Before you comment, read these two rules:
#1. Please provide specific numbers for your predictions. Don't do things like "It'll make less than this or that" or "double this movie or half this movie". We want a real prediction in concrete figures.
#2. Given that a lot of parent comments do not even bother to give predictions, we are establishing a new rule. The parent comment must provide a prediction with specific numbers. The rest of the replies to the comment do not have to make a prediction, but the parent comment absolutely has to. Any parent comment without a prediction will be eliminated.
Welcome to the newest edition of r/BoxOffice Long Range Forecast.
We're making long range predictions for films, 4 weeks out from their premieres. You will predict the opening weekend, domestic total and worldwide gross of this film. These predictions will be open for 48 hours and the results will be polled to form a consensus and posted the next week.
So let's meet the one film for the week and analyze each pro and con.
#Resident Evil
The film is directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian and Weapons) and written by Cregger and Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapters 3 & 4, Ballerina, Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon). Based on Capcom's Resident Evil franchise, it's the second reboot in the film series. It stars Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson and Paul Walter Hauser. The film is set during events paralleling the game Resident Evil 2, albeit in a modern era, and follows Bryan, a medical courier who must fight through a viral outbreak of infected monsters in Raccoon City during a delivery.
Now that you met this week's new release, let's look at some pros and cons.
#PROS
Resident Evil is one of the most popular video game franchises, and it was able to translate that success to the big screen; the films have earned an incredible $1.2 billion worldwide, making it one of the biggest video game franchises in theaters. The recent popularity of Resident Evil Requiem (fastest selling game in the franchise) also shows that the video games are still selling so much after 3 decades.
But perhaps the biggest selling point might not be the IP, but the man at the helm. Zach Cregger has seen his popularity blow up over the past years. After finding success with Barbarian, Weapons cemented him as a new brand to audiences. It made $270 million worldwide, and not only did it get critical acclaim, but it managed to score a Best Supporting Actress win for Amy Madigan, which is an incredible feat for horror. His brand is at an all-time high, and it doesn't look like he has hit the ceilling yet. It's striking while the iron is hot.
Trailers have done an incredible job of selling the basics: horror and action. But most importantly, it doesn't give away important plot details. That's how you do a great job in marketing.
The film is sold as an effective throwback to the video games everyone loved to play with so many decades ago. It's heavily inspired by the second through fourth video game, and it's also taking place in the same continuity as the second game. Given how it looks so non-stop in terms of thrills and scares, it looks like this will be a very faithful addition to the franchise.
But at the same time, it looks like it will hope to attract both fans of the games and people who aren't players. Or even the people who are desperate for a good adaptation of the games; the Paul W.S. Anderson films made money, but not a single film was well-received.
It's going to have access to IMAX screens, which has been a driving force behind a lot of the hits this year.
Horror has been absent in theaters, at least in terms of big bucks. After Obsession and Backrooms, there hasn't been another big horror film, especially with Evil Dead Burn disappointing last month. Insidious could surprise, but Resident Evil is clearly positioned as the biggest horror title in a while.
#CONS
As mentioned, the Resident Evil films made a lot of money, but none were particularly well-received. A string of duds can dilute the brand's name, and that's reflected in the poor results of Welcome to Racoon City back in 2021. Obviously there were a lot of factors for that film (like cramming two games into a single film), but it's still something notable to mention.
One of the biggest things that has drawn polarizing reactions among fans is that the film might be set in the same continuity of the games, but it's not going to adapt any particular storyline nor character. It's taking on completely new characters, and that decision was met with some mixed reactions. At the end of the day, however, what matters is the quality of the film and whether it changes/tweaks some elements from the games.
This film cannot play like a smaller-scale horror film. It's carrying a $80 million budget, which is very high for a horror title (it includes Cregger's massive $20 million salary). It must perform higher than usual for horror to reach respectable numbers.
It remains to be seen if it will attract casual audiences that don't play the games. It if succeeds, very good legs could follow. If it fails, it will be front-loaded like the prior films.
And here's the past results.
| Movie | Release Date | Distributor | Domestic Debut | Domestic Total | Worldwide Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insidious: Out of the Further | August 21 | Sony | $29,200,000 | $69,100,000 | $161,800,000 |
| Mutiny | August 21 | Lionsgate | $9,655,555 | $24,644,444 | $67,533,333 |
| The Dog Stars | August 28 | 20th Century Studios | $13,321,428 | $32,000,000 | $64,280,000 |
| Coyote vs. Acme | August 28 | Ketchup Entertainment | $10,527,777 | $28,716,666 | $54,050,000 |
| Fall 2: Deadpoint | September 2 | Lionsgate | $1,975,000 (3-day) $3,362,500 (4-day) | $8,800,000 | $21,437,500 |
| By Any Means | September 4 | Paramount | $9,350,000 (3-day) $11,325,000 (4-day) | $28,750,000 | $54,250,000 |
| Onslaught | September 4 | A24 | $7,125,000 (3-day) $9,125,000 (4-day) | $19,750,000 | $35,500,000 |
| Practical Magic 2 | September 11 | Warner Bros. | $39,237,500 | $100,993,750 | $189,843,750 |
| The Uprising | September 11 | Focus Features | $9,050,000 | $24,050,000 | $49,510,000 |
Next week, we're predicting Forgotten Island, Heart of the Beast and Primetime.
So what are your predictions for this film?
Once again, moviegoers swung to theaters to keep Spider-Man: Brand New Day at #1 for its third week. On the worldwide front, the film crossed the $2 billion milestone. There were two newcomers, The End of Oak Street and Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, but obviously their presence wasn't enough to take the interest away from Spider-Man. Nevertheless, it was a healthy weekend, with four titles at above $20 million.
The Top 10 earned a combined $128.5 million this weekend. That's up a massive 55.2% from last year, when Weapons repeated at #1.
Retaining the top spot, Spider-Man: Brand New Day added $70.7 million on its third weekend. This was off 51% from last week. That makes it the second biggest third weekend of all time, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($90.2 million), and only a little above Avatar ($68.4 million). IMAX remains the only place where it's disappointing, as the format grossed just $4.2 million, which is a 57% drop from last week.
