniel. I'm back from a short trip away. We are opting not to say much about The Tree of Life, or to cover the inevitably ecstatic reviews and tweetgasms that are pouring in. For one thing, initial response to highly awaited festival fare is always tricky to gauge. No matter what this type of movie is like, the reaction will verge on hysteric (in any direction) since no critic -- even the best of them  -- will have had the proper time to truly contemplate it before writing their reviews (especially given that none of them are getting any sleep at the moment.) But mostly we don't want any spoilers. No, Malick's films aren't typically plotty but do you really want his amazing gift for indelible imagery described to you in detail before you're seeing it? I do not. I want to experience it in the purest way possible. Since the film is opening THIS MONTH patience is not only a virtue, but it's an easy (okay, easier) trait to adopt. Resist the modern urge to have every experience spoiled in advance for you!]

The Festival They Inhabit.

Jose here to announce this year's Cannes Film Festival lineup.

As usual, Cannes will fill the Croisette with names we've heard year after year, but when those names are Pedro Almodóvar, the Dardenne brothers and Lars von Trier, you won't listen to much complains from our side.

This year the official lineup will include the following films:

Click to read more ...

Link As We Know It

i09 offers a look at the clockwork man in Scorsese's The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Gold Derby wonders if Oscar winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie & Clyde) has a Tony Award in her very near future.
In Contention Guy shares his review plans for The Tree of Life in light of its premiere plans. And the new poster. Why yes, reader, here it is. Enjoy.

Gold Derby Academy to honor Sophia Loren in May
Playbill Kristin Chenoweth is coming back to Broadway. Details are unknown but bliss will surely follow.
Self Styled Siren 10 Films that the Siren Should Love But Doesn't. What a fun idea for a list. It's not classics you don't like that everyone else does... it's films you should like, given what you typically respond to, but just don't.

Finally...here's the Onion's vicious but laugh out loud funny Katharine Heigl tragedy "In Freak Accident, 34 Katherine Keigl Films Released At Once." Thanks to Glenn for pointing it out.

In Freak Accident, 34 Katherine Heigl Films Released At Once

So so funny though that Venus & Mars poster / concept reads 100% like a real movie. For a second I thought it was. My favorite bit was the 700% rise in self-blindings and the stressed EMT.

We're doing the best we can out here but the movies are just coming out too fast.

In truth I am one of those rare souls who kind of likes Katharine Heigl. BUT here is how I escaped the hatred: I didn't see all these crappy movies she stars in and I only watched like one season of Grey's Anatomy because it was a shlocky gooey mess. If there is one star in need of saying "no" unless it's a prestige project with A list director next time, it's her. She has enough money. A hiatus until a quality offer shows itself is the only answer to turn this ship around.