Eric Prime

I'm actually kinda surprised that this demo is against the movie. Even with Avatar's progressive themes, this kinda has the vibes of a Matrix/Fight Club scenario where the audience being mocked actually embraces it, because they're too stupid to notice the themes. Maybe because it's owned by Disney I dunno.

Your "pessimism" isn't the problem, but your attitude. Every single week you act hyperbolic over this one movie's performance. Every single day you act as if Wakanda Forever is this epic failure and that Marvel's dead forever. And every time people tell you that things aren't that bad and that its run is normal due to its release date, reception, and because it's a direct sequel to a major overperformer, all from experts who know the box office like the back of their hand, you still carry on with your meltdowns and act like a child. Or worse, that we all have something to hide and that a movie that is making more money than we will ever make in our lifetimes is something we are all pretending is not a huge bomb. Like what is your gain with all this? Does your life depend on Wakanda Forever hitting 450M or something? Will the universe implode on itself because this random movie isn't making the money you want? Are you afraid Papa Feige won't afford his new yacht because of this one specific movie? No, no, and no. So why are you having all these meltdowns and making things worse for everybody? If you want to say a basic remark on how the film is doing, then go on ahead. But if you're going to act like a child and have all these meltdowns and do this passive-aggression towards other users and the staff, then the staff will treat you like a child. So please stop with this hyperbole and meltdowns and this condescension or you will be threadbanned. And if you don't like how things are run, then like I always say, feel free to find another forum or website. We are not the only place online where you can talk about Black panther with people.

https://deadline.com/2022/12/box-office-violent-night-wakanda-forever-1235187182/

Feel like being a finale doesn't mean much. I know this is Gunn's last movie, I know some characters will die, I know it's advertised as the last movie, etc. but the average moviegoer doesn't recognize it and/or won't buy it. Finale factors don't really exist because everybody knows that a franchise is going to be revived in some way within a few years. Most "finale" movies these days push the whole "IT ALL ENDS HERE" and it doesn't really do much to boost the box office with some exceptions. Maybe this one is different, but I'm sure Chris Pratt or Zoe Saldana will come crawling back to Guardians when they have to pay for their kids' college tuitions and need an easy paycheck. And I don't think I'm alone in thinking that.

#17 Intolerable Cruelty 44 points, 10 lists "You want tact, call a tactician. You want an ass nailed, you come see Gus Petch." #1 placements: 1 #3 placements: 1 Top 5 placements: 2 Box Office: $35.3M DOM, $120.8M WW Rotten Tomatoes: 75% Metacritic: 71 Awards: N/A Roger Ebert’s Review: Plots like this have fueled lovely screwball comedies, and "Intolerable Cruelty" is in the genre, but somehow not of it. The Coens sometimes have a way of standing to one side of their work: It's the puppet and they're the ventriloquists. The puppet is sincere, but the puppetmaster is wagging his eyebrows at the audience and asking, can you believe this stuff? Its Legacy: The first writer-for-hire job for the brothers. Reminds us about the kickassery of Simon and Garfunkel. Premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Gave Cedric the Entertainer a paycheck. Commentary: So this is the other film that I never heard of until I did this countdown. And this one is pretty interesting too, because this was based off a very early Coens script, albeit a writer-for-hire one. A script that was initially given to numerous other directors like Ron Howard and Jonathan Demme before Joel and Ethan signed on to work on a script they wrote. Whether that was a good choice is up to you. Reactions are somewhat of a “love or hate it” deal. And it really only got above Man Who Wasn’t There because this had more votes, including a #3 vote from the lovely and beautiful @krla and a #1 vote from the lovely and beautiful @MrPink. But...yeah, there are people who love this film for a reason. Attempting to capture the classic screwball romcoms of old, Intolerable Cruelty is anchored by two funny and charismatic actors and a style that is old-fashioned, yet endearing. And while it doesn’t reach the heights of His Girl Friday, there’s enough to keep the film trucking along, even if it’s barely remembered as a lower-tier Coens effort. But it’s somebody’s favorite, quite literally, and I guess that’s all that matters.

#18 The Man Who Wasn’t There 44 points, 9 lists "He told them to look not at the facts, but at the meaning of the facts. Then he said the facts had no meaning." #2 placements: 1 Top 5 placements: 1 Box Office: $7.5M DOM, $18.9M WW Rotten Tomatoes: 81% Metacritic: 73 Awards: Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, 1 Academy Award nomination, three Golden Globe Award nominations, 1 BAFTA Award, Top Ten and Best Actor from the National Board of Review Roger Ebert’s Review: The Coen Brothers' ''The Man Who Wasn't There'' is shot in black-and-white so elegantly, it reminds us of a 1940s station wagon -- chrome, wood, leather and steel all burnished to a contented glow. Its star performance by Billy Bob Thornton is a study in sad-eyed, mournful chain-smoking, the portrait of a man so trapped by life he wants to scream. Its Legacy: The first black and white movie of the Coens. Propped up the name of James M. Cain into the limelight. Garnered Roger Deakins all the love and respect. The worst box office performer for the Coens since The Hudsucker Proxy. Gave Richard Jenkins a paycheck. Commentary: I will be very honest here and say, alongside the movie that will come up right after this, that I never even heard of this movie until I did this countdown. Not saying this is a slight against the movie, but this, alongside its low box office, does kind of say a big reason why this is only second-to-last and why it didn't get tons of support. A pity too, because it’s a very unique piece for these two filmmakers. A tribute to the classic noir films of old, the film takes inspiration from the work of James M. Cain, and creates a thrilling story with a lush world of black and white photography by the icon Roger Deakins...even though it was shot in color first, but whatever. This incredible style is only further punctured by a wonderful performance by Billy Bob Thornton and a hilarious screenplay. Sadly, even with its popularity at Cannes, the black and white photography was probably its downfall financially. But hey, the fun of these lists is highlighting the films that don’t get the same love as the directors’ bigger films. And I can only hope this countdown will make people check this movie out.

