Permanent Sabbatical?

Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter writes about John Lasseter's future job opportunities:

On Thursday, the staff of Disney Animation Studios will gather on the lot for what the company is calling a "Day of Listening," with a handful of human-resources professionals present to facilitate a discussion of workplace concerns. The gathering, which Disney veterans say is unprecedented for the Burbank-based animation unit, comes as sources with ties to both Disney Animation and Pixar Animation Studios speculate that John Lasseter, who oversees both companies but has been on leave since November, will not return from what was characterized by Disney as a six-month "sabbatical." At the time, Lasseter, 61, acknowledged "painful" conversations and unspecified "missteps" in a memo to staff.

Disney declined to comment, but an insider described the "Day of Listening" as part of a frequent effort to engage with employees. ...

Ms. Masters says various "insiders" think John won't be back, but I continue to find that difficult to believe.

Mr. Lasseter was one of the reasons the conglomerate bought Pixar for seven-plus billion in the first place, and despite a proclivity for partying robustly, J.L. has made the company a poop-load of money. So I continue to think the Mouse will find some way to keep John on board.

On the other hand, I've been decisively wrong before. Maybe the internal and external politics are just not there for Mr. Lasseter to remain at the Walt Disney Company, and he'll be spending more time with his family and grape vineyard.

Hybrid Animation Gets Re-Upped

One of the quirkier TV series just got a renewal.

... Happy! has been a breakout hit for Syfy. Its Dec. 7 premiere set a new benchmark for the network in Live+3 ratings with 1.708 million viewers in total viewers and 779,000 adults 18-49, ranking as Syfy’s best series premiere since The Magicians in January 2016 across all key demos. In addition, the premiere opened strong on social, drawing more than 212 million impressions on Twitter. ...

The premier opened strongly, subsequent episodes somewhat less so. Still in all, it's easy to see what grabbed the producers and then the public. Happy was a different kind of graphic novel, and is now a different type o television series. (To date, seven episodes have aired.)

Winter B.O.

"Maze Runner" (sadly) is not a LEGO movie, but the third trailer for the latest iteration of the series is recreated shot for shot as if it were.

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Jumanji has slipped a notch, but since it's taken in $337.4 million domestically, Sony probably isn't crying.

THREE DAYS OF GROSSES

1.) Maze Runner: Death Cure (FOX), 3,787 theaters / $8.4M Fri (includes $1.5M previews)/3-day: $23M /Wk 1

2.) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (SONY), 3,553 theaters (-151) / $3.78M Fri (-21%)/3-day: $15.8M (-19%)/Total:$337.4M/ Wk 6

3.) Hostiles (EST), 2,815 theaters (+2,696) / $3.7M Fri (+1878%) /3-day:$9.8M (+1593%)/Total: $11.6M/Wk 6

4.) The Greatest Showman (FOX), 2,663 theaters (-160) / $2.5M Fri (-15%) / 3-day: $9.3M (-12%)/Total: $126.2M/Wk 6

5.) The Post (FOX/DW), 2,640 theaters (-211) / $2.5M Fri (-29%) /3-day:$8.7M (-26%)/Total: $58.3M/Wk 6

6/7.) 12 Strong (WB/ALC), 3,018 theaters (+16) / $2.4M Fri (-58%)/3-day: $7.9M (-50%) /Total: $29.1M/Wk 2

Den of Thieves (STX), 2,432 theaters / $2.3M Fri (-60%)/3-day: $7.9M (-48%) /Total: $28M/Wk 2

8.) The Shape of Water (FSL), 1,854 theaters (+1,001) / $1.58M Fri (+163%) /3-day: $5.7M (+171%)/Total: $37.6M/Wk 9

9.) Paddington 2 (WB), 2,792 theaters (-910)/ $1.1M Fri (-32%)/3-day: $5.5M (-31%)/Total: $32M/Wk 3

10.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi(DIS), 1,745 theaters (-711)/ $956K Fri (-42%)/3-day: $4M (-40%)/Total:$610.5M/ Wk 7

Paddington 2, falling toward the bottom of the Big List, has taken in a week $32 million domestically, even as it snags glowing reviews. The movie has earned $181,437,106 globally, and 84% of that comes from overseas.

In the meanwhile, Coco is played out in the U.S. and Canada, but has earned $657,524,008 globally; 69% of that total comes from abroad.

Ferdinand has made $238,849,637 at home and overseas. Foreign markets account for two-thirds of the take. The picture is poised to move north of the $80 million marker in the U.S. of A., but doesn't look as though it will rise a lot higher.

Brief Reflections on the Academy Nominees

To nobody's surprise, high profile, big-budget, mainstream features from gargantuan entertainment conglomerates get most of the nominations.

