Welcome to Week 6 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 is down for the first time since mid-April, but it’s a low drop of only 5.7 percent. The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues to slay in the top spot, with new releases Mortal Kombat II, The Sheep Detectives, and Billie Eilish’s tour/concert doc Hit Me Hard and Soft trailing close behind. Michael lost its spot in 405 theaters this weekend, but still ended up at a respectable Number Three. The remainder of the top ten is a smorgasbord of hits from the past few months – Project Hail Mary, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Hokum, and more continue to demonstrate their durability in the domestic standings.
Mortal Kombat II, the sequel to the 2021 film that, while only a modest box office success, proved to be a massive hit on streaming during Warner Bros.’ controversial “Project Popcorn” endeavor, debuted with $38.5 million over the weekend, validating the studio’s decision to push it from the fall, transforming it into a bona fide summer blockbuster. The film itself delivers exactly what it needs to: gruesome and silly violence, utterly bizarre line deliveries, and pulse-pumping action that makes you forget about everything else. At least we actually get to see the titular tournament in this film; its 2021 predecessor will always hold a strangely unique place in my heart, but I’m glad that Mortal Kombat II exists. It’s what the fans deserve.
Also new this week is The Sheep Detectives, a family-friendly mystery/comedy that very strategically chose Mothers Day weekend as the perfect release window. It came in like a lamb with $15 million, but a charming film like this one will have legs for weeks and weeks to come. Interestingly from the director of Minions and the writer of Chernobyl and The Last of Us, The Sheep Detectives is a hybrid live-action/animated story following a herd of sheep that investigates the murder of their shepherd (Hugh Jackman). It’s an incredibly sweet tale, an empathy machine that the whole family will enjoy. Trust me. It may even make you cry.
Being a documentary, it’s not eligible for the draft, but Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) is the third major new release of the weekend, and surprisingly, it might have made a fan out of me! This concert doc (as unwieldy a title as it may have) neatly combines minimalism with the theatrics expected from a stadium show and simultaneously offers interesting insight into Eilish’s performance philosophy and influences. Most importantly, both on stage and in between songs, we get to see her as a real human being, which is incredibly endearing and brought me even more into the actual performance. It’s a light examination of the concept of celebrity, but also a genuine, pure-hearted love letter for the fans, showcasing a real affection and intimacy between artist and audience. James Cameron’s name may be (quite large and prominent) in the credits, but this feels like a singular directorial vision from the mind of Billie Eilish herself. Check it out in 3D if you can – apparently Cameron’s team invented new, handheld 3D camera tech specifically for the experience. It’s very effective.
The big winner when it comes to critical scores in this week’s evaluation (taken, as a reminder, two box office weekends after a film’s release) is Hokum, which netted 70 points through its high Metacritic, Letterboxd, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDb. Animal Farm, on the other hand, failed to reach the minimum standard for points from any site, and therefore walked away with zero additional points. The Devil Wears Prada 2, of course, was also a big scorer in these categories. It’s a proven four-quadrant hit.
Check out our leaderboard here. Five more players have crossed the thousand-point threshold, with many more well on the way. 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.
More bad news, largely for one person in particular: Rolling Loud, a comedy set at the titular music festival, has been pushed to October 2, a mere two days outside of eligibility for the draft. Unfortunately, that renders it unable to earn any points.
Next week, up-and-coming horror director Curry Barker makes his big-screen feature debut with Obsession, which has already received rave reviews from its various film festival premieres over the past eight months. Additionally, two sisters set out on a gothic Southern revenge mission in Aleshea Harris’s Is God Is, and Katie Aselton’s relationship drama Magic Hour receives a very limited release in major domestic markets.
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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