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Yes, if you’re wondering, they are still keeping track of this.

Denzel Washington’s ‘The Little Things’ repeats No. 1 at box office

LOS ANGELES — Denzel Washington’s crime thriller “The Little Things” led domestic box office charts again, pulling in $2.1 million in its second weekend of release.

Overseas, “The Little Things” collected $1.4 million in ticket sales from 20 countries. The R-rated film has made $7.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $5.2 million internationally to date.

Directed by John Lee Hancock, “The Little Things” debuted simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service. With the U.S. box office essentially at a standstill, Warner Bros. made the decision (one that was met with vocal backlash) to repeat that hybrid strategy for its entire 2021 movie slate.

In second place, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Croods: A New Age” has generated $1.7 million. After 11 weeks in theatres, the “Croods” sequel has brought in $46 million domestically. Though there aren’t many big-screen offerings for audiences to choose from these days, its box office hold has been notable because “The Croods: A New Age” has been available to rent on premium video-on-demand platforms for two months. Overseas, the film brought in $808,000, which brings its international total to $101.6 million and global haul to $147.6 million.

Liam Neeson thriller “The Marksman” landed in the No. 3 spot, grossing $1 million from 2,018 screens. That brings its total haul to $9.1 million. “Wonder Woman 1984” came in fourth place with $905,000 from 1,818 U.S. locations. The Warner Bros. superhero adventure, which also premiered concurrently on HBO Max, has amassed $40 million at the domestic box office and $154 million worldwide.

Sony’s “Monster Hunter” rounded out the top five with $590,000 in its eighth weekend of release. The video game adaptation, starring Milla Jovovich, has made $11.8 million to date.

Overseas, Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” – which isn’t playing in domestic theatres and is only available to U.S. audiences on Disney Plus – continues to sell tickets. The film is performing particularly well in China, where it has made $55.8 and has officially passed “Incredibles 2” ($53.7 million) to become the country’s second-highest Pixar release ever. In total, “Soul” earned $6.9 million from 11 international countries, boosting its foreign bounty to $96.2 million.

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Movies

One day there’ll be good movies to go see again!!

Come Play’ limps to $3.1 million debut at box office

LOS ANGELES — Audiences did not heed the title of “Come Play,” a terrifying thriller from Focus Features and Amblin that debuted in U.S. theatres this weekend. The PG-13 horror film generated just $3.15 million from 2,183 screens, enough to lead sleepy box office charts in pandemic times.

Moviegoing has been incredibly slow in North America because theatres in New York City and Los Angeles, two vital markets, remain closed. With those venues shuttered, studios are wary of releasing big-budget potential blockbusters. For the time being, studios are siphoning off smaller movies like “Come Play,” supernatural thriller “The Empty Man” and family flick “The War With Grandpa.” It’s a chance for theatre owners to offer audiences new product, sure, but such offerings are hardly moving the needle for ticket sales.

“Come Play” actually came in ahead of expectations: pre-release tracking suggested inaugural weekend sales around $2 million to $2.5 million. Yet analyst David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, referred to the opening of “Come Play” as “soft.” However, he noted that “like all recent wide releases, ‘Come Play’s’ theatre count is somewhat low and in line with the proportion of theatres closed across the U.S.”

“Come Play” sold the most tickets in Dallas, followed by New York — despite New York City venues still shuttered. Drive-in theatres have been a boon during the pandemic, and this weekend was no different. Mission Tiki Drive-In near Los Angeles and West Wind Sacramento 6 Drive-In were among the highest-earning theatres. Directed by Jacob Chase and starring Gillian Jacobs (“Love”) and John Gallagher Jr., “Come Play” follows two parents as they attempt to protect their young son from getting abducted by a villainous humanoid creature. It cost $10 million to produce.

“We’re thrilled that audiences came out to celebrate Halloween making ‘Come Play’ the No. 1 movie this weekend,” said Lisa Bunnell, president of distribution at Focus Features.

Liam Neeson’s action adventure “Honest Thief” collected $1.35 million from 2,360 theatres, enough to secure second place. After three weekends of release, the movie has generated $9.5 million.

Since launching over the Columbus Day holiday weekend, Robert De Niro’s “The War With Grandpa” has made $11.2 million in total. The comedy landed at No. 3 on charts this weekend after adding another $1.1 million from 2,365 screens.

“The Empty Man,” from Disney’s 20th Century Studios, plummeted nearly 60% from initial weekend sales. Given essentially zero promotion from the studio, it scraped together $561,000 this weekend for a North American total of $2.2 million.

