Welcome to Week 8 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!
On this past Memorial Day weekend, historically the first major milestone for the year in film stats and a major indicator for the summer movie season, the box office was the highest it’s been since early April (in the heyday of Mario and The Drama, the first two major releases eligible for this draft), netting $172 million over the three days and a respectable $216 million over the four days, which includes the Monday holiday. As solid a number as it is, it’s a far cry from last year, which was bolstered by Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch…still, this year is higher than both 2024 and 2023, which both clocked in at well under $150 million.
While the highest grosser of the weekend was The Mandalorian and Grogu (more on that in a minute), the big winner was Obsession, which, in an extreme rarity for a horror movie, especially an independent one produced for under $1 million, jumped up a spot in the domestic box office, added 40 theaters to its roster, and made 40% more than its opening weekend. It now stands at $62 million, an extraordinary number for a small horror film, and as a testament to the power of word of mouth. Below it on the rankings are the usual suspects: Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Sheep Detectives, Mortal Kombat II, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Project Hail Mary continue their dominance. There’s nothing particularly surprising in that batch.
The biggest new release is, of course, The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars film in seven years. It opened to less than $100 million, the lowest number of a live-action Star Wars movie in its first weekend (to be clear, a number all films aspire to, and most would be lucky to hit at all), a less than satisfactory debut for Disney…however, when you consider the innate safety of the film and the overt lack of risks taken in its production and narrative, it’s not surprising that the general moviegoing public is less than enthusiastic. It’s an indicator that Star Wars, like Marvel, is rapidly losing its box office potency. If Lucasfilm actually makes any of the more daring and interesting films they’ve announced over the last five years, I think there’s a strong chance they could reverse their fate, but something tells me that the corporatization of the franchise will not allow that to happen in the way it should.
The other major horror player this past weekend is Passenger, which drove in with about $10 million and cemented its place at #6. Not too shabby! I was in awe of this film’s trailer, which freaked me out whenever I saw it in a theater, and while the final product doesn’t impress nearly as much, it did surprise me by being in a largely different register (thus proving it was a great move to use its best scare in the marketing, which doesn’t impinge on the efficacy of the rest), shaping up as a tactful relationship story about commitment and independence rather than a straight scare machine. The scares are good, though, and the atmosphere is quite spooky. I watched much of it through a small gap in my hands.
My favorite release of the weekend is I Love Boosters, the latest oddball, unashamedly anti-capitalist riot from Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You), which stars Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, and Poppy Liu as a gang of shoplifters who target a cruel fashion maven (Demi Moore). It debuted at #8 to $4.7 million, which is honestly higher than I expected – the film immediately entered the upper echelon of the year so far, but I did not assume it would be a runaway financial success. Go check it out! It’s well worth your time, and one of the most interesting pieces of on-screen political art I’ve seen in a long time.
Other new releases include Tuner, a more limited release which snagged the highest per-theater average of the weekend ($26,105 over four theaters), and Corporate Retreat, a horror film which received such a small release that it doesn’t even have a page or data on Box Office Mojo for reference.
Obsession is, once again, the big winner, this time when it comes to critical scores; its near-unanimous praise ensured it received the biggest critical bonus so far with 150 points over five categories. Is God Is also ran away with a hefty bonus of 90 points, strong, but nowhere near Obsession’s dominance (I’m biased, of course, but it’s still very exciting).
Check out our leaderboard here. We now have ten players over the thousand point threshold, with our leader and runner-up at over 1500 points. 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, the real test for Gen-Z horror transference arrives in Backrooms, which is not only directed by the youngest filmmaker ever to helm a wide-release film, but is currently on track to blow away the competition and become one of the biggest horror movies of the year, and possibly, the decade. I am looking forward to seeing if it can stop the Obsession train in its tracks, or if it will be steamrolled by sheer force of will. Regardless, Backrooms is almost certain to make the 16 players who drafted it very happy. Additionally, Nate Bargatze’s family-friendly comedy The Breadwinner also swoops in…my hopes for this one are not as high, but I hope to be charmed and swept away by its gentle heart and all-ages appeal. We shall see.
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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