By Chris Kavan - 08/25/21 at 01:19 PM CT
It was another wild ride at the box office with a lot more down than ups this time around. Ryan Reynolds continues to enjoy being on top as Free Guy once again took top honors. The only newcomer to break into the top five at all was an animated film about rescue puppies while the likes of Maggie Q, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson (The Protégé), Rebecca Hall (The Night House) and Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton and Cliff Curtis (Reminiscence) fell well outside those lofty heights. On the ratings fronts we have one big sequel that may or may not come out in theaters and a twisted Palme d'Or-winning film that looks to be unlike anything else you'll see all year (or ever).
The box office continues to be a roller coaster of emotions as things continue to play out even as questions linger over the continued spread of the Delta variant of Covid. On the upside of things, Free Guy has proved to be full of life, holding strong in first place with $18.5 million an dropping a mere 34.8% - the best second-week hold of any movie this summer. That was enough to easily cross the $50 million mark with a new $58.5 million total. It has earned over $113 million worldwide as well, making Free Guy a definite bright spot as summer comes to an end. Many will point out that Free Guy is available only in theaters - unlike many other free or premium options on various streaming platforms. I'm sure that has helped its bottom line and will continue to help it remain strong into September.
In second place we find the only new film in the top five, the animated Paw Patrol: The Movie, with a strong $13.1 million opening. The antics of the Adventure City pups clearly came in well over estimates and I'm guessing parents wanted a nice tyke-sized entertainment option just as school begins. Whatever the case, even with Paramount+ being an option, Paw Patrol was a huge hit. I don't know if this is more of a one-and-done type weekend movie or not, but audiences gave it an "A-" so if they think the kids need another break, perhaps this will continue to play well for a few weeks anyway. It earned an additional $21.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of $34.6 million.
Coming in third place, Disney's The Jungle Cruise shed a light 30.4% and added an additional $6.34 million to its total, which is quickly approaching the $100 million mark with a $92.66 million weekend. The film is also fast approaching $175 million worldwide with $173.7 million and counting. This one is available as a premium title on Disney+, but that doesn't seem to have slowed down its theatrical numbers by much if at all.
In the fourth-place spot, horror sequel Don't Breathe 2 took a 52.4% hit (typical for horror) and added another $5 million to its total, now looking at $19.6 million. It seems a $25 million or so total is well in the cards for this stealthily-made sequel and with a modest budget, this one is going to wind up in the black - about as good as you can say for any film this year. It has added another $7.5 million on the international market as well.
Rounding out the top five, the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect may have taken a nearly 57% hit, but was still enough to edge out The Suicide Squad with $3.8 million and a new $15 million total. Its international numbers is under $1 million at this point and a negligible contribution to its total.
The other three major releases of the weekend opened in the disappointing 7-8-9th position with the Maggie Q/Michael Keaton/Samuel L. Jackson action film The Protégé earning just $2.9 million. Horror film The Night House with Rebecca Hall came in just behind with $2.85 million and, most disappointing given the star power of Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson among others, Reminiscence could only scrounge up $1.95 million (this is available on HBO Max as well). All three of those have to b a tough pill to swallow for their respective studios.
Next week things are dialing back down with a single, new wide release in the horror reboot of Candyman.
In this week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin, we're looking at two of the most diametrically opposed films - the children-friendly horror themed Hotel Transylvania: Transformania and the creeping horror-tinged psychological thriller Titane. It's going to be a fun ride!
While I really want to start with the messed up, twisted film, instead I'm going to cover Hotel Transylvania: Transformania the fourth and (supposed) final film in what has turned out to be a quite lucrative animated franchise. Those who always complain about Adam Sandler - first, go watch Uncut Gems which, despite all the cussing, is an amazing film - and second, see how the Hotel Transylvania franchise has made over $1.3 billion worldwide. Like many of Sandler's ventures, the Hotel franchise features voice talent of many of his frequent collaborators including the likes of David Spade, Kevin James, Molly Shannon and
Steve Buscemi. Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez provide the voice of human Jonathan and Dracula's daughter Mavis. Surprisingly, Sandler himself is not reprising his role as Dracula for Transformania, with Brian Hull stepping into the role instead. The biggest news surrounding this entry, however, is whether it is even going to show up in theaters as Amazon has taken an interest in buying it out and putting it exclusively in the streaming category. While this deal hasn't gone through as of yet, it seems more likely than not that this will be another film to skip theaters - but we'll wait and see. In any case, if the Transformania title wasn't enough of a tip-off, this fourth entry sees our monsters transformed into human and our one human getting to find out what life as a monster is like. For fans of the series, I'm sure this will be another fun romp - rated PG for some action and rude humor including cartoon nudity.
French director Julia Ducournau is no stranger to delivering films that push boundaries, as her debut, Raw, was unique and engrossing. Now she can add Palme d'Or director to her resume with Titane. In true body-horror fashion, Ducournau channels both David Cronenberg and Shin'ya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man) with her own twisted tale of Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) - who was involved in a car accident as a child resulting in a titanium plate being inserted in her head. As an adult she proudly displays her scar and tattoos while working as a sexpot car model - drawing the attention of both men and women, but her real attraction is reserved for the cars she models for - an obsession that leads her to becoming pregnant after having sex with one said car (yes - and no, don't ask me how). In a twist, she decides to hide her gender, taking on the role of a long-missing boy, Adrien, to the delight of his father, fire-fighter Vincent Legrand (Vincent Lindon). Even as his fellow fire-fighters doubt the validity of "Adrien's" story, they go along with things to placate the volatile Legrand - who wastes little time projecting his vices onto his son. If that sounds kind of insane to you, well, don't worry - you're not alone. But I've never been one to shy away from challenging films and damn if this doesn't sound like it's right up my alley. Glad it's at least getting a limited theatrical release here. Rated R for strong violence and disturbing material, graphic nudity, sexual content and language.
Those are the two films that deserve coverage this week but be sure to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
7 PRISONERS
Rated R for language, some violence and a sexual reference.
AMERICAN INSURRECTION
Rated R for some strong violence, language throughout and some sexuality.
BOILING POINT
Rated R for pervasive language and some drug use.
CAMP CONFIDENTIAL: AMERICA'S SECRET NAZIS
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, brief strong language and smoking.
ENCOUNTER
Rated R for language and some violence.
EXPIRED
Rated R for some violence.
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIS: TRANSFORMANIA
Rated PG for some action and rude humor including cartoon nudity.
THE LOST DAUGHTER
Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.
THE STATE OF ALABAMA VS. BRITTANY SMITH
Rated PG-13 for thematic content involving sexual assault and brief strong language.
TITANE
Rated R for strong violence and disturbing material, graphic nudity, sexual content and language.
