by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films from 12/31/21 to 1/2/22
5. The Matrix Resurrections ($3.8 million)
4. American Underdog ($3.9 million)
3. The King’s Man ($4.5 million)
2. Sing 2 ($20.1 million)
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home ($56 million)
The New Year’s weekend continued to see “Spider-Man: No Way Home” dominating the box office, as it accounted for $56 million of the $95.5 million scored across all releases. While this number is nowhere close to the $260 million made its first weekend in theaters, the latest installment in the “Spider-Man” film series quickly became the highest-grossing film of 2021 only a couple of weeks before the year ended.
“The King’s Man” has grossed $19.5 million since its release 2 weeks ago, with $4.5 million of this amount coming in this past weekend. This spy comedy is the third installment in the “Kingsman” film franchise, serving as a prequel for the first two movies: “Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2014) and “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (2017). It stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, and Harris Dickinson, and is set during World War I. Critics have given the film mixed reviews, finding issues with its more action-packed tone compared to the other films.
by Emily Nagle
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has confirmed that he will not be reprising his role as bounty hunter Luke Hobbs in the tenth and final installment of the “Fast and Furious” film series.
Back in November, “Furious” costar Vin Diesel made an Instagram post publicly asking Johnson to rejoin the franchise for Fast 10, which is slated for a 2023 release. “As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house,” he wrote in the caption accompanying a still of him and Johnson from one of the films. “…You must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny.”
While fans commented on the post rooting for Johnson’s return to the series, Johnson wasn’t so moved by Diesel’s request, explaining in an interview with CNN this week that he found it to be manipulative.
“This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly – and privately – that I would not be returning to the franchise,” Johnson explained to reporters. “Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding…Regardless, I’m confident in the ‘Fast’ universe and its ability to consistently deliver for the audience, and I truly wish my former co-stars and crew members the best of luck and success in the next chapter.”
Upon discovering that Johnson had already declined returning to the franchise prior to Diesel’s post, the Internet proceeded to poke fun at the feud. Twitter users are creating memes about the drama, sharing pictures and videos making fun of the long-running tension between Johnson and Diesel, which dates back to when they filmed “The Fate of the Furious” in 2016.
by Emily Nagle
Streaming customers have lots to look forward to in the first few weeks of the new year, as some of the streaming wars’ biggest competitors have planned a vast slew of content for January 2022.
To ring in 2022, Netflix is adding family favorites such as “Nacho Libre”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Happy Feet”, and “Annie” (1982). Making their premiere on the platform next year include Mexican teen drama “Rebelde” (January 5) and Tiktok reality show “Hype House” (January 7). Film series set to arrive on Netflix include the first three “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movies, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”, and the second and third “Terminator” films (in addition to “Terminator Salvation”).
Disney+, which reached 118 million subscribers by the final quarter of 2021, also has big plans for the new year. The company’s fast-growing streamer, which recently announced its biggest content slate in years, will be releasing new episodes of “The Mandalorian” spin-off “The Book of Boba Fett” – which premiered today – every Wednesday starting January 5. Marvel’s recent film “Eternals” will be added to the catalogue on January 12. Many of the new arrivals for January are family-oriented shows and movies including “The Sandlot”, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days”, and “Like Mike”, as well as its sequel.
by Emily Nagle
The long Christmas weekend was the second highest-grossing box office weekend for this month. Continuing from last weekend, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has continued to dominate ticket sales, and the film has now made $1.08 billion worldwide. With so many new films across a wide variety of genres coming out in time for the holiday weekend, the rest of the films in the top 5 were new releases.
