Tag Archives: American Made

Box Office Report: ‘Blade Runner 2049’ is slow out of the gate

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Blade Runner 2049 won the weekend handily, taking in an estimated $31.525 million. However, that number is well below the initial $45 million estimates and a definite disappointment for a film with a $150 million price tag. The sequel to the landmark classic Ridley Scott film has gotten outstanding reviews so far, currently sitting at an 89% on RottenTomatoes, and it’s directed by recent Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve — all of which poses questions about how studios will value talent behind the camera and a well-received film against how well said film does financially. With another $50.2 million from international markets, and it still to release in more markets, the film has a road to profitability, especially if the good reviews and word of mouth give it legs. But that will be answered by next weekend’s numbers.

Coming in second is The Mountain Between Us, making an estimated $10.1 million. The Idris Elba and Kate Winslet-led film has crashed critically, and needs to hit approximately $70 million to recoup its $35 million budget and marketing costs. It currently stands at $13.7 million worldwide.

Continuing its dominance is the Stephen King adaptation It, grossing approximately $9.655 million. With that, its domestic total has crossed $300 million and if it doesn’t completely fall off, it should overtake Spider-Man: Homecoming’s $332.8 million domestic total.

The third new release this weekend, My Little Pony: The Movie, placed 4th with an estimated $8.8 million. Animated films have been sparse this year with Pixar’s Coco still not releasing for over a month.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the actual winner of the previous weekend, dropped to 5th with an estimated $8.1 million. While the film doesn’t have as golden of a critics’ rating as the first, it’s well into profitability, which could warrant a third if director Matthew Vaughn wishes.

In 6th, the Tom Cruise-starring American Made made an estimated $8.073 million, bringing its domestic total to $30.444 million. While some were concerned about its slow start last weekend, the film will end up making its money make, sitting at $98.544 million worldwide on an estimated $50-$60 million budget.

This upcoming weekend sees the release of Happy Death Day, and horror films always end up rather successful in their opening weekends, so Blade Runner 2049 will have to fight off scares to forge a trajectory to success.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the US and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*

 

Featured image via Warner Bros.

Box Office Report: Top three films within $500k of each other

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After stepping down to number two the weekend prior, It is back at the top spot, taking home an estimated $17.31 million this past weekend. The Stephen King horror film has exceeded more than just expectations, sitting as the 5th highest domestic grossing film of the year in only it’s 4th weekend. Worldwide, It has taken in $555 million and will easily be one of the most profitable films of the year, on a budget of only $35 million. Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema are looking in the range of a $200 million profit.

Coming in second place, and under $300k away from It, Tom Cruise’s new film, American Made, made approximately $17.016 million. While this may be on the lower end of Tom Cruise openers, the film has already made $64.83 million internationally, putting its worldwide total at $81.85. On a budget rumored to be between $50 million and $60 million, American Made looks to make its money back, but also end up as a disappointment considering the Cruise superstar — is he still? — factor.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle rounded out a competitive top three, earning an estimated $17 million at the domestic box office. The sequel to The Secret Service, The Golden Circle saw a 56% fall off from its opening weekend, greater than the 49% second weekend drop of its predecessor and something only expected to continue in the coming weeks considering the poor reviews. To be fair, the film has nearly drawn even already, standing at $193.03 million worldwide on a $104 million budget.

What’s fascinating about this weekend is that the placing could end up changing, of any of these films to any of the top three spots, when the actuals drop.

Below them, however, the order is solid. The LEGO Ninjago Movie dropped only 41% in its second weekend, a rather good number considering the poor reviews, building to a $12 million haul. However, with a budget likely in the range of $70 million — The LEGO Movie cost $60 million and The LEGO Batman Movie cost $80 million — the film has an uphill battle to face if it wants to make its money back, currently at only $58.45 million worldwide. With it still to open in key international markets like the UK, China and Japan, it has a chance at pulling it off.

Newcomer Flatliners flatlined both critically and financially, taking in only $6.57 million this weekend. The film currently sits at an abysmal 3% on RottenTomatoes.

Finally, the Emma Stone/Steve Carell-starring Battle of the Sexes expanded into 1,000+ theaters this weekend, and made an approximate $3.4 million. The tale of Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs’ famous tennis match is in the hunt for Oscars, so it will likely see a long and solid run, even if it isn’t close to being one of the top earners of the year.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the US and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*

 

Featured image via Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema.

‘American Made’ Review: Tom Cruise is in peak form in this messy, but dynamic biopic

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Whenever Tom Cruise shows up in a movie, it’s hard to see anyone other than Tom Cruise. And yet, one of the few true movie stars finds a way to adapt his own persona to so many different films. His most recent, American Made, is a hell of a joy ride mainly because of him. Playing Barry Seal, a drug smuggler who ends up working for a CIA agent (Domhnall Gleeson) and Pablo Escobar, Cruise, sporting a Southern accent, is magnetic, a presence with gravity, one that drives the energy of each scene.

