Courtesy of the artist
Hometown: London, England
Genre: Jazz
Why We’re Excited: Ezra Collective keeps one foot planted in traditional jazz but lets the other wander far and wide, bringing back rhythmic traces of hip-hop and Afrobeat. On the new Juan Pablo: The Philosopher EP, Ezra Collective sounds alternately taut and spacey in tunes that don’t stay in one place long, let alone recede into the background.
SXSW Schedule:
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Dream Casting of the Day:
Who should play Batgirl in DC’s planned movie? Possible writer Roxane Gay suggested Janelle Monae, so comic book artist Rachael Stott shows us what that could look like (via One Perfect Shot):
All it took was @rgay to mention Janelle Monae in the same tweet thread as Batgirl and this happened pic.twitter.com/ilB5CaMQ7R
— Rachael Stott (Phone Broken) (@RachaelAtWork) February 27, 2018
Supercut of the Day:
Get ready for this Sunday’s Academy Awards with a montage of 2018 Oscar nominees edited by Casper Christensen:
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Oscars Discussion of the Day:
Speaking of the Oscars, here’s a funny animated video of Star Wars: The Last Jedi characters discussing the nominees:
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Character Parody of the Day:
Speaking of Oscar-nominated movies, can you imagine what it’s like to watch movies if you’re Daniel Day-Lewis’s character from Phantom Thread? Slate shows us in case you can’t:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Mike Figgis, who turns 70 today, directs Nicolas Cage’s Oscar-winning performance and Elizabeth Shue’s Oscar-nominated performance on the set of Leaving Las Vegas in 1994:
Actor in the Spotlight:
Speaking of people in Leaving Las Vegas, the latest edition of No Small Parts focuses on the career of Lady Bird Oscar nominee Laurie Metcalf:
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Filmmaker in Focus:
Stanley Kubrick isn’t known as a comedic director, but this Fandor video essay by Philip Brubaker highlights the filmmaker’s dark humor:
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Screenwriting Lesson of the Day:
The latest edition of Lessons from the Screenplay focuses on Get Out and how it offers a new perspective in horror:
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Song Cover of the Day:
Watch fans cover the Oscar-nominated song “Remember Me” from Coco using various forms of cocoa as percussion:
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Classic Trailer of the Day:
Today is the 65th anniversary of the release of Alfred Hitchcock’s I Confess. Watch the original trailer for the classic crime drama below.
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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
VFX Breakdown of the Day:
ILM shared another breakdown of their Oscar-nominated effects work for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, this one focused on the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke:
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Alternate Posters of the Day:
Designer Eileen Steinbach created alternate posters for all nine of this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Picture:
Here’s my complete #Oscars2018 poster series featuring all the #BestPicture nominees. I hope you like it! pic.twitter.com/0ettUfT2JT
— SG Posters (@SG_Posters) February 27, 2018
Awards Summary of the Day:
Speaking of the Best Picture nominees, Honest Trailers showcases how each one of them should have been marketed:
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Mashup of the Day:
Also speaking of Best Picture contenders, here are a bunch of shots from Call Me By Your Name combined with Claude Monet paintings:
Call me by your name + Monet paintings pic.twitter.com/wUhzsh4RCN
— fofi (@Stockhovlm) February 24, 2018
Film History of the Day:
In honor of Black Panther, Birth.Movies.Death. pays tribute to almost 100 years of black action stars, divided into two videos:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Elizabeth Taylor, who was born on this day in 1932, tests for her breakthrough role in National Velvet in 1944:
Actor in the Spotlight:
The late Robin Williams gets a special tribute honoring the joy he brought moviegoers in this video by Katrin Depp:
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Movie Food of the Day:
In the latest edition of Binging With Babish, learn how to make the tamales from the Oscar-nominated Pixar animated feature Coco:
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Cosplay of the Day:
Most Ghostbusters cosplayers stick to the uniforms and proton packs so it’s cool to see this duo still recognizable as Holtzmann and Gilbert:
Ok but Ghostbusters 2016 is such a fun film & tbh I’m still in love with Holtz.. #tbt the time we threw these cosplays together in like a week because we were so pumped after seeing the film that we just HAD to cosplay asap!! ????#Ghostbusters@GhostbustersNet@paulfeigpic.twitter.com/eI6Fdfm7Fw
— ?jimmy?(seamripper cosplay) (@the_seamripper) February 26, 2018
Classic Trailer of the Day:
Today is the 20th anniversary of the release of Dark City. Watch the original trailer of the sci-fi cult classic below.
