M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Glass’ Not Quite The Blockbuster Hit Producers Hoped For
M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass is the final film of a trilogy including 2000’s Unbreakable and 2017’s Split. Universal pictures hoped the film would bring in approximately $75 million over the weekend but are now expecting the number to be closer to $47 million. It was not quite the blockbuster that directors and producers had hoped for, receiving a B cinema score. Nevertheless, it was still the highest grossing movie of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, according to Fox News.
Glass stars the infamous Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy. The film explores supernatural abilities and personality disorders. It received fairly harsh critiques on Rotten Tomatoes, earning a 26% on the tomatometer and a 78% audience score.
“Glass displays a few glimmers of M. Night Shyamalan at his twisty world-building best, but ultimately disappoints as the conclusion to the writer-director’s long-gestating trilogy,” the critics’ consensus read.
Reviewers commended McAvoy and Jackson’s impressive performance but felt that the film simply did not live up to the two that preceded it.
In between frequent political tweets regarding his disapproval for President Trump’s border wall, Jackson promoted the film on social media. He shared a photo of himself at the film’s premiere claiming it was well worth the wait.
Comedian Kevin Hart’s The Upside, dominated the box office last week and kept its streak going through the weekend. It is expected to take in $19.5 million by the completion of the MLK weekend. The impressive results surprised many due to Hart’s recent media backlash. The comedian was asked to step down as the expected host of the 91st Academy Awards due to homophobic comments he made in the past that resurfaced.
Hart quickly made matters worse by posting an Instagram video in which he shared his reaction to the turn of events. “Guys, I’m nearly 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify the past, do you. I’m the wrong guy, man,” he said, according to Variety.
#Glass' Opening Weekend Was Worse Than Expected https://t.co/DKvkVH1cz5 pic.twitter.com/sJrkDHu9ZW
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) January 20, 2019
Many felt that the video wasn’t much of an apology and criticized him further for attempting to lessen the gravity of the hurtful comments. He felt that he should not have to apologize for tweets he wrote many years ago and does not hold those prejudices now. However, the backlash didn’t seem to affect his appeal as The Upside beat critics’ expectations.