The Fate of the Furious held on to the number one spot last weekend and the big story this weekend is the release of The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but something interesting happened in the North American box office that is worth noting.
The number two and number three movies at the box office were How to be a Latin Lover and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, respectively, beating the star power of Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in The Circle. How to be a Latin Lover is a comedy featuring Mexican stars Eugenio Derbez and Salma Hayek but also features Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Raquel Welch, Rob Riggle, Michael Cera and Rob Corddry and grossed $12 million on 1,118 screens, almost 3,000 fewer than Furious. It also did not get released in Canada (possibly because 89 per cent of the opening weekend audience was Hispanic) but with its surprise success across the border (it received an “A” CinemaScore and currently holds an 81 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes), maybe we will see it on screens in this country.
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion only had 425 screens in North America (a handful of which were in Canada including Landmark Cinemas Grand 10) and still managed a $10.1 million gross. It is from India and was produced by what is known as Tollywood, the segment of Indian cinema that makes movies in the Telugu language. It is going to have at least another week at the Grand 10 (with English subtitles) so if you are curious about what the massive India film industry is all about, you may want to check it out.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is going to rule the box office all over the world this weekend with an expected $150 million gross from North America alone. Of course, one of the stars of the movie is Awesome Mixtape #2, featuring some classic music that will be the backdrop to some awesome action scenes, but stars Chris Pratt, Zoë Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Racoon and Vin Diesel as the voice of Baby Groot are returning as well. Set right after the first movie, the Guardians must not only save the galaxy again, but also have to fight to keep their new-found family together while Star Lord Peter Quill discovers secrets of his own family.
The Grand 10 also has a few other choices if you are looking for something different. The Dinner is a dramatic thriller based upon the international bestseller by Herman Koch starring Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall and Chloë Sevigny. It is a story that unfolds during a seemingly civilized dinner between two couples to discuss how to handle a crime committed by their teenage sons.
The Northlander is the debut feature film from Calgary filmmaker Benjamin Hayden. It is a sci-fi action movie set in the year 2961 about a hunter named Cygnus who must travel across a treacherous landscape to save his people.