June 11, 2017

‘Wonder Woman’ Rules — and While Tom Cruise is Not a Flop, He’s No Longer in Control

“Wonder Woman” (Warner Bros.) built on its strong opening with a better than average second-weekend hold. The Patty Jenkins-directed D.C. Comic world entry is looking at strong foreign results, but it’s the domestic take where the response is strongest.

The same can’t be said for Universal’s attempt at a new series of classic monster character movies. “The Mummy” with Tom Cruise at the lead reinforced the big story for many top studio releases this summer so far. Foreign is strong initially, but domestic is weak even by relatively modest estimates.

In an otherwise unexceptional weekend, two wide releases — “It Comes At Night” (A24) and “Megan Leavey” (Bleecker Street) — from distributors usually associated with the specialized market placed in the top 10. Neither was stellar, but added about $10 million to the total. At this point, the boost is needed.

 

The Top 10

1. Wonder Woman (Warner Bros.) Week 2 – Last weekend #1

$57,180,000 (-45%) in 4,165 theaters (no change); PTA (per theater average): $13,729; Cumulative: $205,203,000

2. The Mummy (Universal) NEW – Cinemascore: B-; Metacritic: 34; Est. budget: $125 million

$32,246,000 in 4,035 theaters; PTA: $7,992; Cumulative: $32,246,000

3. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (20th Century Fox) Week 2 – Last weekend #2

$12,300,000 (-48%) in 3,529 theaters (+95); PTA: $3,485; Cumulative: $44,563,000

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Disney) Week 3 – Last weekend #3

$10,713,000 (-51%) in 3,679 theaters (-597); PTA: $2,91213; Cumulative: $35,839,000

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Disney) Week 6 – Last weekend #4

$6,242,000 (-37%) in 2,911 theaters (-596); PTA: $2,144; Cumulative: $366,361,000

6. It Came at Night (A24) NEW – Cinemascore: D; Metacritic: 79; Est. budget: $5 million

$6,001,000 in 2,533 theaters; PTA: $2,369; Cumulative: $6,001,000

7. Baywatch (Paramount) Week 3 – Last weekend #5

$4,600,000 (-48%) in 2,832 theaters (-815); PTA: $1,624; Cumulative: $51,065,000

8. Megan Leavey (Bleecker Street) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 66

$3,768,000 in 1,956 theaters; PTA: $1,926; Cumulative: $3,768,000

9. Alien: Covenant (20th Century Fox) Week 4 – Last weekend #6

$1,800,000 (-56%) in 1,814 theaters (-846); PTA: $992; Cumulative: $71,212,000

10. Everything, Everything (Warner Bros.) Week 4 – Last weekend #7

$1,620,000 (-51%) in 1,546 theaters (-846); PTA: $1,048; Cumulative: $31,732,000

Universal Pictures

 

The Takeaways

Treading Water Again

The Top 10 estimate comes in at $137 million, down slightly from last year’s $140 million total. That figure came with three separate titles topping $20 million — “The Conjuring 2” ($40 million), “Warcraft” ($24 million) and “Now You See Me 2” ($22 million).

This year had “Wonder Woman” to the rescue to keep things close to even. Without it, the domestic report would be far grimmer.

“Cars 3” (Disney) should dominate next weekend with a potential $100 million, but it will fall far short of “Finding Dory” last year, a week that also featured the strong opening of “Central Intelligence.”

Is “The Mummy” Really a Flop?

At $32 million, “The Mummy” is second to “Oblivion” as Tom Cruise’s second best opener since “War of the Worlds” in 2005 (out of eight total, adjusted, and bracketing “M:I” titles). So it’s nothing like a career low.

But it’s still a concern. Universal counted on his presence to launch their new Dark Universe franchise of updates of classic monsters. It was an unusual attachment for the usually standalone film star, with a sense that it wasn’t shaped by him, for him (as most of his films, for better or worse).

The relatively weak performance came more from a combination of poor reviews and a concept that wasn’t really aimed at domestic audiences.

By any normal pattern, this won’t reach the $100 million level regularly achieved by Cruise’s films for third of a century. And that would normally be terrible news for a film with an admitted budget of $125 million (and rumored to be considerably higher).

That said: It could still be a success. It also opened in most of the world to a very good $142 million. That makes the domestic total less than one fifth of the initial results, and possibly as low of 15 percent of the eventual total if the film reaches $600 million. That’s based on a projection of $90 million at home and over $500 million overseas— perhaps at the high end, but not beyond reach. If the reported budget is correct, it will need to make more than $500 million worldwide to take it out of the red.

