In Hollywood, the summer movie season runs from May to August, a glorious four-month period of blockbusters and would-be blockbusters. So that means today is the official midpoint of the 2013 Summer Movie Season. What better time to reveal the first half of the season’s Winners and Losers. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Winner

Tony Stark – The first film of the summer is poised to be the season’s #1 hit. Iron Man 3 has already raced past the $400 million mark domestically and played more like a sequel to last summer’s #1 The Avengers than it did as a continuation of Iron Man 2.

Winner

Female Driven Films – Two titles that appealed more to females have posted impressive results – May’s The Great Gatsby debuted to $50 million and the Melissa McCarthy/Sandra Bullock comedy The Heat grossed nearly $40 million in its first weekend. With a dearth of movies catering towards the female audience in the summer, those that do have come up big.

Loser

Tyler Perry – Pics that Perry involves himself with usually are dependable hits, but May’s Peeples was an exception. It’s only grossed a pathetic $9 million.

Winner

The Fast and Furious Franchise – This series shows no signs of letting up. The sixth installment has amassed a terrific $233 million domestic gross at press time and the seventh will be out next summer.

Loser

The Wolf Pack – Moviegoers seem to have had it with the Hangover franchise. The third flick stands at $110 million, well below the first two which both grossed over $250 million.

Loser

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson – They had the comedy blockbuster of the summer… in 2005 with Wedding Crashers. Lightning did not strike twice with The Internship, which has grossed only $41 million.

Winner

Ethan Hawke – He has the critical indie hit of the summer with Before Midnight, but it’s his well-marketed thriller The Purge that shocked everyone with an amazing $34 million opening.

Winner

Now You See Me – Ironically, no one saw the magic-themed caper pic breaking through on the level it did. Its current gross stands at $104 million.

Loser

Will Smith (and M. Night Shyamalan) – No summer blockbuster this time around for Mr. Smith. After Earth has grossed only $58 million. The film marks another dud for director M. Night Shyamalan as well.

Winner

Zombies – After a lot of bad buzz regarding cost overruns, World War Z is performing way better than expectations, with a very solid $66 million opening and a pretty soft drop in its second weekend.

Loser

White House Action Flicks – It wasn’t the case in the spring when Olympus Has Fallen was a surprise hit. This season, however, the similarly plotted White House Down starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx landed with a thud in its opening weekend, with only $24 million.

Winner

Pixar – Aren’t they always? Their prequel Monsters University has done a robust $171 million in 10 days and continues the streak of Pixar mega-grossers.

Winner

Superman – The franchise has been reinvigorated. Despite mixed reviews, Man of Steel posted a soaring $125 million opening and looks to fly past the $300 million mark.

Winner

Kirk and Spock – At first, Star Trek Into Darkness had a somewhat disappointing opening but has had strong legs since. It may not quite match the $257 million take of the 2009 original, but it should come close (it currently is at $220M).

Winner

This is the End – The comedy featuring an all-star cast including Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, and many others received positive critical reaction and looks to flirt with the $100 million mark – a very respectable haul.

And there you have it… let’s see how the last two months of the season shake out. I’ll be watching!

There is certainly no shortage of flicks this summer geared towards the family audience, including five animated features competing for dollars.

The top two earning animated pics are likely to be sequels that were already covered in a previous post, Monsters University and Despicable Me 2. There’s also the computer animated Smurfs sequel.

Kiddos will have three other animated features to choose from as well. Epic (May 24) comes from 2oth Century Fox and features the voices of Colin Farrell, Beyonce, Josh Hutcherson, and Christoph Waltz. Animated features set in forests have a checkered history… remember 1992’s Ferngully? No?

Still, Epic has the advantage of being out of the gate first and could do respectable business while nowhere near the numbers of Monsters or Despicable.

Turbo (July 17) comes from Dreamworks in a tale about a snail who wishes to become the fastest snail in the world. Featuring the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Michael Pena, Maya Rudolph, Paul Giamatti, and Snoop Lion (not used to that yet), Turbo will not be the fastest earning feature this summer, but good word-of-mouth could propel it to respectable grosses.

Lastly, Planes (August 9) is from Disney Toons and is a spin-off of the successful Cars franchise. It was originally intended for direct-to-DVD release before the studio changed their mind. Disney will make most of its dough with the Monsters Inc. sequel this summer, but moving Planes to theaters will probably be a profitable venture. The flick features the voices of Dane Cook, Brad Garrett, and Cedric the Entertainer.

The 2012 Summer Movie Preview will continue soon with horror flicks. Stay tuned!