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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Alternate Opening of the Day:
Solo: A Star Wars Story probably won’t have an opening crawl, so Reddit user SushiShishkebab proposes this way of starting the movie (via THR):
Oscar History of the Day:
With less than a week until the 2018 Oscars, Burger Fiction chronicles every Best Picture winner from 1927 through 2017 plus a look at this year’s contenders:
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Awards Explanation of the Day:
Speaking of the Best Picture winners, here’s Vanity Fair’s visual explanation of how a movie wins the top Academy Award:
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Movie Trivia of the Day:
Old School just turned 15 years old, so CineFix compiled some obscure trivia about the comedy:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Jackie Gleason, who was born on this day in 1916, receives direction from Robert Rossen on the set of The Hustler in 1961:
Filmmaker in Focus:
Mexican sculptor Ruben Orozco Loza created this small but finely detailed bust of current Oscar nominee Guillermo del Toro (via Drew McWeeny):
Hyperrealistic sculpture small format #GuillermoDelToro#Mexico#hyperrealism#sculpture#mexicansculptor#rubenorozcoloza#escultor#hiperrealista#Jaliscopic.twitter.com/slqJPuRM2f
— Ruben Orozco Loza (@rubenorozcoloza) February 26, 2018
Great Movie Analysis of the Day:
Watch a scene from Annihilation featuring commentary from director Alex Garland breaking it down:
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Bad Movie Analysis of the Day:
Find out the “hidden meaning” of The Truman Show according to an alien in the future in the latest edition of Earthling Cinema:
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Cosplay of the Day:
We’re still hoping the invisible jet makes it into the Wonder Woman sequel, but for now we’ve got this amazing, adorable cosplay take on the idea:
Cosplay win! pic.twitter.com/lE1vo5C5q6
— Rob Williams (@Robwilliams71) February 26, 2018
Classic Movie Clip of the Day:
Today is the 25th anniversary of the release of Falling Down, so here’s a classic moment from the movie involving common complaints about fast food restaurants at the time:
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Need a quick recap on the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
BIG NEWS
Black Panther broke a lot of box office records: Marvel’s Black Panther was expected to be another blockbuster, but the movie shot way past expectations to deliver one of the best opening weekends of all time. See all the records it broke here.
GREAT NEWS
Danny Boyle might direct the next Bond movie: For the 25th official James Bond movie, whichi is likely to be Daniel Craig’s last as 007, MGM and EON are hoping to sign Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. Read more and see visual evidence of why Boyle is a good fit here.
EXPECTED BUT STILL EXCELLENT NEWS
Jessica Chastain will star in It: Chapter Two: Fans have been asking for and assuming the casting of Jessica Chastain as grown-up Beverly in the sequel to the smash hit horror film It, and now it’s actually happening. Read more here.
EXCLUSIVE BUZZ
Ava DuVernay on why the next big Disney movie matters: We talked to Ava DuVernay about her upcoming adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time and why it’s such an important movie. Read the exclusive interview here and our set visit report and character guide here.
COOL CULTURE
The sound design of Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The latest Star Wars movie has been out in theaters a couple months, and now you can relive one of its best elements thanks to a short ABC News documentary on its sound design. Watch it below.
MUST-WATCH TRAILERS
On Chesil Beach delivers a romance in 1960s England: Current Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan stars alongside Billy Howle in On Chesil Beach, a romantic drama set in 1962 that just dropped its first trailer. Watch it below.
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Where is Kyra showcases the talents of Michelle Pfeiffer: The trailer for Where is Kyra, a character-driven drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer, proves why she’s still one of the greatest living actresses. Watch it here:
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Kings dramatizes the 1992 L.A. riots: The first trailer for the drama Kings, which takes place during the 1992 L.A. riots, features Halle Berry and Daniel Craig as neighbors. Watch it below.