Through 17 days, Spidey has grossed an incredible $786.5 million domestically. It's just $28.3 million away from overtaking No Way Home, and it's currently the fourth highest grossing film in history. Last week, it was $114.2 million ahead of The Force Awakens, but now it's ahead by $44.3 million and it's losing that lead. Maybe the dream of $1 billion domestically is dead, but the fight for the #1 all-time domestic record continues.
Still holding on to second place, Universal's The Odyssey continues its incredible run. It eased just 26%, earning $23.6 million this weekend. On the IMAX front, it earned $8.1 million, basically almost doubling Spidey. It has amassed $163.4 million on IMAX, and an astounding $505 million domestically, which is a healthy 4.09x multiplier. It shows no signs of stopping, and $600 million is becoming more and more likely.
Topping the newcomers, Warner Bros.'s The End of Oak Street debuted with $21 million in 3,446 theaters. That's director David Robert Mitchell's biggest debut and it's already his highest-grossing film, although that's not a high bar; It Follows made only $14.6 million, and Under the Silver Lake was dumped with just $46,083.
On its own, this is a solid start. But one can't help but think that it could've opened much higher. After all, the premise screamed crowdpleasing enough and it had two big names attached as the stars. And the $80 million budget still needed a much better start.
WB pushed the film, hoping to capitalize on the popularity of dinosaurs, given that there's very little options outside the Jurassic franchise. But it further highlights the difficulty of selling original sci-fi. Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day opened to over twice as much back in June, but that's more having to do with Spielberg's name. No disrespect to Mitchell, but he is not a big or well-known filmmaker to mass audiences.
But it also raises the question of how much people care for dino titles that aren't part of the Jurassic franchise. Those films haven't had good quality lately, and it still pulls very strong numbers. Even though Oak Street had great reviews (86% on RT), the audience chose to sit out. Making it seem like they're content waiting 3 years for a new Jurassic film, regardless of quality. Audiences also ignored the latest dino title 65, but that's more having to do with how poorly received it was.
And certainly, WB's decision to push an AI dog podcast as part of the promotion was a very miscalculated plan. It was criticized across social media, to the point that they had to delete it. No such thing as bad press, but it's hard to see how the film could benefit from this.
According to WB, 59% of the audience was male, and 73% was 25 and over. Even though WB hoped to attract families, kids under 12 represented just 10% of the audience. They gave it a very middling "B" on CinemaScore, a similar grade to Disclosure Day. That doesn't indicate bad word of mouth, but it doesn't indicate it's great either. We'll keep an eye on this one, but right now, Oak Street seems to finish with less than $60 million domestically. That's not a good result, and it will require overseas audiences to rescue the film.
With Oak Street pretty much guaranteed to miss the $100 million milestone, this will be WB's third summer this decade (excluding 2020 for obvious reasons) without a single $100 million grosser, after 2021 and 2024. By contrast, all their four summer titles last year (Final Destination: Bloodlines, F1, Superman and Weapons) crossed that mark. Thanks to an over-abundance of under-performers like Mortal Kombat II ($79.7 million), Supergirl ($72.2 million), Evil Dead Burn ($32 million) and now Oak Street, these haven't been the best times for the company. Not to mention the fact that they're the only major studio without a single $100 million grosser this year, even A24 has one (Backrooms with $197.4 million).
In fourth place, Paramount's Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie debuted with a pretty great $20.2 million in 3,545 theaters. That's a little below The Mighty Movie ($22.7 million), which over-performed projections back in 2023.
Given its low $40 million budget and merch sales, this is a more than good enough start. Paramount wisely picked the date as it meant 51% of K-12 schools were off, and the lack of animated titles meant that families could choose this as their main attraction for the month. And what's something that kids love? Dinosaurs! Turns out Paw Patrol + dinosaurs = profit. Crazy, right?
According to Paramount, 50% of the audience were parents, and 36% was kids under 12. They gave it a pretty good "A" on CinemaScore, same grade as its predecessor. Given the empty animated corridor, it won't face competition till Forgotten Island in late September. Paw Patrol should hit $60 million domestically.
Katseye: Wild Hearts was playing in just 724 theaters, but it was strong enough to hit fifth place with a pretty good $3.9 million.
In sixth place, Focus Features released a live stage recording of Six: The Musical in 1,462 theaters. It debuted with a solid $3 million, although that's less than half of what Hadestown earned ($10.2 million) a few weeks ago.
Angel Studios' The Brink of War tanked in seventh place, debuting with an abysmal $2.6 million in 2,083 theaters. Even with good word of mouth ("A" on CinemaScore), it won't be around for long.
Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 5 added $2.4 million, which was a 42% drop. That takes its domestic total to $475.5 million domestically.
Dropping all the way to ninth place, Universal's rom-com One Night Only earned $2 million. That's down a brutal 64%, which is incredibly steep for a rom-com. Seems like the mixed response has caught up with the film, and it also had a very poor $665 per-theater average. Through 10 days, the film has earned a meager $9.8 million. With such a poor PTA, it's gonna lose so many theaters. Look for One Night Only to finish with around $13 million domestically.
Rounding out the Top 10 was the Indian title Vishwanath & Sons. Even though it played in just 350 theaters, it earned $1.6 million this weekend.
Outside the Top 10, Universal's Minions & Monsters dropped 54% for a $1.6 million weekend. The film's domestic total stands at $180.2 million, and it's set to finish with a little above $185 million.
GKids re-released Your Name for its 10th anniversary. It earned $1.5 million in 675 theaters, taking its lifetime gross to $6.5 million.
After its weak start, Super Troopers 3 tumbled hard on its second weekend. It collapsed a very poor 67%, making just $1.3 million this weekend. At least it's better than the sequel's 75% drop, but that film had Infinity War opening, while here it didn't have any big new openings. Through 10 days, the film has earned a mediocre $6.6 million. It seems like Super Troopers 3 will tap out at $8 million, barely half of what the sequel did on its opening weekend.
Moana fell a rough 58% for a $1.2 million weekend. The film has earned an underwhelming $124.5 million so far.
Last year, The Rivals of Amziah King earned strong buzz and possible Oscar contention when it debuted at SXSW. Well, over one year later, the film finally hit theaters after production company Black Bear decided to distribute it themselves. But it debuted with a very weak $1 million in 632 theaters. Once again, Black Bear failed in distribution, given they have yet to have a single box office success.
