If you need to knock off a surprising animated juggernaut, who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters? It’s 2016 and we’re about to find out how far the movie watching public has come with a female twist on a popcorn classic. While it’ll be will they or won’t they take the top spot for Ghostbusters vs. The Secret Life of Pets, Bryan Cranston stars in The Infiltrator which actually released on Wednesday but might struggle to make the top 10 and three platform releases — two with controversy (think Woody Allen and Hillary Clinton) — round out the releases. Here’s MHT’s recommendations on what to see and not see in theaters for the week of July 8th:
Ghostbusters
Theater Count: 3,963
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth
Buzz:
The original trailer was the “most hated” movie trailer in YouTube history but since then, the film has done some damage control and made the most of its negative press. (It’s only YouTube, after all.) It’s hard to read the pulse on the film and experts are split on how well the film will do. Anything over $50 million would probably be considered a success and the date is wide open as far as competition goes. Although no one expected The Secret Life of Pets to have the opening it did so it’ll still be a draw in its second week.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! You have to be curious at this point, don’t you? I know I am.
The Infiltrator
Theater Count: 1,600
Starring: Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, Olympia Dukakis
Buzz:
The Infiltrator is the kind of film that needs great critical approval to be any legitimate threat at the box office. So far, critics like but don’t love it and the jump start The Infiltrator got on the weekend business has been less than impressive. Cranston is getting rave reviews for his performance (and will from MHT in the review that will hit the site in a few hours) but the movie is only being received as good not great.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! Cranston in a dual role as an undercover U.S. Customs agent? How can it not be good?
Café Society
Theater Count: 5
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart
Buzz:
Every year or so, Woody Allen reminds us he’s more than the creepy guy who married the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. This year it is Café Society. Jesse Eisenberg looks to be attempting an impression of Allen in the main role… well, with the exception of trying to score with the daughter of his girlfriend.
See the Trailer:
Movie Hot Take:
Skip it! While Woody Allen films always draw an impressive cast, we’ll recommend sitting this one out.
Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Theater Count: 3
Starring: Dinesh D’Souza
Buzz:
Since my first viewing of the trailer, I always secretly hoped this wasn’t a real thing. Unfortunately, with this week’s platform release and next week’s expected expansion to 1,200+ theaters, I guess it wasn’t The Onion’s first fake trailer after all.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
Skip it! Let’s not help this genre of propaganda and manipulation become a thing by funding it with ticket sales.
Equals
Theater Count: 2
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce, Kristen Stweart, Bel Pouley
Buzz:
This flew completely under the radar and actually landed on DirecTV on May 26th before hitting theaters now. While A24 is one of the hottest boutique film distributors out there, there’s something off about this release. We’ll see if it expands next week but, for now, unless you’re near the 2 theaters showing it or a DirecTV customer, you’re out of luck.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
Skip it in theaters… wait for home viewing.
Box Office Recap (July 8th Weekend)
- The Secret Life of Pets ($104,852,905) MHT #1 Forecast at $80.4 million
- The Legend of Tarzan ($21,006,462) MHT #3 Forecast at $19.3 million
- Finding Dory ($20,817,949) MHT #2 Forecast at $23.3 million
- Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates ($16,628,170) MHT #4 Forecast at $13.6 million
- The Purge: Election Year ($12,388,445) MHT #5 Forecast at $12 million
- Central Intelligence ($8,031,386) MHT #7 Forecast at $7.3 million
- The BFG ($7,809,384) MHT #6 Forecast at $10.4 million
- Independence Day: Resurgence ($7,779,531) MHT #8 Forecast at $6.3 million
- The Shallows ($4,804,345) MHT #9 Forecast at $4.3 million
- Sultan ($2,370,244) No Forecast
Well, The Secret Life of Pets did even more than expected as did Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. The other shocker was how well The Legend of Tarzan held on to its box office and how hard The BFG fell.
Box Office Predictions for July 15th Weekend
- The Secret Life of Pets ($56,500,000)
- Ghostbusters ($50,200,000)
- Finding Dory ($12,700,000)
- The Legend of Tarzan ($11,400,000)
- Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates ($8,000,000)
- The Purge: Election Year ($6,100,000)
- Central Intelligence ($5,000,000)
- Independence Day: Resurgence ($4,400,000)
- The BFG ($3,800,000)
- The Infiltrator ($3,600,000)
The Shallows ($2.6m), Sultan ($1.2m), The Conjuring 2 ($750k), Now You See Me 2 ($700k), Free State of Jones ($450k)
MHT is calling for The Secret Life of Pets to hold off Ghostbusters and Finding Dory to rebound like a more typical animated film usually performs now that the entire world isn’t off to watch Illumination’s latest.