What we lose when we treat small-scale indies like big-deal tentpoles, why I’m happy about a new 'Alice in Wonderland’ musical, an SVOD ratings update for ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and more...

The faithful-to-a-fault adaptation of Stephen King’s novel trades ‘American Gladiators’ for ‘Most Dangerous Game,’ but now feels quaint in an America that was stupid enough to elect *its* favorite psychopathic game show host as President… twice. (Review of #TheRunningMan)

This is actually good spin, or would have been. But the fact that the Democratic cave happened without even a coordinated, agreed-upon message like this indicates the depth of the leadership void.

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I've come to accept that these "fight with the power with magic tricks" movies take place in an alternate Saturday morning cartoon dimension. (Review for #NowYouSeeMeNowYouDont)

Unlike too many of Disney’s bigger #boxoffice hits of late, #PredatorBadlands ($40 million in North America and $80 million worldwide) is thus far overperforming not just because a prior series entry was great but (partially) because this installment is also good.

Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison’s #PredatorBadlands might score a bigger opening weekend (even noting inflation) than any “just a Predator” flick. With three straight artistic bangers, PREDATOR is the one Fox franchise that’s actually improved since joining Disney. (Friday #BoxOffice punditry)

Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison again deliver a ‘Predator’ movie that skews the curve for what was previously, at best, a B-movie grindhouse franchise. (@scottmendelson.bsky.social reviews #PredatorBadlands)

Lionsgate and Universal’s twice-delayed and sure-to-be-controversial King of Pop flick is positioning itself as a ‘Bohemian Rhapsody'-style PLF-worthy crowdpleaser (as opposed to a ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’-style downer)... (First trailer for #Michael, natch)

I would watch the hell out of the Saturday morning cartoon continuation of #PredatorBadlands, and yes, I mean that as a compliment. Another compliment: The least interesting thing about it is the fact that it's a PREDATOR movie.

So, does this make Sabrina Carpenter the Jeri Ryan of the 2020s?

Sobering news for a lot of top Democrats, tonight, as they realize people would prefer they actually fucking do something.

I meant to write this last Tuesday, for the 20th anniversary. Alas, my younger kids were (non-perilously) sick. That’s ironic or appropriate, considering the opening night of SAW II was the date-night movie of choice (her choice, natch) for the first date with my eventual wife.

I can only hope that the plot of the just "announced" fourth MUMMY movie involves Rick and Evelyn reluctantly teaming up with Imhotep to break Stephen Sommers out of directors jail.

On a new episode of Mousterpiece Melodies, @scottmendelson.bsky.social joins @scottrenshaw.bsky.social and I to discuss the songs of Dick Tracy, meaning we got to talk about Sondheim, Madonna, and much more: mousterpiecemelodies.podbean.com/e/mousterpie...

Unless you're a Grabber, a Gun Devil, or Mckenna Grace's (alleged) boyfriend, you had a mediocre-at-best Halloween domestic #boxoffice weekend...

The lowest (sans inflation) domestic October #boxoffice totals since 1997 are primarily thanks to ‘Michael’ and ‘Mortal Kombat II’ being delayed to 2026 as ‘Saw IX’ found itself in purgatory.

A 'House of Dynamite' mini-review, a full(ish) review of Guillermo del Toro's latest and thoughts on Netflix running awards campaigns sans pressures related to box office grosses or streaming ratings.

The Box Office Podcast Episode 91 -- Gory Days With special guest (does the Kermit flail) Travis Hopson!!!

“Maybe it’s a framhise, maybe it’s Schwarzenegger…”

Even beyond the... displeasing melodrama concerning its preproduction, SCREAM 7 looks shockingly boring, redundant and comparatively small-scale for a franchise that once at least tried to color outside the lines.

In #TheBlackPhone2, when Finn and Gwen successfully prevent The Grabber from grabbing...

Great times talking all about Frankenstein and more with @walrusmoose.bsky.social and @scottmendelson.bsky.social for this week's @outnowpodcast.bsky.social! #FrankensteinFriend

“What’s disappointing about the current epidemic of boomer-friendly rock-star biopics,” @jasondashbailey.com writes, “is that so many fine filmmakers are spending their time and energy on boilerplate brand maintenance exercises for millionaires.” crookedmarquee.com/review-sprin...

Even in better times, the Oscar-nominated actor rarely drew a crowd outside of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN sequels and Tim Burton-directed fantasies. Why would Hollywood expect #JohnnyDepp to be “butts-in-seats” valuable -- especially for an all-quadrant IP play -- after a decade’s worth of... ya know?