#19 The Ladykillers 30 points, 10 lists "Madam, we must have waffles! We must all have waffles forthwith!" Box Office: $39.8M DOM, $76.7M WW Rotten Tomatoes: 54% Metacritic: 56 Awards: The Jury Prize for Irma P. Hall at the Cannes Film Festival Roger Ebert's Review: Now let me say that although the movie never jells, its oddness keeps it from being boring. Tom Hanks provides such an eccentric performance that it's fun just to watch him behaving -- to listen to speeches that coil through endless florid ornamentation. That the purpose of a criminal in such a situation would be to become invisible -- as Guinness, despite his bad teeth, tried to do in the 1955 film -- escapes the Coens. Its Legacy: Boosted awareness of the 1955 British original. The first remake made by the Coens. First time Ethan got a directing credit and Joel a producing credit. Had a bomb-ass gospel soundtrack. Gave Marlon Wayans a paycheck. Commentary: Yeah, it’s really not a surprise to see this film way at the bottom. While it likely has its fans, even the most diehard Coen fans will admit this film is at least near the bottom tier. Criticism has been made against the film’s schizophrenic tone and over-the-top characters, with over-the-top accents in tow. And it’s certainly considered inferior to the 1955 Alec Guinness classic. Still, even lesser Coen outclasses most directors on a good day. And it’s hard not to appreciate a film that boasts a wonderful cast full of strong character actors and a silly premise that is reminiscent of the more oddball Coen scripts. And for some, the hectic, silly nature of the movie is enough to get invested and engaged. Add on an amazing soundtrack of gospel tunes, and there's something there if you're in the right mood or mindset. But I think most will argue that there is nowhere else this countdown can go but up. So...let's just go up.

Actually one other person placed it at #3 lol. Good for them I guess.

Well, it's finally time for us to have an entire thread where we gush about how good and amazing John Goodman/Frances McDormand/John Turturro/George Clooney is! The party will start later this evening, though I don't have a time just yet (unsure if I'm seeing a movie tonight or not). But as always, I can give you some statistics that will give you guys a clue about what to expect. -27 people submitted a list, which was actually more than Scorsese's countdown last year. Did not expect that, though I guess the lower barrier for entry helped. I also submitted my own list into the countdown, because I was actually able to see a majority of the films here and felt comfortable in making a list. -Four people had every movie on their list. Shout-outs to @Tower @BestPicturePlutoNash @Lucas and @Fancyarcher for going above and beyond the call of duty. -12 movies got a cumulative 100 points or higher -11 different movies got at least one #1 ranking. Scorsese had 10 different movies. So again, very diverse lists. -Every movie got into at least one top 10 list, which...okay, 19 movies, makes it kind of easy. But for the top 5, only one film failed to get in a top 5. Which again, shows how diverse these lists were. And I guess if you know anything about Coen brothers discourse, you can probably take a good guess about what movie failed to get a top 5 vote. -"This movie I hate ranked higher than a movie I like? I lost all my respect for this list!" Yes, believe it or not, the general consensus of the forums will not automatically fit your tastes and sensibilities. All I ask is to please try to be respectful and courteous during the duration of this countdown, both to myself and to fellow BOT members. You don't have to agree with this, but you can act like a gentleman. -If you are going to complain about something, and you didn't submit a list, just know that it's on you. Much like with government elections, you can't complain about something if you didn't vote in the first place. Now with that out of the way, the list will begin in just a few hours from now.

RT Verified Score at this point in time: Violent Night: 91% Honestly better than I expected. I assumed we would have had a Bullet Train-style mid-80s score, so it could at least have a good second weekend hold before Avatar demolishes everything.

He's too cool for school.

Alright nice. Don't know what's a good IM at the moment, but it should comfortably hit the double digits this weekend which is nice to see.

Sing 2 lost a seat on that day. So it had -1 sales. No sorry. Haven't looked into that movie at all. Been very busy lately. Oh yeah, almost forgot

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-20 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 0 73 489 11535 4.24% Total Seats Sold Today: 0 Total Seats WITHOUT Early Access: 22 Comp w/ Early Access 0.332x of Sing 2 T-21 (3.23M) 1.332x of Sonic 2 T-21 (8.33M) 9.226x of Minions 2 T-21 (99.18M) Comp w/out Early Access 0.333x of Sing 2 T-21 (2.71M) 0.060x of Sonic 2 T-21 (375K) 0.415x of Minions 2 T-21 (4.46M)

Avatar: The Way of Water Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report T-14 and Counting Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 0 152 1852 26516 6.98% Total Seats Sold Today: 60 Comp 2.926x of Venom 2 T-14 (33.94M) 3.278x of No Time to Die T-14 (20.65M) 2.903x of Dune T-14 (14.8M) 4.209x of Fantastic Beasts 3 T-14 (25.25M) 1.395x of Top Gun 2 T-14 (26.86M) 1.105x of Jurassic World 3 T-14 (19.89M)

Who are these kids?

Violent Night Greater Philadelphia Area Seat Report Final Count Sellouts Showings Seats Sold Total Seats Perct Sold TOTALS 0 44 408 6709 6.08% Total Seats Sold Today: 152 Comp 0.626x of Snake Eyes (876K) 0.201x of The Suicide Squad (823K) 0.583x of Free Guy (1.28M) 0.936x of The King's Man (749K) 0.295x of Uncharted (1.09M) 1.342x of Ambulance (939K) 0.669x of The Northman (903K) 0.233x of Bullet Train (1.07M) Pretty meh final day. I guess 900K previews?