#BOXOFFICE: “HALLOWEEN” IS A CUT ABOVE THE REST IN SECOND WEEK

For a second week straight, HALLOWEEN takes the top of the Box Office again with $31.4 million from 3,990 theatres for Universal Pictures. In its domestic run thus far, it has made $126 million and last weekend got the distinction of second-highest opening ever in October.

Still shining bright is A STAR IS BORN is second finally toppling VENOM, that one being in third spot.  The former gets $14 million in its third week out, a total $148 million over three weeks for Warner Bros. The latter gets $10.2 million, with $182 million being its three week tally for Sony Pictures.

HUNTER KILLER starring Gerard Butler opens in fourth with $7 million for Lionsgate Films/VVS Films, playing at 2,720 theatres. Despite only 35% from Critics on the Tomatometer, it gets an A- CinemaScore from Audiences.

MID90s, the directorial debut of Jonah Hill is in ninth with $3.7 million for A24 Films/VVS Films, expanding to 1,206 theatres in its second week. It gets 78% on the Tomatometer.

NIGHT SCHOOL rounds-out the Top Ten with a respectable $3.2 million for Universal Pictures, a run of $71.4 million over five weeks.

#BOXOFFICE: “HALLOWEEN” UP TO OLD TRICKS TAKING TOP SPOT IN BOW

Up to its old tricks, HALLOWEEN debuts huge this weekend to the tune of $80.5 million this weekend from 3,928 theatres for Blumhouse Productions/Universal Pictures. The direct Sequel some 40 years later, ignoring the other Films in the Franchise, gets 81% on the Tomatometer and B+ CinemaScore. This easily is a Franchise-best opening, the best belonging prior to 2007’s Halloween: Resurrection which debuted with $26 million.

In second a third week in-a-row is A STAR IS BORN, still pulling in big numbers with $18.8 million in week three for Warner Bros. It surpasses $125 million in earnings this weekend.

VENOM is in third with $17.5 million for Sony Pictures, a tally of $170.5 million over three weeks.

GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN lands in fourth with $10.1 million for Sony Pictures also, a two week total of $29.2 million.

FIRST MAN is in fifth this weekend with $8.9 million a two week run of $30.3 million for Universal Pictures.

THE HATE U GIVE expands to 2,303 theatres this weekend for 20th Century Fox, placing sixth with $7.7 million, a total $10.9 million grossed since its limited opening. Reviews are phenomenal with 96% on the Tomatometer and a rare A+ CinemaScore.

THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN rounds-out the Top Ten with $1.9 million, expanding to 802 theatres for Fox Searchlight this weekend. Robert Redford’s final bow as an Actor gets 90% on the Tomatometer.

#GIVEAWAY: ENTER TO WIN ADVANCE PASSES TO SEE “HALLOWEEN”

 

MICHAEL MYERS IS BACK AND SCARIER THAN EVER. CRITICS ARE CALLING HALLOWEEN “ABSOLUTELY THRILLING AND TERRIFYING!” “IT’S NOT JUST A GREAT HORROR MOVIE. IT’S A GREAT MOVIE, PERIOD.” FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES. HALLOWEEN. IN THEATRES OCTOBER 19TH.

Mr. Will x Universal Pictures Canada want to give Readers a chance to attend an Advance Screening of eagerly-awaited HALLOWEEN!

 

Screenings take place as follows:
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17TH

Toronto               Cineplex Yonge & Eglinton            7:00 PM

Vancouver           Cineplex International Village       7:00 PM

Montreal             Cineplex Montreal Forum              7:00 PM

 

Synopsis:

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

 

See the Trailer:

 

Artwork:

 

 

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and tell us one thing that keeps creeping-up from your past that needs to die already. Also please indicate your City. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance.

Universal Pictures Canada release HALLOWEEN Friday, October 19, 2018.

 

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

#TIFF18: “HALLOWEEN” REVIEW

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Director David Gordon Green unleashed Halloween and Michael Myers on TIFF audiences for the World Premiere earlier tonight, forty years after Director John Carpenter’s legendary Film. Despite that forty-year time gap, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis)  still is haunted by the murders committed by Myers (Nick Castle) to her family and friends. She has spent that time training and preparing for his return, praying he will be set free so she can take her revenge. And after Myers escapes from a bus crash and starts murdering local citizens, Laurie just might get her wish.

