PREMIERE MAGAZINE #352

 

THE ROUNDUP WITH JEFF STOCKTON (SEASON 36 ROUND 2)

 

Six films into Season 36 and the story is becoming clearer: when LRF hits, it hits big. The problem? There are an awful lot of misses piling up underneath those wins. We’ve now got two genuine blockbusters carrying the weight of four money-losers, and a few uncomfortable truths are starting to emerge. Let’s get into it. Here's The Roundup....

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

Sometimes audiences just want to have fun.

No complicated mythology. No self-serious reinvention. No desperate need to “elevate” the source material into something it was never supposed to be. Donkey Kong Country understood the assignment: give audiences a colorful, funny, adventure-heavy crowd-pleaser and let them enjoy themselves.

The best surprise? It actually worked as a movie. Big box office is one thing, but Donkey Kong Country wasn’t just financially successful — it was genuinely entertaining. Mike Mitchell clearly knew the tone he was aiming for, APJ kept things moving, and Dwayne Johnson somehow found a sweet spot where his natural charisma actually fit the role instead of overwhelming it. Nintendo adaptations are quietly becoming one of LRF’s safest bets.

PIROUETTE

I’ll admit it: Pirouette was probably a little too slow for my taste.

But even when I found myself wishing somebody would speed the thing up, I couldn’t deny what the film was doing well — namely, giving Monica Barbaro the kind of role actors dream about. This wasn’t just another strong performance. This felt like a legitimate “career test,” the kind of film where an actor either proves they can carry difficult material or gets swallowed whole by it. Barbaro passed.

And then there’s Johnny Depp, who frankly steals half the movie. The man walked into a supporting role and immediately turned it into what feels like an inevitable Golden Reel Awards conversation. Love him or hate him, this is exactly the sort of late-career comeback performance awards voters eat up.

BLOCKBUSTERS

Two rounds in. Two blockbusters.

For all the handwringing people (including myself) inevitably do over misses, the reality is that major hits change the mood of an entire season. Boba Fett proved LRF could make Star Wars feel commercially relevant again. Donkey Kong Country proved the Nintendo momentum wasn’t a fluke after Mario and Zelda.

If you’re running a studio, you’ll take blockbuster problems over “everything is mediocre” problems every single time. Season 36 may not be consistent yet, but at least people are showing up when LRF gives them something worth seeing.

BOX OFFICE

Four of six films have lost money. That’s… not ideal.

Yes, the blockbusters are doing heavy lifting, but this is the sort of trend that becomes concerning if it continues into Round 3 and beyond. A healthy slate usually needs middle-tier wins — films that may not explode commercially but at least turn respectable profits. Right now, Season 36 feels extremely top-heavy.

You can survive a few bombs when Boba Fett and Donkey Kong Country are printing money. But if the pattern becomes “one giant hit covering for two or three flops,” eventually somebody in accounting starts sweating.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

I genuinely do not understand the thought process here. Who exactly was this movie for? Fans of the books? Probably not, considering they showed up expecting Diary of a Wimpy Kid and instead got an R-rated stoner comedy that felt more like a parody of the franchise than an adaptation. Fans of edgy comedies? Also probably not, because the movie just wasn’t very funny.

This is the rare bomb where the problem feels obvious from the pitch stage. Taking a beloved kids property and turning it into an edgy adult comedy can work — in theory — but only if the humor actually lands and there’s a clever angle underneath it. Here, it mostly just felt misguided.

FINN WOLFHARD

I’m not putting the majority of the blame on Finn Wolfhard here. That belongs to Alex Conn. But Wolfhard absolutely misplayed this situation.

He had built real momentum in LRF as both a young star and emerging director — enough goodwill that people were starting to view him as one of the more promising multi-hyphenate talents in the system. Then he chooses this as a directing vehicle? An R-rated Diary of a Wimpy Kid stoner comedy?

That’s a gamble you make when the script is undeniable. This script was not undeniable.

Frankly, Wolfhard should’ve passed on starring in it, let alone directing the thing himself. One flop doesn’t ruin a reputation, but this feels like the first real career misstep from someone who had been building momentum very quickly.

