Films
‘I, Tonya’ Ices Robust Weekend; ‘Disaster Artist’, ‘Shape of Water’ & ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Expand – Specialty Box Office
Clearly it was always going to be a Star Wars weekend, but some Specialties braved going against the..

Clearly it was always going to be a Star Wars weekend, but some Specialties braved going against the herd. Neon/30West’s I, Tonya won gold in its second frame, grossing over $176K with an added run. James Franco’s The Disaster Artist went over a thousand locations grossing $2.6M, while Fox Searchlight more than tripled outings for Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water in its third weekend, taking in over $1.73M. Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri went over $21M. And A24’s Lady Bird is edging to $26M as it goes into its second month of release this next week.
NEW RELEASES
The Ballad of Lefty Brown (A24/DirecTV) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $6,115, Average $3,058
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (GKIDS) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $5,684, Average $1,421
Youth (China Lion) NEW [30 Theaters] Weekend $260,000, Average $8,667
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
I, Tonya (Neon/30West) Week 2 [5 Theaters] Weekend $176,189, Average $35,238, Cume $553,554
HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS
The Disaster Artist(A24) Week 3 [1,010 Theaters] Weekend $2,636,908, Average $2,611, Cume $12,932,039
The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) Week 3 [158 Theaters] Weekend $1,738,000, Average $11,000, Cume $3,620,564
Wonder Wheel (Amazon Studios) Week 3 [536 Theaters] Weekend $472,216, Average $881, Cume $851,469
Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [30 Theaters] Weekend $491,933, Average $16,398, Cume $2,005,411
Darkest Hour (Focus Features) Week 4 [84 Theaters] Weekend $850,000, Average $10,119, Cume $2,341,000
The Man Who Invented Christmas (Bleecker Street) Week 4 [319 Theaters] Weekend $263,819, Average $827, Cume $5,010,071
The Breadwinner (GKIDS) Week 5 [28 Theaters] Weekend $13,211, Average $472, Cume $184,080
Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Sony) Week 5 [238 Theaters] Weekend $140,000, Average $588, Cume $11,728,747
Thelma (The Orchard) Week 6 [21 Theaters] Weekend $9,184, Average $437, Cume $127,463
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight) Week 6 [944 Theaters] Weekend $1,625,000, Average $1,721, Cume $21,373,978
My Friend Dahmer (FilmRise) Week 7 [40 Theaters] Weekend $40,000, Average $1,000, Cume $1,246,287
Lady Bird (A24) Week 7 [947 Theaters] Weekend $2,108,117, Average $2,226, Cume $25,977,506
Last Flag Flying (Amazon Studios/Lionsgate) Week 8 [18 Theaters] Weekend $8,700, Average $483, Cume $959,413
BPM (Beats Per Minute) (The Orchard) Week 9 [1 Theater] Weekend $1,442, Cume $89,694
Jane (National Geographic Films/Abramorama) Week 9 [27 Theaters] Weekend $27,686, Average $1,025, Cume $1,376,981
Marshall (Open Road Films) Week 10 [71 Theaters] Weekend $16,432, Average $231, Cume $9,426,045
Tom of Finland(Kino Lorber) Week 10 [7 Theaters] Weekend $11,500, Average $1,643, Cume $288,136
Faces Places(Cohen Media Group) Week 11 [9 Theaters] Weekend $11,613, Average $1,290, Cume $566,116
The Florida Project (A24) Week 11 [66 Theaters] Weekend $57,552, Average $872, Cume $5,133,289
Loving Vincent(Good Deed Entertainment) Week 13 [82 Theaters] Weekend $79,626, Average $971, Cume $5,970,045
Victoria And Abdul(Focus Features) Week 13 [56 Theaters] Weekend $20,000, Average $357, Cume $22,178,000
The post ‘I, Tonya’ Ices Robust Weekend; ‘Disaster Artist’, ‘Shape of Water’ & ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Expand – Specialty Box Office appeared first on News Wire Now.
Films
‘Antebellum’ has a ‘Get Out’ vibe, but doesn’t live up to its twist
“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definite..

“Antebellum” is built around a provocative twist, and it’s a good one — as well as one that definitely shouldn’t be spoiled even a little. Once that revelation is absorbed, however, the movie becomes less distinctive and inspired, reflecting an attempt to tap into the zeitgeist that made “Get Out” a breakthrough, without the same ability to pay off the premise.
Originally destined for a theatrical run, the movie hits digital platforms trumpeting a “Get Out” pedigree in its marketing campaign, since there’s an overlap among the producing teams.
More directly, the film marks the directing debut of Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz, who have championed social-justice issues through their advertising work. The opening script features a quote from author William Faulkner, whose intent will eventually become clearer: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
If that sounds like a timely means of drawing a line from the horrors of slavery to the racism of today, you’ve come to the right place.
The story begins on a plantation, where the brutal overseers carry out grisly punishments against those tilling the fields. A few have just tried to escape, led by Veronica (Janelle Monae), and they pay a heavy price for their resistance, which does nothing to curb her defiance.
Also written by Bush + Renz, the script take too long before revealing what makes “Antebellum” different, but the middle portion — a “The Twilight Zone”-like phase when it’s hard to be sure exactly what’s going on — is actually the film’s strongest. (Even the trailer arguably gives away too much, so the less one knows, the better.)
The final stretch, by contrast, veers into more familiar thriller territory, and feels especially rushed toward the end, leaving behind a host of nagging, unanswered questions. That provides food for thought, but it’s also what separates the movie from something like “Get Out,” which deftly fleshed out its horror underpinnings.
Although the filmmakers (in a taped message) expressed disappointment that the movie wasn’t making its debut in theaters, in a strange way, the on-demand format somewhat works in its favor. In the press notes, Bush says the goal was “to force the audience to look at the real-life horror of racism through the lens of film horror. We’re landing in the middle of the very conversations that we hoped ‘Antebellum’ would spur.”
“Antebellum” should add to that discussion, so mission accomplished on that level. Monae is also quite good in her first leading film role (she did previously star in the series “Homecoming’s” second season), but otherwise, most of the characters remain underdeveloped.