Welcome to Week 5 of the Knock on Wood Movie Fantasy League dispatch. Every week (more or less), we’ll bring you a recap of the past weekend’s box office, alongside an overview of the new release films and an updated leaderboard, complete with full teams and points!
The domestic box office grew about fifteen percent this past weekend, not only proving that Michael has strong legs, but that new arrival The Devil Wears Prada 2 (more on that below) is an expectedly massive infusion, and together, the two are both formidable opponents and major successes for their respective studios. The arrival of Prada ensures that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary both moved down a slot, but the majority of the remainder of the top ten is, for the first time since the draft began, populated with new releases! It’s refreshing to see, and a hopeful look at a trend that will, in all likelihood, continue throughout the summer months.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 reunites Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, the four cornerstones of its 2006 predecessor, and there was clearly a public appetite for their return (especially after a dynamic and overbearing marketing campaign that ensured this debut was one for the history books). The film itself is fine – it’s hard to naturally re-involve all of these characters in each other’s lives while simultaneously raising the stakes considerably, but seeing as it’s a pro-journalism piece about the future of print media, I’ll give its shortcomings a pass. Cynics of legacy sequels may roll their eyes at it, but it’s charming enough. That’s enough for me, and it’s clearly more than enough for the general audience; Prada pulled in an impressive $76 million, which all but confirms it will surpass the 2006 film in no time at all.
Also new this week is Hokum, a haunted hotel flick from Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy, director of Caveat and Oddity. It grossed a modest $6 million, a solid opening for a Neon horror film that was always going to target a smaller audience than most blockbusters. It’s a marvelously scary film as well, which eliminates more of a potential audience, leaving only the sickos who enjoy being freaked the hell out (a group that I am proudly a part of, despite watching much of Hokum through a small gap in my hands). Smaller releases this week include Animal Farm, a star-studded, kid-friendly animated re-telling of the seminal George Orwell novel, which largely handicaps the subject matter and completely butchers (pun not intended) its meaning; Deep Water, a creature feature which follows survivors of a plane crash navigating shark-infested waters; and One Spoon of Chocolate, an action revenge picture from writer/director RZA. In addition to box office points, Prada, Hokum, Animal Farm, and Deep Water also received extra points for their placement in the top ten.
Surprisingly, the big winner for this week’s critical score tally is Omaha, which is currently only playing in three theaters across the country. The Sundance darling scored highly on Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDb, bringing its total point value to 75. Despite a lackluster critical response, the audience thinks very highly of Michael, which jumped to 368 points, with its second weekend taken into account.
Check out our leaderboard here. We have our first major milestone – Nash, our point leader for the last few weeks, has officially crossed 1000 points. Congratulations, Nash! Your four-point punch of Mario–Drama–Prada–Over Your Dead Body has served you well, but whether or not it can keep you in the lead remains to be seen. Remember, for the most up-to-date scoring on each movie, check out this spreadsheet. Additionally, I’ve made a Letterboxd list of every film chosen by our players for the Fantasy League. You can view that anytime here.
Unfortunately, I must once again bear bad news regarding the release calendar. Maude Apatow’s directorial debut Poetic License was recently pushed from its May release date, then subsequently dropped by its distributor, proving no movie’s release is actually guaranteed. A fall release, perhaps to line up with optimal awards season eligibility, is its most likely destination, but that doesn’t help the three people who picked it for their drafts. Additionally, Jonah Hill’s studio comedy Cut Off, in which he stars with Kristen Wiig as wealthy siblings cut off from their family’s fortune, was removed from the schedule indefinitely. It was originally set to debut in theaters the same weekend as The Odyssey, so maybe it was the right decision, but with no release in sight, it doesn’t look like it’ll be competing in the draft any longer.
Unfortunately, nobody picked John Carney’s Power Ballad for the draft, but this is my time to do what I will every week, so I’m going to damn well use it. I caught an early screening last week, in a very musical double feature with Carney’s directorial debut, Once, and while it’s not necessarily destined to be a box office smash, it’s the kind of film we don’t get too often – one that gently interrogates our relationship with music and love in an earnest and thoughtful way that Carney is particularly suited to. Paul Rudd stars as Rick Power, a wedding singer who meets former boy band idol Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) at an event. Six months later, Rick’s original song is all over the charts, and it’s because Danny stole it and released it himself. Antics ensue. You’d do well to catch it in theaters at the end of May or beginning of June (depending on where in the country you live). It’s one of the most lighthearted films of the year.
Next week, we’ll see if Warner Bros. gamble of transforming Mortal Kombat II into a summer blockbuster will pay off, and Hugh Jackman’s flock investigates his murder in The Sheep Detectives. Both appear to be funny, sweet, and tender romps that the whole family can enjoy.
As a reminder, submissions for the MFL are now closed. Thank you all for playing, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the board change every which way over the next few months! Please let us know if you have any feedback, and don’t forget to come back here next week for a recap and the updated leaderboard!
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