Sing 2 (2021)

[Mike Blakesley]

Thank heavens somebody is still putting family films into theatres. We had 2 sellouts this weekend, plus another "near" sellout. (I really prefer the near-sellouts, they are easier to deal with.)

This movie was a hoot. A fun story, some good humor for all ages but no toilet-humor jokes that I remember, and a lot (A LOT) of really good music. The opening scene contains the best non-Prince version of a Prince song I've ever heard. There is also a good new U2 song.

The story is similar to the first movie, except rather than restoring a run-down theater, this time the animals want to take their show on the road to a Vegas-type city and have to get past all sorts of obstacles to not only put on the show, but bring in a renowned celebrity (played by Bono) to star in it. The big goal is the huge show at the end, which is very well done. There is a scene when the mean club owner is auditioning various acts that is flat-out hilarious and would make a good soundtrack album on its own.....considering you only get to hear about 10 seconds of each act before he hits the "big red button" (the 2021 equivalent of "the hook," I guess).

The sound mix was good with a lot of bass, but I thought it needed more surround. That's a nitpick though.

Overall, a really fun movie that I did not expect to like as much as I did. Very little "running around" by kids during the shows, which is a sign they are into it -- which is good for our janitorial efforts.

4 out of 5 stars from me for this one.

[David Ferguson]

but no toilet-humor jokes that I remember

No toilet jokes, from the studio that brought us "fart gun", "21 fart gun salute", a whole scene involving a toilet, and a character named "Professor Ramsbottom"? I wonder if the Illumination execs are feeling alright...

Glad to hear you've had a good turnout on it. Hopefully it continues to do well - not because I particularly like Illumination, but because cinemas deserve a good family film to get the crowds.

[Jim Cassedy]

Several weeks before the movie came out, I did a private "press event" at a screening
room here in San Francisco. The director (Garth Jennings) and some other people
connected with the production were there also. Some of the invited adults brought
their kids too. Mr Jennings is seen doing Q&A after the flick in the photo below.
GarthJenningsSingII.jpg

Very nice guy. I got to chat with him a bit while doing our tech-check
before the event started. He also was the director of the first SING

[Mike Blakesley]

I should have noted that this movie, like all animated movies these days, contains the obligatory fireworks display scene. Why do all animation filmmakers feel the need to have a fireworks display scene in every movie? I mean, I love fireworks, but I don't care how good you are at animation, fireworks are worthless if you are not seeing them in person. That's just a fact of life, along with death and taxes.

At least on this show, the anima-pyrotechnics don't happen until the end credits.

[James Wyrembelski]

I agree that this was a film I did not expect to like as much as I do. The sound is excellent, the story moves at a great pace, everyone is engaged. (Very few kids even move from their seat)

I make sure to be out in the auditorium for the opening scene, a fantastic cover version.

Not to mention this has been great for business. I was worried for a slow January but going from Spider Man to this and things haven't slowed down. I think this might be doing better business even! It wouldn't bother me at all to have this for a third week if it stays as consistent as it has.

[Mike Blakesley]

Not to mention this has been great for business. I was worried for a slow January but going from Spider Man to this and things haven't slowed down.

Same here. We have had 5 sellouts on this movie so far. In fact, our second week has already outgrossed the whole first week, and we still have four nights to go. People are really liking this one.

One mom told me that it's no surprise that we're busy because the original Sing plays "all the time" on TV, she said.

[Mike Blakesley]

Our week 2 outgrossed week 1, so naturallly Universal insisted we should keep Sing 2 for a third week. Since we didn't have any alternatives, I agreed.... and we watched the ticket sales fall right into the dumper starting Friday. Last week's Friday outdid this week's Friday-thru-Sunday combined. Oh well. That's show biz!

[James Wyrembelski]

Essentially the same thing happened here. Week 2 didn't surpass week 1, but it was only down 3%. Third weekend we fell about 55%. I believe it also started streaming about the same time so that would explain a some of the drop. I laughed as I saw people I know posting photos of their kids watching Sing 2 at home as we were entering week 3. I still would have kept it anyways. Doesn't seem like anything else was worth taking.

Heck, our booker even suggested a 4th week since everything else is so abysmal but I had to pass. Dont get me wrong, I loved Sing 2, but not sure I can do another week of it (my sanity that is). Let's hope we can all get through February unscathed. Hoping Patrick Wilson and Tom Holland can at least keep the next month afloat.

[Mike Blakesley]

Yeah I like the music (our office is just a few feet from the auditorium so we get to listen to the soundtrack every time) but it is past "let's change the station" time for me.

[Frank Cox]

I'm playing Sing 2 this week since it's one of the big shows that came out while I was closed. As with Spider-man, I figure that while I've missed out on the big blast there should still be some people around who will want to see it.

Friday night I unlock the door and wait until past showtime and I have zero customers here. Not one single person.

Now I'm thinking that I made a mistake with Sing 2 and I'm going to be in for a really dead week. Nobody at all coming to the show on a Friday night of all nights? I can't remember the last time that happened but it was a really long time ago.

However, I'm getting about average size crowds for Sing 2 for the rest of the shows this weekend, so I don't know what happened on Friday. Weird. It looks like I won't be sitting here by myself for the rest of the week, at least. *whew*

As for the movie itself, I like it. The music is really good, of course, but it runs a bit too long for the smaller kids. They're starting to get jumpy toward the end.

But it's still a nice movie and I'm glad that I decided to play it. On Friday night I was really questioning my judgment...