Sequelitis and video game movies continue to dominate 2016 as two more sequels and another video game movie find themselves in wide release. Four platform releases take up the rest of the slate with none likely to make it too far beyond their initial offering. Here’s MHT’s recommendations on what to see and what not to see:
Warcraft
Theater Count: 3,400
Starring: Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Paula Patton
Buzz:
The biggest MMORP game gets a movie of it’s own. Unlike The Angry Birds Movie which had much more star power and was targeted toward kids, Warcraft is aiming for the game’s audience and relying heavily on CGI. It is in more theaters than any other new release this week but is not expected to finish #1 and actually will likely finish behind both sequels coming out.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
Skip it! Unless you’re a big fan of the game or longing for inferior knock offs of Lord of the Rings, this release is fairly useless.
The Conjuring 2
Theater Count: 3,343
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’ Connor
Buzz:
The Conjuring 2 is the first horror film since The Witch in February to hit the market with real promise. The original did very well at the box office and expect more of the same from the follow up with it’s only real negative is it’s run time of over two hours. The trailer has been well received and will be unlikely to repeat the original’s $41 million plus opening, it is the favorite to win the weekend.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
See it… if you dare! Personally, my love/hate relationship with horror movies has me on the fence about this one but eventually, I should get up enough courage to see it.
Now You See Me 2
Theater Count: 3,232
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe
Buzz:
No one expected the original to have the success it did. Now, Now You See Me 2 attempts to pull off the same trick the first one did. Can it repeat the magic? The trailer is satisfying enough for fans of the original to bring back it’s core audience and now with a wider audience thanks to home viewing, it wouldn’t be surprising for Now You See Me 2 to match it’s predecessor. However, all projections have it falling just short of the original’s $29 million opening. Initial critical response is weak but they were split on the original so this reaction comes as no surprise.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! Great cast and the original was actually entertaining. Don’t expect much, that’s the trick.
Puerto Ricans in Paris
Theater Count: 41
Starring: Rosario Dawson, Luis Guzman, Rosie Perez
Buzz:
Up until reviewing the slate for this week’s releases, I have heard nothing about Puerto Ricans in Paris. The premise — New York’s best counterfeit detectives who are also brothers-in-law are sent to Paris to investigate a fashion crime (someone stole the “It Bag”) — sounds ridiculously flimsy. Although it’s very early, audiences on Rotten Tomatoes have it at a 17% which might be one of the worst audience scores I’ve seen in recent memory.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
Skip it! Avoid this one at all costs.
Genius
Theater Count: 16
Starring: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Guy Pearce, Dominic West
Buzz:
The combination of an Academy Award winning screenwriter (John Logan), a Tony Awarding winning director in his feature film début (Michael Grandage) and a recognizable cast is this week’s best shot at a platform release that grows legs. The critical response, so far, has been mixed and there’s just something off — Jude Law’s accent, maybe? — in the trailer.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
See it. Notice the lack of an exclamation point? It’s hard to go overboard on Genius but maybe it’s better than the trailer.
De Palma
Theater Count: 3
Buzz:
A documentary about the career of filmmaker Brian De Palma from one of the most consistent studios (A24) going. A24 continues to pump out quality small films and De Palma has promise for a documentary. It’s highly unlikely this one escapes New York or Los Angeles (this joke would work much better for a John Carpenter documentary) but that’s typical for documentaries. Although I did see it previewed at my local theater before The Lobster so maybe it will see a small limited release in the near future.
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
See it! If it gets to your area, De Palma might be worth a look.
The Music of Strangers
Theater Count: 3
Buzz:
A second documentary hits theaters this week. This one is about Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. This one might be too niche to gain any audience outside of documentary lovers (which is small) and fans of the Silk Road Ensemble (which is likely smaller).
See the Trailer:
MHT Hot Take:
Skip it! Once it hits Netflix, you can watch it.
Box Office Recap (June 3rd Weekend)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ($35,316,382) MHT #1 Forecast at $33 million
- X-Men: Apocalypse ($22,825,484) MHT #2 Forecast at $24.75 million
- Me Before You ($18,723,269) MHT #3 Forecast at $15.5 million
- Alice Through the Looking Glass ($11,314,635) MHT #5 Forecast at $9.2 million
- The Angry Birds Movie ($10,214,076) MHT #4 Forecast at $9.9 million
- Captain America: Civil War ($7,829,479) MHT #6 Forecast at $7.8 million
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ($4,863,365) MHT #9 Forecast at $3.7 million
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping ($4,698,715) MHT #7 Forecast at $5 million
- The Jungle Book ($4,445,272) MHT #8 Forecast at $4.7 million
- The Nice Guys ($3,453,344) MHT #10 Forecast at $3.3 million
It wasn’t a tough week to figure out although Me Before You slightly outperformed and Alice Through the Looking Glass did poorly but not as poorly as expected. The bottom of the top 10 was a little jumbled but the differences were so small, in the grand scheme of things, it meant very little.
Box Office Predictions for June 10th Weekend
- The Conjuring 2 ($34,700,000)
- Now You See Me 2 ($26,100,000)
- Warcraft ($20,800,000)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ($15,900,000)
- Me Before You ($10,900,000)
- X-Men: Apocalypse ($9,900,000)
- The Angry Birds Movie ($5,500,000)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass ($4,100,000)
- Captain America: Civil War ($3,100,000)
- The Jungle Book ($2,700,000)
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ($2.4m), Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping ($2.3m), The Nice Guys ($1.7m), Love & Friendship ($1.2m), The Lobster ($800k)
I have never understood the fascination with Warcraft so I’m having my doubts about this film having the lukewarm reception I think it will have. Me Before You should hold really well.
I voted for the conjuring 2 because self loathing.