MUBI expanded Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma to 54 theaters and it scored a very great $890,715. That's a strong $16,495 per-theater average. The film has grossed $1.2 million in limited release, and it's set to expand into wide release this weekend.
A little behind that film, there's A24's Tony. Expanding to 37 theaters, it amassed $706,676, for a very healthy $19,099 per-theater average. With $1.2 million, it's set to hit wide release this weekend.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed the $2 billion worldwide milestone, thanks to $118.7 million overseas this weekend. It took it 17 days to hit that milestone, becoming the second fastest film after Endgame (11 days). It already passed No Way Home ($1.9 billion) to become Sony's highest-grossing film, and it also became the eighth highest grossing film of all time.
The biggest markets are China ($210M), the UK ($106M), Mexico ($78M), France ($63.7M), India ($59.6M), Brazil ($59.5M), South Korea ($53.2M), Australia ($48.8M), Germany ($48.8M), Italy ($36.4M), Spain ($35.2M) and Japan ($27M).
All things considered, Brand New Day remains on track to finish its run with over $2.5 billion worldwide.
The Odyssey added $98.2 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to a spectacular $1.297 billion worldwide. It opened in China with a great start of $36.6 million (including $7.6 million previews), and IMAX driving close to 80% of tickets sales from 40% of all showtimes there. Word of mouth is incredible; it's sitting at an outstanding 9.7 Maoyan rating, both the highest result for a Hollywood title this year and the joint highest result for a Hollywood title ever.
The biggest markets are the UK ($92.5M), France ($68.5M), Germany ($45.8M), Australia ($37M), China ($36.6M), South Korea ($34M), Spain ($34M), and Mexico ($33.8M). It reaches its last market, Japan, on September 11.
On the IMAX front, it added $37 million worldwide for a monumental $346.4 million worldwide run ($163.4 million domestic, $183 million overseas).
Based on its holds, The Odyssey looks to reach $1.6 billion worldwide. Which means there's the possibility that it could overtake Jurassic World ($1.671 billion) to become Universal's highest-grossing film.
The End of Oak Street debuted with $26 million overseas, for a $47 million worldwide launch. That's not a bad start, signaling that overseas audiences could help giving it some help. The biggest debuts were in the UK ($2.9M), Mexico ($2.7M), France ($2.3M), Japan ($1.9M), China ($1.4M), Spain ($1.2M), Germany ($928K), Taiwan ($775K), Italy ($712K), and Brazil ($648K). Not quite big in any of the markets, but the hope is that the film can show legs through August. But it doesn't look like $200 million worldwide is in the cards here.
Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie added $15.5 million overseas on its second week (it premiered in a few countries last week), for a $68.7 million worldwide run. The biggest debuts were in Mexico ($1.4M), Brazil ($950K), Taiwan ($358K), South Korea ($312K), Argentina ($221K), Panama ($250K), UAE ($236K) and Chile ($169K). Notable holdovers were in France ($2.3M 2nd weekend, $8M total), China ($1.8M 2nd weekend, $8.7M total) and Germany ($1.1M 2nd weekend, $3.9M total). Given there's still some countries left, this should be an easy profit for Paramount.
One Night Only made its debut in some overseas markets, but it was a very soft $2.2 million debut, for a weak $12 million worldwide run. It opened weakly in Australia ($400K), Netherlands ($361K), France ($310K), Israel ($248K), Switzerland ($160K), and Poland ($151K). While it has so many markets yet to open, these numbers aren't very encouraging.
| Movie | Release Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Worldwide Total | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsession | May/15 | Focus Features | $17,196,855 | $263,451,715 | $495,693,715 | $850K |
With Spidey still aiming high, nothing will challenge the film to stop it from hitting four weeks at #1.
Sony is releasing Insidious: Out of the Further, the sixth installment in the franchise. It follows a young woman who can interact with and bring spirits to the mortal world is soon haunted by malevolent forces. The franchise has not been well received by critics, but it's a very profitable franchise. With Evil Dead Burn flaming out quickly, horror audiences might want to check this as the only horror option of the month.
Lionsgate is also releasing the action thriller Mutiny, starring Jason Statham. The plot is... seriously? It's Jason Statham kicking ass, plot is pretty much the last thing to look out here. You know what you're getting here.
Before you comment, read these two rules:
#1. Please provide specific numbers for your predictions. Don't do things like "It'll make less than this or that" or "double this movie or half this movie". We want a real prediction in concrete figures.
#2. Given that a lot of parent comments do not even bother to give predictions, we are establishing a new rule. The parent comment must provide a prediction with specific numbers. The rest of the replies to the comment do not have to make a prediction, but the parent comment absolutely has to. Any parent comment without a prediction will be eliminated.
Welcome to the newest edition of r/BoxOffice Long Range Forecast.
We're making long range predictions for films, 4 weeks out from their premieres. You will predict the opening weekend, domestic total and worldwide gross of these films. These predictions will be open for 48 hours and the results will be polled to form a consensus and posted the next week.
So let's meet the two films for the week and analyze each pro and con.
#Practical Magic 2
The film is directed by Susanne Bier (Bird Box) from a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel. The film is the sequel to 1998's Practical Magic and is based on the 2021 novel The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman, and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod, Dianne Wiest, and Stockard Channing. Set 25 years after the events of the first film, the story follows the Owens family as they face a new crisis when a discovery regarding the family's history and the origins of their magic comes to light.
#The Uprising
The film is written, produced and directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93, Captain Phillips). It stars Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman and Katherine Waterston. Set during the 1381 English Peasants' Revolt, it follows Ploughman, the legendary leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. As war burns across England, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice and survival.
Now that you met this week's new releases, let's look at some pros and cons.
#PROS
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are two of the most popular actresses of the past decades, and reprising their roles in the cult classic should intrigue fans of the original. The film has grown in popularity over the past decades, which is why Warner Bros. greenlit the sequel, and so many legacy sequels have succeeded. Given it offers the same things people loved about the original while also trying to appeal to new generations by also following Sally's daughters, WB hopes that this can appeal to both young and older demographics. With a lack of titles targeted at women, this could break out.
