2016 In Film

[Dagger Dias]

Want to talk about the movies of 2016? Then this is the thread for you.

This thread, much like the 2015 In Film topic will be for discussing the financial successes of the various movies of the year or the experience you had in watching them. Ever since Avatar broke the record as the highest grossing film of all time a few years back, I have been fascinated with how much money movies make, and which ones end up more financially successful than others. We'll look at how they are doing financially, thoughts on upcoming releases that are about to be released the theaters, and you're also welcome to reviewing films in here or general discussion on them as long as they are films released in 2016 in order to remain on topic.

As an example of how my weekly updates will look, here are the highest grossing films of 2014 as of 12/29/2014 in the spoiler tag below.

Spoiler

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
$1,087,404,500

2. Guardians of the Galaxy
$772,349,244

3. Maleficent
$757,752,378

4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$746,045,700

5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$714,083,572

6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$708,982,323

7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
$708,299,389

8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
$669,656,000

9. Interstellar
$641,348,000

10. How to Train Your Dragon 2
$618,909,935

So.... have a seat. Grab a box of popcorn, candy, a slice of pizza, or whatever you enjoy to eat and drink as you watch movies. We'll see our first major release in one week, it is a film called "The Forest". It will take a while before we have a top 10. January will be a bit slow in a top ten aspect, but after about four weeks or so when more films are available for analysis it gets very interesting to see how the films are doing in terms of making a profit.


Upcoming releases:
1/8: The Forest


Any thoughts on this film or others coming out later on this upcoming year? Do you have predictions on what will make the most money or any predictions of failures this year in film? As more films get released thoughts on the updates to the list of highest grossing titles are welcome. Reviews and general thoughts on the films as they see releases in theaters this year are also highly encouraged. In order to be on topic with the thread subject matter though, this thread is limited to only 2016's movies.

2015's topic will remain open for discussing 2015's films as well over in that topic.


Discuss!

 

[Dagger Dias]

The current highest grossing films of 2016 so far are....


1. Quo Vado?
$44,544,915

2. The Forest
$13,088,000

3. Little Door Gods
$10,000,000



We have a top three. There are three new films being released this week. Norm of the North and Ride Alone 2 both have good odds of taking the #1 spot. I predict they'll be the top two by next week at this time.


Upcoming releases:
1/15: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
1/15: Norm of the North
1/15: Ride Along 2

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the current highest grossing films of 2016 so far....


1. Quo Vado?
$57,071,242

2. Ride Along 2
$42,210,000

3. The Forest
$22,381,808

4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
$19,000,000

5. Little Door Gods
$11,564,692

6. Norm of the North
$8,800,000

7. Everybody's Fine
$3,805,627



Ride Along 2 is on its way to becoming the #1 film of the year, but if it reaches that spot it won't hold onto it for long. Not with Kung Fu Panda 3 being released on 1/29. This week there are three major releases. None of which look like anything I plan on watching. I expect 5th Wave should end up doing well though.


Upcoming releases:
1/22: The 5th Wave
1/22: The Boy
1/22: Dirty Grandpa

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the highest grossing films of 2016 so far....


1. Ride Along 2
$69,510,040

2. Quo Vado?
$67,176,487

3. The 5th Wave
$38,100,000

4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
$33,483,429

5. The Forest
$27,604,032

6. Norm of the North
$14,633,467

7. Little Door Gods
$11,830,958


Ride Along 2 took the #1 spot, but it won't hold onto it for long. I easily see King Fu Panda 3 taking the #1 spot this week with its release. Fifty Shades of Black will probably also do well. Two other films also have a release this week, bringing that to a total of four. None of them are anything I'm interested in viewing myself though. In Kung Fu Panda 3's case I never saw the first two and I don't watch a series out of order.


Upcoming releases:
1/29: Jane Got a Gun
1/29: Fifty Shades of Black
1/29: The Finest Hours
1/29: Kung Fu Panda 3

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Boy- 2/10

The story has so much potential, and although she makes a lot of dumb decisions, Lauren Cohan’s Greta is still a likeable character. Using misdirection throughout the movie really works, because the big twist/reveal towards the end is genuinely surprising, but overall, The Boy is a repetitive, tedious, and boring horror film.

The Boy relies on too many predictable jump scares, a handful of eye rolling and worn out scare tactics (creaky footsteps, flickering lights, loud banging noises, etc.). And the fake out dreams (or nightmares), where Greta witnesses Brahms (The Boy) coming to life and attacking her should’ve been limited to a one and done sequence, because the shock value is just gone after you see it once.

I wanted to go with a zero, but I’ll give The boy a few bonus points for Lauren Cohan’s performance and the twist at the end. Still, The Boy joins the lengthy list of disposable (and disappointing) yearly PG-13 horror films that are released in January.

Dirty Grandpa-5/10

It’s loaded with cliches, and it’s a predictable film that’s easy to telegraph from start (you know what’s coming, when Zac Efron’s character crosses paths with Zoey Deutch‘s Shadia) to finish, step by step. To add to that, Dirty Grandpa jumps over the line for overkill with a never ending barrage of dick and sex jokes (a few slight chuckles for me, but most of them are just cringeworthy).

With all that said, if we’re comparing Dirty Grandpa to De Niro’s more modern string of awful films, it’s not as bad as a lot of the critics (Richard Roeper gave it an F in a written review) are making it out to be. Aubrey Plaza’s usual off-putting and quirky shtick is really hit-and-miss here, and you can see Efron’s big speech(s) coming from a mile away. But Eforn and De Niro are a decent enough odd couple pairing, and when it’s all said and done, Dirty Grandpa is on the same level as Killer Elite or Grudge Match for average quality or “just okay” Robert De Niro films (I haven’t seen The Intern yet) over the past five or six years.

January 29-31 & The Upcoming Weekend

It’s no real surprise, but Kung Fu Panda 3 debuted at #1 ($128,891,993 for the worldwide total) in the week-to-week charts, while The Finest Hours opened up at #4 ( a worldwide total $14,538,801) and Fifty Shades Of Black debuted in the #10 spot. The current total for Fifty Shades Of Black sits at $6,994,517, and that’s off of a reported production budget of $5,000,000.