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for December 24-26, 2021:
5. American Underdog
4. The King’s Man
3. The Matrix Resurrections
2. Sing 2
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Universal’s “Sing 2” was the second highest-grossing film for the weekend, bringing in $22.3 million (as well as a total domestic gross of $46.9 million). Starring Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, and Bobby Canavale as well as popular musicians including Pharrell Williams, Bono, and Halsey, this sequel to the 2016 Illumination film follows koala Buster Moon (McConaughey) and his friends as they try to convince elusive rockstar Clay Calloway (Bono) to join them for the opening of an upcoming show. While the original film received generally positive reviews and thrived financially, “Sing 2” has been met with mixed reviews from critics, who have argued that the sequel isn’t much different from the first movie, as it’s just another simple movie about cartoon animals singing popular songs.
Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix Resurrections” is available both on HBO Max and in theaters, and seems to be doing fairly well in the box office so far. It raked in $12 million over the weekend, and has grossed a total of $22.5 million in the United States since its release on December 22. The final installment in “The Matrix” film series is the first in 18 years, and follows video game developer Neo (Keanu Reeves) as he must once again escape from the Matrix and figure out his true reality. In addition to Reeves, the cast includes actors from the previous Matrix films like Jada Pinkett Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Lambert Wilson, but also brings in new talent, including Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of December 17-19, 2021
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home
2. Encanto
3. West Side Story
4. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
5. Nightmare Alley
The release of Spider-Man: No Way Home made this past weekend the most profitable for the entire year. The Marvel and Sony co-production grossed $260.1 million in its first weekend, accounting for more than 90% of total box office profits during those 3 days. In “No Way Home”, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help after the whole world discovers his alter ego. Casting a spell in hopes of the world forgetting Peter’s secret identity only creates more problems, unleashing the multiverse and leading to Spider-Man’s greatest challenge yet.
Not only has “No Way Home” become the best-selling movie for the entire year in only a few days, but it’s also been met with glowing reviews from critics and audience members alike. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s received a 99% audience rating and a 94% on the Tomatometer. IMDb users rated the film 9/10. Among many other aspects, critics praised the film’s story, soundtrack, and action sequences.
Another new arrival to theaters this weekend was psychological thriller “Nightmare Alley”, based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham (and a remake of the 1947 film based on the novel). Set in 1940s New York and directed by Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”, “Pacific Rim”), the film tells the story of Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), who joins a traveling carnival where he learns the art of swindling. Soon, he hatches a scheme with psychiatrist Lilith (Cate Blanchett) to deceive one of the most dangerous tycoons in the city (Richard Jenkins). It has been praised by critics for its direction, cinematography, and production design, but many have compared it to the 1947 film, arguing that it is inferior.
by Emily Nagle
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” swung into theaters Thursday night, and not even 24 hours into its release, the film is already smashing box office records. The co-production between Sony Pictures and Marvel raked in $50 million during previews, making it the third-highest opening in cinematic history, right behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($60 million) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($57 million).
AMC estimates that 1 million moviegoers flocked to theaters to see the long-awaited film, which released its first teaser back in August. Ever since then, the hype for the newest installment in the “Spider-Man” film series has only been increasing with each update, from the trailers premiering on YouTube to the official poster getting released.
Cinemark’s senior vice president of global content Justin McDaniel reacted to the film’s profitable opening night, announcing in a statement, “The sheer volume of people who came to see this film on the biggest screen, many for the first time since the pandemic, underscores the irreplaceable value of the in-theatre experience, which we are thrilled to continue to offer in collaboration with our studio partners. Congratulations to the entire Sony team for a remarkable opening performance for their latest blockbuster.” The company also posted a tweet announcing that “No Way Home” was their best opening night of all time.
The successful premiere for “No Way Home” shows that even with the quick spread of Omicron, movie theaters are bouncing back from where they were earlier this year. Personally, I haven’t set foot in a movie theater since the month before the pandemic shut everything down (when I saw Sonic the Hedgehog). That means it’s been nearly two years since I even set foot in a movie theater. I might have to break this streak to see “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which has an exclusive theatrical release. Reviews are out, and they’re overwhelmingly positive, with a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.2/10 on IMDb.
Get Some Strange!