“The Empty Man” came in behind Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” which has been in U.S. theatres for over two months. The sci-fi epic, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, brought in $665,000. That brings “Tenet’s” domestic total to $53.8 million, disappointing results for a movie that cost over $200 million. Overseas, the film has enjoyed stronger box office receipts, with ticket sales reaching $293.3 million internationally and $347 million globally.

Elsewhere, Paramount unveiled “Spell” on premium video-on-demand and in 369 theatres, where it earned $210,000.

In honour of Halloween, Disney brought some spooky holiday favourites back to the big screen, including “Hocus Pocus” ($456,000), “The Nightmare Before Christmas” ($386,000) and “Monsters Inc. ($232,000).

Sluggish box office sales come as parts of Europe are enacting new lockdowns, prompting theatres in England, France and Italy to close down again. In the U.S., there are concerns that chilly temperatures during winter could cause coronavirus to continue surging.

“The cold, indoor weather is going to be a challenge around the world,” Gross said.

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Movies

I wanted to go to a movie theatre twice this weekend, but the showtimes didn’t work out. I’m trying!!

Liam Neeson thriller ‘Honest Thief’ tops quiet box office again

LOS ANGELES, Oct 25, (Variety.com) – Liam Neeson’s thriller “Honest Thief” repeated as the winner of a subdued domestic box office with $2.4 million at 2,502 locations.

The Open Road release declined 44% from its opening frame and has taken in $7.5 million in its first 10 days in North America. The distributor added screens in New York state following New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to give movie theaters outside of New York City permission to reopen at reduced capacity starting on Oct. 23.

Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road said: “Our belief was that releasing a crowd-pleaser of a film, like ‘Honest Thief,’ at this point in time, would generate the positive word-of-mouth necessary to successfully propel the film for many weeks. Back to back weeks at number 1, confirms that belief.”

The “Honest Thief” number is one of the lowest-winning weekend totals in theaters during the past two months, but Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, said it demonstrated the fundamental appeal of the moviegoing experience.

“The performance of ‘Honest Thief’ proves that moviegoers haven’t given up on the theatrical experience and that an action thriller starring Liam Neeson is the perfect antidote to today’s trying times and supplies that big screen escape that audiences have been craving,” Dergarabedian said. “With an unlimited supply of content at home on the small screen, it should be heartening to theatrical exhibition that movies in theaters remain relevant to audiences and even though the box office numbers (for obvious reasons) are lower than what would be typically seen at this time of year, there is clearly an interest by consumers in the movie theater experience.”

The New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco markets remained closed due to the pandemic along with the Regal Cinemas chain, which shuttered its 536 U.S. locations on Oct. 8. Other U.S. theaters are operating with reduced hours and at reduced capacity with social distancing restrictions.

101 Studios’ third weekend of family comedy “The War With Grandpa” showed solid holding power with a 25% decline to $1.9 million at 2,345 venues for a 17-day total of $9.7 million. The Robert De Niro vehicle led the box office over the Columbus Day weekend with $4 million, breaking the five-weekend winning streak of “Tenet,” the big-budget Christopher Nolan thriller.

Disney’s opening of horror-thriller “The Empty Man” debuted softly with $1.3 million at 2,027 domestic locations. In the film, James Badge Dale stars as an ex-cop dealing with a secretive group trying to summon a supernatural entity. “The Empty Man” was developed at 20th Century Fox before Disney bought the Fox entertainment assets last year.

Christoper Nolan’s “Tenet” also took in $1.3 million at 1,801 domestic site, declining only 15% in its eighth weekend. Warner Bros. opted to open “Tenet” in North America on Labor Day weekend and has seen domestic results top $52 million. The international results have been respectable with nearly $290 million, but the film’s modest domestic performance signaled a reluctance by many U.S. moviegoers to return to multiplexes amid the ongoing pandemic. Major studios have been delaying virtually every other high-profile release as a result.

During the past week, three more high profile titles — MGM’s “Legally Blonde 3,” Universal’s “Candyman” and Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” — have been delayed. Only a few major studio movies remain on the 2020 calendar with Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman 1984” scheduled for Dec. 25.

Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro, summed up the weekend by noting the need for exhibitors to provide reassurance to potential customers.

“Relatively strong holds across the board remain the theme of pandemic box office, even if overall foot traffic remains markedly low,” he noted. “The re-opening of some New York state cinemas helps business in a minor way, but we’re in a period of the calendar now where theaters should start relying more on communication to consumers about the safety of moviegoing just as much as, or more than, promoting new releases. It’ll be a few weeks before any truly mainstream titles arrive from major studios again. The attainable goal right now is all about building consumer confidence.”