The Uprising has drawn very positive comparisons to other medieval films, most prominently Braveheart. There's always an audience for "common people rebel against tyrants" (especially in current times), and this film doesn't look like it will hold back on scale or action, if we were to judge the push that Focus Features has done so far. Andrew Garfield has got his own fans, and Paul Greengrass' track record is mostly reliable. Even if the film disappoints domestically, it's clearly a film that will be far stronger overseas.
#CONS
The original Practical Magic was a critical and commercial failure. The film earned just $46.8 million domestically and $68.3 million worldwide back in 1998, way below its $75 million budget. It wasn't even a respectable sum back then, given that Bullock and Kidman were already big names by that point. And terrible reviews (27% on RT) and word of mouth ("B–" on CinemaScore) led it to sink quickly. That doesn't put it in the same vein as some recent legacy sequels like Freakier Friday and it's far, far less popular than The Devil Wears Prada. Even if the film found an audience in ancilliaries, announcement of the sequel was met with confusion, as so many people didn't even know about the original. So there's two challenges: trying to get people to care for a sequel to a movie they probably didn't saw, and also its probably weak overseas prospects (given how lesser known the original was). Bullock remains a popular name, but she has only starred in two theatrical films in the past 10 years because she took a break and also tried streaming, while Kidman has also moved to streaming, with mixed results.
The Uprising will have to fight to appeal to the male demographic looking for action and thrills, and opening the week prior to Resident Evil could lead to some trouble. Greengrass is mostly a solid filmmaker, but he can have his misses; Jason Bourne wasn't well-received, and The Lost Bus faded into obscurity in Apple TV. Garfield may have his fans, but he hasn't had a lot of luck in lead roles outside the Spider-Man films.
And here's the past results.
| Movie | Release Date | Distributor | Domestic Debut | Domestic Total | Worldwide Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The End of Oak Street | August 14 | Warner Bros. | $28,166,666 | $79,500,000 | $168,458,333 |
| Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie | August 14 | Paramount | $24,888,888 | $70,166,666 | $187,333,333 |
| Insidious: Out of the Further | August 21 | Sony | $29,200,000 | $69,100,000 | $161,800,000 |
| Mutiny | August 21 | Lionsgate | $9,655,555 | $24,644,444 | $67,533,333 |
| The Dog Stars | August 28 | 20th Century Studios | $13,321,428 | $32,000,000 | $64,280,000 |
| Coyote vs. Acme | August 28 | Ketchup Entertainment | $10,527,777 | $28,716,666 | $54,050,000 |
| Fall 2: Deadpoint | September 2 | Lionsgate | $1,975,000 (3-day) $3,362,500 (4-day) | $8,800,000 | $21,437,500 |
| By Any Means | September 4 | Paramount | $9,350,000 (3-day) $11,325,000 (4-day) | $28,750,000 | $54,250,000 |
| Onslaught | September 4 | A24 | $7,125,000 (3-day) $9,125,000 (4-day) | $19,750,000 | $35,500,000 |
Next week, we're predicting Resident Evil.
So what are your predictions for these films?
With an absolute lack of menacing titles, Spider-Man: Brand New Day easily held to the top spot on its second weekend. On top of posting one of the best second weekends ever, the film became the second fastest title to reach $1 billion and it's actually getting closer to the $2 billion milestone. Also joining the $1 billion club was Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, which also became the director's highest-grossing film.
Only two films dared to open this week and neither were particularly impressive; One Night Only was squandered potential, while Super Troopers 3 saw a very ugly drop from its predecessor.
The Top 10 earned a combined $199.6 million this weekend. That's up a massive 56.7% from last year, when Weapons and Freakier Friday opened.
Easily holding on to #1, Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned a dazzling $144.2 million on its second weekend. That marks a 60% drop from last week, and while that may sound rough, it's a very respectable drop considering how it was coming off the biggest opening weekend in history.
It was the third best second weekend in history, just behind Avengers: Endgame ($147.3 million) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($149.2 million). That's right after the film broke the biggest Monday ($47 million) and Tuesday ($42 million) records.
After the record-breaking numbers last weekend, IMAX announced that the film would hit their screens on this weekend. And that's the one aspect where it disappointed, as it pulled in just $9.8 million this weekend, from 300 screens. That's just 6.7% of the weekend's gross, and was much less than what The Odyssey ($22.1 million) made last week in that format. Even though it doesn't have full exclusivity to IMAX, the share is still very low.
Regardless, through 10 days, Brand New Day has grossed an incredible $654.3 million domestically. It's already the year's highest-grossing film, and it's already #1 on the all-time domestic chart. The film opened $3 million above Endgame and it's currently $33 million ahead through the same point. And compared to The Force Awakens, it opened $112.1 million above it, and it's $114.2 million ahead through the same point. Should be noted that The Force Awakens was playing through the holidays, so that lead is going to shrink over the passing days.
Brand New Day remains on track to hit $900 million domestically and there's actually a possibility that it could become the first film to hit $1 billion domestically. Whatever the case, The Force Awakens' domestic record ($936.6 million) is the target for now. For now, let's see if it can break The Force Awakens' record for biggest third weekend ($90.2 million).
Keeping #2, Universal's The Odyssey eased just 38%, earning $31.7 million. That's Christopher Nolan's best fourth weekend, overtaking The Dark Knight ($26.1 million). On IMAX, despite losing so many screens, it posted $9 million this weekend, only a little below what Spidey did this weekend.
And with $461.3 million in the bank, it also passed The Dark Knight Rises ($448.1 million) to become Nolan's second highest grossing film in the market. Now it's going for Nolan's all-time crown, The Dark Knight ($534.9 million). Based on its trajectory, it really looks like $600 million could happen.
Debuting in third place, Universal's rom-com One Night Only flopped with just $5.5 million in 3,012 theaters. That's one of the worst debuts for a film in over 3,000 theaters, and it was way off from director Will Gluck's prior rom-com, Anyone but You ($6 million). And that film was released in December where a muted debut was expected, while One Night Only was released in the lucrative summer season. Even Universal's rom-com You, Me & Tuscany opened higher this year ($7.7 million).
The film cost $25 million, and it didn't come anywhere close to that figure. Rom-coms have faced a challenge in theaters lately. Some have fared well, but it's a very exclusive club. With the rise of streaming (where most of these titles are seen), it's been very difficult to get audiences to buy a ticket for something they'd prefer to watch on streaming.