Halloween is a total blast from start to finish, full stop. Green and Co-Writer Danny McBride (yes, that Danny McBride) pay homage to the original Film and add plenty of references and endlessly entertaining in-jokes. But more importantly, they deliver a satisfying Sequel that feels very much in vein of the series, but still feels like a unique entry that builds and improves upon the existing foundations set in Carpenter’s legendary Film. They also deliver some of the gnarliest kills and most gruesome violence of the series – and this is a franchise that had Rob Zombie at the helm for a short period of time.

The scares are abundant, the score (co-written by Carpenter) is spectacular and the Supporting Cast is great in their roles. But the Film belongs to Curtis. She is a certified bad bitch who is not to be messed with, and she owns every moment she appears on-screen. And while there is nuance to some of her early scenes, the later scenes where she faces off against Michael Myers play out just as amazing as you hoped they would.

Halloween screens on Saturday, September 9 at 11:30 PM at Elgin Theatre and 11:59 PM at Winter Garden Theatre [World Premiere].

#TIFF18: TEAM MR. WILL’S TOP TIFF PICPICKS

With tickets now being on sale at TIFF ’18, Team Mr. Will come together to give you a few of what we anticipate will be great at the Festival! Check-out our Picpicks!

 

GEORGE KOZERA

BEAUTIFUL BOY: A tragic story of how drug addiction affects a family, will this be the movie that gives Timothée Chalamet the Oscar he richly deserved to get last year?

A MILLION LITTLE PIECES: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals) reunites with Director Sam Taylor-Johnson after their brilliant collaboration with Nowhere Man, this movie could be the Feel-Bad Movie of the Year with a rocking Soundtrack.

BOY ERASED: A powerhouse cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, Joel Edgerton, Xavier Dolan and Flea, this Conversion Therapy Movie should enrage, engage and explore religious dogmas.

FIRST MAN: Director Damien Chazelle does not disappoint and this Biopic on astronaut Neil Armstrong (played by Ryan Gosling) could be his winning Trifecta.

THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN: When Robert Redford announced that this would be his last movie as an actor, how can anyone not want to see his swan song?

 

SIOBHÁN RICH

WIDOWS – Strong female leads and a unique story make this a must-see on anybody’s list.

FIRST MAN – Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle are back with a new take on a familiar story.

FAHRENHEIT 11/9 – Michael Moore loves bringing his films to Toronto and this modern sequel to his award winning Fahrenheit 9/11 has been much anticipated for years.

EVERYBODY KNOWS – You can’t go wrong with this cast and this Director.

THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF CELESTE GARCIA – Without giving too much away – my sleeper pick of the Festival is sure to be a favourite with both foreign film and Sci-Fi fans.

JUSTIN WALDMAN

THE OLD MAN & THE GUN: Robert Redford is a bonafide legend. If rumours are to be believed and thus his final film, let’s see what the legend has in for us.

FIRST MAN: Damien Chazelle. Ryan Gosling. Space. IMAX. I’m so incredibly excited for this title. Chazelle has yet to disappoint and early reviews out of Venice say this is another hit.

RED JOAN: Judi Dench playing a KGB British spy. Is there anything else that needs to be said?

MID90s: Everything A24 has put out that I’ve seen, I’ve adored. Now Jonah Hill is making a movie about the 90s. Yeah, I’m sold.

HOLD THE DARK: Jeremy Saulnier can do no wrong. Green Room. Blue Ruin. I’m ready for this movie to be projected into my eyeballs Clockwork Orange style.

 

DAVID BALDWIN
While I lament the loss of dream picks The Favorite and Suspiria, I must admit that this year’s crop of films at TIFF has a little bit of something for everyone. Here are my top must-sees:

A STAR IS BORN — the hype for this one has been off the charts for well over a year, and it just keeps building. Bradley Cooper’s debut behind the camera and a supposedly towering leading performance from Lady Gaga makes this one of this year’s hottest tickets, and you better believe I’m doing everything I can to see it.