BEST ANIMATION FEATURE

The Boss Baby -- dir. Tom McGrath

The Breadwinner -- dir. Nora Twomey

Coco -- dir. Lee Unkrich

Ferdinand -- dir. Carlos Saldanha

Loving Vincent -- dir. Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman

Long, long ago, screenwriter-producer Niven Busch told me:

"In the thirties, the studios that people worked for expected their employees to vote for the studio's pictures for Academy Awards. Otherwise, you were considered a traitor and a bad employee." ...

Any number of smaller animated features that received strong reviews from critics got shouldered aside for the big-budget, high-profile extravaganzas that dominate this year's nominations.

I might be too cynical for my own good, but the rule change instituted last April, where Academy members unversed in animation could put in their two cents regarding potential animated nominees, seemed designed to tilt the playing field toward the majors.

The Walt Disney Company usually cops the "Best Animated Feature" award in the end, but nominations are valuable for raising a picture's profile, for putting more fannies in more seats and generating income. It wouldn't surprise me if Warners or, say, Paramount quietly whispered to the appropriate Academy authorities: "Hey now, we kick in serious money to your organization, so help us out a little. Lose the six-million dollar candidate from France and put our entry into the final lineup, okay?"

Just saying.

SHORT SUBJECTS

Dear Basketball -- Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant

Garden Party -- dir. Gabrielle Grapperon, Victor Caire

Lou -- dir. Dave Mullins, Dana Murray

Negative Space -- dir. Ru Kuwahata, Max Porter

Revolting Rhymes -- dir. Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer

This category often seems like a dice toss. Do Academy voters like hand-drawn animation, or do they like CGI? Does the well-known Mr. Keane pull enough weight to get Dear Basketball across the finish line, or doesn't he? (Glen observed: "Very excited about the nomination. Thanks to Kobe’s beautiful words and John Williams emotional score and Gennie Rim and Max Keane, the best Producer and Production Designer imaginable. An animator couldn’t ask for more.") Guess we'll find out which entry prevails when the shiny trophies are handed out.

VFX

Blade Runner 2049 --John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 -- Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick

Kong: Skull Island -- Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus

Star Wars: The Last Jedi -- Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould

War for the Planet of the Apes -- Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon, Joel Whist

When I was a tot, Academy Awards for visual effects went to artful models shot in slow motion, usually ships (Tora, Tora, Tora!), airplanes (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo), or submarines (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea). (Old style visual effects figured prominently in war movies. I 1962, the Academy Award for VFX was awarded to The Guns of Navarone, a World War II epic that won because a couple of monster Nazi cannons were blown out of the side of a Greek mountain. Disney's The Absent Minded Professor was the loser.)

These days, analog effects are a distant memory and CG robots, CG lions, tigers, apes, and marauding robots are what rivet audiences attention. If The Life of Pi and The Jungle Book ("live action"/CG edition) are reliable sign-posts, then one of the science fiction movies released last year, populated with animals and robots, will end up the likely winner.

Later January Box Office

And then there are those live-action movies that just have your standard-issue VFX. No fuzzy teddy bears, no rampaging jungle animals, just lots and lots of explosions. LOTS of explosions.

Jumanji appears to have a death grip on #1, while Paddington 2 clings to the sixth rung of the Top Ten.

Three Days of Grosses

1.) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (SONY), 3,704 theaters (-145) / $4.85M Fri. (-19%) / $9.5M Sat. (+96%) / $5.68M Sun. (-40%) / 3-day: $19.75M to $20M (-29%) / Total cume: $316.7M / Wk 5

2.) 12 Strong (WB/ALC), 3,002 theaters / $5.6M Fri. / $6.8M Sat. (+21%) / $3.75M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day: $16.2M / Wk 1

3.) Den of Thieves (STX), 2,432 theaters / $5.65M Fri. / $6M Sat. (+7%) / $2.5M to $3M Sun. (-42% to 50%) / 3-day: $14.7M to $15M+ / Wk 1

4.) The Post (FOX/DW), 2,851 theaters (+32) / $3.5M Fri. (-41%) / $5.5M Sat. (+59%) / $3M (-45%) / 3-day: $12.1M (-37%) / Total: $45.19M / Wk 5

5.) The Greatest Showman (FOX), 2,823 theaters (-115) / $3M Fri. (-2%) / $4.9M (+66%$) / $2.9M (-40%) / 3-day: $10.9M (-12%) / Total: $113.39M / Wk 5

6.) Paddington 2 (WB), 3,702 theaters / $1.785M Fri. (-26%) / 3-day: $8.3M (-25%) / $3.9M Sat. (+122%) / $2.5M Sun. (35%) / Total: $25M / Wk 2

7.) The Commuter (LG), 2,892 theaters / $2M Fri. (-55%) / $3.1M Sat. (+59%) / $1.7M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day: $6.7M (-50%) / Total: $25.8M / Wk 2