But the biggest challenge for One Night Only was its own selling point: the crazy premise. The film is set in an alternate reality where premarital sex has been outlawed and it's only allowed one night a year. The trailers tried to play the quips and chemistry of stars Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, but that aspect was still prevalent in the discussion. It led to some tonal whiplash, as many were questioning the premise but the film (or at least trailers) chose to not focus on that. It's hard to paint the scenario in the vein of a romantic comedy without having people puzzled. It didn't help that director Gluck admitted that there was an even more crude cut depicting more nudity but he chose to trim it. And given the film's weak reviews (44% on RT), it doesn't look like people were curious to see how it would depict the premise.
According to Universal, 74% of the audience was female, and 50% was 25 and over. They gave it a solid "B+" on CinemaScore, so there's the possibility that it could have legs. But given the very tepid debut, it's unlikely it hangs around long enough to make for a respectable total.
Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 5 eased 38%, adding $4.2 million. The film's domestic total stands at $470.6 million.
In fifth place, Searchlight's Super Troopers 3 tanked with just $4 million in 2,760 theaters. That's a massive 74% drop from the sequel ($15.1 million) and 36% off from the original ($6.2 million).
The film's under-performance lies under two aspects. First, the struggle for niche comedies in breaking out. Not a single Super Troopers made more than $30 million domestically, so there's a ceiling for this franchise despite its cult status. That also extends to the rest of Broken Lizard's films, excluding The Dukes of Hazzard (which is hardly considered to be in the same vein as these films).
Second, there's the fact that the film clearly is not interested in attracting new fans. It's for super-fans of the comedy troupe only, and it's always been envisioned like that. By this point, you know what you're getting. But still, how could it drop 74% from the sequel, especially when the sequel greatly over-performed? Perhaps because reactions to the sequel were middling (some liked it, others not so much), and a third entry felt unnecessary. And even with the wedding angle, the jokes didn't feel fresh enough or compelling enough to buy a ticket. And not like the franchise is a critical darling, but a 49% on RT (the highest in the franchise) means that only big fans will be interested, with little of substance to casuals.
According to Searchlight, a massive 72% of the audience was male, and 68% was 35 and over. They gave it a weak "B–" on CinemaScore, a very poor grade for a comedy and way below the sequel ("B+"). Given how front-loaded the sequel was and the little interest outside Broken Lizard's fans, Super Troopers 3 is going to fade quickly from theaters. It'd be a surprise if it made it past $10 million domestically.
Minions & Monsters dropped 42% for a $3.5 million weekend. The film has grossed $176.3 million, and it should finish with around $185 million around.
Moana dropped 47%, adding another $2.9 million. The film has earned a disappointing $121.6 million to date.
Debuting in eighth place, Iconic Events released Eli Roth's new film Ice Cream Man in 1,682 theaters. Unsurprisingly, it tanked with just $2 million this weekend. That marks Roth's worst ever wide debut, below The Green Inferno ($3.5 million) back in 2015.
Not like the film was expected to do much. It's not the fact that it looked cheap, is that it was cheap and lacked any sense of fun or thrills, even compared to Roth's prior films. Not to mention the very bad publicity it gained after Roth revealed that generative AI imagery was used on the film (after first denying and then downplaying it). With very poor reviews (27% on RT) and negative word of mouth, this is not gonna last long in theaters.
In ninth place, A24's The Invite eased 44%, adding $717,568. Such a shame it lost so many screens, cause its $2,098 per-theater average is higher than six of the titles in the Top 10, including this week's newcomers. The film has amassed $24.2 million domestically so far.
Cracking the Top 10 was CatVideoFest 2026, earning $568,414 from 255 theaters.
A24 released the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony and it grossed a pretty great $348,995 in 6 theaters. That's a very strong $58,166 per-theater average, which is one of the best for the year. A24 will expand the film to a few more markets next week, before hitting wide release on August 21.
Also impressing in limited release was MUBI's Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. The film earned $249,606 in 5 theaters, for a very great $49,921 per-theater average. Like Tony, the film will expand a bit next week before a wide release afterwards.
Late Monday or early Tuesday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed the $1 billion milestone worldwide, becoming the second fastest film to reach that mark, after Endgame (5 days). Now, on its second weekend, the film added $236 million overseas, taking the worldwide total to a spectacular $1.672 billion. That's a 59% drop from the overseas markets, but considering how high it opened, it's a fine drop in the grand scheme of things.
The biggest markets are China ($186.7M), the UK ($87.4M), Mexico ($65.8M), India ($52.8M), France ($49.2M), Brazil ($46.3M), Australia ($39.1M), Germany ($37.6M), and Italy ($31.1M). In India, it became the biggest Hollywood title in the market after just 10 days. It was #1 in pretty much all markets, except for one (we'll get to that).
The film is already the highest grossing film of the year by a considerable margin, and it's just its second week in theaters. By next week, it will pass Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.921 billion) and it should also cross the $2 billion milestone. Sky's the limit here!
The Odyssey continues defying expectations, as it added $81.9 million overseas. That was a drop of just 3.9% from last week, which is absolutely insane. Not only did it cross the $1 billion milestone, but its $1.119 billion worldwide total already passed The Dark Knight Rises ($1.085 billion) to become Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing film of all time.
The film was driven by two major markets. In China, it held early PLF previews ahead of its wide release this week, and it earned a pretty great $7.6 million. Early audience scores are incredible (9.7 score on Maoyan and a 9.6 score on Taopiao), which suggests word of mouth will lead to a very strong debut. But the biggest market this week was its debut in South Korea, where it opened with a fantastic $14.5 million. Not only dethroning Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but it was also the biggest debut for Nolan in the market. Excellent word of mouth as well (CGV Egg Score of 97%).
The film's biggest markets are the UK ($82.4M), France ($56.5M), Italy ($50.6M), Germany ($39.3M), Australia ($33M), Mexico ($30.5M), Spain ($29.8M), Brazil ($18.5M), Netherlands ($15.5M), and Saudi Arabia ($14.4M).
