It had been months since I actually went to a movie theater and seen a movie on opening weekend. But I did it for Hustlers. The reviews were amazing and I wanted to see if Jennifer Lopez deserved the Oscar buzz. Guess what? SHE DOES. Jennifer Lopez completely and totally deserves an Oscar for Hustlers. Her strip club entrance is Oscar-worthy in itself, but her entire performance is brilliant. I’m so excited for her!!! The entire film is enjoyable too – Constance Wu is maybe the weakest part (she’s “the lead” but not really), but the ensemble is so strong and Keke Palmer is hilarious and just… everything. It’s a really enjoyable movie – not too dark but not too rah-rah-girl-power. You never forget that these women are doing some terrible things, but even then, you halfway root for them.
Jennifer Lopez will probably get an Oscar nomination, and God willing, an Oscar. That alone will make Hustlers an incredibly successful venture. But did you also know that J.Lo produced the film and she was a major player in putting together an all-female team, including writer-director Lorene Scafaria? And Jennifer’s being rewarded financially too: Hustlers is making money.
“Hustlers” rolled in the Benjamins this weekend, collecting $33.2 million when it debuted in 3,250 North American theaters. Boosted by rave reviews and stellar word of mouth, “Hustlers” beat expectations and now ranks as the best start for an STX film, along with the biggest live-action opening weekend for stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu.
“Hustlers” arrived in second place behind Warner Bros.’ “It: Chapter Two,” which claimed the No. 1 spot for the second weekend in a row. The terrifying sequel pocketed another $40 million this weekend, marking a 55% decline from its inaugural outing. The follow-up to 2017’s “It” has earned $153 million in North America and $323 million globally. Between “It: Chapter Two” and its predecessor, the franchised based on Stephen King’s horror novel has generated over $1 billion worldwide.
At a time when Netflix and other streaming services are diluting audiences’ desire to see smaller comedies and dramas in theaters, STX’s motion picture group chairman Adam Fogelson points to a number of factors for the success of “Hustlers.”
“It was the reviews, the level of audience response and a great script from a filmmaker who had a spectacular vision,” Fogelson said. “The filmmaking team was almost entirely made up of strong women who had a really smart artistic and entertaining eye for how to tell this story. Never for a moment do you feel its inauthentic to the world of strip clubs and the women who work there. It’s so clearly not told through a male gaze.” For that reason, young women turned out in force for “Hustlers.” Among opening weekend crowds, 67% were female and 69% were over the age of 25. The female-led ensemble also includes Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B.
There were a lot of women in the theater when I went, but there were a lot of dudes too, including a gay couple who truly gasped in excitement when Jennifer first strutted onto the stage. Hustlers is truly the film for ALL demos.
Other box office notes: while Hustlers is the success story of the month, The Goldfinch is the bomb of the month. The Goldfinch only opened with… $2.6 million. I blame Ansel Elgort!! And Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has now made $329.4 million worldwide, making it Quentin Tarantino’s second highest-grossing movie after Django Unchained. How did Kill Bill Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 not make more money?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
One of my coworkers came in this morning RAVING about JLo’s performance in this. She also used the Oscar word and said it will be a crime against humanity if she doesn’t win it.
I don’t know if it will be a crime but she’s very good in it.
I am yelling at anyone who will listen that JLo was THAT GOOD!
she’s a BOSS. LOVE her, rooting for her. THRILLED for her. she defies everything held dear in the entertainment business. Bam. You go on now, JLo.
It’s funny…I watched “Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2” again this weekend…
It is TRULY a pleasure….
I’m not surprised about J-Lo who ALWAYS has the “IT” factor when she’s on the screen…the camera…LOVES HER…And she KNOWS how to play to her strengths!
Funny. My mom LOVES Kill Bill Vol. 1. She’s 72 years old and will watch it anytime and anywhere. And it’s shocking as so not expected.
I want to see this now! Maybe I’ll try to make it to the movies this week. I rarely see movies in theaters (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was my first adult movie in a theater in maybe 2 years?) but Hustlers looks great and I want to show that women-led movies can make money at the box office.
The Goldfinch did not look good. First, I think if you hadn’t read the book, the trailers would make little sense. And it was always going to be a hard movie to make, IMO, bc so much of it is inside the main character’s head, and the MC is kind of an asshole, even though that was the result of a very traumatic incident. (I cant even remember his name. Henry?)
Agreed about The Goldfinch. The trailer was horrible and I don’t know why they went for a movie rather than a miniseries on HBO or wherever, there’s way too much story and time to cover in a two-hour format.
Is there though? I felt like half of the book should have been left in the editing room, and nothing would have been missing. But I did think upon seeing the trailer that the maybe it translated better to the screen (where they could cut a lot of the unnecessary). In case you can’t tell, I HATED the book, but slogged through it because my book club picked it.
