By Chris Kavan - 04/20/22 at 12:13 PM CT
Well, the consistency of the ratings board has been rock solid the past few weeks - too bad that amounts to just a single film to cover each time - but it's better than none. The Easter Weekend box office saw Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore top Sonic 2, but the magic seems to be fading for the franchise.
When Fantastic Beasts opened to just over $814 million worldwide, it seemed like the Harry Potter spinoff was going to be a solid addition to the magical world. But the sequel, Crimes of Grindelwald, didn't live up to the previous film and only managed a $654.8 million total. Certainly not chicken feed, but lower than expected. Soon, though, the film series was overshadowed by more personal issues from Johnny Depp's very public trial (he was eventually recast and is played by Mads Mikkelsen in Secrets) to author J.K. Rowling's outspoken stance on biology - which many point to being transphobic (which also why many think Katherine Waterston's Tina Goldstein was all but pushed out of the third entry). All these distractions have overshadowed the series and thus led to the opening weekend of just $42.1 million ($45.8 including Monday) - the lowest opening for the series. The series - originally scheduled for a five-part treatment - now sees a much murkier future. The film earned just a 48% Rotten from critics though audiences were kinder, awarding it a "B+" Cinemascore. Why many did find it better than the second film, many also say that the magic has been lost and not even addressing Dumbledore's (Jude Law) relationship with Grindelwald can save it. It earned over $150 million overseas but this $200 million picture is going to struggle to turn a profit even with those numbers and it will be interesting to see how things go forward (if they do at all).
On the heels of a red-hot opening, Sonic 2 dipped about 60% to run away with a $29.3 million weekend (rising to $33.8 on Monday) and giving the film a new $123.4 million total - just a little over $25 million away from the first film's $148.9 million domestic total. It has also earned $112.2 million international for a worldwide total of $235.6 million and it will no doubt also pass the first film's $319 million total on that front. Sonic 2 is solid proof families have finally decided to return to theaters and hopefully means good things going forward.
In third place The Lost City dipped just over 31% to bring in $6.22 million ($7 million with Monday factored in) and raised its total to $79.1 million, crossing that $75 million milestone in the process. The Channing Tatum/Sandra Bullock adventure has taken in just under $10 million international for a worldwide total of $88.4 million. We'll see how close this gets to the $100 million mark.
In fourth place is the quirky and fun Michelle Yeoh multiverse experience Everything Everywhere All at Once. After conquering the limited release box office in impressive fashion, the film has been expanding (and gaining good word-of-mouth) and is now playing in over 2200 theaters from its humble start. This week it added in 970 more and rose by 2.1% for a $6.18 million weekend and a new $17.69 million total. A24 has found a new hero and it's not part of any franchise for once. While it doesn't have much of an international presence ($370,000 thus far), it's domestic total is far greater than I think anyone was predicting for such a unique film. I say, fly high and hit hard - if you want the box office to continue to feature something besides sequels and franchises, this is what you want to support.
Rounding out the top five was the week's other new entry, the inspirational Father Stu starring Mark Wahlberg as a would-be boxer-turned-priest. Despite its timely religious nature, the Easter crowd wasn't swayed and the film only opened to $5.4 million ($6.16 million including Monday). It has earned $8 million including its early Wednesday opening but hasn't inspired many people to show up in theaters and critics weren't impressed awarding it a 43% Rotten. I have a feeling the long-term prospects of this one are grim.
Next week us an eclectic mix of new films - the animated Bad Guys, the Nicholas Cage playing Nicholas Cage action film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and the epic Viking action film The Northman from the unique vision of director Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse). It should be an interesting top five.
Now we get on to our ONE big film from the MPAA Ratings Bulletin for the week. I feel like that orphan from Oliver Twist with the bowl and the dude yelling MORE!? at me. Alas, I must take what I am given.
This week we turn our attention to BROS, which features Billy Eichner in his first lead role. The film follows two commitment-adverse men who try to forge a relationship - you know, if they can find the time in their busy schedules. In a nice twist on most casting choice, BROS features a largely LGBTQ principal cast playing straight heterosexual roles. This includes the likes of Harvey Fierstein, Bowen Yang, Amanda Bearse, Dot-Marie Jones, Jim Rash, Luke Macfarlane, Eve Lindley, Guillermo Díaz and Peter Kim. And honestly, that's about all I have to go on for this one - other than you'll have to wait for fall for this. Rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout and some drug use.
Short and sweet - I can only hope for more next time around but you can still check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
BROS
Rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout and some drug use.
CALL SIGN ROMEO
Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and language.
FIREBIRD
Rated R for language and some sexual content.
GHOSTER
Rated PG for peril and thematic elements.
JERRY AND MARGE GO LARGE
Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive references.
MR. MALCOLM'S LIST
Rated PG for some smoking and mild language.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Rated R for language and some nudity.
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING
Rated R for some sexual content, graphic nudity and brief violence.
VENDETTA
Rated R for violence, language throughout and some sexual material/nudity.
