Tom’s new adventure might be doing pretty well, but my predictions of its rebound on the local charts have been shattered.
This past weekend Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation slumped a massive four places to seventh. Prior to this it was comfortably at the top until the new Leon Schuster movie pushed it down to second. I though a rebound was imminent. Last week Schuks! Pay Back The Money held onto its top spot and Rogue Nation‘s prospects were delayed by Hitman: Agent 47.
Such lofty local entrances are not unusual for action films, but audiences quickly catch up on crap and I expected Hitman‘s gains would quickly fade. So far that holds true: it has dropped two spots to fourth. But even with Hitman going down, Rogue Nation went even lower. Ouch.
Then again, at least its a contender. After a mere three weeks The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is gone, looking like another painful flop in Guy Ritchie’s uneven career.
Anyway, there appears to be a clear ‘Hollywood blockbuster’ vacuum at the top. The top movie this week is the debut of Transporter: Refueled, which may lose traction once viewers see Jason Statham isn’t in it. Then Leon Schuster’s movie holds on strong, followed by the closest thing in the top five to a tentpole: the sorta-sequel Vacation. Hitman follows, then the local romantic comedy Tell Me Sweet Something.
There are two firsts for the year: the first time more than one local film is in the top five and also the first time a non-Afrikaans local film is holding its own. Hopefully Sweet Something can get another two weeks, which would match it with most local top performers.
Other than Schuks. Leon Schuster operates on a different planet to other local films.
Rounding out the bottom part, Minions is now sixth – down two spots. But it has been stuck to the top of the charts for so long I started to think it was a mark on my screen. Rogue Nation licks its wounds at seventh and Southpaw slumps down two spots to eighth after a lacklustre debut last week.
The last four movies from last week – Fantastic Four, U.N.C.L.E., teen thriller Paper Towns and rock n roll drama Ricki & the Flash – they have all departed. Replacing them, briefly, are Dark Places – a thriller starring Charlise Theron – and The Visit – M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie. It’s impossible to tell if it’s bad or if everyone just still hates his work.
Minions has now earned over R46 million.
- 01. TRANSPORTER REFUELED (Incl Imax)
- 02. SCHUKS! PAY BACK THE MONEY
- 03. VACATION
- 04. HITMAN: AGENT 47
- 05. TELL ME SWEET SOMETHING
- 06. MINIONS (Incl 3D)
- 07. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION (Incl Imax)
- 08. SOUTHPAW
- 09. DARK PLACES
- 10. THE VISIT
Last Updated: September 16, 2015