On the IMAX front, history was made. The Odyssey earned a gigantic $289 million worldwide on the IMAX format. Which means that after 17 years, Avatar ($256 million) has been dethroned as the biggest IMAX grosser. Domestically, it's at $147 million (a new record) and overseas is at $142 million, with China and Japan coming up. IMAX 70mm has sold grossed an astounding $37.5 million to date, led by the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, which has grossed $2.8 million to date, the highest grossing single-title box office for any IMAX location in North America. IMAX has also reported that $40 million has already been pre-sold for future screenings in the next few weeks, which means these numbers are just the beginning.
Right now, look for The Odyssey to finish with over $1.5 billion worldwide. And $1.6 billion is not impossible either.
Toy Story 5 added $9.3 million overseas, taking its worldwide numbers to $1.094 billion. The best markets are Mexico ($78M), UK ($71.6M), Japan ($65.7M), China ($42M), France ($35M), Brazil ($34.1M), Australia ($31.7M), Argentina ($23.9M), Spain ($22.2M) and South Korea ($19.9M).
Minions & Monsters added $9.2 million overseas, driven by its debut in Japan ($2.6M). The film has now amassed $474.1 million worldwide.
| Movie | Release Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Worldwide Total | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mandalorian and Grogu | May/22 | Disney | $81,670,433 | $177,730,060 | $345,168,251 | $165M |
| Disclosure Day | Jun/12 | Universal | $44,530,925 | $116,636,645 | $241,005,048 | $115M |
There's two wide releases coming, but again, none are really expected to take the crown from Spidey.
WB is releasing David Robert Mitchell's new film The End of Oak Street, starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, following a family who starts to notice unusual events in their neighborhood that involve the appearance of prehistoric creatures. There's been a lack of dino titles outside the Jurassic franchise, and WB clearly hopes to attract families with the film, selling it as an Amblin-esque mystery. But the amount of delays, and the over-performances of Spider-Man and Odyssey will continue impacting the film. It doesn't help that some theaters are taking the film off its IMAX screens. And a recent AI dog podcast stunt has drawn very bad publicity. Given its reported $85 million budget, the film really needs to find an audience.
There's a very strong possibility that Oak Street is not even the highest-grossing dino title of the week, however. Because Paramount is releasing Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, the newest installment in the profitable franchise. The first movie made $144 million, and the sequel improved with $202 million. Given the franchise's popularity, adding dinosaurs to the mix, and without much animated competition, it's got the ingredients to continue the rising trajectory.
Here's a new edition of "Actors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the actors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Montgomery Clift's turn.
Clift had shown an interest in acting and theatrics as a child living in Switzerland and France but did not take the initiative to go out for a part in a local production until age 13, when his family was forced to downsize and relocate from Chicago to Sarasota, Florida. He had a small non-paying role. Clift debuted on Broadway at age 14 as Harmer Masters in the comedy Fly Away Home, which ran from January to July 1935 at the 48th Street Theatre.
Clift did not serve during World War II, having been given 4-F status after suffering dysentery in 1942. He continued working in Broadway and in radio broadcasts, although he hated doing the latter. Eventually he decided to take a step forward in the film medium.
In 1948, he got his first acting role in a film. That was Howard Hawks' Red River, where he would star opposite noted box office star John Wayne. Given the talent attached, the film was a big hit, earning over $9 million in theaters. It also earned critical acclaim, and it's often named as one of the greatest films ever made. He also had another success that year with Fred Zinnemann's The Search. Clift's naturalistic performance led to Zinnemann being asked, "Where did you find a soldier who can act so well?" Clift was unhappy with the quality of the script, and reworked it himself, while also staying in character through filming. The result was a hit that got him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Paramount Pictures ended up offering him the best of any incoming studio offer (which he accepted): a three-film deal (down from the typical seven-year contract) that came with the freedom to turn down any script and any director, as well as the right for either himself or the studio to terminate the agreement at any time. Every major Hollywood studio wanted to make a deal with Clift and was collectively shocked that a young actor could command such leverage after the release of a single film: "the death knell of the producers and the moguls, and the birth of Actor Power."
The following year, he starred in William Wyler's The Heiress, opposite Olivia de Havilland. Even though the film fell short of expectations, it earned universal acclaim. Somehow Clift quickly made his way to becoming a breakout star.
He began the decade with the war drama The Big Lift, but it didn't have much success. Luckily, he followed it with A Place in the Sun, becoming one of his most popular titles. A critical and commercial hit, it marked his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor. His main acting rival (and fellow Omaha native), Marlon Brando, was so moved by Clift's performance that he voted for Clift to win the Oscar, sure that he would win, while Clift voted for Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.
But what if I told you that his real first role could've been the lead role in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard? Clift was signed to play Joe Gillis for $5,000 per week for a guaranteed 12 weeks, but withdrew just before the start of filming, claiming his role of a young man involved with an older woman was too close to the one he had played in The Heiress, in which he felt he had been unconvincing. An infuriated Wilder responded, "If he's any kind of actor, he could be convincing making love to any woman." Clift himself was having an affair with singer Libby Holman, 15 years his senior, which some have suggested was his real reason for withdrawing from the film. His role was recast with William Holden, who would earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Subsequently, he had a busy 1953. He starred in Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess, which was a modest performer. Then starred in Vittorio de Sica's first Hollywood film, Terminal Station, but the film was affected by constant clashes between Sica and producer David O. Selznick (with Clift siding with Sica) and Clift considered it a failure.
But he closed it with From Here to Eternity, starring opposite Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra as three United States Army soldiers stationed in Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the casting process, Columbia's president Harry Cohn opposed Clift for the part of Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, opting for John Derek or Aldo Ray instead. However, author James Jones and director Fred Zinnemann preferred Clift and personally campaigned for him for the role.
Clift visited Jones several times at his homes in Arizona and Illinois and modeled the character after Jones himself. Clift committed to building strength and endurance by jogging laps around Hollywood High School, learning boxing from Mushy Callahan and Jones, and how to imitate playing the bugle and reading sheet music from trumpeter Mannie Klein for the role of middleweight boxer and bugle-playing soldier Prewitt.
The film was a huge success, earning $30.5 million and becoming one of the decade's highest grossing films. He (and Lancaster) got nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor. William Holden would win for Stalag 17, but he felt that Lancaster or Clift should have won. Sinatra, who won Best Supporting Actor, was so impressed by Clift's performance, "I learned more about acting from him than I ever knew before".