But here’s how poor the domestic result is. The earlier Mummy reboot contained four titles. Here are their adjusted opening weekends: “The Mummy”/$75 million, “The Mummy Returns”/$106 million, “The Scorpion King”/$55 million, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”/$50 million. That’s with Brendan Fraser in the lead for three, and then up-and-coming Dwayne Johnson for “Scorpion.” That’s what led to Universal committing major budgets to the proposed multi-monster series.

It’s just one time out, and they have a range of characters. But expect some reworking of the formula as they continue.

The Women Are Wonders Again

Here’s the standout fact about the second weekend of Patty Jenkins’ breakout success. Its drop of 45 percent puts it ahead of the same week drop of recent comic book character non-sequels like the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Deadpool,” “Suicide Squad,” and “Doctor Strange.”

Attribute that to strong positive initial response (seen already with a surging Sunday last week) and perhaps deeper fanboy acceptance to what might have been some residual resistance to a female action lead. The 10-day total is already $205 million, with $300 million or more now likely (if it hits $303 million, it would be the biggest female-directed live-action hit ever, beating out Amy Heckerling’s male-lead “Look Who’s Talking” in adjusted gross)

Foreign, “Wonder Woman” has grossed $230 million total so far, with Germany and Spain next weekend (strong territories) and Japan at the end of August. But the difference in overseas performance between “Wonder Woman” and “The Mummy” is striking, suggesting why it won’t single-handedly overcome resistance to female-centered action titles.

Holdovers

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” is up to $528 million worldwide, so its 51 percent third weekend domestic drop is of less concern for Disney. Still, it is falling below the levels that took the 2011 entry to $1.1 billion worldwide (though the still-to-come Japan will help). With a $230 million budget it’s still likely to pay off, but spending as much for more titles will take some careful consideration.

DreamWorks Animation’s “Captain Underpants” fell 48 percent, on par for animated films in their second weekend. It faces “Cars 3” next, but as a lower-budget title and $44 million so far, it feels like a decent gap-filler.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is stellar, with only a 37 percent drop in its third weekend. Now up to $366 million, it gives “Wonder Woman” a high-water mark to reach in domestic results.

Source: IndieWire film

June 11, 2017

Chi Po-lin, Director of ‘Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above,’ Dies at 52

Just days after announcing a sequel to his film “Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above,” Chi Po-lin died in a helicopter crash yesterday. The Taiwanese director was 52. Pilot Chang Chih-kuang and his assistant Chen Kuan-chi were also killed in the accident, which took place near the town of Fengbin just before noon local time. There were no survivors.

READ MORE: Ben Affleck Pays Tribute to Adam West: ‘Thank You for Showing Us All How It’s Done’

“Director Chi’s works have allowed us to see the beauty of Taiwan, and inspired others to join the efforts to conserve our land. His passing is a tremendous loss to Taiwan,” said Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on social media. Chi had previously served as an aerial photographer for Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.

READ MORE: Adam West, TV’s Original Batman, Dies at 88

Born December 27, 1964 in Taipei, Chi won the award for Best Documentary at the 2013 Golden Horse Awards for “Beyond Beauty”; he also directed the short films “Taiwan from the Air” and “Taichung: The Heart of Taiwan.” “Beyond Beauty II” was scheduled for release in 2019 and Chi is said to have been shooting footage for it when the accident occurred.

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Source: IndieWire film

June 11, 2017

A Tweetstorm Reveals the Nuances in the ‘Star Wars’ Prequels You Never Noticed

The “Star Wars” prequels aren’t especially well regarded, but the healing has begun. The success of “The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One” appears to have softened public perception of Episodes I–III, and blogger Glendon Mellow took to Twitter to reveal a number of nuances that most of us never picked up on while complaining about Jar Jar.

READ MORE: Memes Are Helping People Learn to Love the ‘Star Wars’ Prequels

For instance, were you aware of the connection between the music at the end of “Phantom Menace” and the Emperor’s theme from “Return of the Jedi”? Or the fact that “the elegance of the Old Republic is communicated mainly through architecture, Naboo-human and Gungan. Also with ring cities on Coruscant”? Mellow also went into detail on the prequels’ colonialism subtext, which he says was never fully developed — and might be the most interesting part of his tweet storm.

READ MORE: ‘Kylo’ Became One of the Most Popular Baby Names Last Year, Thanks to ‘Star Wars’

He even made a case for Anakin: “My wife once said to me, maybe his dialogue is cringey because he has zero models of how to speak romantically to someone. He’s a teen monk. His whole relationship with Padme is like an overeager 12 year old on a first date. And Padme seems to understand this. He’s straightfoward.”

