The Weekend Warrior's Updated Box Office and Repertory Rundown for 11/8/24
Most of the rep stuff hitting New York theaters this weekend
Due to reasons that have been mentioned in last week’s column and earlier this week (and on my Facebook if we’re friends IRL), my brain is just too exhausted to finish what I’ve been writing for this week’s Weekend Warrior. I had planned on reviewing seven or eight movies, but I just wasn’t happy with what I had written to try to hack out a column – this is becoming a little too regular. I had already completed a write-up of this weekend’s repertory offerings, so I’ll share that, and hopefully I’ll be able to find time to finish other reviews, though I really have to focus on paid work right now, and I just don’t have the bandwidth to finish what I started. Sorry!
By the way, there have been a few slight changes from Tuesday’s box office chart due to updated theater counts, so…
UPDATED BOX OFFICE CHART
1. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) - $14.5 million -45%
2. Heretic (A24) - $9.5 million N/A
3. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Lionsgate) - $8.2 million N/A
4. The Wild Robot (Universal) - $5.7 million -25%
5. Smile 2 (Paramount) - $4.3 million -37%
6. Anora (Neon) - $4.1 million
7. Conclave (Focus Features) - $3.5 million -34%
8. Here (Sony) - $2.7 million -46%
9. Weekend in Taipei (Ketchup) - $2.5 million N/A
10. We Live in Time (A24) - $2.2 million -35%
- Elevation (Vertical) - $1.5 million N/A
- Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom $1 million N/A
And now, onto the repertory stuff….
Before we get to the ongoing series happening at Metrograph, I should mention that Thursday afternoon (today), there’s a screening of the Al Pacino-Robert Redford classic, All the President’s Men, directed by Alan J. Pakula, shows as part of “Follow the Money: Kimberly Reed Selects.” Starting on Friday, artist Jeff Wall begins his own curated program in conjunction with Gagosian, with screenings of Alain Guiradie’s 2013 film, Stranger By the Lake, as well as John Huston’s 1972 film, Fat City, and on Sunday, there’s a single screening of Michael Haneke’s excellent White Ribbon (2009), which I’d love to see on the big screen again.
I love the Metrograph programming, mainly because they’re one of the few theaters in town that would come up with “Nicolas Uncaged,” a 10-movie tribute to the one and only Mr. Nicolas Cage. This weekend, it’s kicking off with Werner Herzog’s 2009 “sequel” Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Spike Jonez and Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation (2002) – just one screening of that on Saturday afternoon – and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990).
Another new series starting this weekend is “The World is a Stage,” which seems to be about plays put on screen or films created like plays, beginning quietly with Helma Sanders-Brahms’s 1975 film Under the Pavement Lies the Strand.
Some of the other stuff you can see this weekend include the continuing series “My Crazy Uncle (or Aunt),” which will screen Park Chan-wook’s Stoker this weekend.
“Crush the Strong, Help the Weak” is taking the weekend off but Stephen Chow’s excellent Kung Fu Hustle will screen again on Monday.
“Insomnia” will screen Paul Schrader’s 1992 film, Light Sleeper, starring Willem Dafoe, while “Do It Again” will screen Rio Bravo one more time on Thursday night and then Howard Hawks’ Western El Dorado (1967), also starring John Wayne, over the weekend. It will also screen Michael Mann’s 1995 crime-thriller classic, Heat, starring Pacino and De Niro.
“Kaother Ben Hania X 3” will screen the Tunisian filmmaker’s The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020) and Beauty and the Dogs (2017) twice this weekend.
Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1957 film, Il Grido, will receive a 4K restoration release starting this Friday, while this weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” offering is the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, starring the late great Chadwick Boseman in the film directed by Brian Helgeland and co-starring Harrison Ford. Monday’s Clara Bow offering is the 1932 film Call Her Savage on a restored 35mm print. Lots of stuff ending on Thursday including the Bruce Weber series, including Let’s Get Lost, and Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice and Kon Ichikawa’s The Burmese Harp will also end Thursday.
“Waverly Midnights: Interesting Times” presents John Carpenter’s 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone, starring Christopher Walken, because we’re still doing Carpenter even after Halloween! Oh, my gosh! This weekend’s “Late Night Favorites” is one of my all-time favorite movies, Jeunet and Caro’s 1995 fantasy classic The City of Lost Children, starring Ron Perlman! Sadly, I can’t really do midnight movies. Other rep stuff still playing at the IFC Center include Bennett Miller’s The Cruise and Tarsem Singh’s The Fall.
