If somebody had asked you at the beginning of January to name the single most popular blockbuster of the year, there’s not a chance in hell Gran Turismo would have crossed your mind.
After all, we’re living in the year of Creed III, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Barbie, and Oppenheimer to name but a small few, and yet the video game adaptation nobody asked for holds a higher Rotten Tomatoes audience approval rating than all of them.
Even roaring into domestic theaters this weekend after an early international rollout has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for Neill Blomkamp’s spin on a true story, which retains its remarkable 98 percent score. It’s also become the number one hit at the domestic box office, too, although you may want to put an asterisk next to its name thanks to Sony buffing up the numbers.
The thoroughly mediocre film – which also holds an A-grade on CinemaScore – has topped the charts thanks to a debut that’s set to come in betwen $16 and $17 million. However, almost $4 million of that total comes from preview screenings dating back two weeks, so if you want to split hairs then technically Barbie has returned to the summit based on nothing but Friday to Sunday ticket sales alone.
Of course, that seems awfully pedantic when it’s much easier to let Gran Turismo have its moment in the sun, because the people have spoken, and it’s apparently the greatest big budget studio release to arrive since the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31 of last year.
Published: Aug 27, 2023 10:50 am