MikeQ

Admittedly, I've never been big on Ryan Gosling, but he looks truly perfect for this role and this film. Didn't think I could be this hyped for a Barbie movie, but I'm sold. Peace, Mike

I'm hyped for this. The changes from the book have me confident that Scorsese has done this right. Peace, Mike

Really excellent for GOTG Vol.3. It's the best second weekend drop for an MCU sequel. Also one of the best second weekend drops for a $100+ million opener without a holiday second weekend - it's a rare feat to drop under 50% at this level, especially for this genre. The drop may be even better with actuals. Can it be one of only a relative handful of comic book movies that hit a 3+ multiplier? Best Second Weekend Drops for 100M+ Friday Openers (without Holiday Second Weekend): Top Gun: Maverick (2022): -28.9% Spider-Man (2002): -37.8% The Jungle Book (2016): -40.4% Wonder Woman (2017): -43.3% Black Panther (2018): -44.7% Finding Dory (2016): -46.0% Alice in Wonderland (2010): -46.0% Toy Story 3 (2010): -46.2% Beauty and the Beast (2017): -48.3% Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023): -48.9% Jurassic World (2015): -49.0%* The Avengers (2012): -50.3% The Batman (2022): -50.4% Toy Story 4 (2019): -50.6%^ It (2017): -51.3% The Secret Life of Pets (2016): -51.3% The Dark Knight (2008): -52.5% Thor: Ragnarok (2017): -53.5% *2nd weekend was not technically a holiday weekend, but it did benefit significantly from Father’s Day (almost flat on Sunday) ^2nd weekend wasn’t a holiday weekend for US/NA, but it was for CANADA (Canada Day weekend arguably boosted its Sunday gross) Peace, Mike

Well, if it follows GOTG Vol. 2 daily pattern from a $7M Wednesday into the weekend, it will make about $60.8M (-48.7%). A very strong drop, if so (would be one of the best drops for a $100M+ opener). But it remains to be seen if it will follow that pattern. Peace, Mike

Great trailer - can't say it wowed me, but that doesn't matter, I'm highly anticipating the film regardless (loved the first). Peace, Mike

This, and not everyone aspires to fame and celebrity. Folks who characterize her career as a "missed opportunity" or "loss" are upholding certain values as the ones to which we should aspire. Given the Hollywood machine, McAdams ability to have recognized what she needed to do to "stay sane" and feel "empowered" (her words) is something true fans should be recognizing. Peace, Mike

Can we talk about how each film in the John Wick series has now officially outgrossed the last, both domestically and internationally? What an exceptional accomplishment - particularly the growth from the first film to the fourth. John Wick Series - Box Office Rank / Film / Gross (Domestic / International) John Wick: Chapter 4 — 171.2 / 202.4 million (and still going) John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum — 171.0 / 157.3 million John Wick: Chapter 2 — 92.0 / 82.3 million John Wick — 43.0 / 43.0 million Other franchises with 3+ films that come to mind that grew with each instalment both domestically and internationally (though there are likely more I haven't identified - please feel free to share): The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) Captain America trilogy (2011-2016) MCU Spider-Man trilogy (2017-2021) Original X-Men trilogy (2000-2006) (taken as its own thing/separate from the prequel X-men films - I think this was an impressive feat back in the day) The Toy Story series almost accomplished this feat, but Toy Story 4 made a smidgeon less internationally than the film before it. So close. The Thor series also was close to accomplishing this feat, but faltered internationally with Love & Thunder coming well below Ragnarok. Likewise, the original Jason Bourne trilogy accomplished the feat, but then faltered with the fourth Matt Damon helmed instalment. (It's worth noting that all of these series did accomplish it amongst the first three films, and not a lot of series do.) Obviously not all apples to apples comparisons, but fun to think about nonetheless. Peace, Mike

Looks great. I mean, Viola Davis is enough alone to see this. The franchise is underrated, especially the ending/final instalment which provides a resolution that feels honest to Katniss’s journey and in keeping with the political/social themes of the story. I was quite impressed that they didn’t try to mess it up with some awful “Hollywoodized” ending. I won’t have read the novel for this one going into the film, which is unlike my experience with the original trilogy, so I’m looking forward to not knowing much going in. Peace, Mike

The Guardians movies are my favourite MCU films, so it's great seeing these positive reactions - with the usual caveat that social media reactions don't generally mean a whole lot. Nonetheless, looking forward to this. The trailers are sitting in the right spot for me. Peace, Mike

What can I say about Mario? Phenomenal opening - second best opening weekend of all time for an animated film and it opened on a Wednesday. Fantastic stuff. Top Animated Film Opening Weekends Rank / Title / Opening Weekend Gross / Multiplier Incredibles 2 (2018) — 182.7 million (3.33) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) — 146.4 million* Finding Dory (2016) — 135.1 million (3.60) Frozen II (2019) — 130.3 million (3.66) Shrek the Third (2007) — 121.6 million (2.65) Toy Story 4 (2019) — 120.9 million (3.59) Minions (2015) — 115.7 million (2.90) Toy Story 3 (2010) — 110.3 million (3.76) Shrek 2 (2004) — 108.0 million* Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) — 107.0 million (3.45) The Secret Life of Pets (2016) — 104.4 million (3.53) Inside Out (2015) — 90.4 million (3.94) Despicable Me 2 (2013) — 83.5 million* Monsters University (2013) — 82.4 million (3.26) Zootopia (2016) — 75.1 million (4.55) The Simpsons Movie (2007) — 74.0 million (2.47) Despicable Me 3 (2017) — 72.4 million (3.65) Shrek Forever After (2010) — 70.8 million (3.37) The Incredibles (2004) — 70.5 million (3.71) Finding Nemo (2003) — 70.3 million (4.84) Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012) — 70.2 million (3.05) *Wednesday Opener Peace, Mike

