Los Angeles Times

She can laugh about it now

Julie Hagerty’s role in ‘Marriage Story’ had a song-and-dance scene. She took it anyway.

- By Susan King

Julie Hagerty’s movie career has included memorable moments in cockpits (“Airplane!”) and Las Vegas casinos (“Lost in America”), but she admits she was terribly frightened by a scene in her new film, “Marriage Story,” that takes place in an ordinary living room.

Of course, the scene involves singing the Stephen Sondheim song “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” from “Company” with Scarlett Johansson and Merritt Wever, who play her daughters in the Noah Baumbach film.

“It was fun, and it was hard,” Hagerty recalled. “Merritt and I were practicing and practicing. Then Scarlett came in and did it in five minutes. I don’t sing. I

Disney’s “Frozen 2” dominated the box office once again in its second weekend, adding $123.7 million through the five-day Thanksgivi­ng holiday weekend, including $85.3 million from Friday through Sunday, for a cumulative $287.6 million, according to estimates from measuremen­t firm Comscore.

“This was the Thanksgivi­ng box office bounty the industry was hoping for, and while not a record-breaker [overall], the holiday frame was strong enough to knock the YTD deficit down by 1.3% and get the momentum rolling,” said Paul Dergarabed­ian, a senior media analyst at Comscore.

“Frozen 2” topped previous Thanksgivi­ng weekend record holder “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” which earned about $110 million in 2013. “Frozen 2” stands at $738.6 million globally.

In second place, Lionsgate and MRC’s “Knives Out” opened Wednesday well ahead of expectatio­ns, with a five-day debut of $41.7 million, including $27 million from Friday through Sunday.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), the film is a comedic take on the murder mystery starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Katherine Langford, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Jaeden Martell and Don Johnson as members of a wealthy family whose patriarch (played by Christophe­r Plummer) dies unexpected­ly. Lakeith Stanfield, Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas also star.

It was well received, with an A-minus CinemaScor­e and a 96% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

At No. 3, Fox’s “Ford v Ferrari” added a five-day haul of $19 million, with $13.2 million of that Friday through Sunday, for a total of $81 million. In fourth place, Sony’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborho­od” added $17.3 million over the five days, including $11.8 million from Friday through Sunday, for a domestic total of $34.3 million.

Rounding out the top five, Universal and Makeready’s “Queen & Slim” opened Wednesday to $15.8 million through five days, including $11.7 million Friday through Sunday. Directed by Melina Matsoukas (“Insecure,” Beyoncé’s “Formation” video) from a script by Lena Waithe, the film stars Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie TurnerSmit­h as a couple on the run after an altercatio­n with a police officer turns deadly.

The film was well received with an A-minus CinemaScor­e and a 84% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

At No. 6, STX Entertainm­ent’s “21 Bridges” added $5.8 million from Friday through Sunday for a total of $20.5 million. In seventh place, Paramount’s “Playing With Fire” added $4.2 million over three days for a cumulative $39.2 million. At No. 8, Lionsgate’s “Midway” added $4 million in for a cumulative $50.3 million. At No. 9, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” added $2 million for a total of $330.6 million. Rounding out the top 10, Universal’s “Last Christmas” added about $2 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $31.7 million.

In limited release, Amazon opens the biopic “The Aeronauts,” Neon debuts the drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and Magnolia Pictures releases the sci-fi drama “Little Joe.”

 ?? Mel Melcon Los Angeles Times ?? JULIE HAGERTY, a hoot in 1980’s “Airplane!” and 1985’s “Lost in America,” just finished a film for Disney+, playing Mrs. Claus in “Noelle.”
Mel Melcon Los Angeles Times JULIE HAGERTY, a hoot in 1980’s “Airplane!” and 1985’s “Lost in America,” just finished a film for Disney+, playing Mrs. Claus in “Noelle.”

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