The latest chapter in the growing directory of Abu Dhabi's cinema appearances landed on screens across the UAE last weekend, when The Misfits, starring Pierce Brosnan and Tim Roth, was released.
The movie was directed by Renny Harlin, who helmed Die Hard 2, and also features local and regional talent, including Emirati favourite Mansour Alfeeli and Finnish-Palestinian rally driver-turned-actor Rami Jaber. Jaber also executive produces and came up with the plot for the movie, which was shot extensively across Abu Dhabi in 2019. The film lines up alongside other Abu Dhabi-shot blockbusters such as instalments in the Mission: Impossible and Star Wars franchises, and Bollywood hits Dishoom and Tiger Zinda Hai, to name a few.
Fast & Furious 7, which also included scenes shot in the UAE capital, springs to mind when comparing this new film, with its rally-driving co-star and creator, and a plotline concerning a band of loveable rogues committing crimes, Robin Hood-style, for all the right reasons. But did the newcomer compete as well at the box office?
Even with Harlin, Roth and Brosnan on board, it's perhaps unreasonable to ask The Misfits to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Fast & Furious 7 at the box office. The latter banked more than $1.5 billion at the global box office and was the fourth-highest-grossing film in history on its release in 2015. The franchise itself is the seventh highest-grossing film series, while fellow Abu Dhabi alum Star Wars (parts of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was shot in the UAE) ranks second in the list, and Mission: Impossible sits at a respectable 16th.
In short, The Misfits didn't compete with these films on its opening weekend, but it certainly held its own. The three-day figures for the opening weekend of last Thursday to Saturday show that the film reached fifth place at the UAE box office, with 13,482 admissions at the weekend.
The weekend box office was topped by another new release, The Boss Baby: Family Business, with 29,913 admissions. The Forever Purge sneaked into the fourth spot by less than 300 paying customers, while second and third places went to the Arabic hit Mesh Ana and Pixar animation Luca, in their second and third week in cinemas respectively.
While the UAE records its box office by admissions rather than US dollar gross, the weekend haul translates to about $147,000 (assuming a Dh40 average ticket price). That's already more than almost every other territory where the film has released so far. In South Korea, where it had its global premiere and opened on June 3, it has so far grossed a total of $8,463, according to Box Office Mojo. In South Africa, where it opened on June 11, it has so far pulled in $54,454, while in Ukraine it has grossed $82,513 since its June 17 release. Only Russia has so far outperformed the UAE at the box office with a $557,600 haul since its June 9 opening.
The Misfits did not achieve a wide cinema release in the US, but instead went straight to video on demand at the end of June, and audiences seemed to lap it up. With a $6.99 price tag, the film spent much of the last two weeks of June as the top-selling non-premium VoD title on iTunes and also topped the non-premium charts at both FandangoNow and Vudu.
Financial figures are not yet available for these VoD successes, but a fairly healthy return seems assured, and with a range of releases across Europe and Australia already confirmed for the remainder of July and August, it looks like it should certainly keep clocking up the pennies as cinemas spring back to life.
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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GYAN’S ASIAN OUTPUT
2011-2015: Al Ain – 123 apps, 128 goals
2015-2017: Shanghai SIPG – 20 apps, 7 goals
2016-2017: Al Ahli (loan) – 25 apps, 11 goals
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
