Consistency is good!
Weekly Update:
The life of a game does end... last week an app game called The Simpson's Tapped Out announced it will be ending with the final day to play on January 24, 2025. Turns out I have been playing this game for over 9-years! It wasn't a complicated game and unlike a lot of games it wasn't competitive. It was a very casual, fun game surrounded by the theme of Springfield, the home of the Simpsons. I didn't have to worry about troops or a base shield or getting to the next level for enhancements or the ability to upgrade something. It was just a simple, fun and no-brainer game I enjoyed and if I missed a day, so what, I knew nothing would happen and I won't lose anything. So, I am sad to hear this game is ending but I'll definitely keep playing it till the lights turn off.
At the movies:
New at #1 is The Wild Robot with a decent 35 million to open. A good number for this time of year and a film with heart. Next week will tell us how well this movie will do in the long run. Drop down to #2 is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with another 16 mil and now hitting 250 mil, could possibly make it to 300 mil when it's said and done. Sliding down to #3 is Transformers One with 9.3 mil and this looks like it will fall very short of 100 mil mark. New at #4 is Devara Part 1 with 5.1 mil and these numbers aren't very strong that we may not see part 2 in wide release. Rounding off the top 5 is Speak No Evil with an extra 4.3 mill and will be dropping out soon.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week, in at #6 is the epic Megalopolis with only 4 mil to open and definitely fell short of expectations.
Quote of the week:
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." - William Feather
Facts & Tips:
The praying mantis can turn its head 180 degrees.
"Kiss her you fool!" - Stephen Merchant as Dave Gibbs in the TV series The Big Bang Theory.
The heat is GONE?
Weekly Update:
There was a TV sitcom called Cheers back in the early 1980's and in case you don't know what it is was about, a bar in Boston that is owned and operated by a former Red Sox's pitcher named Sam Malone (made up of course) and it was just a place were hijinks ensued every week. One thing I always enjoyed about the show was the spirit and also the theme song of th show, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo. So why do I like it so much? A long time ago I used to go to this placed called Virtual World (another story for another time) and every time I walked it, everyone would cheer "McDuck!" as was my callsign for the establishment. It just reminded me of the show Cheers and when Virtual World closed, I lost that sense of comraderies and home away from home feel. But, I seem to have found a tiny little bit of that at Panera that I frequent often. Some of the people recognize me but just don't know my name and that is OK. I miss that old place, Virtual World... it was my escape from reality I suppose.
At the movies:
Holding it's ground for a 3rd week in-a-row is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with another 26 million and now just past the 200 mil mil mark! Still solid word-of-mouth carrying this film and should get a bit further when it's all said and done. New at #2 is Transformers One with 25 mil to open and I feel this franchise is a bit worn out now. Drop down to #3 is Speak No Evil with 5.9 mil more and still a good overall number for this genre of film. New at #4 is Never Let Go with 4.5 mil and this one will pretty much be let go after another week. Rounding off the top 5 for it's 9th week in release is Deadpool & Wolverine with another 3.9 mil and solidifying it's name in the 600 mil range.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
A couple this week... in at #6 is Substance with 3.1 mil and not much on substance at the box office. Coming in at #9 is Jung Kook: I Am Still with 1.4 mil and maybe they needed to move instead of being still.
Quote of the week:
"Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities." - Frank Lloyd Wright
Facts & Tips:
You transfer more germs shaking hands than kissing.
"Yeah. I heard that bullshit. Look man, Wink is scandalous, dawg." - Mekhi Phifer as Future in 8 Mile.
bring it on down now
Weekly Update:
Popcorn buckets... this is such a big thing now from movie theatres to theme park buckets and most of them do not even hold popcorn very well if you were to use them for that. Theme park buckets are such a big business and they make them exclusive to either coast. By that I mean only certain ones will be at Disneyland in California and some only at Disney World in Florida. So one has to know people in another state to get a certain bucket or travel themselves to get one but then all the costs to do that as well. Also, shipping has gotten super expensive as well lately. And then, once you get these buckets, what do you do with them? They are huge and take up a lot of room, even if you were to display them, they are kind of odd looking after awhile to display. I just do not get this kind of collecting.
At the movies:
The juice holds on to the #1 spot for a 2nd week in a row! Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earns another 51.6 million for it's 2nd week at #1 and now just a small distance to 200 mil, it should get that by mid-week the latest. New at #2 is Speak No Evil with 11.5 mil and not a bad number overall. Hanging on to #3 after 8-weeks is Deadpool & Wolverine with 5.2 mil as it continues to solidify it's mark at the box office this year. New at #4 Am I Racist? with 4.8 mil and I don't see this film lasting very long. Drop down to #5 is Reagan with 2.9 mil and this one is quietly dropping out and should be gone by next week.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Two this week... in at #6 is The Killer's Game with 2.6 mil and not a great number which will quickly be out of theatres. At #10 is God's Not Dead: In God We Trust with only 1.5 mil and also not a great number.
Quote of the week:
"The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows." - Aristotle Onassis
Facts & Tips:
The fear of vegetables is called lachanophobia.
"I'm in a boy band." - Diego Boneta as Drew Boley in Rock of Ages.
Melting away...
Weekly Update:
With how hot it has been this past week and weekend, all I wanted to do is be indoors but like at other places so I don't have to run my AC. I went to the mall on Friday and it was packed, everything had the same idea I did. I met up with a friend for lunch and we stayed indoors instead of going to the park (Disneyland) where it would have been miserable in the heat. On Sunday I tried to hang out at Panera a bit and it was good in the AM but by noon it started to get busy as the after church crowd started to roll in and those avoiding the heat as well. by 9AM it was already about 90 degrees! So you know it was going to be hot and remain hot all day here. Thank you all the indoor places that had their AC on and allowing me to enjoy it as long as I could!
At the movies:
A new #1 at the box office this weekend! Taking the crown is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earning a whopping 110 million. An amazing number for a non-holiday time frame and has good word-of-mouth as well that should carry a strong 2nd week. Drop down to #2 is Deadpool & Wolverine with 7.2 mil more as it crossed the 600 mill threshold. Climbing up to #3 is Reagan with 5.2 mil but still was a small drop while it went up in rankings. Drop down to #4 is Alien: Romulus with 1.9 mil and still on track to hit that 100 mil benchmark soon. Rounding off the top 5 is Ends with Us with 3.8 mil and continues to slowly fade out.
New movies did not make the top 5:
Just one this week coming in at #9 with a limited run of under 600 screens is The Greatest of All Time earning 2 mil and has a per screen value of $3,828.
Quote of the week:
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." - William Shakespeare
Facts & Tips:
The chicken is the closest living relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
"Aziz! Light!" - Luke Perry as Billy in The Fifth Element.
The heat is... staying!
It feels weird when Labor Day is so close to August ending. I've gotten used to it being almost a week after or at least 5-days but September 2nd, it's already Labor Day and we just finished August. You can also tell when it's Labor Day because all the schools are back in session since last week and the traffic has gotten 10x worse then it was during the Summer. But it's like this every year and one would think I would be used to it but I'm not, I hate traffic but who doesn't? I don't know anyone who loves or even likes traffic because it is very boring. Despite having radio, podcasts, books on tape or something, it is still very mind-numbing and boring. I've fallen asleep while driving in traffic, if you can call it driving and not just drifting along at the speed of not having your foot on the break. I can't wait till Winter around mid-December, the traffic should lighten up a lot and last through most of January!
Weekly Update:
It was another warm week this past week and the coming week... even hotter!! I thought Summer is over and everyone is back to school and work and we should be starting Fall. How come the seasons do not align with this or did they at one point but due to global warming, we messed it all up? I just hope the nights continue to be very cool to cold and the early hours of the morning as well. At least where I live, as soon as the sun goes down, it gets way cooler unlike some places I have been it could be 10PM and still in the 90's! It doesn't make sense to me!! Make it make sense! Dark, cooler, not dark- not cooler. Isn't that science or something? Light off, cool, light on not as cool.
At the movies:
Holding to #1 again for it's 6th week (not in-a-row) is Deadpool & Wolverine with another 15.2 million for the holiday weekend and just inches to 600 mil cume. It should get there by mid-morning tomorrow but that is a good number for what is historically a slow movie holiday. Holding to #2 is Alien: Romulus with 9.3 mil extra and getting close to the 100 mil mark which could take a bit more time. Holding at #3 is Ends with Us with 7.4 mil as it slowly starts to wind down. New at #4 is Reagan with 7.4 mil and about where it was expected given the current political climate. Rounding up the top 5 and making it's way back into the charts is Twisters with 7.2 mil extra as it passes the 250 mil semi-mark.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
One this week coming in at #9 on a very big wide-release pattern is AfrAId with only 3.7 mil for it's debut and will disappear from screens quickly.
Quote of the week:
"A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read." - Mark Twain
Facts & Tips:
It is impossible to sneeze while you are sleeping.
"I'll give you two. You can dance the tango and drive a Ferrari better than anyone I've ever seen." - Chris O'Donnell as Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman.