The Finest Hours is on my must-see list, and Fifty Shades Of Black’s weak opening is no real surprise. You get the feeling Marlon Wayans is a hard worker, who puts a lot of passion into his films and projects, and you could see his enthusiasm, when he made the rounds to promote Fifty Shades Of Black, but the trailers and commercials were just terrible.

Out of all the new releases, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies is the only film I’m truly looking forward to. I’m beyond burnt out on all things zombies, but I’m holding out some hope for a mindless fun horror comedy. Hail, Caesar! looks good, and I’m a fan of the Coen Brothers. Although, it’s a Coen Bros. film with a strong cast, so the decision to not release Hail, Caesar! during Oscar season worries me a little bit.

Going by the trailers, Regression starring Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson could be a decent enough horror film, but the movie has an overwhelming amount of negative reviews, and Regression currently holds a 5% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Upcoming releases:

2/5: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
2/5: Hail, Caesar!
2/5: The Choice
2/5: Dad’s Army (limited)
2/5: Regression (limited)

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Revenant- 9/10

Technically, The Revenant is a 2016 film. The Revenant had a limited release (very limited) on Christmas Day, but the wide release was saved for January 8, 2016, so I'll drop it in here.

An engrossing, visceral, and beautiful film, featuring a handful of truly breathtaking shots. Alejandro Inarritu has to be a shoe-in for Best Director, DiCaprio's performance is definitely Oscar worthy, and Tom Hardy is superb. Twelve nominations, and with all the hype and critical acclaim surrounding The Revenant, you have to believe this is Leo's best chance in years to finally win the gold.

Feb 5-7 & The Upcoming Weekend

Kung Fu Panda 3 held on to the #1 spot for two consecutive weeks in the week-to-week to charts to bring the worldwide total to $200,517,144, and Hail, Caesar! debuted at #2 ($12,241,690 for the current domestic total). The Choice opened at #5 (currently sitting at $6,480,184 for the domestic total), and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies debuted in the #6 spot, so barring an unexpected (and unlikely) surge, it looks like P&P&Z will join the list of flops in 2016, because the movie currently sits at $6,522,613 for the worldwide total, and that's off of a reported production budget of $28,000,000. I still plan on watching P&P&Z, but the disappointing opening is no real surprise, because you have to believe we're past a point, where people are just burnt out on all things zombies.

Of course, Deadpool and Zoolander 2 are the two big releases for Friday. Deadpool should be a lot of fun, and the movie has a good amount of positive reviews (Deadpool currently holds an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes). On the flip side of that, Zoolander 2 has a hefty amount of negative feedback (Zoolander 2 currently holds a 38% on RT). The trailers and the commercials were kind of underwhelming, so it'll be interesting to see if the anticipation for a sequel is enough to overcome an early wave of negative reviews.

Upcoming releases:

2/12: Deadpool
2/12: Zoolander 2
2/12: How To Be Single
2/12: Where To Invade Next (limited)
2/12: Glassland (limited)

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

The Revenant- 9/10
DiCaprio's performance is definitely Oscar worthy, and Tom Hardy is superb.

Will Poulter blew me away too. Obviously he didn't have the part that Dicaprio or Hardy had, nor was he necessarily on their level, but he was the one casting choice I could not understand when The Revenant first showed up on my radar last year.

I thought, really? The dorky little kid from We're The Millers? That movie was kinda funny I guess, but to land him in something like this? A serious Oscar contender? His eyebrows make him look ridiculous! But here he was in The Revenant, putting on a really, unbelievably respectable performance.

From what I've read in interviews, it seems like his agent got the script and he had a genuine try-out for the role and nailed it. So he wasn't just thrown in there because he knew somebody in casting, and it's Inarritu, so you know he doesn't give a shit about capitalizing on Poulter's Maze Runner teen drawing power. I dunno. Seemed like a really odd move that turned into a pretty solid decision. It definitely will make me rethink casting skepticism I have going forward.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's quite obvious that Deadpool will be #1 at the box office this weekend. Riding a wave of positive critical reviews, as the film currently holds an 84% fresh rating via rottentomatoes.com, Deadpool took in an estimated $47.5 million for Friday, well above industry expectations as most were expecting a $50 million or so take domestically for the entire opening weekend. With a production budget of just under $60 million, which is basically a shoe string budget these days for big Hollywood productions, Deadpool's another hit for Marvel.

I thought the film itself was quite entertaining, Ryan Reynolds is PERFECT as Deadpool and plays the zany merc with a mouth as good as he can be played. Even though the character's insane and something of a merciless killer, you still can't help but like the guy because he's...well he's likeable in a zany, off the wall kind of way and that's how he comes across in the comics. I give the film an 8.5 out of 10; just a strong popcorn flick that doesn't drag and Reynolds' performance carries the flick from opening to closing credits.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Will Poulter blew me away too. Obviously he didn't have the part that Dicaprio or Hardy had, nor was he necessarily on their level, but he was the one casting choice I could not understand when The Revenant first showed up on my radar last year.

I thought, really? The dorky little kid from We're The Millers? That movie was kinda funny I guess, but to land him in something like this? A serious Oscar contender? His eyebrows make him look ridiculous! But here he was in The Revenant, putting on a really, unbelievably respectable performance.

From what I've read in interviews, it seems like his agent got the script and he had a genuine try-out for the role and nailed it. So he wasn't just thrown in there because he knew somebody in casting, and it's Inarritu, so you know he doesn't give a shit about capitalizing on Poulter's Maze Runner teen drawing power. I dunno. Seemed like a really odd move that turned into a pretty solid decision. It definitely will make me rethink casting skepticism I have going forward.

Yeah, Poulter's performance was a nice surprise, and he deserves credit for holding his own in a film featuring two heavyweights. Clean sweep or no clean sweep, The Revenant should have a big night at the Oscars. DiCaprio, Hardy, Inarritu, and others will receive all the attention and the credit, but going forward, Poluter should be able to get something out of The Revenant's success.

After playing the geeky kid in We're The Millers to playing the jerk/bully and possibly delivering the best performance in The Maze Runner, and after his performance in The Revenant, it's safe to say Poulter has a decent amount of range, so there's a lot of potential for his future.

Although, I'm kind of hoping he doesn't fall into a comfort zone, as the nerdy and insecure kid, who's trying to break out of his shell in his upcoming films (maybe once in a while, but that's it). He'll land a good amount of roles in coming of age dramas and comedies, if he sticks to this routine, but it's a cliched and overused character for someone in Poulter's age range, and it'll be almost impossible for him to standout and build a good career.

