The Sheep Detectives Box Office Prediction

Will audiences flock to The Sheep Detectives on May 8th? Amazon MGM hopes so with the family friendly tale based on a 2005 Leonie Swann novel. Mixing mystery with comedy, Hugh Jackman leads the human cast alongside Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, and Emma Thompson. Voicing the crime solving title creatures are Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, and Brett Goldstein. Kyle Balda, a veteran of the Despicable Me and Minions franchises, directs.

Critics are being kind with 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 66 Metacritic. That could assist with parents taking the kids even though the source material is not huge IP domestically. A best case scenario could be a start in the high teens though I’m buying the projections in the lower to mid teens.

The Sheep Detectives opening weekend prediction: $14.6 million

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Oscar Predictions: The Sheep Detectives

A family-friendly comedy and a whodunit, The Sheep Detectives arrives in theaters May 8th. Kyle Balda, a veteran of animated features including Minions and Despicable Me 3, directs. The live-action cast is led by Hugh Jackman with Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, and Emma Thompson providing support. Voicing the wooly creatures involved are Julia Louis-Dreyus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, and Brett Goldstein.

Critics are being kind with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and more down-to-earth 67 Metacritic. Amazon MGM are hoping kids flock to it though this shouldn’t be an awards player despite a smattering of Babe comparisons. There could be one exception as the BAFTAs could put it up in their Best Children’s & Family Film category. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: At the Sea

Kornél Mundruczó’s drama At the Sea casts Amy Adams as a fresh out of rehab woman adjusting to family life. Costars include Murray Bartlett, Brett Goldstein, Chloe East, Dan Levy, Jenny Slate, and Rainn Wilson. Sea premiered at the Berlin Film Festival where Rose Byrne won Best Actress last year for If I Had Legs I’d Lick You before nabbing an Oscar nod.

Adams is a six-time nominee at the Academy with five supporting mentions for Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter, The Master, and Vice. Her sole leading try came in 2013 for American Hustle. She probably came darn close to another nom for 2016’s Arrival but was surprisingly snubbed. Recent starring turns in The Woman in the Window and Nightbitch have fizzled with awards voters.

That should hold true with Sea. The Rotten Tomatoes rating is a lowly 38% and this should be lost in the shuffle when the Academy is filling out ballots next year. A long sought victory for Adams will have to wait. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: The Garfield Movie

Our nation’s most famous lasagna adoring orange cat hits theaters this Memorial Day weekend with The Garfield Movie. A year after (somewhat controversially) providing the voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Chris Pratt does the same for this title character. Other notable thespians lending their talents are Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Giuillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, Janelle James, and Snoop Dogg. Mark Dindal directs.

Even the fresher reviews for Garfield mostly call it nothing more than a pleasant diversion. The Rotten Tomatoes meter sits at a meager 55%. Mario didn’t manage any attention in the Animated Feature race and Pratt’s latest contribution to animation won’t either. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

The Garfield Movie Box Office Prediction

Arriving 20 years after the live-action version Garfield: The Movie based on the comic strip from Jim Davis, The Garfield Movie hits multiplexes this Memorial Day weekend. Mark Dindal, who made Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove and Chicken Little, directs. Chris Pratt, after providing the vocal stylings for Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie last year, mics up for the iconic tabby cat. Other voice work comes from Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, Janelle James, and Snoop Dogg.

The aforementioned Garfield: The Movie from two decades ago (which led to a classic comedy line from Bill Murray in Zombieland) took in $21 million for starters and $75 million overall domestically. The 2006 sequel Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties was the equivalent of cinematic kitty litter with only $28 million total in its coffers.

This animated rendering seems poised for better results than what happened several years ago. The holiday frame should bring families out in droves and competition from the second weekend of IF may only be a minor threat.

For the Friday to Monday frame, I believe this could get a little north of $40 million.

The Garfield Movie opening weekend prediction: $41.5 million (Friday to Monday estimate)

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