MikeQ

I'm a simple man; Viola Davis is cast in something, and I see it. If I wasn't interested before, I am now. Peace, Mike

Terrific legs from Top Gun: Maverick. Sitting at a 5.32 multiplier right now, and will end up with 5.52+ ($700M+), which is just remarkable. Best Multipliers Ever for $70+ Million Opening Films (Friday Openers): Avatar (2009) — 77.0 million (9.73) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) — 126.7 million (5.32)^ Finding Nemo (2003) — 70.3 million (4.84) Zootopia (2016) — 75.1 million (4.55) Wonder Woman (2017) — 103.3 million (4.00) Inside Out (2015) — 90.4 million (3.94) American Sniper (2015) — 89.3 million (3.92) Aladdin (2019) — 91.5 million (3.89) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — 248.0 million (3.78) Toy Story 3 (2010) — 110.3 million (3.76) The Incredibles (2004) — 70.5 million (3.71) Despicable Me 3 (2017) — 72.4 million (3.65) Finding Dory (2016) — 135.1 million (3.60) Toy Story 4 (2019) — 120.9 million (3.59) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) — 84.6 million (3.58) The Secret Life of Pets (2016) — 104.4 million (3.53) The Jungle Book (2016) — 103.3 million (3.53) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — 94.3 million (3.53) Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone (2001) — 90.3 million (3.52) Spider-Man (2002) — 114.8 million (3.52) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) — 73.6 million (3.51) Joker (2019) — 96.2 million (3.49) Black Panther (2018) — 202.0 million (3.47) Skyfall (2012) — 88.4 million (3.44) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — 155.1 million (3.43) ^Run not yet complete Peace, Mike

That is a fantastic trailer. It has everything you want - beautiful imagery, stylistic action, an emotional arc - without spilling the entire narrative of the film. Impressive! This may be one of the occasional MCU films I see in theatres. It’ll probably come down to reviews. Peace, Mike

All great points. My dad gave me his copy of The Lord of the Rings when I was 12 (before the films), which I read and fell in love with. I still remember how it felt when Gandalf died, and then when I excitedly ran to my dad after he returned as Gandalf the White (and how excited my Dad was for me, knowing what was going to happen). I still have this copy of the book - it's a really nice hardcover "Deluxe Edition" published in 1984 on India paper, so the book is only about an inch thick. The book has some wear to it now, but still in decent shape. I treasure it, as my Dad has since passed. Peace, Mike

As a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I really wish I could get excited for Rings of Power, but instead I've had a bad taste in my mouth since the first trailer. I'm worried Amazon has messed it up, but I genuinely hope that it ends up being excellent, and that reviews will change my perspective. I will certainly watch at least the first episode or two, regardless, and I hope it will draw me in and impress me. Peace, Mike

I mean this sincerely: It's not rocket science. You're allowed to not like Peele's work and to think he's overrated. However, what you did was turn this into meaning that black filmmakers somehow get a "pass" from critics. This is racist, whether this was your intention or not. It doesn't mean you're forever a horrible person, but it does mean you need to re-think how you choose to post about films/filmmakers you don't like. Also with sincerity: just relax. Pick your battles. I know how it can feel when you don't like something that most people like. Feel free to express your dislike for Peele's work, and then move on with your life. Alternatively, engage in a constructive and earnest discussion about filmmaking and what it is specifically about his work that you find to be lacking. If none of this resonates with you, then maybe this just isn't the forum for you, and you're better off finding a difference space to engage in. Peace, Mike

You can add another person to the club that thought Us was great - entertaining, visually captivating, and rooted in a terrific performance from Lupita Nyong’o, who deserved an Oscar nomination. Get Out and Us were different kinds of films, and Nope sounds no different. Hopefully the social media reactions are a sign of good things. Peace, Mike

Right back at you, baumer. And I know, eh? I started following the box office on a daily basis with Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, and the BOM forums were up and running not long after that. So it's been 20+ years for me that I've known and kept in touch with some folks... just wild. Peace, Mike

