After two years of pandemic-induced doldrums, the summer blockbuster season returned with a bang this year.
We’ve seen Tom Cruise break his box office opening record in Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis outperform all expectations for a musical biopic and Nope smash records for an R-rated horror.
Of course, there’s more to the cinematic year than summer blockbusters. With autumn now well underway, David O Russel’s Amsterdam has stepped up to offer a reminder that, to paraphrase Isaac Newton, for every box office smash, there’s an equal and opposite flop.
Here are some of the year’s biggest.
'Amsterdam'
Amsterdam seemed to have everything required for huge commercial success. It was Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle director David O Russell’s first big-screen outing in seven years. It featured an all-star ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Taylor Swift and Robert De Niro, among many others, and it opened on a weekend when its biggest competition came from a singing cartoon reptile in Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.
Pre-release, critics were unconvinced by the quirky film’s non-traditional structure, sometimes confusing narrative and overall lack of an obvious purpose, and audiences voted with their feet. The $80 million film made a little over $18 million at the box office.
'The Northman'
It seems harsh to class Robert Eggers’s big-budget debut as a flop. Critics loved it, cinephiles flocked to their local art house cinema to gush over it and it’s almost guaranteed to feature highly in many end-of-year "best of" lists. Unfortunately critics, cinephiles and lists don’t pay the bills for a $90m production, which saw indie horror darling Eggers switch to a Shakespeare-inspired Viking epic for the big screens.
The directing was impeccable, the cast top drawer (Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Willem Defoe, Anya Taylor-Joy et al), the script faultless (can you go wrong with Norse mythology and Macbeth as your starting points?). The box office, however, was dismal. The film took back around two-thirds of its estimated budget.
'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent'
Anecdotal research suggests that Nicolas Cage features in around half of all internet memes currently doing the rounds on social media, so when it was revealed that the prolific, and much-loved, star would be appearing as a fictionalised version of himself in Tom Gormican’s self-mocking, satirical comedy the web was predictably ablaze.
The film was a riot, featuring fractured father-daughter relationships, post-modern nods to Cage’s rollercoaster career, arms dealers, kidnapping, incompetent CIA agents, and Paddington. None of this translated into admissions, however, and the film fell short of recouping its $30m budget globally.
It possibly wasn’t helped by its release date, which saw it competing with another high-budget indie in the shape of The Northman, and came at the height of Everything, Everywhere All at Once’s breakout success cannibalising indie audiences. In its favour, it’s the kind of film that could have a successful second life on streaming, which is perhaps where it would have been better released in the first place.
'Morbius'
It’s rare to find a Marvel feature on this sort of list, even more so when that movie is part of Sony’s all-conquering Spiderverse. Jared Leto’s superhuman vampire Morbius, however, represented something of a bump in the road for the franchise.
On paper, the film doesn’t appear to be an out-and-out flop. It topped the North American box office on its release weekend, with a $39m opening haul, and it grossed more than $160m globally — more than double its production budget. These figures need some perspective, however.
Following that healthy domestic opening, it suffered a 74 per cent drop off in its second week, the worst of any big-ticket superhero movie to date. As for that $160m-plus figure, we should bear in mind that cinemas typically take up to 40 per cent of admission fees, distribution doesn’t come free, and big movies, and big superhero movies in particular, often spend at least as much as production again on marketing the film. Studios don’t break these figures down for the general public as a matter of course, but Morbius seems likely to have broken even at best.
'Blacklight'
There was a time when the combination of Liam Neeson and a mid-budget action flick with lots of shooting was a guaranteed recipe for box office success. Specifically, that time was for a few years after the release of Luc Besson’s 2008 genre classic Taken. It is not, it seems, 2022.
In Blacklight, Neeson stars as an FBI fixer who wants to retire to spend more time with his family. Naturally this desire coincides with him becoming entangled in a web involving a rogue agent and a massive government conspiracy. Shooting ensues, but audiences failed to respond.
To be fair, the film just about met expectations on its opening weekend, banking $3.5m at the domestic box office while tracking had predicted an opening $1 to $5m. Thereafter, however, it promptly sank without trace, suggesting Neeson’s very particular set of skills may have outlived its usefulness.
'Moonfall'
Roland Emmerich has made a successful career of big-budget, set-piece blockbusters. That’s great for studios’ bank accounts when it works, such as with Independence Day ($817.4m global gross in 1996, or over $1.5bn adjusted for inflation in 2022) and The Day After Tomorrow ($522.6m in 2004, or $821m today). When it doesn’t work, its eye-watering.
And it definitely didn’t work in his latest alien invasion yarn, which bombed at box offices around the world in February. With a production budget of almost $150m, the film pulled back a mere $59.1m from audiences. Factor in the marketing, cinema cuts and other costs and we could be looking at losses in the region of $300m, giving the film an unwelcome seat at the table among the biggest box office bombs of all time.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
Royal Birkdale Golf Course
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
The years Ramadan fell in May
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
FIGHT CARD
From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Welterweight
Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
Catchweight 100kg
Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
Featherweight
James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)
Welterweight
Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Bantamweight:
Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
