ROTTEN on TOMATOES..
Variety hits: ‘Trap’ Review: Josh Hartnett Plays a Serial Killer in an M. Night Shyamalan Thriller Where Each Twist is More Contrived Than the Last
Meagan Navvaro positive review..
DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE will stay strong.. Shyamalan hoping for a $15 mil opening.. developing..
BOX OFFICE TRAP: 48% ROTTEN SCORE; M NIGHT AND HARTNETT FILM BEING CALLED A JUMBLED MESS
THIS IS DEVELOPING..
…with people humming the tune of Madonna’s LIKE A PRAYER on the way out.
What a showing!
The Shawn Levy directed, produced and written Deadpool & Wolverine grossed $61.5M on Saturday per Disney for what is definitely a $205M opening weekend..
Global is at $438.3M.
Maybe we really ARE ready for movie theaters again?
MORE INFO on just how big this is..
It’s also the eighth highest opening of all-time, one of nine movies to open north of $200M — six of ’em belonging to Marvel. It’s also the fifth biggest opening ever for a superhero movie. In addition to opening records as we told you for Levy, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, D&W also notched the biggest July opening of all-time ahead of The Lion King ($191.8M)
Move over BARBENHEIMER.. there is a new duo in the summer of 2024 taking the box office by storm. Potty mouthed foul and filthy.. a new family friendly film for the modern age!
This is an amazing box office weekend.. We went to see DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE for an afternoon show–it was sold out. As a matter of fact, the theater was playing the movie about 10 times both Saturday and Sunday to sold out shows.
Something has struck a chord .. midsummer night dreams mixed with horror/comedy/Marvel..
Here are the mid-weekend numbers.
This may be a movie with mid-2000 numbers.. maybe between $195 to $200 mil opening weekend in the United States.. $420 million worldwide.
At $195M-$205M, that will put D&W as either the eighth- or ninth-best opening at the domestic B.O. of all-time, behind Avengers: Endgame ($357.1M), Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260.1M), Avengers: Infinity War ($257.6M), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($247.9M), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220M), Jurassic World ($208.8M), The Avengers ($207.4M), and Black Panther ($202M).
The end of July appears to be an amazing time to debut a summer blockbuster movie..
Forecasts expected $60 mil.. then $71.. and now as final numbers come in oviedo execs and critical are ‘blown away’ by the F5 TWISTERS.
Though some critical were dismayed that the movie displayed no political messaging it seems audiences could care less.
People love their summer disasters. .. escapism . Unless of course the weather is bad..?
People love disaster movies in the summer because they provide thrilling escapism and adrenaline-pumping action that complements the season…
Over the years, films like “Independence Day” (1996), with its iconic scenes of alien destruction, and “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004), showcasing cataclysmic climate change, have captivated audiences. More recent hits like “San Andreas” (2015), which highlighted the chaos of a massive earthquake, and “2012” (2009), depicting the end of the world, have continued this trend, proving that summer moviegoers crave the excitement and larger-than-life stakes that disaster movies offer.
News from the box office does not bode well for M Night Shyamalan or horror…
While BAD BOYS 4 is making money *very little of course when you compare to box offices of summers past* the WATCHERS is flailing like someone stuck in quicksand..
Warner Bros.’ thriller “The Watchers” earned a meager $2.9 million across Friday and preview screenings.. this continues a pattern of horror features underperforming at the box office this year.
It will struggle to match its projections for a $10 million bow.
Meanwhile the lazy cat keeps plugging away–and almost as good as THE WATCHERS! Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” earned $2.8 million on Friday, just 27% off from its $3.7 million gross a week ago. The animated feature will purr to $68 million total in North America through Sunday! The feel good sleeper of the summer keeps yawning but yet earning..
Sony and Columbia’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” got off to a solid start at the box office with $21.6 million from 3,885 locations across Friday and preview screenings.. $53 mil is expected for the full weekend..
Let’s first start with this: There was something very calming about watching the horror flick LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL in a theater with a packed audience.. we highly recommend it if you can find a theater showing it.
Now that we have that out of the way…
The Shudder horror film LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL was getting rave reviews and even had a 100% rotten rating on ROTTEN TOMATOES.. While it is maintaining a decent rating with critics and an 83% with audiences, controversy marred the opening weekend.
