by Emily Nagle
The end of April was a relatively quiet weekend for theaters across the U.S., with the few new titles such as “Memory” and “Acharya” not having a particularly wide release. However, this is just the calm before the storm that will erupt next weekend, when Marvel’s long-awaited “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” will premiere.
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of April 22-24, 2022
5. Everything Everywhere All at Once ($5.5 million)
4. The Northman ($6.4 million)
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore ($8.3 million)
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($11.5 million)
1. The Bad Guys ($16.2 million)
Breaking into the top 5 is A24’s sci-fi black comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once”. In an unusual pattern for an indie release, it grossed 2.2% higher than last weekend, when it grossed $5.4 million. While its opening weekend back in late March was weak, only grossing about $500 thousand, it’s been performing increasingly better since April, particularly during the long Easter weekend. Michelle Yeoh stars as struggling Chinese immigrant American Evelyn Wang, who is being audited by the IRS. An unexpected call to action comes when she discovers a multiverse; to protect the world from immense disaster, Evelyn must team up with these alternate versions of herself.
Critics love this arthouse comedy, praising it for its vibrant visuals, cast performances, and scope – “Everything” has a rich, imaginative story that addresses big themes like nihilism and existentialism. The concept of multiple realities has been toyed with in fiction for ages, but has become bigger in recent years with Marvel’s release of films like “Doctor Strange” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home“. As a result, fans of “Everything” may find themselves going to see “Multiverse of Madness”, even if they’re not particularly into the superhero genre. The film, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (also known as the Daniels), puts a comedic spin on the multiverse concept, and has a lot of heart. Critics have said that it’s not just a tale of alternate universes, but one of family and humanity that will hit home for audiences across the world.
by Emily Nagle
It’s a new month, and there’s so many titles both new and old rolling out to streaming platforms almost every day! Here’s what’s coming to a few of the most popular streamers this May…
On Netflix, users can look forward to the arrival of critically acclaimed films like “Forrest Gump“, “Crazy, Stupid, Love“, “Dirty Harry“, and “When Harry Met Sally…“, which are all premiering on May 1. Netflix Original films arriving on the platform include “Senior Year” starring Rebel Wilson (May 13) and “Operation Mincemeat” (May 10), and original Netflix series “The Circle” and “Bling Empire” will be returning for their fourth and second seasons, respectively. And, a long awaited new season: after nearly three years, “Stranger Things” will be returning for its fourth season, with the first volume premiering on the streamer on May 27.
Disney+ customers have several new movies to anticipate this month, such as musical comedy “Sneakerella” (May 13), which puts a modern spin on the classic fairy tale, in addition to live-action/animated “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” (May 20), which will continue the story introduced in the 1988 animated Disney Channel series. The first two episodes of the upcoming “Star Wars” miniseries “Obi-Wan Kenobi” will be premiering on May 27. The final episode of “Moon Knight” will premiere on May 6, concluding the miniseries that began in late March. Check out Don’t Tell’s review of the first 4 episodes!
HBO Max is adding a variety of content to their catalog. Last year, WarnerMedia announced a massive expansion of their children’s and family-oriented content, meaning that there’s a lot in store for kids this month! One new series, “Sesame Street Mecha Builders”, is set to premiere on the streamer on May 10, a day after its premiere on Cartoonito, which is Cartoon Network’s preschool-targeted morning block. Throwbacks like “The Rugrats Movie“, “Rugrats Go Wild“, and “The Wild Thornberrys Movie” will be rolling out to the platform on May 1. Max Original series “Queen Stars Brazil”, “Las Bravas F.C.” (May 5), and “Who’s By Your Side” (May 12) will be premiering this month
by Emily Nagle
After seven seasons on The CW, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” has been cancelled.
“Thank you to our fans; your love and passion for our strange band of misfits has made every break, every script, every daily, every cut, and every mix worth all the hard work,” Co-showrunner Keto Shimizu posted to Twitter on Friday night. “We see you, we love you, and you’ll always have a place on the Waverider. ❤️”
News of the series’ cancellation arrives right after “Batwoman” got stopped at three seasons. The reason for its cancellation is unclear, but seems to have been unexpected, as the show ended on a cliffhanger.
First airing in 2016, “Legends of Tomorrow” is a spin-off of “The Flash” and “Arrow” featuring characters from both shows, in addition to new characters. It has been praised for its visual effects, humor, and quirky characters.
While this DC series will not be returning with new episodes, DC fans can get their fix with more seasons of “The Flash,” in addition to “Lois and Walker,” both of which got renewed back in March. Other shows set to return to the network include All American, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, and Walker.
by Emily Nagle
Earlier this month, the long-awaited “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” released in theaters.
Since the success of the original 2 years ago, fans speculated Paramount would create a sequel featuring other characters from the Sonic games, including double-tailed fox Tails and fierce red echidna Knuckles. The mid-credits scene teased at least one more film, so of course when the first trailer for “Sonic 2” was released in December, the Internet went nuts – especially when they discovered Idris Elba would be voicing Knuckles (and he’s absolutely perfect in the role!). The casting is strong in this one – Jim Carrey returns as Robotnik, and he’s even more goofy and Robotnik-like than in the first “Sonic” film.
