Film | by Shane “Electric Boogaloo” Hnetka
Everything is getting a “day” lately. Star Wars Day is every May 4 (as per the whole “May The Fourth Be With You” pun), and now there’s “Alien Day” on April 26, or 4/26. (In the movie Alien, the planet the astronauts land on is called LB 426. Clever). Wonder Woman Day is on June 3 (the movie opens June 2), and there’s been a Batman Day the last two Septembers, although the date keeps moving (this year it’s Sept. 26, last year it was the 17th). When will it stop? The calendar doesn’t exist to advertise whatever pop-culture purveyor is pushing merch that week.
Baahubali 2: Electric Baahugaloo
A couple of years ago I wrote about a breakout Indian blockbuster that opened in wide release around the world, including here. Baahubali: The Beginning was a big-budget epic that was a hit across the globe. Now, the sequel has opened even bigger than the original — a shockingly strong $10 million opening in North America on only 425 screens.
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion even made more than Tom Hanks’ new film, The Circle, which opened in over 3,000 theatres but only made $9 million.
This means a massive amount of people went to see a foreign language movie playing a very limited run — enough to make it crack North America’s box office top five. There might be hope for the world yet.
Black And White Noir
Following in the footsteps of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road Black & Chrome, Logan is getting the black and white treatment. Director James Mangold enjoyed the superhero film’s look in black and white, reckoned it makes sense given Logan’s gritty and grimy style, and decided it deserved a monochromatic re-release. And so, for one night in several American cities, the Alamo Drafthouse theatre chain will screen Logan Noir, a black and white version of Mangold and Hugh Jackman’s much-praised final Wolverine movie.
If you can’t make it to an Alamo Drafthouse theatre on May 16, you can still see Logan Noir as a Blu-ray extra when Logan arrives on Blu-ray May 23. Pretty sweet.
Shane Hnetka is a made-in-Saskatchewan film and comic book nerd.