Page 14 - aruba-today-20200914

A14 PEOPLE & ARTS
Monday 14 SepteMber 2020
North American box office muted; 'Mulan' fizzles in China

By LINDSEY BAHR But new movies are not
Moviegoing audiences in enough on their own. In
North America are not rush- China, The Walt Disney Co.'s
ing back to the theater just "Mulan" had a disappoint-
yet and "Mulan" is also fal- ing debut of only $23.2 mil-
tering in its China release as lion. The low launch none-
the global box office slowly theless claimed the film the
comes back online in the No. 1 spot in the country
COVID-19 era. where an estimated 91% of
In the second major week- theaters are open but lim-
end for U.S. and Canadian ited to 50% capacity. The
movie theaters, Christopher studio noted that its open-
Nolan's "Tenet" earned only ing is around the same lev-
$6.7 million from 2,910 loca- el as "Cinderella" and "Ma-
tions, according to studio leficent: Mistress of Evil."
estimates Sunday. Warner Globally, "Mulan" has
Bros' sci-fi thriller was viewed earned $37.6 million to
as the main litmus test for date, although that num-
whether audiences were ber is not representative
ready to embrace the the- of the total earnings. The
atrical experience again, This image released by Disney shows Yifei Liu, center, in the title role of "Mulan." live-action epic, which has
after nearly six months of Associated Press also been embroiled in
shuttered theaters due to controversy over its filming
the pandemic. ist played by Geraldine markets, New York and Los rabedian, Comscore's se- location, is not playing in
Although it was enough Viswanathan who creates Angeles, remain closed. nior media analyst. "I think North American theaters.
to top the scattershot do- an art exhibit with souvenirs Other still-closed markets audiences are slowly going Instead, it is available for a
mestic releases, it also isn't from her past relationships. include North Carolina, back." $29.99 rental on the com-
enough to jumpstart the The studio is optimistic Michigan, New Mexico But, he noted, "you can't pany's Disney+ service. The
struggling exhibition indus- about its performance and and the cities of Seattle apply the norms of how we streaming earnings were
try. Warner Bros. has al- potential. and Portland. analyze or report the box not made available.
ready pushed back its next "The early numbers are re- Other notable domestic office." But pre-COVID metrics of
major release, "Wonder ally encouraging," said weekend numbers include Comscore has not even success and failure are dif-
Woman 1984," even further. Adrian Smith, the president Disney's "The New Mutants," been able to report a tra- ficult to apply, especially
The weekend's only ma- of president of Sony Pic- which added $2.1 million ditional "Top 10" chart to the first films out of the
jor new opener was Sony's tures domestic distribution. from 2,704 locations in its because of the unusual gates. And, according to
PG-13 rom-com "The Bro- Smith noted that the film third weekend and Sol- marketplace which Derga- Dergarabedian, it might be
ken Hearts Gallery," which will have a slow roll out as stice's Russell Crowe pic rabedian likened to a "re- that way for a while.
earned an estimated $1.1 more theaters continue to "Unhinged," which earned launch" or a "reboot" of the "We are not in a traditional
million from 2,204 North open in the U.S. an additional $1.5 million in movie theater. marketplace and we are
American locations. The Roughly two-thirds of the week four. The landscape is more en- not in a traditional mode
film, from first-time writer di- domestic market is open "Every week is a bit of a couraging internationally, of analyses," Dergarabe-
rector Natalie Krinsky and and theaters are operat- litmus test about how po- where "Tenet" this weekend dian said. "It's going to take
executive produced by ing at limited capacity and tential moviegoers are added over $30 million, some time to properly as-
Selena Gomez, is about with limited showtimes. Two feeling about going to the pushing its global total to sess the long-term impact
a 20-something galler- of the country's biggest theater," said Paul Derga- $207 million. of the pandemic."q

Pandemic chases ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ to Dec. 25

NEW YORK (AP) — Follow- theaters remain closed, lywood’s fall is starting to
ing the less-than-stellar the- including those in the top look like its mostly scuttled
atrical debut of Christopher markets of Los Angeles and summer.
Nolan’s “Tenet,” Warner New York. All theaters are “Wonder Woman 1984,”
Bros. is delaying its next big operating at reduced ca- one of many blockbusters
release, “Wonder Woman pacity. originally set for the sum-
1984,” to Christmas. “Tenet” grossed about $20 mer, had been the next
The postponement Friday million in its North American big-budget release on the
of the “Wonder Woman” rollout, which included two calendar. q
sequel, which had been weeks of showings in Can- Solution Sudoku
scheduled to hit theaters ada. Some believed that
Oct. 2, comes on the heels was as good as possible,
of Hollywood’s boldest at- given the circumstances,
tempt to lure moviegoers and hinted that audiences
back to theaters during the would follow new releases
pandemic. into theaters. This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Gal Gadot
Warner Bros.′ $200 million But the “Wonder Woman as Wonder Woman in a scene from "Wonder Woman 1984."
“Tenet” fared well in its in- 1984” postponement was Associated Press
ternational-first launch, but its own kind of verdict, sug-
found ticket sales harder gesting the studio doesn’t budget releases. Univer- produced thriller “Candy-
to come by in the United believe current box-office sal Studios on Friday also man” from October 16 to
States. About 25% of U.S. returns can sustain its big- pushed the Jordan Peele- sometime next year. Hol-
Puzzle on Page 13