Read more here, including Mellow’s thoughts on why it made sense for the clones to immediately execute Order 66.

All right, it’s time.
1 Like = 1 cool thing about the Star Wars prequels.
Let’s go. pic.twitter.com/LZhFZZUz2Y

— Glendon Mellow (@FlyingTrilobite) June 6, 2017

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Source: IndieWire film

June 11, 2017

‘Beatriz at Dinner’ Pulls Specialty Crowds as ‘My Cousin Rachel’ Struggles

Fox Searchlight pushed Rachel Weisz melodrama “My Cousin Rachel” into national release this prime summer weekend, which boasts only one new wide studio opening. But the romantic mystery thriller failed to click with audiences.

On the other hand, Roadside Attractions kept Miguel Arteta’s Sundance hit “Beatriz at Dinner” in limited dates, where the edgy and compelling story of a mismatched dinner at a Southern California estate thrived in its first limited run. With a $30,000+ per theater average and a potential appeal beyond core art house audiences, this Salma Hayek starrer could make a significant impact in upcoming weeks.

Eleanor Coppola’s romance “Paris Can Wait” continues to lead wider releases, at a decent level for its theater break but significantly below such top 2016 crossover performers as “Love and Friendship” and “The Lobster” at this time.

Opening

My Cousin Rachel (Fox Searchlight) – Metacritic: 63

$954,000 in 523 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $1,824

Until recently this sort of specialized drama scored well in a conventional platform release with a calibrated expansion soon after. But Fox Searchlight chose a national multi-hundred initial break for this remake of this Daphne Du Maurier Gothic mystery (which gave Richard Burton his first Oscar nomination). Despite Weisz leading the cast, this did modest business. By comparison, a few weeks ago “Gifted” in about a tenth as many theaters did almost half the business of “My Cousin Rachel.” In a scattered weekend, the movie ranked #11 overall, and showed a normal adult-audience second-day increase of 48 per cent. But it will need a strong hold next weekend if it is to have any chance of sustaining more than a short run.

What comes next: It’s already close to as wide as many similar films unless good word of mouth justifies more an even broader expansion.

Beatriz at Dinner (Roadside Attractions) – Metacritic: 68; Festivals include: Sundance 2017

$150,160 in 5 theaters; PTA: $30,036

Miguel Arteta’s dark comedy pitting Salma Hayek vs. John Lithgow nabbed the strongest limited opening in recent weeks and one of the top of the year, with Los Angeles in particular responding to this story of an awkward encounter of a Mexican emigre and a group of wealthy people with whom she spends a troubled evening. With a compelling vibe similar to “Get Out,” “Beatriz” struck an initial chord. In upcoming weeks, this heady movie could combine arthouse audiences with Latino moviegoers.

What comes next: This expands to 70 theaters this Friday with a wider release right after.

The Hero (The Orchard) – Metacritic: 59; Festivals include: Sundance, Seattle 2017

$48,414 in 4 theaters; PTA: $12,104

Sam Elliott is getting strong reviews for his lead role as an aging Western star confronting multiple significant events in his life in quick succession. Its initial New York/Los Angeles results suggest some interest to give it a chance to find an audience, but it will take continued support and good word of mouth.

What comes next: The expands quickly to 30 theaters this Friday, with a projected 450 by the end of the month.

Night School (Oscilloscope) – Metacritic: 75; Festivals include: Tribeca 2016

$1,600 in theaters; PTA: $1,600

Getting a qualifying initial release in New York, this documentary about a group of older students struggling to achieve their educational goals in Indianapolis did modest business with limited shows at the IFC Center.

What comes next: Further big city openings are planned for this month.

Week Two

Churchill (Cohen)

$200,918  in 187 theaters (-28); PTA: $1,074; Cumulative: $798,083

Brian Cox as the British leader on the cusp of D-Day continues to find very little interest in what looks to be a short run.

3 Idiotas (Lionsgate)

$250,000 in 349 theaters (no change); PTA: $716; Cumulative: $1,061,000

A rare failure from Lionsgate’s Spanish language partner Pantelion. This comedy has much lower than usual numbers among their targeted releases.

Dean (CBS)

$40,000 in 32 theaters (+17); PTA: $1,250; Cumulative: $121,123

Demetri Martin’s comedy (in which he costars with Kevin Kline as they deal with life after the death of their mother and wife respectively) expanded but continued its lukewarm response from its initial week.