It’s Magic Mike and Django headlining one of the summer’s biggest action flicks, Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, out June 28th. Emmerich is known for being the director who knows how to blow shit up real good, as he’s proven with Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. 

This time around, the White House is overtaken by terrorists as secret service agent Channing Tatum must protect the U.S. President, played by Jamie Foxx. Plot sound familiar? It should. This spring’s Olympus Has Fallen seems like the same movie and it unexpectedly turned into a sleeper hit as it continues to inch its way past the $100 million dollar mark. Expectations are higher for White House Down and it’s likely to deliver potent numbers in the neighborhood of $140 million or higher.

Opening August 2nd is 2 Guns, with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg pitted against a drug cartel. Both have had their share of success in the genre and as long as 2 Guns delivers even on a fairly satisfactory level, its numbers should be solid.

Paul Walker is bound to have a massive hit with the sixth Fast and the Furious pic (already covered in my sequels post). He’s got a smaller action thriller June 14th titled Vehicle 19. Judging from the trailer, it’s got Paul Walker in a car and that’s worked out pretty well before.

Another action genre entry is Getaway with Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez which involves a kidnapping plot. It’s out August 30th and no trailer has been released at press time.

Coming next to the 2013 Summer Movie Preview – movies that will attempt to make you laugh (also known as comedies) and they feature Melissa McCarthy, Seth Rogen, Kristin Wiig,  and the re-teaming of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

 

My continuation of the 2013 Summer Movie Preview rolls on with two entries that hope to kick start potential franchises.

First up is The Lone Ranger, which re-teams the potent duo of director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp. Debuting July 3rd, Ranger has the plum Independence Day weekend slot and, with it, high expectations. Verbinski and Depp collaborated on the first three wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean flicks, a billion dollar franchise. Co-starring Armie Hammer as the title character with Depp as Tonto, you can bet Disney is hoping for another long-term franchise.

The film has suffered a number of setbacks. It was pushed back from its original December 2012 release date. There have been reports of budget issues – Ranger‘s price tag is reportedly a hefty $250 million. Interest will certainly be high among audiences. The big question is: can Ranger reach Pirates-level numbers? I’m not so sure. Anything below $200 million domestically would be considered lackluster, but it’ll have to deliver for audiences to reach considerably above that.

August 23rd brings us The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Based on a bestselling series of novels by Cassandra Clare, Instruments is clearly going after the Twilight audience. Sony Pictures is hopeful it’ll resonate with audiences in the way Twilight did and develop further films. I’ll confess I know nothing about the popular books this is based on. I do see the cast is filled with relative unknowns and buzz for the picture seems pretty quiet. Still, that could certainly change over the next couple of months.

Next up on the Summer Movie Preview: action/adventure films including titles from Channing Tatum and Denzel Washington.

Summer 2012 was a, shall we say, interesting season for sci-fi titles where reaction ranged from a collective “meh” (the Total Recall remake) to a collective “what the hell was that?!?!” (Prometheus).

Summer 2013 brings us a slew of sci-fi titles from directors who are known for excelling at the genre. Of course, the highest profile entry has already been covered in my sequels preview, the J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek Into Darkness, the follow-up to the blockbuster 2009 original.

Who would’ve thought that when we knew him best for comical rap songs and clowning with Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv that Will Smith would turn into the premiere sci-fi star in the world? That’s what happened though and all we need to do is look at the evidence: Independence Day ($306M), Men in Black ($250M), Men in Black II ($190M), I, Robot ($144M), I Am Legend ($256M), and Men in Black 3 ($179M).

And even though that sterling track record shows Smith’s near infallibility in the genre, his new pic After Earth (June 7) may be a real test of his box office muscle. For starters, there was a time when the name M. Night Shyamalan got audiences into the theater. Lately though, the director’s films have been met with critical scorn and audience ambivalence, from 2006’s Lady in the Water to 2008’s The Happening to 2010’s The Last Airbender. 

After Earth stars Smith and his real-life son Jaden star in this post-apocalyptic thriller that apparently gives Shyamalan a plot without his signature twists and turns. With a $130 million price tag, the film will need robust business domestically and overseas. I find the trailer to be pretty underwhelming and filled with the stilted dialogue delivery that has unfortunately become an M. Night staple.  We’ll see if the Smith/Shyamalan combo is a winning one, but After Earth is a likely candidate for disappointing box office results.

