‘Hunger Games’ Feasts, ‘Napoleon’ Conquers but ‘Wish’ Doesn’t Come True at Thanksgiving Box Office 

US actress Viola Davis attends the premiere of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 13, 2023. (AFP)
US actress Viola Davis attends the premiere of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 13, 2023. (AFP)
TT
20

‘Hunger Games’ Feasts, ‘Napoleon’ Conquers but ‘Wish’ Doesn’t Come True at Thanksgiving Box Office 

US actress Viola Davis attends the premiere of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 13, 2023. (AFP)
US actress Viola Davis attends the premiere of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on November 13, 2023. (AFP)

The Walt Disney Co.’s “Wish” had been expected to rule the Thanksgiving weekend box office, but moviegoers instead feasted on leftovers, as “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” led ticket sales for the second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Neither of the weekend’s top new releases — “Wish” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” — could keep up with Lionsgate’s “Hunger Games” prequel. After debuting the previous weekend with $44.6 million, the return to Panem proved the top draw for holiday moviegoers, grossing $28.8 million over the weekend and $42 million over the five-day holiday frame.

In two weeks of release, “Songbirds and Snakes” has grossed nearly $100 million domestically and $200 million globally.

The closer contest was for second place, where “Napoleon” narrowly outmaneuvered “Wish.” Scott’s epic outperformed expectations to take $32.5 million over the five-day weekend and an estimated $20.4 million Friday through Sunday. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, was also the top movie globally with $78.8 million.

Reviews were mixed (61% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and ticket buyers were non-plussed (a “B-” CinemaScore), but “Napoleon” fared far better in theaters than its subject did at Waterloo.

“Napoleon,” like Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is a big-budget statement by Apple Studios of the streamer’s swelling Hollywood ambitions. With an estimated budget of $200 million, “Napoleon” may still have a long road to reach profitability for Apple, which partnered with Sony to distribute “Napoleon” theatrically. But it’s an undeniably strong beginning for an adult-skewing 168-minute historical drama.

“Wish,” however, had been supposed to have a more starry-eyed start. Disney Animation releases like “Frozen II” ($123.7 million over five days in 2019), “Ralph Breaks the Internet” ($84.6 million in 2018) and “Coco” ($71 million in 2017), have often owned Thanksgiving moviegoing.

But “Wish” wobbled, coming in with $31.7 million over five days and $19.5 million Friday through Sunday. It added $17.3 million internationally. It had been forecast to debut closer to $50 million.

“Wish,” at least, is faring better than Disney’s Thanksgiving release last year: 2022’s “Strange World” bombed with a five-day $18.9 million opening. But hopes had been higher for “Wish,” co-written and co-directed by the “Frozen” team of Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and featuring the voices of Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine. “Wish,” a fairy tale centered around a wished-upon star, is also a celebration of Disney, itself, timed to the studio’s 100th anniversary and rife with callbacks to Disney favorites.

Critics weren’t impressed, saying “Wish” felt more like a marketing than movie magic. So instead of righting an up-and-down year for Disney, “Wish” is, for now, adding to some of the studio’s recent headaches, including the underperforming “The Marvels.” The Marvel sequel has limped to $76.9 million domestically and $110.2 million overseas in three weeks.

“Wish” also faced direct competition for families in “Trolls Band Together.” The DreamWorks and Universal Pictures release opened a week prior, and took in $17.5 million in its second frame ($25.3 million over five days).

“‘Wish’ ran into a much more competitive market than what Disney might normally see in the Thanksgiving corridor,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. “We’re accustomed to seeing those Disney films at the top of the chart. They kind of had to split the audience with ‘Trolls.’”

Still, the storybook isn’t written yet on “Wish.” It could follow the lead of Pixar’s “Elemental,” which launched with a lukewarm $29.6 million in June but found its legs, ultimately grossing nearly $500 million worldwide.

Also entering wide-release over the holiday weekend was Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn,” the writer-director’s follow-up to 2020’s “Promising Young Woman.” After debuting in seven packed theaters last weekend, “Saltburn” grossed $3.1 million over five days for Amazon and MGM. Barry Keoghan stars as an Oxford student befriended by a rich classmate (Jacob Elordi) and invited to his family’s country manor.

As Hollywood’s award season accelerates (Netflix debuted Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” in select theaters but didn’t report grosses), Focus Features’ “The Holdovers” continues to be one of the top choices in cinemas. Alexander Payne’s film starring Paul Giamatti as a boarding school instructor made $3.8 million over the five-day weekend. In five weeks, it’s grossed $12.9 million.

Ticket sales overall reached $172 million in US and Canada theaters over the five-day holiday weekend, according to Comscore. That’s up significantly from recent years but well behind the typical pre-pandemic Thanksgiving weekends. (In 2019, sales boosted by “Frozen 2” surpassed $262 million.)



