UNEXPECTED

‘The Upside’ Tops Box Office Despite Kevin Hart Controversy

Narrowly inching out Aquaman.

The Upside, a film originally produced by Harvey Weinstein and starring recently controversial actor Kevin Hart, topped the box office this week. Despite its controversial credits, The Upside managed to rake in a surprising $19.6 million, inching out Aquaman’s $17.3 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A remake of the 2011 French film The Intouchables, the film first premiered in September 2017 at the Toronto Film Festival. But when executive producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual assault by multiple women only a few weeks later, the film was shelved indefinitely. When Lantern Entertainment bought Weinstein Group’s library of 277 films in July, however, they decided to re-release the film without Weinstein’s name attached. The movie stars Bryan Cranston as a wealthy quadriplegic who befriends the ex-con he hires to take care of him, played by Hart, who sparked outrage in recent weeks for a history of past homophobic tweets.

DAMAGE CONTROL

Kevin Hart Pulls Out of Oscars After Homophobic Tweet Furor

Matt Wilstein