Plus Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna Dominate Netflix Competition
By Elton Allen
Welcome to The Couch Potato Corner, where every week I will be going over the latest news from Tinsel Town in both streaming as well as the traditional box office. I know that some of us are a bit more comfortable going to the theater these days, so I wanted to provide both options so that you can decide what you will be adding to your queue this week. This past weekend was President’s Day Weekend, which means that Hollywood had a bunch of new releases. Could any of them hope to usurp our friendly neighborhood, Spider Man and his climb to the top of the charts?
It turns out that, if anyone could do it, it would be Tom Holland himself who ditched the suit and partnered up with Mark Wahlberg and director Ruben Fleischer in Uncharted, which was the number one movie at the box office this past weekend. Mr. Holland is proving to be quite the movie star adding Uncharted to his recent list of Top 10 placements as Uncharted became one of the Top 10 Highest Grossing President’s Day Weekend openings of all time. Not too shabby of an accolade as he joins the ranks of Deadpool, Black Panther, and 2020’s runaway hit Sonic the Hedgehog. A Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 90% helped add a bit of icing to the cake, as Tom Holland gets set to renew his contract for another Spider Man trilogy as well as his recent confirmation of his role as Fred Astaire in a new biopic, also being produced by Sony. With Spiderman No Way Home officially surpassing James Cameron’s Avatar to take the number three spot on the All-Time Domestic Box Office list, only being topped by Avengers Endgame and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it seems like it was a pretty good President’s Day Weekend for our friend from across the pond, Tom Holland.
In other box office news, Channing Tatum’s dreams of reviving his movie star status seem to be off to a decent start. His newest movie, Dog, which he co-directed in addition to starring in, brought in $18 million in its opening weekend, along with a 91% audience score. He also has another movie on the horizon where he will be starring opposite Sandra Bullock and Daniel Radcliffe called The Lost City. Seems like this Step Up and Magic Mike star has a few moves left in his repertoire after all. I will keep you posted on how that movie performs next month.
Finally, for all my couch potatoes out there, let’s get into what happened in the world of streaming this past weekend. I’m sure you’ve all heard of The Tinder Swindler, which tells the story of Simon Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Hayut, who allegedly posed as a wealthy, diamond mogul who wooed women online in an attempt to con them out of millions of dollars. You are not alone in hearing about this phenomenon of a hit, as it is the number one movie according to Netflix’s internal lists with over 64 million hours viewed last week. Its closest competition was the Millennial/Gen Z staple, Tall Girl 2, which is a teen romantic comedy which tells the story of, you guessed it…. a tall girl. Poke fun all you want, but Netflix is laughing its way to the bank as it yielded over 27 million hours viewed in its opening week. Not too shabby at all.
In the TV corner of Netflix, Inventing Anna, the story of Anna Delvey, who conned New York’s elite into believing she was a German heiress, took the number one spot on their list with over 77 million hours viewed. As a true crime fan myself, this has my vote for what you should be setting your Netflix to play. Her story is absolutely crazy, and with Shonda Rhimes of Shondaland fame at the helm, I think it will make a great choice for your next Netflix binge. If that isn’t your style, perhaps Season 2 of Sweet Magnolias, following Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue, will be more up your alley as it took the second-place spot with 58 million hours viewed this week.
Finally, let’s look ahead to next week. Nothing too notable will be hitting the box office as everyone makes way for Robert Pattinson’s The Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves, Warner Brothers is hoping for a runaway hit to give their Marvel competition a run for their money. However, if you’re looking for an absolutely whacky horror movie, you can check out Studio 666, which stars the Foo Fighters…. yes, you read that right. If you’re looking for more of a cultural experience, Peter Dinklage’s new movie, Cyranno, might be your choice. For those of you who are staying home this weekend, Netflix has you covered with new content debuting on Friday, including Vikings: Valhalla, South Korea’s Juvenile Justice, and Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming. Disney + is also a major contender for your attention as they are hoping for a big revamp of their classic show, The Proud Family, which is set to launch on Wednesday, February 23rd, with notable guest spots already lined up including Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Jane Lynch, Brenda Song (speaking of old school Disney Channel shows), and Chance the Rapper.
That’s all I’ve got for this week’s edition of The Couch Potato’s Corner. Tune in next week to see how your favorites performed at the Box Office and in homes across the country.