By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --"Elvis" has won its box-office dance-off with "Top Gun: Maverick." After the two films reported the same ticket sales Sunday, Monday's final numbers has "Elvis," alone, as king of the weekend.
"Elvis" ultimately grossed $31.1 million from Friday to Sunday, according to Warner Bros.' final figures Monday. That's a touch above the $30.5 million the studio forecast on Sunday. When film studios report box office on Sunday, they're able to fairly accurately predict Sunday's ticket sales.
Paramount Pictures, on the other hand, slightly overestimated how "Top Gun: Maverick" fared in its fifth weekend. After the studio reported the same $30.5 million for the "Top Gun" sequel on Sunday, the studio's final number came in at $29.6 million.
Regardless, both films performed well. Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic opened above expectations, and brought out large numbers of older moviegoers — a segment of the audience that's been slow to return to theaters during the pandemic.
"Top Gun: Maverick" continued to hold remarkably well, dipping a modest 34% percent in its fifth weekend. Overall, the Joseph Kosinski-directed film starring Tom Cruise has earned about $1 billion worldwide, including more than $520 million domestically.
Review: Director James Watkins’ “Speak No Evil”
Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?
Nope, and there's no signal at Paddy and Ciara's house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in "Speak No Evil," meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.
After all, how bad could it be?
Don't answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of "Speak No Evil," a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film, here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.
Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, "Speak No Evil" becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.
But for a while, it's a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I'll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.
We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film's most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they... Read More