On Sunday, you can attend an Elf Movie Party at the Lower Manhattan Alamo, though Staten Island won’t get it until Wednesday. Beginning this weekend as part of Alamo’s Time Capsule series, they’re showing Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy classic, Blazing Saddles; Robert Altman’s California Split, and Saul Bass’ Phase IV. On Sunday and Monday at Staten Island, you can catch the animated Grave of the Fireflies. (The Lower Manhattan screening on Sunday is already sold out.)
The Ken Kelsch Memorial continues with screenings of Abel Ferrara’s New Rose Hotel (1998) and 4:44 Last Days (2011) on Thursday, and then Ferrara’s The Blackout (1997) and The Addiction (1995) on Friday with Ferrara doing QnAs after the latter two as well as a memorial at 6pm Friday for friends of Kelsch to share stories about the cinematographer. Douglas Buck will be at the Roxy on Saturday and Sunday to do QnAs after Trilogy of America and The Accident (2003) on Saturday, and his 2006 film Sisters, starring Chloe Sevigny, on Sunday. The one and only Isaach De Bankolé will be at the Roxy on Monday, doing a QnA after 1990’s No Fear, No Die and introducing Jim Jarmusch’s The Limits of Control. Most of these movies are being shown in 35mm, too! (Limits of Control and No Fear, No Die will get second screenings on Weds and Thurs sans Bankolé.
NITEHAWK CINEMA PROSPECT PARK & WILLIAMSBURG
On Saturday afternoon at Prospect Park, they’re showing Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger’s Emmy-winning 1996 doc, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, but if you’re looking for something lighter, you can see Luc Jaquet’s family-friendly Oscar-winning doc, March of the Penguins (2005) on Saturday and Sunday for Brunch. On Sunday morning, it’s also one of my FAVORITE monthly series, Subway Cinema’s “Sundays on Fire,” showing a secret Hong Kong movie in 35mm – and this week’s offering is related to HK filmmaking great, Johnnie To. On Monday night, Prospect Park will be screening the 1956 horror film, The Bad Seed, as part of “Beware the Children,” and then on Tuesday night, the “Anime After Dark” series continues with 1993’s Ninja Scroll. On Wednesday, they’re showing Charles Burnett’s 1990 film, To Sleep with Anger, and then next Thursday’s offering in the ‘90s doc series is Barry Blaustein’s Beyond the Mat from 1999.
Over in Williamsburg, they will be screening Lucio Fulci’s 1981 film, The Beyond, close to midnight on Friday, while on Saturday and Sunday at a more reasonable hour, they’ll be showing John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence (1972). Also on Saturday and Sunday, they’re showing Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) as part of the ‘90s doc series, followed on Monday night by Penelope Spheeris’ The Decline of Western Civilization: Part III (1998) and on Wednesday by Jem Cohen’s Instrument with Cohen and Fugazi’s Guy Piccioto doing a QnA after the latter. There’s also a 35mm screening of Allan Baron’s Blast of Silence on Thursday night.
BAM (BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC)
Starting on Friday is a new series called “Big Apple’s Littlest Bites: Coming of Age on Film in NYC” with screenings of Spike Lee’s Crooklyn, Ken Burns’ 2012 doc The Central Park Five, and many more, running through November 14. On Thursday night, Nathan Silver will be on-hand for a screening of his 2015 film Stinking Heaven, shown as part of a 25th anniversary celebration for indie distributor Factory 25.
On Friday, you can catch a 3D presentation of Paul Morrisey’s Flesh for Frankenstein as a tribute to the recently-deceased filmmaker. “The Magic of Oz” Frank Oz tribute continues this weekend with some good ones: Housesitter on Saturday, Bowfinger on Saturday and Sunday, then Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on Sunday, all starring Steve Martin. Oh, and Oz and Martin will be at a screening of the latter on Saturday night, a fund-raising screening that’s long sold-out.
Out in Huntington, Long Island, there’s a cool line-up that inclues Elia Kazan’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, on Thursday night; James Cameron’s original The Terminator on Friday night; and a 35mm double feature of Wes Craven’s A NIghtmare on Elm Street and Chuck Russell’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors on Saturday night as part of the “Retro Picture Show.” (I guess no Cult Café this Saturday). On Sunday, you can bring the kids to a screening of the animated Watership Down and the one and only Tim Matheson will be at the Cinema Arts on Wednesday to talk about one of my all-time favorite comedies, Animal House, from 1978. (Matheson will also be signing his new memoir.)
On Monday, you can see John (Yes! Him again!) Carpenter’s The Thing in 35mm with two screenings at 4pm and 7pm.
This weekend is mainly taken up by The Piano Teacher, but on Tuesday, they’re showing Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho in 35mm.
Not really sure how much time I’ll have to write a column next week due to other obligations but you can already read my review of Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, right here. It’s not good.