SUNDAY AUGUST 29TH: Taylor Swift’s biggest music flop ever comes in the form of the song she wrote for “Cats.” As of today the much maligned movie has earned less than $18 million in its 10 days of release. 

Originally published December 27th:

EARLIER The biggest loser in this whole “Cats” mess is Taylor Swift. She became instantly identified with the movie even though she’s only in one scene. Some reviews the other day called the movie “Taylor Swift’s Cats.”

Swift wrote a song for the movie with Andrew Lloyd Webber called “Beautiful Ghosts.” It was not short listed for the Oscars’ Best Song category. That was a blow.

But now that the movie is a box office debacle with just $13 million in one week, Swift has another problem. “Beautiful Ghosts” has sold just 35K copies including streaming since it was released. Minus the streaming, there are only 12,000 downloads. It’s the biggest flop release of her career. And the song is good! What a mess.

The “Cats” soundtrack has done much worse. From December 20th through the 25th, the album has sold just 2.6K copies. That’s all downloads or CDs. There is no streaming.

Yes, it’s a disaster, but it shouldn’t be. There’s nothing wrong with the music on the “Cats” album. And Jennifer Hudson’s version of “Memory” is outstanding. Where are all those “Cats” fans from Broadway and the touring company?

Hey just a PS: one of the best Elton John songs for diehard fans is called “Friends.” It was from a 1971 movie no one ever saw– and I mean no one, not even Elton probably. Good songs outlast movies all the time!

Warner Bros. hasn’t had an easy time this year trying to break adult-oriented films. Several of them collapsed quickly and disappeared, from “The Goldfinch” to “Blinded by the Light.” (Does anyone even remember “The Good Liar”?) For some reason, none of them found audiences. Warner’s biggest successes were with “Joker” (part of the DC Universe) , and “It: Chapter Two.”

Now both Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Just Mercy” and Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” have shown over the holiday that they want to be hits. “Just Mercy” is in just 4 theaters but has made $228K since Christmas Day. “Richard Jewell” has logged $16 million, picking up steam and earning $1 million a day over the holiday.

But people I talk to have little to no idea that these films exist. “Just Mercy,” especially, draws question marks from anyone I’ve mentioned it to. This is crazy. Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September to excellent reviews, “Just Mercy” just disappeared from anyone’s radar. The director, Destin Daniel Cretton, also vanished. On the East Coast, at least, he hasn’t been seen at all. Two weeks ago, at a very poorly organized event, the stars came but he was absent, just as he was AWOL at a strange lunch weeks earlier at the Monkey Bar in New York. The reason given was that he was shooting a Marvel movie in Australia. But by the more recent event, he was said to be back in L.A.

As for “Richard Jewell,” this film also had no New York premiere or media. They had their opening in Hollywood, at the American Film Institute festival, which is pretty low key and ineffective at selling movies on nationwide media. There was also a premiere in Atlanta, where the movie takes place. That move only antagonized the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which was already angry about the depiction of one of their reporters. The result is that “Richard Jewell,” like “Just Mercy,” has had to find an audience on its own, through word of mouth. And so it has, chipping away at it day by day.

I did think each of these films would be in the running for Best Picture. In “Jewell,” there are three easy Oscar nominations in Sam Rockwell, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kathy Bates. In “Just Mercy,” Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan, Tim Blake Nelson, and Rob Morgan are powerful presences. Brie Larson put herself in the film to help Cretton, who gave her her big break. Luckily, at least the SAG Awards found Foxx and nominated him. Oscar voters, who will receive ballots on January 2nd, would be wise to watch these films right now and see what they’ve been missing.

PS I don’t know about Los Angeles, but here in New York what we have not had this season are the lunches, dinners, and Q&As that in the past set the tone for smaller movies such as these. There are many reasons, I suppose. But I do think it’s hurt the films and performances by not getting the stories out to the Academy voters, and to the press.

Yes, yes, “Star Wars” is up and “Cats” is down. Friday’s box office was pretty much the same as Thursday’s, if a little lower. Maybe exhaustion from being on vacation is setting in.

“Star Wars” is now up to $316 million, heading to $350 million by tomorrow night. “Cats”– a rock is being tied around its neck even as we speak.

But the good news is that the “smaller” movies are doing pretty well. “1917” and “Just Mercy” are each booming in very limited release. When they go bigger, the numbers should follow. These are two films no one should miss.

“Richard Jewell,” consistently, another million in the bank.

And “Little Women” is bigger than expected. This morning, Greta Gerwig’s epic has already amassed over $18 million. Another two days like Friday and the weekend total will be $28 million– the high end of what was projected. Sony/Columbia has three terrific films for Oscar season when you throw in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” Nicely done.

The sleeper success of the holiday? “Queen and Slim.” More on that tomorrow.

On the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, “Star Wars” took in another $30 million. They’re up to $289.7 million in one week. Tonight Kylo Ren, Rey Skywalker, and pals will cross $300 million in the US. This is despite the naysayers who went wildly overboard on social media trying to kill this movie. Guess what? It didn’t work.

Interesting: “Rise of Skywalker” is now in lock step with “The Last Jedi” box office numbers. That film hit $300 million also one week in, on the Friday. They were each three or four days behind “The Force Awakens,” but that was a phenomenon, the first “Star Wars” movie in years and the return of the original cast.

Meanwhile, Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” — good word of mouth, another Million Dollar Day. They’re up to $14 million now. See it, see it, see it.

“Little Women” held up nicely on its second day, losing no audience and making another $6 million. This is a tremendous film, gorgeous, fun, smart. Guys can see it without embarrassment, and still return to football or the glorious “1917” at any time.

“Cats”? Don’t ask. Many have observed that Universal has removed it from their For Your Consideration page for the Oscars. Too much hate on this one. Not worth it.

Everyone went to the movies on Christmas Day.

So many went that “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” scored the second biggest Christmas Day of all time with $32 million. The final chapter of the Skywalkee saga will hit $300 million on Friday or Saturday. Not bad. The fanboys triede to kill it, but “Star Wars” lives.

Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” tripled its daily take and made $1.41 million on Wednesday. Go, go, go. Warner Bros. should be encouraging this enthusiasm. Their “Just Mercy” had a very decent opening, too. These two movies could break WB’s bad luck streak for adult films in 2019. But they need help in the field.

“Little Women” took in $6.5 million on Wednesday. Sony is lowballing its prediction for the five day weekend. But Greta Gerwig’s marvelous adaptation is even better the second time around. Attentions husbands and boyfriends: it’s good. You’ll like it. And it’s a film that will last.

Adam Sandler in “Uncut Gems” made $6 million on Wednesday, the highest daily take ever for an A24 film. Good Xmas counter programming. Chinese food and Sandler.

And “Cats”? Universal. It’s out there. Go see it. It won’t hurt you.