Films
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Slays $21.8M On Monday
As we predicted Monday, Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi was bound to make just north of ..
As we predicted Monday, Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi was bound to make just north of $20 million Monday, and early-morning industry estimates see it at $21.8M.
Thee running domestic cume for Last Jedi is now at $241.8M, making Last Jedi the 10th-best Monday ever and the fourth best in December after Force Awakens ($40.1M, December 21 2015), Rogue One ($32M, December 26, 2016) and Force Awakens‘ second Monday ($31.3M, December 28). That’s a great Monday figure, and if it looks like Last Jedi is lagging behind, it’s only because there were fewer kids off from school yesterday (17% K-12, 68% college). These figures get higher and higher each day, so by Friday they’ll be at 61% K-12 off and colleges 89% out.
Commenting on Last Jedi‘s grip on the box office and wide release competition opening in the holiday corridor, one rival distribution head says, “As far as I’m concerned, up until Christmas, every day is like a preview night at the box office. After Christmas is when the real business happens.”
Because Christmas Eve is on Sunday, three-day business will certainly be impacted with industry estimates pegging Star Wars: The Last Jedi at a 60% decline for $88M in Weekend 2. But for all films, it’s about the four-day.
Given Last Jedi, and solid competition such as Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 20th Century Fox’s The Greatest Showman tomorrow, Universal’s Pitch Perfect 3, Warner Bros’ Father Figures and Paramount’s Downsizing on Friday, and Sony’s secret weapon All the Money in the World (which just premiered in Hollywood last night to a standing ovation for director Ridley Scott),on Christmas Day, ComScore expects the domestic box office to hit $11 billion for a third year in a row before 2018 rings in.
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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.
