"Alice Through the Looking Glass" disappoints with $33.5 million
Memorial Day weekend, long a flagship launching pad in Hollywood's summer, went bust at the box office, as a pair of poorly reviewed sequels disappointed.
"X-Men: Apocalypse," from 20th Century Fox, took in $79.8 million over the four-day weekend, according to final figures Tuesday. While a sizable sum, the debut was the sixth best of the eight "X-Men" movies, accounting for inflation. The film, directed by Bryan Singer, seeks to introduce a number of new cast members to the franchise.
"Alice Through the Looking Glass" flopped altogether. The Walt Disney Co. release cost $170 million to make, but it grossed just $33.5 million over the holiday weekend, including Monday. The performance, well shy of the $60 million-plus the industry expected, came on the heels of domestic violence accusations against the film's star, Johnny Depp, by his estranged wife, Amber Heard, in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by comScore:
1. "X-Men: Apocalypse," 20th Century Fox, $79,810,133, 4,150 locations, $19,231 average, $79,810,133, 1 week.
2. "Alice Through The Looking Glass," Disney, $33,507,621, 3,763 locations, $8,904 average, $33,507,621, 1 week.
3. "The Angry Birds Movie," Sony, $24,560,955, 3,932 locations, $6,246 average, $72,214,264, 2 weeks.
4. "Captain America: Civil War," Disney, $20,004,509, 3,395 locations, $5,892 average, $377,480,457, 4 weeks.
5. "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," Universal, $11,442,975, 3,416 locations, $3,350 average, $40,679,555, 2 weeks.
6. "The Jungle Book," Disney, $9,512,646, 2,523 locations, $3,770 average, $341,024,555, 7 weeks.
7. "The Nice Guys," Warner Bros., $8,253,432, 2,865 locations, $2,881 average, $23,617,104, 2 weeks.
8. "Money Monster," Sony, $5,626,175, 2,315 locations, $2,430 average, $35,278,401, 3 weeks.
9. "Love & Friendship," Roadside Attractions, $3,153,391, 493 locations, $6,396 average, $4,146,939, 3 weeks.
10. "Zootopia," Disney, $1,121,189, 572 locations, $1,960 average, $336,164,834, 13 weeks.
11. "The Lobster," A24, $989,490, 116 locations, $8,530 average, $2,207,424, 3 weeks.
12. "The Darkness," High Top Releasing, $887,901, 1,004 locations, $884 average, $10,000,280, 3 weeks.
13. "The Meddler," Sony Pictures Classics, $700,295, 420 locations, $1,667 average, $3,143,513, 6 weeks.
14. "Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice," Warner Bros., $635,393, 361 locations, $1,760 average, $329,479,318, 10 weeks.
15. "The Man Who Knew Infinity," IFC Films, $607,665, 291 locations, $2,088 average, $2,470,423, 5 weeks.
16. "A Bigger Splash," Fox Searchlight, $520,256, 378 locations, $1,376 average, $1,433,107, 4 weeks.
17. "The Huntsman: Winter's War," Universal, $445,280, 374 locations, $1,191 average, $47,576,025, 6 weeks.
18. "Barbershop: The Next Cut," Warner Bros., $327,527, 265 locations, $1,236 average, $53,309,119, 7 weeks.
19. "Miracles From Heaven," Sony, $310,590, 207 locations, $1,500 average, $61,074,007, 11 weeks.
20. "Kung Fu Panda 3," 20th Century Fox, $307,836, 193 locations, $1,595 average, $143,143,205, 18 weeks.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More