Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, the couple behind one of my favorite films of this century, Half Nelson, have now had the No. 1 film in the world for two weeks. That film, Captain Marvel, took the No. 1 spot at the U.S. box for the second consecutive weekend, selling another $69 million. So far the film has sold $760 million worldwide in just 10 days despite mixed reviews.
This one is going to easily be the No. 1 film, saleswise, until we get to the late-April release of Avengers: Endgame, which a lot of folks are suggesting could easily become one of the Top 5 selling films of all-time.
Also at the Box
Paramount’s new animated children’s film, Wonder Park, opened at No. 2, selling a respectable $16 million in the U.S. over its first three days of release.
Justin Baldoni’s new high-concept romantic drama, Five Feet Apart, surprised, taking the No. 3 spot at the box with a decent $13 million in sales. The film cost only $7 million to make and market and wasn’t exactly a hotly anticipated film. Reviews have been strong and the film boasts lead performances by both Haley Jo Richardson and Cole Sprouse, two of Hollywood’s hottest young talents at the moment.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World continued to fill seats, bringing in another $9.3 million in domestic sales over its fourth weekend of release, upping the flick’s so-far sales total to $135 million in the U.S. and $467 million worldwide (against a $129 million budget).
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral rounded out the weekend’s Top 5 with $8 million in sales, bringing the flick’s 17-day sales total to just under $60 million.
Rob Marshall’s Mary Poppins Returns is still somehow selling tickets, and has now quietly sold about $350 million worldwide (against a $130 million budget). Don’t be surprised if this one has a sneaky legacy, especially if lead Emily Blunt’s career continues to grow.
New this Week
This weekend is all about one film, Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out, a high concept thriller called Us. The film, which recently premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival, currently has a score of 78/100 on Metacritic. I wasn’t nearly as big a fan of Peele’s Get Out as most critics seemed to be (though I did think it was a good genre film), so I’m not anticipating Us in the way that a lot of others seem to be. But I listened to Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey talk about the film on their excellent film podcast, The Big Picture, and it got me excited for Us. It sounds like Peele has become a stronger filmmaker and is riffing on his love for Alfred Hitchcock (and The Twilight Zone) in interesting ways.
