By Chris Kavan - 12/07/22 at 12:26 PM CT
A slow post-Thanksgiving box office that is just begging for the release of Avatar: The Way of Water (which has got glowing early reviews) was led, one again, by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with Christmas action - comedy Violent Night in a respectable second place. Meanwhile, the MPAA Ratings Board woke up from their food coma to deliver an early gift in the form of a bunch of big ratings including the star-studded Babylon and the latest from horror twist master M. Night Shyamalan. Let's sink our teeth into it, shall we?
With Thanksgiving weekend failing to deliver much of a punch at the box office, things continued with the total box office at $52.6 million - the years sixth-worse and just below the $52.7 million of last year's post-Thanksgiving. Next week looks even more dire before Avatar comes to save us all. In any case, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever once again took the top spot for the fourth straight weekend, adding in $17.5 million for a new $393.6 million total. Even with that 61.5% dip, it's still on track to top Multiverse of Madness ($411 million) to become the highest-grossing MCU film of the year and second-best overall (for the time being) of 2022. When it passes Multiverse of Madness, it will sit at eighth place in the MCU series, with a good chance of passing Captain Marvel ($427 million) for seventh. It has earned $733 million worldwide at this point as well.
In second place is the weekend's only newcomer, Violent Night, starring David Harbour as Santa Claus - one who isn't above getting his hands dirty - and full of weapons - to take down a group of home invaders (led by John Leguizamo) from someone on his Nice List (Trudy Lightstone - played by Leah Brady). With $13.45 million, Violent Night scored a solid opening and was a big enough hit with critics (70% positive) and audiences ("B+" Cinemascore) that it is likely to recoup its $20 million budget in the long run. It opened just below the horror/comedy Krampus ($16.3 million) and has done better than recent openings for the likes of Barbarian ($10.5 million) and The Menu ($9 million). With Christmas just around the corner, here's hoping this offbeat holiday film manages to word-of-mouth it's way to some good cheer.
In third place Pixar's beleaguered Strange World was the only other film to even top $5 million - and just barely at that with $5.08 million. That is a hefty drop of 58.2% following a disastrous openings and the $25.68 million it has made thus far (and just $42.3 million worldwide) means Strange World looks to be one of the biggest losers of the year.
In fourth place, The Menu served up a $3.47 million weekend for a new $24.5 million total - down 36.6%. With $47.2 million worldwide at this point, the $30 million genre film still looks like it should have enough gas in the tank to hopefully break even - more than a lot of films can say this year.
Rounding out the top five, Korean War film Devotion took a 53.8% hit for a $2.72 million weekend and a new $13.72 million total. Unlike The Menu, this $90 million film isn't going to come close to profitability - but at least it will turn out better than Strange World.
Next week looks to be one of the slowest of the year with only the PG-13 watered-down re-release of Father Stu (dubbed Father Stu: Reborn) and the adult-leaning drama Empire of Light releasing - neither of which look to be a major factor at the box office.
Onto bigger and better things - it seems the MPAA Ratings Board has been holding back as this week's update boasts no less than four major releases. From a Hollywood Epic set in the Golden Age of film to mysterious strangers at your door to a stunning musical biopic to an action-packed survival mission - it's a meaty update for a change and one I'm happy to get behind.
Damien Chazelle has delivered Whiplash, La La Land and First Man - and earned plenty of accolades along the way - but there is no doubt the upcoming Babylon is going to be his biggest, and most ambitious, film to date. Set in the decadent and debauched days of early Hollywood, the film boasts an impressive cast: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Samara Weaving, Lukas Haas, Tobey Maguire, Katherine Waterston, Max Minghella, Li Jun Li, Olivia Wilde, Lewis Tan, Spike Jonze, Flea and Jennifer Grant among them. Mixing in fictionalized character with real-life direcotors/actors from this time, Babylon follows Hollywood neophytes Manny Torrest (Calva) and actress Nellie LaRoy (Robbie) as they attempt to navigate the highs and lows (and everything between) in this wild world. The trailer certainly makes this out to be an insane journey with featuring epic movie sets (complete with armies, elephants and alligators) to epic parties (with some appropriate music) - with dancing, drinking and drugs all mixed in. Will this wild ride ensnare audiences? I have a feeling it's going to do wonders. Rated R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use, and pervasive language.