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Movies

If you haven’t re-watched it again yet, you should.

How the movie ‘Contagion’ perfectly predicted the 2020 coronavirus crisis

The COVID-19 crisis caught a lot of people flat-footed — including an alarming number of people in government — but to anyone who’s seen “Contagion,” this all seems a bit like deja vu.

The drama, which hit theaters in 2011, is about a regular family man (Matt Damon) trying to navigate a partial societal collapse after a deadly virus sweeps across the globe. As of Friday, it was the third most popular movie on iTunes — and the only film in the top 10 that didn’t come out in 2019.

The filmmakers, including director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns, set out to make a film that was as realistic as possible. And they accomplished that, in part, by consulting numerous real-life epidemiological experts.

“Their goal was to try and really show people as accurate a picture that could be conjured, in hopes that it would motivate political leaders to get mobilized,” says Laurie Garrett, one of those health experts consulted by the filmmakers.

Garrett is a former senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations who has been tracking outbreaks for decades. She published the bestselling book “The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance” in 1994.

In early versions of the film script, the bug was going to be related to the flu virus that killed millions in 1918. But then a virus from the same subtype — H1N1 — known as the “swine flu” hit in 2009, luckily with limited casualties.

“It wasn’t a super virulent strain,” Garrett says. “It made no sense to use that because humanity had just gone through it.”

So the script was rewritten to focus on a hypothetical virus that originated in Hong Kong, designed with the help of Ian Lipkin, the director of Columbia’s Center for Infection and Immunity.

“We’ve generally seen a lot [of diseases] arising out of Asia because of the tremendous disruption in that part of the world,” Garrett says. “Bats and birds are deeply stressed because of deforestation and climate change.”

In “Contagion,” a bat drops a piece of a fruit, which is eaten by a pig. That pig is then slaughtered for consumption, passing on a virus to humans.

Scientists believe that the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 300,000 people worldwide and claimed over 11,000 lives, may also have come from bats.

“Bats have a high index of viruses in their saliva,” Garrett says.

None of these viruses harm the bats themselves, serving as a defense mechanism to ward off predators.

One of the reasons “Contagion” feels so prescient is because of its myriad subplots, each representative of events and behaviors that Garrett says almost always come with a pandemic. “Contagion” not only gives an illuminating glimpse into what happened — but what might.

“I’ve been in more than 30 epidemics, and the same things happen over and over again,” Garrett says.

“We always get scumbags off the Internet claiming to have a cure,” the author adds.

In the film, Jude Law plays an unscrupulous blogger who asserts forsythia, a flowering plant, can kill the virus. In real life, we have Alex Jones and Jim Bakker peddling supposed elixirs on TV.

The movie also nails the range of psychological reactions that come during an outbreak.

None of these viruses harm the bats themselves, serving as a defense mechanism to ward off predators.

One of the reasons “Contagion” feels so prescient is because of its myriad subplots, each representative of events and behaviors that Garrett says almost always come with a pandemic. “Contagion” not only gives an illuminating glimpse into what happened — but what might.

“I’ve been in more than 30 epidemics, and the same things happen over and over again,” Garrett says.

“We always get scumbags off the Internet claiming to have a cure,” the author adds.

In the film, Jude Law plays an unscrupulous blogger who asserts forsythia, a flowering plant, can kill the virus. In real life, we have Alex Jones and Jim Bakker peddling supposed elixirs on TV.

The movie also nails the range of psychological reactions that come during an outbreak.

For another, “cancel all your travel plans. You’re not going anywhere,” Garrett says. If you have an out-of-town relative you’d like to be near, go “there today or tomorrow, because pretty soon you’re not going to have [the option].”

But on an uplifting note, “Contagion” does offer one final, all-important message, Garrett says:

“Society is better off in a plague when everyone works together and cares for one another and tries to muddle through a nightmare.”

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CONTAGION plays like a documentary now.

How ‘Contagion’ Suddenly Became the Most Urgent Movie of 2020

It starts with a cough. You’ve heard the sound a million times before, in the same way you’ve seen people grip a subway pole, hand over a credit card, pass someone else their phone a million times before. Only this slightly hoarse, barking noise plays out over a black screen, it’s currently the sole object of your focus, and vaguely ominous. Oh wait, no worries, it’s coming from Gwyneth Paltrow. There she is, sitting in an airport, talking to someone on her cell (the voice on the other end belongs to director Steven Soderbergh), telling them that she’s glad they connected before she heads home. Just an Oscar winner chatting about an illicit tryst while eating beer nuts from a bowl at the bar. All good.