The good news: Lots of new movies in theaters this weekend. The bad news: Most of this weekend’s newbies underwhelmed. (The Friday Box Office Analysis, via The Outside Scoop’s @scottmendelson.bsky.social)

The good news: Lots of new movies in theaters this weekend. The bad news: Most of this weekend’s newbies underwhelmed. (The Friday Box Office Analysis, via The Outside Scoop’s @scottmendelson.bsky.social)

Even in better times, the Oscar-nominated actor rarely drew a crowd outside of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN sequels and Tim Burton-directed fantasies. Why would Hollywood expect #JohnnyDepp to be “butts-in-seats” valuable -- especially for an all-quadrant IP play -- after a decade’s worth of... ya know?

Does #TronAres deserve any grace? Are we being too charitable to #OneBattleAfterAnother? Who loses most from #TheSmashingMachine’s implosion? A patented “wait for the restroom” epic poem on three recent high-profile #boxoffice whiffs, why they missed & the differing ways in which they were discussed

Outside of PIRATES films and Tim Burton-directed fantasies, Johnny Depp hasn’t had a live-action star vehicle hit since (at best) THE TOURIST ($280M on a $100M budget alongside Angelina Jolie) in late 2010 or FINDING NEVERLAND ($118M on a $25M budget) in late 2004.

I loved One Battle After Another’s ending on first viewing, but the second time around I realized *how much* is going on in that scene beyond it being a really great car chase. So I had to write something about the brilliance of The River of Hills

Does #TronAres deserve any grace? Are we being too charitable to #OneBattleAfterAnother? Who loses most from #TheSmashingMachine’s implosion? A patented “wait for the restroom” epic poem on three recent high-profile #boxoffice whiffs, why they missed & the differing ways in which they were discussed

More grace for a grown man getting a Nazi tattoo than Black kids in public spaces. It’s obscene.

In #TheBlackPhone2, when Finn and Gwen successfully prevent The Grabber from grabbing...

Save for Labor Day weekend, this Fri-Sun frame registered the worst cumulative totals since early-March of this year. And, per usual, it's partially about the kinds of movies that audiences used to show up for in theaters. (All of the non-BLACK PHONE 2 weekend #boxoffice punditry)

If the president is doing something so disgusting good taste dictates you dance around it, I dunno, maybe that's a story.

The Grabber was the hero Jason Blum’s struggling horror studio needed, but can he and his Atomic Monster buddies (re)learn from this old-school success story? Also, Madeleine wins. (Weekend #boxoffice analysis for #TheBlackPhone2)

Madeliene McGraw to Violet McGraw this morning...

‘Good Fortune’ can’t live up to its title, while ‘After the Hunt,’ ‘Truth & Treason’ and ‘Pets on a Train’ all procure lousy domestic debuts as ‘Tron: Ares’ drops 79% on its second Friday. So, unless you’re ‘The Black Phone 2,’ it’s bad news for you at the Friday box office…

Universal’s well-received #TheBlackPhone2 is set to earn almost identical opening day and debut weekend grosses at the domestic #BoxOffice, qualifying as a big win for the franchise and a sigh of relief for Blumhouse.

Kirsten Acuna and @aaronsps4.bsky.social return to discuss the seemingly inevitable implosion of Disney’s long-in-development sci-fi action threequel.

Aziz Ansari's winning directorial debut is a modern miracle. This hilarious, big-screen worthy comic original plays like a gently optimistic cousin to 'Parasite,' 'Anora,' and 'The Brutalist.'

If ever there were a Netflix show that should air new episodes weekly-- which would benefit from weekly eps-- it's THE DIPLOMAT. Yes, the action is propulsive and drives you to the next ep... which is exactly why it would work as a weekly show! It deserves to be savored, twist by twist. Alas...

The "anti-woke" backlash was always about white collar labor competition from nonwhites, not hr bullshit. bsky.app/profile/phil...

Only five months late, but retweeting (or whatever they call it here) so I can more easily follow along.

One, don’t pick up the (black) phone The Grabber’s only callin’ ’cause he’s drunk and alone. Two, don’t let him in He’ll only slit your throat again Three, don’t be his friend You know you’re gonna wake up underground in the mornin’ And if you’re underground, you ain’t gettin’ out alive.

The #MORTALKOMBAT2 marketing should be mocking the “It’s all practical, there’s no CGI!” narratives. -That green dragon fireball? Real! -That interdimensional portal? Fuck the volume, we’re all getting Fields Medals! -The fatalities? We... uh, did ’em all in camera?! RIP, Lewis Tan and Karl Urban.

A $61 million global launch for #TronAres is another example of why Hollywood really needs to learn that “No means no.”

In Elvira: Mistress of the Dark on VHS, the person who did the closed captions moved them from the default reading position to be closer to Elvira's tits. This is because they knew deaf viewers wouldn't want to look away from her legendary bazongas to read the caption. This is disability allyship!

White people who have spent decades thinking “Born in the USA” is patriotic and “Every Breath You Take” is a great wedding song are suddenly very concerned about not being able to understand lyrics to some songs at the Super Bowl halftime show.