World War Z (June 21) stars Brad Pitt and involves a worldwide zombie takeover. The pic, from Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster, has reportedly been a troubled production and the budget allegedly bloomed to nearly $200 million. The trailers are decent, but a legitimate question is whether audience will flock to see zombies taking over Earth when they get that on a certain beloved AMC TV show. Originally scheduled to be released last December, World War Z underwent reshoots last fall. I’m certainly curious to see it, but its box office forecast is a bit of a mystery at press time.

Guillermo del Toro is one of the most accomplished science fiction directors working today, having made the Hellboy flicks and Pan’s Labyrinth. On July 12, del Toro helms Pacific Rim, which involves giant frickin robots fighting giant fricking monsters. They had me at del Toro… Pacific Rim may not reach Transformers level numbers, but I’m willing to bet it’s a lot better. I’m in!

Director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the sci-fi scene with the great District 9 in the summer of 2009. It even managed to earn a Best Picture nomination. The futuristic thriller Elysium starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster is his very eagerly awaited follow-up. It’s out August 9th. I was a huge admirer of District 9 and Elysium is one of my most anticipated pictures of the season.

Combining sci-fi with comedy, R.I.P.D. (July 19) teams Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds as members of the Rest In Peace Department, officers killed in the line of duty who come back to fight crime. On paper, this sounded pretty interesting until I saw the trailer this week. Frankly, it looks like a low-rent Men in Black knock off and if this is the best they could do with the trailer, I’m skeptical.

Finally, August 23rd’s The Colony casts Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton in an ice age thriller that looks like it could be an effective little B movie… or totally forgettable.

And there’s your sci-fi fix for this upcoming summer season! The 2013 Summer Movie Preview will continue with the action/adventure genre and titles from Ryan Gosling, Channing Tatum, and Denzel Washington.

Earlier this week, I kicked off my 2013 Summer Movie Preview by concentrating on the 13 sequels of the season. Part two focuses on just two pictures that aren’t sequels per se but rather are reboots of well-known superhero franchises. They have something else in common: the previous films focused solely on their title characters were not particularly well-received and these entries hope to rectify that.

Man of Steel (June 14) looks to reinvigorate the Superman franchise after 2006’s lackluster Superman Returns. Let’s travel back to that picture for a moment. Superman Returns was the heavily hyped return of Superman after a nearly 20 year absence from the silver screen. It had great pedigree: Bryan Singer, who directed the successful first two X-Men features, was behind the camera. It seems crazy now, but Superman Returns was genuinely being touted as a rival for Titanic, which at the time was the highest grossing movie ever.

And then…. it opened. It got mixed reviews and while it did make $200 million domestically, most figured it would at least go over $300 million. Its reputation has only worsened with time.

So what’s Warner Bros to do? Try, try again, of course. The studio recruited Zack Snyder, maker of 300 and Watchmen, to direct. Relative unknown Henry Cavill is Superman/Clark Kent and the supporting cast is filled with more known performers such as Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane. Once again, expectations are sky high. This could rival Iron Man 3 and Monsters University in the competition for biggest earning summer title. Or… it could go the route of Returns. Based on the excellent new trailer that was just released, I’m optimistic.

We move to The Wolverine, out July 26th. This is the second stand-alone Wolverine flick with Hugh Jackman in the title role. The first was 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which made $179 million domestic in summer 2009. However… like with Superman Returns, critical and audience reaction was mixed. The gross for Origins was actually less than the second and third installments of the original X-Men trilogy. The Wolverine features our comic book hero doing his Wolverine thing in Japan. James Mangold, who last directed the disappointing Tom Cruise action flick Knight and Day, is behind the camera.

The Wolverine will attempt to satisfy X-Men fans in a way that Origins did not. The picture marks Jackman’s sixth turn as Wolverine, counting his great cameo in X-Men: First Class. And, yes, he’ll return for a seventh appearance in the sequel to First Class, out next summer.

Two beloved heroes. Two attempts at movie redemption. We’ll see what happens!

Next up on Summer Movie Preview – science fiction, from After Earth to Elysium and more… stay tuned!

The summer of 2013 is scheduled to bring us (you guessed it) 13 sequels for our viewing pleasure or displeasure. This group of pictures kick off my 2013 Summer Movie Preview, which officially kicks off in just over two weeks with the release of what could be the biggest sequel of the season.

I have broken down the 13 films in five different categories, so let’s begin, shall we?

