Watto’s dead, man. I don’t know how to even type up this report. Nothing matters anymore. Watto is dead.
But, I’ll try. I’ll do it for Watto. He would have wanted it.
Okay, so our number one movie is Flight Risk. This film became a meme almost immediately once the internet got sight of “Mark Baldberg,” but really…I’m sorry, I’m already falling apart. WATTO WAS BALD TOO! JESUS FUCK! Anyway, Flight Risk made $12 million, which gives Lionsgate their second “win” of the year, so good for them. They still have yet to open a film beyond the $20 million mark, but hey, one victory at a time.
Critics were absolutely brutal to Flight Risk, but I’m pretty sure a lot of them wanted to rip Mel Gibson a new one. And yeah, I get that. Still, I found Flight Risk a lot more entertaining than Wolf Man, which is having a barking bad weekend with a plunge of 69% (nice?). Bottom line is people aren’t enjoying this movie. Or maybe they’re just sad about Watto and staying home. If you think about it, Watto passed his generational trauma onto Anakin. It’s deep, man. And I only like horror movies when they have something deep to say, because I’m smart like that (by the way, “generational trauma” in this case means things like “not wanting your kid to eat poisonous mushrooms” and “trying to keep your daughter from falling into open traffic”).
Anyway, what else is there? Oh right. Presence from Steven Sodderberg, who has another film coming out in March, so this guy really isn’t retired, is he? Supposedly, Presence was shot in under 12 days for a $2 million budget, so I guess it’s not the worst news that it opened to $3 million, especially since I’m not sure how many audiences even knew of this film’s existence. It’s a ghost story, apparently, and maybe Watto is the ghost, in which case I will go, but I will bring lots of tissues.
Finally leaving the top ten after getting “only” ten Oscar nominations is Wicked: Part One, with fans claiming it is somehow “underrated” and I’m not sure how on earth they can feel that way, but then again, I’m not thinking straight right now, because I keep thinking about how Vader who “never goes to Tatooine” goes there to just randomly kill a guy he wouldn’t even care about anymore. But I digress. Meanwhile, the YouTuber-invented “Sonic vs. Mufasa” battle is starting to get much closer, with the singing lions catching up with the speedy hedgehog stateside. Currently, Mufasa has a total of $221 million compared to Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s $226 million, but both films should slow down with the release of Dog Man next weekend.
God, I’m going to miss Watto!
Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline
- Flight Risk (LG) 3,161 theaters, Fri $4.4M, Sat $5M, Sun $2.6M, 3-day $12M/Wk 1
- Mufasa (Dis) 3,420 (-135) theaters, Fri $1.9M (-24%), Sat $4.3M, Sun $2.5M, 3-day $8.7M (-28%), Total $221M/Wk 6
- One of Them Days (Sony) 2,675 theaters, Fri $2.2M, Sat $3.6M, Sun $2M, 3-day $8M (-32%), Total $25M/Wk 2
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Par) 3,097 (-209) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-37%), Sat $2.7M, Sun $1.7M, 3-day $5.5M (-36%), Total $226M/Wk 6
- Moana 2 (Dis) 2,550 (-275) Fri $861K (-28%), Sat $2.1M, Sun $1.3M, 3-day $4.3M (-28%), Total $450M/Wk 9
- Presence (NEON) 1,750 theaters, Fri $1.38M, Sat $1.23M, Sun $800K, 3-day $3.4M/Wk 1
- Wolf Man (Uni) 3,354 theaters, Fri $900K (-79%), Sat $1.5M, Sun $940K, 3-day $3.4M (-69%), Total $17.8M/Wk 1
- A Complete Unknown (Sea) 2,010 (-490) theaters, Fri $845K (-24%), Sat $1.4M, Sun $855K, 3-day $3.1M (-24%), Total $62.9M, Wk 5
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (LG) 2,108 (-900) theaters, Fri $835K, Sat $1.5M, Sun $665K, 3-day $3M (-58%), Total $31.6M/Wk 3
- The Brutalist (A24) 1,118 (+780) theaters, Fri $720K (+13%), Sat $1.2M, Sun $943K, 3-day $2.87M (+45%), Total $9.3M/Wk 6