On Location (Season 36 Round 2)

 

Pirouette

- Paris, France

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

- Yonkers, New York, USA

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN (SEASON 36 ROUND 2)

 

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID
Budget: $19,000,000
Total Box Office: $18,000,669
Total Profit: -$17,489,101

Despite recognizable source material and a comedic twist on the beloved franchise, Diary of a Wimpy Kid failed to connect with audiences and became one of the weaker commercial starts for a comedy in recent LRF history. The result continues an uneven financial track record for writer Alex Conn in the genre.

BOX OFFICE FACT
Alex Conn has now written 16 comedy films for the studio, but only five have turned a profit, with the most recent success coming from Slowly Dying back in Season 30.

GENRE RANKINGS

Comedy: #94

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

Budget: $120,000,000

Total Box Office: $720,434,668

Total Profit: $242,043,104

Nintendo’s momentum within LRF continued in dominant fashion as Donkey Kong Country became an instant event film and one of the studio’s strongest animated performers ever. While it fell short of Super Mario’s all-time record, the film comfortably solidified Nintendo adaptations as one of LRF’s safest commercial brands.

BOX OFFICE FACT

Donkey Kong Country now ranks as the #2 highest-grossing animated film in LRF history, surpassing Season 33’s The Legend of Zelda ($471M) and trailing only Season 17’s Super Mario ($879M). All three are Nintendo adaptations.

GENRE RANKINGS

Animation: #2

Adventure: #5

Comedy: #5

PIROUETTE

Budget: $25,000,000

Total Box Office: $39,100,555

Total Profit: -$4,332,122

A strong critical reception and awards potential ultimately failed to translate into financial success for Pirouette, which narrowly missed profitability despite respectable theatrical business for an adult drama. Even so, the loss stands out more because of the names involved than the severity of the underperformance.

BOX OFFICE FACT

Jimmy Ellis and John Malone have now co-written 14 films together, with Pirouette becoming only their third financial loser, joining Paki (-$31M, Season 26) and Blue Ridge (-$21M, Season 23).

GENRE RANKINGS

Drama: #283

Season 36 Round 2 Total Box Office:
$777,535,892

Season 36 Round 2 Total Profit:
$220,221,881

Back-to-back monster rounds have immediately made Season 36 one of the strongest starts in studio history, with Donkey Kong Country accounting for nearly 93% of Round 2’s total worldwide gross.

Season 36 Total Box Office:
$1,601,000,660

Season 36 Total Profit:
$406,349,246

Through just two rounds, Season 36 has already crossed $1.6 billion worldwide, powered almost entirely by the one-two punch of Boba Fett and Donkey Kong Country.

SEASON 36 BOX OFFICE STANDINGS

1. Boba Fett — $763,673,771 👑
2. Donkey Kong Country — $720,434,668 👑
3. Pirouette — $39,100,555 📉
4. Three Rounds — $34,386,590 💣
5. Heartbeat — $25,404,407 💣
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid — $18,000,669 💣

LRF TRIVIA TIDBITS (SEASON 36 ROUND 2)

 

Round 2 of Season 36 highlights the growing influence of cross-media franchises, performance-driven casting choices, and emerging multi-hyphenate talent stepping into larger creative roles. From expanding gaming universes to actor-director negotiations, each film reflects a different kind of behind-the-scenes leverage.

Donkey Kong Country
With Donkey Kong Country, LRF continues to build out its Nintendo-inspired slate, following the animated Super Mario film from Season 17 and Season 33’s The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. The project signals a clear long-term strategy to develop a shared ecosystem of game-based adaptations across both animation and live-action formats.

Pirouette
Authenticity was key in casting Pirouette, with Monica Barbaro and Emma Mackey both selected in part due to their real-life ballet training. Johnny Depp, meanwhile, signed on for a supporting role largely because of his prior working relationship with director Maiwenn, following their collaboration on Jeanne du Barry.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Finn Wolfhard leveraged his casting in a major way, agreeing to take the lead role only if he could also direct the film—while even cutting his acting fee in half to make it happen. The result is a rare case of a young actor using a studio adaptation to simultaneously establish himself as a filmmaker, particularly with the project’s unexpected R-rated, stoner-comedy twist.

Release: Pirouette

 

Pirouette

Genre: Drama

Director: Maïwenn

Writers: Jimmy Ellis & John Malone

Cast: Monica Barbaro, Johnny Depp, Emma Mackey, Karl Glusman, Nestor Carbonell, Molly Parker

Budget: $25,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $19,009,555

Foreign Box Office: $20,091,000

Total Profit: -$4,332,122

Reaction: Just a small loss here for a Europe-set drama about a ballerina. Given the context and subject matter, we are happy that this one came as close as it did to breaking even.