I hated the book as well…I listened to part of it on audiobook before giving up. I just thought the writing style was so overwrought.
I think JLo will put up the most aggressive Oscar campaign of all time and turn off a lot of voters. I bet she gets the nomination but not the win.
Good call. Winning an Oscar is more about politics than performance.
Agree. Like Gaga.
Yeah JLo’s campaign will be nuts.
I must say though while JLo is no Katharine Hepburn, as far as pop stars go, she’s always been a pretty good actress. She’s been compelling in every role I’ve seen her, and she always holds her own against the full-time actors of the cast.
As far as romcoms go, I’d say she’s a lot better than Natalie Portman or Jennifer Aniston.
JLo started as an actress before she was a pop star. Directed by Oliver Stone and Soderbergh. Acting opposite Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams, Sean Penn. it’s unfair to compare her to Gaga.
I’m agree with you. She with hustle (hard)…haha for that nomination.
haha, I see what you did there 🙂
I guess JLo is this year’s Lady Gaga. God help me (again!) this Oscar season…
Nah, she’s been acting forever this isn’t new for her. And the film doesn’t rely on her dancing or singing – just her amazing screen presence.
She has 3 great performances in her resume, Out of Sight, Selena, The Cell. You can even include the poorly reviewed Angel Eyez. She’s a better actress than Julia Roberts. She is great even in her light romcoms like Maid in Manhattan and Wedding Planner.
I’m sorry, I gotta disagree. JLo is good in a certain type of role, but no way is she better than Julia Roberts. The Cell wasn’t an “acting” role, it was a visually focused film. Selena was ok, but it was more about the love of the real life woman. I found the movie cloying, to be honest.
Completely agree, Adrien. I love the legendary late Roger Ebert’s review of the Cell. Not for anything she was one of his favorite actresses.
I think as an actress she is very inconsistent. When she started getting noticed in films like Out of Sight, her charisma shined. In her rom coms I think she gets too kitchsy… I keep hearing her say “He saved my shoe!” In a little baby voice (I think that was from Wedding Planner but it’s been a while).
Much like her singing ability, I think her acting has limits and she sometimes overreaches. But I hear she is great in this move and it seems like it delivers on all her strengths. Simply having charisma and being interesting on film is REALLY HARD and much more challenging than most people think.
For some reason Jlos thirsty behavior doesn’t bother me as much as Gagas so I welcome this Oscar campaign. I think it will be fun and entertaining in contrast to Gaga’s unbearably insufferable 6 month long performance.
JLO is a STAR!!! I was absolutely mesmerized by her screen presence. The shot of her on the roof in her fur right after her intro was breath taking. Give her all the oscars !!!
I really want to see it.
Go JLo!! I feel like she’s successfully doing what Madonna always wanted to do (and I grew up loving Madonna and still kinda do)….she’s an older woman who’s sexy and beautiful and relevant and changing the way we think of women and aging.
Madonnas has been too try hard and never did anything gracefully..
Brilliant analysis…and rings SO TRUE!
This is true. But we must recognize that Madonna’s pushing of boundaries paved the way for others to follow, observe, and do better.
@AB that’s an interesting point, so very true.
True, and also, it’s fine for not every woman to be graceful.
Ditto AB. I feel like many people forget how much Madonna changed the entertainment industry.
I don’t think JLo changes the way we view older women because she pretty much still looks 30 and ticks of all the boxes of conventionally attractive. She is beautiful and sexy but nobody thinks of her as an older woman and there is nothing about her looks that makes her different from the hordes of young attractive women in Hollywood.
It’s a shame that older women are only perceived attractive if they don’t show signs of aging.
Word. There’s so much money and beauty standards attached to give her this merit.
What I appreciated about the movie is that while her body is amazing… I mean… crazy good. You can see her face and she has some of the lines as I do on my face (similar ages). I appreciated that so much. She could have had them touch her up but they didn’t.
OK, please help me, I apparently live under a rock:
– I read the New York Magazine piece from a few years back that inspired this. Rosie (the Constance Wu character) was VERY adamant that they were no longer strippers. Is that acknowledged, even though we’re all calling it the stripper hustler movie?
– Cardi B is in this, but then she was also convicted of drugging and swindling men when she was stripping, right? Was she part of this gang or did she do it on her own? I assume she’s not playing herself – is she?
Also, I am thrilled for Lilli Reinhart. CW does a great job casting relative unknowns but lately not a great job of having them make the leap.
Yes it is clear they are not stripping when they do the drugging. But they build up to that by showing the period when they were stripping first. Also most of the action takes place in a strip club.
I was wondering the same thing about Cardi B. No she doesn’t play herself but not sure if her story is the same one as this or different. Probably different.