Thanks baumer. It's incredible to reflect on how long we've known each other, so that means something coming from you. One of the things I've always appreciated about you is that even when you have strong opinions, you're receptive to others' opinions and looking at things from a new perspective. How did I not remember you were born in Montreal? I can imagine the family battles right now - we've definitely had some of those in my family, specifically my sister-in-law's family being Leafs fans, haha. Peace, Mike

I’m a Habs fan, so I don’t think we can be friends, baumer. 😜 I kid, I kid, I have a lot of Leafs loving friends, and I genuinely love sharing in their joy when the Leafs do well. And also the Habs are a terrible team right now… Peace, Mike

Can anyone imagine someone saying these things amongst a community and to other members of that community in-person? They would not be welcome in that community, ever. It’s amazing what some people feel emboldened to say online when there is that distance of a computer screen. The people on here, or anywhere, are real human beings with real lives - this can be easy to forget. If anything, I want to be more careful about what I say online, because I don’t know what the other person has going on in their real life and how they might feel when they step away from the computer. People can (and do, on this forum) get into the weeds of difficult, divisive, or controversial topics while still being a good, considerate, thoughtful human being. Peace, Mike

This was the best season of the show for me. It has been the most cinematic, with some really impressive, memorable sequences (not only the 'Running Up That Hill' Dear Billy sequence, which has entered the cultural zeitgeist almost immediately, but also the clever portal entrances, compelling villain sequences/concepts, flashbacks to Eleven's backstory, etc). It feels evident that the Duffer brothers have put real thought into the story and its trajectory. This season really delivered in terms of the scope and scale in a way that felt earned and rooted in both the characters and what came before. Looking forward to Season 5. Peace, Mike

TGM's run is still mind-blowing to me. As of Thursday's gross, it is already sitting at a 3.88 multiplier and nearly $500M. It could have been yanked from theatres today, and it would be an excellent run at that. The idea that it will still be making $30M+ this weekend, and continue to do well, is just remarkable. It's looking increasingly likely that it will have the second best multiplier for a large opener behind only Avatar. I mean, I don't know how else how to express how exceptional this run is... Best Multipliers Ever for $70+ Million Opening Films (Friday Openers): Avatar (2009) — 77.0 million (9.73) Finding Nemo (2003) — 70.3 million (4.84) Zootopia (2016) — 75.1 million (4.55) Wonder Woman (2017) — 103.3 million (4.00) Inside Out (2015) — 90.4 million (3.94) American Sniper (2015) — 89.3 million (3.92) Aladdin (2019) — 91.5 million (3.89) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) — 126.7 million (3.88)^ Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — 248.0 million (3.78) Toy Story 3 (2010) — 110.3 million (3.76) The Incredibles (2004) — 70.5 million (3.71) Despicable Me 3 (2017) — 72.4 million (3.65) Finding Dory (2016) — 135.1 million (3.60) Toy Story 4 (2019) — 120.9 million (3.59) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) — 84.6 million (3.58) ^Run not yet complete Peace, Mike

If we're talking all days 5M+ during the films run - then no. However, if you meant consecutive days (from opening) at 5M+, then I believe this is accurate. Due to a combination of a high opening, strong legs, and summer weekdays, it will be the first film to hit 30+ consecutive days at 5M+. It looks like it will finish at 31 days (on Sunday). Where do we think it will end in terms of total number of days 5M+? I only checked all of the films that grossed $335+ million on the all-time list - so I could very well be missing films from the lists below (and welcome any corrections) - but I doubt I'm missing anything that also hit 30+ consecutive days: Number of Days with 5M+ Grosses Titanic — 46 Avatar — 44 Star Wars: The Force Awakens — 30 Frozen — 28 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — 27 Jurassic World — 27 Black Panther — 27 Spider-Man: No Way Home — 27 Incredibles 2 — 26 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace — 25 The Avengers — 25 The Dark Knight — 24 Avengers: Infinity War — 24 Toy Story 3 — 24 Finding Dory — 24 Consecutive Days from Opening with 5M+ Grosses Top Gun: Maverick — 31 (projected) Avatar — 26 Jurassic World — 24 Star Wars: The Force Awakens — 24 Toy Story 3 — 24 Finding Dory — 24 Incredibles 2 — 24 The Dark Knight — 20 Star Wars: The Last Jedi — 20 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — 19 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — 19 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — 19 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace — 19 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — 19 Shrek 2 — 19 The Lion King — 19 Despicable Me 2 — 19 Spider-Man: No Way Home — 19 Again, please let me know if there are any films I'm missing (that grossed less than $335M on the all-time list); I've checked everything $335M+. Peace, Mike