She does seem a tad pale and sweaty, however. So, for that matter, does that Ukrainian model in London, that Tokyo-based businessman, and the man on the train in Kowloon. He’s got a fairly nasty cough as well. You start to notice all of the tiny interactions they have with other people: hugging loved ones, nestling themselves into crowded elevators, using public transit, walking through an open-air fish market. They’re so innocuous, you’d hardly register them at all. Later on, however, you remember all of the little everyday points of contact with folks they have. You also recall the population numbers of the cities they are all in, stats which accompany those introductory scenes and number in the millions. The death toll will be substantial. Time is already running out.

This is how Contagion starts, not with a bang but with a whimper, and the future Goop founder hacking up a lung. If you saw Soderbergh’s all-star disaster movie when it came out back in 2011, you’d have recognized it as a particularly intense type of entertainment. You wouldn’t call it escapism — it’s a bit too bleak for that. But there’s a momentum to it that you associate with a night at the multiplex, with movie stars looking tense and thoughtful while their crusty-mouthed co-stars drift about in cadaverous makeup. Soderbergh knows how to shoot a thriller. Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns knows how to construct one. Cliff Martinez’s synth score couldn’t be more propulsive or more perfectly John Carpenter-esque. It’s a movie that never stops moving.

But while there are lots of films about battling viruses, ranging from the prestigious to the pulpy, Contagion has become the go-to viewing choice for people trying to make sense of the moment we find ourselves in right now. Back in January, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the almost-decade-old drama was the 10th-most-rented movie on iTunes. Go to the service’s charts right now, the day after a handful of major cities declared a state of emergency, and it’s currently in the No. 4 slot. (Should you open up the iTunes app on your laptop or your Apple TV, you’ll notice it’s listed as second in rentals, just behind Bombshell.) Speaking to Slate a few days ago, Burns noted that “whether on social media or in conversations with friends … people will say to me, ‘This is uncanny how similar it is.’” By “it,” he’s not talking about the film’s fictional virus MEV-1, which has a 72-hour incubation period and a much higher fatality rate than the present predictions regarding the coronavirus. He’s talking about the sense of watching things fall apart as everyday life grinds to a halt. Listen to experts talking about fomites and hand-washing techniques on TV — not the monitors framed in the film, but on real-life TV — and it’s as if you have stepped through the looking glass.

Contagion has, perhaps a little surprisingly, become the flashback film of the moment precisely because it’s not an outrageous worst-case scenario but an eerily realistic one. When a notable actor dies very early on, said A-lister does not return from the dead, arms outstretched and craving the taste of brains. Aliens are not responsible for the virus attacking humans; nor, for that matter, is it the result of foreign agents disrupting the American way of life, despite what fearmongers on a particular conservative news network would have you believe. What may be the single most chilling aspect of Soderbergh and Burns’ heavily researched scenario is how random the MEV-1’s creation is. “The wrong pig met up with the wrong bat,” a scientist notes after the genetic makeup of the virus is discovered. It’s almost a throwaway statement, until you get to the end and the film shows you exactly how “Day 1” played out. A bat happens to defecate in a pig pen. A little porcine fellow happens to consume it. He’s brought to a casino in Macao to be prepared for someone’s dinner; the chef happens to shake the hand of a visiting businesswoman. She happens to blow on the dice of the businessman playing next to her at a craps table. All it takes is the right series of wrong moves.

It’s everything that happens after that narratively/before that scene chronologically, however, that has likely made Contagion the single most urgent movie of the moment, and thus the most (re)viewed. It’s a disaster movie, but it’s also a pandemic procedural, one devoted to charting the how, when, where, why — and most important, what happens next. The film’s CDC and WHO representatives are competent, intelligent, and organized; they have mobilized to the best of their collective abilities. Kate Winslet’s doctor puts her life on the line; a San Francisco medical professional (played by Elliot Gould) does defy direct orders to destroy his samples but ends up uncovering a key piece of the puzzle. The Centers for Disease Control researcher who first charts the when-bat-meets-pig origins ends up testing a vaccine on herself, willfully ignoring protocol … but voila, she now proves there’s a workable vaccine. For every scene involving blogger Jude Law cashing in on the chaos or Matt Damon’s dad staving off people in the throws of extreme prepare-anoia, there are several sequences in which our better angels are on display, and there’s a sense that there are actually adults in the room.

