By Chris Kavan - 05/19/21 at 12:47 PM CT
With all eyes towards what the box office is going to do at the end of May, it was a somewhat quiet weekend with Saw offshoot Spiral leading the way while Angelina Jolie's Those Who Wish Me Dead floundered in third. The ratings keep flowing with three big-name films, including the next big "let's-turn-this-ride-into-a-live-action-film" from Disney, a stealth horror sequel and one determined father. But first, let's look at this weekend's box office.
Leading the charge was Spiral, starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella and Samuel L. Jackson in this Saw spinoff that sees a Jigsaw-inspired killer going after corrupt cops. While critics were soured by this new take on the horror series (a mere 37% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences were much more willing to embrace it, with 75% approval. It was enough to give the film the top spot at the box office with $8.75 million. That is still the lowest opening of any Saw film (almost half as much lower as the previous low of Jigsaw's $16.6 million). It's not great by any stretch, but still did better than most were predicting.
Coming in second was the action-packed Wrath of Man, Jason Statham's latest revenge thriller. Dipping 55.4% over its opening weekend, the film took in $3.7 million, giving it a new total of $14.5 million. It has pulled in over $41 million international as well, giving it a well-rounded $56 million global total.
Coming in third place, Angelina Jolie's Those Who Wish Me Dead was a bigger hit with both critics (62% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (84% approval) than Spiral, but landed with a whimper in third place with just $2.8 million. Directed by Taylor Sheridan, the film follows Jolie, a wilderness survival expert, as she attempts to rescue a young witness to murder (Finn Little) both from a raging wildfire and a pair of dangerous assassins. The film has big names that join Jolie, including Jon Bernthal, Aidan Gillen, Nicholas Hoult and Jake Weber. Despite what seems to be an exciting and action-packed premise, it just didn't attract people. You can't blame the HBO Max experiment, as we've seen both Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat thrive both in theaters and on streaming. It also didn't break out international, either, earning a mere $1.2 million overseas. It's just a case of limited awareness/appeal but I will probably check it out from home anyways.
In fourth place, Demon Slayer continued to chug along on that Mugen Train, adding another $1.7 million (down 42%) to its impressive haul, adding up to a new $41.9 million total and edging ever closer to rising up in the domestic anime ranks. I still think it has a few weeks to go, so we'll see where it ultimately winds up.
Rounding out the top five once again, Raya and the Last Dragon continues to show staying power, dipping a light 11.4% and even as it was made available for purchase for home viewing (not just streaming). It has earned $46.1 million and, guess what, as I predicted finally topped Tom and Jerry at $45.2 million (and should not add much more to that total). As we learned from The Tortoise and the Hare - slow and steady wins the race. The film has wracked up a decent $107.8 million worldwide as well.
Also of note this week was the release of Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead ahead of its Netflix debut. While no official numbers has been released from the streaming giant, it seems it brought in around $800,000 in its limited debut, which would have landed it in the top 10 (9th place to be exact).
Next week has not a single new wide release on schedule but the following brings us to of the most anticipated releases of the early summer - A Quiet Place II and Cruella.
Onto the ratings portion where we have three big films coming our way, and we're starting with Jungle Cruise, the latest film from Disney that takes a popular attraction and turns it into a big-screen franchise. The idea sounds absolutely ridiculous to me - but if the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise can make over $4.5 billion worldwide, then I guess they must be on to something. Jungle Cruise has some big names, including Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as the main characters, along with Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Edgar Ramírez and Jack Whitehall. The film follows an eccentric scientist (Blunt) and her younger brother (Whitehall) as they commission the captain of a river boat (Johnson) to take them on a perilous journey to find the mythical Tree of Life. Not only do they have to contend with dangerous animals and a wild river, but also a competing German expedition led by Prince Joachim (Plemons). It was also announced the film will also premiere on Disney+ as a premium title (meaning you have to pay $30 to watch it) at the same time it debuts in theaters. This hasn't hurt any other films and seems to be a model Disney is more than willing to go forward with and I think this hybrid model could really be the future for not just Disney but many other studios even after things return to normal. Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence.
As far as movies coming out that nobody could have anticipated, perhaps none slipped under the collective radar of movie snoops than Don't Breathe 2, which wrapped production back in October 2020 before most even knew it had even begun filming. Stephen Lang returns as the Blind Man, now living in quiet solitude with a young, orphaned girl he rescued from a house fire. But this life is shattered when a group of criminals kidnaps the girl, forcing our hero? Villain? to go after them. The first film was so much fun because it forced you to really decide who were the good or bad guys - and really, no one was either, just shades of gray all around. Plus, it's just fun to watch Lang, who is a real presence on screen. Delayed like so many other films due to the pandemic, this will finally see the light of day (pun intended?) this August and, along with A Quiet Place II and the latest Conjuring, one of the few horror films I'm readily interested in watching this year. Rated R for strong bloody violence, gruesome images and language.
Rounding out the big films is the crime/drama/thriller Stillwater in which Matt Damon plays roughneck father Bill Baker who will do anything to prove his daughter's (Abigail Breslin) innocence after she is accused of a crime she says she didn't commit in France. If part of this story sounds familiar, it's because Breslin's story is very loosely based on the real-life story of Amanda Knox. Baker tries to do things the right way - even as the language barrier and complex legal system stimies him at every turn, but even with the help of Virginie (Camille Cottin) he realizes he may have to take extraordinary steps to clear his daughter's name. Damon is no stranger to action, so I'm interested to see where this goes and hopefully it doesn't get too over-the-top. Rated R for language.
Those are the big three for this week, but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below for the rest:
DON'T BREATHE 2
Rated R for strong bloody violence, gruesome images and language.
THE ESTATE
Rated R for sexual content and language throughout, some bloody violence, drug use and partial nudity.
HERO MODE
Rated PG for suggestive references, language throughout and brief violence.
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES
Rated PG for some suggestive material, brief language and smoking.
JUNGLE CRUISE
Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence.
LIFE AFTER
Rated R for some language.
LONG STORY SHORT
Rated R for language throughout.
MOTHER/ANDROID
Rated R for violence and language.
NIGHT OF THE ANIMATED DEAD
Rated R for bloody/gruesome zombie violence.
SECRET AGENT DINGLEDORF AND HIS TRUSTY DOG SPLAT
Rated PG for rude material and language.
STILLWATER
Rated R for language.
