B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
"Dear Evan Hansen" may have been a hit on Broadway, but the filmed adaptation of the Tony-winning show is off to a slow start at the box office in its first weekend in theaters. The Universal musical that's playing exclusively in theaters grossed an estimated US$7.5 million from 3,364 locations, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
First place again went to Disney and Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," which added $13.3 million in ticket sales in North America, bringing its domestic total to $196.5 million. The superhero pic has topped the charts for four consecutive weekends and this weekend surpassed "Black Widow" to become the highest domestic earner of the pandemic.
With little in the way of high-profile competition this weekend, "Dear Evan Hansen's" $7.3 million was enough to land it in second place. While critics were less than impressed, audiences that did turn out this weekend were fans and gave it an A- CinemaScore. Women made up an estimated 62% of the audience according to exit polls. Directed by Stephen Chbosky and written by Steven Levenson, "Dear Evan Hansen" is about a high school student with social anxiety disorder.
"We are tremendously proud of `Dear Evan Hansen' and everything about it," said Universal's head of distribution Jim Orr. "With an exceptional film and great audience scores, we think that'll lead to a better than normal run at the domestic box office."
Despite its prestigious pedigree and star-studded cast including Julianne Moore and Amy Adams, "Dear Evan Hansen" has become somewhat of a punching bag on social media since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. At the heart of the jokes is the fact that the film has a 27-year-old Ben Platt, who originated the role, playing a teenager.
"Musicals have always had mixed results at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "It's really difficult to pin down and project what a musical might earn on opening weekend, especially in this marketplace."
Earlier this year, the adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" underwhelmed at the box office despite stellar reviews -- but it was also streaming on HBO Max simultaneously.
The single-digit opening weekend of "Dear Evan Hansen" remindedsome of "Cats" which opened to $6.6 million in December 2019. But "Dear Evan Hansen" cost significantly less -- $28 million vs. $95 million -- in addition to the fact that "Cats" launched to worse reviews in a pre-pandemic environment.
"'Cats' is a completely different movie released in a completely different marketplace. I don't think comparisons are necessarily fair," Dergarabedian said. "It's more about the audience making a choice."
There is also "The Greatest Showman" exception. The Hugh Jackman musical defied all box office logic in 2017 and 2018 when it opened to a deathly $8.8 million but went on to gross over $434.9 million globally. Justin Paul and Benj Pasek were the songwriting duo behind both "The Greatest Showman" and "Dear Evan Hansen."
Aside from "Shang-Chi," September has been slow for most movies. The No. 3 movie this weekend was "Free Guy," which has been in theaters for seven weeks and the sixth place spot went to "Jungle Cruise," in its ninth week. But bigger blockbusters are coming to North American theaters starting in October, with the "Venom" sequel out this upcoming Friday, the James Bond film "No Time to Die" following on Oct. 8 and "Dune" on Oct. 22.
"This is the proverbial calm before the storm. October looks to be perhaps one of the biggest months of the year at the box office," Dergarabedian said. "It's going to be like summer in October in movie theaters."
And "Dune" is already up and running in 32 markets overseas. The adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel has grossed $76.5 million in two weeks.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," $13.3 million.
2. "Dear Evan Hansen," $7.5 million.
3. "Free Guy," $4.1 million.
4. "Candyman," $2.5 million.
5. "Cry Macho," $2.1 million.
6. "Jungle Cruise," $1.7 million.
7. "Malignant," $1.5 million.
8. "Copshop," $1.3 million.
9. "Paw Patrol," $1.1 million.
10. "Love Story," $893,765.
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.