I have consistently been saying that if "Green Book" wants to compete for the Best Picture prize then it has to have a successful box-office run. Right now, we are looking at "okay" numbers, nothing that spells out a runaway success — its $7.1M weekend, in over 1000 screens, just doesn't cut it. Word of mouth will surely hit, more people will go see what is under my estimation the movie that has the highest quality mainstream appeal this holiday season.
Deadline's Anthony D'Allesandro: "Universal/DreamWorks/Participant Media’s Green Book spiked in business yesterday, like most other pics on Black Friday, but is still far from where this near-$25M production needs to be in order to be considered a success.
"The five-day is now looking like $7.1M for the Peter Farrelly-directed drama. Many continue to harp how Universal went too wide/too fast with this movie, jumping from 25 locations to just over 1,000 for the holiday weekend. Given its obscure title, which star Mahershala Ali literally explains in an ad spot, and the great vibe audiences get after walking out of the theater, Universal needed to protect and shepherd this movie slowly, like Lionsgate did with their original musical La La Land two years ago.
"Focus originally had Green Book, but Uni loved it, believing they could pull off a Blind Side-type of Thanksgiving success. Green Book doesn’t have this momentum, and unfortunately, winning the top prize at TIFF means nothing to general moviegoers. As we wrote before, Golden Globe noms are hopefully some form of a savior, but Uni has to keep Green Book in theaters throughout December."
As expected, Snyder's latest is being torn apart by TIFF attendees. No mercy given. The film, which had its world premiere this evening, is being called by some one of the worst movies to ever premiere at the festival.