Pick the Top 5 boxoffice hits of winter 2022-23

[Phredd3]

Avatar was not a kids movie, what makes you think Avatar 2 would be?

Maybe my definition of "kids movie" is a bit old fashioned.

I'm not pcal6vb, but I will say that the in-theater preview of Avatar 2 that I saw featured children prominently. I don't know if they are truly prominent in the movie, but I question the advertising technique if they aren't.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm not pcal6vb, but I will say that the in-theater preview of Avatar 2 that I saw featured children prominently. I don't know if they are truly prominent in the movie, but I question the advertising technique if they aren't.

Well there was a movie called "Children of the Corn", but I don't think many parents took their kids to it.

The biggest giveaway of if a movie is for kids is in the marketing. If there are lots of toys coming out for Christmas, then it is. If not, it ain't.

[Acymetric]

Avatar strikes me as a kids movie in more or less the same way as the Star Wars movies are sometimes labeled as kids movies. Not the same kind of thing as, say, 3 Ninjas or Dora the Explorer (or whatever), but definitely intended to appeal to kids (though not exclusively).

[pcal6vb]

Avatar strikes me as a kids movie in more or less the same way as the Star Wars movies are sometimes labeled as kids movies. Not the same kind of thing as, say, 3 Ninjas or Dora the Explorer (or whatever), but definitely intended to appeal to kids (though not exclusively).

@PackMan97 - Acymetric explained more or less what I was thinking. I assume "kids" to include teenagers. A lot of kids ages ~8 thru 18 will probably go to Avatar 2. A lot of kids ages 4 thru 12 will probably go to Puss in Boots. I expect more of the overlap (ages 8 to 12), particularly boys, will want to see Avatar 2.

[PackMan97]

@PackMan97 - Acymetric explained more or less what I was thinking. I assume "kids" to include teenagers. A lot of kids ages ~8 thru 18 will probably go to Avatar 2. A lot of kids ages 4 thru 12 will probably go to Puss in Boots. I expect more of the overlap (ages 8 to 12), particularly boys, will want to see Avatar 2.

Other than wanting them all to keep off my lawn, I don't see that much overlap between "kids" and "teenagers". I guess it's that PG-13 rating thing.

[CameronBornAndBred]

With its 3:10 run time, if you head out on a movie date night and catch the 9PM showing of Avatar TWOW, you'll be lucky to leave the theater before 12:30am once you add in the coming attraction trailers.

[wavedukefan70s]

I thought I saw a trailer for a christmas story 2 last night .

[CameronBornAndBred]

I thought I saw a trailer for a christmas story 2 last night .

Yes but it's streaming only, so won't be a factor at the box office.

[JasonEvans]

About to see a screening… think it might be a contender.

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[CameronBornAndBred]

About to see a screening… think it might be a contender.

E1545554-651D-403D-ACB0-F11620B7823B.jpg

All those people up front need to sit down and get out of the way.

[JasonEvans]

All those people up front need to sit down and get out of the way.

It was a press/critic-only screening so there were only about 30 people in the theater.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

It was a press/critic-only screening so there were only about 30 people in the theater.

Can you offer an initial impression?

[CameronBornAndBred]

While it's not in our contest, despite Udaman's best try, Black Adam may very well have been a contender had it been included. For the third week in a row it topped the box office. It will begin to plummet now that BP Wakanda Forever is coming out, but it's made over $137M. That's not bad at all for a lousy movie.

[JasonEvans]

Can you offer an initial impression?

It was good, but not great. Felt a little plodding in the middle third and the final battle was tough to really understand what was going on. But the film is full of emotion as they mourn the loss of T'challa and then react to other events. I connected to those feelings and they really kept me engaged. I was wiping tears from my cheeks a few times, for sure.

