‘Incredibles 2’
Disney/Pixar executives might be wondering why they waited 14 years to greenlight a sequel to The Incredibles after the family film smashed records for a Disney animated title in Australia and the US last weekend.
Meanwhile Warner Bros’ buddy comedy Tag opened OK, Hindi import Race 3 drew plenty of Bollywood fans and Leigh Whannell’s sci-fi thriller Upgrade trailed the second weekend of Hereditary.
Sebastián Lelio’s drama Disobedience launched respectably on limited screens while Paolo Virzi’s road trip The Leisure Seeker had a mediocre start.
Simon Baker’s Breath advanced to $4.27 million after collecting $76,000 in its seventh weekend, a splendid result for Roadshow.
The top 20 titles harvested $19.1 million, up by 29 per cent on the previous weekend, according to Numero.
Directed by Brad Bird, Incredibles 2 raked in $10.6 million in Australia, a toon record for Disney/Pixar, beating Finding Dory’s $10.3 million debut in 2016. That’s the third biggest opening ever for an animated title behind Fox’s The Simpson’s Movie ($13.2 million) and DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 ($13.1 million).
In the US the superhero family adventure/comedy voiced by Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell and Samuel L. Jackson minted a phenomenal $US182.6 million, eclipsing the previous high of $US135 million set by Finding Dory.
The Warner Bros/Village Roadshow Pictures comedy Ocean’s 8 ranked a distant second after plunging by 52 per cent in its second weekend, rustling up $2.65 million. That brings takings for director Gary Ross’ heist caper, which stars Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling, to $10.8 million.
While the latest edition is on course to beat the $12.2 million lifetime total of Ocean’s Thirteen it is unlikely to match Ocean’s Twelve’s $16 million and has no hope of catching Ocean’s Eleven’s $22.2 million.
The feature directing debut of Jeff Tomsic and based on a true story, Tag fetched $1.12 million. Pro-rata, that is below the $US14.9 million opening in the US for the New Line comedy starring Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson and Isla Fisher.
Fox/Marvel’s Deadpool 2 climbed to $34.5 million after banking $933,000 in its fifth outing. The superhero action/comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin and Julian Dennison has amassed nearly $US690 million worldwide, with international’s $394.8 million outshining domestic’s $294.7 million.
Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story topped $16 million after taking $722,000 in its fourth obit. The Star Wars origin story has pocketed $339 million worldwide, a disappointing return for Disney/Lucasfilm.
Writer-director Ari Aster’s horror/thriller Hereditary dropped by 47 per cent, a decent hold for the genre, pulling in $605,000.The tale of a family whose life begins to unravel after the death of their reclusive grandmother, starring Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne, has generated $2.25 million for StudioCanal.
The third edition of the Race franchise, an action thriller directed by Remo D’Souza and starring Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Bobby Deol, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah and Saqib Saleem, captured $495,000 on 56 screens for Mind Blowing Films.
Produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and Goalpost Pictures, Upgrade whistled up $325,000 at 139 locations, including previews, for Madman Entertainment. However the film starring Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel and Harrison Gilbertson is a success in the US, nabbing $US11.07 million after its third weekend, a company record for distributor BH Tilt.
Word-of-mouth is kicking in for Roger Michell’s feature documentary Tea with the Dames, which scored $258,000 in its second weekend (easing by 35 per cent), and earning $1 million thus far for Transmission Films.
The Leisure Seeker stars Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland as a couple who embark on a cross-country journey in their vintage campervan, fleeing their grown children and doctors. A top cast and an appealing concept, on paper, but the $233000 opening on 87 screens, with previews, wasn’t great for eOne. The film inspired by the novel of the same name by Michael Zadoorian was a modest performer for Sony Pictures Classics in the US last December, finishing with $3.2 million.
Wallis Cinemas programming manager Sasha Close believes The Leisure Seeker suffered by opening in the shadow of Michell’s film, which is proving popular with mature audiences.
Disobedience follows Rachel Weisz as a woman who returns from New York after the death of her estranged rabbi father to the Orthodox Jewish community in North London, where she stirs controversy when she shows an interest in a childhood friend. The Roadshow release garnered $131,000 including previews on 33 screens.