Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Is Number One Again, Obviously
In news that should surprise no one at all, Captain America: Civil War remained number one at the box office in its second weekend, dominating a week where the only new competition was a thriller skewed toward older audiences and a barely marketed horror film.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Takes a Big Stumble
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice held on to the number one spot at the box office this weekend, but it sure wasn’t pretty. Zack Snyder’s superhero showdown took a jaw-dropping tumble and if any other studio had decided to release a major film this weekend, it probably would have sunk to second place. This film is already proving to be a fascinating case study in marketing versus word of mouth: one earns you an opening weekend while the other gives you legs.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Makes All of the Money in the World, But Is It Enough?
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was never not going to have an enormous opening weekend. Toxic reviews and mixed word of mouth mean nothing next to hype — that title alone guaranteed a record-breaking start. And right now, Zack Snyder’s superhero epic does look like a gigantic hit. However, this weekend is really all about the trailers and posters and Warner Bros.’ omnipresent marketing. The real challenge will be next weekend, when the film’s legs will be properly tested.
SNL: A Disturbing Totino’s Ad, Just in Time for the Super Bowl
Around this time last year, SNL presented a commercial parody centering around Totino’s Pizza Rolls, just in time for the Super Bowl. And it was a nasty piece of business, tearing apart the image of the NFL’s biggest game as a day for men and imprisoning Vanessa Bayer’s indefatigable housewife in the kitchen, where she was simply tasked with warming up more disgusting food. So when SNL aired another Totino’s sketch in last night’s episode, we simply assumed it would be a carbon copy of the first one. Boy, were we wrong.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Revenant’ Leads Another Close Weekend as Every New Release Underperforms
It wasn’t that surprising last week when Ride Along 2 officially dethroned Star Wars: The Force Awakens as reigning champion of the box office. However, what is surprising is how fast and far it plummeted in its second weekend. As the comedy sequel’s legs instantly shattered, The Revenant was finally able to claim the top spot after several weeks of playing box office bridesmaid.
SNL Takes on the #OscarsSoWhite Controversy, Nails It
When the 2016 Oscar nominations were announced nearly two weeks ago, the response to the overwhelmingly white line-up of talent proved instantly controversial. Film fans and industry veterans alike gathered around the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to make their voices heard, especially decrying how films starring black actors and directed by black filmmakers — like Creed and Straight Outta Compton — somehow managed to only receive nominations for the white people involved in making them. With material this ripe, of course SNL was going to take a swipe at the Academy Awards this week.
SNL: Darrell Hammond’s Donald Trump and Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin, Together at Last
The moment former Alaskan governor and 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump for President of the United States, you know the producers at SNL hurried to get Tina Fey on the phone. The beloved former cast member, who just hosted the show last month, famously took on the role of Palin eight years ago and many people believe that her scathing imitation actually did lasting harm to the real Palin’s political chances. In any case, this event allowed SNL to pair Fey’s Palin with Darrell Hammond‘s Trump. Thanks, reality!
SNL: Adam Driver and Cecily Strong Recreate ‘Aladdin’ for Some Reason
We’re not entirely sure why SNL decided to riff on Disney’s Aladdin in this week’s episode. It’s not like the 1992 animated movie has entered the national conversation again for some reason. If anything, this feels like someone on the writing staff rewatched the movie with his or her family over the show’s holiday break and came back with an idea or two. The result: the least timely parody you’ve ever seen! Although it is pretty funny and will appeal directly to those click-happy millennials.
SNL Lets Larry David Call Donald Trump a Racist on Live Television
Last night’s Donald Trump-hosted episode of SNL was exactly what everyone expected it to be, for better or worse. The infamous businessman, reality television star, and Presidential hopeful leaned on his persona, making a handful of obvious Rose O’Donnell jokes in his opening monologue. Thankfully, he was rescued by a few SNL cast members and a few special guests, one of whom said exactly what many viewers probably wanted to say.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Chappie’ Leads a Slow Weekend
With some of the year’s biggest movies only a month or two away, the box office seems to have entered a holding pattern. Some of the new releases are minor hits. Others crash and burn. Right now, Hollywood just seems to be crossing their fingers and hoping for the sweet, sweet summer movie season to come along and save them (or at least the April release of Furious 7). In other words, every new release underperformed this weekend.
SNL: Chris Hemsworth Falls in Love With a Chicken in Outer Space
It’s an SNL sketch premise so silly that it feels like it belongs in the early ’90s, not 2015. Taking place in the distant future, the scene asks us to believe that chickens have evolved to be more intelligent than humans and that a chicken could command a spaceship of human beings and, most importantly, that a crew member played by guest host Chris Hemsworth would fall in love with the chicken.
SNL: Chris Hemsworth Joins the Cast of ‘Empire’
Fox’s new series Empire is huge. Like, insanely, impossibly, jaw-droppingly huge. In an age where ratings are steadily declining across the board as audiences cut cables and enter the brave new world of streaming, it’s a phenomenon. And like all phenomenons, it has to get targeted by SNL. In the most recent digital short, Empire is re-imagined with a brand new character: Chip the office manager, played by guest host Chris Hemsworth.