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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Dream Olympic Sport of the Day:
More people would watch curling at the Winter Olympics if it involved everyone’s everyone Star Wars droid (via io9):
Fan Build of the Day:
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Reworked Trailer of the Day:
Seeing Solo: A Star Wars Story as being like the Star Trek reboot, War Starts at Midnight added The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” to the trailer to make it even better (via Geek Tyrant):
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Oscars History of the Day:
Burger Fiction highlights every Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature in this shorter than most Oscar history supercut:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Luis Bunuel, who was born on this day in 1900, directs Catherine Denueve on the set of his 1967 classic Belle de Jour:
Movie Comparison of the Day:
Last year, Rob Stone compared the opening and closing sequences of Citizen Kane and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. Now Will DiGravio responds with more side-by-side looks at the two classics (via Film School Rejects):
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Movie Science of the Day:
What is the toxin on the lips of Poison Ivy from Batman & Robin? Kyle Hill gives a scientific explanation of her deadly powers:
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Movie Job of the Day:
They don’t get to win Oscars, but Mashable honors stunt people by showcasing what it takes to do their job in this video:
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Inspired Look of the Day:
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay shared this tweet from a fan who is halfway to cosplaying as a character from her upcoming movie A Wrinkle in Time:
#AWrinkleInTime@WrinkleInTime “Mrs. Whatsit” inspired look! @RWitherspoonpic.twitter.com/M2eqLbivnP
— Katy Mae (@KatyMaex) February 21, 2018
Classic Trailer of the Day:
This week is the 15th anniversary of the release of Ron Shelton’s Dark Blue starring Kurt Russell. Watch the original trailer for the classic crime film below.
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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Fan Theory of the Day:
Black Panther has made a ton of money, but how is Wakanda’s economy? MatPat of The Film Theorists explores how it’s unsustainable:
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Dream Crossover of the Day:
Speaking of Black Panther, a lot of fans want Letitia Wright’s Shuri to become the new Iron Man, so BossLogic shows us what that could look like:
Throughout the whole @theblackpanther movie I was saying @letitiawright would be a dope Riri Williams #BlackPantherpic.twitter.com/aybhqSyAKE
— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) February 17, 2018
Easter Eggs of the Day:
Yesterday we shared one highlight of Black Panther Easter eggs, but ScreenCrush also has one that’s worth watching:
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Cosplay of the Day:
And yes, Black Panther cosplay is going to be the hottest this year, but not just the title character. Here’s an awesome Nakia:
New upload! @MarvelStudios Black Panther Nakia Cosplay 🙂 Who’s going to see the premiere tonight?? #BlackPanther Please share if you like it!
Link to video: https://t.co/ZzZschBRpXpic.twitter.com/FsMHmC0VMR— Timaloveslemons (@timatalks) February 16, 2018
Remade Trailer of the Day:
Huxley Berg Studios redid the new Deadpool 2 trailer featuring Cable in Lego:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Anthony Daniels, who turns 72 today, in costume as C-3PO receiving direction from George Lucas on the set of Star Wars in 1976:
Character Remix of the Day:
In anticipation of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han Solo gets a dance-mix supercut courtesy of Eclectic Method:
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Filmmaker in Focus:
There’s always room for more video essays focused on Steven Spielberg, so here’s one from Make Stuff on how he does action:
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Movie Job of the Day:
Filmmaker IQ interviews editor Lawrence Jordan on how to “cut it” in Hollywood:
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Classic Trailer of the Day:
Today is the 15th anniversary of the release of Old School. Watch the original trailer for the classic comedy below.
