Zootopia 2 was the top film this past weekend grossing an estimated $96.8 million. The movie opened earlier in the week and has grossed $156 million domestically and $400.4 million internationally for $556.4 million worldwide already!
The original Zootopia opened with $75.1 million in 2016 and went on to gross $341.3 million domestically and $1.025 billion worldwide.
Wicked: For Good slipped one spot coming in second place grossing an estimated $62.8 million domestically to bring its total to $270.4 million. Internationally, it grossed $46.8 million over the week to bring that to $122.8 million for $393.3 million worldwide.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t slipped one spot to third place with $7 million to bring its domestic total to $49.7 million. Over the week, it grossed $27.9 million internationally to bring that to $137.3 million. Worldwide, it has grossed just under $187 million.
Predator: Badlands dropped on spot to fourth place with $4.8 million to bring its domestic total to $85 million. Over the week, it grossed $5.4 million internationally to bring that to $88.7 million to lift its overall total gross to $173.7 million.
Rounding out the top five was The Running Man with $3.7 million to bring its domestic total to $34.2 million. Over the week, it grossed $5 million internationally to bring that to $26.3 million for a worldwide total of $60.5 million.
In other comic related movies…
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc added $285,000 to its domestic total which is now $3.2 million. Over the week, it grossed $2.6 million internationally and now stands at $134.1 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $177.3 million.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle grossed about $100,000 domestically over the week and now its total is just under $134.1 million. Internationally, the movie added about $200,000 and has grossed $527.9 million. Its worldwide gross is just under $662 million.
Numbers have 54 movies grossing $188,710,502 from 27,099 theaters for an average of $6,963.74. That compared to last week’s 50 movies grossing $182,031,713 from 27,347 theaters for an average of $6,656.37.
Wicked: For Good was the top film at the weekend box office by a wide margin. The movie grossed an estimated $150 million domestically and $76 million internationally for a debut weekend of $226 million. That improves upon the first film which grossed $112 million domestically its opening weekend and then went on to gross just under $475 million domestically and $758.7 million worldwide. Will the sequel cross the billion dollar mark? It’s possible the film could be frontloaded with fans who saw the first and want to see the second half which could result in a tumble. But, with the holiday weekend coming it should do well though faces a challenge with Zootopia 2 opening this week.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t dipped to second place with an estimated $9.1 million, a 56.6% drop from the opening weekend. It has now grossed $36.8 million domestically in two weeks. It over doubled its internal debut take with $55.2 million over the week to bring its international gross to $109.4 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $146.2 million.
Predator: Badlands held on to third place with $6.3 million to bring its domestic gross to $76.3 million. Over the week, the film grossed $13.3 million internationally to lift that to $83.3 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $159.6 million.
The Running Man dropped to third place with $5.8 million domestically where it has grossed just $27 million after two weeks. Internationally, the movie added $10.1 million over the week to bring that to $21.3 million and a worldwide gross of $48.3 million.
Rounding out the top five was Rental Family which grossed $3.3 million domestically.
In other comic related movies…
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc added $600,000 to its domestic total which is now $42.5 million. Over the week, it grossed $8.4 million internationally and now stands at $131.5 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $174 million.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle grossed about $100,000 domestically over the week and now its total is just under $134 million. Internationally, the movie has grossed $527.7 million. Its worldwide gross is just under $661.7 million.
Initial numbers has 50 movies grossing $182,031,713 from 27,347 theaters for an average of $6,656.37. That compared to last week’s 66 movies grossing $73,872,102 from 37,074 theaters for an average of $1,992.56.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t took the top spot at the weekend box office, but did it with the lowest debut of the trilogy of films. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t opened with an estimated $21.3 million domestically and $54.2 million internationally for a worldwide opening of $75.5 million. That domestic opening is the lowest for the series. Now You See Me opened in 2013 with $29.4 million and went on to gross $117.7 million domestically and $351.7 million worldwide. Now You See Me 2 in 2016 debuted with $22.4 million at the domestic box office and went on to gross $65.1 million domestically, $269.8 million internationally, and $334.9 million worldwide. With this film’s third film being a bit under the second film’s debut, there’s a good chance it’ll have a similar run though likely to fall short of that worldwide with some tough competition coming in the next few weeks.
The Running Man debuted in second place with $17 million domestically and $11.2 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $28.2 million. It’s hard to compare this one to 1987’s original which debuted with $8.1 million domestically and went on to gross $38.1 million domestically with no international gross reported, but this can’t be considered good. But, let’s be honest, Stephen King adaptations have a very shaky history at the box office.
Predator: Badlands dropped 67.5% to come in third place in its second week after debuting in first. The movie grossed $13 million to bring its domestic total to $66.3 million. Internationally, it grossed $30 million over the week to bring that to $70 million for a worldwide gross of $136.3 million.
