Welcome to Week 7 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!
Michael won the domestic box office again this weekend in its fourth week, a strong showing after dropping down to #3 last weekend. If anything, it’s a strong case for the film becoming a billion-dollar grosser – if it continues to stick around, even if it drops one place every week, there is clearly an appetite for the story of the King of Pop. We’re about to enter a June full of major releases and niche favorites, so my inkling is that Michael won’t be top of the heap for much longer, but the fact that it returned at all to the top spot is a continuing sign of its financial endurance. The Devil Wears Prada 2 trailed it at #2, while Mortal Kombat II, The Sheep Detectives, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie dutifully took up spots very similar to their standings in previous weeks. Project Hail Mary held strong at #7, despite its digital availability, another strong argument for the viability of the theatrical experience, provided they make good movies and let them stick around. So far, it’s the only film released before the draft eligibility that has not left the Top Ten since the draft began. It’ll be interesting to see exactly how long it can hang on before it’s ousted by an eager overachiever.
This weekend’s major new release was Obsession, an indie horror film produced for under a million dollars that was acquired by Focus Features out of last year’s Toronto Film Festival for about $15 million. It’s the big-screen debut of writer/director Curry Barker, who got his start in sketch comedy on YouTube just a few years ago. It debuted to an impressive $17 million at #3 in the domestic box office, which all but ensures it will be a massive hit proportional to the original budget and acquisition cost. The film itself is incredible; it deeply examines insecurity, which always makes for great horror because it feels so real. To some degree, we all know what it’s like.
Obsession explodes men’s inability to cope with the very concept of rejection to fabulous extremes, and how far one young man is willing to go to make his romantic wishes come true. It’s also a fascinating exercise in utilizing an unlikable protagonist, which studio films almost always avoid – not the indies, though! I’m really glad that the film is experiencing a cultural moment, which bodes very well for its sustainability as a piece of art. Plus, it ended up in the Letterboxd Top 500 on Monday, which is cause for a healthy bonus on the critical side…
Other new releases include Is God Is, a stylized Southern revenge tale and the debut of filmmaker Aleshea Harris, which she adapted from her own stage play. The film is electric, with an adventurous episodic structure that feels both proven and refreshingly original. It debuted at #10 this weekend, a modest showing, but expected; it’s a harder sell than a four-quadrant appeal like Michael or Prada. Katie Aselton’s Magic Hour also made a quiet appearance this weekend in only one theater, but despite its spot at #30, its performance earns one of the highest averages of the weekend.
Not picked for the draft was Guy Ritchie’s latest film, In the Grey, which seems to be eerily similar in story and style to many of Ritchie’s other films – that is to say, there is not much on the surface that makes this one stick out from the rest. I haven’t seen it yet. Also out this week is Olivier Assayas’s pointed satire of the Russian government, The Wizard of the Kremlin, which, despite the presence of stars like Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, and Jude Law, is ineligible for the draft because it is a French film. Anniversary screenings of Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, and Shrek also ran in theaters nationwide this week, and though they all had a presence on the domestic charts (the Top Guns reached #8 and Shrek popped in at #12), there was not much of a surprise there. If anything, they prove that many will go to see the movies they love in theaters if given the chance, even if they are also available at home.
The big critical winner this weekend was The Sheep Detectives, which has (as of today) made about $31 million domestically, but has proven to be a massive hit with both critics and audiences, netting 105 extra points based on scores from aggregate sites and social media platforms. Mortal Kombat II did not fare as well (garnering only 20 critical points), but I have a feeling both films will have long box office lifespans.
Check out our leaderboard here. More players crossed one thousand points, with a few more on the brink. 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.
Next week, we return to a galaxy far, far away with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars film in seven years. Additionally, Boots Riley makes a triumphant return to the big screen with the delightfully strange anti-capitalist comedy I Love Boosters (prioritize this one! It’s absolutely wonderful!) and the Baby Driver-esque caper comedy Tuner finally makes its way to theaters after its festival premiere last August. Finally – we’re eating well this coming weekend! – a pair of horror movies thunder onto the big screen in Passenger and Corporate Retreat, both of which promise very different but undoubtedly quite scary theatergoing experiences.
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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