Clift was bigger than ever, while still receiving some great offers from studios. He was just 33 and the best years were still ahead of him.
But then there was May 12, 1956.
While filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a serious car crash after leaving a dinner party in Beverly Hills, hosted by Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Michael Wilding. Clift had veered off one of the twisting hairpin turns and smashed into a telephone pole and the surrounding cliffside. Alerted by friend Kevin McCarthy, who witnessed the collision, Taylor found Clift under the shattered dashboard, conscious but with his face bleeding and swelling rapidly. She pulled out a hanging tooth that was cutting into his tongue before accompanying him into the ambulance.
He suffered a concussion, broken jaw, broken nose, fractured sinuses, fractured cheekbones, and several facial lacerations that required plastic surgery. After a two-month recovery period, Clift returned to the set to finish the film. Despite the studio's concerns over profits, Clift predicted the film would do well, if only because moviegoers would flock to see the difference in his facial appearance before and after the crash.
Although the results of Clift's plastic surgeries were remarkable for the time in leaving no visible scars, the differences in his facial appearance were noticeable, particularly the left side of his face, which was nearly immobile. Continued pain from his injuries led him to rely on alcohol and pills for relief, as he had done after an earlier bout with dysentery left him with chronic intestinal problems. As a result, Clift's health and physical appearance deteriorated.
Clift's prediction was correct, as Raintree County was one of the year's biggest films. However, due to the massive costs, MGM was reportedly unsatisfied with the performance. It also earned terrible reviews, with many lambasting its script.
His newest film after the accident was The Young Lions, where he shared the screen with Marlon Brando and Dean Martin. Given the past film, it was a much needed success for Clift, but also for Martin, who was facing some troubles in his career. He also starred in Lonelyhearts, and he had a documented trouble with drugs and alcohol during filming.
He finished the decade with Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Suddenly, Last Summer, but it wasn't an easy shoot. Clift found filming the long scenes exhausting and had to have his longest scene shot in multiple takes, one or two lines at a time. Clift's shaky performance reportedly led Mankiewicz to ask producer Sam Spiegel several times to have the actor dropped. It also has been stated that Mankiewicz had mistreated Clift on set, drawing the ire of Katharine Hepburn who had grown sympathetic toward him. However, editor William Hornbeck and cinematographer Jack Hildyard disputed that Mankiewicz supported Clift while filming his scenes. It was a financial success, but it earned mixed reviews.
Clift began the decade with a bang and it seemed like he was ready to take on the industry. But everything changed after that car accident. This would begin a period that has been referred to as the "longest suicide in Hollywood history" by acting teacher Robert Lewis because of Clift's subsequent abuse of painkillers and alcohol.
Clift starred in Elia Kazan's Wild River, playing a civil officer who lands in Garthville to oversee the construction of a dam on the river. Locals oppose him, while he also finds it tough to evacuate an adamant old woman from her island home. No box office numbers, but it earned a very positive response.
In 1961, he starred in John Huston's The Misfits. Marilyn Monroe, his co-star, described him in an interview as "the only person I know who is in even worse shape than I am." Even though it was a financial failure, it earned critical acclaim. He also had a role in Judgment at Nuremberg, although it was another difficult production. Clift had trouble remembering his lines, so director Stanley Kramer told him to do the best he could, correctly figuring that Clift's nervousness would be central to his character's mental state. Clift was so eager to do the film that he worked just for expenses. It was both a critical and financial success, and Clift got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He then played Sigmund Freud in John Huston's Freud: The Secret Passion. The film faced many problems, including tensions between Huston and Clift. Despite positive reviews, it was a financial failure.
And the bad news didn't stop there. Universal Studios sued him for his frequent absences that caused the film to go over budget. Clift countersued with the assertion that he struggled to keep up with an overwhelming volume of last-minute script revisions and that an accidental blow to both eyes on set gave him cataracts. The case was later settled out of court with evidence in Clift's favor, but the damage to Clift's reputation as unreliable and troublesome endured. As a consequence, he was unable to find film work for four years.
On January 13, 1963, a few weeks after the initial release of Freud, Clift appeared on the live television discussion program The Hy Gardner Show, where he spoke at length about the release of his current film, his film career, and his treatment by the press. He also talked publicly for the first time about his 1956 car accident, the injuries he received, and its after-effects on his appearance. During the interview, Gardner jokingly mentioned that it is "the first and last appearance on a television interview program for Montgomery Clift".
Barred from feature films, Clift turned to voice work. In 1964, he recorded for Caedmon Records The Glass Menagerie, with Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and David Wayne. In 1965, he gave voice to William Faulkner's writings in the television documentary William Faulkner's Mississippi, which aired in April 1965. During this time, Peter Bogdanovich was working at a cinema in New York City when Clift came to see a revival screening of one of his early films, I Confess, and decided to show him the guestbook where a cinema patron had written down a film request for "Anything with Montgomery Clift!"
After so many struggles, Clift starred in a new film, The Defector, which was shot in West Germany. Elizabeth Taylor also put her salary on the line as insurance to have Clift cast as her co-star in Reflections in a Golden Eye, to be directed by John Huston. The deal was set, and filming was scheduled for August 1966.
On July 22, 1966, Clift spent most of the day in his New York City townhouse, located at 217 East 61st Street. His private nurse and companion, Lorenzo James, said he had not spoken much all day. Between midnight and 1 a.m., James asked Clift, who was in his bed and reading a book, whether he would be interested in viewing a rebroadcast of The Misfits that was airing as a late-night movie. "Absolutely not!" exclaimed Clift, and James went to his own bedroom to sleep, without saying another word to Clift.
At 6:30 a.m., James woke up and went to wake Clift, but found the bedroom door closed and locked. Concerned and unable to break the door down, James ran down to the back garden and climbed up a ladder to enter through the second-floor bedroom window. Inside, he found Clift dead; he was undressed, lying in his bed still wearing his eyeglasses and with both fists clenched by his side. James used the bedroom telephone to call some of Clift's personal physicians and the medical examiner's office before an ambulance arrived. He was 45 years old.
