Vanguard and More in This Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

By Chris Kavan - 11/25/20 at 05:28 PM CT

As has become customary, the weekend box office brought little cheer as Vanguard (which, to my knowledge is the only film to receive a rating after it premiered in theaters since I started this little blog update) failed to spark much interest settling down in 7th place with a mere $400,000 and a weak $276 per theater average. With more and more theaters closing down due to fast-rising Covid numbers, the entire box office amounted to just $5.3 million - or about half of the $10.3 million it took in last week. Freaky topped out at $1.3 million and the best per-theater average in the top ten with $622. Freaky has taken in $5.65 million. Out of the top five, the only film that can be considered any kind of success is The War with Grandpa, which took second place with $747,135 and a new total of $16.2 million. In fact, it is behind just Tenet ($56.9 million), New Mutants ($23.8 million) and Unhinged ($20.8 million) for pandemic supremacy and, depending on how long it holds out (or how long theaters hold out), I could potentially top Unhinged.

The other big news announced is that Wonder Woman 1984 is going to be released in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time, meaning Decembers biggest tentpole will not be the magic bullet for theaters and it will be interesting to see how many people show up and how many people watch at home (if theaters are still open by then). The biggest issue at keeping things open remains how much more Covid spreads and with many people ignoring travel retractions and family gatherings for the trifecta of upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) - I think things are going to get much worse before they get better and I don't think any approved vaccines are going to make a dent while so many continue to ignore common sense.

Yes, there is still the MPAA ratings bulletin and while there are plenty of movies on said list, there is but a lone wide release and, yes, it is indeed Vanguard, the Jackie Chan film that failed to ignite much interest in China and, as mentioned above, didn't do much domestically either.

MPAA Official Logo

It's getting harder and harder to find fresh content these days, which is probably the only reason why Vanguard was given a wide release. Jackie Chan has had an extensive career but given that Vanguard made a paltry $44 million in China (which sounds okay, until you consider that Tenet made $66.5 million and it made barley more than the widely panned Mulan at $40.7 million), it sounds like his star is waning. But I'm guessing distributors were hoping that the relative light release schedule during these Covid times would help it stand out - but, as seen above, it didn't even crack the top five on its opening weekend. Essentially Vanguard follows an elite security protection agency who must protect an accountant after he becomes the target of a dangerous mercenary organization. The films is globe-trotting action that looks fine for an action film but apparently not enough to stand out in the crowd. Besides Chan, the film stars Yang Yang, Lun Ai, Miya Muqi, Zhengting Zhu, Ruohan Xu and Jackson Lou. The film is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence including prolonged gun battles, and some language.

That's the only big film of the week, but there are at least a few more film to check out in the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:

THE ALPINIST

Rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief drug content.


BLISS

Rated R for drug content, language, some sexual
material and violence.


CHERRY

Rated R for graphic drug abuse, disturbing and violent images, pervasive language, and sexual content.


DON'T TELL A SOUL

Rated R for language, some violence, teen drug use and a sexual reference.


FINDING OHANA

Rated PG for language, crude references, adventure action and some suggestive comments.


LAND

Rated PG-13 for thematic content, brief strong language, and partial nudity.


THE MAURITANIAN

Rated R for violence including a sexual assault, and language.


NO MAN'S LAND

Rated PG-13 for some strong violence and language.


SIR ALEX FERGUSON: NEVER GIVE IN

Rated PG-13 for some strong language.


STARS FELL ON ALABAMA

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material.


TWENTY SOMETHING

Rated PG for some suggestive material.


VANGUARD

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence including prolonged gun battles, and some language.


WRATH OF MAN

Rated R for strong violence throughout, pervasive language, and some sexual references.

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