“Yes, friends, even the world of ballet is full of politics and tension, especially for Lauren who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Monica Barbaro is fantastic as the ballet dancer on her last slipper and Jimmy and John have managed to craft three separate plot points without any feeling rushed or hackneyed. I don’t know if it’ll be for everybody, but it’s more than worthy of being a leading lady on the stage.” - Mitchell Parker, New York Times

"Pirouette is an elegant, emotionally bruising backstage drama elevated by a terrific Monica Barbaro performance and Maïwenn’s immersive direction. Barbaro convincingly sells both the physical strain and emotional desperation of Lauren’s pursuit of greatness, while Johnny Depp gives quietly compelling work as the demanding, morally ambiguous Jean-Claude. The film occasionally leans into familiar “art demands sacrifice” territory, but its emotional honesty and richly observed ballet world keep it compelling. Emma Mackey is also wonderfully icy as Lauren’s rival." - Jon Farrell, Hollywood Reporter

"Pirouette is the kind of adult, actor-driven drama that Hollywood talks about making and rarely does. Maïwenn’s direction is intimate without being precious, and she understands how obsession curdles into self-mythology. Monica Barbaro gives a career-best performance, capturing both the physical rigor of ballet and the emotional tunnel vision that comes with chasing artistic validation at all costs. Johnny Depp, used sparingly and effectively, plays Jean-Claude Beaufort as a quietly corrosive presence — not a monster, but something more unsettling: a man who mistakes control for mentorship. The film’s final act is bracing in its refusal to offer easy catharsis. Pirouette doesn’t celebrate ambition so much as interrogate what it hollows out, and that restraint is what makes it linger." - Reggie Coscarelli, San Fernando Valley Sun

Rated R for sexual content, language, and some nudity.

Director's Cut: Atlas Shrugged

 

Atlas Shrugged - Director's Cut

Genre: Drama

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Writer: Dwight Gallo

Based on the novel by Ayn Rand

Cast: Charlize Theron, Ben Affleck, Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Renner, January Jones, Edgar Ramirez, Richard Jenkins

Plot: With the American economy visibly decaying, Dagny Taggart (Charlize Theron), Vice President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental, works obsessively to keep the nation’s rail system alive. Empty stations, abandoned sidings, and stalled trains tell the story of a country quietly coming apart. While politicians promise relief, Dagny confronts daily shortages, collapsing infrastructure, and an increasingly hostile regulatory environment. Her brother James Taggart (Jeremy Renner), the company’s president, publicly preaches social responsibility while privately maneuvering to protect his own status, avoiding decisions and shifting blame onto Dagny whenever reality intrudes.

Dagny pins her hopes on rebuilding the Rio Norte Line to Colorado, the last region still producing real industrial output. Against the advice of government agencies and her own board, she insists the line can revive the railroad if rebuilt properly. Meanwhile, the San Sebastián Line — a politically motivated investment James championed — collapses when the Mexican government nationalizes it. The copper mines it was built to serve, owned by Francisco d’Anconia (Edgar Ramirez), are revealed to be worthless. James insists Francisco has betrayed them, while Dagny quietly senses that Francisco’s actions may be more deliberate than they appear.

As Taggart Transcontinental teeters, Dagny seeks out Hank Rearden (Ben Affleck), an industrialist whose new invention — Rearden Metal — promises stronger rails at a fraction of the cost. Rearden is under constant attack from regulators, academics, and moralists who accuse him of “unfair advantage.” Dagny sees not a threat, but salvation. Their early meetings are tense and transactional, both recognizing in the other a rare commitment to competence and reality. Against James’s objections, Dagny risks everything on Rearden Metal, fully aware that failure will make her the scapegoat.

The State Science Institute publicly condemns Rearden Metal without testing it, triggering a collapse in Taggart stock and a media feeding frenzy. James retreats into political alliances, while Dagny resigns rather than abandon the Rio Norte Line. Using her own money and reputation, she forms a temporary company to finish the line herself. The rebuilt Rio Norte Line opens under impossible deadlines — and succeeds spectacularly. Trains run faster, stronger, and safer than ever before, proving both Dagny and Rearden right while humiliating the bureaucratic consensus that opposed them.

