By Chris Kavan - 10/07/20 at 12:29 PM CT
The box office continued to limp along with Tenet posting a $2.7 million first place finish - though it did manage to top $300 million worldwide. That is the lowest first-place finish since 1988 when Die Hard and A Fish Called Wanda tied with a $2.55 million weekend. In Second Place was the re-issue of Hocus Pocus at $1.9 million. The film has gained cult status and even though it is readily available on streaming, it still pulled in an impressive amount and with all of October in front of it looks to be able to top The Empire Strikes Back as the year's biggest re-issue title. New Mutants rounded out the top three with $1 million - topping $20 million in the process.
The biggest news was that No Time to Die, the latest James Bond film, was pushed back to 2021 - leading to a bunch of other films (F9, Jurassic Park: Dominion, pretty much all the DC films) being pushed back. It wasn't long before Denis Villeneuve's Dune also announced a delay into 2021. That leaves the rest of the year woefully short of big-name titles with only Pixar's Soul and Wonder Woman 1984 left as the biggest films on the calendar and Soul is no sure thing. This, in turn, led to Cineworld - Regal (the second-biggest movie chain) to announce the closure of all its movie theaters in both the U.S. and U.K and with things the way they are, I wouldn't be surprised if we enter into another full shutdown before the end of the year.
Onto the actual ratings - where we find one of the few movies still coming out this year, The Comeback Trail as well as the surprise drop of the Borat sequel that will be coming to streaming just before the election.
Sure, many big films are getting pushed back but that doesn't mean 2020 is bereft of every film. Case in point the Robert De Niro - Morgan Freeman - Tommy Lee Jones trifecta of The Comeback Trail. The film finds aging, greedy, grind-house director Max Barber (De Niro) finding himself deeply indebted to the mob. He thinks he has found the answer to his prayers when decides to make a dangerous film - and cash in on insurance when his leading man, the washed-up actor Duke Montana (Jones) dies during a stunt. But despite his best efforts to off Montana, the actor performs - and survives - ever more-dangerous stunts until Barber realizes he is making the film that will define his career. Given the talent alone, this should be worth watching - the film also stars Emile Hirsch, Patrick Muldoon, Zach Braff and Eddie Griffin. Still scheduled for November, I guess this can be considered one of the bigger films left in the year. Rated R for language throughout and some violence.
While many people knew if was filming, I don't think anyone expected a new Borat film to drop in 2020. But here we are and Sacha Baron Cohen is ready for another go with Borat Subsequent Moviefilm or Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The "plot" of the film as it stands finds Borat looking to marry off his daughter (played by relative newcomer Maria Bakalova) to Vice President Mike Pence (despite the fact, you know, he's already married) and solidify his status as a great man. The trailer shows at least one shot of Cohen, dressed up like President Trump, interrupting Mike Pence during the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac). Other targets include Rudy Giuliani and other surprise guests, I'm sure - and Cohen promises that at least one sketch will have at least someone regretting their life decisions. The film is coming to Amazon Prime just a couple of weeks from the election - so timing-wise, it's pretty much perfect. R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, and language.
Those are the two big films for the week, but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
BATMAN: SOUL OF THE DRAGON
Rated R for some violence.
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
Rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, and language.
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES: PART 2
Rated PG for mild action/violence and brief language.
THE COMEBACK TRAIL
Rated R for language throughout and some violence.
THE GARDENER
Rated R for strong/bloody violence and language throughout.
MONSTER PETS: A HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA SHORT
Rated G
SISTER OF THE GROOM
Rated R for language, drug use, some sexual content and brief nudity.
TOYS OF TERROR
Rated R for some horror violence.
THE VERY EXCELLENT MR. DUNDEE
Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive references.
WARNING
Rated R for language, sexual content, a sexual assault, some drug use and nudity.