8.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DIS), 2,456 theaters (-634) / $1.6M Fri. (-38%) / $3.158M Sat. (+95%) / $1.7M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day: $6.6M (-45%) / Total: $604.25 M / Wk 6

9.) Insidious: The Last Key (UNI), 2,546 theaters (-604) / $1.8M Fri. (-48%) / $2.7M Sat. (+55%) / $1.39M Sun. (50%) / 3-day: $5.96M (-52%) / Total: $58.7M / Wk 3

10.) Forever My Girl (RSA), 1,115 theaters / $1.46M Fri. / $1.8M Sat. (+24%) / $1M Sun. (-40%) / 3-day: $4.29M to $4.38M / Wk 1

Coco has now reached the $200 million plateau in the U.S. and Canada, even as it drops to #18. Globally it's made $655,927,300.

Ferdinand (#20) will momentarily cross the $80 million mark domestically. (The bull has earned a worldwide total of $234,846,216.)

Meantime, Paddington 2, in a slow roll-out since last Fall,has now made $172,220,523, 85% of its world take.

Will Indie Animated Features Get Elbowed Aside?

Sam Summers at Vox is concerned:

... [T]his year, as the result of a controversial rule change, voting for the Academy's Best Animated Feature nominations will also be opened up to any member who wishes to participate.

This could mean a significant shift in focus for a category with a history of reaching outside the Hollywood studio system for its nominees, and one that plays a big part in raising the profile of foreign, independent, and stylistically diverse animation.

Until the rule change last Spring, independent animated features grabbed nominations because the nominating committees exerted a lot of control, and committee members liked indie features. This (apparently) didn't sit well with entertainment conglomerates (cough ... Warner Bros. ... cough) that found their big-budget movies shut out of the race for a shiny gold trophy. And the Academy, which has an obvious mission to keep the power players in Tinsel Town happy, hustled to correct the problem.

It might be a little premature to say that the rule change will mean Scooby Doo Gets a Dalmation In Trouble will gain a nomination while The Red Turtle will lose one, but it probably makes the commercial crowd-pleasers more viable in the Motion Picture Academy sweepstakes.

Martin Luther King Box Office

"Paddington 2", released across the U.S. this weekend, has already done good business on the rest of the globe. Worldwide the picture has earned $135,855,213, (92.2% of its grand total).

The partially animated Jumanji remains at the top of the List, while the partially animated "Paddington" debuts in the 7th position while Ferdinand and Coco are out of the Top Ten.

FOUR DAYS OF GROSSES

1) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (SONY), 3,849 theaters (+48) / $6.1M Fri (-43%)/$12.2M Sat/ 3-day: $27.5M (-26%)/4-day: $34M/Total:$291M/ Wk 4

2) The Post (FOX/DW), 2,819 theaters (+2,783) / $5.9M Fri (+1090%) /$7.4M Sat/ 3-day:$18.7M(+1,001%)/4-day: $22.4M/Total: $26.7M/Wk 4

3) The Commuter (LG), 2,892 theaters / $4.5M Fri/$5.1M/3-day: $13.4M /4-day: $15.8M/Wk 1

4) The Greatest Showman (FOX), 2,938 theaters (-404) / $3M Fri (-27%) /$5.2M Sat/ 3-day:$12M (-12%)/4-day: $15M/Total: $97.8M/Wk 4

5) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DIS), 3,090 theaters (-1142)/ $2.7M Fri (-58%)/$5.1M Sat/ 3-day: $11.7M (-50%)/4-day: $14.7M/Total:$595M/ Wk 5

6) Insidious: The Last Key (UNI), 3,150 theaters (+34)/ $3.4M (-73%) Fri/$5.25M Sat/ 3-day: $12.4M (-58%)/4-day: $14.5M/Total: $50.7M/ Wk 2

7) Paddington 2 (WB), 3,702 theaters / $2.6M Fri/$4.7M Sat/3-day: $10.45M /4-day: $14.2M/Wk 1

8) Proud Mary (Sony), 2,125 theaters / $3.3M Fri/$4M Sat/ 3-day: $9.7M /4-day: $11.5M/Wk 1

9) Pitch Perfect 3 (UNI), 2,505 theaters (-953)/ $1.4M Fri (-56%)/$2.5M Sat/3-day: $5.5M(-46%)/4-day: $6.5M/Total: $95.5M/ Wk 4

10) Darkest Hour (FOC), 1,693 theaters (-40)/ $1.2M Fri (-32%) /$1.8M Sat/3-day: $4.5M(-25%)/4-day:$5.7M Total: $37M/ Wk 8

Ferdinand (global total: $207,520,416) now sits in the twelfth position while Coco (global cume: $621,735,440) is now #14.