I have genuinely been wondering if this is a possibility. Fallout made very nearly $800 million worldwide in 2018. And it feels like Tom Cruise has become an action brand in himself that has reached a new peak after Maverick. Is it possible that Maverick good will could draw in more than the usual suspects for Dead Reckoning, leading to $1B+ at the box office? I don’t think it’s entirely outlandish, if perhaps unlikely. Peace, Mike

I only have top opening true Fridays (not all Fridays): Best Opening True Fridays (i.e. Opening Friday sans Thursday Previews) Avengers: Endgame (2019) — 97.5 million Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) — 72.0 million Avengers: Infinity War (2018) — 67.3 million Jurassic World (2015) — 63.5 million Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — 62.1 million The Avengers (2012) — 62.1 million Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) — 59.7 million Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) — 56.8 million Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) — 56.3 million The Lion King (2019) — 54.9 million Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) — 54.7 million Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) — 53.9 million Iron Man 3 (2013) — 53.3 million Incredibles 2 (2018) — 52.8 million Furious 7 (2015) — 51.6 million Black Panther (2018) — 50.7 million Captain America: Civil War (2016) — 50.5 million Spider-Man 3 (2007) — 49.8 million Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — 49.6 million The Dark Knight (2008) — 48.7 million Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) — 47.6 million The Hunger Games (2012) — 47.5 million Beauty and the Beast (2017) — 47.5 million Peace, Mike

Well, looks like I'm going to have to re-watch the first 3 films this week... for what looks like yet another great instalment (maybe even the best) in the series based on critical reception. Awesome. 😎 Peace, Mike

These last two episodes were really impactful. The finale brought us full circle with Joel, Ellie, and Marlene (terrific opening flashback) - and the morally questionable choices that we make in the name of survival, love, and humanity. That there are no easily identifiable "bad guys" and "good guys" - only people trying to survive and do what's right from their vantage point - made the last episode especially impactful. Don't even get me started with the very final scene... so much I can unpack here, maybe for another time. My only criticism of this season would be that I would have liked a wee bit more encounters with infected. There was room for it - as the show otherwise did everything right in keeping the focus on character and story. Peace, Mike

I was curious about the multiple academy award winners in previous years, so for those wanting to reflect back like me, here are are the multiple Oscar winning films by year since the 1998 Oscars (70th Academy Awards) with Titanic. (Best Picture winners in bold.) Everything Everywhere is the winningest film since Gravity in 2014 (which also had 7 wins), and winningest Best Picture winner since Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 (8 wins) and before that Return of the King in 2004 (11 wins). Man, 7 wins for Gravity but no Best Picture... just looked it up, it's not a record, since Cabaret won 8 awards at the 1973 Oscars without winning Best Picture. Peace, Mike

That's great for A24. They're probably my favourite producer of movies right now, making good, creative, interesting films - even when I'm mixed on them, I appreciate what they're putting out there. From 2002, I loved Everything Everywhere, Aftersun, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and The Inspection. And in recent years, films like The Farewell, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Lighthouse, Uncut Gems, Minari, The Green Knight, etc. Peace, Mike

Quan practically tackling Harrison Ford when they won Best Picture was pretty lovely to see. Way to go, Everything Everywhere! It’s truly remarkable to me that in the last few years, the Academy has awarded two incredible, entertaining, genre-defying films for Best Picture: first Parasite and now Everything Everywhere. Really thrilled. Peace, Mine

It’s not so much that they axed one category, but that they combined Sound Mixing and Sound Editing into one. Peace, Mike

Agreed. Speeches overall have been good this year - and frankly, that’s one of the more important factors for making a good show. If Fraser and Yeoh win, two more great speeches are likely. Peace, Mike

Nice, I predicted Top Gun for sound - well deserved. Last year, 7 of the 10 Best Picture nominees won an Oscar. We’re at 5 so far this year. If Butler wins, it’ll be 6. Why do I feel like Blanchett still has a chance of winning Best Actress (or am I crazy)? Peace, Mike

That’s right - 4 for All Quiet, 2 for Everything Everywhere, 1 for everything else. Peace, Mike

Where was this rendition of the song in the movie? Way better than the official film version. Way to go, Gaga. Peace, Mike

Did ya’ll know that the Director or Producer(s) of Best International Feature Film do not actually win the Oscar? The nominee is the country for which it was submitted, and the director is simply the representative that accepts the Oscar on behalf of the country. I only just learned this this year… Peace, Mike

Awesome, a win for Black Panther! I thought Elvis or Babylon would take it. Peace Mike

I had predicted Condon for Supporting Actress, but it wouldn’t be overly surprising now if SAG went 3/4 or 4/4 With Oscar for the acting categories. In 20 of the 28 years of SAG, they’ve matched 3/4 or 4/4 with Oscar. Maybe this year will be 3/4 - with Butler winning over Fraser? Though with how closely SAG aired to the Oscar voting period, maybe it will be 4/4… Peace, Mike