Unlikely Candidates Rise to the Box Office Top
In a somewhat uneventful weekend, two newcomers easily climbed to the top of the box office. Having earned $27,2 million in its opening weekend, Malcolm D. Lee’s comedy Night School is in the first place according to Box Office Mojo. Featuring stand-up comedians Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, Night School follows the misadventures of Teddy Walker (Hart), a hapless high school dropout who, a decade later finds himself attending night school classes taught by Carrie (Haddish). In the second place with $23 million is the CGI animated film Smallfoot featuring voices by James Corden, Danny DeVito, Gina Rodriguez, Channing Tatum, and Zendaya. Based on the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos, Smallfoot follows an encounter between several humans and a tribe of Yetis, with each group thinking that the other one isn’t real.
The rest of the last weekend’s top five should be already familiar to our readers. Eli Roth’s The House With A Clock In Its Walls dropped from the last weekend’s first place to this weekend’s third by earning $12,6 million, bringing its domestic total up to $44,8 million – barely above its budget of $44 million. Now in its third week, Paul Feig’s thriller A Simple Favor grossed $6,5 million. Finally, the list of top five weekend box office winners closes with The Nun, a Gothic horror film that earned $5,4 million. Produced for mere $22 million, this unlikely cinematic juggernaut has so far earned over $109 million worldwide.
This is Not a Drill: Indiana Jones 5 Production Underway
Remember Raiders of the Lost Ark? Sure you do! It is an 1981 action adventure classic starring Harrison Ford that – alongside Jaws and the first Star Wars movie – ushered the cinemas into the blockbuster era. Now, remember Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? The one with CGI ants, CGI gophers, and CGI monkeys? Yeah, thought so. Nevertheless, you will surely be glad to learn that Harrison Ford will return to one of his most signature roles in the fifth Indiana Jones film. Yay?
This news comes via an exclusive interview with the series’ producer Frank Marshall recently published on Coming Soon website. In it, Marshall talks about returning the franchise to its globe-trotting feel not just in spirit but in production as well – the fourth movie was shot entirely in the USA, while the first three were filmed all over the world. Marshall also mentions assembling the writers’ room led by screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan. Son of the veteran screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, younger Kasdan helped pen the script for Solo: A Star Wars Story. For better or worse, According to Variety, as-yet-untitled fifth Indiana Jones film is scheduled for a release on July 9, 2021.
Kathleen Kennedy To Lead Lucasfilm For Three More Years
Kathleen Kennedy, the lead producer of the Star Wars franchise, has had her contract renewed for three more years, says the Hollywood Reporter. Disney’s vote of confidence comes despite recent underwhelming performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story at the box office. This, in turn, led company to slow the output of Star Wars movies – a decision that Disney’s CEO Bob Iger himself recently confirmed in an interview.
Kennedy began as an assistant to directors such as John Milius and Steven Spielberg. In the 1980s, she helped co-found Amblin Entertainment, a company that went on to produce such hits as Back to the Future, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park. By the time Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion, Kennedy was among the most successful Hollywood producers. She was quickly put in charge of one of the most beloved – and lucrative – cinematic franchises in history. Star Wars: The Force Awakens alone earned over $2 billion worldwide and Rogue One and The Last Jedi grossed over $1 billion each. Despite these financial successes however, production of new Star Wars movies had its share of problems too. In 2017, Colin Trevorrow left the production of Star Wars Episode IX while Phil Lord and Chris Miller were replaced on the set of Solo: A Star Wars Story by Ron Howard. While the plans for more standalone Star Wars movies have been shelved, the Mouse House continues its production of Star Wars Episode IX as well as the entire new Star Wars trilogy.
