Hello everyone,
BOX OFFICE: This past 4-day Martin Luther King weekend was the lowest in over 25 years (not including during the pandemic). Except for 2021 & 2022, the 4-day weekend box office has never dipped below $100 million since 1997. “Mufasa: The Lion King” returned to the #1 position with $11.7 million (3-day) and $15.5 million (4-day). The highest new release was the comedy “One of Them Days” with $11.6 million (3-day) and $14.2 (4-day). The other new release “Wolf Man” was third with $10.9 million (3-day) and $12.5 million (4-day). “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (which was #4 for the weekend) both moved past a $200 million domestic total this past weekend. Meanwhile, “Moana 2” is almost at a $450 million domestic total.
The total domestic box office was $76.5 (3-day) and $94.7 (4-day). The 3 day is almost the same as the previous weekend (down less than 2.5%) but compared to last year the 3-day is down approx. 26% and the 4-day is down approx. 23%.
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: In foreign countries, “Mufasa: The Lion King” also ruled with approx. $20.3 million in foreign box office. It’s now approaching $600 million worldwide total. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” became the highest movie in the Sonic franchise adding another $15.2 million in foreign countries for a worldwide total of approx. $420 million. “Moana 2” just became the 3rd movie released last year to pass $1 BILLION worldwide. All 3 of the $1 BILLION movies in 2024 were Disney releases.
AWARD NEWS: “Emilia Perez” leads the Academy Awards nominations with 13. “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” got 10 each. Here are the top nominations:
Best Picture
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
“I’m Still Here”
“Nickel Boys”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”
Best Director
“Anora” – Sean Baker
“The Brutalist” – Brady Corbet
“A Complete Unknown” – James Mangold
“Emilia Pérez” – Jacques Audiard
“The Substance” – Coralie Fargeat
Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist”
Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown”
Colman Domingo in “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes in “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan in “The Apprentice”
Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked”
Karla Sofía Gascón in “Emilia Pérez”
Mikey Madison in “Anora”
Demi Moore in “The Substance”
Fernanda Torres in “I’m Still Here”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov in “Anora”
Kieran Culkin in “A Real Pain”
Edward Norton in “A Complete Unknown”
Guy Pearce in “The Brutalist”
Jeremy Strong in “The Apprentice”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro in “A Complete Unknown”
Ariana Grande in “Wicked”
Felicity Jones in “The Brutalist”
“Isabella Rossellini in “Conclave”
Zoe Saldaña in “Emilia Pérez”
The “Razzie Award” nominations for the worst movie of 2024 were announced today. “Worst Picture” nominations are “Borderlands”, “Joker: Folie a Deux”, “Madame Web” “Megalopolis”, and “Reagan”. All of those tied for the number of nominations with 6 each. Jack Black had the distinction of getting “Worst Actor” (for “Dear Santa”), “Worst Supporting Actor” (for his voice in “Borderlands”) and “Worst Screen Combo” “Any Two Obnoxious Characters (But Especially Jack Black) – Borderlands”. All the “worst” picture nominees also received “worst” director nominations except for Francis Ford Coppola for “Megalopolis”. Jerry Seinfeld was nominated for “Unfrosted” instead of him.
OTHER NEWS:
They really book movies far in advance these days. They announced that Greta Gerwigs “Narnia” reboot movie will play exclusively in several IMAX theaters in NOV 2026 before premiereing on Netflix in December 2026.
Thanks to the success of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”, they announced today that “Sonic the Hedgehog 4” is greetlit. It’ll be released in approx 24 months – March 2024.
For the “Star Wars” franchise movie that director Shawn Levy is working on, it was recently announced that Ryan Gosling is considering the lead role. The movie won’t be released until at least Dec 2027, that’s the next “Star Wars movie” scheduled after “The Mandalorian and Grogu” (which is scheduled for May 2026).
LITTLE BIT OF HUMOR:
Imagine if they had a different food for dinner. What could he build with asparagus?
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 