By Chris Kavan - 08/10/22 at 12:33 PM CT
Here we are at the last gasp of summer movie season and Bullet Train has arrived as the last big summer film. The next two months are going to be extremely painful for the box office with no blockbuster films to speak of - though you can't rule out a surprise along the way - but by all accounts, returns are going to be woefully low after the current crop of films finally run their course. On the ratings side of things, the MPAA has rolled out at least a couple of major ratings, including the (maybe?) end to a popular horror franchise... again.
At the box office, Bullet Train opened on top with a $30 million opening - right on track with expectations. Brad Pitt stars in this off-the-wall action film with a huge supporting cast including Brian Tyree Henry, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Hiroyuki Sanada, Sandra Bullock, Bad Bunny, Michael Shannon, Andrew Koji, Zazie Beetz, Masi Oka, Logan Lerman and Karen Fukuhara. Kind of a Tarantino/Guy Ritchie - lite hybrid, the film only got so-so critical reviews (currently at 54% rotten) but audiences were a bit more receptive with a "B+" Cinemascore. The film is performing along the lines of The Lost City - which opened to $30.5 million on its way to a $100 million plus domestic total. It also represents the second-biggest R-rated non-sequel opening behind Nope ($44 million). The film cost $90 million, so international is going to play a big part of whether this is considered a success or not. Thus far it has $32.4 million and, if plays out similar to Murder On The Orient Express and Kingsman: The Secret Service, it should wind up with around $200 million or so. It it can break $100 million domestic that would probably be enough to hopefully just cross into the black. I'm sure given the talent the studio was hoping for more, but a win is a win in this era.
In second place, the animated DC League of Super-Pets took a 52% hit and brought in $11 million for a new $44.9 million total. It is running just a tick ahead of The Bad Guys through the same point ($44.5 million) but is dropping much quicker than that animated film and thus may fall short of that film's $96 million domestic total. It is holding up better on the international front, where it has just over $38 million but still has a long way to go to hit its $90 million budget.
In third place, Jordon Peele's Nope dipped 54.3% for a $8.5 million weekend, adding up to a $97.9 million domestic total. While the film will not reach the height of Us or Get Out (both which finished $175 million or above), an original R-rated film hitting $100 million is still a win in this market. It still has yet to open international - but Peele's films have been heavily weighed towards the domestic market anyway, so it likely won't be that big of a contribution, but may be enough to reach profitability.
In fourth place, Thor: Love and Thunder took a 41.5% drop for a $7.7 million weekend and a new $316.1 million total. That puts it just ahead of Thor: Ragnarok ($315.1 million) as the highest-grossing domestic Thor film. It has also earned $699 million global and while it won't top Ragnarok ($864 million) on that front, the absence of China and Russia likely is the culprit.
Rounding out the top five, Minions: The Rise of Gru had a good hold, dipping just 35.2% for a $7.1 million weekend and a new $334.57 million total. It should top Minions ($336 million) in a matter of days and is still tracking to top the mighty Minions 2 ($368 million) before it ends its run. It has earned just over $760 million worldwide as well.
Outside the top five: The Jo Koy-led Pilipino family comedy Easter Sunday misfired with just $5.44 million (8th place) but the audience that did show up liked what they saw with a "B+" Cinemascore - moreso than critics (43% on Rotten Tomatoes). While it had a light $17 million budget, it may still struggled to earn a profit given its somewhat limited international appeal.
Opening in limited release, the YA horror-comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies - starring Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace and Chase Sui Wonders opened to $226,653 (15th place0 on just six screens for the weekend's best per-theater average at $37,775. Expect this one to expand and hopefully have just as much success.
Next week brings the next phase of body-change comedy in Mack and Rita along with coming-of-age drama Summering.
On the ratings front, this week brings us a couple of heavy hitters, including the next (and possibly final - for now) Halloween film and a battle of wills in God's Country.
The Halloween franchise has expanded greatly since John Carpenter's iconic 1978 original. It has plenty of ups and downs but the current iteration - with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as a badass survivor who will do anything to protect herself and her family - and putting down Michael Myers for good - has been on the better side of the franchise. The new trilogy is about to be capped off with Halloween Ends and it remains to be seen who will live and who will die. Taking place four years after the events in Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode (Curtis) has decided to settle down and write a memoir, finally ready to put the fear and rage behind her. But, of course, things aren't going to go as planned and guess who's coming back to dinner? Our boy, The Shape (played once again by Nick Castle in limited capacity and James Jude Courtney for the heavy lifting). This is after a local boy, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) is accused of killing the child he was babysitting. Will Patton returns as Officer Hawkins and also features Kyle Richards and Andi Matichak returning as well. While Halloween Kills didn't earn as much praise as the first film, we'll see if this third entry can really kill it at the box office. Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore, language throughout and some sexual references.
When pushed too far, people will often resort to violence - even if it's not in their nature. Such is the situation that grieving college professor Sandra (Thandiwe Newton) finds herself in God's Country. Mourning the death of her mother, Sandra finds that two hunters (played by Joris Jarsky and Jefferson White) are intruding on her private property and is none to happy about it. Benign at first, soon their confrontations escalate more and more until things get violent. Hollywood has a long history of meek people turning into fighters when pressed too far - this one is based on a short story "Winter's Light" by James Lee Burke, but the idea has been around for much longer. Hopefully this one has the tension and talent to make it stand out from the crowd. Rated R for language.
Those are the big films from this week but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
AQUA TEEN FOREVER: PLANTASM:
Rated R for language, crude sexual content and some violence.
ARGENTINA, 1985
Rated R for language.
BROMATES
Rated R for crude and sexual content, language throughout and some drug use.
CAUSEWAY
Rated R for some language, sexual references and drug use.
DARK HARVEST
Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, language throughout and brief drug use.
DEAR ZOE
Rated R for some teen marijuana use.
DELIA'S GONE
Rated R for some violent content and language.
GIRL AT THE WINDOW
Rated R for some strong violence/gore, nudity, sexuality and language.
GOD'S COUNTRY
Rated R for language.
HALLOWEEN ENDS
Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore, language throughout and some sexual references.
LIFEMARK
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material.
MOONAGE DAYDREAM
Rated PG-13 for some sexual images/nudity, brief strong language and smoking.
MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS: SNOW BLIND
Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, and brief language.
MR. HARRIGAN'S PHONE
Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some strong language, violent content and brief drug material.
ONE WAY
Rated R for pervasive language, violence and drug use.
THE PALE BLUE EYE
Rated R for some violent content and bloody images.
SHOTGUN WEDDING
Rated R for language and some violence/bloody images.
WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD
Rated R for language.