Regretting You slipped to fourth place from second with $4 million domestically where it has now grossed just under $45 million. Internationally, it grossed $18.4 million over the week to bring that to $37.5 million for a worldwide total of $82.5 million.
Black Phone 2 wrapped up the top five with $2.7 million domestically to bring that to $74.7 million. Over the week, it grossed $9.8 million internationally to bring that total to $53.1 million. Worldwide it has grossed $127.7 million.
In other comic related movies…
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc dropped to ninth place. It added $1.6 million to its domestic total which is now $41.2 million. Over the week, it grossed $7.1 million internationally and now stands at $127.1 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $168.3 million.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle grossed $186,000 domestically over the weekend and now its total is at $133.9 million. Internationally, the movie has grossed $596.1 million. Its worldwide gross is just under $730 million.
Initial numbers has 66 movies grossing $73,872,102 from 37,074 theaters for an average of $1,992.56. That compared to last week’s 67 movies grossing $81,327,290 from 37,309 theaters for an average of $2,179.83.
A film starring America’s newest goofy, yet sexy leading man, directed by one of the UK’s most energetic and stylish directors of the 21st century, and featuring anti-fascist and surveillance state themes should be an no-brainer good time at the movies. Well, in the words (and voice) of many a game show host, “Wrong!” Before it all falls apart in a third act that badly needs a rewrite ,The Running Man, which is an adaptation of the 1982 Stephen King novel and not a remake of the 1987 Paul Michael Glaser/Arnold Schwarzenegger, kicks off with plenty of rage, heart, and over-the-top satire. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is press ganged into joining The Running Man, a deathly game show so he can get flu medicine for his daughter because he is blacklisted from employment for talking about unionization. Producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) and host Bobby T (A very fun Colman Domingo) initially set up Ben as a heel, but he ends up becoming a kind of folk hero while he runs, evades, shoots, and initially catches a cab up the Eastern seaboard.
The Running Man starts out as a stylish and zippy film in Edgar Wright’s signature style (There’s a futuristic Primal Scream cover/remix during the tryout scene.) with a melancholic undercurrent. Ben’s wife (A compelling, yet underutilized Jayme Lawson) are truly the center of his world, and any threats against them lead to homicidal rage, which is why he’s still unemployed and cleans Killian’s clock before The Running Man even starts. The tight rope between sad and silly is a hard one to walk, especially as the film progresses, and we get into the world of Running Man truthers and Derry, Maine zine-makers. But until a fair pivotal plot moment towards the back third of the film, Wright and co-writer Michael Bacall nail the heightened violence, comedy, and emotional elements of the film using the road movie formula for interesting set pieces and perspectives on this world, which is sadly similar to ours. (I am never getting a self-driving car.)
However, as The Running Man progresses, some of its wit and charm start to run out, and it turns into a generic action thriller. This extends to the directing, editing, and cinematography, and at times, it doesn’t feel like an Edgar Wright film, but like something Hot Fuzz would poke fun at with its rapid cuts during action sequences and brutality with pizzazz. But The Running Man isn’t all fast and no furious, and there are some moments like a couple car chases and a set piece featuring the long awaited reunion of Wright and Michael Cera that remind you that it is about something and looks good while unpacking its themes. It’s a shame that the final one is so forgettable even with the help of classic Edgar Wright gag that lands verbally, but not visually.
Also, as it devolves into action and soap opera cliches, The Running Man loses its satirical bite even as Powell starts to resemble the merciless killer of the doctored television clips instead of the pissed off family man that he actually is. There are tough conversations about class, privilege, and the manipulative nature of the media between flights of bullets, but they don’t reach a strong conclusion as Edgar Wright, Bacall, and probably super-producer Edgar Wright battle with whether to have a happy, powerful, or something in-between ending. The Running Man is at its strongest when it’s a race against the clock road trip where you can’t trust anyone, and some of the conversations that Ben has with the folks that he meets on the run remind of less heightened ones with folks I don’t know as I try to figure out if they’re not into genocides and stripping away folks’ basic human rights. It definitely succeeds at having some explosive scenes at the micro-level, but The Running Man gets muddled when it tries to be about anything other than one man fighting a losing battle against a soulless enemy to save his family.
Although Glen Powell oozes with charisma, relatable anger at the state of the world, and delivers Michael Bacall and Wright’s dark one-liners with aplomb, The Running Man feels like a psy-op made by Paramount to show their investors that films with leftist and ACAB themes bomb at the box office so they can make more conservative rancher, Temu Sopranos in Oklahoma, and whatever the heck Landman is. It has a strong populist streak, and the road story is a nice spine until the third act when it goes off the rail, and sadly Edgar Wright can’t literally land the plane. I will say that this is the closest we’ll get to a big budget Judge Dredd film, and at times, it’s like that title’s “America” arc, but confined to the Northeast.
Overall Verdict: 5.0/10
Paramount Pictures provided Graphic Policy with a FREE screening for review