The Oscar Nominations are Being Announced. Here's Who's Nominated So Far

This image released by Netflix shows Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in a scene from "Emilia Perez." (Shanna Besson/Netflix via AP)
This image released by Netflix shows Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in a scene from "Emilia Perez." (Shanna Besson/Netflix via AP)
TT
20

The Oscar Nominations are Being Announced. Here's Who's Nominated So Far

This image released by Netflix shows Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in a scene from "Emilia Perez." (Shanna Besson/Netflix via AP)
This image released by Netflix shows Karla Sofia Gascon as Emilia Perez in a scene from "Emilia Perez." (Shanna Besson/Netflix via AP)

In the wake of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles that struck at the heart of the movie industry, the nominations to the 97th Academy Awards are being announced.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences began announcing the nominations Thursday at 8:30am Eastern via a wide array of platforms, including on Oscar.com, Oscars.org, the academy's social network sites, ABC's “Good Morning America,” as well as on Disney+ and Hulu. Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott are reading the nominees.

The nominees for best supporting actor are: Yura Borisov, “Anora”; Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”; Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”; Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”; Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice.”

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are: Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”; Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”; Ariana Grande, “Wicked”; Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”; Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez.”

The nominees for original screenplay are: “Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “A Real Pain”; “September 5”; “The Substance.”

“This has certainly been a difficult time for Los Angeles, where many members of our film community industry work and live. But the last several weeks have proven what we already know to be true: our film industry and Los Angeles are resilient, and for almost a century, the Oscars have brought us together to unite and celebrate our global film community,” Janet Yang, the academy's president, said before nominees were announced.

The nominations had originally been planned for Jan. 17. But after wildfires on Jan. 7 began burning through the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other areas around Los Angeles, leaving behind historic levels of destruction, the academy extended its voting window and twice postponed the nominations announcement.

With so many in the film industry reeling from the fires, some called on the academy to cancel the Oscars altogether. Academy leaders have argued the March 2 ceremony must go ahead, for their economic impact on Los Angeles and as a symbol of resilience for the industry. Organizers have vowed this year's awards will “celebrate the work that unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”

“We will reflect on the recent events while highlighting the strength, creativity, and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry,” Bill Kramer, academy chief executive, and Yang said in an email to members Wednesday.

But much of the usual frothiness Hollywood's award season has been severely curtailed due to the fires, which continue to burn. The film academy canceled its annual nominees luncheon. Other events have been postponed or downsized. On Wednesday, Kramer and Yang said original song nominees won't be performed this year. Conan O'Brien, whose Pacific Palisades home was spared by the fires, is hosting.

Here are some of the things to look for going into Thursday's nominations:

How wide open is it? Usually by this time, one or two movies have emerged as the clear favorites for best picture. Not so this year. Four films have been nominated for the top award from the Producers Guild, the Directors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild: “Anora,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez” and “A Complete Unknown.”

They are likely to be joined Thursday by Golden Globe-winner “The Brutalist,” the musical blockbuster “Wicked” and the sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part Two.” In the category's 10 films, that leaves slots expected for “A Real Pain” and “The Substance.” The last spot could go to the prison drama “Sing Sing,” the journalism drama “September 5” or the POV-shot “Nickel Boys.”

Of them all, Netflix's contender “Emilia Pérez” could land the most nominations of all, and, possibly, set a new high mark for non-English language films.

Who gets left out in best actress? As is often the case, best actress is extremely competitive. Most prognosticators expect nominations for Demi Moore ("The Substance"), Cynthia Erivo ("Wicked"), Mikey Madison ("Anora") and Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”). Who gets the fifth slot could go to Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here"), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”) or Pamela Anderson ("The Last Showgirl”). And that still leaves out Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”) and Angelina Jolie (“Maria”).

Who could make history? Gascón, the star of Jacques Audiard's “Emilia Pérez," is poised to become the first openly transgender actor nominated for an Oscar. Gascón, who plays both a male drug lord in the film and the woman she becomes, has spoken both passionately and sanguinely about the possibility of making Oscar history at a time with trans rights are imperiled.

“If it does happen, I would be so grateful,” Gascón said last fall. “It would be a beautiful thing. But if it doesn’t, whatever. I’d go back to my old life. I’ll do my grocery shopping. I’ll play with cats. I’ll see my family. Maybe I’ll do other jobs and people will like those jobs.”

With Trump now in office, will ‘The Apprentice’ be nominated? Yes.

One of 2024's most audacious films, “The Apprentice,” dramatized the formative years of President Donald Trump' s emergence in New York real estate under the tutelage of attorney Roy Cohn. Both Sebastian Stan (who plays Trump) and Jeremy Strong (Cohn) were borderline contenders for best actor and best supporting actor, respectively. Trump has called those involved with the film “human scum.”

Strong was nominated for best supporting actor Thursday morning.

Will best director be all male again? For most of Oscar history, the best director category has been all male. That's changed somewhat in recent years, with wins by Jane Campion ("The Power of the Dog") and Chloé Zhao ("Nomadland"). But this year may see another all-male group of Audiard ("Emilia Pérez"), Sean Baker (“Anora”), Edward Berger ("Conclave"), Brady Corbet ("The Brutalist") and James Mangold ("A Complete Unknown").

The two most likely female contenders are Payal Kapadia (“All We Imagine as Light”) and Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”). Also in the mix are a pair of big-budget filmmakers in Jon M. Chu (“Wicked”) and Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”).