Michael Cieply: From Campaign Flicks To ‘Civil War,’ The Political Genre Has Followed Us Down

Steven Olikara When millions of Americans came together to marvel at the stunning solar eclipse, we saw a rare moment of unity amid the darkness of a country torn apart by polarization. Bookending the same week? The release of action-thriller “Civil War,” now the number one film in America and A24 Films’ most successful release yet. Set against the backdrop of an imagined second American Civil War, the film follows photojournalists led by Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), as they capture the horrors of a failed country.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter A24‘s political thriller “Civil War” is resonating not just in red states and blue but overseas, too. Alex Garland’s film, starring Kirsten Dunst as a photojournalist who traverses a violently divided United States, has grossed $45.7 million in North America and $20 million internationally. Global ticket sales stand at $67.3 million through Monday, and it’s projected to cross $70 million on Tuesday.

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Alex Garland’s provocative “Civil War” didn’t only ignite the discourse.The film also inspired audiences to go to the cinemas this weekend where it surpassed expectations and earned $25.7 million in ticket sales in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Iron Claw.”“Civil War” also unseated “Godzilla x Kong” from its perch atop the box office. The titan movie from Warner Bros.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Director Alex Garland’s provocative dystopian thriller “Civil War” lit up the box office with $25.7 million in its debut. It’s the first A24 movie to lead the charts in North America, setting an opening weekend record for the New York-based specialty studio. It also marks the biggest R-rated start of the year.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic A great many people appear to have come out of “Civil War,” Alex Garland’s a-house-divided-against-itself-can-kick-highly-equipped-military-ass dystopian combat thriller, feeling all shook up. They’re disturbed by it, unsettled by it. They experience the movie as if it were holding a violent mirror up to the simmering rage of America’s current political/spiritual/ ideological divide.

according to Box Office Mojo.The impressive premiere puts it on track for a debut of around $26 million, Variety reported.The $50 million film, from director Alex Garland, follows a team of military-embedded journalists racing against time to reach Washington, D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House.Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman and Jesse Plemons, the thriller has been dubbed a “a terrifying premonition of American collapse,” though critics say its political message was “muddled.”The Post’s Johnny Oleksinski went as far as to call it “a torturous, overrated movie without a point,” bashing its script as lousy and the acting as monotonous.Behind “Civil War” was “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which topped the charts when it premiered two weeks ago.

J. Kim Murphy The box office is united behind “Civil War.” A24‘s dystopian thriller earned$10.7 millionfrom 3,838 locations across its opening day and preview screenings, putting itself on track for a debut of around $26 million. The debut figure represents the highest opening day gross ever for A24, besting the $5.1 million earned by 2018’s “Hereditary” in its first screenings.

For a while now, voices in the mist who’ve had an early peek at Alex Garland’s dystopian thriller Civil War have warned the film might be irresponsible or too incendiary in its brutal depiction of a United States divided and engulfed in war. In the dire future presented in the film, Americans confront each other in military combat within their own cities, on their own doorsteps.Starring Kirsten Dunst as intrepid war photographer Lee Smith, leading a ragtag crew of journalists into combat zones to capture the harrowing stories and images, the movie certainly does not play shy about showing intense, bloody warfare.

My guest this week is Callum Turner.

Alex Garland’s political war thriller, “Civil War” opens in theaters this Friday, April 12, and now that all the reviews have arrived (read ours here), A24 is giving the film one last push, using some of the breathless raves as quotes to stir up excitement. We’re even quoted at the beginning of the trailer calling it “the movie event of the year.” READ MORE: ‘Civil War’ Review: Alex Garland’s Latest Is Both Unforgettable & Challenging As Hell [SXSW] That’s fairly accurate because “Civil War” feels like it could be this year’s “Joker” in terms of a movie potentially so polarizing it may have everyone from every aisle of the political divide watching it to see what they make of the film.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Michael Keaton was blunt about what audiences can expect when “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits screens, more than 36 years after the first film opened. “It’s really fucking good,” the actor told theater owners at CinemaCon. And based on the zany look at “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” that Keaton and Tim Burton shared, the collaborators have come up with something that could be out of this Netherworld.

Kirsten Dunst has said that a scene from Alex Garland’s Civil War in which she appears opposite her husband Jesse Plemons is “one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen”.Dunst stars in the film as a photojournalist named Lee who attempts to capture footage of a modern civil war breaking out in the United States. At one point in the film, she is confronted and threatened by a soldier, played by Plemons.Dunst recently told Entertainment Tonight that her husband usually “wouldn’t play a part like this”.“He did a favor for us because that is a really disturbing role to play, so it’s not like he was jumping at the chance to play the role,” Dunst said of her husband.“Even reading the script, it’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “Franklin” director Tim Van Patten, who won Emmys for “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Pacific,” says that although he loves history and is a history buff “this was a slice of history I was not aware of.” Van Patten, who was also Emmy nominated for “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City” and “Game of Thrones,” adds: “For me, at this point in my career, I like to take myself to a world I don’t know, and also to do the same with the audience.” “Franklin,” which stars Michael Douglas, has its world premiere at series festival Canneseries on April 10 in Cannes, France, in the presence of cast and crew. The show, which is a co-production between ITV Studios America and Apple Studios, makes its global streaming debut April 12 on Apple TV+.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor U.S.-based global distributor PBS Intl. is bringing a squad of sports-themed documentaries to MipTV to tie in with the Olympic Games that’ll run this summer in Paris. “Olympic Dreams” travels to Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations, as it struggles to recover from its 11-year civil war.

Beyoncé‘s new album, ‘Cowboy Carter’ – see what she had to say about the album below.Last night (April 2), Michelle Obama took to social media to share the cover art of Beyoncé’s new country album, ‘Cowboy Carter’. In the post, Obama praised the singer and the album, and also urged fans to register for voting.Obama wrote to start her post: “@Beyonce, you are a record-breaker and history-maker.

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) have been tapped to star in The Roses, a reimagining of the 1989 classic The War of the Roses, which Jay Roach (Bombshell) will direct for Searchlight Pictures.

All due respect to Godzilla, but the first quarter of this year was a bust for Hollywood. There’s no getting around it. The news read like an April Fool’s joke without a punchline.

Colin Jost and Michael Che took shots at Donald Trump and Ronna McDaniel on Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update.”