Speaking of directors, M. Night Shyamalan has made a name for himself by delivering his signature twist endings and while some films have been better than others, he seems to have found a new rhythm by sticking to horror. His latest, Knock at the Cabin looks like it will continue this trend. The film follows a family - Eric (Ben Aldridge), Andrew (Jonathan Groff) and young daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) on vacation at a remote cabin when a group of four armed strangers (Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Abby Quinn) take them hostage and proclaim that in order to avert the Apocalypse, one of the three must sacrifice themselves. Thus begins a tense standoff - and the question of whether said Apocalypse is real or if the four strangers are simply delusional. Based on the best-selling book by Paul Tremblay - The Cabin at the End of the World - Shyamalan seems like the perfect fit to bring it to the big screen. While Old had its fair share of problems - it still made over $90 million worldwide. Here's hoping this cabin fares even better. Rated R for violence and language.
Musical biopics have been popping lately - and they thing that makes most work - from Bohemian Rhapsody to Rocket Man to Elvis - is that even when taking liberties with the story, it's the music that is most important. Kasi Lemmons has the daunting task of bringing the story of R&B sensation Whitney Houston to the big screen with I Wanna Dance with Somebody but based on the trailer, the music is there up front and that's one important step. Naomi Ackie portrays Houston with Clarke Peters and Tamara Tunie playing her parents Cissy and John, Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown and Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis. The trailer shows the conflict between Whitney and her father and I'm guessing the film will tough on the tumultuous relationship with Brown as well as well as delivering some great highlights of her career - from her iconic Superbowl performance to The Bodyguard. As I said, musical biopics have been all the rage of late and this looks to continue to upward trend. Rated PG-13 for strong drug content, some strong language, suggestive references and smoking.
Our final big rating for this week follows in the footsteps of classic action films. In Plane pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) takes the safety of his crew and passengers very seriously. Even when he finds himself transporting dangerous cargo in the form of prisoner Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter). When his plane is caught in a storm and struck by lightning, he makes the decision to land - but surviving this ordeal is only the beginning as the place he finds himself is in a dangerous war-torn country and soon most of his passengers are taken hostage by violent rebels. Torrance finds himself turning to the only man who may be able to truly fight back - Gaspare - and, in doing so, learns his story is not as cut-and-dried as his incarceration would suggest. The film also co-stars Daniella Pineda, Paul Ben-Victor, Yoson An, Remi Adeleke, Evan Dane Taylor, Joey Slotnick and Tony Goldwyn. Butler is no stranger to action vehicles - from the Fallen trilogy of films to RocknRolla, Gamer and Geostorm among others. This looks to fit in nicely with those films and if you're craving your action fix, this looks to do the trick. Rated R for violence and language.
That's a well-rounded list for the MPAA Ratings Bulletin this time around, but you can check out the rest below:
THE ADVENTURES OF JURASSIC PET 2: THE LOST SECRET
Rated PG for mild action.
BABYLON
Rated R for strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity, bloody violence, drug use, and pervasive language.
I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY
Rated PG-13 for strong drug content, some strong language, suggestive references and smoking.
KNOCK AT THE CABIN
Rated R for violence and language.
ONE DAY AS A LION
Rated R for pervasive language, some violence and sexual references.
PLANE
Rated R for violence and language.
A SNOWY DAY IN OAKLAND
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material, language and brief violence.
TETRIS
Rated R for language.
YOUR PLACE OR MINE
Rated PG-13 for suggestive material and brief strong language.
