Though there were no wide releases this weekend, the indie box office was very busy, as “Mary Queen of Scots,” “Vox Lux” and “Ben Is Back” made their Los Angeles/New York debuts… and the results are mixed.
Of the three films, the strongest opening went to Focus Features’ “Mary Queen of Scots,” which made $200,000 from its four-screen opening for a $50,000 per screen average. That’s the mark that December specialty films are looking for. While summer indie releases can do well with a $10,000-$30,000 opening average, the December market is far more crowded. An opening of less than $50,000 is likely a sign that the film is going to fizzle out quickly, as arthouse moviegoers go for other more acclaimed films.
But even with this strong start, “Mary Queen of Scots” is not guaranteed to hold on as Christmas draws closer. The film failed to earn any Golden Globe nominations this week, and critical reception has been good but not spectacular with a 68 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. With major awards contenders like Annapurna’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Vice” coming soon — the latter earned a surprising six Golden Globe nominations — “Mary” could find itself squeezed out.
Josie Rourke’s feature directorial debut, “Mary Queen of Scots” stars Saoirse Ronan as the Catholic monarch, who returns from France after the death of her husband to try to establish her rule over Scotland only to have her reign sabotaged by the religious and sexist prejudices of men, a hurdle that also plagues Queen Elizabeth (Margot Robbie), who is being pushed by Parliament in England to fight against Mary’s claim to the throne. Jack Lowden, David Tennant and Guy Pearce also star, with the screenplay written by “House of Cards” creator Beau Willimon.
Two other newcomers are showing signs of taking an early exit. NEON’s “Vox Lux,” which stars Natalie Portman as a scandal-ridden pop star, earned $162,252 from six screens for an average of $27,042. Meanwhile, Roadside Attractions’ “Ben Is Back,” which stars Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges as a mother and her drug-addicted son, made $80,972 for an average of $20,243.
While those are decent numbers, they are far below those of previous award season entries from these studios and actors. Portman’s last major prestige film, “Jackie,” earned her an Oscar nomination and opened to an average of $55,000 on the first weekend of December in 2016, double that of “Vox Lux.”
As for “Ben Is Back,” its opening average is far less than the last Roadside Attractions release starring Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea,” which earned an opening average of $64,000 two years ago. It’s also well short of the opening average of another Hedges film that came out last month, “Boy Erased,” which posted a $41,400 per screen average.
Fox Searchlight’s “The Favourite” expanded to 91 screens this weekend after earning five Golden Globe nominations and is still performing regally, grossing $1.43 million for a per screen average of $15,714. With just under $3.5 million grossed overall so far, the film will expand nationwide to around 525 screens in 75 domestic markets.
Among other holdovers, “Boy Erased” reached the $6 million mark on its sixth weekend, earning $420,000 from 622 theaters to push its total to $6.3 million. CBS Films’ “At Eternity’s Gate” added $310,000 in its fourth weekend to bring its total to $1 million.
Finally, Fox Searchlight saw two more films hit milestones this weekend. “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, which earned nominations for stars Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, is approaching the $7 million mark after earning $245,000 in its eighth weekend. Meanwhile, Robert Redford’s swan song “The Old Man & The Gun” has reached $11 million after 11 weekends in theaters.
Golden Globes Snubs and Surprises, From 'Handmaid's Tale' to Sacha Baron Cohen
The 2019 Golden Globes nominations certainly surprised, with "Vice" leading the way in nods among movies -- shutting out some other deserving nominees in the process. Here are some of the biggest surprises and snubs from Thursday morning.
SURPRISE: Sacha Baron Cohen, "Who Is America?"
Sacha Baron Cohen's nod for his controversial Showtime satire "Who Is America?" was quite the shock -- especially because the comedian's nom helped push Ted Danson out of the running for "The Good Place."
Showtime
SNUB: No songs from "Mary Poppins Returns"
While Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda got nominated for their work in Disney's "Mary Poppins" reboot, none of the new, original songs in the musical got recognized, in favor of songs by Troye Sivan, Dolly Parton, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Annie Lennox.
Disney
SURPRISE: Rosamund Pike, "A Private War"
Rosamund Pike upset a huge field of actresses, including Viola Davis for "Widows," for her work as war correspondent Marie Colvin in "A Private War."
Keith Bernstein/Aviron
SNUB: Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle, "First Man"
With the exception of Claire Foy and its score from Justin Hurwitz, Damien Chazelle's "First Man" was almost entirely shut out of the Golden Globes race, including star Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Universal
SURPRISE: Elsie Fisher, "Eighth Grade"
The teenage Elsie Fisher has been a dark horse for her work in Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade," but we're happy to see she made the cut in the comedy and musical category with the Globes. Gucci!
A24
SNUB: Ethan Hawke, "First Reformed"
Ethan Hawke gave one of the best performances of his career in Paul Schrader's "First Reformed," leading many to believe he would be a dark horse contender. Not so this year.
A24
SURPRISE: Lucas Hedges, "Boy Erased"
Lucas Hedges was great in two films this year, "Ben Is Back" and "Boy Erased," so we're glad the one didn't cancel out the other.
Focus Features
SNUB: Sterling K. Brown and "This Is Us"
NBC's ratings and critical darling got no love from the HFPA Thursday, shaking things up after Sterling K. Brown grabbed a Best Actor win last year. "This Is Us" scored several previous acting noms, along with a nod for Best Drama series for both of its first two seasons.
NBC
SURPRISE: "The Alienist"
TNT's drama "The Alienist" had a big showing, including for Best Drama and for Best Actor in a Drama series, star Daniel Bruhl. The series' inclusion in the possible winners pool is a bit of a surprise, seeing as "The Alienist" only grabbed one Emmy after receiving six nominations
TNT
SNUB: "The Handmaid's Tale"
While actresses Elisabeth Moss and Yvonne Strahovski both got nods, the Hulu adaptation did not, despite winning the award for Best TV series drama last year.
Hulu
SURPRISE: John C. Reilly, "Stan & Ollie"
It was a good year for John C. Reilly, who starred in "The Sisters Brothers" and "Ralph Breaks the Internet" in addition to the not-yet-released "Stan & Ollie," in which he stars opposite Steve Coogan as one half of the famous comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.
Sony Pictures Classics
SNUB: "Cold War"
A luscious, foreign language darling from Poland and thought to be a strong contender in the Oscar race considering its director previously won the prize for "Ida," the black and white drama "Cold War" was left out in the cold by the Globes.
Amazon Studios
SNUB: Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Favourite"
"The Favourite" had a big showing for its actors Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, and even for its screenplay, but surprisingly not so for its director, the Greek Yorgos Lanthimos.
Fox Searchlight
SURPRISE: Candice Bergen
Bergen's nomination for "Murphy Brown" is definitely out of left field, seeing as CBS' revival of the '90s sitcom's reboot has been seeing low Nielsen ratings and didn't receive a back order for additional episodes.
CBS
SNUB: "Atlanta"
While Donald Glover was nominated for his work as an actor, his show "Atlanta" failed to earn a nomination in the Best Comedy or Musical category, despite winning the prize for its first season two years ago.
FX
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Sterling K. Brown, Ryan Gosling and the songs of ”Mary Poppins Returns“ were some of those left out
The 2019 Golden Globes nominations certainly surprised, with "Vice" leading the way in nods among movies -- shutting out some other deserving nominees in the process. Here are some of the biggest surprises and snubs from Thursday morning.