Clift's body was taken to the city morgue. The subsequent autopsy report cited the cause of death as a heart attack brought on by "occlusive coronary artery disease". No evidence was found to suggest foul play or suicide. Drug addiction is commonly believed to have been responsible for Clift's many health problems and his death. In addition to lingering effects of dysentery and chronic colitis, an underactive thyroid was later revealed during the autopsy. The condition — among other things — lowers blood pressure; it could have caused Clift to appear drunk or drugged when he was sober.
| No. | Movie | Year | Studio | Domestic Total | Overseas Total | Worldwide Total | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | From Here to Eternity | 1953 | Columbia | $30,500,000 | $0 | $30,500,000 | $2.5M |
| 2 | Suddenly, Last Summer | 1959 | Columbia | $12,800,000 | $5,200,000 | $18,000,000 | $2.5M |
| 3 | Judgment at Nuremberg | 1961 | United Artists | $6,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $3M |
| 4 | Raintree County | 1957 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer | $5,830,000 | $3,250,000 | $9,080,000 | $5.4M |
| 5 | Red River | 1948 | United Artists | $9,013,650 | $0 | $9,013,650 | $2.7M |
| 6 | The Young Lions | 1958 | 20th Century Fox | $8,960,000 | $0 | $8,960,000 | $3.5M |
| 7 | A Place in the Sun | 1951 | Paramount | $7,000,000 | $0 | $7,000,000 | $2.3M |
| 8 | The Heiress | 1949 | Paramount | $4,600,000 | $0 | $4,600,000 | $2.6M |
| 9 | The Misfits | 1961 | United Artists | $4,100,000 | $0 | $4,100,000 | $4M |
| 10 | I Confess | 1953 | Warner Bros. | $4,000,000 | $0 | $4,000,000 | N/A |
| 11 | Freud: The Secret Passion | 1962 | Universal | $2,900,000 | $0 | $2,900,000 | $3.5M |
| 12 | The Big Lift | 1950 | 20th Century Fox | $2,600,000 | $0 | $2,600,000 | N/A |
| 13 | The Search | 1948 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer | $1,700,000 | $0 | $1,700,000 | $250K |
He starred in 17 released films, but only 13 have reported box office numbers. Across those 17 films, he has made $112,453,650 worldwide. That's $6,614,920 per film.
| No. | Movie | Year | Studio | Domestic Total | Adjusted Domestic Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | From Here to Eternity | 1953 | Columbia | $30,500,000 | $381,480,749 |
| 2 | Suddenly, Last Summer | 1959 | Columbia | $12,800,000 | $146,892,975 |
| 3 | Red River | 1948 | United Artists | $9,013,650 | $124,901,512 |
| 4 | The Young Lions | 1958 | 20th Century Fox | $8,960,000 | $103,536,675 |
| 5 | A Place in the Sun | 1951 | Paramount | $7,000,000 | $89,910,153 |
| 6 | Raintree County | 1957 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer | $5,830,000 | $69,286,126 |
| 7 | Judgment at Nuremberg | 1961 | United Artists | $6,000,000 | $67,013,779 |
| 8 | The Heiress | 1949 | Paramount | $4,600,000 | $64,545,344 |
| 9 | I Confess | 1953 | Warner Bros. | $4,000,000 | $50,030,262 |
| 10 | The Misfits | 1961 | United Artists | $4,100,000 | $45,792,749 |
| 11 | The Big Lift | 1950 | 20th Century Fox | $2,600,000 | $36,028,016 |
| 12 | Freud: The Secret Passion | 1962 | Universal | $2,900,000 | $32,068,238 |
| 13 | The Search | 1948 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer | $1,700,000 | $23,556,780 |
A very promising half, and a very sad second half.
Clift did a pretty great impression when he began. Getting to star opposite a draw like John Wayne in Red River and getting an Oscar nomination for The Search is something everyone would kill for. Clift's decision to sign a contract only after his first two films were a success created "a power differential that would go on to structure the star–studio relationship for the next 40 years."
He successfully translated that success with more films afterwards. His most recognizable, obviously, should be From Here to Eternity, which is his most acclaimed title. A performance that many consider was robbed of awards recognition. He was also one of the earliest stars to use method acting (although he wouldn't associate himself with the term), which led to some problems with directors, but he left the results speak for themselves. And he was doing a great job, working with some talented filmmakers like Fred Zinnemann, Howard Hawks, William Wyler, George Seaton, George Stevens, Alfred Hitchcock, Vittorio de Sica, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Stanley Kramer, Elia Kazan and John Huston.
Unfortunately, everything changed with that car crash. He was never the same afterwards. Clift became addicted to alcohol and painkillers, and his erratic behavior behind the cameras angered studios, who were not willing to tolerate it. There was also a secret that was the subject of blackmail: he was a closeted homosexual. He reportedly was in relationships with Broadway choreographer Jerome Robbins (who claims the plot for West Side Story came from Clift), actor Roddy McDowall, and author Truman Capote. Very few people, including his close friend Elizabeth Taylor, knew about this. But it led to a lot of problems, mainly because people were threatening to expose him and his career could be affected. Eventually, he couldn't memorize his lines and directors had enough of him.
There's also the fact that despite starring in a lot of great films, he also turned down a lot of films that could've boosted his profile. Sunset Boulevard could've been a great addition to his filmography, and he pulled out at the last minute. But it's not just that. He also turned down Mrs. Miniver, Rope, High Noon, Shane, On the Waterfront, A Star Is Born, East of Eden, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Rio Bravo. Who knows how different they'd be, but the potential was there.
Clift had a very short career and life. It's a shame he left too soon. There's still a lot of incredible films here, and obviously some fantastic performances. But we'll be left thinking "there could've been much more here."
Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.
The next actor will be Uma Thurman. So where has she been?
I asked you to choose who else should be in the run, and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... >!Demi Moore.!< A very fascinating career.
This is the schedule for the following four:
| Week | Actor | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| August 15 | Uma Thurman | Here comes the Bride! |
| August 22 | Matt Dillon | "Have you been to, uh well, let me see... Santiago, Chile?" |
| August 29 | Angelina Jolie | An icon. |
| September 5 | Demi Moore | The rise and fall and rise. |
Who should be next after Moore? That's up to you.