At issue: The AI art..
Just a few images, really. But those images caused shockwaves of hostility across social media platforms..
When it was revealed this week that the film used some AI imagery, there were immediate calls for a boycott of the movie.
Cameron and Colin Cairnes, the Australian siblings who wrote and directed the film, released a statement to Variety clarifying the scope of AI art in the film. The statement reads:
“In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can’t wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.”
But consider the fact that the film was made prior to 2024.. released originally in 2023 (long before the current AI debate really hit like it’s doing now) … Can we get some forgiveness?
Beyond the AI controversy, some truly despised this movie–others seemingly loved it. Perusing the former Twitterverse now Xsphere, we are greeted by a number of people who hated the film giving it a o out of 10.. others who loved it with a 9 out of 10. There seems to be little meeting in the middle among fans.
Seriously.. David Dastmalchian rocked this role.
The movie will be in some people’s top 10 of horror.. others will not think to include it.
At the point this is written, IFC’s LATE NIGHT is showing in 1,034 locations .. it posted a $1.1M Friday, 3-day heading to $2.9M. From reports, there are solid numbers in NYC, Toronto, Salt Lake City, Edmonton, Dallas, San Antonio and LA..
DEVELOPING..
So many have been looking forward to March 22 for a long time–movies to finally choose from at a box office that may be enjoyable!!
GHOSTBUSTERS FROZEN EMPIRE is taking on another little movie that could, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, this weekend..
So many are hopeful that the old busters will make them feel nostalgic inside, the magic may be wearing thing. The 30 year rule has passed–the idea that nostalgia only works well if this movie would have been made in 2014, not 2024..
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire can’t decide between nostalgia, humor, or heart. So, it opts for a scattershot version of all three. Whereas Afterlife grappled with family legacy, Frozen Empire isn’t sure of itself beyond addressing the shift from old guard to new. But it’s still far too reliant on nostalgia to serve as the next step in the franchise’s evolution, and that also includes the formula, right down to updated lines like “Are you the flame master?” It winds up a series of charming moments cast adrift amidst an overly simplistic, familiar story.
But the other movie set to draw attention from horror fans is LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL–it has received mostly decent press at this point. The movie’s limited release is unfortunate, too bad it is not wide, but it is exciting. Hopefully you will be able to find a theater showing the movie — it seems like it is just one of those that needs to be experienced in a dark theater on a big screen..
It is predictable that the seniors will be top dogs at the box.. Nostalgia will get one last win for the Gipper of 1984 Slimer fame.
Bob Iger is not in reality.. he is blaming the ‘pandemic effect’ for dismal performance of MARVELS.. little did he realize people just .. didn’t like it. Period.
MORE.. ″The Marvels was shot during Covid,” he explained.
“There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.”
Bob, Bob.. the movie may have been shot then but all of the advertising was done after..
All of the big splashy product placements.. billboards. Trailers.
Not one bit sparked interest .. the fanbase seemingly gave up when all of the characters they were fans of were pushed to the side for a new universe that no one seems to understand or desire..
What would Elon Musk have to say about this..?
There is tremendous hand wringing about the movie THE MARVELS and its release at the box office. Its failure has been blamed on mail dominated fan bases–bias! Discrimination! The movie was just so perfect but yet not appreciated.
But a viewing of the film.. really.. can prove otherwise. The script was weak. The lines were awful. Any small bits of humors were far and few between and for the most part it was a showcase of how we are at a point of no return with comic book movies. They have worn us down.
And even the greatest Marvels fans? Well they too may be done with all this madness in the Marvelverse!
The first week for the film was fairly low. The next week it dropped substantially. We are now at a point where the studio is going to be hardpressed to make much money from this movie.
Move over movie critics.. You officially don’t matter.
The reviews are in. They aren’t pretty. And no one who wanted to see the film cared.
Now did people want to enjoy or just laugh? Tough to tell..
But Blumhouse will laugh to the bank regardless with a $78 million weekend for a film that was not predicted to get close to MARIO BROS levels..
Other poms poms for Freddy‘s:
–Biggest opening weekend for a horror pic YTD, besting Scream VI ($44.4M)
–Third biggest opening ever for a videogame pic, behind Super Mario Bros ($146.3M) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($72M)