Down the Rabbit Hole with Buscemi: December 7th-9th
Posted: December 3rd, 2018, 7:38 pm
“You took the box! Let's see what's in the box! Nothing! Absolutely nothing! STUPID! You so STU-PIIIIIIIIIIID!” – Kuni, UHF (1989)
And in terms of wide releases, there really is nothing in the box. That makes my week a little bit easier. However, there are three limited releases this weekend.
Last Week
Ralph Breaks the Internet didn’t exactly do such a thing but it stayed in first place despite a 55% drop, making $25.6 million ($119.1 million to date). Second was The Grinch, with $17.9 million of cash to match his color in its fourth week. Third was Creed II with $16.6 million, fourth was Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald with $11.3 million, and rocking out the top five was Bohemian Rhapsody, still making the world go ‘round with $8 million. The only wide opener, The Possession of Hannah Grace, finished in seventh with a $6.4 million weekend.
On the PTA scene, The Favourite remained such with a $31,538 per in 34 theatres. Second was Shaun of the Dead but It’s a Musical, I mean Anna and the Apocalypse with an okay $10,518 average in five theatres. The planned wide expansion seems unlikely at this point. Shoplifters was third with a $6,971 per in its second week and Ralph and Creed were 4-5.
This Week
No wide releases this weekend, as noted above. They are bringing back Schindler’s List this weekend in preparation for the new Blu-ray/UHD/DVD/VHS/Beta/laserdisc/DIVX/Video 2000/insert random obscure home format here though. That should be of interest to some readers.
Maybe no wide releases this weekend is a good thing. We can get ready for the massive onslaught of movies coming in the next two weeks. It kind of feels like that brief period in the 90’s (and perhaps the 00’s) where eight or nine wide releases opened so close together.
But enough history lessons because we have to make it for next period.
Arthouse Class 101
This week, we go to school with three new titles.
Ben is Back (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions) – anyone remember that Katie Holmes movie from several years back called Pieces of April? No? Well, Peter Hedges, that film’s director, basically remade it but changed a few things, mainly the holiday (Thanksgiving to Christmas) and the gender of the titular character. Otherwise, you’ve got the same case of a confused young person being forced to reconnect with their estranged family.
The premise for all you non-cynics focuses on a missing teenager who returns to his family on Christmas Eve. It is later learned that he owes a debt and has to depend on his mother to help pay. If he doesn’t, his acts could destroy the family. Lucas Hedges (the younger and less-talented version of Jesse Plemons) plays Ben, Julia Roberts plays his mother, and Courtney B. Vance plays his stepfather.
Reviews have been decent but who knows how Lionsgate will distribute this one as they are handling in tandem with Roadside Attractions instead of the latter handling it themselves. With Roberts’ name recognition (Wonder made millions for Lionsgate last fall), this could end up being wider than the typical 4-6 theatres a title like this would open in. A risky pick for Ultimates but could be an okay pick for Box Office if cheap.
The film should end up with 2-3 PTA points and $2-3 million in box office.
Mary, Queen of Scots (Focus) – another film about royalty, yawn. But why should I complain? These movies make money and Universal might have been smart to make another version of this story (they previously did a 1971 film with Vanessa Redgrave as Mary and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I).
The story, for those not into European history, focuses on the 1569 conflict between England and Scotland, also known as the Rising of the North. Saoirse Ronan is Mary, Margot Robbie is Elizabeth, and the supporting cast is rounded out by Joe Alwyn, David Tennant (the Whovians are going to love it), and Guy Pearce.
Early reviews are quite good and as I said, there’s a strong audience for this kind of movie. With On the Basis of Sex having disappointing early word, this is probably Focus’s best bet for awards. Focus will probably open small and expand small while making sure not to conflict with The Favourite in getting that box office coinage. You should go for it with what money you have.
In the end, there should be 7-12 PTA points and $15-20 million in box office.
Vox Lux (Neon) – Brady Corbet, from the same state that gave us our King of the Fantaverse, has had an odd career. Starting as your typical teen actor, appearing in the film version of Thunderbirds and episodes of 24, his career took an interesting turn when he appeared in Michael Haneke's American remake of Funny Games and since then has gone into making unusual independent films, first as a screenwriter (with Simon Killer among other films) and then as a director (with The Childhood of a Leader). Retired from acting since 2015, Corbet has now put his creative juices into directing full-time and given us a new film about the pop music industry. Could it be another A Star is Born, a decent limited release performer like Love & Mercy (a film that used a similar narrative), or will it be forgotten like many other music-themed films of the past?
Despite being advertised as a Natalie Portman vehicle, she is actually not in that much of the film (using the Love & Mercy example, I would imagine it’s much like John Cusack in that film). The film is set across two time periods: 1999 and 2017. In 1999, our heroine uses music to escape tragedy. In the process, she gets famous through the work of a zealous manager. In 2017, the price of fame has broken our heroine as the past begins to catch up in a new form. The film also stars Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, Willem Dafoe, Maria Dizzia, and Christopher Abbott. The film’s music was performed by Sia.
The film has gotten stellar reviews but I have a feeling it might not be enough. Neon picked this up hoping it would be 2018’s I, Tonya. However, the highly artistic style and lack of Portman in the first half might cause this to not break out. A good comparison in terms of box office potential could be Suspiria, which opened to a large amount of hype but died fast once audiences learned what it actually was. But this one’s probably a better sell, being over 40 minutes shorter and with more marketable elements.
Let's go with 5-9 PTA points and $3-4 million in total box office.