Band Aid (IFC)  (also available on Video on Demand)

$30,252 in 12 theaters (+9); PTA: $2,571; Cumulative: $70,636

Though it debuted on VOD, this LA couple working out their issues through making music comedy added new theaters with adequate results.

I, Daniel Blake (IFC)

$(est.) 52,000 in 41 theaters (+29); PTA: $(est.) 1,200; Cumulative: $(est.) 130,000

Ken Loach’s 2016 top prize winner at Cannes continues to get little domestic traction despite strong reviews.

Roger Arpajou

Ongoing/expanding (grosses over $50,000 in under 1,000 theaters)

Paris Can Wait (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 5

$457,207 in 176 theaters (+25); Cumulative: $2,293,000

Eleanor Coppola’s escapist French road trip continues to stand out among specialized recent releases with a continued decent response as it slowly expands. Expect this to more than double this gross as it goes wider.

Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9

$114,161 in 160 theaters (-72); Cumulative: $3,661,000

Richard Gere as a financial in-between ended up with mostly specialized response but a decent number.

The Wedding Plan (Roadside Attractions) Week 5

$106,700 in 105 theaters (-18); Cumulative: $1,181,000

This rare subtitled release for Roadside (from Israel) has become one of the few to pass the $1 million total this year among specialized market releases.

Gifted (Fox Searchlight) Week 10

$100,000 in 162 theaters (-63); Cumulative: $24,272,000

The season’s biggest initially limited release crossed over well and still could hit $25 million.

The Zookeeper’s Wife (Focus) Week 11

$63,745 in 92 theaters (-23); Cumulative: $17,400,000

The longest-running film still getting attention, this has been a significant success for Focus.

The Lovers (A24) Week 6

$(est.) 63,000 in 127 theaters (-221); Cumulative: $(est.) 2,103,000

Debra Winger’s comeback role in a marital comedy/drama is finishing up its modestly successful run.

A Quiet Passion (Music Box) Week 9    98-1680

$ 50 in 65 theaters (-33); Cumulative: $

Late-run returns for Terence Davies’ latest period drama could bring this close to $2 million.

Also noted:

The Women’s Balcony (Menemsha) – $43,248 in 14 theaters; Cumulative: $390,905

The Lost City of Z (Bleecker Street) – $27,515 in 50 theaters; Cumulative: $8,424,000

Wakefield (IFC) – $21,300 in 30 theaters; Cumulative: $195,832

Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (Abramorama) – $14,982 in 6 theaters; Cumulative: $83,602

Source: IndieWire film

June 11, 2017

‘The Mummy’ Director Alex Kurtzman Is Still Optimistic About the Future of the Dark Universe

“The Mummy” was supposed to launch Universal’s Dark Universe, but it opened to largely negative reviews and a disappointing performance at the box office. Nevertheless, director Alex Kurtzman remains optimistic about the future of the Dark Universe in a new interview with THR, arguing that “variety is going to be our good friend when it comes to the evolution” of that shared cinematic universe. (That probably doesn’t mean Variety itself — their review of “The Mummy” wasn’t so hot, either.)

READ MORE: Save Brendan: As a New ‘Mummy’ Arrives, Meet the Memes Trying to Revive Brendan Fraser’s Career

“You obviously want to set a somewhat consistent tone, so that people know what to expect when you see these movies, but it would be ideal for each movie to have its own identity, which is largely going to be dependent on who is directing the films and who is starring in the films,” Kurtzman continues. “I’m really excited to see what Bill Condon does with ‘Bride of Frankenstein.’”

READ MORE: Tom Cruise Has a Future, But It’s Not in the Movies

Condon’s take on that classic is one of several planned by Universal in its ongoing update of the monster movies of yore: “The Invisible Man,” “The Wolfman” and “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” are all forthcoming as well.

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Source: IndieWire film

June 10, 2017

Five Essentials Things Video Editors Should Know How to Do in Premiere Pro

If you’re just getting into shooting and editing video, you’re probably running into the veritable plethora of editing techniques and tricks that you …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed

June 10, 2017

How augmented reality could save tech from itself

We’ve all heard the predictions that artificial intelligence, and by extension robotics, is gunning for our jobs.<p>Indeed, as technology marches relentlessly forward, it feels like many of today’s positions could soon be displaced. But just as with past technological inflection points — whether the …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed

June 10, 2017

Adobe CEO Hints at Artificial Intelligence on Photoshop

<b>Age:</b> 54<p><b>From:</b> Mumbai<p><b>In cloud we trust:</b> CEO since 2007, Shantanu Narayen has overseen a period of explosive growth for the San Jose software company. …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed