Best Of The Week (8/23/2021 - 8/30/2021)

By Casey Lee Clark 
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We're back with another "Best Of The Week" article, where we check in with not only the new physical media releases of the week but also a list of the top 10 results from the box office this past weekend, plus the top 10 streaming titles of the week on both film and television. We hope that this new weekly snapshot provides you with all of the information you want for movies currently playing in theaters, movies arriving on physical media, and movies available to stream. Please send us your feedback as this is a new weekly column for the site. Thank you!

​Now, let's take a look and see where the industry is at today!

August 27th - 29th Weekend Box Office (Top 10)
1. Candyman - $22,370,000 (NEW)
2. Free Guy - $13,556,000 (v)
3. PAW Patrol: The Movie - $6,625,000 (v)
4. Jungle Cruise - $5,020,000 (v)
5. Don’t Breathe 2 - $2,835,000 (v)
6. Respect - $2,170,000 (v)
7. The Suicide Squad - $2,035,000 (v)
9. The Protege - $1,650,000 (v)
9. The Night House - $1,218,000 (v)
10. Black Widow - $855,000 (v)

Dropped Out Of The Top 10 (Total To Date)
12. Reminiscence - $3,514,000

Topping the box office this week is the horror sequel "Candyman," making Nia DaCosta the first Black female director to have a film open at number one. Like the majority of the pandemic, a new release has debuted at number one, which makes sense as audiences are clearly showing some interest in seeing new big releases on the opening weekend rather than waiting a couple of weeks for word-of-mouth or catching films more than once and maintaining a substantial box office presence like in the pre-pandemic times. "Free Guy" is still holding strong in its third week with $13,556,000. It's a fun film with decent word-of-mouth and is also only showing in theaters, likely giving it a leg up over films simultaneously released on streamers or VOD. "PAW Patrol: The Movie" came in at number three with $6,625,000, clearly popular for families with younger children. Despite its premiere access on Disney Plus, "Jungle Cruise" is still making a dent at the box office in its fifth week with $5,020,000. Like "Candyman" this week and previous releases this summer, horror and especially horror sequels are still quite popular with audiences, making "Don't Breathe 2's" showing at number 5 not that surprising despite the film's mixed reception. "Respect" has maintained a modest box office performance, earning $2,170,000 in its third week. It is a crowd-pleasing biopic about a famous figure played by a popular star. It has little to compete with currently as far as films like it, so it's no surprise that audiences are responding to it. Despite being available on HBOMax, people are still going out to see "The Suicide Squad," earning $2,035,000 in its fourth week. However, the other Warner Bros. title that is not holding strong is Lisa Joy's directorial debut "Reminiscence," which fell out of the top 10 after only its second week of release. Two of last week's new releases, "The Protege" and "The Night House," did not go down much at the box office, holding the 8 and 9 spots this week, respectively. Finally, even after two months in theaters, even with its premiere access on Disney Plus, and even after its controversy over its release and the salary of star Scarlett Johansson, "Black Widow" is still finding its way into the box office top 10. Never underestimate the power of Marvel. ​

New Physical Media Releases

***ALL IMAGES BELOW ARE DIRECT LINKS TO PURCHASE THE MOVIES THROUGH AMAZON***

By far, the most prominent new release of the week is the 2021 movie musical "In the Heights," coming to 4K UHD and Blu-ray. Based on the Broadway show by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Jon M. Chu, the film stars Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Olga Merediz, and Jimmy Smits. The other big recent releases coming to Blu-ray this week are the French coming of age film "Summer of 85", directed by François Ozon, and the sports drama "12 Mighty Orphans", starring Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Robert Duvall, and Martin Sheen. One of Arrow Video's biggest releases of the year comes out this week with the 1984 adaptation of the famous sci-fi epic "Dune" by director David Lynch, likely capitalizing on the property's current popularity as film fans eagerly anticipate Denis Villeneuve's version. This edition by Arrow will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and two different Limited Edition 4K Steelbooks. From the Paramount Presents label comes a new release of the 1976 children's gangster musical (yes, you heard that right) "Bugsy Malone," directed by Alan Parker and starring Jodie Foster and Scott Baio. The Fun City Editions label from Vinegar Syndrome is releasing the 1975 western "Rancho Deluxe," directed by Frank Perry and starring Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston.Last but not least, the 2015 film "Beasts of No Nation" comes from the Criterion Collection, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and starring Abraham Attah and Idris Elba. This was the first significant original film by Netflix, so having an excellent Blu-ray release seems only fitting for this important film and a terrific entry in the partnership between the Criterion Collection and Netflix. 

​Top 10 Streaming Titles (Provided By JustWatch)

One property clearly dominated streaming this week: Spider-Man. Thanks to the trailer release for the upcoming "Spider-Man: No Way Home" this past week, the famous web-slinger was clearly on everyone's minds as "Spider-Man," "Spider-Man: Far From Home," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "Spider-Man 2", "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" all topped the streaming charts this week. As its sequel hit theaters, the original "Candyman" was a popular watch at home this week. "The Green Knight" is still popular on VOD, while 2020's "The Courier" starring Benedict Cumberbatch arrived on Amazon Prime. Finally, "The Swimming Pool," otherwise known by its French title "La Piscine," from 1969 managed to make the top 10 this week as its recent restoration arrived to streaming. 

​What do you think of this new format? Your feedback is greatly appreciated as we attempt to give you a snapshot of where the industry is at every week. We will be updating this every Monday. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below or on our Twitter account. Thank you!

You can follow Casey and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @CaseyLeeClark