And that last bit in particular is something we really aren’t getting right now when we hear about travel bans in lieu of testing, delayed responses instead of determination to make up for lost time, past leaders being defensively blamed rather than current ones acting with accountability. In that sense, maybe Contagion really is escapism. Despite the gruesome scenes of people dying and overall sense that society is just one viral video away from sheer anarchy, it’s a hopeful movie. Trust in scientists, and the innate decency in people, and we will prevail. Things fall apart, and then you put them back together again. Use common sense. Pray to your respective gods but also, y’know, wash your hands. It will get bad, the movie tells us. But it will also get better. People are probably flocking to this movie to see what may be in store for us in the next month or so. That last bit of optimism it offers us couldn’t have come at a better time.

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I will miss going to the movies over the next little while.

Onward retains top spot at the box office, amidst record lows due to coronavirus concerns

Onward has retained its top spot at the box office during its second week in theaters with $10.5 million, during a weekend that marked the lowest theatergoing turnout in over two decades.

The animated Pixar film took a major hit as the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe, with major events and film releases being canceled or pushed back. On Friday, AMC Theaters and Regal announced it would be reducing the amount of tickets available for screenings by 50 percent as part of an effort to promote “social distancing.”

“This was predestined to be a very low grossing weekend at the box office with social distancing protocols seeing movie theaters appropriately taking steps to ensure the safety and health of their patrons and employees while still presenting movies to consumers who had the desire to partake in the escape that the movie theater experience has traditionally provided,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst for Comscore.

Following Onward in second place is I Still Believe with $9.5 million and Bloodshot $9.3 million — both new entries this weekend. Rounding out the top five are The Invisible Man ($6 million) and The Hunt ($5.3 million).

I Still Believe tells the real-life story of Christan music superstar Jeremy Camp (K.J. Apa) and his journey through love and loss while also finding his way in the music industry. Britt Robertson portrays Camp’s first wife Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp (Britt Robertson), who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer before they were married. Gary Sinise and Shania Twain play Camp’s parents, Tom and Terry, respectively. Moviegoers gave the film an A via Cinemascore.

F9 may have been delayed but Vin Diesel is in theaters right now in the film Bloodshot, based on the best selling comic book of the same name. Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a marine who was killed in action then resurrected with superpowers by an evil corporation.

With Garrison, now known as the superhero Bloodshot, the RST corporation has an unstoppable weapon on their hands that can heal instantly. But they’re also controlling his mind, and he can’t tell what’s real and what’s not but he’s trying to figure it out. The David S.F. Wilson film co-stars Eiza Gonzalez, Guy Pearce, Sam Heughan, and Toby Kebbell.

EW gave the film a C+ saying, “it’s a lot of bog-standard action stuff glommed onto a deeper metaphysical muddle; Inception drawn in extra-thick Sharpie and testosterone.” Moviegoers liked it a bit more, giving it a B via Cinemascore.

Blumhouse Productions finally dropped the long-delayed satirical thriller The Hunt, starring Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, Emma Roberts, and Hilary Swank. The film follows 12 strangers who wake up mysteriously in a clearing, unsure how they got there or where they are. They soon discover they’ve been chosen to be hunted in a game created by a group of elites, but not all of the players are willing to be pawns.

EW gave the film a B+ saying, “The big disappointment with The Hunt is that it never feels so ahead of the curve. It’s a complicated form of 2016 catharsis, condemning recognizable pastiches of the left and the right. And yet, there’s a playful terror in its portrayal of people getting trapped by silly things they type.” Cinemascore reports moviegoers gave the film a C+.

Overall, the box office is down 8.7 percent year-to-date, according to Comscore. Check out the March 13-15 numbers below:

Onward— $10.5 million
I Still Believe— $9.5 million
Bloodshot— $9.3 million
The Invisible Man—$6 million
The Hunt— $5.3 million
Sonic the Hedgehog — $2.6 million
The Way Back—$2.4 million
The Call of the Wild—$2.2 million
Emma —$1.4 million
Bad Boy for Life — $1.1 million

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Movies

It must be said that THE WAY BACK is a lot better than it looks. It’s no HOOSIERS, but I liked it.