The May Heavy Hitters

Iron Man 3 (May 3) is the first 2013 Summer Movie and it has a legitimate shot of being the season’s highest grossing title. Its two predecessors both grossed just over $300 million domestically. It’s also important to keep in mind that we saw Tony Stark in last year’s largest blockbuster, The Avengers, which earned an astonishing $623 million. Iron Man 3 gives us a new director for the franchise, Shane Black, who takes over the franchise from Jon Favreau. We also have a new villain, the Mandarin played by Gandhi himself, Ben Kingsley. Iron Man 3 could and likely will outgross installments #1 and #2.

Two weeks after Iron Man returns, Captain Kirk and Spock are back on May 17th for Star Trek Into Darkness. In the summer of 2009, the restart of the franchise earned deserved critical acclaim and earned a terrific $257 million domestically. The sequel could blast past that number. It’s worth noting that director J.J. Abrams will follow-up this picture up with a small indie movie currently referred to as Star Wars: Episode VII.

Only a week after Kirk and Spock return, we’ve got two high-profile sequels being released on the same day. May 24th brings the third installment of The Hangover franchise with Bradley Cooper, Zack Galifianakis, and Ed Helms back for more debauchery. The 2009 original made $277 million and the 2011 follow-up cashed in with $254 million. I would predict the third reaches past $200 million as well, but probably less than part 2.

The Hangover Part III opens against the sixth (yes, sixth!) entry of the Fast and the Furious franchise. The whole crew is back from Vin Diesel to Paul Walker to The Rock to Ludacris and so on. Fast and Furious 6 will attempt to match the numbers of predecessor Fast Five, which was the series highest grosser at $209 million.

It is very likely that the May sequels will represent four of the five highest earning sequels of this summer. All four could be in the Top Ten earners of the season. Moving on…

The Kiddie Sequels

Summer 2013 brings us plenty of family-friendly sequels. The highest profile (and what is pretty much assured a Top 5 grossing spot) is Monsters University, Pixar’s follow-up to 2001’s Monsters Inc. The original took in $255 million twelve years ago and, once again, the sequel has a great shot at surpassing that number. It opens June 21st.

Almost certain to be another major hit is the sequel to Despicable Me, with Steve Carell back. The original grossed an impressive $251 million in the summer of 2010 and this looks earn similar numbers. I confess I’ve never seen the first, even though a coworker of mine keeps insisting over and over again that I watch it. It’s out July 3rd.

The Smurfs 2, out July 31, looks to match the numbers of the 2011 original which grossed $142 million. I would venture to say that if you liked the first, you’ll probably like the second. Neil Patrick Harris returns to headline the cast. Also in it: Smurfs.

Last and most likely least (at least financially) is Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (August 7), the one totally live-action offering. It’s the sequel to 2010’s Percy Jackson&The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which earned a solid but unspectacular $88 million. I’m not so sure the follow-up matches that number.

Eh

This category represents three titles that I’m simply not too excited about. I’m also predicting this trio is likely to earn less than the originals.

We begin with Grown Ups 2, reuniting Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. The 2010 original amassed $162 million. Sandler’s been on a bit of a cold streak lately, with disappointments like Jack and Jill and last summer’s That’s My Boy. That may explain why this is coming out and while it’s virtually assured to cross the century mark, it might not be much over that. It’s out July 12th.

Red 2 reunites Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren and adds Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The original action comedy made a surprising $90 million in 2010, but don’t be surprised to see this underperform. Red 2 is out July 19th.

300: Rise of an Empire (August 2) follows-up on the unexpected 2007 smash hit. There’s no original director Zack Snyder (he’ll have Man of Steel instead) or original star Gerard Butler to be found here. 300 made $210 million. This one likely won’t. NO OFFICIAL TRAILER YET.

The One That Might Get A Best Picture Nomination

That honor belongs to Before Midnight, the continuation of the romantic dramas starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. 1995’s Before Sunrise and 2004’s Before Sunset each made only $5 million, but were critical darlings. This one could inch a bit higher and rapturous reviews could make it an Oscar contender. Out May 24th.

The One That Could Kick Ass

What else? Kick-Ass 2 is the sequel to the 2010 original, which earned only $48 million domestic upon release. Since then, it’s developed a cult following. The superhero spoof was a tremendous amount of fun and I’m greatly anticipating this one. Kick-Ass 2 is out August 16th and has an excellent shot at outgrossing its predecessor.

And there you have it – 13 summer sequels for 2013. In case you’re wondering, the 2014 Summer sequels are already piling up, with new entries in the Spider-Man, Planet of the Apes, X-Men, Jurassic Park, and Transformers franchises.

Stay tuned for my next 2013 Summer Movie Preview post where I’ll cover Superman and Wolverine’s return to the multiplex.

