The Flash breaks out of the box office top 10 in its fourth weekend

The good thing about the box office is that remarkably terrible news for one movie is often accompanied by remarkably positive news for another, and that's the case this weekend. Like "The Flash," Wes Anderson's whimsical comedy-drama "Asteroid City" is now in its fourth weekend of release. It's a bit technical, since the first weekend was a limited release in only six theaters, so this is only the film's third weekend in wide release. Still, it was pretty incredible to see "Asteroid City" overtake "The Flash" at the box office this week, ranking 11th with an estimated total of $2.239 million.

It's also a bit frustrating, given that "Asteroid City" is slated for VOD release in just two days (July 11), giving it only 19 days in wide release before it hits the airwaves. streaming. That doesn't necessarily mean theaters will stop screening the film ("Top Gun: Maverick" continued to play on the big screen for several months after its VOD release), but screenings will dry up faster than they do. would have done if Universal had given it a longer run. "Asteroid City" could have had an even better weekend if moviegoers hadn't been told they could watch it at home in a few days anyway.

Anderson is often seen as an eccentric little art house director, with his love of flat spaces, pastel colors and deadpan humor, but he has several modest successes to his credit . 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums" named him a filmmaker to watch, with its Oscar-nominated screenplay and a total of $71 million at the box office against a production budget of $21 million. 2012's "Moonrise Kingdom" grossed $68.3 million against a budget of $16 million, and Anderson followed that film with "The Grand Budapest Hotel," which reached a triumphant total of $173 million in the world. “Asteroid City” is currently at a cumulative total of $38 million worldwide and is still awaiting release in a number of major overseas markets. It wouldn't have hurt to give him a little more room to breathe.