Thursday, March 28, 2024

Box Office: “Hidden Figures,” “La La Land” Cross $100 Mil Line, Unusual for Original Drama or Musical

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There’s a little bit of a silver lining at the box office this week. Both
“La La Land” and “Hidden Figures” have crossed the $100 million line.

This is pretty great, and highly unusual. Original dramas and musicals aren’t exactly the typical blockbusters. “The Artist,” a superior musical that won the Oscar, only made $44 million all in. “La La Land” has far exceeded that.

“Hidden Figures” is a coup and a phenomenon. It played just like “The Help,” which finished with just under $170 million.

So the audience was there for both movies. This should speak volumes to the studios. They were smart films, well made, that didn’t speak down to the audience. And that was appreciated.

Indeed, nearly all the Oscar nominees have done very well this season. “Manchester” has a respectable $41 million, “Fences” is at $50 million, and “Lion” is coming into its own at almost $20 million. “Moonlight” follows at $17 million.

This should bode well for the Oscar telecast on February 26th. Plus let’s hope the Academy will ask some of the people who worked hard but didn’t get nominated– Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Brad Pitt, Taraji Henson– to be presenters.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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