‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Is No. 1 Again; Conservative Doc ‘Am I Racist’ Cracks Box Office Top 5

US director Tim Burton poses on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the UK premiere of the film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice", in central London, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
US director Tim Burton poses on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the UK premiere of the film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice", in central London, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
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‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Is No. 1 Again; Conservative Doc ‘Am I Racist’ Cracks Box Office Top 5

US director Tim Burton poses on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the UK premiere of the film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice", in central London, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
US director Tim Burton poses on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the UK premiere of the film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice", in central London, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)

Moviegoers said yes to more “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” this weekend.

After its monster opening, the Tim Burton sequel easily topped the domestic box office charts again with $51.6 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Down only 54% from a week earlier, the North American gross for the Warner Bros. release is already at $188 million. Internationally, it added $28.7 million, bringing its worldwide total to a staggering $264.3 million.

“To drop just 54% is really impressive and indicative of a pretty solid word of mouth,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “Audiences are enjoying the film.”

While its hold was strong, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” didn’t have much in the way of major new competition. Fresh offerings included the James McAvoy horror “Speak No Evil,” a satirical documentary following right wing podcaster Matt Walsh; and a new Dave Bautista action pic, “The Killer's Game.”

Second place in weekend ticket sales went to “Speak No Evil,” a remake of a 2022 Danish horror film about an unsuspecting family who decides to spend a weekend with new friends in the country. McAvoy stars in it, along with Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy. With positive reviews and a shrewd release date of Friday the 13th, the Blumhouse production released by Universal Pictures made an estimated $11.5 million from 3,375 locations.

“Deadpool & Wolverine ” landed in third place in its eighth weekend with another $5.2 million. The Disney and Marvel blockbuster is now up to $621.5 million in North America and $1.3 billion globally.

The Daily Wire movie “Am I Racist?” placed fourth at the box office, with an estimated $4.7 million from only 1,517 theaters. Described as a mockumentary in the style of “Borat,” the movie has conservative columnist Walsh going undercover as a “DEI trainee.” Walsh had a similar gimmick, pretending to be a gender studies professor, in the 2022 movie “What is a Woman?” Both were directed by Justin Folk.

“Am I Racist?” cost a reported $3 million to make. To release it, the Daily Wire — the Ben Shapiro co-founded company — partnered with SDG Releasing, a distribution company founded by writers Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, who promise the “lowest fees in the business.” Among the trailers playing before “Am I Racist?" is another film targeting conservative audiences: The upcoming Dinesh D'Souza movie “Vindicating Trump.”

Rounding out the top five was “Reagan,” the Showbiz Direct release starring Dennis Quaid as the former president, which added another $3 million in its third weekend, bringing its total domestic total to $23.3 million.

“The Killer's Game," meanwhile, debuted in sixth place with $2.6 million. Bautista stars as a hit man with a terminal illness in the action comedy, which got dismal reviews.

Next weekend, theaters will get the Optimus Prime origin pic “Transformers One,” but it may be a quiet few weeks at the box office until “Joker: Folie à Deux” dances its way onto the big screen on Oct. 4.



‘The Brutalist’ Cast Beams over Breadth of Film’s Story

 This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)
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‘The Brutalist’ Cast Beams over Breadth of Film’s Story

 This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP)

The cast of the film “The Brutalist” is giving their director Brady Corbet all the credit when it comes to the strong acclaim for the movie.

“He's a special filmmaker because he focuses on psychology and behavior and those things that we as actors are genuinely interested in,” said Guy Pearce, who plays wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren.

“So, it was a real treat from start to finish,” he added.

The movie is an epic tale of a Hungarian immigrant who flees the horrors of World War Two to rebuild his life in the United States, and stars Oscar-winner Adrien Brody in the leading role of the architect Laszlo Toth.

"The Brutalist", which has a three-hour and 35-minute runtime and comes with a 15-minute intermission, was co-written by Corbet's wife, Mona Fastvold.

It was successful at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this year, with Corbet winning the best director prize.

The film, distributed by A24, arrives in movie theaters on Dec. 20 in the United States.

Brody, who had read the script nearly six years ago, expressed his deep connection to the story and his character through both his Hungarian-born mother and grandfather.

“Her [his mother’s] journey as an artist, her pursuits as an artist are deeply profound and linked to this,” he said.

For Brody, the role connected him with his mother’s yearning to leave something of great meaning behind, which was enhanced when contrasted with an understanding of hardship.

He also thought of his own grandfather's struggles with language and assimilation as a foreigner without work opportunities or respect.

“That (respect) was lost and taken from him,” Brody added.

His grandfather, fleeing from home due to the war, largely shaped the actor’s perspective of his role.

For “The Theory of Everything” actress Felicity Jones, who portrays Toth’s wife in the film, Erzsebet Toth, some of the most compelling aspects of the film are its characters and unique storytelling style.

“These characters, particularly Laszlo and Erzsebet, you know, they're doing everything they can to preserve their integrity and their self-worth,” she said.

Brody was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance for a male actor in a motion picture drama and is receiving Oscar buzz for his role.

For “The Pianist” actor, having a strong team was key to the power of the film.

“In order to do work on this level, you need all of those to conspire with you and not against you,” Brody said.