Tag: The Woman King

‘Ticket to Paradise,’ ‘Woman King’ Take Over Redbox Charts

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s Ticket to Paradise took over the No. 1 spot on the Redbox disc rental chart the week ended Dec. 18.

The rom-com stars Julia Roberts and George Clooney as exes who find themselves on a shared mission to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they once made. It earned $68 million at the domestic box office.

Sony Pictures’ The Woman King debuted at No. 2 on the Redbox disc rental chart, which tracks DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals at Redbox’s thousands of red kiosks, and took over the top spot on the Redbox On Demand chart, which tracks digital VOD and sellthrough transactions. The historical drama stars Viola Davis as the titular character and is inspired by true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. The film earned more than $67 million at the domestic box office.

Paramount’s Smile slipped to No. 4 on the digital chart, and debuted at No. 3 on the disc rental chart following its Dec. 13 disc release. The film stars Sosie Bacon as a therapist who begins to experience an overwhelming terror that takes over her life after witnessing a patient’s bizarre suicide. It earned $105.9 million at the domestic box office.

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The No. 4 disc rental, and No. 6 digital title, was Sony Pictures’ musical comedy Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, the film about a family that takes in a singing crocodile. It took in $46.5 million from U.S. theaters.

Paramount Home Entertainment’s Top Gun: Maverick, which had been the top disc rental for six weeks, dropped to No. 5 on both charts.

The previous week’s top Redbox On Demand title, Universal’s 2018 animated The Grinch, slipped to No. 2, but also rose to No. 10 on the disc rental chart thanks to a holiday-season push. The 2000 live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas, also based on the Dr. Seuss book, was the No. 3 digital title.

Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ended Dec. 18:

  1. Ticket to Paradise — Universal
  2. The Woman King — Sony Pictures
  3. Smile — Paramount
  4. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile — Sony Pictures
  5. Top Gun: Maverick — Paramount
  6. The Minute You Wake Up Dead — Lionsgate
  7. Savage Salvation — Redbox
  8. Poker Face — Screen Media
  9. Medieval — Paramount
  10. The Grinch — Universal

 

Top Digital (VOD + Sellthrough), Redbox On Demand, Week Ended Dec. 18:

  1. The Woman King — Sony Pictures
  2. The Grinch — Universal
  3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) — Universal
  4. Smile — Paramount
  5. Top Gun: Maverick — Paramount
  6. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile — Sony Pictures
  7. Elf — Warner
  8. The Minute You Wake Up Dead — Lionsgate
  9. The Polar Express — Warner
  10. Office Christmas Party — Paramount

 

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‘The Woman King’ Set for Digital Release Nov. 22, Disc Dec. 13

The Woman King, the historical drama that grossed over $67 million at the domestic box office, will be released through digital retailers Nov. 22, and on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Dec. 13.

The Sony Pictures Home Entertainment release of the film includes more than one hour of bonus content, including interviews with the cast, a documentary on the intense training regimen to become an Agojie warrior, and a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the movie in South Africa.

The Woman King stars Viola Davis as the titular character and is inspired by true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Davis’ character, General Nanisca, leads the Agojie, an all-female unit of warriors who protect the kingdom. The film follows her as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

The Woman King was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens. In addition to Davis, the cast includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega.

The world premiere for The Woman King was at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2022. Sony Pictures released the film to theaters the following week. 

 

This Week’s MPN Podcast: ‘Cobra Kai,’ ‘Paravision Dreams’ Reviews; Weekend Box Office Report

On this week’s episode of the Media Play News podcasts, hosts Charles Parkman and Charlie Showley turn back time to the 1950s and cover Scott Marks’ reviews for Sangaree, Those Redheads From Seattle, and Jivaro. What’s interesting about these films is they were shot in 3D, which was a brief craze in the so-called “Atomic Age” some 50 years before it popped up again a decade or so ago. Those Redheads From Seattle, as it turns out, has a claim to fame as the first 3D musical. Also covered is John Latchem’s review of the latest season of “Cobrai Kai” on Netflix, yet another fun excursion to a universe where karate street fights are a fun, everyday occurrence.

