By Chris Kavan - 01/26/22 at 11:14 AM CT
At least this week we have a decent update from the MPAA Ratings Board and it looks like it's all action on the menu this time around. Besides that, Spider-Man may have taken a week off from being on top but decided that's where he likes it best and took back the crown as it continues to move up some all-time charts. It comes as little surprise that both newcomers made little waves and I would challenge you to even name them without having to look them up.
Spider-Man: No Way Home spared little time out of the number one spot. Scream may have temporarily knocked it off its perch, but it came back to the tune of $14 million (a 30% drop) and raised its domestic total up to $720.8 million - growing ever-closer to topping Avatar ($760.5 million) to reach the top three (unadjusted) highest-grossing films ever. At $1.69 billion global, No Way Home stands at sixth place on the all-time list and unless China relents, will probably stay there as Avengers: Infinity War and Stars Wars: The Force Awakens both sit at over $2 billion, which may be a bridge too far even for the ever-present web-slinger.
In second place, Scream dipped just under 60% and brought in $12.2 million, giving the "requel" a new $51.1 million total - which is over double its $25 million budget and already much better than the $38.2 million total of Scream 4. It has added another $33.6 million on the international front for a solid $84.9 million total. Like most horror films, this one came out strong and is likely to fade quickly, but it has done well enough that this sequel/reboot or requel was well worth the effort.
Still riding a wave of family audiences, Sing 2 dipped 28% to wind up in third place with $5.75 million, giving the animated sequel a new $128.4 million total. Adding in the $112.8 million from overseas and Sing 2 is officially the highest-grossing film of the pandemic era with $241.2 million, topping The Croods: A New Age at $215.9 million to take that crown.
In fourth place we have our first new film in the religiously-themed romance film Redeeming Love. Abigail Cowen stars as a woman who has been forced into prostitution during the California Gold Rush era only to find herself entwined with Tom Lewis’ man of faith. The film didn't impress critics, who gave the film a withering 11% Rotten but audiences - most likely because the people who showed up wanted to watch it - awarded it a "B+" Cinemascore. All that added up to a meager $3.5 million opening.
Rounding out the top five once again was action prequel The King's Man, which took a light 19.5% hit and added in $1.78 million for a new $31.5 million total. It has proven much more robust overseas with a $73.8 million total, for a global take of just over $105 million to date.
Well outside the top five we find the week's only other new offering, the long-shelved film The King's Daughter, originally set for release back in 2015, finally made its debut - but could only draw a $723,150 opening in 8th place. This should have gone to some streaming service as this release did nothing to help it.
Next week brings no new wide releases, so I expect the box office to look pretty much the same unless one of the limited release films can make an extra-big splash - but I'm not counting on that.
After a fair bit of lackluster offering from the MPAA Ratings Board, this week brings us two major films - and both are on the action side of things. And one ever stars Spider-Man in a non Spider-Man roll! Good on that guy.
Tom Holland has tried to spread his wings beyond Spider-Man and hasn't has as much success with films like Cherry and Chaos Walking failing to garner much attention. But perhaps a different franchise can offer up something more compelling when he steps into the shoes of adventurer extraordinaire Nathan Drake in Uncharted. Yes, it's a video-game-based movie, but video game adaptations have entered a new phase where "gasp" they're actually pretty good! Sonic the Hedgehog, Detective Pikachu, Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat - they've all proven that both kid-friendly and more adult fare can succeed. Now, as a long-time Sony fanboy, I shamefully admit that I have never played any of the Uncharted games (though I do have the remastered trilogy just staring at me from my stack of unplayed games). But by all accounts they have a good story and fine action - something that should translate well to the big screen. Holland isn't alone with some big names like Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle joining in on the action. It's hard to say if Uncharted has a big enough name recognition to really take off but at least with the talent involved it has a good chance to succeed. Rated PG-13 for violence/action and language.
Sticking to the action guns, we join another actor that is familiar with the genre in Chris Pine as we join him in The Contractor. The set-up is that Pine's James Harper is a highly-skilled Marine who finds himself involuntarily discharged and in order to support his family joins a paramilitary organization and global destruction ensues. Okay, I'm sure there is some drama and tension here - Ben Foster, Kiefer Sutherland, Gillian Jacobs, Florian Munteanu, Eddie Marsan and Fares Fares are all along for this ride. The light-on-detail plot also reminds me of a different Chris - Chris Hemsworth in the Netflix original Extraction - so we'll see if The Contractor can put a little more meat on these action bones and make a more well-rounded experience. Rated R for violence and language.
Those are the two big films, but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
THE CONTRACTOR
Rated R for violence and language.
A COWGIRL'S SONG
Rated PG for thematic elements.
DOWN WITH THE KING
Rated R for pervasive language, drug use and some sexual content.
EIFFEL
Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.
INFINITE STORM
Rated R for some language and brief nudity.
THE OUTFIT
Rated R for some bloody violence, and language throughout.
THE PARK BENCH
Rated G
TANKHOUSE
Rated R for some sexual references.
UNCHARTED
Rated PG-13 for violence/action and language.
WE WILL BE MONSTERS: EPISODE 4
Rated PG for some violence.
