The box office is the usual mixed bag.
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” is heading toward a $20 million opening weekend after a robust Thurs-Fri take of $8.85 million.
It doesn’t hurt that this is a movie fans really want to see — a whopping 96% audience response on Rotten Tomatoes, not to mention a very high 90% critics rating.
Julian Fellowes and Simon Curtis really poured themselves into making a perfect ending to this 16 year saga.
The weekend total may be even more than $20 million. Keep an eye on this one. And let’s hope Fellowes gets some nods for his excellent screenplay come awards season.
Focus Features has done a great job with this one.
On the other hand, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” remains as much a mystery as the origins of Stonehenge. It opened Thursday night and there are still no box office reports from Bleecker Street Films.
“Spinal Tap II” is actually being made into a cult film. The studio has all but ignored it. Producers must be furious. Reviews are B, which ain’t bad, with even the NY Times’ tough Manohla Dargis sending some nice notes.
All this despite a very good 88% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes — a lot of movies with bigger pushes would be jealous.
Not sure if most people realize the photo of Spinal Tap is a parody of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s first legendary album cover by the famed Henry Diltz– as if the latter group could hold a candle against the former. But that’s the joke.
