By Chris Kavan - 02/23/22 at 11:17 AM CT
It's another solid entry in the ratings department this week with two more wide releases to contend with. On the box office side of things, Tom Holland proves he doesn't have to be a superhero to top the weekend as Uncharted weathered drab critic reviews and wowed audiences enough to score the biggest opening of 2022. Also scoring decent was Channing Tatum's Dog - which joins the pantheon of feel-good human/animal companion pieces to make a splash.
President's Day weekend may not be the biggest holiday of the year for movie releases, but it's still an extra day to count and Uncharted led the pack with a $44.2 million weekend - rising up to $51.3 million for the holiday. While critics were unimpressed with action film - based on the hit video game series and co-starring Mark Wahlberg - with a withering 39% Rotten, audiences were much more receptive, awarding the film a solid "B+" CInemascore. That easily topped Scream's $30 million opening to become the best opening of 2022 thus far. It also proved that Holland is a draw on his own without having the MCU behind him. It has also grossed $88 million overseas and is one of the rare films that will actually play in China - so we'll see if it can whet the appetite there to really boost its numbers. With nearly $140 million thus far worldwide, it should be able to recoup its reported $120 million budget and while it won't deliver Spider-Man-like numbers, it could be enough to warrant a sequel down the line.
In second place Channing Tatum delivered a dose of goodwill with Dog. It's a road-trip movie where Tatum is trying to get to the funeral of a fellow solider and joined by Lulu, a a Belgian Malinois, on a race down the Pacific Coast. It's Tatum's first film since 2017 and he also helped co-direct the film along with Reid Carolin. Critics were enamored with the story, awarding it a 76% Positive while audiences followed right along, giving the film an "A-" Cinemascore. The film took in a hair over $15 million for the weekend with a total of $17.3 million including the holiday frame. People need a little pick-me-up and Dog is just the type of film that makes you feel better. It hasn't opened overseas as of yet.
In third place we find Holland still swinging right along as Spider-Man: No Way Home added another $7.7 million over the weekend - rising all the way to $9.2 million for the holiday. That actually represents a solid 1.7% increase and, with rumors of an extended version planned, No Way Home looks to press the $2 billion worldwide mark. It currently sits at $772.1 million domestic and $1.83 billion worldwide. I usually hate double-dipping in the market, but I wouldn't be against seeing this in theaters again with even juicier content.
In the fourth-place spot we find Death on the Nile, which earned $6.3 million for the weekend and $7.7 million including the holiday - an over 50% drop from its opening. The star-studded sequel from Kenneth Branagh has earned $26.4 million domestic with another $50 million overseas for a total just a hair north of $75 million worldwide.
Rounding out the top five was Jackass Forever with Johnny Knoxville leading his loyal yet crazy group of friends for one final outing added $5.2 million for the weekend - $6 million over the holiday - for a new total of $47.55 million with $61 million worldwide.
The only other wide release this week was horror film The Cursed, which barely made an impact opening in 9th place with just $1.7 million - rising to just above $2 million including the holiday.
The only new wide release coming is the Foo Fighter's led horror film Studio 666, though keep an eye on Cyrano in limited release with Peter Dinklage taking on the role of the lovelorn poet.
The MPAA continues to provide some good updates as well this week, including the third entry in the somewhat beleaguered Fantastic Beasts franchise and Mark Wahlberg bringing another inspirational true-life story to the big screen.
It's been a rough ride for the Fantastic Beasts franchise. From J.K. Rowling alienating fans with anti-trans statements to Johnny Depp's legal troubles (and subsequent replacement) to just diminishing returns, this one-time homerun franchise is now just hoping to recoup its cost. This brings us to the third entry in the series, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. This time around Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) recognizes the growing threat that Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen - taking over for Depp) and his legion of followers represents but is still hesitant about getting involved. Instead, he relies on magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and a crack crew - including muggle baker Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) to get the inside scoop on what is happening. Also returning to the fray is Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Callum Turner,
Alison Sudol and Jessica Williams with Richard Coyle joining the cast as Aberforth Dumbledore and Poppy Corby-Tuech as Grindelwald's loyal right-hand and powerful Occlumens. Fantastic Beasts has always faced an uphill battle in recreating the magic of the Harry Potter series and it has struggled to find its footing. We'll see if this third entry manages to gain a foothold or if it continues the slide downward. Rated PG-13 for some fantasy action/violence.
Mark Wahlberg is good at taking real-life figures and putting up some solid films with the likes of The Fighter, Invincible and Deepwater Horizon all under his belt. It seems like something he's comfortable doing and usually results in some decent returns, so he's at it once again with Father Stu. The titular characters is a boxer who finds his career derailed following a motorcycle accident. But the down-and-out man finds a shot at redemption when he decides to become a priest - and his inspirational journey affects those around him, even as he faces plenty of obstacles on this road. The film co-stars Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, Annet Mahendru, Teresa Ruiz and Cody Fern. As I said, this is right in Wahlberg's wheelhouse so we'll see if audiences are still receptive. Rated R for language throughout.
Those are the two big films for this week but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
ALL MY FRIENDS HATE ME
Rated R for language throughout, drug use and brief graphic nudity.
DEVOTION
Rated PG-13 for strong language, some war action/violence and smoking.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE
Rated PG-13 for some fantasy action/violence.
FATHER STU
Rated R for language throughout.
FRANK AND PENELOPE
Rated R for strong violent content, sexual content, brief nudity, language throughout, sexual
assault and some drug use.
HOUSE PARTY
Rated R for pervasive language, drug use, sexual material and some violence.
LAST SEEN ALIVE
Rated R for pervasive language, violence and some drug material.
MY BEST FRIEND'S EXORCISM
Rated R for teen drug use, language, sexual references and some violence.
OUTSIDERS
Rated R for some language.
PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT
Rated R for strong sexual content throughout, graphic nudity, language and some drug use.
UPON THE MAGIC ROADS
Rated PG for some mild violence and action.
