This weekend’s box office was par for the course, with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” totaling up $394 million. The big 400 is in its sights in a couple of days. The US and international takes are about equal with the total so far around $733 million. That’s about half of what “Black Panther” did, but no one can complain.

Paramount re-released “Top Gun Maverick” to 1,864 theaters. There was not a clamor to see it again, however. The total take there was just $700,000, or $376 per screen. Pretty much everyone in the world has seen this movie at least once or twice, so this was just for promotional purposes.

The really big story is Searchlight’s “The Menu,” which has taken in $24.7 million and has become the coveted word of mouth movie. Someone says, “There’s nothing out there, what should I see?” And their friend replies, “Have you seen The Menu?” That’s what every studio wants! Congrats. Ralph Fiennes is having a moment as he’s also in a hit off Broadway show that no one can get into.

All the smaller Oscar buzzed movies are still struggling, which is too bad. It seems like MGM stopped reporting numbers on “Till” completely. Their “Bones and All” has been eaten alive, as well.

It had to happen sometime.

After 22 days at number 1, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has been knocked off its perch at number 1 at the box office.

On Friday night, “Violent Night,” a tongue in cheek Christmas horror film starring “Stranger Things” star David Harbour, surpassed “Wakanda” by about $450,000. In the film, Harbour plays a deranged Santa. Also featured as John Leguizamo and Beverly D’Angelo, who’s getting a lot of praise. A big name in the 80s, D’Angelo also has twins with actor Al Pacino.

Even with this demotion. “Wakanda” will hit $400 million early this coming week. Its success is based mostly on having no competition for the last three weeks.

Roughly half the top critics who’ve reviewed Will Smith’s “Emancipation” on Rotten Tomatoes have disliked it. Overall, the Antoine Fuqua film has a 59% so far from all critics, and is considered “rotten.”

This is all apart from the slap and Smith’s controversy from the last Oscars. It’s all about the merits of the movie.

Seems like Oscars will not be a part of this discussion after all.

LA Times: Even with a physically impressive production at his disposal, Fuqua’s filmmaking instincts are clumsy and prone to cliché.

Chicago Tribune: While it has been built on the scarred back of a real man, the movie is too busy with the business of entertainment to focus on the “real” part for long.

AP: Fuqua’s film is often harrowing and gripping but also less nuanced and too narrowly confined in genre conventions than its real-life protagonist deserves.

The New York Film Critics are announcing their 2022 winners one by one. It’s always fun to follow along as the white smoke rises out of the chimneys.

Best Picture goes to Todd Field’s “Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett and heading to VOD shortly. This is not the first Best Picture for Field at the NYFCC. “In the Bedroom” and each of its actors, Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson, won in 2001. Congrats!

Best Director went to S.S. Rajamouli for “RRR.”

Cate Blanchett, Best Actress, TAR

Colin Farrell, Best Actor, “Banshees of Inisherin” and “After Yang”

Keke Palmer has taken Best Supporting Actress for “Nope.”

Ke Huy Quan is Best Supporting Actor from the confounding “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

Best First Feature is “Aftersun.”

Best Animated Feature is “Marcel the Shell.”

Best Non Fiction Film: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Claudio Miranda, “Top Gun: Maverick”

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM: “EO”

BEST SCREENPLAY: Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

keep refreshing…