Since there were no newbies of note this weekend, all due respect to Vertical’s The Damned, Scott Mendelson, Lisa Laman and Jeremy Fuster just talked about the holdover business and that pesky “fewer movies than theaters were once accustomed to” issue that still seems to be in play five years after the start of the COVID pandemic. The good news is that Mufasa: The Lion King is legging like a champ, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is racing into the video game-based movie history books. Moreover, adult-skewing biggies like Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown and Babygirl are thriving concurrently right alongside the all-quadrant tentpoles. The “bad” news is that, yeah, there was no excuse not to have *something* of note this weekend and Wicked Part One’s 49% seventh-weekend drop might make it the rare theatrical success that gets a little bit undercut by PVOD availability. Ask us again next weekend, natch.
In terms of the written word…
Scott Mendelson did a year-end wrap-up for Puck News and, for you fine folks, offered his picks for the ten best movies of the year and his fearless predictions for what film will be tops for each month that makes up 2025.
Jeremy Fuster offered his deep-dive 2024 box office wrap-up, noting how a miserable first half of the year led to a comparatively strong back half.
Lisa Laman reviewed Santosh and I’m Still Here while offering up a fun look at great trailers for what turned out to be lousy movies. In another example of how Disney treated the COVID casualties of 2020 and 2021 as if they were conventional theatrical releases that bombed for conventional reasons, that banger Mulan trailer that played with The Rise of Skywalker had all the makings of a movie that, good or bad, would have absolutely cleared $600 million worldwide (it was tracking for a $70-$80 million domestic debut before the world shut down) with or without a penny from China.
Ryan Scott’s Tales from the Box Office will make you weep at the realization that it’s already been five years since Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle became among the most predictable box office disasters in modern times.
As always, if you like what you hear, like, share, comment, and smash (using a cartoon mallet) that subscribe button with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you want to bother us and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or offer ideas for bonus episodes, ping us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com.
Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News
Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap
Lisa Laman - Looper, Cultress, Comic Book and Autostraddle
Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria
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