We all know summer movies are typically reserved for huge studio blockbusters and fall is when the big awards contenders come out. So where does that leave the months of January through April in a movie year?

Well, it can sometimes be a dumping ground for products that studios don’t have a lot of faith in. However, this is certainly not always the case. Just last year, films like The Grey, Chronicle, 21 Jump Street, and Safe House did big business. And a little flick called The Hunger Games did massive business.

Since it’s 2013, I’ve picked 13 titles coming out between this month and April… or as Hollywood calls it – Spring. These are movies that I believe have the potential to be good and have a shot at box office success. Here we go:

Admission – out March 8

She’s had success in her limited movie career so far with Baby Mama and Date Night and this is Tina Fey’s latest comedy, co-starring the always dependable Paul Rudd. With “30 Rock” ending its run, expect Fey to devote herself to movie stardom full-time and this movie starts it off.

Broken City – out January 18

Mark Wahlberg had a January hit last year with the action flick Contraband. He’s also fresh off the huge comedy Ted and co-star Russell Crowe is appearing in the hit Les Miserables right now. This political thriller looks promising in the trailer.

Evil Dead – out April 12

This remake of the 1981 Sam Raimi cult classic is probably the movie horror fans are most excited about this year. Raimi is on board as a producer here. The trailer (which is red-band, so careful if you’re squeamish) looks like a horror flick lover’s dream. It should be a bloody, really bloody, good time.

Gangster Squad – out January 11

Boasting an A-list cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn, Gangster Squad was originally set for release in October, but was pushed back after its movie theater massacre scene was edited out following Aurora. From Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, this looks like it could be a really entertaining old time gangster tale. Sean Penn sure seems like he’s having a good time chewing up the scenery.

A Good Day to Die Hard – out February 14

OK, fellas, might as well tell your girl what your Valentine’s Day plans are now. The fifth installment of detective John McClane’s wild adventures continues here. Set in Europe, I’m guessing big explosions and foul-mouthed smack talking from Bruce Willis. The last entry, 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, was pretty darn good so there’s hope.

The Heat – out April 5

We’ve seen a whole lot of male buddy cop comedies over the years, but not many female ones. This one seems to have a lot going for it, as it stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. It’s also director Paul Feig’s first feature since the smash hit Bridesmaids. This one could bring in a lot of money.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone – out March 15

This comedy about washed up magicians features a hell of a cast – Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin, and Jim Carrey. With that pedigree, this has gotta have some funny stuff in it.

Jack, the Giant Slayer – out March 1

Director Bryan Singer, who brought us The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men films, brings us into fairy tale world with his latest picture. Hard to tell with this one and it could go either way, but it looks a whole lot better than this spring’s other fairy tale story, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.

The Last Stand – out January 18

OK, who knows if this will be any good? But I have to include Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first leading role in ten years, since Terminator 3. As you may recall, he was busy the last decade being Governor of California and admitting to being his nanny’s baby daddy. Sly Stallone has a nice little career going lately with the Expendables flicks and Rocky and Rambo returns. Let’s see if Ah-nuld can follow suit.

Movie 43 – out January 25

If Movie 43 doesn’t do well, it certainly won’t be for lack of recognizable cast members. The raunchy comedy, which apparently has multiple stories and directors, features Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Uma Thurman, Richard Gere, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, Jason Sudeikis, Terrence Howard, and many, many others.

Oblivion – out April 12

The last sci-fi movies with Tom Cruise were 2002’s Minority Report and 2005’s War of the Worlds and they were both solid. Of course, they were also both directed by Steven Spielberg, who’s, well, pretty decent at that genre. We’ll see how sci-fi and Tommy Boy mix here.

Oz: The Great and Powerful – out March 8

I mentioned director Sam Raimi earlier for Evil Dead, but in the last decade Raimi is known for the Spiderman trilogy. Here, Raimi turns his attention and a $200 million dollar budget to the land of Oz. This certainly has the potential to be a massive blockbuster. The fact that it has the same weekend release slot that Alice in Wonderland had three years ago is not an accident.

Pain and Gain – out April 26

Marky Mark again! Here he stars in this true story action flick along with The Rock. It’s directed by Michael Bay, who gave us the Transformers and Bad Boys movies. Shockingly, Bay decided to go cheap here and the budget is a meager $22 million or about one-tenth of a Transformers flick. Looks like it could be mindless fun though.

So there you have it – 13 titles for the next four months that may get some attention at the box office. Stay tuned!