‘Onward’ leads weak box office; Affleck’s ‘The Way Back’ stumbles into 3rd

LOS ANGELES — Disney and Pixar’s Onward debuted this weekend to US$40 million, enough to lead box office charts but still a somewhat disappointing start given the studio’s near-flawless track record when it comes to animated fare. Internationally, the film brought in $28 million for a global tally of $68 million.

Onward, a fantastical adventure about two brothers (voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt), ranks among Pixar’s lowest opening weekend’s in modern times, joining 2015’s The Good Dinosaur and its $39 million as a rare blemish for the Disney-owned company, known for producing hits such as Inside Out, Coco and Up. Pixar films typically cost $175 million to $200 million to produce, a huge sum that doesn’t include global marketing fees.

Directed by Dan Scanlon, Onward received mostly positive reviews, though it didn’t welcome the kind of rapturous reception that greets most Pixar titles. Still, Onward looks to benefit in coming weeks as one of the few options for family audiences. It scored an “A-” CinemaScore, signaling that moviegoers enjoyed the film.

“Pixar has earned an incredible reputation for delivering quality to audiences, and based on their response, they are being touched by it,” said Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of global distribution. “We’re excited to see such good word-of-mouth. That bodes well for the life of its run in theatres.”

This weekend’s other high-profile release, Warner Bros.’ sports drama The Way Back, also fell short of expectations. But box office experts suggest it was the movies themselves — not fears of coronavirus — that stifled ticket sales. Onward was tracking an opening between $40 million and $45 million even before threats of coronavirus in North America.

“I think there was zero impact,” Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with Comscore, said. “With $40 million for Onward, a small drop off for The Invisible Man and The Way Back getting solid scores from audiences, it looks like people are in the habit of going to the movies.”

Overall box office receipts are down 50% from the same weekend last year, an inevitable dip given last year saw Captain Marvel arrive with a huge $153 million. That drastic dip pushed the year-to-date box office down almost 2%, the first year-over-year decline in 2020.

The Way Back brought in $8.5 million when it launched in 2,718 theatres, enough for third place on box office charts. It’s a lacklustre start given its A-list leading man, but an improvement from Warner Bros. recent mid-budget duds, such as The Good Liar ($5.6 million) and The Kitchen ($5.5 million).

The film, which cost roughly $21 million to make, was poised as a big-screen comeback for Affleck. His performance as an alcoholic construction worker who is recruited to become the head coach of a high school basketball team has been praised, but it didn’t get the level of reception that smaller dramas need these days to make an impact at the box office. Among opening weekend crowds, 64% were over the age of 35. Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution, noted it’s a demographic that doesn’t usually rush out on opening weekend.

“Our reviews were really strong and we have a ‘B+’ CinemaScore, so we’re in a really strong place,” Goldstein said. “The story gears toward an older audience that doesn’t rush out. I think we can capture an older audience, assuming a coronavirus scare doesn’t keep audiences away.”

In second place, Universal and Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man added $15.5 million in its second outing for a cumulative total of $52.6 million. Internationally, the Elisabeth Moss-led thriller generated $17.3 million. Its box office receipts currently stand at $98.3 million, already a win for the studio since it cost just $7 million.

Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog landed at No. 4, bringing in another $8 million. After four weeks in theatres, the animated family film has made an impressive $140 million. The blue speed demon, voiced by Ben Schwartz, has also been a draw overseas, where it has made $154 million. Globally, Sonic is nearing the $300 million mark with ticket sales currently at $295.6 million.

Disney’s The Call of the Wild rounded out the top five, pocketing $7 million in its third frame. The adaptation of Jack London’s novel, starring Harrison Ford and a CGI dog named Buck, has generated $57.5 million in North America and $99.6 million worldwide, a weak result because the film cost a head-scratching $125 million to make. Given the high price tag, sources estimate “The Call of the Wild” needs to earn between $250 million and $275 million to get out of the red. At this point, it will be difficult to reach those heights so “The Call of the Wild” is expected to lose around $50 million.

Among indie releases, A24’s First Cow made $96,059 when it opened in four venues — translating to $24,015 from each location. Directed by Kelly Reichardt, the film is set in the Pacific Northwest and follows a 19th century cook who travels with fur trappers to the Oregon Territory. It will continue its platform release next weekend before opening nationwide in the spring.

Sony Pictures Classic’s Burnt Orange Heresy had a rocky start in limited release, bringing in $18,296 from four screens for a theatre-average of $4,574. The heist thriller stars Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki and Mick Jagger.

Elsewhere, Focus Features’ Emma amassed $5 million when it expanded to 1,565 theaters, bringing its domestic tally to $6.8 million. The adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel also earned $1.5 million this weekend at the international box office for a global bounty of $20.9 million.

