This isn’t a movie with clear-cut villains and heroes it’s a story of grief and tragedy in a small town.Īs great as the film is to watch, the script is equally as great to read. That’s not to say the film is thematically shallow-McDonagh is committed to showing that answers aren’t easy to come by, and he treats the would-be antagonists of the story (the cops whom Mildred views as ineffectual and apathetic) with surprising nuance. Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand in a committed performance), on paper, could come across as abrasive, but everything she does is a direct result of her daughter’s death and her need for closure and Mildred’s profane, outrageous attitude provides levity and humor to what might otherwise be a somber and dour drama. With Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, writer/director Martin McDonagh, continuing in the tradition of his previous films In Bruges and Seven Psycopaths, has created another strong dark comedy with even stronger characters at its heart. Fed up with their lack of effort, Mildred rents three billboards on a dirt road asking the chief of police why no arrests have been made and unapologetically drags her entire town into her grieving process. Seven months ago, her daughter was gruesomely murdered, and her local police department doesn’t so much as have a lead. What isn’t universal, though, is how we cope with it. Finally, A24’s “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” is nearing the $2 million mark with $190,467 from 110 screens to push its total to $1.95 million.Tragedy is, unfortunately, universal. It currently has an 89 percent RT score.Īmong holdovers, the National Geographic documentary “Jane” passed the $1 million mark in its fifth weekend with $119,161 from 84 screens, while Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions’ “Wonderstruck” is close to that mark after making $57,265 from 114 screens for a $977,988 total. Nora Twomey, director of the Oscar-nominated “The Secret of Kells,” directed this film from a script by Anita Doron and Deborah Ellis, with Angelina Jolie as executive producer. The animated film stars Saara Chaudry as Parvana, an Afghan girl who must disguise herself as a boy in order to provide for her mother and sister after her father is unjustly arrested by the Taliban. The film received mixed reviews with a 55 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.Īlso opening this weekend on three screens is GKIDS’ “The Breadwinner,” which posted a decent $19,530 for a $6,510 PSA.
Directed and written by Dan Gilroy, the film stars Denzel Washington and Colin Farrell.
Israel, Esq.” had a solid four-screen opening this weekend, making $65,000 for a $16,250 PSA. “Lady Bird” will expand nationwide for Thanksgiving weekend.Īlso Read: 3 Reasons 'Justice League' Found Kryptonite at the Box OfficeĪmong new releases, Columbia’s “Roman J. “Lady Bird,” meanwhile, continued its own strong run by expanding to 238 screens in its third weekend and making $2.5 million for a PSA of $10,630 and a cume of $4.7 million. In its second weekend, “Three Billboards” expanded to 53 screens and grossed $1.11 million for a per screen average of $21,038. The two Oscar contenders that have dominated the indie box office, Fox Searchlight’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and A24’s “Lady Bird,” continued to fire on all cylinders as they continued their expansion, with both films cracking the top 10 among all movies this weekend.