The Boss earned a TKO at the box office last week as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was bumped from the top spot (thanks to The Boss‘ Thursday preview dollars) but everything is out of contention for this week’s #1 at the box office. This week you can write The Jungle Book in Sharpie but will it top $80 million? It’s not expected to approach April’s biggest opening (Furious 7 opened at $147 million last year) but it could make it to #3 (Fast Five at $86 million) or it could miss the mark and not even make it to #4 (Fast & Furious at $71 million). Also joining the fray is yet another sequel with a huge gap between it’s last appearance on the big screen: Barbershop: The Next Cut which comes 12 years after Barbershop 2. All that, a Kevin Costner film and two very exciting platform releases in To See or Not to See for the week of April 15th:
The Jungle Book
Theater Count: 4,028
Starring: Neel Sethi and the voices of Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken, Lupita Nyong’o, Giancarlo Esposito
Buzz:
The big-budget CGI-overstuffed live action version of The Jungle Book from director Jon Favreau is getting a ton of positive buzz. Early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes has the film at 93% and is accompanied by a 99% “want to see” audience score. The Disney marketing machine is in full effect so this movie is set up for success about as well as any movie can be. The only negative coming out is that it might be too scary for the youngest audiences which might be excited for it due to it’s link to the animated film.
3 Things to Know:
- There is only one live-action star (Neel Sethi) in the entire film and the movie was shot on a sound stage and the visual effects were all CGI
- Director Jon Favreau utilized a surround sound technique developed for Fantasia called Fantasound and the movie is optimized for the Dolby Atmos experience
- Favreau warns of a darker tone as the realism and intensity of the images creates scary moments
See the Trailer:
Required Viewing:
None
Optional Past Viewing:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! The Jungle Book looks like it will be a technical achievement and the powerful voice cast alone makes this a must see. Sometimes movies are just too big to fail. The Jungle Book looks to be such a movie.
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Theater Count: 2,661
Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Nicki Minaj, Eve, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Common
Buzz:
It’s been 12 years since we last visited the barber shop (11 if you throw in the trip to the Beauty Shop, a Barbershop spin-off, in 2005). Unlike most of the other long dormant sequels, Barbershop: The Next Cut feels more in line with My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 as far as potential reception is concerned. The story is relevant and timely and like the previous entries, looks to be a film with a positive message. Even though it was poorly received, Ride Along 2 did well at the box office and even on a modest number of theaters, Barbershop: The Next Cut should have a solid showing.
3 Things to Know:
- This sequel is based on a true story about a person in Chicago who decided to give out free cuts in his own neighborhood
- The ensemble was sent to barber and beauty school to learn how to cut hear and do weaves
- Common and Nicki Minaj have joined the cast while Michael Ealy has departed
See the Trailer:
Required Viewing:
Optional Past Viewing:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! The original and sequel were both very funny and had a poignant message. The additions of Common and Nicki Minaj will only boost the film’s likeability.
Criminal
Theater Count: 2,600
Starring: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds, Alice Eve
Buzz:
Is there still an audience for a Kevin Costner vehicle? In 2014, Costner headlined two films — 3 Days to Kill and Draft Day — and then another in 2015 — Black or White — and each has opened at less than it’s predecessor. 3 Days to Kill is the most similar to Criminal and none of the films had the supporting cast Criminal does but it’s easy to see this film getting lost in the shuffle. It feels like the current temperature on Costner is lukewarm and a wait and see approach coupled with early poor reviews might lead to poor box office performance for Criminal.
3 Things to Know:
- Criminal was shot in London and other parts of England
- Costner co-star Gal Gadot has a great box office record in April as she appeared in four of the seven Fast & Furious movies
- The film was originally slated for a January release but was pushed back to a much more competitive April release
See the Trailer:
Required Viewing:
None
Optional Past Viewing:
MHT Hot Take:
Skip it! The week is rich with offerings and we can’t recommend them all sight unseen. Of the five movies coming out this week, this is the least desirable viewing option.