Deadpool debuting in the #1 spot in the week to week charts is a foregone conclusion, and according to Box Office Mojo.com's four day projections, Deadpool should pass the $72,000,000 mark soon enough. The movie is off to a good start, and Deadpool has a lot of momentum, so it'll be interesting to see if Deadpool outlasts Race and Risen as the new releases for Friday to hold on to the #1 spot for two consecutive weeks.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Jane Got A Gun- 5/10

Natalie Portman is solid in the leading role, and she shares believable chemistry with Joel Edgerton, who delivers another solid performance. Still, for the most part, Jane Got A Gun is a very dull and boring western film. To add to that, I get the whole point behind showing what happened between Edgerton and Portman, but the constant (and tedious) flashbacks really disrupt the flow of the current storyline, and the main antagonist is uninteresting.

A few bonus points for a handful of strong scenes and action sequences, including Noah Emmerich’s Bill Hammond rescuing Jane from the brothel, and the last stand/shootout, with Jane and Dan’s (Edgerton) booby-trapped field of homemade landmines. The big shootout/last stand really saves the movie. It’s a powerful and tense grand finale, because it’s not so easy to predict, who will live or die as the massacre unfolds. With all that said, you’re really not missing anything special with Jane Got A Gun, and truth be told, waiting for the movie on TNT or FX is probably the best option.

Also, we have another film to add to the list of box office flops in 2016. JGAG had a reported production budget of $25,000,000, but the current box office total is estimated to be somewhere around $2.1 million. The news for JGAG’s disappointing box office run is no real surprise. Natalie Portman doesn’t have any real momentum as an actress, because from what I remember, she took a little break from acting, and you have to go all the way back to Black Swan 2010 to remember her last truly successful starring role. On top of that, JGAG had a tepid marketing campaign, and the trailers were boring.

Hail, Caesar!- 5/10

A tough, tough rating, because I sincerely believe Hail, Caesar! is simultaneously one of the best and worst films from the Coen Brothers. From a directorial standpoint, Hail, Caesar! is one of the Coen Bros. best, featuring a lot of nostalgic set pieces and some impressive and showy sequences and fiascos. Also, HC’s thorough attention to detail deserves recognition, and the movie is a real treat, if you’re interested in the inner workings of the film industry and the studio system in 1950’s Hollywood.

HC’s cast is loaded with talent and high profiled names, so of course you’re going to run into problems, when you’re trying to give everyone an appropriate amount of screen time. There’s a lot of promise with Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ralph Fiennes and others, but Josh Brolin eats up a lot of screen time here. Yeah, I understand he’s the central character, and everything revolves around Eddie Mannix’s (Brolin) decisions, but Brolin’s routine as this fast-talking 50’s archetype is stale after the first thirty minutes or so. George Clooney is hilarious, and he delivers most of the laughs here, but he’s overshadowed by Brolin.

If we’re comparing Brolin/Coen Bros. collaborations, his role in No Country For Old Men worked, because all he had to do was run around and fire a few shots every now and then during the cat and mouse game with Anton Chigurh, while Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem (the true star in NCFOM), Woody Harrelson, and others carried the load on the acting side of things. Brolin’s role in HC requires a stronger effort, but he’s a boring leading man.

I dunno. I laughed a few times, but when you consider the cast and the men behind the screenplay and the camera, Hail, Caesar! fails to live up to its true potential. Also, Hail, Caesar! has a heavier comedic tone, but if we’re comparing it to a recent film in the same vein, Trumbo is much, much better.

The Finest Hours-6/10

On one hand, Chris Pine and Holliday Grainger sharing believable chemistry is one of the main highlights in the movie, but on the flip side of that, it’s obvious Chris Pine is a one-dimensional actor. Pine excels, when he’s playing the cocky and confident jerk or hero. In The Finest Hours, he has to portray someone, who’s more humble and soft-spoken, but “so-so” is the best I can do for praising his performance.

The Finest Hours features a good amount of awe-inspiring shots and scenes, and it’s a harmless feel-good historical disaster drama with a feel-good ending. The Finest Hours’ box office total currently sits at $33,968,659, and that’s off of a reported production budget in the $70,000,000-$80,000,000 range. TFH joins the early list of box office flops in 2016, and it’s hard to ignore the “what you see is what you’re gonna get” trailers and commercials.

February 12-14 & The Upcoming Weekend

Deadpool currently sits at $284,470,575 for the current worldwide total, and the movie broke a number of box office records. Deadpool’s success could change the landscape for superhero films. According to various reports, 20th Century Fox wants an R-rating for the third Wolverine film, so there’s a lot of potential if it happens, because Wolverine III or whatever the hell they plan on calling it is supposed to be Jackman’s big grand finale for playing the Wolverine character on screen.

Race looks good in the trailers, and the movie has a lot of potential. For me, The Witch is on a short list of films I’m truly looking forward to in 2016. The positive reviews are encouraging (The Witch currently holds an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes), The Witch has a good amount of hype behind it, and hopefully The Witch will join The Babadook and It Follows on the recent list of sleeper hit or flying under the radar horror films.

Upcoming Releases:

2/17: Embrace Of The Serpent (El Abrazo De La Serpiente)(limited)
2/19: Race
2/19: The Witch
2/19: Risen
2/19: Forsaken (limited)

 

[Coco]

Hail, Caesar! is getting a raw deal critically. I look forward to general consensus changing a few years down the line. The movie is hilarious. Marketing probably played an adverse effect on most people's view of the film. They shouldn't have advertised half of those stars in the minor roles they had. The trailer spoiled one of Hill's two lines (I honestly doubt it was much more than two). Tease a Coen Bros movie with Brolin as the lead and Clooney in a supporting role and people would likely have taken to the film differently. Nearly everyone else should have been a surprise bit player. Is Alden Ehrenreich a big enough name to advertise?

Still, I get it: The Coens have an ensemble with Scar Jo, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Frances McDormand... It would be an irresponsible business decision not to advertise that.

Nobody does George Clooney better than the Coens. He's an attractive buffoon in the eyes, and it works.

Alden Ehrenreich was a revelation. Biggest, most consistent laughs came during his scenes.

It's a good time. Don't let the negativity of others scare you off.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Is Alden Ehrenreich a big enough name to advertise?