We were so close to getting the first weekend ever with three $50M+ grossing films. If only TGM had been able to hold somewhat better last weekend (believe me, I'm not complaining, TGM's run has been more than exceptional). This would have been the weekend to do it with Top Gun, Jurassic World, and Lightyear all potentially appealing to families/Dads for Father's Day. Peace, Mike

Agree with the comments here - season 4 is excellent. Epic, but still grounded in the characters. And the new characters they write continue to be compelling. There have been many incredible moments, and there are still 4 hours worth of story left in the final two episodes. I'm psyched. I wish Netflix would learn from releasing this season in two parts - it has allowed the hype to build and speculation to abound about the show, in a way that fosters increased interest and cultural impact. Apparently the only reason for the split was needing more time to finish all of the work on the epic last two episodes - but I think they should strongly consider releasing more of their big shows in parts. They don't have to abandon the binge model completely and release shows weekly - just smaller binges. Peace, Mike

If TGM is, indeed, looking at a $550+ million final gross, then we're looking at a stunning ~4.4 multiplier (or better) for the film (off of a holiday-inflated $126.7 million opening weekend). I can't express how incredible that is. It would be one of the best multipliers ever for a major opener (70M+) - excluding animated family films, it would be the most impressive leggy run since Avatar, in my book. Best Multipliers Ever for $70+ Million Opening Films (Friday Openers): Avatar (2009) — 77.0 million (9.73) Finding Nemo (2003) — 70.3 million (4.84) Zootopia (2016) — 75.1 million (4.55) Wonder Woman (2017) — 103.3 million (4.00) Inside Out (2015) — 90.4 million (3.94) American Sniper (2015) — 89.3 million (3.92) Aladdin (2019) — 91.5 million (3.89) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — 248.0 million (3.78) Toy Story 3 (2010) — 110.3 million (3.76) The Incredibles (2004) — 70.5 million (3.71) Despicable Me 3 (2017) — 72.4 million (3.65) Finding Dory (2016) — 135.1 million (3.60) Toy Story 4 (2019) — 120.9 million (3.59) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) — 84.6 million (3.58) The Secret Life of Pets (2016) — 104.4 million (3.53) The Jungle Book (2016) — 103.3 million (3.53) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — 94.3 million (3.53) Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone (2001) — 90.3 million (3.52) Spider-Man (2002) — 114.8 million (3.52) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) — 73.6 million (3.51) Joker (2019) — 96.2 million (3.49) Black Panther (2018) — 202.0 million (3.47) Skyfall (2012) — 88.4 million (3.44) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — 155.1 million (3.43) Star Trek (2009) — 75.2 million (3.43) Peace, Mike