Lilli Reinhart is great in the movie – she’s got some comedic acting skills!
I watched it yesterday and loved it. I rate movies by “am I glad that I spent $25-ish to see this (with snacks of course!)?” This one was hell yes!!! And J-Lo’s body…🤯🤯🤯
Haha, that’s pretty much how I rate movies as well. Hell, even if a movie is just ‘okay’ but it was a good snack time, I’m pretty okay with spending the money. There’s bad movies that are still enjoyable.
I’m going to have to go see it. My husband saw the trailer the other day, and very casually was like “you know, you go to a lot of Marvel movies with me, is this something you wanted to go to?” completely trying to sound like he was doing me a favor even if his intentions were mainly seeing a bunch of crazy BEAUTIFUL women staring in what looks like a fun flick.
LOL Erinn that is the most adorable story and I very rarely find men stories adorable!
It’s hard to admit that Hustlers is everything I want Widows to be. They also got an adorable dog in it. Widows while excellent left me unmoved. The actors performed well but they didn’t have chemistry with one another. Same problem I had with Ocean’s 8. The lineup didn’t work like a team. Hustlers cast worked like a family. I’m off to rewatch Hustlers this Friday if only for the Criminal part.
For those of you curious, Connie is indeed the lead but she’s like Ray Liotta to JLo’s Robert DeNiro in Goodfellas. Jlo is the staahh!
It’s a good movie but there are many other, more deserving women with roles that took a lot more that deserve the nom and the win.
Women like who? Genuinely curious to confirm that you’re not just a big hater.
I remember when Constance Wu insisted on being the first name on the lineup. LOL. Funny how things work out.
Dani doesn’t need to ‘confirm’ anything for you. She’s entitled to her opinion, for heaven’s sake!
Bye, White Lady Jan.
Hater, really? I like JLo well enough but not everyone has to.
I know, name the more deserving women.
We have an opinion supervisor here, wow!
Right now, the odds are putting JLo at #9. Renee Z., Scarlett, Cynthia Erivo, Awkwafina, Charlize, Alfre Woodard, and Lupita are ranked higher.
Keep in mind, a lot of movies that will be in contention haven’t released yet.
Okay well, I am coming out as “anybody but Scarjo” right now.
Forgive me if I’m wrong but those are all beast actress roles, right?
I’d assumed J.Lo was being discussed for best supporting since Constance is billed as the lead.
Those are the odds on Best Actress, but that is the list that JLo was on. There doesn’t have to be 1 lead actor in a film. I think we are probably used to only having 1 female character being a lead, though! It’s nice that we are finally getting films where there can be more than 1 female lead.
She’d probably have a better chance at supporting, that field seems less crowded right now.
Haven’t seen the movie yet but want to see what’s getting JLo the buzz. Will have to organize a girls night. What do you mean by “more deserving”? That’s a really loaded term.
I was going to see this but I can’t stand Lili Reinhart so I’ll wait, or download it.
She’s a hoot in Hustlers!
I like Lili but out of the main cast, she’s in it the least so if you don’t like her, rest assured she doesn’t get a lot of screen time.
Meh!!! I might be the only one who didn’t think the movie was that great. I must say that JLO looked friggen amazing
The film is great and J Lo is magnificent in it. She’ll for sure be nominated but I don’t think she’ll win no matter how hard she goes after it- Laura Dern has a lot more respect with the majority of the academy and a gift of a monologue in Marriage Story that she tears into.
I was waiting for this post all weekend! I loved it so much, I saw it Thursday and Saturday and now I want to see it again! Give JLo that Oscar already! You forget is her, and you only see Ramona. So many people were dismissive of this movie because of the theme. Props to Lorene Scafaria too, she should get an Oscar too, she fought to get this made.
I will see it. Am I only one who likes her more w 10 pounds and less muscle, she looks harder in the face when she eats no carbs and lifts?
Nomination?…still too early to tell. Later in the fall and winter movies the better actors came out. Need to wait and see. Not likely. But who knows. Lady Gaga was nominated then anyone can.
Win?…no. She has a body of work but nothing stands out. She’s more of a celebrity than actress. She’s known for ass kissing those in power. Treats underlings like yesterday’s trash.
Don’t believe the whisper campaigns. They’re already starting with the Garland bio pic. JL is just another whisper. Anyone who reads online celebrity sites are famous for it.
Jennifer is so gorgeous, I love her. But the movie itself was not empowering for women but more about negative stereotypes. Their behavior was horrible, they used their bodies to get what they wanted, not their brains, and when they got money from it they spent it on crap. Sad they didn’t actually start a real business or save the money.
They acted exactly how I would expect ex-strippers without any education or intelligence would act to earn money.
