Moviegoers graciously accepted this weekend’s ‘Invitation,’ tops box office

Toronto Film Festival returned in spectacular fashion after two years of virtual premieres or limited capacity screenings. The parties were packed (which may lead to COVID outbreaks down the road, but… that’s showbiz?), the red carpets were glittering and the atmosphere was electric, bordering on euphoric, as director Rian Johnson’s acclaimed sequel “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story,” Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans” and the Harry Styles-led romantic drama “My Policeman” debuted to blockbuster-starved audiences in Canada. Hollywood seemed eager to make up for lost time. So, as the curtain comes down on TIFF, here’s a look back at the major trends and takeaways from the 10-day festival.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Damien Chazelle was itching for a change of pace. “After the quietness of ‘First Man,'” he says, referring to his 2018 astronaut drama, much of which unfolded in deep space, “I wanted to do something big, boisterous and loud.” The result is “Babylon,” a star-studded homage to Hollywood’s silent era, a movie that captures “humanity at its most glamorous and animalistic,” the director teases. “It’s a mostly fictional film.” Chazelle brought a never-before-seen trailer to the Toronto Film Festival, where he spoke at length about his career — namely “Whiplash” and “La La Land” — in a keynote conversation with CEO Cameron Bailey. The Oscar-winning filmmaker is still in post-production on “Babylon,” which opens in theaters on Dec. 25. “I’ll be very happy to finally finish it.”

according to BoxOffice Mojo. It’s projected to earn $9 million this weekend, according to Variety.In second place, taking in $2 million in its debut, was the Hindi-language action flick “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva”Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” came in third, with $865,000 in ticket sales.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Marvel Comics flick, which stars real-life couple Tom Holland and Zendaya, is projected to rake in $6.1 million on this four-day weekend, per Variety.“Bullet Train” is still chugging along — holding onto second place with $1.1 million in sales. It was recently announced that the Brad Pitt picture already has an accompanying line of Funko Pop dolls, which will be available for purchase in January.

Beast, Idris Elba has spoken out about the devastating impact of animal poaching.In the film, Elba plays an ordinary father who must protect himself and his two daughters from a massive rogue lion in the Savanna.Speaking exclusively to NME, the actor explained how the survival thriller attempts to raise awareness of poaching, as well as the risks of taking animals out of their natural habitats.“There’s a real big problem with poaching in the rest of the world. Not just Africa,” he said.

Naman Ramachandran Documentary specialist distributor Piece of Magic Entertainment’s “Andre Rieu’s 2022 Maastricht Summer Concert,” a concert film featuring Dutch violinist and conductor Andre Rieu, led a sluggish weekend at the U.K. and Ireland box office. The film collected £799,474 ($932,330) in a weekend when no film crossed the £1 million mark, according to numbers provided by Comscore. It was a three-day bank holiday weekend in the U.K. Ten previous Rieu concerts have grossed more in their opening weekend, but none managed to top the charts, per Comscore. The last event film to top the charts in the territory was “Michael Ball and Alfie Boe: Back Together” in Oct. 2020.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Intra-Korean espionage actioner “Hunt” claimed a third weekend as the top film at the South Korea box office, while “Bullet Train” managed only a fourth-place opening. “Hunt,” directed by and starring “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, earned a lowly $2.91 million in its third weekend of release. The figure was a 48% weekend-on-weekend decline and saw the film’s market share decline to 33%, down from 47% the previous weekend. “Hunt” now has a cumulative of $28.7 million, making it the fifth-highest grossing film of the year to date and the third biggest Korean title.

To mark National Cinema Day on Saturday, September 3, Vue is inviting film fans nationwide to enjoy the best seats, screen, and brilliant sound of the big screen experience, for just £3 per ticket*.