Now that it is done, it is clear that Phase 4 of the MCU was just a placeholder. It was an excuse to make movies (and make money) but not really advance an overarching theme of where the MCU is going. Other than Loki, No Way Home, and Dr. Strange 2, it does not feel like any of these films were connected at all. It wasn't just that none of the other movies or TV shows involved multiple major MCU characters, it is that they all seemed to be unaffected by anything else happening out there. At one point in Wakanda Forever the screen says, "One Year Later" and I briefly thought, "did the entire MCU advance a year? Does this move this film into a different timeline than the TV shows and movies we have otherwise been watching?!?!" and then I realized it does not matter. Almost none of what happens in Phase Four matters outside of the individual film.

I strongly suspect that if you skipped all of Phase 4 (except for Loki), you could probably go right from Endgame to the start of Phase 5 and not miss much of anything (you need to know T'challa is dead, that a multiverse exists, and that a few new heroes have been introduced).

[JasonEvans]

It was good, but not great. Felt a little plodding in the middle third and the final battle was tough to really understand what was going on. But the film is full of emotion as they mourn the loss of T'challa and then react to other events. I connected to those feelings and they really kept me engaged. I was wiping tears from my cheeks a few times, for sure.

Now that it is done, it is clear that Phase 4 of the MCU was just a placeholder. It was an excuse to make movies (and make money) but not really advance an overarching theme of where the MCU is going. Other than Loki, No Way Home, and Dr. Strange 2, it does not feel like any of these films were connected at all. It wasn't just that none of the other movies or TV shows involved multiple major MCU characters, it is that they all seemed to be unaffected by anything else happening out there. At one point in Wakanda Forever the screen says, "One Year Later" and I briefly thought, "did the entire MCU advance a year? Does this move this film into a different timeline than the TV shows and movies we have otherwise been watching?!?!" and then I realized it does not matter. Almost none of what happens in Phase Four matters outside of the individual film.

I strongly suspect that if you skipped all of Phase 4 (except for Loki), you could probably go right from Endgame to the start of Phase 5 and not miss much of anything (you need to know T'challa is dead, that a multiverse exists, and that a few new heroes have been introduced).

And here is my official 100-word review: https://flixchat.blogspot.com/2022/1...ews-black.html

[CameronBornAndBred]

Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” dominated the domestic box office in its debut, earning $180 million over the weekend and providing a much-needed lift to beleaguered cinemas.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...162650500.html

I think that one has a chance.

[JasonEvans]

accfanfrom1970, bigperm13, CameronBornAndBred, Dar95, dpslaw, Gooch, jacone21, jro2j, luburch, mkirsh, Native, PackMan97, pcal6vb, Phredd3, ryetales, YmoBeThere -- you all are in deep doo doo.



Pretty much unprecedented for a Disney Animation film to get a Cinemascore this low. I mean, Home on the Range (the truly awful Disney film with Roseanne Barr as the voice of a cow in the old west) got an A-.

It appears that Strange World is going to do something like $25-28 mil over the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend, a terrible number for an animated film. The pic has received startling little marketing push from Disney. I suspect this flick may struggle to earn even $50 mil at the boxoffice. The Bob Chapek era ends with a total flop at Disney.

[CameronBornAndBred]

CameronBornAndBred, you are in deep doo doo.

Stop quoting my girlfriend.

[YmoBeThere]

Wait, we are out already?

[Phredd3]

accfanfrom1970, bigperm13, CameronBornAndBred, Dar95, dpslaw, Gooch, jacone21, jro2j, luburch, mkirsh, Native, PackMan97, pcal6vb, Phredd3, ryetales, YmoBeThere -- you all are in deep doo doo.

Pretty much unprecedented for a Disney Animation film to get a Cinemascore this low. I mean, Home on the Range (the truly awful Disney film with Roseanne Barr as the voice of a cow in the old west) got an A-.

It appears that Strange World is going to do something like $25-28 mil over the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend, a terrible number for an animated film. The pic has received startling little marketing push from Disney. I suspect this flick may struggle to earn even $50 mil at the boxoffice. The Bob Chapek era ends with a total flop at Disney.

Well, I don't know about Cinemascore and its predictive value, but the buzz for Puss in Boots is sure better than for Strange World, and that's an awful weekend. I think we're all toast.