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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Sound Showcase of the Day:
Check out a new short documentary from ABC News on the sound design of Star Wars: The Last Jedi:
VFX Breakdown of the Day:
Now that everyone has apparently seen Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle a number of times, it’s time for an effects breakdown reel courtesy of Iloura:
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Easter Eggs of the Day:
Now that you’ve seen Black Panther a few times, see how many Easter eggs you missed with Mr. Sunday Movies’ latest:
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Fan Art of the Day:
Speaking of Black Panther, who wouldn’t want to see Shuri team up with young Spider-Man? Here’s a little fan art to show what that could look like:
my favorite marvel teens!! i wanna see them team up, peter would totally geek out over wakandan tech ?? #BlackPanther#Shuri#Spiderman#Fanartpic.twitter.com/A4VVc9nHaO
— ? Minty ? (@tinymintywolf) February 18, 2018
Mashup of the Day:
Funny or Die ships Will Ferrell in Zoolander with Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread for a wonderful parody of the latter Best Picture nominee:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Sidney Poitier, who turns 91 today, directs Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor on the set of Stir Crazy in 1980. The movie remains, for now, the highest-grossing North American release directed by a black filmmaker when the figure is adjusted for inflation.
Filmmaker in Focus:
Jorge Luengo showcases the lighting in Steven Spielberg movies in this illuminating video:
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Truthful Marketing of the Day:
Honest Trailers easily takes down Justice League, which turns out to have just been a team-up of characters with super smelling powers:
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Trailer Parody of the Day:
There’s nothing weirder than a Weird Trailer from Aldo Jones, and his take on Avengers: Infinity Jones is a masterpiece of lunacy:
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Classic Trailer of the Day:
Today is the 60th anniversary of the release of MGM’s The Brothers Karamazov. Watch the original trailer for the Oscar-nominated adaptation below.
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Here’s your estimated 3-day box office returns (new releases bolded):
1. Black Panther – $192.0 million ($192.0 million total)
2. Peter Rabbit – $17.2 million ($48.2 million total)
3. Fifty Shades Freed – $16.9 million ($76.1 million total)
4. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – $7.9 million ($377.6 million total)
5. The 15:17 to Paris – $7.6 million ($25.4 million total)
6. The Greatest Showman – $5.1 million ($154.4 million total)
7. Early Man – $3.1 million ($3.1 million total)
8. Maze Runner: The Death Cure – $2.5 million ($54.0 million total)
9. Winchester – $2.2 million ($21.8 million total)
10. Samson – $1.9 million ($1.9 million total)
The Big Stories
Remember when the early projections for Black Panther had it hovering around a HUGE opening of around $135 million? That was cute. Sure, that was several weeks ago and the anticipation only grew daily, but it is often amusing to see the lengths that studios and tracking services will hedge their bets. After all, if you aim too high and miss, box office analysts and prognosticators throw out the ol’ “D” word. Well there is nothing disappointing about Black Panther‘s opening, its critical response (97% at Rotten Tomatoes) and that of audiences worldwide as we are, undoubtedly, looking at one of the biggest box office stories for the rest of 2018.
But Where Is Nastassja Kinski?
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It was just a year ago that Jordan Peele’s Get Out started its run to become one of the biggest box office stories of 2017. That run took 237 days to reach the $176 million it is now credited with here in America; a number that more than made it the highest-grossing film ever by an African-American director. It surpassed F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton on April 8, 2017. Eighteeen days later, Gray reclaimed the title with The Fate of the Furious after just 13 days in release. On February 20, 2018, Ryan Coogler will now own that title. With $192 million in its first three days (good enough for the fifth best three-day ever if the estimates hold) Black Panther has already passed Get Out‘s entire run. (By Tuesday or Wednesday it will pass Justice League.) Add in another expected $25 million or so on President’s Day and the film is no longer limited by specific labels except the one known as “all-time.”
The top eight openers of all-time all reached the $400 million club. That is the easy part to predict about Black Panther‘s success. Captain America: Civil War and Iron Man 3 finished with $408 and $409 million, respectively. Avengers: Age of Ultron made $459 million. Black Panther will be around $12 million ahead of that film’s pace after Monday. The holiday weekend certainly gives it a boost but $450 million is definitely in the cards. Can it match last year’s Beauty and the Beast, though, which cracked $504 million? That film did not see a 50% drop at the box office until its 12th week, maintaining a very respectable drop of 42.1-49.8% in its first four weekends. Panther could be $30 million ahead of the Beast after Monday and even with a 53% drop in weekend two, it would still be in the ballpark of matching it into the next weekend. The number it should be most interested right now is 2.60. Only three of those aforementioned eight openers failed to reach that multiple over their first weekend. They are also the three Marvel films represented on that list. That aside, it’s still early but there are very good odds that Black Panther is going to become the 10th film to join the $500 million crowd.