While overseeing operations in Colorado, Dagny and Rearden grow closer. They sneak off to an abandoned factory to make love away from prying eyes. After, half-naked, they explore the abandoned factory, discovering a mysterious motor that produces limitless energy from static electricity. The machine is damaged but revolutionary. Dagny becomes obsessed with finding its inventor, convinced that whoever created it represents the future the world is actively destroying.

As government “equalization” laws intensify, Colorado becomes a test case for economic strangulation. Production quotas, labor mandates, and material restrictions cripple output. One by one, the most productive figures vanish. Oil magnate Ellis Wyatt sets his wells ablaze and disappears, sending shockwaves through the industry. Dagny begins to believe a hidden force is removing the world’s most capable minds at their moment of greatest need. She calls it “the destroyer,” unable to decide whether he is enemy or savior.

Francisco reenters Dagny and Rearden’s lives, appearing reckless and frivolous, publicly destroying his own remaining fortune. Privately, he challenges Rearden’s endurance under oppression, questioning why he continues to feed a system that despises him. When a fire breaks out at Rearden Steel, Francisco instinctively joins Rearden in fighting it, risking his life for the mill. In that moment, Francisco finally understands Rearden’s devotion — not to money, but to creation itself.

Rearden is arrested for violating one of the government’s ever-shifting laws. During his trial, he refuses to acknowledge the court’s moral authority, calmly stating that they may seize his body but not his mind. The judges, desperate to preserve legitimacy, release him rather than expose the regime’s reliance on brute force. Wesley Mouch (Richard Jenkins), now the unseen architect of economic control, recognizes Rearden as indispensable — and dangerous.

Mouch allies with James Taggart, who is desperate to keep his failing railroad alive. James turns to Rearden’s wife, Lillian (January Jones), who harbors quiet resentment toward her husband’s strength and independence. She reveals Rearden’s affair with Dagny, offering James the leverage he needs. The betrayal is clinical and cruel, devoid of passion — a transaction masquerading as morality.

A sweeping new law is enacted requiring all patents to be surrendered to the state. Mouch corners Rearden, threatening public scandal unless he signs away Rearden Metal. Rearden capitulates — not for himself, but to protect Dagny. Dagny, furious and heartbroken, resigns from the railroad entirely and retreats to a mountain lodge, believing the battle lost.

Her withdrawal is short-lived. A catastrophic accident at the Taggart Tunnel kills hundreds, the inevitable result of political interference. Dagny receives a letter from a scientist she had hired to reverse-engineer the mysterious motor, and realizes he is about to disappear. She follows him in a private plane, chasing answers through a storm — and crashes deep in the mountains.

Dagny awakens in a hidden valley where the missing industrialists live in peace, having withdrawn their minds from the world. She learns they are on strike, refusing to support a society that punishes ability and rewards weakness. She meets John Galt (Michael Fassbender), the architect of the strike and the inventor of the motor. Galt explains that the world is collapsing not from greed, but from the moral condemnation of achievement itself.

Dagny falls in love with Galt — not just romantically, but philosophically. Yet she cannot abandon the railroad, believing her responsibility lies with those still trapped in the collapsing system. She leaves the valley, knowing the cost.

Upon returning, Dagny finds the railroads nationalized. The government demands she deliver a speech to reassure the public. When Lillian attempts to blackmail her, Dagny refuses shame entirely. In a stunning address, she publicly declares her affair with Rearden, exposes the coercion behind the new laws, and warns the nation that it is destroying its own lifeblood.

As chaos accelerates, Francisco destroys the last of his holdings and disappears. The government, panicking, stages a riot at Rearden Steel to seize control. Francisco, having gone undercover among the workers, leads the defense. In the violence, he saves Rearden’s life and convinces him to finally abandon a system that will never stop consuming him.

John Galt hijacks the airwaves, delivering a calm, uncompromising address that lays out the moral foundation of the strike. When the regime collapses into open desperation, they attempt to capture Galt and force him to rule for them. He refuses. They torture him, believing pain will break principle.

Dagny, Rearden, Francisco, and the strikers launch a rescue, overpowering the guards in a final confrontation. Galt is freed. With the government in ruins, Dagny returns to the valley — this time to stay. As the old world collapses entirely, the strikers prepare to return, not as servants, but as builders — ready to rebuild a society worthy of their minds.