A handful of bit parts and lesser supporting roles (I had to look at his Wikipedia page to realize he's the guy playing Cate Blanchett's stepson in Blue Jasmine) in other films, and he had a starring role in Beautiful Creatures, but Beautiful Creatures is just another bland and forgettable YA adaptation. The back and forth coaching fiasco with Ralph Fiennes is easily one of the funnier scenes in the movie, and hopefully, Hail, Caesar! is the beginning of bigger things for Ehreneich.

Still, I get it: The Coens have an ensemble with Scar Jo, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Frances McDormand... It would be an irresponsible business decision not to advertise that.

True, and I never thought about it from a business standpoint before. I had high hopes and expectations for HC, but there's a chance it'll grow on me with more viewings. It took me a while to warm up to Raising Arizona, but it's a top three Coen Bros. film for me now, and I hated Miller's Crossing after watching it for the first time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the current highest grossing films of 2016....


1. Deadpool
$491,894,887

2. The Mermaid
$419,277,600

3. Kung Fu Panda 3
$294,246,114

4. The Monkey King 2
$158,088,900

5. From Vegas to Macau III
$153,634,900

6. Ride Along 2
$114,385,480

7. The 5th Wave
$97,243,866

8. Quo Vado?
$73,304,094

9. Dirty Grandpa
$63,523,707

10. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
$56,675,678


Three new films will be released this week. Deadpool won't be dethroned by any of them. Gods of Egypt looks pretty cool.

Upcoming releases:
2/26: Eddie the Eagle
2/26: Gods of Egypt
2/26: Triple 9

 

[Dave]

Here are the current highest grossing films of 2016....


1. Deadpool
$491,894,887

2. The Mermaid
$419,277,600

3. Kung Fu Panda 3
$294,246,114

4. The Monkey King 2
$158,088,900

5. From Vegas to Macau III
$153,634,900

6. Ride Along 2
$114,385,480

7. The 5th Wave
$97,243,866

8. Quo Vado?
$73,304,094

9. Dirty Grandpa
$63,523,707

10. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
$56,675,678


Three new films will be released this week. Deadpool won't be dethroned by any of them. Gods of Egypt looks pretty cool.

Upcoming releases:
2/26: Eddie the Eagle
2/26: Gods of Egypt
2/26: Triple 9

Really great to see Deadpool getting people through the doors and a run at the top for a while. A lot of people have been waiting a long time for the movie, and for the movie to be done right. Thankfully, that's how it transpired and it really was an exceptional movie. I'm really happy for Ryan Reynolds especially after he picked up so much flak for the job he did with the Green Lantern movie. But, personally, I kinda liked that too. At least not enough to be so hateful towards it vocally.

I reckon Deadpool will probably sit on top of the charts until Dawn of Justice arrives and that's pretty good. Glad to see it has been commissioned for a sequel too.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies- 5/10

It’s a passable guilty pleasure, but for the most part, that’s as far as I can go for praising P&P&Z. All the violence, the blood, the gore, and the exploding zombie heads? It’s nothing you haven’t seen before in various zombie horror flicks, so “meh“ is the best I could do for a reaction, when a zombie‘s head bursts into pieces after a gunshot.

Another big problem for P&P&Z is, most of the big moments and battle scenes are a real disappointment. There’s a scene during the early stages off the movie, where The Bennet Sisters team up to fight and kill an invading horde of zombies at a ball. They use a slow motion entrance to show the sisters armed to the teeth, as they re-enter the ball to fight, but the end result is average at best.

Another problem is, I had the feeling P&P&Z was trying way too hard to be an adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and a zombie horror comedy at the same time. Throughout the movie, PPZ constantly leans too far on both sides, and at times, I had the impression P&P&Z might’ve been a better film as a straightforward adaptation of Pride & Prejudice without the zombies.

With all that said, P&P&Z features a small amount of redeemable qualities, including Lily James and Sam Riley’s performances, Lena Headey’s brief screen time, and Mr. Darcy’s flies to rotting flesh test before the pop-up book style intro. As a film, P&P&Z fails to truly capitalize on the novelty of Pride & Prejudice (with zombies!), but PPZ pulled a few laughs out of me, and I’ve seen a lot of (more than I can remember) zombie action/comedies that are much worse than P&P&Z.

The mid-credits scene clearly teases a sequel, but I can’t see it happening for a few reasons. For starters, P&P&Z received a good amount of negative reviews, and the movie is a box office flop (P&P&Z’s current worldwide total sits at $14,232,221, and that’s off a reported production budget of $28,000,000).

Ride Along 2- 2/10

Yeah, Ride Along 2 is just another unnecessary cash cow Hollywood sequel, and the movie is loaded with clichés and unfunny jokes. One of my bigger pet peeves is, Benjamin Bratt as the main antagonist. He’s supposed to be this crafty and suave businessman/arms dealer/drug dealer, but his character makes a series of stupid mistakes towards the end, including the predictable “I have to brag about how smart I am, and how I’m going to get away with it” bad guy speech during the big showdown.

The 5th Wave- 3/10

Yikes, what happened to Chloe Grace Moretz? She’s still very young, so there’s plenty of time to turn the corner, but more recently, it’s just one bad or mediocre film after another for her.

The sequences of mass destruction are yawn-inducing at best, and the characters are boring and poorly written. I’m not going to put too much blame on Moretz, because she puts in a good effort, but her performance (for the most part) is limited to her running around throughout the movie, and holding others at gunpoint with stupefied looks on her face. I know it’s the first film, and I get the whole point of Cassie (Moretz) needing more time to come into her own and develop as a character, but I just did not care about Cassie one way or the other. And to make matters worse, Liev Schreiber doesn’t bring anything special to the table with an emotionless performance. Honestly, Maika Monroe is the only one, who shows off a real personality, as a rebel outsider, and a creepy goth kid, who has some serious issues.

The action sequences are dull, and of course they had to lay the first set of bricks for a routine love triangle. Bottom line, The 5th Wave is just another YA adaptation that’s not good enough to stand out amongst the pack. I’m not familiar with the books, so maybe I’m missing something, or some big changes are coming, if a sequel happens. But I don’t see a potential upside for a bright future, if the powers that be and Moretz herself were hoping for The 5th Wave to be her launching pad, so she could join the ranks of Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley as young action heroines in Hollywood.

