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Welcome to “dump” month everyone! January is notorious for two things: Award nominees getting wide releases after getting thrown into a theater or two in New York or Los Angeles and garbage movies that get dropped into January because, well, it’s the best month to release terrible movies since the audiences are much smaller. Sometimes this carries over to February. It also usually encompasses the last two weeks of August and first two weeks of September but let’s get back to January. There are only a few releases that didn’t make the December list (if it was the former of the two things January is notorious for) but the rest were meant for January which means Hollywood didn’t like them all that much. That usually means we won’t either. Let’s take a look at the list:Read More →

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Thanks to a trip to Vegas, the Movie Hot Take normal schedule was thrown for a loop. It’s October now and we typically kick off every month with a list of trailers for all of the releases coming out for the month. While the first week of October is already in the books, we’ll pretend like that didn’t happen yet and run down the list of 25 anticipated releases for October. Here’s the list of October releases ranked in order of anticipation:

1. The Accountant (October 14)

We haven’t seen Ben Affleck since Batffleck and the positive reviews of his performance in an otherwise panned Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice should help The Accountant at the box office. The movie actually looks pretty good and there’s a decent supporting cast (Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow).


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September is an odd month for movies. It’s not quite awards season but summer is definitely over. In 5 of the last 7 years, the #1 movie in September at the box office has been animated. While the MHT list of anticipated releases isn’t ranked by box office appeal (just personal excitement), there are two animated films down on the list (Storks and Wild Life) which might do well when it comes to ticket sales. However, the big guns will be at the end of the month when Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt give The Magnificent Seven a reboot and Mark Wahlberg headlines the disaster flick Deepwater Horizon. Plus, there’s Tom Hanks and Sully which could still be part of the discussion come Oscar nominations. Here’s a list of the 30 anticipated September releases (and their trailer) in order of anticipation:

1. The Magnificent Seven (September 23)

Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and the director who made Training Day (and Olympus Has Fallen) remake the 1960 Western classic based on the Akira Kurosawa ’54 classic Seven Samurai. Let’s hope that $107 million budget is put to good use.

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While August is not always the strongest month, this August should see Suicide Squad possibly become the biggest August release of all time. To do so, it would have to surpass the $333.2 million Guardians of the Galaxy brought home in 2014. While it’s all but a foregone conclusion Suicide Squad will take the top spot at the box office this month, there are plenty of other films to look forward to. Here’s a list of the 27 movies headed to theaters this August ranked in order of anticipation:

1. Suicide Squad (August 5)Read More →

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Disney has dominated 2016 but with only The BFG on the horizon in July, it looks like the House of Mouse is willing to let someone play in the box office sandbox this month. There are 25 movies ready to hit theaters in July and here are the trailers for all of them, ranked by anticipation:

1. The Secret Life of Pets (July 8)
The question is will The Secret Life of Pets be Despicable Me big or Minions big at the box office? Our guess is somewhere in the middle but it is more than capable of winning July. According to Box Office Pro, it should run away with the crown but stranger things can happen.

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Expect Disney to continue to dominate at the box office with Finding Dory in June but there’s other movies we’re more excited about than Finding Dory. There are 19 movies set to hit theaters in June and here are the trailers for all of them, ranked by anticipation:

1. Free State of Jones (June 24th)
Free State of Jones doesn’t have much of a summer feel but it does have Matthew McConaughey! During a period of the year where movies are typically at their most vapid, Free State of Jones will be a refreshing change of pace. Four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross writes and directs.Read More →

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Anticipation (Before Trailer): 70/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 85/100

The Infiltrator is due in theaters on July 13, 2016 and the trailer looks very good. Although the film doesn’t exactly feel like a summer movie, it’s a nice change from the normal summer offerings. Bryan Cranston’s role feels closer to his role in Breaking Bad than last year’s Trumbo and John Leguizamo consistently delivers strong performances in these roles. Benjamin Bratt is starting to feel typecast as it’s hard to see much of a difference between his few scenes in the trailer and his role earlier this year in Ride Along 2. Despite the minor reservation, this one will be high on the list to see in July.

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Anticipation (Before Trailer): 80/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 90/100

Disney is on fire right now. The trailer for the live action version of Beauty and the Beast hits every note. Emma Watson is a great choice to play Belle and the trailer gives just enough of a taste to whet the appetite for a movie we won’t see for 10 months.

The money tree blooms for Disney with Beauty and the Beast on March 17, 2017.

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Anticipation (Before Trailer): 0/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 95/100

Before the Morgan trailer dropped today, I didn’t know anything of the project. Heck, I didn’t even know Ridley Scott had a son. The Scott family is already responsible for a number of films I love especially the late Tony Scott who would be Luke Scott’s uncle. Thanks to the pedigree, Scott’s directorial début has a loaded cast — Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Toby Jones, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Paul Giamatti —  and a September 2nd release date.

Here’s a bold prediction: Morgan is the surprise hit of the year. The trailer is pitch perfect. Anya Taylor-Joy was incredible earlier this year in The Witch and the rest of the cast has a track record of strong performances. Out of nowhere, Morgan is the movie I’m most excited for this September.