Hello everyone,
THIS POST IS DEDICATED TO THE GREAT GENE HACKMAN WHO PASSED AWAY LAST WEEK – more info is below.
BOX OFFICE: “Captain America Brave New World” sunk another 47% this past weekend but was still the #1 movie with $14.85 million over the very slow weekend. It was the only movie to make over $10 million. The biggest new movie was “Last Breath” which made $7.85 million for #2.
The total domestic box office was a new low for 2025. It only made approx. $54 million – down approx. 30% from the previous weekend.
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: It was also a slow weekend worldwide but there were a few takeaways. “Mickey 17” – which opens in the US next weekend – opened in Korea to $9 million which was the best weekend for 2025 in that country so far and the best Warner Bros release in that country since 2019. The animated Chinese hit “Ne Zha 2” is approaching a worldwide total of $2 BILLION mostly from the Chinese box office where it has made a total of around $1.9 BILLION. Also, although it didn’t show on movie theater screens domestically, the movie “Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy” now has a worldwide gross of over $100 million.
MAJOR MOVIE INDUSTRY NEWS: Although they have still not made an official announcement, it’s widely reported that Technicolor is closing offices around the world including the US, Canada, India, UK, and France which some people are calling a “HOLY SHIT moment”.
In India – as all offices were closing up – A note from the head of the India branch said “The India leadership team was brought to this stage of finality alongside all of you; we were not privy to the situation that we would receive a mail out of the blue saying that Paris has gone into receivership or liquidation, or whatever it is, and I myself have been in touch with many of our global leaders, many of the people that run our brands in other parts of the world, and they were equally unaware of the suddenness of this particular event, which came to them as it did to us, without advance notice or warning.”
In the US, a lot of the former employees of the Technicolor former company “The Mill” have joined with [ep[;e from another company to create “Arc Creative”.
MAJOR SAD MOVIE NEWS: Rumors have been swirling about Gene Hackman and his wife death since it happened last week. They quickly put together a tribute for him at the Academy Awards and had Morgan Freeman speak about him. Today they announced his wife passed away several days before Gene Hackman passed away. He was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease so he may not have realized his wife was dead. They said he died on Feb 18th while his wife died in a different room on Feb 11. She died of “Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome” and he died from “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease”
AWARD NEWS: The last and biggest awards show – the Academy Awards – was this past weekend.
PICTURE: ANORA
DIRECTOR: SEAN BAKER (Anora)
ACTOR: ADRIEN BRODY (The Brutalist)
ACTRESS: Mikey Madison (Anora)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: KIERAN CULKIN (A Real Pain)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ZOE SALDANA (Emilia Perez)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: PETER STRAUGHAN (Conclave)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: SEAN BAKER (Anora)
Razzie Awards – the worst of 2025 were also given awards this past weekend.
WORST PICTURE: MADAME WEB
WORST DIRECTOR: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA (Megalopolis) – he acknowledged the award on social media starting with: “I am thrilled to accept the Razzie award in so many important categories, and for the distinctive honor of being nominated as the worst director, worst screenplay, and worst picture at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!” (see his full post here)
WORST ACTOR: JERRY SEINFELD (Unfrosted)
WORST ACTRESS: DAKOTA FANNING (Madame Web)
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR: JON VOIGHT (for 3 movies – Megalopolis, Reagan, Shadow Land & Strangers)
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: ANY SCHUMER (Unfrosted)
WORST PREQUEL/REMAKE/RIP-OFF/SEQUEL: JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX
OTHER NEWS: The fight over the exclusive theatrical window has become a prime topic of discussion with AMCs Adam Aron recently saying “We would like to convince all the major studios that they should keep movies in theaters longer…..” After the pandemic, the window “….what it coalesced around is that the old 74-day window became a 45-day window. And some movies have gone quicker, to 30 days or 17 days. In our view, 17 days or 30 days are too short, [and] this is a conversation that is front and center, live….”
LITTLE BIT OF HUMOR:
In one of Sean Bakers acceptance speeches, he mentions saving movie theaters and if you heard or read what he said…it seems somewhat like my “Ode to the Movie Theater” post from a few weeks ago (Jan 31). Maybe he reads my posts?
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 