While disappointing that the first Pixar film Disney decides to release in theatres isn't "top-tier" Pixar (and Turning Red, Soul, and Luca lost out on the ability to cement themselves in box office history - I'm still sour about this), its reviews right now are normal for Pixar's less glowingly reviewed slate of films. Pixar Movie RT Scores and Multipliers 90%+ RT Score Class Toy Story — 100% (9.1 rating) — 6.58 (using 3-day), 4.91 (using 5-day) Toy Story 2 — 100% (8.7 rating) — 4.28 (using first wide weekend) Finding Nemo — 99% (8.7 rating) — 4.83 Toy Story 3 — 98% (8.9 rating) — 3.76 Inside Out — 98% (8.9 rating) — 3.94 Up — 98% (8.7 rating) — 4.30 Toy Story 4 — 97% (8.4 rating) — 3.59 Coco — 97% (8.3 rating) — 4.13 (using 3-day), 2.88 (using 5-day) The Incredibles — 97% (8.4 rating) — 3.71 Ratatouille — 96% (8.5 rating) — 4.39 Monsters, Inc — 96% (8.1 rating) — 4.09 Wall-E — 95% (8.6 rating) — 3.55 Soul — 95% (8.3 rating) — No theatrical release Turning Red — 94% (8.0 rating) — No theatrical release Finding Dory — 94% (7.7 rating) — 3.60 Incredibles 2 — 93% (7.9 rating) — 3.33 A Bug’s Life — 92% (7.9 rating) — 4.89 (using 3-day wide weekend), 3.56 (using 5-day wide) Luca — 91% (7.3 rating) — No theatrical release Certified Fresh & Fresh Onward — 88% (7.2 rating) — 1.57* (legs decimated due to coronavirus) Lightyear — 84% (6.9 rating) — TBD Monsters University — 80% (6.8 rating) — 3.26 Brave — 78% (7.0 rating) — 3.58 The Good Dinosaur — 76% (6.6 rating) — 3.14 (using 3-day), 2.22 (using 5-day) Cars — 74% (6.9 rating) — 4.06 Cars 3 — 69% (6.1 rating) — 2.85 Rotten Cars 2 — 39% (5.5 rating) — 2.89 Lightyear nestles in nicely right along side Onward, Monsters University, Brave, etc. Peace, Mike

You're right - that would make a third of these weekends (with two $50M+ grossers) involving Jurassic World films. The trilogy has had to deal with some big films opening right before or after it. Jurassic World usually co-exists well with other films - a testament to the four-quadrant nature of the franchise? Peace, Mike

Fun fact: Assuming TGM stays at 50M or greater, this will be the 14th weekend ever with two $50M+ grossers - with four of those weekends involving a Jurassic World film. Weekends with 2 films 50M+ 80M+ June 22-24, 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — 148.0M Incredibles 2 — 80.3M June 19-21, 2016 Jurassic World — 106.6M Inside Out — 90.4M 60M+ June 21-23, 2013 (both openers) Monsters University — 82.4M World War Z — 66.4M Nov 29-December 1, 2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire — 74.2M Frozen — 67.4M May 28-30, 2004 Shrek 2 — 72.2M The Day After Tomorrow — 68.7M December 25-27, 2009 Avatar — 75.6M Sherlock Holmes — 62.3M 50M+ June 10-12, 2022 Jurassic World — 143.4M Top Gun: Maverick — 50.0M May 25-27, 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End — 114.7M Shrek the Third — 53.0M May 10-12, 2013 Iron Man 3 — 72.5M The Great Gatsby — 50.1M May 10-12, 2019 Avengers: Endgame — 63.3M Pokémon Detective Pikachu — 54.4M June 27-29, 2008 (both openers) Wall-E — 63.1 Wanted — 50.9M June 8-10, 2012 (both openers) Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted — 60.3M Prometheus — 51.1M June 26-28, 2015 Jurassic World — 54.5M Inside Out — 52.3M December 29-31, 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi — 52.5M Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — 50.1M Peace, Mike

The film's reception would have to be really bad to achieve under a 2.5x multiplier. Excluding Onward (whose legs were decimated a week in by the pandemic), the only Pixar films that have under a 3x multiplier are Cars 2 and Cars 3 - and still both of those films achieved 2.89x and 2.85x multipliers, respectively. Peace, Mike

IMHO, you're a good mix of supporting your film while also making reasonable, grounded arguments. Refreshing. I appreciate your presence - threads aren't as fun to read when they're all negative perspectives. Peace, Mike

I agree. The average gross of Pixar films that are Friday openers (17 of them) is $81.7M, with a median gross of $68.1M. Pixar is an incredibly strong brand overall, and given Lightyear is connected to Pixar's strongest franchise/sub-brand, $80-110M predictions seem entirely reasonable to me. Peace, Mike

This would mean a weekend gross of 88.8 - 89.8 million (a 29.1-29.9% drop). Stunning. TGM will have the 8th best 2nd weekend of all-time... after having "only" the 39th best opening weekend of all-time. What an incredible hold. Peace, Mike

Dax Shepard giving free advertising for Top Gun: Maverick (at 7:50 and 11:28). 😂 "It's a perfect movie. I haven't had that much fun in a movie theatre since I saw The Matrix... 20+ years." Peace, Mike