But every movie doesn’t have to be about intelligent successful women. So it works if you enjoy being entertained at stereotypes of predatorily ex-strippers using their bodies/not their brains so they can make money to buy designer handbags and fur coats. But personally I didn’t really enjoy it.
You’re in danger.
Nah, she’s fine. Her take is pretty status quo.
Not here.
This movie was based off a true story. I saw a news story (either 20/20 or Dateline) where they spoke to some of the real life women this movie is based off of. That’s why the clothes etc. are from around the year 2008 (when this real life story actually took place). They didn’t want to make up a fake ending, they kept it how it happened in real life I’m guessing.
They seemed pretty intelligent to me with how they got back at the Wall Street Assholes who swindled millions out of the American people and ruined thousands of lives… you don’t have to be nice, sweet or “all-American” to be intelligent.
I love the karma around Constance Wu’s performance. She has been scarcely mentioned.
J.Lo was sublime in this movie… Just absolutely riveting every time she’s on screen. I feel like the Supporting Actress category is going to be STACKED but Jennifer is definitely a lock for a nom at this point. I think she’ll win too.
Sublime and riveting. Those words describe her perfectly! Exactly!
This is repairment. I grew up watching films with Jennifer Lopez and no one could ever convince me that she was a bad actress. I mean, I dislike her a lot and how come she makes me love every single character she plays? That’s acting. I won’t see the movie but I know she was great! *cries*.
That’s funny! I have a friend who can’t stand her, her only flaw 😉 lol and she bought the Fiat car JLo advertised and I mentioned this to her and she said please don’t tell anyone (this doesn’t count since it’s anonymous lol) but I fell in love with the car when I saw her ad. So JLo can even sell cars to people who don’t like her. Your comment reminded me of this lol
She’s expert in sweet, humble characters. She might not have a great range, but she’s always lovely and don’t let other stars overshadow her, like Beyoncé for example.
I always thought she was a good movie star – gorgeous, lots of personality off screen, definite star quality – but I never thought she was a good actress, able to disappear into roles.
I haven’t seen this to know if it’s different – if it is, good for her!
I generally think most actresses get better as they are older, and it’s been a crime that the industry has always wanted new and young rather than experienced and talented.
I saw it yesterday and loved it. I loved Ramona and totally bought into the character, but Constance was a no for me. I swear there were times when destiny seemed smug. Maybe that’s the wrong word, but I definetly felt sometimes Constance brought an attitude like she was better than the role.
That was the vibe I got from Wu in a youtube video where she and Lopez are talking about the music from the movie. Lopez is engaged with the topic while Wu just seems like she doesn’t care and would rather be elsewhere. I recall reading that her Crazy Rich co-stars weren’t thrilled with her during the promo circuit for that movie. Maybe she is not happy that the serious, “high art” roles aren’t coming?
Now I want to see this! The last female-driven movie I saw was Ocean’s 8 and I was totally disappointed. The plot was dumb, the group failed to gel, and the only bright spots for me were Awkwafina and Anne Hathaway.
Go, Jennifer! Since Enough I have watched this woman. She deserves it all. Get that statue.
I dont know. I still see her missing Oscar. Im sure she’ll be nominated at the Globes. But the Oscars always like to throw in the “surprise” nom and so I just have this feeling that jennifer wont get it. Not too mention, Im sure she is going to campaign hard and that might just get grating after awhile and turn people off.
I’m glad there’s is buzz. I watched the film yesterday and was memorized by JLO and thought she deserved some recognition but usually a film like this doesn’t bring in the nominations, but I hope it does.
Anyways, JLO has been acting forever. I don’t know why people are still surprised that she’s good. She’s a better movie star than singer.
I will tattoo your last sentence in my chest. It took me my entire life to see anyone agreeing with me on this, lol.
I’ve yet to see it, but I expect the very loose premise (J.Lo being a stripper) will get some of those sexist fossils in the academy to watch the film instead of ignoring it as they tend to do female/PoC centered stories.
“Oscar Nominee/Winner Jennifer Lopez” is the oscar narrative that I want this season if “Oscar Winner Scarlet Johansson” is going to be a thing. 2 women of color/humanity winning would be interesting.
I really wanted to love it but I didn’t. Story was weak, Constance Wu was terrible ( absolutely no sex appeal). It needed more Cardi b!!
J lo doesn’t deserve an Oscar nomination but she has an incredible screen presence. She absolutely sizzles and the pole dance was fantastic. Now SHE oozes sex appeal. I felt like she was playing herself though.
She is beautiful to look at…as an actress she’s too try hard.
I’ll be damned. Sounds like I should have watched this movie instead of IT Chap 2!
Yes it sounds fun. I’d like to see it. Everyone must find their best thing then it just could work I think.
This movie was terrible and will make the lives of real sex workers harder. JLo was not at all impressive.
Watched the movie and it was boring. Expected something else