The Upcoming Weekend

A number of box office predictions are picking Deadpool to hold on to the #1 spot in the week to week charts for three consecutive weeks over Gods Of Egypt, Eddie The Eagle, and Triple 9. The critics are tearing Gods Of Egypt apart, the movie currently holds a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the headline for GOE on RT’s homepage reads “Gods Of Egypt is God-Awful.” There’s a chance for GOE delivering some “so bad it’s good” fun with flashy CGI and visuals, but the trailers bore me.

I’m looking forward to Eddie The Eagle, but I’m not 100% sure about Triple 9 yet. Triple 9 could be an underrated film, or it could be another mundane and forgettable crime drama.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the current highest grossing films of 2016....


1. Deadpool
$611,636,036

2. The Mermaid
$510,911,182

3. Kung Fu Panda 3
$314,118,763

4. The Monkey King 2
$187,097,545

5. From Vegas to Macau III
$167,940,400

6. Ride Along 2
$118,068,052

7. The 5th Wave
$103,428,282

8. Dirty Grandpa
$90,973,565

9. Zootopia
$81,400,000

10. How to Be Single
$74,643,665


Deadpool continues to be the #1 film. The Mermaid and Kung Fu Panda 3 round out the top tier again this week with large numbers. As for the new films for this week we have 5 new titles being released. Zootopia being the most likely to do very well in the top listing. I predict it makes it into the top 3. I don't plan on watching any of the other 4.


Upcoming releases:
3/4: Knight of Cups
3/4: London Has Fallen
3/4: The Other Side of the Door
3/4: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
3/4: Zootopia

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Witch (or The VVitch)-8/10

I enjoyed The Witch, but I have mixed feelings about the massacre towards the end and the ambiguous cliffhanger. Still, The Witch is a dark, brooding, and thought-provoking horror film, featuring a good amount of creepy and grotesque scenes and moments. The Witch has a distinct eerie aura, but there’s a chance the slow-burn build (VERY slow) and the methodical pacing will frustrate, annoy, or bore others. Also, It Follows opened some doors for Maika Monroe, and hopefully The Witch will do the same for Anya Taylor-Joy.

The Witch received a wide theatrical release, and the movie received strong positive reviews (The Witch currently holds an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes). On top of that, The Witch is turning a respectable profit ($18,028,625, and that’s off of a reported production budget of $3.5 million), and hopefully the trend of more ambitious horror films receiving a wide theatrical release continues. With all that said, The Witch’s current box office total is not enough (would have to be in the $100,000,000-$200,000,000 range to truly raise some eyebrows for the powers that be in Hollywood) to break up the monotony of generic and formulaic mainstream horror films that rely on too many jump scares, creepy children, zombies, and clichéd haunting storylines as a landscape changer.

Deadpool-8/10


Definitely a top candidate for the best superhero film in 2016. BUT I‘m slightly worried about a potential series of films devolving into one-trick ponies, if Deadpool 2 or whatever they plan on calling the sequel relies on fourth wall breaking too much.


February 26-28 & The Upcoming Weekend

Well, we can add Gods Of Egypt to the list of flops in 2016, because the worldwide total currently sits at $41,197,537 and that’s off of a reported production budget of $140,000,000. Also, Triple 9 is currently having a rough run at the box office, with a current total of $7,741,604, and that’s off of a reported production budget of $20,000,000.

According to Box Office Mojo.com’s predictions, Zootopia should easily debut at #1 in the week-to-week charts, surpassing the $72,000,000 mark with no real competition. So barring some unforeseen freak occurrence, Zootopia will end Deadpool’s run at #1 in the week-to-week charts, and Zootopia currently holds a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Out of all the new releases, London Has Fallen is the only film I’m actually looking forward to. Olympus Has Fallen was a solid and entertaining action flick, but the 20% for London Has Fallen on RT worries me a little bit. I might take a chance on The Other Side Of The Door out of morbid curiosity, and I love horror films.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a “maybe” for me. The cast looks good, but the trailers are mediocre at best. I'll take a chance on Knight Of Cups for the cast, but I’m not the biggest fan of Terrence Malick’s work. I know Malick is praised as an all-time great, but personally, his films are too self-indulgent, overly pretentious, and boring for my taste.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The current highest grossing films of 2016 are....


1. Deadpool
$673,000,000

2. The Mermaid
$516,588,706

3. Kung Fu Panda 3
$323,899,203

4. Zootopia
$232,500,000

5. The Monkey King 2
$189,089,845

6. From Vegas to Macau III
$169,517,500

7. Ride Along 2
$118,483,942

8. The 5th Wave
$103,567,699

9. Dirty Grandpa
$91,039,537

10. How to Be Single
$85,300,000


Zootopia made it to #4 to no surprise. I predict that it has passed Kung Fu Panda 3 by next week and that none of this week's four releases make it into the top ten.


Upcoming releases:
3/11: 10 Cloverfield Lane
3/11: Grimsby
3/11: The Perfect Match
3/11: The Young Messiah

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Eddie The Eagle-7/10

An uplifting biopic with a nice feel-good story about chasing your dreams and never giving up. Eddie The Eagle is loaded with cliches, it’s predictable, and without knowing too much or anything about the real life story, you can see every triumphant moment coming from a mile away.

Still, Eddie is someone, who you want to root for, and the believable chemistry between Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman in the student/teacher relationship is the main highlight in ETE. It’s hard to ignore ETE’s basic step-by-step style of storytelling, but the solid supporting cast, and a pair of good performances from Egerton and Jackman (every now and then I forget Jackman is one hell of an actor, and ETE is a good reminder) are more than enough to help overlook any real flaws.


Gods Of Egypt (in 3D!)-2/10

So much wasted potential, and unfortunately Gerard Butler’s entertaining performance (the role is tailor-made for him), as this sadistic tyrant and his roaring speeches are not enough to save Gods Of Egypt. Apparently, Alex Proyas (a shame, because he’s one of my favorite directors) believed a never ending barrage of glossy CGI and CGI monsters and creatures would be enough to compensate for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s boring performance and a monotonous screenplay.