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Movies

THE INVISIBLE MAN was a very good film. It’s not perfect, but I enjoyed it and Elisabeth Moss, as always.

The Invisible Man sees box office win with $29 million debut

The Invisible Man saw success during its debut weekend at the box office, earning an estimated $29 million.

Following the winning Blumhouse title in second place is Sonic the Hedgehog with $16 million, and The Call of the Wild in third with $13.2 million. Rounding out the top five are My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising ($6.3 million) and Bad Boys for Life ($4.3 million).

Elizabeth Moss stars in The Invisible Man reboot based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, in the role of an abuse victim who is being haunted by her deceased boyfriend. Her character Cecilia Kass is convinced her abuser Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), who seemingly died from suicide, has found a way to stalk her while being invisible.

The Leigh Whannell directed film co-stars Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge, and Michael Dorman.

EW gave the film a B saying, “If the buildup and catharsis of its final minutes are more than a little silly, and marred by Whannell’s urge to put too neat bow on it all, the movie still has its satisfying jolts — including possibly one of the single most shocking screen deaths so far this year.”

Moviegoers liked it a little bit more, Cinemascore viewers gave it a B+.

Funimation’s Japanese anime superhero film, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is based on the popular manga written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It tells the story of a group of young, professional superhero wannabes, who fight in a world full of people with powerful gifts. Deku and his partners from the Academy face Nine, the strongest villain yet.

The Kenji Nagasaki directed film features the voice talents of Yuichi Nakamura, Aoi Yuki, Yuki Kaji, Yuka Terasaki, Kosuke Toriumi, Yoshio Inoue, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Shunsuke Takeuchi, and Mio Imada.

From the small screen to the big screen, the popular truTV comedians Impractical Jokers (Brian Quinn, James Murray, Sal Vulcano, and Joe Gatto) also known as The Tenderloins, took the seventh spot on the box office chart with an estimated $3.5 million.

The film tells story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four.

The Chris Henchy directed title co-stars Paula Abdul, Jaden Smith, and Joey Fatone.

Overall, the box office is up 3.5 percent year-to-date, according to Comscore. Check out the Feb. 28- March 1 numbers below:

The Invisible Man—$29 million
Sonic the Hedgehog — $16 million
The Call of the Wild—$13.2 million
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising —$6.3 million
Bad Boy for Life — $4.3 million
Birds of Prey — $4.1 million
Impractical Joker: The Movie—$3.5 million
1917 — $2.7 million
Brahms: The Boy II—$2.7 million
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island —$2.3 million

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Movies

I really wanted to see STAR WARS – THE RISE OF SKYWALKER again in a theatre this weekend, but it’s no longer playing near me.

Sonic the Hedgehog can’t be beat at the box office, Call of the Wild performs better than expected

Audiences can’t get enough of Sonic the Hedgehog, it continues its domination of the box office chart with $26.3 million during its second week in theaters.

The Call of the Wild sits comfortably in second place with an estimated $25 million, opening strong with numbers that are better than expected. Third place belongs to Birds of Prey with $7 million, followed by Brahms: The Boy II with $6 million.

Rounding out the top five is Bad Boys for Life with $5.9 million after six weeks on the big screen.

Harrison Ford still has the cache to bring audiences to theaters in droves, and his adorable CGI canine co-star certainly added to The Call of the Wild‘s popularity. The duo star in the drama, adapted from the Jack London classic of the same name, about a dog named Buck whose life is turned upside down when he moves from California to Alaska during the Gold Rush of the 1890s.

The Chris Sanders directed title co-stars Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford, and Omar Sy.

EW gives the film a B saying, “Though this tale of redemption and survival doesn’t feel particularly relevant or essential in today’s media landscape, it still has the capacity to entertain and move, well over a century after the story first was published.”

Moviegoers liked the film a big more, giving it an A- via Cinemascore.

Brahms: The Boy II is a supernatural horror film and stand alone sequel to 2016’s The Boy. Katie Holmes portrays Liza, a mother who moves into a mansion with her young son Jude (played by Christopher Convery) after a home invasion leaves them both injured and traumatized.

Jude discovers a doll in the woods that he decides he’ll clean up and take home with him, but that doll has a curious past involving unusual events. It’s not long before the doll is wreaking havoc on the family, or could something else be behind the mysterious occurrences happening in the house?

The William Brent Bell directed film co-stars Owain Yeoman, Ralph Ineson and Oliver Rice.

