Box office preview: Kenneth Branagh’s ‘A Haunting in Venice’ hopes to keep Agatha Christie alive
The September of sequels keeps rolling along with another journey into Agatha Christie territory for actor/director Kenneth Branagh with “A Haunting in Venice.” Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
The last time Branagh donned the trademark mustache of French Inspector Hercule Poirot, it was for the 2022 release “Death on the Nile,” another star-studded ensemble whodunnit that was released just as the Omicron variant of COVID was winding down. It opened with a pitiful $12.9 million and made $130.3 million worldwide, compared to the $351.8 million of 2018’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Now, Disney has allowed Branagh to give the franchise another go.
“A Haunting in Venice” changes locale once again, this installment delving more into the realms of horror with Branagh joined by Tina Fey as mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as a medium they encounter, Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill from Branagh’s “Belfast,” Kelly Reilly, Emma Laird and more.
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Much of the interest in the movie comes down to the continued popularity of Christie’s work, which also influenced and inspired Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion.” Somehow, these movies have found a way of bringing in younger moviegoers who may be unfamiliar with Chrisie’s oeuvre. Part of that is due to the casts Branagh assembles, but in this case, the horror element could also help interest those younger audiences that already have seen “The Nun II.”
After weeks of reviews for movies showing up on the Wednesdays and Thursdays of opening, Disney showed “Haunting in Venice” earlier than usual to critics, allowing reviews to run in advance, which may be why it’s gotten decent reviews with 77% on Rotten Tomatoes at this time.
Despite the disappointing showing for “Nile,” “A Haunting in Venice” should be able to get closer to the opening of “Orient Express,” maybe somewhere in the $22 to 25 million range, bolstered by the fact that other sequels are quickly dropping away. If audiences agree with the critics that Branagh.
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Blue Fox Entertainment is releasing Curiosity Studio’s stop-motion animated “The Inventor” about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci moderately wide this weekend as well. Directed by Jim Capobianco and featuring the voices of Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry, Marion Cotillard and Steven Fry, it may be able to just scrape its way into the bottom of the Top 10, although it really depends on whether Blue Fox releases it into over 1,000 theaters or closer to 500 theaters.
Opening in New York and L.A. is Sony’s “Dumb Money,” directed by Craig Gillespie (“Cruella,” “I, Tonya”) and starring Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Nick Offerman, Shailene Woodley, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, America Ferrara and many more. The ensemble comedy tells the story of the GameSpot stock jump of early 2021, driven by Dano’s financial advisor whose YouTube videos as “Roaring Kitty” received a fanatical following, causing mayhem on Wall Street among the hedge fund types who lost billions. (Not too sad as they’re clearly the bad guys in this story.) “Dumb Money” just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival with generally decent reviews so far, and Sony plans to expand it over the next few weeks until its wide release on September 29. I’ll have more to say about the movie’s box office chances then.
Check back on Sunday for the weekend wrap-up to see how these and other movies.
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