Gods Of Egypt could’ve (and should’ve) been a spectacle of thrilling action sequences and epic battle scenes, but that’s not the case here. If we’re talking about action and battle scenes, Gods Of Egypt is dull and underwhelming. To give an example, there’s a scene where Bek (Brenton Thwaites), Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and Hathor (Elodie Yung) are running from and fighting giant, fire-breathing snakes controlled by Set’s assassins. This should’ve been one of the many great thrill rides in the movie, but the end result is mediocre at best. Also, it’s kind of hard to have awe-inspired reactions, when Set, Horus, and others transform, because you see their transformations over and over again, and I can say the same thing about watching the wounded and corpses leaking gold blood.

The Other Side Of The Door-1/10

You know something, I can buy into Maria’s (Sarah Wayne Callies) decision to open the door, so she can see her son one last time on the other side. I know others will say it’s a stupid horror movie mistake, but If I’m looking at this from a suspension of disbelief standpoint, it’s easy to see why someone would take a chance to see a family member one last time, when they never had a chance for a proper good-bye the first time around, especially a mother (Maria), who was forced to make a tough choice during the aftermath of a car accident.

With all that said, The Other Side Of The Door is still a lousy horror film. TOSOTD is too repetitive and the movie sticks to an annoying formula for jump scares and fake-out dream sequences. The usual fake-out dream sequence is a nice trick, but when you see it more than once, the sequences with Maria waking up after a bad nightmare quickly lose their shock value.

The scare tactics are laughable, and one that sticks out is the creepy witch doctors pointing and standing around in the background to give Maria a warning. The jump scares are forced and predictable, and to make matters worse, TOSOTD uses one of the worst jump scare formulas imaginable: pen drop silence, a long pause, where nothing happens, while said character (usually Maria) is looking around, and BAM! Jump scare! The pattern is very easy to follow, so you know what’s coming after the second or third jump scare.

I’m tempted to go with a zero, but I can’t forget about Sarah Wayne Callies’ strong effort and her solid performance in the leading role. Still, TOSOTD never takes the time to explore a somewhat intriguing premise. What happens to people, when they lose a family member or a close friend? The struggle to move on and accept what happened, when they never had a chance to say good-bye, the long-lasting psychological effects of a sudden death, or making peace with what happened. TOSOTD had some material to work with, but they barely scratched the surface, so TOSOTD eventually devolves into another tedious and painfully boring “bad things happen, when loved ones come back from the dead” horror film, because said character is full of evil now, and they’ll do anything to return to the living world.

The Upcoming Weekend

According to Box Office Mojo.com’s predictions, 10 Cloverfield Lane should have a strong opening weekend, but when it’s all said and done, Zootopia will have more than enough to hold on to the #1 spot in the week-to-week charts.

Cloverfield 2008 is definitely one of my favorite monster horror/sci-fi films, so I’m beyond pumped for 10 Cloverfield Lane. I almost jumped out of my seat at the theater, when I caught the trailer for the first time, but I was kind of confused after 10 and Lane popped up. And there’s more teasing with the ambiguous marketing campaign and J.J. Abrams’ “blood relative” comments and Abrams saying 10 Cloverfield Lane has Cloverfield DNA. Still, the 91% on Rotten Tomatoes is reassuring, and hopefully 10 Cloverfield Lane sparks another sequel or two, because you have to believe the 2008 original has more untapped potential.

The Brothers Grimsby? I’m sure it’ll be a decent enough film, but I get the feeling they revealed most of the best moments in the trailers, and the 38% on RT raises a few red flags for me. I’m also interested in Eye In The Sky with Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman, and more often than not, you can count on a strong performance from Mirren.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the current highest grossing films of 2016....

1. Deadpool
$708,125,280

2. The Mermaid
$528,016,401

3. Zootopia
$431,315,126

4. Kung Fu Panda 3
$355,907,326

5. The Monkey King 2
$192,025,322

6. From Vegas to Macau III
$171,460,800

7. Ride Along 2
$119,859,489

8. The 5th Wave
$105,001,808

9. Gods of Egypt
$96,400,400

10. How to Be Single
$91,239,777


Zootopia climbed up to #3 and Gods Of Egypt joined the top ten. Deadpool can enjoy being the top film for about two more weeks, because Batman VS Superman will surely take the #1 spot when it comes out on the 25th. As for this week, we have 5 new releases. Divergent: Allegiant will probably make it into the top ten.


Upcoming releases:
3/16: Miracles from Heaven
3/18: Kapoor & Sons
3/18: Midnight Special
3/18: The Bronze
3/18: The Divergent Series: Allegiant

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Brothers Grimsby-6/10

A bonus point for the Harry Potter references.

The raunchy humor and the jokes are really hit-and-miss, and more often than not, The Brothers Grimsby relies on too many over the top sex and gross-out gags, fiascos, edgy, crossing the line material, and dick jokes. A lot of it is unnecessary, because Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong are hilarious as an odd couple, with Strong as the lethal non-nonsense secret agent and SBC playing the part of a bumbling fool. Penelope Cruz is overshadowed by the duo of Strong and SBC, but she's just another generic and cliched villain, and Ian McShane is horribly underutilized as Mark Strong's boss.


London Has Fallen-5/10

It took me a while to notice Melissa Leo sitting around the table with Morgan Freeman and others.

London Has Fallen is a decent enough action flick. It's mindless fun, if you're into the "cocky hero shoots, stabs, and kills a bunch of bad guys, while miraculously escaping a series of seemingly inescapable life-or-death dilemmas" rinse and repeat formula, and I can't forget about the countless explosions. Gerard Butler delivers in the leading role, and the comedic interactions between Aaron Eckhart and Butler pulled a few laughs out of me.

The cliffhanger at the end clearly teases another sequel, but I'm not sure it'll happen. The Has Fallen films have some potential, but guilty pleasure is the best I can do for compliments, and Gerard Butler doesn't have enough star-power (one too many awful films over the years) as a leading man to consistently draw large crowds.

The Upcoming Weekend

I've followed The Divergent series through two films, so I'll get to Allegiant at some point, but I'm really looking forward to Midnight Special. Michael Shannon is one of my favorite actors, and the trailers for Midnight Special are pretty good.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot-5/10

Tina Fey is entertaining in the leading role, and the movie features a good amount of solid performances from Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, Billy Bob Thornton, and Margot Robbie is slowly proving herself as a capable actress. The predictably and the cliches didn’t bother me too much, because you had to know what to expect after watching the trailers and the commercials.

