Carl Roberts 
This week on The Official Film Chart, the Bullet Train gets derailed, and the Crawdads keep singing, but nothing can stop Minions: The Rise Of Gru from rising to the top!
Welcome to The Official Film Chart.
TICKET TO PARADISE IS NOW AVAILABLE TO RENT ON PVOD!
Now available on PVOD to rent for £15.99 is the romantic comedy ‘Ticket To Paradise.’ The film stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts as a divorced couple who decide to team up and sabotage the impending wedding of their daughter. The film opened in the UK in September and has only just been released in the United States. It is a charming and highly enjoyable film that showcases the comedic talents of the two leads. Although it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, it is a worthy watch and is a fun time. You can check out our review here.
THE OFFICIAL CHART
Well, this is a surprise. There are NO new entries or re-entries into the chart this week. The titles move about as they please. But what is occupying the number one position? Is the top spot still speeding down the Japanese railway? Have the dinosaurs rallied to take a bite at the top? Or has something else decided it wants the chart glory? Let’s find out.
THE MINIONS RISE TO THE TOP!
Bello! They have done it. After spending the past few weeks inside the top three, those banana-loving creatures have hit the summit. Becoming the new number one title is ‘Minions: The Rise Of Gru.’ which rises two places. The film follows a young Gru as he makes his way up through the ranks of the supervillain underworld, aided by our favorite yellow creatures. Steve Carrell once again voices Gru in an animated family sequel that will keep the whole family entertained. It is worth keeping some tissues handy as you’ll need them to dry up the tears of laughter you’ll be shedding when the Minions get into their stride.
BULLET TRAIN GETS DERAILED!
After one week at the top of the chart, Brad Pitt and ‘Bullet Train’ hit the chart buffers as it falls a place to number two. The film is a completely bats**t crazy action comedy. And is one of the best films of the year. Pitt plays Ladybug, an assassin who takes on a mission to retrieve a briefcase onboard the Bullet Train of the title. The only problem is, many other assassins are onboard the train trying to get the briefcase for themselves. What follows is two hours of madness, comedy, action, violence, and mayhem. And is completely enjoyable. It isn’t for the young ones as it contains language and violence that most certainly isn’t for them.
JURASSIC WORLD GETS THAT SINKING FEELING!
The top three this week is rounded off by ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ which falls a place. The finale of the ‘Jurassic’ saga, it stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard alongside OG stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. For what could and should have been the brilliant culmination of twenty-nine years of classic dinosaur rollercoaster action, it goes out like a limp lettuce leaf. Far from being a suitable ending to the saga, it instead is two and a half hours of tedium. It most certainly doesn’t end the saga in the right way and makes us yearn for the magic and thrills of the original 1993 film.
THE CRAWDADS STILL SING IN FOURTH!
The big-screen adaptation of the novel ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ continues its winning performance inside the top five titles by becoming a non-mover this week. The film, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, is hanging tight in the fourth spot. The story follows an abandoned yet defiant girl, Kya, who raises herself to adulthood in a North Carolina marshland, becoming a naturalist in the process. When the town’s hotshot is found dead, she is the prime suspect and is tried for murder. Critics gave the film mixed reviews but audiences flocked to the film, making it a box office success. Fans of the book seemed to lap up the film, and this is continuing on home entertainment.
ELVIS STILL ROCKING THE TOP FIVE!
The top five placings are rounded out this week by Baz Luhrmann’s biopic ‘Elvis.’ The film charts the rise and eventual fall of the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. Austin Butler gives a sure-fire Oscar-Nominated performance as Elvis with terrific support from Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker. Despite some questionable music choices early on, the film bursts into life. It does skip over some details about Presley but is ultimately a hugely enjoyable film. And the recreated Las Vegas concert sequences are out of this world.
MAVERICK FLIES UP ONCE AGAIN!
As we begin our tour through the bottom five titles in the chart, we have to duck as ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ flies over our heads again. The film, thirty-six years after the original movie flies up a place as it lands in sixth place. Tom Cruise has never been better as the brash, cocky pilot in perhaps his greatest and best-loved role. With a cameo from Val Kilmer as ‘Iceman’, the film not only builds on the original but also surpasses it.
THOR: LOVE & THUNDER CRASHES DOWN A PLACE!
Falling a place to end the week in the seventh position is Marvel’s latest movie ‘Thor: Love & Thunder.’ The film marks the fourth solo effort for Chris Hemsworth as the Norse god. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chris Hemsworth as Thor. But IF there is to be a fifth solo movie for him, he and we deserve a much better script than everyone gets here. And some of it is embarrassing, to say the least.
SING 2 RAISES ITS VOICE AGAIN!
I’m not saying anything about the film ‘Sing 2’ anymore. I can’t, I’ve run out of things to say about it! The film has been at the top of the chart, out of the chart, back in the chart, and repeating the cycle for months. The animated sequel has been a massive success on home entertainment and it seems like it will continue. This week, it rises a place to command our attention from the eighth position.
A NEW ERA CONTINUES AT DOWNTON ABBEY!
After hanging over the chart exit door for the past two weeks, it seems a new era isn’t quite over yet. The second film based on the classic ITV1 drama series ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ rises a place this week as it continues to entertain us from the ninth spot on the chart.
DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS ISN’T SO SUPER!
And finally, after hitting the chart last week in the eighth position, ‘D.C League Of Super-Pets’ finds its staying powers are weak. The animated film, featuring the voice of Dwayne Johnson, falls two places to end the week poised over the chart exit door in the tenth spot.
FINISHING OFF!
And that’s all for yet another week. There are still some top titles that will be making themselves known in the chart over the next month or so. As we head towards Christmas, there are plenty of titles that are or will be available to fill those Christmas stockings. The race to be the Christmas number one is on. But until next time…
Whatever you decide, whatever you buy, stay safe, be kind, look after each other, and happy viewing!
Anyone wishing to buy any of the titles featured in The Official Film Chart can do so via FindAnyFilm.com. All videos and information have been supplied by Find Any Film and used under authorization.
Carl Roberts is the News Editor for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
