While it has taken a back seat to both Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World: Dominion this week at the box office, Lightyear will become the widest release this weeked, albeit due Dominion dropping 400+ locations. While the Toy Story spinoff didn’t exactly hold up to the majority of expectations, the film has still garnered over $67 million in domestic revenue as of Wednesday. Pixar’s Lightyear keeps its opening count of 4,255 theaters as it heads into its sophomore outing.
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Venom is the biggest hit Sony released this year. However, it was absolutely savaged by critics. Were the critics right? Did the audiences see some quality critics didn’t? Or is the movie somewhere in the middle of those two extremes?
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This May was an odd month, as Avengers: Infinity War opened on the last weekend of April, rather than the first weekend of May. This meant May started out slowly, but Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story did well enough to give 2018 a healthy lead over 2017. Looking forward, there are two potential monster hits this month, Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and another $100 million hit, Ocean’s 8. Last June, there were four $100 million hits, led by Wonder Woman, which pulled in over $400 million. I think 2018 and 2017 will be an even match at the top, so 2018 will have to rely on depth to improve upon its lead over 2017.
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There are not many limited releases that have a shot at box office success on this week’s list. The biggest ones are either opening too wide, like Beirut, or are already playing on VOD, like Borg vs. McEnroe, Wildling, and others. This leaves Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami as the film I think has the best shot at earning some measure of mainstream success.
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Despicable Me 3 is the fourth film in the Despicable Me franchise. I’ve previously reviewed the first three films and bought the first film, because I loved it. The second film was weaker, but still great. The third film was Minions. It’s a kids movie, nothing more. There’s been a downward trajectory in the quality that’s quite noticeable. Does it continue here? Is it at least better than Minions was?
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It is one of those weeks. There’s a massive release coming out, which has scared away nearly all of the competition, so it is a really shallow week. Fortunately, that huge release is Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is not only one of the biggest hits of the year, it is also one of the reviewed. It isn’t the only contender for Pick of the Week, but the Blu-ray Combo Pack wins that honor.
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At the time of writing this review, Gifted is the biggest limited release hit of the year. (By the time you read the review, it will likely have fallen to second place behind The Big Sick.) On the other hand, its Tomatometer Score was merely good and not great. Did it just get lucky? Or does it deserve its box office success.
The Secret Life of Pets is one of the biggest hits of the year and one of the biggest original animated films of all time. That said, strong box office numbers doesn’t mean high quality. Minions earned nearly $300 million more at the box office, but it is strictly for kids. Will The Secret Life of Pets have what it takes to entertain adults as well? Or is it another movie that only kids will enjoy?
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The Home Market Release Report is a day late this week for a trio of reasons. Firstly, the November Preview was also due the same day. Secondly, it was a very busy week. And finally, I’m suffering from a medical condition a lot of Canadians suffer from this time of year... acute Coffee Crisp poisoning. I’m not saying I ate four dozen fun-sized Coffee Crisps in the past three days... I’m not saying that, because it was actually an even 50. Don’t judge me. ... Okay, judge me. Clearly mistakes were made. It is a busy week, but not very deep week. Star Trek Beyond is by far the biggest and best release of the week and the various home market releases are the pick of the week. There wasn’t a lot of competition for that title, but Bad Moms is also worth picking up.
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Like last week, approximately 30 films open in limited release this week. That is far too many and all but ensures most will not find an audience. Furthermore, it means I have to be a little more liberal when it comes to pruning releases that don’t have enough buzz to talk about. There are lots of films that still made the cut, including a few highlights: The Age of Shadows, Audrie & Daisy, The Dressmaker, The Lovers And The Despot, My Blind Brother, and Queen of Katwe. Some of these are playing on VOD, so they will go nowhere in theaters. Several are aiming for Oscars, including Queen of Katwe, which will expand semi-wide next week.
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Zootopia is slowly making its way to $1 billion worldwide [Copy Ed: It passed $1 billion this weekend], but in the meantime, it arrives on the home market this week. It is one of the biggest hits of the year so far and earned Oscar-worthy reviews. Will my voice be added to choir of praise? Or will I be part of the dissenting minority?
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I featured Drunk History on a Holiday Gift Guide and I stand by that recommendation. It's got a really simple set-up and a better than expected execution. On the other hand, I was worried that it's high concept meant a really short shelf life. Would I grow tired of the show after just three seasons? Or is it still entertaining?
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The final installment of our annual Holiday Gift Guide involves books, music, and whatever DVD and Blu-rays I forgot the first time around. Also, like every year, I use this as an opportunity do go over some screeners that arrived late and that I didn't have time to go through in-depth. Like I've said the firstthreetimes, I didn't feel like there was a huge amount of DVDs and Blu-ray that came out this year, so I really hope I didn't miss out much. We can start out with...
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The Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced last week and I'm getting to them a little late, because I needed to organize the whole Awards Season stories. Firstly, I've decided to use the year the movies were released not the year the awards are handed out, unlike what we did last year. This means both will have 2014 as the year. Not ideal, but it is better to fix the mistake now than carry on making it. Secondly, the headlines are just going to be the name of the Awards and either nominations or winners. This will make it easier for readers to find later on. As for the Independent Spirit Awards nominations, Birdman led the way with 6 nods, while Boyhood, Nightcrawler, and Selma were right behind with 5 each.
Obvious Child opened in limited release in June taking top spot on the per theater chart over its opening weekend. It wasn't able to expand truly wide, but it did finish with more than $3 million, which is still excellent for a limited release. Is it as good as its opening was? Or is there a reason it wasn't able to expand truly wide?
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It's a pretty good week for limited releases with a few films that are earning good reviews and strong buzz. This includes The Case Against 8 (Reviews), but documentaries are rarely break-out hits. Borgman is earning very strong reviews and the buzz is good, but it is too bizarre for mainstream audiences. This leaves Obvious Child (Reviews) as the most likely break-out hit on this week's list. On the other hand, I really want to see Trust Me (Reviews), but I'm a Fanboy of a particularly strong type and Clark Gregg is part of my preferred Fandom.
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