By Chris Kavan - 08/04/21 at 11:37 AM CT
This week's ratings update might be a bit short - but the fireworks are all at the box office. Three new films premiered and three new films showed up in the top five. Plus we have plenty of drama brewing in regards to talent and money and it looks to reverberate as time goes by.
Sticking with the box office, to the surprise of no one, Disney's Jungle Cruise (featuring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt) easily topped the box office with a $35 million debut - plus an additional $30 million through the premiere service on Disney+. While that was ahead of Disney's conservative estimate of $25-$30 million, it still has to be a bit of a problem for a film with a reported $200 million budget. And its international total isn't going to make up for it with just $27.6 million overseas. As has become standard critics were a bit harsher (63% on Rotten Tomatoes) than audiences (a solid "A-" Cinemascore). The film is a mix between oldschool action/romance - like Romancing the Stone and drama - like The African Queen - and it seems like a fun adventure, but if it drops in its second weekend similar to Black Widow and Old, it's going to have a tough time making it to even half of its reported budget - and forget the advertising on top of it. Now with the Delta Variant on the rise, things are even murkier as things like mask mandates and vaccination passports are popping up. Sigh - I just wanted to get back to normal, but that seems more and more unlikely at this point.
In the runner-up position, M. Night Shyamalan's Old just managed to top A24's Green Knight with a $6.8 million total. Old, which is playing exclusively in theaters, also suffered a mighty second-week drop of nearly 60% - meaning that while the hybrid model might be hurting the bottom line - it's not the necessarily the only culprit in falling box office returns. Old has earned $30.7 million thus far and has earned nearly $50 million worldwide.
Coming in just behind Old was The Green Knight with a $6.7 million debut. Dev Patel has earned rave reviews for this medieval fantasy/adventure/drama epic (literally - based on an epic story that has been studied by scholars for ages) and directed by David Lowery (The Old Man & the Gun, A Ghost Story and Pete's Dragon) has left critics in awe (90% on Rotten Tomatoes), which, of course, means audiences responded with a respective "wha?" with a "C+" Cinemascore. Artistic, strange visionary films tend to do that. I expect we'll be seeing this up for several awards in the near future.
Dropping to fourth place was Black Widow, taking another 44% hit and winding up with a $6.4 million weekend and a new $167.1 million total. But the drama surrounding this now surrounds star Scarlett Johansson who has filed a lawsuit with Disney over their release schedule (that it theatrical and Disney+ streaming) and saying it was breach of contract and that she lost out on millions due to lost ticket sales. Not only that, but it has made waves with Cruella star Emma Stone mulling her own options. Even MCU mega-producer Kevin Feige is reportedly upset over how Disney has been handling the response - and that is not a man you want upset. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be interested in seeing how this one plays out.
Rounding out the top five was the week's other new film, the Matt Damon drama Stillwater, which opened to $5.18 million. Damon plays a father who travels to France when his daughter (Abigail Breslin) faces criminal charges and extensive jail time for a crime she says she didn't commit. Teaming up with a local, Virginie (Camille Cottin), he will stop at nothing to exonerate his daughter even as it becomes apparent he will have to break the law himself to do so. The film is obviously based on the real-life case of Amanda Knox - and she is none-to-happy with the results. But, that controversy aside, the film earned a mostly positive (75% on Rotten Tomatoes) reviews from critics and looks to benefits from Damon's presence, even if it won't reach stratospheric numbers.
This week brings us the return of The Suicide Squad, which should help light up the box office once again with James Gunn's wickedly fun take on the anti-heroes of the DCU.
The MPAA Ratings Bulletin this week is on the light side, but at least one future animated film gets to shine.
Our one standout this week is Rumble, a Paramount Pictures animated film in partnership with WWE Studios - yes, we are getting a monster wrestling film. The film takes place in a world where humans and monsters co-exist and Monster Wrestling is one of the most popular pastimes. Winnie (Geraldine Viswanathan), looks to follow in her late father's footsteps and take an underdog amateur wrestling monster named Steve (Will Arnett) and train him to become the best - hoping to topple the mighty Tentacularis (Terry Crews) as the top monster. You can't go wrong with an underdog story - though it has been done time and time before - but never with monster wrestling. The film also has the vocal talents of Fred Melamed, Charles Barkley, Tony Danza, Jimmy Tatro, Chris Eubank, Bridget Everett and
Ben Schwartz. I'm sure the kids will love it. Rated PG for some action and rude humor.
That's the only film of note in this week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin, but you can sure check out the rest below:
DATING & NEW YORK
Rated PG-13 for sexual material and brief language.
FAUCI
Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, and some suggestive material.
THE HONEY GIRLS
Rated PG for some mild language.
INJUSTICE
Rated R for bloody violence.
LEAD ME HOME
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language.
MOTHERING SUNDAY
Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity and some language.
MY SON
Rated R for language throughout and some violence.
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Rated R for brief sexual content/full nudity.
RUMBLE
Rated PG for some action and rude humor.
SHE BALL
Rated R for language throughout, sexual material, drug use and brief violence.
SURVIVE THE GAME
Rated R for violence, and language throughout.
