Last weekend, North American theaters ushered in the release of three new films. What is commendable is that these three new films can basically be regarded as original works, and there is no big IP behind them, but they all achieved quite good opening results in the end, sending inspiring messages to the film market.
"Bad Guys" Applauds
The No. 1 weekend box office was The Bad Guys, a 2D animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures. The film is known as a combination of "Crazy Zoo" and "Eleven Arhats", telling the story of a group of animal criminals who want to wash their hands with money. The film was released in 4,000 theaters in North America and earned $24 million at the box office, beating expectations.

Badass League poster

"Bad Guys" is adapted from the best-selling children's book of the same name. The screenplay comes from Etan Cohen, who has created films such as "Tropic Thunder", "Madagascar 2" and "Men in Black 3". The director is French-born newcomer Pierre El Perifel. Perifel graduated from the world's No. 1 Academy of Animation in Paris in 2005, and joined DreamWorks three years later. He started as a 2D animator and participated in "Battle of Aliens" and "Shrek 4". ""Kung Fu Panda 2" and other films, this "Bad Guys" is the first animated feature film directed by him.

Bad Guys is rated 86% by professional critics and 93% by audiences on Rotten Tomatoes

Currently, "Bad Guys" has a high rating of 86% from professional film critics and 93% from audiences on the film critic collection website "Rotten Tomatoes". Many film critics pointed out that one of the great advantages of the film is that it is purely for joy and joy, returning to the original intention of animation at the beginning of its birth, unlike many Hollywood animation films in recent years, which must be entertaining and entertaining. Too much ideological stuff mixed in.
'Nordic' was praised by critics, but audiences didn't like it much
On the weekend box office charts, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery came in second and third respectively. In fourth place is The Northman from Focus Pictures. The film is an epic action movie rarely seen in Hollywood at the moment. It was just halfway through the filming that it caught up with the high level of the new crown epidemic in Europe and the United States, and the production was stopped, which directly caused its production cost to soar to 90 million US dollars. "Nordic" earned $12 million at the opening box office in 3,234 theaters over three days over the weekend. The next step will definitely require overseas box office to fully recover the cost.

The Nordics poster

The Nordics is directed by Robert Eggers, 38, and stars Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joe Yi et al. Eggers and Icelandic poet Sjón co-wrote the screenplay, based on ancient Norse legends that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet hundreds of years ago.
Eggers, who used to be famous in the film industry for his unique genre films such as "The Witch" and "The Lighthouse", has established his own unique style in terms of atmosphere creation and film aesthetics, and is regarded by many European and American film critics as a new generation of author. The best of directors. The new film has also received generally positive reviews from critics, with an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but only 67% from audiences.

Skarsgard gets in shape for 'Nordic'

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the film is the transformation of star Alexander Skarsgard. After six weeks of special training by star fitness trainer Magnus Ligbeck, who insisted on lifting iron for six days a week, he quickly gained muscle and became stronger, and turned into the legendary "Nordic man". Skarsgard and Liegbeck actually collaborated as early as 2016's "The Legend of Tarzan", and in the movie "Mr. Glass", James McAvoy, the always weak actor, was the reason why Being able to have a whole body of tendon meat is also a gift from Bailigbeck.
'Genius Can't Take It' Helps Cage Pay Off Debt
At No. 5 on the weekend box office list was Lionsgate's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The film, starring Nicolas Cage, is also a rare new work by the Hollywood actor who has experienced ups and downs in recent years.
In the film, Cage plays a former Hollywood star who has suffered a career slump like himself. He is simply unable to play the role he wants to play, so he has to settle for the next best thing and spend a weekend at the house of a wealthy Spanish screenwriter. , by the way, brainstormed a legendary script with the latter, but encountered a series of unexpected and strange things.

"The Unbearable Weight of Genius" poster

"The Unbearable Genius" opened in 3,036 theaters over the weekend, earning $7.17 million at the opening. Although this figure is not high, considering that its production cost is only 30 million US dollars, the pressure is obviously not large.
The 58-year-old Nicolas Cage has been in the film industry for more than 40 years. At his peak, he won the Oscar for Best Actor with "Leaving Las Vegas". Financial black hole. By 2014, films such as "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Soul Chariot 2: The Moment of Vengeance" starred in him suffered consecutive failures in word of mouth and box office; Became the face of low-budget action movies. If you go back a few decades ago, the kind of films that Cage has frequently starred in in recent years will not enter the theater at all, and they are all directly released on video tapes or DVDs; and in today's Internet age, such works will also not enter the theater. , are sold directly to streaming media platforms for video on demand (VOD).
According to U.S. media reports, Cage has almost run out of his family wealth. Once upon a time, his net worth of up to 150 million US dollars has been lost, and he still owes the tax bureau 6.3 million US dollars in property taxes. This also explains why he accepts all kinds of low-cost films without refusing to come. As long as he can earn a paycheck, it doesn't matter how much or how little or the quality of the work. However, the accumulated salary also helped him slowly get out of financial difficulties.
In a recent interview with the media, he recalled his most embarrassing experience: "I did owe a lot of money at the time, and the IRS was chasing me. On the other hand, it was just to help my mother heal her spirits. I'm spending $20,000 a month on sickness, but that's my mom, and I can't get away with that. Anyway, it all came together."
According to Cage, at that time, many people suggested that he simply file for bankruptcy. Anyway, there is a precedent for such a thing in Hollywood; and according to US law, after an individual applies for bankruptcy, there can be a buffer period for a long time, and the basic life can be With a guarantee, creditors can't push you too hard. However, Cage said he didn't want to go down that road at all, and started making film after film without fuss.
Of course, as a gold medal winner, he actually has his own artistic principles. "Even when I was making four movies in a year, I had my own bottom line, that is, in this drama and in this character, there must be a place where I can fully devote myself to the performance. Now It seems that these works are indeed not very good. Except for a very small number, such as "Mandy", the rest are not very good. But I want to emphasize that even if it is a film like this, I make it with all my heart. I have never been perfunctory. I know that many people misunderstand that I am playing these roles and I am just pretending to go through the motions, but it is not. I am 100% committed to acting in every play.”
A year and a half ago, he signed to star in "The Unbearable Weight of Genius", which completely paid off all the debts in the past. The film made its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the United States in March, and was applauded for several minutes by thousands of audience members. The festival's artistic director also awarded Cage a poster with "Forty Years of Genius" printed on it. The champion gold belt of the golden sentence. Counting last year's "Pig", Cage, who was once known as the king of bad movies, has performed two high-quality works in a row. Next, as long as a blockbuster finds him, he is expected to return to the position of Hollywood first-line actor.
In all, it has been fourteen years since the last "National Treasure" was released. Many fans are looking forward to the news that the third film will start, but Cage said that it seems that there is little hope for the time being. Although the series producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Jerry Bruckheimer) has always had great confidence in him, Disney But not so. "They are like a giant ocean-going ship. Once the course is determined, if you want to change course, you may have to send a million small tugboats. However, personally speaking, compared to shooting "National Treasure", I would have enjoyed making independent films like 'Pig' and 'Leaving Las Vegas.'"