By Chris Kavan - 02/16/22 at 10:50 AM CT
Hopefully all you (American) readers have shrugged off the effects of the Superbowl by now. The weekend was surely affected by the biggest sporting event of the year as two newcomers, Death on the Nile and Marry Me, struggled to find audiences. On the ratings side, at least things are picking up a bit this week with a couple of noteworthy films this time around.
The box office continues to try to find something that will excite as much as Spider-Man: No Way Home, but this weekend wasn't the answer. Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile, the followup to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, has experienced plenty of delays and one eye-opening scandal for main star Armie Hammer - combined with crowds being hooked to their TVs, it amounted to a soft $12.9 million opening that, while in line with pre-weekend estimates, was less than half of Orient's $28.7 million opening. The star-studded project also features the likes of Gal Gadot, Annette Benning, Russell Brand, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright among others. The film was solid enough among critics with 65% Fresh ratings and audiences followed along with a "B" Cinemascore - but it will likely not be enough to sustain things in the long run. The film also took in $20.7 million overseas for a global total of $33.5 million. The film is likely to fall short of its $90 million budget and get nowhere near Orient's $353 global total.
Just edging it out in second place was Jackass Forever, featuring Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the crew getting into dangerous, humiliating and nostalgic good situations. Falling just over 65%, the film brought in just over $8 million to raise its total to $37.45 million. Adding in another $10 million from overseas and the film is knocking on nearly $50 million global - not bad at all for a film that only cost $10 million total.
In second place was another newcomer in the romantic comedy Marry Me - starring Jennifer Lopez as a pop star who is betrayed on the eve of her big, celebrity marriage and instead picks out a strange in the crowd of her show - played by Owen Wilson - to marry instead. Of course this leads to actual chemistry and feelings and a happily ever after I'm sure. A nice counter-programming to the Superbowl - as well as coming on the eve of Valentines Day - but was only able to attract $7.94 million. The film also steamed on Peacock day and date, but no word on how it did there. With a 59% Fresh and "B+" Cinemascore, it also had decent enough pull with critics and audiences but the obviously female-driven film is playing to a crowd that has shown more reluctance to return to theaters given the pandemic and, much like adult-heavy fare, will find it tougher to get people in seats. With $8.5 million overseas it stands at $16.5 million worldwide - not exactly a fairytale ending.
In fourth place is where we find Spider-Man: No Way Home, still trucking it out to $7.52 million even after nine weeks in theaters. Dipping about 21% the web-slinging Juggernaut has amassed $759.3 million and, it was reported, finally toppled Avatar on the all-time list on Monday - surpassing $760 million - to move up to third place on the all-time charts. It still sits in sixth place on the global charts at $1.8 billion and will likely remain where it stands on both charts - still a highly impressive feat given the circumstances. Given the cameo-fueled speculation floating around, we'll see how Doctor Strange and his Multiverse of Madness compares when it drops this May.
Rounding out the top five was the final new wide release of the weekend, Liam Neeson's Blacklight. Staying well within his established wheelhouse, Neeson's latest brought in $3.5 million, which is in line with the openings for Honest Thief ($4.1 million) and The Marksman ($3.1 million) but far from the days of Taken. The film scored the lowest ratings out of all of Neeson's films (and that's saying a lot) at a lowly 6% Rotten. With these kinds of returns, maybe it's time for the long-time action star to take things in a different direction - and I've heard rumors of a Naked Gun reboot that's just begging for a leading man...
Next week Tom Holland returns to the big screen in the video game adaptation Uncharted tha has been receiving... less than favorable love thus far. Also, we get Channing Tatum and a dog in... uh, Dog.
The MPAA Ratings Board was in finer form this week than previous, giving something to talk about once again in the form of Memory - yet another Liam Neeson project - and The Adam Project, a worthy streaming title that has Ryan Reynolds visiting himself in the past to save the future.
There are so many streaming titles out there to worry about these days, but honestly there are only a few worth covering. Netflix is still the king of content (though they may face stiff competition this coming year) and while critics may still savage them, audiences are more than happy to support them and The Adam Project looks like it could fit right in that mold. Ryan Reynolds plays the titular time-traveling pilot who returns to his younger self (played by Walker Scobell) in order to confront their father (Mark Ruffalo) and, you known, save the future in the process. It looks fun and a bit darker than one would think, but should be another homerun for the streaming giant. The film also stars Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, Zoe Saldana, Lucie Guest, Mellanie Hubert and Ben Wilkinson. Rated PG-13 for violence/action, language and suggestive references.
As just discussed in the box office roundup, Liam Neeson's aging action-oriented schtick may be wearing a bit thin with audiences. But that isn't stopping him from sticking to his guns and the upcoming Memory looks to deliver more of the same. Actually a remake of the 2003 Belgian film 'The Memory of a Killer', Neeson plays Alex Lewis, a world-class assassin who himself becomes the target after refusing to complete a mission for a powerful criminal organization that goes against his moral code. Now it's a race between time to kill those who want to kill him while dodging an FBI agent (Guy Pearce) as well as dealing with a rapidly fading memory that begins to blur the lines between right and wrong. That's a lot to deal with, but I have a feeling this is going to fall as flat as all the other Neeson projects even though this feels like it should have more bite to it. Also co-stars Monica Bellucci, Ray Stevenson, Taj Atwal, Natalie Anderson and Lee Boardman. Rated R for violence, some bloody images and language throughout.
That was a nice updated for this week and you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
THE ADAM PROJECT
Rated PG-13 for violence/action, language and suggestive references.
ART OF LOVE
Rated R for graphic sexual content, nudity and some language.
THE CURSED
Rated R for strong violence, grisly images and brief nudity.
HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual material.
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT GREG?
Rated PG-13 for some strong language.
MEMORY
Rated R for violence, some bloody images and language throughout.
MOONSHOT
Rated PG-13 for some strong language and suggestive material.
PRESS PLAY
Rated PG-13 for some drug use and brief suggestive material.
