Tag: GKIDS

Oscar Predictions – Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom hopes to become the third feature in a row in the franchise to nab an Animated Feature mention at the Oscars. Based on the TV series spun off from Wallace & Gromit, Steve Cox and Matthew Walker take over directorial duties for the stop-motion hijinks. The voiceover cast includes Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour, Dani Dyer, and Nina Sosanya. GKIDS is handling domestic distribution with a limited release this weekend.

Previous Sheep sagas have lost to Pixar pics. 2015’s Shaun the Sheep Movie fell short to Inside Out while 2020’s Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon couldn’t catch Soul. Reviews for third tale are favorable with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and 80 on Metacritic.

I have yet to put Bottom in my top five in the animated race. I’m questioning whether I’m underestimating it. I kind of figured voters may glaze over it. However, if titles like Ray Gunn and Wildwood don’t meet their potential this fall, this could definitely nab a spot in the quintet and it might anyway. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution Box Office Prediction

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution hopes to continue a banner year for anime offerings when it hits domestic venues on December 5th. The fantasy effort from manga artist Gege Akutami is a prerelease for season 3 of the Kaisen TV series prior to its output in January.

Distributed via GKIDS stateside, Execution would love to approach the numbers achieved by Jujutsu Kaisen 0 back in March of 2022. Nearly four years ago, that Japanese action tale easily surpassed projections with an $18 million debut in the midst of the pandemic. That opening represented over half of its eventual $33 million take as this genre is typically front loaded.

Execution will be available for home viewing just a month after theatrical availability. That’s different than Kaisen 0 which was not directly part of the TV show. Therefore Execution is not expected to see the high teens haul that we witnessed in 2022 or a similar figure that Chainsaw Man -The Movie: Reze Arc accomplished in October. It could still manage about half of what the aforementioned kicked off with, but I’ll go with a little less.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution opening weekend prediction: $6.4 million

For my Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 prediction, click here:

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters hit Netflix a couple weeks back and the animated feature’s title is accurate. The musical fantasy finds an all-girl group moonlighting as crime fighters. Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans direct with a voice cast including Arden Cho, Ayn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, and Lee Byung-hun.

Midway through 2025, we don’t have any slam dunks in the Animated Feature race. Pixar’s Elio is a box office disappointment with good but not great reviews. Potential heavy hitters like Zootopia 2 from the Mouse House and Little Amélie or The Character of Rain from GKIDS await.

However, Hunters has surprised with strong reviews and high viewing numbers on the streamer. The Rotten Tomatoes score is 97% with Metacritic at 77. That’s certainly solid enough for it to play in Animated Feature. It might come down to the campaign that Netflix mounts as their upcoming In Your Dreams will vie for the prize as well. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Chicken for Linda!

Chicken for Linda! premiered in France at the Cannes Film Festival close to a year ago. The 73 minute hand-drawn animated effort comes from filmmakers Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach and it has finally arrived stateside after GKIDS nabbed distribution rights.

The bulk of reviews are fresh as evidenced by the 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating. That said, many of those write-ups are tempered in their flattery. GKIDS has shown an ability to their features nominated for Best Animated Feature, including seven in the past decade alone (the most recent being their first winner The Boy and the Heron). Therefore I certainly wouldn’t count Chicken out though the studio is expected to have more at bats coming later in 2024. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…