Box office weekend:
“King Richard” was really hurt at the box office by its HBO Max day and date run. Total in wide release came to $5.7 million, which is even less than the low prediction of $5.9 million. Will Smith has been so pitched for Best Actor, and the cast is excellent. Serena and Venus Williams wanted this movie, this way, about how their father, Richard, trained them to become superstar athletes. The publicity and marketing were excellent, and the reviews were solid.
So now what? Let “King Richard” sit on his throne for a bit until awards notices come in the first week of December. “King Richard” will get a lot of nods from the Critics Choice Awards, and should find some s love among the critics groups in different cities.
Stranger still is what happened to Neon’s “Spencer.” Third week, Neon dropped “Spencer” from 311 theaters. After all the time and money that’s been put into Kristen Stewart for Best Actress as Princess Diana, the studio is letting the air out of the tires! Maybe it’s a short retreat until the awards nods in early December. But Princess Diana’s ghost seems to be haunting this movie as well as the alm0st-closed Broadway show (the two projects are separate).
Some good news: “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is a hit after it looked bleak from opening night. The new film made $44 million over the weekend. In 2016, the all female “Ghostbusters” did $46 million ($53 million adj for inflation). So, not bad. Nothing to complain about.
