Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ ($41M+), ‘The Bride’ ($8M+), ‘Scream 7’ to Drop Whopping 74% — Readers’ Thoughts?

Technically, if there’s an arthouse in your area playing “The President’s Cake,” “Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie,” “A Poet,” and “Young Mothers,” then good—some even great—movies can currently be seen in theaters.

If you’re only surrounded by AMCs and Regals, then the main options this weekend seem to be “Hoppers” and “The Bride”—unless you’ve only decided to go see “Scream 7” this weekend. “Wuthering Heights” is also trudging along, having recently hit a $200M global tally.

Let’s start with the $150M-costing “Hoppers,” Pixar’s latest, an original story, a good (not great) film that leans heavily on energy and fun. Driven by good reviews and an “A” CinemaScore, the film had a $13M Friday and is now eyeing an impressive $41M weekend—the best opening for an original Pixar since 2017’s “Coco” nabbed $50M.

Then there’s Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride,” budgeted at $90–$100M, which is having a hard time finding an audience. The film earned $3M on Friday and might not even crack the $8M mark by weekend’s end. The CinemaScore is actually higher than I thought it would be, earning a “C+” grade—I expected somewhere in the “D” range.

Meanwhile, Paramount is estimating a $16.3M second weekend for “Scream 7” ($92M total), a drop of -74%. That would be the worst second-weekend drop for the franchise. It’s also worse than the second weekend of “Scream 6” ($17.3M, -61%). That’s what happens when you make a mediocre movie—word of mouth, or lack thereof, is the main reason for these numbers.

No, really—after last weekend’s franchise-record opening, “Scream 6” and “Scream 7” could end up with similar box office totals once all is said and done. That said, “Scream 8” is still on the way, as these films are made with relatively modest budgets of $35–45M each.

So, that just about covers it for now. What are our readers seeing this weekend? If you already saw something on Thursday or Friday, chime in with your thoughts below in the comments.

Netflix Fires Film Chief Dan Lin

Under Lin, the quality of Netflix's movies got worse. The Lin era was defined by mid-budget, algorithm-friendly fare and a wobbly relationship with the filmmakers who actually gave Netflix its prestige.

Jesse Eisenberg Says He “Couldn’t Get Movie Studio Roles” After Winning a Razzie for ‘Batman v Superman’

Ten years later, Jesse Eisenberg says the backlash behind his Lex Luthor, and the Razzie that came with it, changed the course of his career, and led him to directing.

Peter Jackson Says His Next Film Is ‘Tintin 2,' but Who's Paying for It?

Peter Jackson is back. Twelve years after his last narrative feature, he's confirmed his next directing gig, and it's the ‘Tintin’ sequel that everyone had pretty much given up on.

Taika Waititi Says His ‘Star Wars' Movie Has Been “Put on Ice"

This was inevitably going to happen. Taika Waititi's long-gestating "Star Wars" movie — first announced by Lucasfilm on May the 4th, 2020 — has been "put on ice."

Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ Flops at the Box Office With $290K Weekend, $614 Per-Screen Average

No official figure has been reported, but best guess is the budget landed somewhere in the $10M range. HBO pre-bought the streaming rights, but that was before David Ellison took over

August 19, 2019

3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

CONFIRMED: Sadie Soverall Exits Brady Corbet's ‘The Origin of the World' Mid-Shoot, Lily McInerny Steps In Lead Role

Sadie Soverall was just let go after briefly filming on Corbet's new film — no official reason given. She had the lead role. Corbet has replaced her, last minute, with Lily McInerny.

Ron Howard’s ‘Alone at Dawn’ Starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway Sets Christmas 2027 Release

This is the adaptation of the nonfiction book by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz. It wrapped production in February and has been in post-production ever since. The film test-screened a few months ago.

Jeremy Saulnier’s Next Film Retitled to ‘Slayground,’ Current Runtime is 2.5 Hours, Plot Details

Jeremy Saulnier’s mysterious A24 project, formerly “October,” still has no release date. You’d think, given that it has been in post-production for almost a year now.

Jemima Kirke and Alexi Wasser to Star in Woody Allen's Next Film

A few months ago, Deadline reported that Woody Allen's next film, set in Madrid and carrying a $14M budget, will be "largely English-language" and feature a "high-profile cast."

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

Trending

Critics Polls