Tales of the Top Ten
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Last week’s top film, Fifty Shades Freed, fell behind the rabbit but thanks to a $10 million-plus Valentine’s Day gross, the conclusion to the trilogy looks like it will indeed pass $100 million. It has made $266 million worldwide to date. The rabbit – Peter Rabbit – had a solid hold with a lack of kid-friendly entertainment to challenge it. The 58%-approved allergy community-offending family film has passed the 100%-approved Paddington 2 now with $48 million. Meanwhile, with just $3.1 million over the weekend, Aardman Studio’s Early Man may not even pass Forever My Girl at the box office. Even with an 81% from critics, Lionsgate once again could not find a way to successfully market an animated film to a market always clamoring for it. Their last Aardman release could not crack $20 million. Last fall’s My Little Pony made just $21.8 million. In fact, Lionsgate’s highest-grossing animated release was, of all things, Alpha and Omega with $25.1 million.
Another of the big stories of 2017 just won’t go away and is still headed for another milestone. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will pass $380 million this week and leap over Revenge of the Sith, Finding Nemo and Deathly Hallows Part 2 to join the Top 30 domestic grossers of all-time. Frozen finally passed $400 million on its 22nd weekend of wide release. This is Jumanji’s ninth such weekend and it has grossed over $900 million worldwide. Fox’s The Greatest Showman has now bested La La Land with over $154 million, making it the fourth highest-grossing musical ever. Chicago is third with $170.6 million. La La Land grossed over $446 million worldwide while The Greatest Showman is at $325 million. Fox also has Steven Spielberg’s The Post hanging in there with $77 million domestic and another $57 million internationally, as well as Maze Runner: The Death Cure, a bit of a bust in the States with $54 million but another $186 million elsewhere. The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri have also become the ninth and 10th highest-grossing domestic releases in Fox Searchlight’s history. Finally, Pureflix’s Samson muscled its way into the Top Ten with $1.9 million, which is on the low-end of their 1,000-plus theater openings.
Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on WGN Radio with Nick Digilio as well as on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast.
[Box office figures via Box Office Mojo.]
Need a quick recap on the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
BIG NEWS
Black Panther broke its first box office records: Marvel has another huge hit on their hands, as Black Panther opens this weekend and already kicked things off with the MCU’s second-best preview screenings gross ever. Read more here.
GREAT NEWS
Another Willy Wonka movie is in the works: Normally remakes of classics aren’t immediately labeled “great news,” but a new take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is coming from Paddington and Paddington 2 director Paul King, and that’s pretty promising. Read more here.
SURPRISING NEWS
Solo revealed another cast member: With only a few more months before the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, director Ron Howard confirmed that Jon Favreau is voicing an “important” character. Read more here, see Favreau’s later confirmation of which character he’s playing and check out the first look at new Solo toys here and find out which movies influenced the script here.
AWARDS BUZZ
Get Out and Call Me By Your Name won more awards: With the Oscars still weeks away, Get Out and Call Me By Your Name upped their awards season game with Writers Guild Awards wins. Read more here and find out how to see Get Out for free in theaters this weekend here.
COOL CULTURE
How to prepare for Black Panther: This week saw many primers for moviegoers heading out to see Black Panther in need of some background and set up. Below is a history of the character from comics to the new Marvel Cinematic Universe installment. And we shared more Black Panther-related culture here and here.
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MUST-WATCH TRAILERS
Incredibles 2 shares a peek: The first teaser with a lot of footage from Incredibles 2 arrived in the form of an Olympics sneak peek, and the Pixar sequel looks as good as the original. Watch it below.
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Rampage shows animal experimentation gone wrong: The second trailer for the arcade game adaptation Rampage features Dwayne Johnson and a number of giant animals created through experiments gone wrong. Watch it here:
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Ready Player One focuses on friendly competition: The new trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One shows more of its main characters in love and war, in true reality and virtual reality. Check it out here:
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