Sing Street
Theater Count: 5
Starring: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Lucy Boynton
Buzz:
We’ll be rooting for this one to have a successful 5 screen engagement and expand quickly as the “coming of age” story based in 1980s Dublin about a 14-year-old boy who tries to impress a girl by forming a band while avoiding the stress of home where money and his parents’ relationship is rocky. No word on whether this has a wider release in it’s future but there’s a definite critical following as the early reviews are almost all glowing.
3 Things to Know:
- The film is inspired by the life of writer/director John Carney and his love of music
- Carney was the writer/director behind Once and Begin Again
- The 80s soundtrack includes songs from A-ha, The Cure, Duran Duran and Hall & Oates
See the Trailer:
Required Viewing:
None
Optional Past Viewing:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! Great trailer, great writer/director, it’s a movie that might not get a chance to be seen wide but deserves the opportunity.
Green Room
Theater Count: ?
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner
Buzz:
A24 continues their run of intriguing art house flicks that will eventually get some sort of wider release (this one goes wider on April 29th). Green Room‘s dark theme will probably keep it’s theater count on the smaller side when it does go wider but so far it has received an exciting response.
3 Things to Know:
- The film was screened at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and at opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival
- Green Room was shot in Portland and director Jeremy Saulnier was adamant that Portland was the only place it could be made
- Music and sound play a huge role in the movie as it is about a band who witnesses a murder
See the Trailer:
Required Viewing:
None
Optional Past Viewing:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! At this point, A24 has earned a lot of respect for their releases. Green Room is getting a lot of credit for crossing genres and combining drama, horror and a thriller.
Box Office Recap (April 8)
- The Boss ($23,586,645) MHT Forecast #1 at $22 million
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($23,363,079) MHT Forecast #2 at $20 million
- Zootopia ($14,345,422) MHT Forecast #3 at $12.4 million
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 ($6,476,200) MHT Forecast #5 at $6.85 million
- Hardcore Henry ($5,107,604) MHT Forecast #4 at $11.8 million
- Miracles from Heaven ($4,706,681) MHT Forecast #6 at $4.58 million
- God’s Not Dead 2 ($4,054,185) MHT Forecast #7 at $4.4 million
- The Divergent Series: Allegiant ($3,517,977) MHT Forecast #8 at $3.2 million
- 10 Cloverfield Lane ($2,905,190) MHT Forecast #12 at $2.29 million
- Eye in the Sky ($2,895,596) MHT Forecast #10 at $2.6 million
Other than completely missing on Hardcore Henry and Demolition and a slight miss on 10 Cloverfield Lane, MHT’s box office predictions were pretty solid. Unfortunately, for our Fantasy Movie League lineup suggestion, Hardcore Henry and Demolition were front and center so the week was a disaster.
Box Office Predictions for April 15th Weekend:
- The Jungle Book ($82,000,000)
- Barbershop: The Next Cut ($22,500,000)
- The Boss ($13,750,000)
- Zootopia ($10,000,000)
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($9,900,000)
- Criminal ($5,500,000)
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 ($3,200,000)
- Miracles from Heaven ($2,600,000)
- Hardcore Henry ($2,400,000)
- God’s Not Dead 2 ($1,910,000)
Eye in the Sky ($1.78m), The Divergent Series: Allegiant ($1.53m), 10 Cloverfield Lane ($1.25m), Deadpool ($860k), Hello, My Name Is Doris ($700k)
Both The Jungle Book and Barbershop: The Next Cut should have big opening weeks but it’s hard to imagine a strong contingent wanting to see Criminal. Of the returning films, Zootopia should hold nicely despite concerns that the other Disney movie will eat away at it’s audience. It is a jungle out there, after all.
Want to play along yourself? Check out Fantasy Movie League! (MHT is not affiliated with FML in any way… just a fan!)