One of the modern era’s worst big-budget directors, Shawn Levy, finally got his first “big” hit this past weekend with the release of the Ryan Reynolds vehicle Free Guy. The film took the No. 1 spot at the box with a solid $28.4 million in sales over its first three days of release. Add in foreign sales and the film has made just under $51 million already.
This high-concept sci-fi actioncomedy hybrid is getting some good reviews and word of mouth.
As much as I despise Shawn Levy, this one does look like a good time at the movies, especially if you’re someone who grew up interested in video games and video game culture.
But look for this movie’s sales to drop off pretty quickly. If I had to guess, I’d pin this as a flick that ends up having a cult following over time, but it will be otherwise largely forgotten.
Also at the Box
As expected, Don’t Breathe II took the No. 2 spot at the box office, selling just over $10 million over its first three days of release.
The much anticipated home invasion horror flick, which was notably not directed by Don’t Breathe creator Fede Alvarez, currently has a score of just 48/100 on Metacritic. Woof. This one sounds like a possible skip.
That being said, if you’ve not seen the Alvarez flick, I highly recommend it.
Jungle Cruise took the No. 3 spot at the domestic box office over its third weekend of release, selling another $9 million. So far the movie has grossed $82 million in the U.S. and just over $150 million worldwide.
I’m very tempted to try to see this cheesy action-adventure-comedy flick on the big screen before it leaves and almost certainly have a huge run on streaming services.
Liesi Tommy’s Aretha Franklin biopic, Aretha, took the No. 4 spot at the U.S. box over its first three days of release, selling $8.8 million. I had really hoped this one would surprise and take the No. 1 spot at the box.
Don’t be surprised if the film’s star, Jennifer Hudson, is in the Oscars conversation in six months.
The Suicide Squad flick dropped off dramatically over its second weekend of release, taking the No. 5 spot with just $7.7 million in sales.
This warms my heart.
Hopefully James Gunn’s career fades away and, even more importantly, this superhero era in cinema may legitimately start dying off.
New This Week
A slew of medium-budget films with potential will hit theaters everywhere this weekend, none of which seem like the kind of film to blow up at the box office.
First up is The Protege, starring Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Next up is horror flick The Night House, starring ScreenTime fave Rebecca Bell — looks promising.
Then we have slightly-big-budget flick Reminiscence, starring Rebecca Furguson, Thandie Newton, and Hugh Jackman.
Finally, animated flick PAW Patrol: The Movie, will hit screens.
Screen Rant
There are an unusual number of incredible films playing at theaters right now. Ten, to be exact, with some I would even go as far to say are masterpieces.
Here’s my ranking and scores for the film currently playing at theaters:
1. Pig (Michael Sarnoski) 99/100
2. The Green Knight (David Lowery) 95/100
3. Roadrunner (Morgan Neville) 95/100
4. All the Streets Are Silent (Jeremy Elkin) 93/100
5. Annette (Leos Carax) 91/100
6. Days (Tsai Ming-liang) 90/100
7. The Sparks Brothers (Edgar Wright) 89/100
8. Zola (Janicza Bravo) 87/100
9. The Killing of Two Lovers (Robert Machoian) 82/100
10. Swan Song (dir. Todd Stephens) 80/100
Possible Classics on the Horizon
We have a lot of movies coming soon that are possible classics.
These new movies include The French Dispatch, The Man Saints of Newark, No Time to Die, The Last Duel, Dune, Last Night in Soho, King Richard, Top Gun: Maverick, the Kurt Vonnegut: American Made documentary, American Underdog, a new Matrix flick and, most importantly, Todd Haynes’ VU documentary, The Velvet Underground, which I bet will be my favorite film of 2021. That one hits theaters on Oct. 15.
Depending on how this Delta variant plays out, we could end up having a historically good year for film releases. Get started on watching some of these films. The calendar is about to get really busy.