Overall, box office is up 5.9 percent year-to-date, according to Comscore. Check out the Feb. 14-16 numbers below:

Sonic the Hedgehog — $26.3 million
The Call of the Wild—$25 million
Birds of Prey — $7 million
Brahms: The Boy II—$6 million
Bad Boy for Life — $5.9 million
1917 — $4.4 million
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island —$4.2 million
Parasite — $3.1 million
Jumanji: The Next Level — $3 million
The Photograph — $2.5 million

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Movies

I went to see DOWNHILL, expecting it to be entertaining, and it was not very good. First off, it’s a drama…not a comedy…and by the end I just didn’t care.

Sonic The Hedgehog zooms past the competition at the box office with $57 million

Sonic the Hedgehog made its big debut over President’s Day weekend and it zoomed all the way to the top of the box office. Not only did the film make an estimated $57 during its first week in theaters, but it also claimed the title of biggest North American debut for a movie based on a video game.

Second place goes to Birds of Prey with an estimated $17.1 million during its second week, followed by Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island in third with $12.4 million. Rounding out the top five are The Photograph ($12.3 million), and Bad Boys for Life with $11.3 million, according to Comscore.

Sonic the Hedgehog made a big splash in theaters as fans of the original 1991 Sega game and newcomers were curious about what adventures the quick, blue and white critter would be getting into on the big screen. In the film, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) and his new human best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) team up to stop the evil scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who wants to take over the world by stealing Sonic’s super speed abilities.

The Jeff Fowler directed film (his debut) co-stars Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Neal P. McDonough, and Natasha Rothwell.

In November, it was announced that Fowler was taking Sonic back to the drawing board after the film’s first trailer was criticized by fans who noticed the critter had an infinite amount of human teeth. It seems to have been a good move, Sonic the Hedgehog is certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes critics and moviegoers gave it an A, via Cinemascore.

The 1977 series Fantasy Island was rebirthed into a 2020 horror film of the same name by the folks at Blumhouse, and their efforts did not go unnoticed. In its new iteration, five people win a contest that’ll take them to the luxurious yet remote island where it’s said their fantasies will come true. When Gwen (Maggie Q), Patrick (Austin Stowell), Brax (Jimmy O. Yang), JD (Ryan Hansen), and Melanie (Lucy Hale) arrive, they meet a whole cast of characters including the island’s keeper Mr. Roarke (Michael Peña) who warns them that they have to see their fantasies all the way through.

The Jeff Wadlow directed film also co-stars Paris Fitz-Henley, Portia Doubleday, Kim Coates, and Michael Rooker.

Fantasy Island is certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, but moviegoers liked it a bit more. Cinemascore reports the horror title earned a C-.

Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield star in the romantic drama The Photograph, a movie about two people brought together by circumstance. Rae stars as Mae Morton, the estranged daughter of a famous photographer (played by Courtney B. Vance) who meets and falls for the journalist (Stanfield) covering her late mother. It is through her mother’s mistakes that Morton can learn how to move forward and let herself love and be loved, but will she?

The Stella Meghie directed film also co-stars Chelsea Peretti, Jasmine Cephas Jonas, Lil Rel Howery, and Rae’s Insecure co-star Y’Lan Noel.

The Photograph is certified fresh via Rotten Tomatoes and Cinemascore reports the film earned a B+ from moviegoers.

Downhill stars Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as married couple Pete and Billie Staunton in the dark comedy that follows the pair as their life is turned upside down after an avalanche scare during a family ski trip. Will the Staunton’s stay together after re-evaluating their life and their marriage?

The Nat Faxon and Jim Rash directed film, loosely based on the 2014 Swedish movie called Force Majeure, co-stars Miranda Otto, Zach Woods, and Kristofer Hivju.

EW gave the film a B saying, “As an attempt to scale the craggy heights of a marriage in crisis, Downhill may be more bunny slope than black diamond — a force mineure, but still worth the trip.” Cinemascore wasn’t as kind to the Indie, it earned a D from moviegoers.

Overall, box office is up 9.1 percent year-to-date, according to Comscore. Check out the Feb. 14-16 numbers below:

Sonic the Headehog — $57 million
Birds of Prey — $17.1 million
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island —$12.4 million
The Photograph — $12.3 million
Bad Boy for Life — $11.3 million
1917 — $8 million
Jumanji: The Next Level — $6 million
Parasite — $6 million
Dolittle — $5 million
Downhill — $5 million