Movies
‘Crawl’ Took a Small Bite Out of the Box Office
I really enjoyed Paramount Pictures’ Alex Aja–Sam Raimi collaboration, Crawl, which pitted Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper against several massive alligators in the middle of a hurricane. It’s easily my favorite film by the French-born filmmaker since his ultraviolent debut, Haute Tension. While Aja never stopped being a great filmmaker, this was the first time since his collaboration with Wes Craven on a remake to The Hills Have Eyes that it really felt like he was able to truly be himself. Whether this is true or not is subjective, but one reason I was rooting for Crawl (review) to succeed was so that studios would once again consider him for bigger projects. Give us the Aja of old and let him do his thing!
While Crawl didn’t exactly blow the roof off theaters (pun intended), it did manage a respectable $12 million domestic opening against some really heavy competition, also leaving Stuber in the dust. It also added $4.8M internationally for a global opening of $16.8M. It’s not quite the hit I was hoping for, but it’s also likely going to swim into the profit zone thanks to its modest and respectable $13.5M-$15M reported budget (I’m looking at you, The Meg and Alita). Paramount has had some strong openings overseas and it’ll be interesting to see how the next few weeks unfold for Crawl. We’ll report back next Sunday. International numbers will likely make or break it for Paramount.
In other box office news, Ari Aster‘s Hereditary follow up, Midsommer, added another $3M for an $18M domestic total through two weekends. As I pointed out last weekend, that’s really good for a long-as-hell art film and on par with Hereditary. A24 hasn’t reported any international numbers yet.
The most under-the-radar news is that Annabelle Comes Home, the third film in the Conjuring spinoff series, blasted up globally after adding a shit ton internationally – it currently sits at $174M worldwide and is eyeing a possible $200M, which seemed unlikely after its soft opening. As I previously explained, the domestic take is proof of box office clutter and it’s still finding a way to decimate across the world. The Conjuring Universe is unstoppable right now.
Movies
‘Boorman and the Devil’ Documentary Trailer Chronicles Complicated Relationship with ‘Exorcist II’
Critically acclaimed documentary Boorman and the Devil chronicles how one of the world’s greatest filmmakers made one of the most hated movies ever: Exorcist II: The Heretic. A new trailer highlighting some of the troubled production woes has arrived.
Boorman and the Devil opens at The Quad in NYC on August 28 before opening wider in various cities on September 4, including: Los Angeles, Columbus, Houston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and more.
After the success of Point Blank and Deliverance, Warner Brothers offered John Boorman the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to direct a sequel to their smash hit, The Exorcist. The result was one of the biggest disasters in movie history. A critical and financial failure that not only changed how Hollywood did business, but nearly ended Boorman’s filmmaking career… but to be an artist is to be a risk-taker.
Now, John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Joe Dante, Mike Flanagan, and more reflect back on the ambition of the film, the artistry and craft, and the value of big creative swings.
“I am beyond thrilled that Yellow Veil has come on board to help us share this story with a larger audience,” said director David Kittredge. “Like myself and the rest of our team, they’re huge cinema-lovers. It’s so exciting that a film which is not only a love letter to John Boorman, but also to ambitious filmmaking, will be handled by people who share the same passions that our team shares.”
“I first saw the film at an early festival screening and the post-screening buzz was just electric. Everyone was loving Boorman and the Devil,” added Yellow Veil co-founder Justin Timms. “To be able to team up with David and the filmmaking team on this release is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait to spread that post-screening electricity with audiences across the country.”
Boorman and the Devil is produced by Kittredge’s Triple Fire Productions, Travis Stevens (Jodorowsky’s Dune, Starry Eyes) of Snowfort Pictures, and Jim Fall (The Lizzie McGuire Movie), with Alan Koenigsberg of Milton Ventures Media serving as co-producer.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “Boorman and the Devil goes above and beyond to be the definitive text on Exorcist II. This documentary will delight horror and Exorcist fans alike, but it also provides incredible insight for anyone who is just marginally interested in film production.”
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