Although, for some odd reason, WTF strays too far into the romantic comedy zone towards the end. Without giving away too much, WTF starts out as a movie about a woman (Fey), who’s frustrated and sick of her dead end life. She’s desperately looking for a spark or some adventure, and Fey turns into a fearless reporter, who eventually makes a couple of costly mistakes during her adrenaline junkie phase. I haven’t read the book the movie is based on, so there’s a chance I’m missing something, or maybe Fey and others were just following the book for a step by step adaptation. But WTF eventually takes an odd turn as the story progresses, and a dull love story takes center stage.

Still, WTF is a decent enough dramedy/biopic. A good amount of likable characters, I laughed a few times, and the movie features some feel good moments.

The Bronze-3/10

I caught the trailer for this before The Other Side Of The Door, so I decided to give it a chance.

The Bronze is one of those comedies, where I tried to laugh, but I couldn’t more often than not. After fifteen or twenty minutes, the endless sex and dick jokes just aren’t funny anymore, and The Bronze relies on forced vulgar and over the top raunchy humor too much.

Melissa Rauch’s Hope Ann Greggory (the main character) is a quagmire. I get the whole point behind Hope: she’s a detestable and narcissistic jackass, with a big ego and an undeserved sense of entitlement, BUT you’re supposed to root for her, because she’s a flawed human being with the potential to change and turn her life around. I read an interview with Rauch about The Bronze, and in her own words, she said Hope is “a hard pill to swallow” and she’s “ very unlikable,” and they wanted to take baby or embryo steps to show her progression. Still, at times it’s hard to root for her, and the barrage of unfunny jokes and Hope’s repetitive style of humor doesn’t help solve the problem.

Haley Lu Richardson’s Maggie is one of the bright spots in The Bronze. Maggie is this energetic and perky gymnast, who idolizes Hope, and Richardson does more than enough to fill the role of Hope’s foil and her apprentice throughout the movie. There’s a chance I’ll change my mind on a second viewing, but The Bronze is a lousy film. With all that said, I’ll give The Bronze a few bonus points for a handful of redeemable moments towards the end, when Hope decides to change, Gary Cole’s performance, and a surprising twist for Maggie’s decision during the finale.

Also, you can add The Bronze to the list of box office flops in 2016, because The Bronze’s current box office total sits at $386,328, and that’s off of a reported production budget of $3.5 million.

10 Cloverfield Lane- 8/10

A tense, crafty, and thought-provoking psychological thriller, featuring a nail-biting finale. Mary Elizabeth Winstead delivers one of the best performances in her career, and John Goodman is superb, as this paranoid nutjob, who will do anything to protect the bunker. 10 Cloverfield Lane plays an intriguing guessing game, with a series of surprising twists and turns, and Michelle (Winstead) bounces back and forth a couple of times, when she tries to escape and, when she decides to lower her guard and trust Howard (Goodman), so you don’t know what to believe until the tail end of the film. Is Howard telling the truth? Or is he just some crazy survivalist?

10 Cloverfield Lane lived up to my expectations, and hopefully this is the start of a film series and a real future for Cloverfield.

The Upcoming Weekend

According to a number of box office predictions, Batman VS Superman: Dawn Of Justice is set to break some records for a big opening weekend, and early predictions have the weekend total nearing or surpassing the $160,000,000 mark, with the possibility of an opening nearing an "optimistic" $185,000,000 according to Box Office Mojo.com. Batman VS Superman is the main attraction for the weekend, and there’s a good chance the movie won’t see any real competition in the week-to-week charts until The Huntsman: Winter’s War hits theaters on April 22nd (The Boss starring Melissa McCarthy hits theaters on April 8th, but I’m not 100% sold on it, and I’m not sure McCarthy’s drawing power is enough to overcome an unprecedented live action superhero film), and the clock is ticking for Deadpool’s time at #1 on the top ten worldwide box office standings.

Batman VS Superman should have a strong run at the box office. The negative reviews (Dawn Of Justice currently holds a 31% on Rotten Tomatoes) could put a slight dent in the bottom line, but you have to believe the anticipation and all the hype behind Batman VS Superman will be enough to overcome the negativity from the critics.

After watching all the trailers and the commercials, I’m convinced Ben Affleck will do a good job as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and I have similar feelings for Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. I know Affleck has a streaky track record as an actor with a lot of mediocre and awful films (Runner Runner for a recent-ish choice). Yes, his range is limited, but Affleck is capable of delivering a solid or good performance every now and then with a specific role and the right film. Also, considering all the rumored names a few years ago, Affleck is not a bad pick, and the choice for the new Batman/Bruce Wayne could‘ve been much, much worse (i.e. Josh Brolin).

Out of all the limited releases, I Saw The Light starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen and Get A Job starring Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick are the only films I’m truly interested in. And for some strange reason we’re getting a sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding fourteen years later.

Upcoming releases:

3/25: Batman VS Superman: Dawn Of Justice
3/25: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
3/25: Get A Job (limited)
3/25: Born To Be Blue (limited)
3/25: I Saw The Light (limited)

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - This may contain some spoilers, so read it at your own risk. Is it a mindless popcorn action film? No. Does it live up to its potential? No. There are doubtlessly going to be comparisons to Marvel's Cinematic Universe, and rightly so as Marvel's success is part of the inspiration for this film in the first place, and DC is taking a different approach. Rather than build the cinematic universe over a period of time with installments of some individual films to give characters an identity of their own, DC is going the route by mashing a lot of things together for one movie and then use other movies to flesh out the rest of the characters later on. The long run payoff, thus far, for the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been films like the Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy as films that have not only received a lot of critical praise, but have done massive business at the box office. DC's plan may also pay off in the long run with their strategy, but the result, for me, is a first installment had so much potential but that potential wasn't realized in a satisfactory way.

The story is interesting and intriguing, but it feels like something that's really been rushed. As I was watching it, I couldn't help but sometimes compare the overall effect of the film to some wrestling storylines that had incredible potential if they'd been fleshed out and given time to evolve. They tried to go for too much, too quickly for one movie and the result comes off as more style over substance. The fight scenes are a lot of fun and Affleck and Cavill both do well in their respective roles, but it was difficult for me to really buy into the premise of Superman feeling that Batman was a bigger potential threat to society when his battle with Zod in "Man of Steel" pretty much obliterated Metropolis; Batman is a vigilante and, truth be told, is more than a bit unstable but, again, it's difficult to buy into the premise of Superman's perspective when Superman's fight in "Man of Steel" probably killed, at least, tens of thousands of people.

