Before I tackle the Best Picture Oscar race, here are a few important takeaways when it comes to this weekend's box-office totals:
The slasher genre has most definitely been reignited with "Halloween." David Gordon Green's sequel to the 1978 classic topped the box-office yet again, in its second week of action, with a strong $32M weekend. That puts its 2-week total at a whopping $132M. Watch out for a major bump this week as it seems to be the only Halloween-centered movie currently in theaters and many will want a fright night at the cinema on the 31st.
On the indie side, “Suspiria” grossed $179,806 in just two screens for a wow-worthy $89,903 per screen average, that's the highest per-screen average of the year by any movie.
As for "A Star is Born," well, the word OSCAR comes to mind when it comes to the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga musical. It has legs and will continue to have legs all the way up to Oscar night. It has thus far made $148M, that includes this weekend's $14M intake, and is all but assured to become a major Oscar contender for Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Song and other technical categories. In other words, it's turned into a behemoth of a movie.
As far as I can tell, 'Star' is the best picture front-runner, followed closely by Peter Farelly's still-unreleased "Green Book" which will win the hearts of American audiences. Bank on it. In fact, I think Farelly's film will win Picture over 'Star.' Why? Because it not only is tremendously entertaining but it also has a socio-political resonance that makes it all-the-more relevant to today's America, whereas Cooper's film is pure vanilla.
Best Picture rankings 10/29/18:
A Star is Born
Green Book
Black Panther
Roma
The Favourite
First Man
BlacKKKlansman
Widows
Can You Ever Forgive Me
If Beale Street Could Talk
First Reformed
Still unscreened for press: Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex, Adam McKay's Vice, Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots, and Clint Eastwood's The Mule.
Marvel's "Ghost Rider" just hired one of the best cinematographers working today. Linus Sandgren will serve as DP on Shawn Levy's MCU flick, and, most notably, the project will be shot on film.