I mean those reading about the controversy tend to be the ones interested in seeing the movie. Controversies usually help gain awareness. But the reveal of such cheap plot cliche could turn potential viewers away.
Sleeping with an informant for scoop sounds like a cheap but convenient movie trope. Could this be the reason audiences turned away from this movie? Because it's so cliched even the controversy could not save it from box office failure.
1. Just Mercy
2. Jumanji: The Next Level
3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
4. Tenet
5. Bombshell
6. Uncut Gems
7. Richard Jewell
8. Cats
9. Waves
10. The Aeronauts
If Q&S follows Creed (2015) and gets 3.0x this weekend, it will get to $46m. It all depends on whether Universal will keep up the marketing and expand it a little more.
1. Dark Waters
2. Just Mercy
3. Jumanji: The Next Level
4. Marriage Story
5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
6. Tenet
7. Bombshell
8. Richard Jewell
9. Waves
10. The Aeronauts
Frozen 2 2.85 (-47% from Tuesday)
Knives Out 1.75 (-37%)
Ford v Ferrari 1.05 (-12%)
Queen & Slim 0.72 (-52%)
Great for F v F. Not so good for Q & S. Swapping the two numbers would seem more normal.
1. Knives Out
2. Dark Waters
3. Just Mercy
4. Jumanji: The Next Level
5. Queen & Slim
6. Marriage Story
7. The Irishman
8. Bombshell
9. The Report
10. Waves
1, Knives Out
2. Dark Waters
3. Frozen II
4. Just Mercy
5. Marriage Story
6. Jumanji: The Next Level
7. Queen & Slim
8. The Report
9. The Irishman
10. Waves
Its box office prospect will be contingent on how the Star Wars movie performs. If TRoS is closer to TFA, this will only do +/- $200m. If it is more like TLJ, this can approach $300m.
1. Knives Out
2. Dark Waters
3. Just Mercy
4. Frozen II
5. Marriage Story
6. The Good Liar
7. The Report
8. Waves
9. Charlie's Angels
10. Ford v Ferrari
The way Redford flaunts his "finger gun" at the police at the end of the car chase and the rolling of title cards are both cringe-worthy attempts at (dry) humor. Trying hard to be playful but ending up a little pretentious.