But director Doug Liman and crew pull more than just their weight. Shooting in extreme documentary style, and including recreations of tapes of Seal speaking directly to a camera, Liman emphasizes the reality of the story despite its crazy events. The editing echoes that tone and effect, zipping along as quick and sharp as Seal’s airplanes, bursting with bags of cocaine. And when the acting and scene composition are at their finest, American Made is deliciously dynamic, buzzing with tangible adrenaline. During those same moments, the film also proves to be a searing dissection of the political corruption taking place on both American soil and below the border. The trio of actors who portray the heads of the Medellín Cartel help create some hilarious yet subtly unnerving scenes, and Domhnall Gleeson shows why he’s one of the finest actors working today, matching Cruise’s intensity as a blunt personality foil.

There’s no denying that American Made is a great time at the movies, but it still struggles at points. Oftentimes, the film seems like a collection of moments more so than a unified story. It’s biographical, so it’s awarded the leniency that the genre permits, but even then, it becomes hard to see exactly where the film is going and what it wants to say in the larger picture, whether it be about Seal or the politics behind his operations. Thus, the pacing suffers in the first act as we bounce around from year to year and place to place without a goal firmly set. American Made ends up feeling as reckless as Seal is, and sometimes that’s a good thing, but it never necessarily seems like the point.

And can we stop casting married couples where the man is 20 years older than the woman? Even Tom Cruise is not entirely worth that practice.

Grade: C+

 

Featured image via Universal Pictures.

Box Office Report: As summer closes, box office reaches historic low with top earner merely making $10 million

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Box Office Report for the weekend of August 25 to August 27:

As the summer closes with its last weekend, the box office has reached the year’s lowest point and, as reported by Box Office Mojo, the worst weekend in about 16 years.

The Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson-starring The Hitman’s Bodyguard took home the top spot with an estimated $10.05 million, bringing up its domestic total to approximately $39.61 million. The film’s reported budget is $30 million, meaning that, despite it’s mostly negative reception as it sits at 39% on RottenTomatoes after 143 reviews, it will almost certainly make its money back, and then some. The weekend gross of The Hitman’s Bodyguard, however, is the lowest earning top spot of the year. One would have to go all the way back to the weekend of February 3-5, when M. Night Shyamalan’s Split made $14.42 million, to come close to a worse #1 earner. Some say that the film’s finalized weekend number — its ‘actuals’ — will dip, meaning that it could even sink below $10 million.

Annabelle: Creation placed second with an estimated $7.35 million. Taking place within the Conjuring franchise, which itself has crossed $1 billion, the film should cross $100 million domestically within the coming weeks (it currently sits at $77.88 million). With a budget of $15 million, the horror prequel will be, relatively, one of the year’s most profitable films.

New releases, though, proved incredibly unappealing, with the animated film Leap! being one of only two to break the top ten. The Weinstein Company acquisition, which premiered internationally last year, made only $5.01 million domestically.

Wind River, which performed well during a limited release, expanded to over 2,000 theaters, and took home an estimated $4.41 million at the domestic box office. The indie, coming from Sicario and Hell or High Water screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, features what many critics are calling Jeremy Renner’s best performance.

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk stuck around in the top ten after its 6th weekend in theaters, raking in another $3.95 million to claim the 6th spot. At this point, the World War II epic has yet to fall more than 47% from weekend to weekend, and never more than 41% after its second weekend, showing that it has strong legs. With a domestic total currently sitting at $172 million, the film will soon beat The Boss Baby, Get Out and The LEGO Batman Movie to become the highest domestic grossing film that is not a sequel or a franchise vehicle — an accomplishment that Nolan is incredibly familiar with.

After Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Emoji Movie and new release Birth of the Dragon, Girls Trip, like Dunkirk, finds itself in the top ten after its 6th weekend, making an estimated $2.26 million domestically. The all-Black, all-female comedy recently crossed $100 million domestically.

Finally, in a bid for the 5th spot on the “highest domestic grossing superhero films” list, which is currently held by Iron Man 3 at $409.01 million, Wonder Woman added 1,407 theaters, expanding to a total of 2,210. The DC Extended Universe picture took home $1.68 million, bringing its domestic total to $406.2 million. It should claim that 5th spot in due time, putting it behind only The Dark Knight Rises, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Dark Knight and Marvel’s The Avengers respectively.

The following weekend may be even more abysmal, with very few new releases that could make any notable dent. Unless Tulip Fever somehow strikes a chord with audiences, next weekend’s top earner may be well under $10 million.

The one after that, however, will see the release of It, which Variety reports could make about $50 million domestically its opening weekend, according to early box office tracking. With Jennifer Lawrence’s mother!, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The LEGO Ninjago Movie and Tom Cruise’s American Made coming in the weeks following, the fall season will hopefully reinvigorate the box office.

*All weekend numbers are domestic, meaning that they’re from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, and are also estimates, reported by Box Office Mojo, with actuals coming out in the next few days.*