The weekend following Thanksgiving weekend is often on the slow side, but whoa, this past weekend was especially slow, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever taking the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office with just under $18 million in sales.
So far, Wakanda, which has received mixed reviews, has brought in $393 million in the U.S. and $733 million worldwide, but we knew director Ryan Coogler and the crew would bring in the money, didn’t we?
Wakanda has a score of 67/100 on Metacritic, by far the lowest of all the films Coogler has directed, with Fruitvale Station getting an 85, Creed getting an 82, and Black Panther getting an 88.
Coogler is fantastic, but I’m worried he’s going to get so deep into making these for-hire industry IP movies that he loses his way.
Also at the box
Tommy Wirkola’s new Christmas film, Violent Night, starring a tough guy Santa played by David Harbour, took the No. 2 spot, selling a decent $13.3 million over its first three days of release.
The animated film Strange World was third with another $4.9 million in sales to bring its overall domestic take to a little more than $25 million.
The Menu and Devotion took the No. 4 and 5 spots, respectively, with $3.5 million and $2.8 million. The Menu is getting a whole lot of fun word-of-mouth, but seems to be more of an at-home sort of watch. Look for that one to do quite well once it hits streaming services.
Also of note, all the big “Oscar Season” films are, so far, not doing so well.
The Fabelmans has made just $5.5 million, Bones and All has sold just $6 million, She Said has sold $5.2 million, The Banshees of Inisherin has sold $8.3 million, Tár has sold $5.2 million, and Aftersun hasn’t even broken the million-dollar plateau yet. Oof.
It’ll be interesting to see if this awards season picks up and, if not, how it will affect the release season next year. There’s a sad little piece of me that thinks that the days of the Prestige Season might be coming to an end over the next few years. I can’t wait to eventually see people look back on the Marvel Era and mourn all the wreckage it’s caused to the film industry.
New this week
They’re re-releasing Father Stu? Huh? That’s odd.
Also, look out for Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser. This one is getting some great press. It’ll be interesting to see if people actually turn up to watch it. If you’re somehow not familiar with this one, Fraser is getting a ton of buzz for Best Actor at the Oscars, and is the current favorite.
Other films to keep an eye our for are Empire of Light, Blanquita, The Sparring Partner, The End, Loudmouth, and The Trial. There’s lot of good stuff at the theaters right now, superheroes aside. I feel pretty comfortable recommending The Whale, The Fabelmans, The Menu, The Banshees of Inisherin, She Said, and Tár.
ScreenRant
I recently moved to a smaller apartment, which meant I had to get rid of a lot of stuff. Regular ScreenTime readers are likely aware of my sprawling movie collection. Massive. Organized by director, of course.
Well, I went through every title and got rid of 1,000 or so movies. It was maybe a little bit sad, but I’m a 42-year-old, and I don’t need to be hauling around every movie every director that I love has ever made.
This thinning out process made me wonder if my readers have movie collections. This is something I’d really, really like to know. If you do have a collection, snap some photos and send my way at gregwlocke@gmail.com.