J. Kim Murphy In a summer that’s often seen only one new wide release in a weekend, a whopping three new films hit theaters on Friday: Sony’s horror-thriller “The Invitation,” George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” and bank heist movie “Breaking,” starring John Boyega. However, none of them seem to be making much of an impact, as the total box office projects a sum in the $50 million to $60 million range. That wouldn’t just be the worst weekend of the summer, but also the worst since February. “The Invitation” is tracking ahead of the other two, as it looks to claim the weekend’s top spot with a meagre $6 million to $7 million gross from 3,114 locations in its opening. Critics didn’t really care for the movie — it landed a 40% approval rating from review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes — and audiences were perhaps more unenthused. The film holds a “C” grade from research firm Cinema Score, indicating a rather snoozy reception from general consumers.

“The Invitation,” a gothic horror film from Sony’s Screen Gems, made $775,000 at the box office in its Thursday night preview screenings from 2,739 locations and showings that started at 4 p.m. The film opens on more than 3,000 screens this weekend. “The Invitation” opens in a quiet week at the end of the summer and is projected for a $6 million-$7 million opening against a $10 million budget.

Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema chain, faces fresh uncertainty after its second largest shareholder cut its stake, causing shares to fall in value for a second day.

By comparison, “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” opened to $9.8 million from 1,238 theaters back in 2018. With business slowing down significantly during this end-of-summer period and Sony showing a strong track record of specialty success with its anime offerings, Crunchyroll has used one of the most famous anime series ever to expand its theatrical footprint, taking $3.4 million from Imax and other premium formats.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Japanese animated adventure film is expected to take in $21 million during its first weekend in theaters, according to Variety.The Idris Elba-led “Beast,” roared into second place, earning close to $4.3 million in sales in its debut. A survival story of a family who gets stalked by a lion in South Africa, the movie “makes you miss ‘Anaconda,'” The Post quipped.“Bullet Train” slowed down to third place after spending two weeks in the No.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterThe milestones keep rolling in. “Top Gun: Maverick” has collected $679 million in North America, enough to overtake Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” ($678 million) as the sixth-highest grossing movie in domestic box office history.It’s an especially impressive benchmark because 2018’s every-hero-but-the-kitchen-sink adventure “Avengers: Infinity War” had a little help in building up anticipation. It served as part one (2019’s “Endgame” was part two) of Marvel’s epic culmination of more than 20 movies — most of which were box office juggernauts in their own right — over 10 years.

Jordan Moreau With no major movies on the horizon, the summer slowdown as continued at the box office. Universal’s action movie “Beast,” starring Idris Elba,” picked up just $925,000 in Thursday previews after launching in 2,900 theaters.

BAFTA Launch Filmmaking Campaign With Digital Cinema Media BAFTA and Digital Cinema Media have launched a new campaign titled ‘Behind every BAFTA’ based around a national cinema ad that highlights the diverse range of skills that contribute to the production of award-winning films, games, and television with the aim to inspire the next generation of creative talent. DCM’s creative arm DCM Studio produced the ad, which is narrated by double BAFTA-winner Big Zuu and features rare behind-the-scenes content and clips from films including Skyfall, Get Out and 1917. The ad premieres on Friday, August 19, across the UK and will run for seven weeks, appearing alongside films such as Jordan Peele’s latest NOPE, Olivia Wilde’s Venice-bound Don’t Worry Darling, and the Brad Pitt-starrer Bullet Train.

Naman Ramachandran BAFTA and Digital Cinema Media (DCM) have partnered on a cinema campaign, which premieres Aug. 19 across the U.K., to inspire the next generation of creative talent by showcasing the diverse range of skills and knowledge that goes into making award-winning films, games and television.

Two wide studio releases will hopefully prevent this summer from reaching another low at the box office after last weekend’s $67.3M. If there’s one movie that’s going to pull ahead, sources are betting on Crunchyroll’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. That distributor has proven in a short amount of time that they can draw a great deal of anime fans in a Friday through Sunday span. The Tetsuro Kodama directed animation movie is looking at anywhere from $12M-$15M, ahead of Universal’s genre lion-stalking film, Beast, starring Idris Elba; that pic hoping for at least double digits.