FIRST MAN — I’ve gone 2/2 with Damien Chazelle, going in blind and absolutely adoring both Whiplash and La La Land. I can only hope I’ll go 3/3 with this one. And while it still stings that Ryan Gosling turned me down for a selfie the last time he was here, he still can do no wrong in my books.

HALLOWEEN — I’m still more curious than I am excited about this “Sequel” to the legendary Horror Film, mostly because Danny McBride is co-writing and they managed to bring Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis back for another round against Michael Myers. But with the involvement of original Director John Carpenter and producing credits from Blumhouse, they may just end up creating a new bonafide classic.

CLIMAX — Gaspar Noé never fails to shock and impress, so forgive me when I say the sounds of a 90 minute LSD trip of a film sounds like an absolutely wicked time at the Movies. It may prove to be challenging to schedule, but after the head trips provided by Love and Enter the Void, I’m willing to move heaven and earth to see what he’s cooked-u next.

HOLD THE DARK — Jeremy Saulnier is one of the best up and coming Directors in genre filmmaking right now, and his latest film sounds like his most thrilling and brutal entry yet. This one hits Netflix in a few weeks, but being able to see it on a big screen is too great an opportunity to pass up. Especially when the Cast includes Jeffrey Wright, Riley Keough and Alexander Skarsgård.

 

JONATHAN GODFREY

What keeps me interested in TIFF is not the stars, premieres or topical trends. What keeps me interested in TIFF is offbeat projects like the following:

DIAMANTINO: a soccer player stumbles through the surreal in an effort to redeem himself.

GIRL: a deeply personal and visually driven transgender experience.

LEGEND OF THE DEMON CAT: an Emperor is possessed and an odd couple seek out the demon.

RAFIKI: a pair of star-crossed lovers must face a world who hates and fears them.

SCREWBALL: Baseball’s doping secrets are drudged up in this hilarious Documentary.

 

AMANDA GILMORE

A STAR IS BORN: Before this Film screened at Venice, reviews got released stating it’s a near-perfect Film. Plus the combination of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper should not be missed.

BEAUTIFUL BOY: Right from the Trailer being released this looked like a special Family Drama with yet another flawless performance from Timothée Chalamet.

WILD ROSE: This is a passionate music drama Film that will have you feeling every emotion. It also cements the fact that Jessie Buckley is a chameleon.

MONSTERS AND MEN: This Film about a police shooting of a black man told from three different perspectives is not only a must see because it’s timely, it also received a tone of buzz coming out of Sundance.

WILDLIFE: Paul Dano‘s directorial debut about a boy watching his parents marriage fall apart is both heartbreaking yet hauntingly beautiful with a tour-de-force performance from Carey Mulligan.

 

MR. WILL

A STAR IS BORN: All this buzz can’t be wrong. I love when Film meets Music, my two greatest loves.

BEAUTIFUL BOY: So ready to be Chalametized!

FIRST MAN: I love Ryan Gosling. Could it finally be his year? Him + Director Damien Chazelle are perfect together.

THE HATE U GIVE: This is all looking like all sorts of yes. Never read the book, but ready for Amandla Stenberg to school me.

DESTROYER: Nicole rarely disappoints. So ready to get ‘destroyed’.

 

Don’t forget to be following Team Mr. Will also:

Dave Baldwin: @davemabaldwin

Amanda Gilmore: @gilmoreamanda

George Kozera: @partyg

Siobhan Rich: @typo_eh

Justin Waldman: @dubsreviews

Jonathan Godfrey: @skot_somers

 

Tickets are on sale now here!

#FIRSTLOOK: SPEND YOUR HALLOWEEN WITH NETFLIX | RECIPE IDEAS

Halloween is just around the corner and while it is a joy seeing all the adorable little costumes, let’s be real for a second, it’s super annoying having to pause what we’re watching on TV every time that doorbell rings! Never fret, Netflix has the perfect solution for your Halloween night viewing so that you can plan around all the ghoulish unpredictability that ensues! Get those bloody thumbs ready!

Here’s your “Pause + Effect” schedule:

Planning on staying in? Love STRANGER THINGS? Why not try these Series-inspired creations which positively look horrific and taste terrific below:

FRENCH ONION BARB

DEMOGORGON PIE

Happy Halloween!

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)