Sunday, December 1, 2024

Box Office: “Eternals” Powers Marvel to $71 Mil, “French Dispatch” Holds On, “Spencer” Shows Diana’s Power

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It’s a good news story mostly this weekend at the box office. Just don’t think about “The Last Duel.”

Think instead of Marvel’s “Eternals,” which in one weekend made twice has much as Chloe Zhao’s lst movie made in its entire run.

“Eternals” clocked in at $71 million. No one cared about the bad reviews. The other Zhao movie made $35 million. That was “Nomadland,” which won the Oscar last spring. Pow! Zhao! She really can write her own ticket now. I do hope she returns to make her own brand of film, though.

“The French Dispatch” actually held up from Saturday to Sunday, had no fall off. Total now is $8.5 million. Not a blockbuster but finding its audience somewhere.

“Dune” plows along to $83.9 million. That $100 million target is taking a long time but we’ll get there.

The real story I think is “Spencer,” about Princess Diana, a tough movie with a compelling central performance, is a hit. Neon opened it in 996 theatres and took home $2.1 million. Not bad. A royal win. Kristen Stewart is certainly getting the big push for Best Actress in what will be a tight category this year with formidable competition. Watch for Penelope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers” and Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci.” Gaga has the inside track because she missed the gold with “A Star is Born.” In Oscar terms, she’s ready for her close up.

Hearing lots of talk today about the first screenings of Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza.” On Twitter people are saying they thought ‘licorice pizza’ was an actual thing. For real, no kidding. I still have elevator passes for sale to my one story school. See me at recess.

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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