Movies Under Glass … Again
For the second-straight weekend, M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass claimed dominion over the box office, earning the No. 1 slot. Its theatrical peers languished in its shadow, writhing in misery once again. Would that make Glass … double pained? Glass earned $19 million in North America, according to estimates, pushing its overall domestic gross to $73.6 […]
At This Year’s Oscars, Issues (and Anger) Are In
Part of the fun of the Oscars, quite honestly, is complaining about the picks: Vice? What were they thinking? Or, How could the Academy ignore the production design of Holmes & Watson? I was mildly surprised by a lot of the picks the Academy made this year. But I was most disappointed in the glaring […]
Culture Clips: The Golden Man Edition
Hollywood measures success in two ways: One, the amount of money it rakes in; and two, the number of Oscars its movies take home. And while 2018’s biggest financial winners have long been in the books (hint: pretty much everything that has a Stan Lee cameo in it would qualify), we’re a step closer to […]
Glass a Clear No. 1
You’ve heard of the glass ceiling, right? That cliché took on a whole different meaning this weekend. Glass, the latest from director M. Night Shyamalan, created its own box-office ceiling this weekend, keeping its competition well underneath. It earned $40.5 million during the traditional three-day weekend, and $47 million if you toss in the receipts […]
The Upside Finishes Up Top
Comedian Kevin Hart may not be hosting the Oscars this year. But he still found an upside in the midst of the controversy. Like, literally. The Upside, a dramedy starring Hart and Bryan Cranston, broke Aquaman’s three-weekend hold on the box office, wheeling into first place with an estimated $19.6 million in North America. Experts […]
Aquaman Escapes With Third No. 1
If DC superheroes were a high school football team, Aquaman would’ve been the perennial backup placekicker: He was part of the team, sure, but not likely to get nominated for the homecoming court. His superpowers just didn’t feel all that … well, super. Nifty, yes. But if Lex Luther’s creating havoc in, say, Nebraska, Aquaman’s […]
“Bandersnatch”: The Possibility—and Peril—of Story
Stories are never one-way streets. It’s not just what the story’s creator pours into them; we, the consumer, bring elements to the party as well—our experiences, our ideals, our moods. These elements inherently shape a given story we’re reading or viewing or playing. So even while watching the same movie, two people can have two […]
Culture Clips: New Year, New Fears
Happy New Year? Let’s be honest: Some people may be walking into 2019 with a sense of fear and trepidation. Some say that the greatest trigger for fear is uncertainty, and we’ve got 360-some days of uncertainty ahead of us. Why, when some people turn over the calendar year, they may have to stifle the […]
Aquaman Paddles to Number 1 … Again
Seems only appropriate that a superhero would close out 2018 at the top of the box office. For the second straight week, Aquaman swam to the weekend’s box-office title, finishing almost a full length ahead of the rest of the field. D.C.’s latest cinematic superhero earned an estimated $51.6 million, according to Box Office Mojo, […]
Pop Culture’s Top 10 Movers and Shakers (2018 Edition)
See ya, 2018. Wouldn’t want to be ya. Who would? The year was so crazy that even Vincent Van Gogh would have suggested it get a hold of itself. Terrible fires in California. Terrible cold out east. A Tesla Roadster is driving around in space. Certain eels are compulsively swimming into the noses of certain […]