Walleye's Weekly Winners: The Films of 6/8
Posted: June 7th, 2018, 2:26 am
3 years ago who would of guessed that Star Wars fatigue would happen before Marvel fatigue? But what do you know. Here in Bizaaro world an R-rated Deadpool might end up making double the take of one of the most loved characters in cinematic history. And even with all that: Solo won it’s second week at the Box Office, besting Titanic-lite Adrift and a few other holdovers. Upgrade did better than Action Point, something absolutely nobody saw coming. And on the PTA front, American Animals did what everyone saw coming – and saved a few slates in our little homegrown game. What does that all mean for this weekend? Not much as it’s out with the old and in with the new.
We’ve got Oceans 8 - the only big spender at the cinemas this weekend. Sandra Bullock and a stellar cast of ladies try to be better than the Ghostbusters sequel. (No not Ghostbusters 2, that was just plain horrible.) There’s a whole lot of angst around this movie in light of gender-flipped movies not doing so well lately. I actually don’t think all of that matter nearly as much as if the movies good, and if it has an audience. As Book Club has shown us (Hello, 60 million by this weekend?) Not everyone wants to just see stuff blow up. The new Oceans gang will win the weekend with 40 million, on it’s way to 120 million total. It should nab 12 Top 5 points, plus a few PTA points as well. If you’re a believer, and you should be, you should have this on your slates.
Now most of us are trying to fit Hereditary on our slates as well. It’s Horror, and when done well those have been slate saviors for the last couple of years. Who hasn’t benefitted from an underpriced Quiet Place, Get Out, It, Split, Show Dogs, etc. etc. etc. But Hereditary is not that movie. It’s got a ton of buzz, and it’ll do well, worth the $7 or $8 in most leagues. But it’s not doing blockbuster business. Too niche, wrong studio backing, etc. It’ll get 4th for the weekend, and have a good PTA count, but unless you’re reading the tea leaves way differently, don’t count on this to anchor your slate.
Equally tempting, but even less likely to save the day, is Hotel Artemis. What crazy-tarantino type genius came up with the premise and casting for this film? Jodie Foster, Sterling Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jenny Slate, Zacary Quinto, Dave Bautista? And there’s more? Gonzo. Actually, I think he might be in it too. Other than this being set in some weird world where L.A. is a super dangerous place to live, I don’t know much about this movie, and I likely won’t get to see it. It might get 6-7 million for an opener, I’m predicting 5th place for the weekend, and a 15ish million total. If you’re feeling risky go with Hereditary. Or try the Sushi in Omaha.
On the Indie front we’ve got a sweet, and impactful little documentary coming out about Mr. Rogers with Won’t You Be My Neighbor. I defy anyone to speak negatively about this man or this movie. Dude, it’s Mr. Rogers, how can anyone dislike him. The movie has been receiving rave reviews (from viewers at least) since Sundance and that should continue this weekend. It’s actually a message of kindness and tolerance that just about everyone in America could stand to see, but as it opens in only a couple dozen theatres they may have to wait their turn. That’s another good lesson Fred taught us as well. With that high theatre count it’s not as surefire as American Animals last week, but if you want to feel good about yourself and the world, see this movie and add it to your slate. As Mr. Rogers said: it’s not just about winning. Or that might have been Lebron James.
Finally we’ve got Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist. Another documentary, this time about a woman I know nothing about. I’m sure she’s amazing, they don’t’ make documentaries about just anybody. But for game purposes it’s a toss up. It’ll probably do better than American Animals second week. But I’m still betting it loses to Mr. Rogers, Oceans 8, and maybe even Hereditary. I figure you can do better. But then again, on this subject, I literally know nothing.
And that’s all folks! Join us next week as the biggest movie of the Summer comes out: Incredibles 2. Bigger than the Avengers? Nah, but that came out in the Spring.
Top 5
Oceans 8
Deadpool 2
Solo
Hereditary
Hotel Artemis
PTA
Won’t You Be My Neighbor
Oceans 8
Hereditary
Westwood
American Animals
We’ve got Oceans 8 - the only big spender at the cinemas this weekend. Sandra Bullock and a stellar cast of ladies try to be better than the Ghostbusters sequel. (No not Ghostbusters 2, that was just plain horrible.) There’s a whole lot of angst around this movie in light of gender-flipped movies not doing so well lately. I actually don’t think all of that matter nearly as much as if the movies good, and if it has an audience. As Book Club has shown us (Hello, 60 million by this weekend?) Not everyone wants to just see stuff blow up. The new Oceans gang will win the weekend with 40 million, on it’s way to 120 million total. It should nab 12 Top 5 points, plus a few PTA points as well. If you’re a believer, and you should be, you should have this on your slates.
Now most of us are trying to fit Hereditary on our slates as well. It’s Horror, and when done well those have been slate saviors for the last couple of years. Who hasn’t benefitted from an underpriced Quiet Place, Get Out, It, Split, Show Dogs, etc. etc. etc. But Hereditary is not that movie. It’s got a ton of buzz, and it’ll do well, worth the $7 or $8 in most leagues. But it’s not doing blockbuster business. Too niche, wrong studio backing, etc. It’ll get 4th for the weekend, and have a good PTA count, but unless you’re reading the tea leaves way differently, don’t count on this to anchor your slate.
Equally tempting, but even less likely to save the day, is Hotel Artemis. What crazy-tarantino type genius came up with the premise and casting for this film? Jodie Foster, Sterling Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jenny Slate, Zacary Quinto, Dave Bautista? And there’s more? Gonzo. Actually, I think he might be in it too. Other than this being set in some weird world where L.A. is a super dangerous place to live, I don’t know much about this movie, and I likely won’t get to see it. It might get 6-7 million for an opener, I’m predicting 5th place for the weekend, and a 15ish million total. If you’re feeling risky go with Hereditary. Or try the Sushi in Omaha.
On the Indie front we’ve got a sweet, and impactful little documentary coming out about Mr. Rogers with Won’t You Be My Neighbor. I defy anyone to speak negatively about this man or this movie. Dude, it’s Mr. Rogers, how can anyone dislike him. The movie has been receiving rave reviews (from viewers at least) since Sundance and that should continue this weekend. It’s actually a message of kindness and tolerance that just about everyone in America could stand to see, but as it opens in only a couple dozen theatres they may have to wait their turn. That’s another good lesson Fred taught us as well. With that high theatre count it’s not as surefire as American Animals last week, but if you want to feel good about yourself and the world, see this movie and add it to your slate. As Mr. Rogers said: it’s not just about winning. Or that might have been Lebron James.
Finally we’ve got Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist. Another documentary, this time about a woman I know nothing about. I’m sure she’s amazing, they don’t’ make documentaries about just anybody. But for game purposes it’s a toss up. It’ll probably do better than American Animals second week. But I’m still betting it loses to Mr. Rogers, Oceans 8, and maybe even Hereditary. I figure you can do better. But then again, on this subject, I literally know nothing.
And that’s all folks! Join us next week as the biggest movie of the Summer comes out: Incredibles 2. Bigger than the Avengers? Nah, but that came out in the Spring.
Top 5
Oceans 8
Deadpool 2
Solo
Hereditary
Hotel Artemis
PTA
Won’t You Be My Neighbor
Oceans 8
Hereditary
Westwood
American Animals