Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Get Out’ Takes Control
Propelled by great trailers, strong buzz, and a supremely rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Get Out easily took the number one spot at the box office this weekend, dethroning The LEGO Batman Movie. Will the positive reaction to Get Out help it overcome the second week slump that so many horror movies suffer? We’re in uncharted waters here — critics and audiences rarely like a genre movie this much.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ and ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ Soar, ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Mixed
After of a month of the weekend box office being dominated by Split, the arrival of three new major releases has finally given the top 10 a thorough shake-up. As expected, The LEGO Batman Movie led the pack, with Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2 following. And while each film opened strong, only two of them feel like unqualified successes.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Rogue One’ Sneaks Into the Box Office and Steals First Place
Everyone knew that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story wasn’t going to match the opening weekend of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That film had hype on its side, drawing off the power of a lengthy dry spell for fans and the presence of the original trilogy’s cast members. It’s unlikely that any Star Wars movie will match it ever again. With all of that said, the opening weekend of Rogue One should still be considered an enormous success, especially since these numbers would be nothing short of indisputably incredible if Star Wars wasn’t in the title.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Accountant’ Crunches the Numbers in First Place
The trend of more adult-oriented films commanding the box office continued this week with the success of The Accountant, which effortlessly snagged the number one spot. But like The Girl on the Train and The Magnificent Seven before it, Ben Affleck’s latest was strong without being enormous, meaning that word of mouth in the weeks ahead will prove vital to it being a proper hit.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Purge: Election Year’ Gets a Strong Start While ‘The BFG’ Stumbles
Although the holiday weekend brought out a slew of new releases to compete for the top spot at the box office, this week’s top 10 was, once again, dominated by Finding Dory. The Legend of Tarzan, The Purge: Election Year and The BFG ultimately couldn’t quite match up to Pixar’s forgetful fish, but the final results were all over the place. This chart is very much a roller coaster of expectations being met and missed.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ Leads a Lackluster Weekend
This may have been one of the weakest weekends at the box office this summer, with audiences seemingly avoiding movies new and old like the plague. Even the victories feel a little half-hearted, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows taking number one at the box office while not even coming close to matching the business of the first film. With Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping simply bombing, the only new release to show promise was Me Before You.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Jungle Book’ Roars Into First Place
The Jungle Book was destined to take the number one spot at the box office this weekend. However, the early estimates were off by, oh, $20 million or so. Jon Favreau’s reimagining of this beloved story exceeded all financial expectations. Buoyed by strong reviews and positive word of mouth, the film had the second biggest April opening of all time, topped only by last year’s Furious 7.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Makes All of the Money in the World, But Is It Enough?
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was never not going to have an enormous opening weekend. Toxic reviews and mixed word of mouth mean nothing next to hype — that title alone guaranteed a record-breaking start. And right now, Zack Snyder’s superhero epic does look like a gigantic hit. However, this weekend is really all about the trailers and posters and Warner Bros.’ omnipresent marketing. The real challenge will be next weekend, when the film’s legs will be properly tested.
The Original ‘Star Wars’ Screenplay Proves That Han Always Shot First
It’s one of the most contentious arguments in all of fandom. In the original Star Wars, did Han Solo casually execute the bounty hunter Greedo or did he only return fire in self defense? In 1977, it was definitely the former. In the remastered “special editions,” George Lucas digitally modified the scene so it was the latter, claiming it was always his intent...
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Leads Another Slow Weekend
Kung Fu Panda 3 once again led the box office this weekend, but like its lower-than-expected opening weekend, it’s not as impressive as anyone was hoping or expecting. DreamWorks Animation’s sequel managed to fend off a trio of newcomers, but each of those films disappointed in their own ways, leading to a shrug-worthy top 10 that feels like Hollywood just accepting that everyone is going to be watching the Super Bowl instead of going to the movies.
SNL: A Disturbing Totino’s Ad, Just in Time for the Super Bowl
Around this time last year, SNL presented a commercial parody centering around Totino’s Pizza Rolls, just in time for the Super Bowl. And it was a nasty piece of business, tearing apart the image of the NFL’s biggest game as a day for men and imprisoning Vanessa Bayer’s indefatigable housewife in the kitchen, where she was simply tasked with warming up more disgusting food. So when SNL aired another Totino’s sketch in last night’s episode, we simply assumed it would be a carbon copy of the first one. Boy, were we wrong.
SNL and Fred Armisen Pay Tribute to David Bowie
The late, great David Bowie inspired countless artists of all stripes during his time on planet Earth. As a musician, an actor, a personality, and an encapsulation of all things odd, weird and wonderful, he touched countless lives...including former SNL star Fred Armisen, who returned to the stage during last night's episode to pay homage to Bowie in the most appropriate way possible: by sharing a clip from his appearance on the show back in 1979.