Next week, Monkey will cover three wide releases, Mortal Engines (Universal), The Mule (Warner Bros.), and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony/Columbia), and two limited releases, Capernaum (Sony Pictures Classics) and If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna). Honey, where are my pants?
And in terms of wide releases, there really is nothing in the box. That makes my week a little bit easier. However, there are three limited releases this weekend.
Last Week
Ralph Breaks the Internet didn’t exactly do such a thing but it stayed in first place despite a 55% drop, making $25.6 million ($119.1 million to date). Second was The Grinch, with $17.9 million of cash to match his color in its fourth week. Third was Creed II with $16.6 million, fourth was Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald with $11.3 million, and rocking out the top five was Bohemian Rhapsody, still making the world go ‘round with $8 million. The only wide opener, The Possession of Hannah Grace, finished in seventh with a $6.4 million weekend.
On the PTA scene, The Favourite remained such with a $31,538 per in 34 theatres. Second was Shaun of the Dead but It’s a Musical, I mean Anna and the Apocalypse with an okay $10,518 average in five theatres. The planned wide expansion seems unlikely at this point. Shoplifters was third with a $6,971 per in its second week and Ralph and Creed were 4-5.
This Week
No wide releases this weekend, as noted above. They are bringing back Schindler’s List this weekend in preparation for the new Blu-ray/UHD/DVD/VHS/Beta/laserdisc/DIVX/Video 2000/insert random obscure home format here though. That should be of interest to some readers.
Maybe no wide releases this weekend is a good thing. We can get ready for the massive onslaught of movies coming in the next two weeks. It kind of feels like that brief period in the 90’s (and perhaps the 00’s) where eight or nine wide releases opened so close together.
But enough history lessons because we have to make it for next period.
Arthouse Class 101
This week, we go to school with three new titles.
Ben is Back (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions) – anyone remember that Katie Holmes movie from several years back called Pieces of April? No? Well, Peter Hedges, that film’s director, basically remade it but changed a few things, mainly the holiday (Thanksgiving to Christmas) and the gender of the titular character. Otherwise, you’ve got the same case of a confused young person being forced to reconnect with their estranged family.
The premise for all you non-cynics focuses on a missing teenager who returns to his family on Christmas Eve. It is later learned that he owes a debt and has to depend on his mother to help pay. If he doesn’t, his acts could destroy the family. Lucas Hedges (the younger and less-talented version of Jesse Plemons) plays Ben, Julia Roberts plays his mother, and Courtney B. Vance plays his stepfather.
Reviews have been decent but who knows how Lionsgate will distribute this one as they are handling in tandem with Roadside Attractions instead of the latter handling it themselves. With Roberts’ name recognition (Wonder made millions for Lionsgate last fall), this could end up being wider than the typical 4-6 theatres a title like this would open in. A risky pick for Ultimates but could be an okay pick for Box Office if cheap.
The film should end up with 2-3 PTA points and $2-3 million in box office.
Mary, Queen of Scots (Focus) – another film about royalty, yawn. But why should I complain? These movies make money and Universal might have been smart to make another version of this story (they previously did a 1971 film with Vanessa Redgrave as Mary and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I).
The story, for those not into European history, focuses on the 1569 conflict between England and Scotland, also known as the Rising of the North. Saoirse Ronan is Mary, Margot Robbie is Elizabeth, and the supporting cast is rounded out by Joe Alwyn, David Tennant (the Whovians are going to love it), and Guy Pearce.
Early reviews are quite good and as I said, there’s a strong audience for this kind of movie. With On the Basis of Sex having disappointing early word, this is probably Focus’s best bet for awards. Focus will probably open small and expand small while making sure not to conflict with The Favourite in getting that box office coinage. You should go for it with what money you have.
In the end, there should be 7-12 PTA points and $15-20 million in box office.
Vox Lux (Neon) – Brady Corbet, from the same state that gave us our King of the Fantaverse, has had an odd career. Starting as your typical teen actor, appearing in the film version of Thunderbirds and episodes of 24, his career took an interesting turn when he appeared in Michael Haneke's American remake of Funny Games and since then has gone into making unusual independent films, first as a screenwriter (with Simon Killer among other films) and then as a director (with The Childhood of a Leader). Retired from acting since 2015, Corbet has now put his creative juices into directing full-time and given us a new film about the pop music industry. Could it be another A Star is Born, a decent limited release performer like Love & Mercy (a film that used a similar narrative), or will it be forgotten like many other music-themed films of the past?
Despite being advertised as a Natalie Portman vehicle, she is actually not in that much of the film (using the Love & Mercy example, I would imagine it’s much like John Cusack in that film). The film is set across two time periods: 1999 and 2017. In 1999, our heroine uses music to escape tragedy. In the process, she gets famous through the work of a zealous manager. In 2017, the price of fame has broken our heroine as the past begins to catch up in a new form. The film also stars Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, Willem Dafoe, Maria Dizzia, and Christopher Abbott. The film’s music was performed by Sia.
The film has gotten stellar reviews but I have a feeling it might not be enough. Neon picked this up hoping it would be 2018’s I, Tonya. However, the highly artistic style and lack of Portman in the first half might cause this to not break out. A good comparison in terms of box office potential could be Suspiria, which opened to a large amount of hype but died fast once audiences learned what it actually was. But this one’s probably a better sell, being over 40 minutes shorter and with more marketable elements.
Let's go with 5-9 PTA points and $3-4 million in total box office.
Next week, Monkey will cover three wide releases, Mortal Engines (Universal), The Mule (Warner Bros.), and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony/Columbia), and two limited releases, Capernaum (Sony Pictures Classics) and If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna). Honey, where are my pants?