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ShowbuzzDaily’s Complete 2018 Sundance Film Festival Reviews

There are certain inevitabilities at Sundance, apart from snow:  something will go wrong (after I waited on line for 2 hours on opening day, the box office discovered that it had lost one of my passes), and no matter how caref...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

The Sked: Sunday Network Scorecard 2.4.2018

  Even a thrilling SUPER BOWL slipped in this new TV world. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 2.4.2018

  OPENINGS:  WINCHESTER (CBS/Lionsgate) didn’t benefit from having the weekend to itself, with a $9.3M opening that was undistinguished even by the standards of low-budget horror Super Bowl Weekend arrivals.  (The ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Winchester” Takes Day, “Jumanji” Likely To Rebound For Super Bowl Weekend

  Although some films have opened well against the Super Bowl, both counterprogramming (the Hannah Montana concert movie and Dear John) and playing toward the action genre (Taken and Chronicle), as a rule the studios stay ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “The Good Place”

  It would have been impossible for the Season 2 finale of THE GOOD PLACE to match the gut-punch of Season 1’s climactic twist, partly because until it happened, we hadn’t even known to look for one.  The Good...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere TV Review: “AP Bio”

  AP BIO:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC (regular run starts March 1) – Change the Channel Most of the braintrust behind NBC’s new sitcom AP BIO hails from Saturday Night Live, starting with series creator Mike O&#...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 1.28.2018

  OPENINGS:  In the US, THE MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE (20th) had an OK start with $23.5M, down from $32.5M/$30.3M for the first 2 films in the series.  It’s on track for $60-65M here.  However, it’s off to...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance Film Festival Review: “I Think We’re Alone Now”

  I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW (no distrib):  Pop culture seems to have an endless fascination with the post-apocalypse, and I Think We’re Alone Now has plenty of pedigree, hailing from Handmaid’s Tale pilot ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “A Kid Like Jake” & “You Were Never Really Here”

  A KID LIKE JAKE (no distrib):  Silas Howard’s dramedy is a small-scale triumph, successfully navigating its way from a wry account of upper-middle-class Brooklynites Alex and Greg (Claire Danes and Jim Parsons) tr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “Damsel” & “Puzzle”

  DAMSEL (no distrib):  A hipster representation of comedy rather than anything comic itself.  Written and directed by David and Nathan Zellner, whose previous work includes the similarly film festival-targeted Kumiko, T...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

ShowbuzzDaily’s Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “Ophelia” & “Burden”

  OPHELIA (no distrib):  Claire McCarthy’s film, written by Semi Chellas from Lisa Klein’s novel, dampens the fun of its own concept.  The idea is to re-tell Hamlet through the eyes of Shakespeare’s ill...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

ShowbuzzDaily Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “Monster” & “Beirut”

  MONSTER (no distrib):  There’s less than meets the eye in Anthony Mandler’s Monster.  Based by Colen C. Wiley, Radha Black and Janece Shaffer on Walter Dean Myers’ novel, it seems like it’s goin...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

ShowbuzzDaily Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “Come Sunday” & “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”

  COME SUNDAY (Netflix):  American films that feature religious figures tend to come in two varieties:  the cloying “faith-based” dramas that play quite literally to the choir, and the “edgy” film...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Early Friday Box Office – 1.26.2018: “Maze Runner” Lopes To Win, “Jumanji” Stays Strong, Oscar Nominees Widen

  THE MAZE RUNNER:  DEATH CURE (20th) will win the weekend, although not in particularly impressive fashion.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, its opening day was $8.4M (including $1.5M from Thursday night),...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance Film Festival Reviews: “Wildlife” & “The Tale”

  WILDLIFE (no distrib):  If you’ve ever felt sorry for youngsters who are cordoned off from their parents’ difficult relationships, and then blindsided by the consequences, Paul Dano’s directing debut a...
by Mitch Salem