It was another low-profile weekend at cinemas with little to choose from.
Moviegoers weren’t excited to see either of the two R-rated arrivals — Disney/20th Century/Regency’s horror thriller BARBARIAN & the action drama MEDIEVAL from Variance Films.
But moviegoers who stayed home & happened to be Disney+ subscribers found they could watch with their kids the new PG live-action/CGI movie PINOCCHIO. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (BACK TO THE FUTURE), it stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto.
The truth is PINOCCHIO (pictured) would have kept the multiplexes busy this weekend. With no big new family films in the late summer marketplace, this brand-name children’s tale would have given exhibitors a badly needed boxoffice boost. It doesn’t matter that critics are 30% on Rotten Tomatoes & audiences are only 41%. A great Disney marketing push would have sent families to Hanks & Zemeckis’ new movie.
In any case, PINOCCHIO will be back this holiday season — not this film, but a darker animated version from director Guillermo del Toro (THE SHAPE OF WATER) with voice stars like Cate Blanchett & John Turturro. But this PINOCCHIO won’t be brightening moviegoers’ holiday season — unless they subscribe to Netflix, where it starts streaming on 12/9.