Jumanji bests Insidious 4 at box office

For the weekend of January 5-7, 2018, Jumanji: WTTJ finally managed to dethrone The Last Jedi. It's the first non-Fast & Furious movie starring Dwayne Johnson to pass the $200 million domestic mark.

The one new wide release was Insidious: The Last Key. It's a financial hit, to the point where I have to imagine the studio's trying to figure what they can spin off from it like the Conjuring universe.

I'm a little bummed The Disaster Artist isn't doing better. Most of the Globes winners were from movies that are already on their way out. Darkest Hour might have expanded at the right time.

Opens January 12
PADDINGTON 2 with Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins.
PROUD MARY with Taraji P. Henson, Neal McDonough and Danny Glover.
THE COMMUTER with Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.
(exp) THE POST with Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Sarah Paulson.

Last Jedi #1, Jumanji #2 at box office

For the weekend of December 22-24, 2017, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi had a massive dropoff (as movies that open that big tend to do) and still held on to the #1 spot. Sony has to be tickled with the performance of Jumanji: WTTJ. The weekend after Christmas, movies tend to hold on pretty well, so it's realistic for it to be looking to pass $150 million domestic and $400 million worldwide. Dwayne Johnson needed a return to box office glory after Baywatch flopped.

Pitch Perfect 3 did well despite bad reviews. Looks like it's ending the franchise at the right time.

The Greatest Showman may be able to boast about its Golden Globe nominations, but that's a disappointing opening. Nowhere near as disappointing for Downsizing, a high-concept comedy that's been met with lukewarm reception. Father Figures is a flat-out bomb.

Of the expanding titles, Darkest Hour managed the better per-screen average than The Shape of Water. In limited release The Post did outstanding while Hostiles fizzled.

I'm a little bummed The Disaster Artist isn't doing better.

Opens December 25
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD with Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg.

Last Jedi has second-best opening ever

For the weekend of December 15-17, 2017, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi had the second highest opening in history, behind only Episode VII. The sequel had a different pace and plot style than Star Wars fare we've come to expect, and with word-of-mouth being more mixed and a ton of title coming next week, I'd expect a steep decline in week 2 but it'll still probably keep the top spot through the New Year.

Ferdinand was the alternative release, but it grossly underperformed.

Award-bait titles like The Disaster Artist, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards are losing steam. I hope Disaster Artist is able to keep most of screens despite five new wide releases coming next week.

Thor: Ragnarok has now grossed over $840 million worldwide.

Opens December 20
JUMANJI with Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas.
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN with Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Michelle Williams.
Opens December 22
PITCH PERFECT 3 with Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and Ruby Rose.
DOWNSIZING with Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz and Jason Sudeikis.
FATHER FIGURES with Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, Glenn Close and JK Simmons.

The Last Jedi - Movie Review

Starring Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benecio Del Toro, Gwendoline Christie, Billie Lourd, Justin Theroux and Anthony Daniels. 
Written & Directed by Rian Johnson.

★★★½

The action picks up right where the previous movie left off. The giant death star planet's been destroyed but most of the First Order, including Snoke, Ren, Hux and Phasma escaped. The Resistance is backpedaling and evacuating since the First Order now knows where their base is. Finn's in sick bay. Rey has just found Luke Skywalker.

So how seamless is the transition from JJ Abrams to Rian Johnson? Pretty seamless, but then Johnson is able to expand and deepen characters in ways Force Awakens wasn't able to. TFA built the world. It's fitting that one of the main words used in the Last Jedi trailers is "Breathe." Let's breathe and get to know them better.

I imagine the biggest question going into this was how was it going to be to have Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker back? Just as TFA was largely Han Solo's movie, TLJ belongs to Luke. Rey has arrived to be his eager apprentice, and Luke is the grumpy old wizard who's had it. Imagine how Star Wars would have gone if Ben Kenobi had told Luke to quit whining and go home.

It's nice to see Luke meet his old friends again. Luke and Chewie. Luke and R2-D2. It's sad we never get a Luke-Han scene. But what made me happiest about this movie is that Luke, and Hamill as Luke, is still just freaking cool.

One exciting new character is Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a fangirl Resistance fighter who finds herself pulled into an important plot thread with Finn.

I really enjoyed the character depth added to Ben Solo and Admiral Hux. Hux is still a weaselly Empire wannabe, but he feels more complete. Ben/Kylo makes some interesting decisions, and Adam Driver does a great job of presenting the conflict on his face.

I'll have to see how this one digests on a second viewing. Right now I'd say it's better than Force Awakens or Rogue One. It makes a couple plot decisions I'm not sure I like. But I respect the emphasis on human relationships that Johnson has returned to the heart of this galaxy.