Ah, fall.
Crisp mornings. Football games. Changing leaves. Kids back in school. Demonic nuns on the rampage …
Wait, what?
Yeah, fall has increasingly become horror season, too. With Hollywood’s summer blockbuster season in the rearview mirror and Halloween next up on the calendar, major studios begin unleashing the monstrous, the demonic, the horrific on the box office. And this year is no different.
The Nun II, the latest entry in Warner Bros.’ ongoing Conjuring universe, took the weekend’s box-office crown in its cold, dead hands. The demon-filled, R-rated horror flick snatched an estimated $32.6 million from North American moviegoers’ wallets.
That robust debut pretty much cursed everything else at the multiplex. Last week’s No. 1, Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer 3, slid to the runner-up slot with a $12.1 million take. Coming in at No. 3 was yet another nostalgic sequel hoping for a big, fat box-office bonanza. Alas, it was not to be for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, which earned just $10 million stateside.
The Indian action thriller Jawan earned $6.2 million landing it in fourth place. Meanwhile, Barbie continues to slide down the chart, coming in this week at No. 5 with an estimated $5.7 million.
But before you shed any tears for Mattel’s iconic doll (or the movie about her), consider this: Barbie just crossed the $1.4 billion mark with international receipts added in—enough to put an extension on her Barbie house and keep her well dressed in the latest fashions until the inevitable sequel rolls out in a couple of years.
One more box-office tidbit before we wrap this edition of Movie Monday: Sound of Freedom was, according to distributor Angel Studios, the No. 1 film in 18 Latin American countries over the weekend. “We’re seeing packed theaters, standing ovations, widespread enthusiasm, and strong word-of-mouth from Buenos Aires to Mexico City to Bogota to Caracas, Lima, and beyond,” said Jared Geesey, Angel Studios’ chief distribution officer. “We set a goal of reaching 2 million in advance ticket sales—which took a full week in the U.S.—and reached that goal in just four days in Latin America.”
One Response
– ‘Sound of Freedom’ has been roundly criticized by people who either used to work with Ballard (Meg Conley, Slate) or otherwise reported on his tactics (Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman among others).
Also I wasn’t able to verify whether Harriet Tubman’s living family members endorse or condone the use of ‘Operation Underground Railroad’ (other authors have condemned it, e.g., Lyndsey P. Beutin) for the name of Ballard’s former organization, which he’s no longer a part of. The organization itself was under criminal investigation years ago, not even a year into the Covid-19 pandemic (FOX 13 Salt Lake City).
The subject matter is certainly important — “Spotlight” is an excellent film that needs to be witnessed by those who can maturely and safely handle its topics, but it was also a tactful film, with no unnecessary flashbacks and no glamorization of vigilante justice.