While I enjoyed "Man of Steel", this film also suffers from the fact that there are a lot of critically acclaimed, Academy Award winning and/or nominated actors in this film who just seem to be in this film for no particular reason. The impacts of Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons and Holly Hunter had on this film are virtually nil and it probably cost a good chunk of change for them to be in it. There are lots of other actors in Hollywood who could've done just as much with the material, done it for far less and made as much of an impact. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor just didn't click with me as he just seems...I dunno....the guy just strikes me about as malevolent as a box full of kittens. Maybe it's the hair, the boyish face, the sort of geeky kid next door he's played in so many films in the past, but I just had a lot of trouble seeing this guy as this sociopathic criminal mastermind that's the archenemy of Superman. Gal Gadot looks great as Wonder Woman but she's only there for window dressing. Aside from the scenes where she's dressed in her Wonder Woman garb and doing battle, and it's more to do with the sight of her and that Wonder Woman has finally made it to the big screen and the novelty of that than anything else that leaves an impression.

This is a pretty big spoiler, though it may not be if you've seen the trailer. The big baddie in this film turns out to be Doomsday, created from a mixture of Zod's DNA with that of Lex Luthor. Considering the impact that the character made on the comic book industry by killing Superman back in 1993, this is just a really disappointing outing here. The climax of this film is, yep, you guessed it, the "death" of Superman, though not really, as he sacrifices himself to stop Doomsday. This should be a MASSIVE moment that takes place much later on down the line in the cinematic universe possibly in battle with Darkseid or with Doomsday later on once the character has been fleshed out a bit more.

I have no doubt that it'll make a lot of money, the notion of DC's two most iconic characters at each other's throats is a novelty people have wanted to see for decades. The effects are great and I thought Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill both did a good job in their roles. Everything else just seemed kind of mediocre and the feeling I got out of this movie was that DC was in a huge rush and the result was a movie and overall premise in which the quality wasn't remotely what it could have been.

Grade: C

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The estimates for this weekend's take at the box office is out and, as expected, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice debuted at #1. It debuted this weekend with an estimated $170.1 million domestically and another $254 million internationally for a worldwide total of $424.1 million. In terms domestic totals, Dawn of Justice had the 6th biggest debut weekend in box office history coming in behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, The Avengers, The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3. From a worldwide perspective, the film garnered the 4th biggest debut weekend behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.

Overall, I'm sure Warner Bros. is quite pleased with the opening overall, they've already made back the reported $250 million production budget and Dawn of Justice already has a profit of roughly $184 million. I'd say that the mostly negative reviews of the flick did curtail business to some degree and probably not as many people recommended it to others after seeing it themselves. On Friday, Dawn of Justice had an opening day of $82,010,000, the numbers dipped Saturday to $50,920,000 and today's expected to pull in an estimated $37,170,000. If Warner Bros. was hoping to crush some box office records, then they're probably disappointed but, again, I don't see too much to be down about as the film is bound to turn in a heavy profit.

1. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice - Domestic: $170,100,000 + International: $254,000,000 = $424,100,000

2. Zootopia - Weekend Take: $23,138,000 - Domestic: $240,547,409 + International: $456,200,000 = $ 696,747,409

3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 - Domestic: 18,120,000 + International: $8,000,000 = $26,120,000

4. Miracles from Heaven - Weekend Take: $9,500,000 - Domestic: $34,127,249 + International: $358,660 = $34,485,909

5. Allegiant - Weekend Take: $9,500,000 - Domestic: $46,605,496 International: $71,800,000 = $118,405,496

6. 10 Cloverfield Lane - Weekend Take: $6,000,000 - Domestic: $56,010,797 International: $12,100,000 = $68,110,797

7. Deadpool - Weekend Take: $5,000,000 - Domestic: $349,472,050 International: $389,488,296 = $738,960,346

8. London Has Fallen - Weekend Take: $2,926,000 Domestic: $55,614,857 International: N/A = $55,614,857

9. Hello, My Name Is Doris - Weekend Take: $1,700,925 Domestic: $3,268,689 International: N/A = $3,268,689

10. Eye in the Sky - Weekend Take: $1,001,204 Domestic: $1,723,311 International: N/A = $1,723,311

 

[Dave]

The estimates for this weekend's take at the box office is out and, as expected, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice debuted at #1. It debuted this weekend with an estimated $170.1 million domestically and another $254 million internationally for a worldwide total of $424.1 million. In terms domestic totals, Dawn of Justice had the 6th biggest debut weekend in box office history coming in behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, The Avengers, The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3. From a worldwide perspective, the film garnered the 4th biggest debut weekend behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.

Overall, I'm sure Warner Bros. is quite pleased with the opening overall, they've already made back the reported $250 million production budget and Dawn of Justice already has a profit of roughly $184 million. I'd say that the mostly negative reviews of the flick did curtail business to some degree and probably not as many people recommended it to others after seeing it themselves. On Friday, Dawn of Justice had an opening day of $82,010,000, the numbers dipped Saturday to $50,920,000 and today's expected to pull in an estimated $37,170,000. If Warner Bros. was hoping to crush some box office records, then they're probably disappointed but, again, I don't see too much to be down about as the film is bound to turn in a heavy profit.

1. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice - Domestic: $170,100,000 + International: $254,000,000 = $424,100,000

I've seen a few outlets say that Dawn of Justice would need to clear around 800 million dollars to get above its budget when you consider marketing and other costs that don't necessarily fall into line with a movie-making budget. With that in mind, it isn't too disappointing that they are almost half of the way there. What is disappointing is that the reviews have been so terrible. Personally, I have been waiting to see it for a long time. But hearing the reviews from friends and fro professional outlets, I must admit that I am kinda willing to let it come out on DVD rather than spending a load of cash to go and see it in the cinema with the Mrs.

I actually think that Warner Bros will be totally disappointed with the movie. This was supposed to be the film that set off their Justice League franchise and now no one is hearing good things about it. I'm not going to go as far as to say the plans might be ruined but I definitely think that Warner Bros will be having serious thoughts about what direction they are going to go in. This movie is far from a flop but I don't think they are anywhere near the projections that Warner Bros had for them.