Movies

There are two big stories to lead with in this edition of the Weekend Box Office Report and both of them are equally interesting in their own little ways. Let’s start with the positive: Sausage Party now inexplicably holds the record for biggest opening for an animated movie released in August. And now the negative: Suicide Squad dropped a staggering 67% in its second weekend, which…isn’t good.

Despite receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews, Suicide Squad opened with record-smashing numbers, obliterating the record set by Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014. And yet, the box office of summer 2016 has taught us one thing: anything can happen after that opening weekend and it probably will. This certainly looks like a huge victory for Warner Bros. and their DC Extended Universe right now, but who knows what next week will bring?

This has been one of the strangest summers in recent memory when it comes to box office analysis, not because so many high profile movies have disappointed (although that has certainly been interesting), but because so many new releases are hanging out in the grey zone between hit and misfire. In an era where the success of so many movies is determined purely by opening weekend numbers, we’ve spent the past few months watching as movies has defied expectations after a weak opening or rode a solid opening into oblivion. The cut-and-dried successes can be counted on one hand.

How much does the new Ghostbusters need to make if it wants to be a bonafide, genuine hit? The opening weekend for director Paul Feig’s reboot of the beloved franchise raises more questions than answers and the second and third weekend will ultimately prove more telling. However, here’s what we can say right now: it opened with solid numbers in second place behind last week’s massive champion, The Secret Life of Pets.

It took a movie about adorable talking dogs and cats to dethrone the movie about the adorable talking fish. The Secret Life of Pets dominated the box office this weekend, making it the third 2016 family movie about chatty animals to make a huge splash. If this concept wasn’t as old as the animation medium itself, we could call this a trend.

Local artist, Linda Hoover, is hard at work on the newest mural to inhabit Downtown Sedalia at 113 E. 4th Street. A special project of the Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Sedalia Class 2015-2016, this mural will highlight three native Sedalians who successfully made their way to the "silver screen," Dorothy Dwan (1906-1981), Jack Oakie (1903-1978) and Ann Baker (1931 - pres

All right, Netflixers, here it is: The list of new titles coming to the streaming service this month. As far as acquisitions go, the headliner is easily The Big Short, Adam McKay’s bitterly funny comedy about the 2008 economic collapse. There’s also the recent and critically acclaimed horror movie The Invitation, billed as a “Netflix Exclusive.” (Whatever you want to call it, our own Britt Hayes was a big fan.) There are also 19 different Netflix originals (19!!!!) this month, including the return of BoJack Horseman, my favorite show that I’ve barely watched because I have a baby and BoJack Horseman is not a show you watch in front of a baby unless you want to scar her for life.

Anton Yelchin, the young actor best known for recent roles in the Star Trek franchise and acclaimed indie thriller Green Room has tragically passed away at the age of 27. Yelchin’s death was originally discovered early Sunday morning and initially reported by TMZ. Several outlets are confirming this terrible news, which comes just one month ahead of the release of Star Trek Beyond, in which he reprises the role of Chekov.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Finding Dory opened at number one at the box office this week and did enormous business, but the folks at Disney and Pixar must be breathing a sigh of relief. After all, last year’s The Good Dinosaur was the first film to come out of the venerable animation studio that could be considered a legitimate box office disappointment, especially since it came in the wake of the massively successful Inside Out. The massive opening weekend for the sequel to Finding Nemo repositions Pixar in its rightful place on the top of the animated movie food chain.

The 2016 summer box office hit another speed bump this week as two major releases — a sequel and a potential franchise-starter — opened to disappointing numbers. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Despite the poor starts for Warcraft and Now You See Me 2, The Conjuring 2 opened at number one with the kind of debut that proves modestly budgeted horror movies with R ratings still have a place in the blockbuster months.