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.