Page 14 - aruba-today-20200921

a14 people & arts
Monday 21 SepteMber 2020
Outlook not improving for beleaguered U.S movie theaters

By LINDSEY BAHR as Disney's live-action "Mu-
AP Film Writer lan" has proven in China.
About three quarters of the After a disappointing de-
country's movie theaters but in China last week, "Mu-
are open, but Americans lan" dropped 72% in its sec-
are not going back in sig- ond weekend where local
nificant numbers in the audiences have criticized
COVID-era, even with new it for being " inauthentic."
films coming into the mar- The film added $6.5 million
ketplace weekly. in China and $10.9 million
The biggest movies contin- total, bringing its interna-
ue to limp along. Accord- tional total to $57 million.
ing to studio estimates Sun- The $200 million produc-
day, Warner Bros.' "Tenet" tion was supposed to be a
earned $4.7 million in its massive global theatrical
third weekend from nearly release back in March and
2,930 locations, Disney's The Walt Disney Co. revised
"The New Mutants" add- plans a number of times
ed $1.6 million in its fourth before settling on a hybrid
weekend, "Unhinged" release. "Mulan" is currently
brought in $1.3 million and available for a $29.99 rental
Sony's rom-com "The Bro- for Disney+ subscribers and
ken Hearts Gallery" picked playing in theaters where
up an additional $800,000 the streaming service is not
in its second frame. And available.
newcomers aren't faring This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Elizabeth Debicki, left, and John David But the industry is also just
any better. Washington in a scene from "Tenet." getting its footing in this
The faith-based "Infidel," Associated Press new COVID-era market-
which stars Jim Caviezel, a month after nearly six "It's natural that we're go- marketplace." Still, just be- place. The box office track-
did the best with $1.5 mil- months of being closed ing to see release date cause theaters are doing er Comscore was able to
lion from just over 1,700 due to the pandemic and changes for many mov- more business internation- release a domestic top 10
theaters. a lack of new releases. But ies," Dergarabedian said. ally does not mean a new chart for the first time in six
This weekend also saw the since reopening with en- "It's a very unpredictable movie will be a surefire hit, months. q
limited release of two adult hanced safety measure
dramas, IFC's "The Nest," and the promise of new Chloé Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ wins TIFF
with Jude Law and Car- blockbusters, they haven't
rie Coon, and Bleecker gotten the infusion of busi- People’s Choice Award
Street's "The Secrets We ness they were hoping for.
Keep," with Noomi Ra- Indoor theaters are still not
pace. Both played in un- open in two of the coun- Book," "12 Years a Slave,"
der 500 theaters across the try's biggest markets, New "The King's Speech" and
country and neither got York and Los Angeles. "Slumdog Millionaire."
much more than $200 per The North American earn- Regina King's "One Night
location. "The Nest" earned ings have not been promis- in Miami" was first runner
an estimated $62,000 from ing for studios with theatri- up to "Nomadland." Other
301 locations and "The Se- cal releases on the horizon People's Choice winners
crets We Keep" brought in either. include Michelle Latimer's
just under $90,000 from 471 Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" documentary "Inconve-
theaters. has only earned $36.1 mil- nient Indian," about Indig-
"There's no question that lion from North American enous peoples in North
this is an extraordinarily theaters to date. The per- America, and Roseanne
challenging marketplace, formance has led some Liang's midnight madness
especially for North Amer- studios to push back releas- selection "Shadow in the
ica," said Paul Dergarabe- es even further and some This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Frances Cloud," with Chloë Grace
dian, Comscore's senior wonder whether more will McDormand in a scene from the film "Nomadland" by Chloe Moretz.
media analyst. "This is a follow. Zhao. TIFF's slimmed-down 45th
slow roll out. It's going to The next major release on Associated Press edition wrapped up
take some time." the calendar is Disney and By LINDSEY BAHR widowed wanderer of the Saturday.q
The nation's biggest chains Marvel's "Black Widow" on AP Film Writer modern American West.
have been open for about Nov. 6. Solution Sudoku
After picking up Venice's Set for a Dec. 4 release,
Golden Lion award, Chloé "Nomadland" has already
Zhao's " Nomadland " has been hailed as a top Os-
won another prestigious car contender, but win-
honor: The Toronto Inter- ning the audience award
national Film Festival's Peo- at TIFF is promising for its
ple's Choice Award. No film Oscar chances. In the past
has ever won both. decade, every People's
TIFF programmers an- Choice winner has secured
nounced the winners Sun- a best picture nomination
day. Zhao's film features and a handful have gone
Frances McDormand as a on to win, including "Green
Puzzle on Page 13