Image courtesy Universal Pictures.
Night Shyamalan’s Split was a staggering success, pulling in more than $40 million despite industry projections putting it at $24 million or so. Releasing opposite, XXX: The Return of Xander Cage met expectations with $20 million- Box Office Mojo
There are several reasons Split blew industry expectations out of the water- The Wrap
One of them is, despite everything, people generally still really like M. Night Shyamalan. Split is being called a comeback, but it’s impressive $40 million bow is only the sixth highest opening for the director- Film School Rejects
The film is a fantastic showcase of Shyamalan’s conventions, first and foremost the twist ending that put him on the map with 1999’s The Sixth Sense. Why is the flair at the end so popular? Film School Rejects
It also explores several other character themes present in many of his movies- Vox
With the director back in the limelight, it’s time to re-examine his much-maligned 2004 romance, The Village- Vox
While horror dominated in the U.S., action held sway abroad as The Return of Xander Cage lead the international box office with $50.5 million- Variety
Buoyed by several international action stars, director D.J. Caruso took the movie’s stunts to new heights- The New York Times
An ode to star Vin Diesel- Birth Movies Death
After prematurely dethroning Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and staying on top of the pile over Martin Luther King Day weekend to boot, Hidden Figures dropped to No. 3 with $15.7 million. The film is on pace to make at least $100 million from a $25 million budget. With this example, will Hollywood finally realize how profitable it is to make movies for minority audiences? The Atlantic
The film, about a racially tense time period and released in an entirely different racially tense time period, uses math as the ultimate equalizer- The Atlantic
2017 Academy Award nominees were released earlier today. La La Land naturally lead the pack with a record-tying 14 nominations. In contrast to the past two years, when all 20 acting nominees were white, this year’s crop includes a record-breaking six black acting nominees- The New York Times
As La La Land thunders into French theaters next weekend, it will bring with it a new format — EclairColor, a recently launched digital mastering technique- The Hollywood Reporter
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Razzies were announced as well, with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zoolander 2 leading the pack- The Hollywood Reporter
Donald Trump’s inauguration and the subsequent protests dominated last week’s news, and movie scribes went to lengths to write about him as well. The easiest jumping off point was his inauguration speech, in which he inadvertantly quoted Bane from 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, who created the character for the 1994 storyarc Knightfall, react- The Hollywood Reporter
There was a strong celebrity presence in the women’s marches the next day, and not just as featured performers- Washington Post
Shia LaBeouf brought his particular whimsy to the protests as well- Indiewire
Where celebrities took to the streets in protest, indie distributor A24 took action, donating a portion of its release 20th Century Women’s ticket sales to Planned Parenthood. The film brought in $3.5 million over the weekend- People
The shadow of Trump’s inauguration even invaded the concurrent Sundance Film Festival, which cheekily opened with Al Gore’s sequel to An Inconvenient Truth- Vox
Several Sundance filmmakers said their decisions were influenced by Trump’s election- Indiewire
A brief history of the esteemed American festival- Vox
Casey Affleck’s likely Best Actor win for Manchester by the Sea could be the first ever Oscar won by a streaming service — Amazon picked the movie up for $10 million at Sundance last year. Now, it and Netflix are back in Utah prowling for more- Reuters
Despite streaming services making all movies more accessible, fewer Sundance movies than ever are becoming hits- The New York Times
In a strictly cinematic controversy, viewers were outraged this week when behind the scenes footage from A Dog’s Purpose appeared to show a German Sheppherd being forced into artificial rapids for a stunt, which apparently pulled the dog under. The movie’s American Human Association representative responsible for on-set animal safety was suspended indefinitely and its Saturday premiere was cancelled- The New York Times
Disney made waves over the weekend by announcing the title of Star Wars: Episode VIII, which will be called The Last Jedi- Washington Post
The Wrap hopes this means the series will be abandoning Jedi entirely, taking the stories in a new direction- The Wrap
As this was happening, Rogue One crossed $1 billion internationally- The Hollywood Reporter
AMC theaters acquired the Nordic Cinema group for $929 million. The purchase will expand the theater chain’s already tight hold on Scandinavian movie houses- The Hollywood Reporter
Paramount Pictures, which has been in a heap of trouble over the past few years because of poor investments, received $1 billion investment from two Chinese production groups- Fortune
Ice Cube’s production company, Cube Vision, also received help from Hong Kong- The Hollywood Reporter
Is Matt Damon’s casting as the lead of Chinese historical epic The Great Wall pandering or whitewashing? The New York Times
Suicide Squad writer/director David Ayer has gone public with his second thoughts about the embattled film, agreeing with pretty much everyone on Earth that the movie should have had more Joker- Vox
Woody Harrelson performed an experiment last week when he live streamed a feature-length movie to certain theaters. How it went- Slate
Lily Collins, the star of Sundance anorexia drama To the Bone, opens up about her own struggle with eating disorders- Variety
Examining the work of the greatest living cinematographer Roger Deakins- Film School Rejects
And finally, a theory — Jack was never the caretaker of the Overlook- Film School Rejects