This one picks up several months after the events of the first film. Sonic has been living with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), and using his supersonic speed to unsuccessfully serve as a vigilante for the town of Green Hills, which ends up causing chaos rather than helping. Itching for his moment to be a hero, Sonic’s chance finally arrives when Dr. Robotnik shows up at the house while Tom and Maddie are away for a wedding. Having finally escaped from the mushroom planet he was transported to at the end of the first film, Robotnik on a mission to find the Master Emerald, which would give him enough power to enslave the entire planet.
Film adaptations of video games are notorious for being bad, but “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” (as well as its sequel) dodges this bullet. It’s sweet and silly, and puts a real-life spin on its source material. In other words, it’s not just a story about Sonic and his friends teaming up to protect the Chaos Emeralds, but a story of family and friendship. When we first meet Knuckles, he holds a grudge against Sonic due to his clan going extinct during a war with the owl tribe that Sonic was raised under. Despite this, Sonic rescues him from drowning after he is betrayed by Robotnik, refusing to leave him for dead. From there, the two make peace and join forces to defeat Robotnik once and for all. By the end, they’re playing a friendly game of baseball with Tails and the Wachowskis.
The attention to detail in the CGI is incredible. Tails is super fluffy, making him look realistic despite his giant blue eyes and two propeller-like tails. Upon looking closer at his design, I noticed tiny eyelashes, which blew my mind – it’s clear the animators spent a great deal of time working on the characters.
Even though it isn’t what people watch movies for, the end credits for “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” are well-made. and worth waiting for. It’s an homage to the original Sonic games of the 90s, animated in a pixel style reminiscent of the games. They’re also followed by a post-credits scene, so don’t leave the theater right away!
Of course it doesn’t compare to the first movie, but if you enjoyed “Sonic the Hedgehog”, you’ll love the sequel! It’s already been confirmed for a third film, as well as a spin-off series featuring Knuckles, so fans can look forward to seeing more of SEGA’s beloved characters on the big screen.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of April 22-24, 2022
5. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent ($7.1 million)
4. The Northman ($12.3 million)
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore ($14 million)
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($15.6 million)
1. The Bad Guys ($23.9 million)
This past weekend saw the release of 3 major films, all of which made it into the top 5 highest grossing titles between Friday and Sunday.
First up: Dreamworks’ “The Bad Guys” premiered this weekend, and climbed to the top of ticket sales across the U.S. Based on Aaron Blabey’s graphic novels, this animated crime comedy revolves around a group of animal criminals (voiced by Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, and Anthony Ramos) who, after being caught, pretend to be reformed into model citizens. It’s received positive reviews from critics and audience members, who have praised its unique animation style, humor, and voice acting.
“The Northman” came in at number 4, having been overtaken by three family films. Directed by Robert Eggers, the movie stars Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, a Viking prince on a mission to avenge the death of his father 20 years later. He plans to do this by murdering his uncle (Claes Bang) and rescuing his mother from him (Nicole Kidman). Based on Scandinavian legend, the film is critically acclaimed, with critics praising the cast’s performances, cinematography, and Robert Eggers’ directing.
Action comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”, starring a fictionalized version of Nicolas Cage, who gets wrapped up in a wild adventure when he gets caught between a millionaire superfan (Pedro Pascal) and a CIA agent (Tiffany Haddish). The only way out of it is to channel his most well-known characters in order to save his friends, his family, and himself. Critics have praised the film’s humor, as well as Pascal’s and Cage’s chemistry onscreen. While it managed to break into the top 5 highest grossing films during its opening weekend, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” underperformed compared to its projected premiere weekend, which was predicted to be between $5-10 million. According to Deadline, this is most likely due to Nicolas Cage’s low online presence, as well as not many people knowing about the film when it premiered.
by Emily Nagle
Netflix’s Q1 financial results are in, and they aren’t looking too hot. For the first time ever, the streaming king has lost a substantial amount of subscribers in only a few months. 200,000 subscriptions were terminated; that number is only expected to skyrocket in the second quarter.
Why have so many people unsubscribed? The major catalyst is the price increase, as the company has raised their monthly rate to $15.50, whereas before it was $14. While it’s less than two dollars, everything adds up in the end.
This change prompted many users to cancel their subscriptions and share with friends or loved ones to save money. Netflix caught on, announcing that at least 130 million users share passwords, with nearly a quarter of them located in the U.S. and Canada.
In their quarterly shareholder letter, Netflix wrote, “Our relatively high household penetration — when including the large number of households sharing accounts — combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds. Account sharing as a percentage of our paying membership hasn’t changed much over the years, but, coupled with the first factor, means it’s harder to grow membership in many markets — an issue that was obscured by our COVID growth.”
People have shared Netflix accounts for ages, and initially the company saw no issues with it because it allowed more people to view their content. But with increasing competition as seemingly every media company starts their own streaming service, Netflix has hinted that they will begin cracking down on password sharing. The company has tested out possible solutions in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, but they were met with overwhelmingly negative feedback from customers.
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