At the box office, The Woman King exceeded its projected opening, yet overall the close of the summer continues to be devoid of any blockbusters. Pearl and See How They Run debuted to just over $3 million each. It will be interesting to see what happens when the theatrical release of bigger movies picks up again.

‘The Woman King’ Exceeds Expectations, Tops Domestic Box Office

(This story was updated Monday, Sept. 19, at 8:30 a.m. PT.)

The historical drama The Woman King, starring Viola Davis, led a trio of smaller new releases to top the domestic box office the weekend ending Sept. 18 with an estimated opening of $19 million.

That’s significantly higher than the $12 million in ticket sales Sony Pictures, which co-financed the $50 million production with eOne, had expected. Other, independent tracking services had higher hopes of at least $15 million.

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Davis portrays General Nanisca, who leads an all-female unit of warriors, known as the Agojie, that protected the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s. The film also stars Lashana Lynch and John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), among others.

Helmed by Gina Prince-Blythewood, The Woman King reportedly cost $50 million to produce. The film received an A+ CinemaScore rating and has been highly praised by critics.

The weekend’s other two new films, A24’s horror prequel Pearl and the Disney/Searchlight mystery comedy See How They Run, finished in third and fourth place, with respective weekend box office grosses of $3.12 million and $3.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

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See How They Run stars Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, and others. Directed by Tom George and written by Mark Chappell, the film is set in the 1950s and revolves around a Hollywood film director who travels to London to adapt a popular stage play into a movie, only to wind up murdered.

Pearl, a prequel to X, is the origin story of the murderous Pearl. The film was directed by Ti West and co-written by West and Mia Goth, who also portrays the title character. Other cast members include David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, and Matthew Sunderland.

The weekend’s No. 2 movie was holdover Barbarian, from 20th Century Studios/Disney, a horror movie that took in an estimated $6.3 million. Written and directed by Zach Cregger, the film follows a young woman who rents a house that unbeknownst to her has a horrific past — and a deadly present. Barbarian stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long.

Rounding out the top five was Sony Pictures’ Bullet Train, which took in another $2.5 million to brings its total gross, after seven weeks in theaters, to $96.4 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The action comedy stars Brad Pitt as an assassin who has to fight off fellow killers while on a high-speed Japanese train.

Sony Pictures’ ‘The Woman King’ Hopes to Jumpstart Fall Box Office

Following weeks of lackluster box office revenue returns, the North American theatrical market gets a trio of smaller new releases the weekend ending Sept. 18.

The slate is led by Sony Pictures’ historical actioner The Woman King, starring Viola Davis, whose character, General Nanisca, spearheads an all-female unit of warriors that protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s. The film also stars Lashana Lynch and John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), among others.

Sony Pictures, which co-financed the $50 million production with eOne, is reportedly estimating around $12 million in ticket sales across more than 3,700 screens, in addition to Imax and related premium large-format theaters.

With other industry estimates upwards of $21 million, The Woman King should top the competition, which includes new releases Pearl ($4.5 million) from A24 about an axe-wielding teen motivated by her mother’s murder, and Disney/Searchlight Pictures’ mystery comedy See How They Run ($2.5 million), co-starring Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan and Ruth Wilson, among others.

Box office returnees include Sony’s Brad Pitt action-comedy Bullet Train ($2.4 million), Paramount Pictures’ unstoppable Top Gun: Maverick ($2.2 million), and Warner Bros. Animation’s DC League of Super-Pets with $2 million in projected ticket sales.

Maverick, which is available across digital retail channels and will be released on packaged media Nov. 1, will debut on the Paramount+ streaming platform in December. The movie is approaching $710 million in total North American box office revenue.