My Spy Box Office Prediction

Blogger’s Note (03/07): As of today, the release date for My Spy has been pushed back (again) from March 13th to April 17th. I am keeping the post up with my current $8 million prediction, but will post updates if the projection moves up or down.

From Guardians of the Galaxy to guarding a sassy 9-year-old girl, Dave Bautista stars in the action comedy My Spy next weekend. From director Peter Segal, maker of such hits as Tommy Boy, 50 First Dates, and Get Smart, the supporting cast includes newcomer Chloe Coleman, Kristin Schaal, and Ken Jeong.

Reviews are fairly decent with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 64%. The pic has experienced delays as it was originally slated for last summer and then January. While Bautista is certainly recognizable from his wrestling days and role as Drax in the Guardians and Avengers series, he’s yet to prove he can open a picture. He’s not exactly in Dwayne Johnson territory.

A better comp could be last November’s Playing with Fire starring John Cena, which also catered to a family crowd. It opened with just under $13 million. However, Fire premiered during a more fruitful box office period. Competition is also considerable with the second weekend of Pixar’s Onward. Due to these factors, I spy a gross under double digits.

My Spy opening weekend prediction: $8 million

For my I Still Believe prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/03/03/i-still-believe-box-office-prediction/

For my Bloodshot prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/03/04/bloodshot-box-office-prediction/

For my The Hunt prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2020/03/05/the-hunt-box-office-prediction/

Second Act Box Office Prediction

Jennifer Lopez is back in theaters next weekend and in romantic comedy territory with Second Act. It casts the star as an unsuccessful worker granted the chance to enter the corporate world. Peter Segal, who’s been behind comedies such as Anger Management, 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard, Get Smart, and Grudge Match, directs. Costars include Vanessa Hudgens, Leah Remini, and Milo Ventimiglia. Reviews are mixed with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 57%.

Nearly four years has passed since J-Lo headlined a feature with the thriller The Boy Next Door, which debuted to nearly $15 million. It’s been 2010 since we saw her in a rom com with The Back–Up Plan and it premiered to just over $12 million.

Second Act faces plenty of holiday competition and I suspect its starting numbers won’t match the aforementioned pictures. I’ll say mid to high single digits is the result.

Second Act opening weekend prediction: $6.5 million

For my Aquaman prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/12/11/aquaman-box-office-prediction/

For my Mary Poppins Returns prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/12/10/mary-poppins-returns-box-office-prediction/

For my Bumblebee prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/12/11/bumblebee-box-office-prediction/

For my Welcome to Marwen prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/12/15/welcome-to-marwen-box-office-prediction/

Grudge Match Movie Review

It’s got LL Cool J in a supporting role, so instead of the obvious choice of Grumpy Old Boxers, let’s call Grudge Match “Grandpa Said Knock You Out” shall we? The premise is essentially one big gimmick: take two actors known for classic boxing movies and have them duke it out in a geriatric brawl. That’s about all there is to it, save for a funny post credits sequence that has more biting humor (both literally and figuratively) than anything that transpired in the previous 110 minutes. Said sequence also has nothing to do with the plot before it.

Sylvester Stallone spent a total of 30 years with his Rocky franchise in which the 1976 original won Best Picture. Robert De Niro won a Best Actor statue for his work in Scorsese’s Raging Bull in 1980. Here they are The Kid (De Niro) and Razor (Stallone). They fought two matches years and years ago which resulted in wins for each. The hotly awaited Grudge Match never materialized primarily due to a dispute over a woman (Kim Basinger).

When a promoter played by Kevin Hart begrudgingly enlists the two for a rematch, we got lots of old people jokes. Stallone, in particular, doesn’t even own a TV and WHAT ARE THESE IPADS AND THIS THING CALLED CALL WAITING?!?!?! There’s Alan Arkin as Razor’s trainer basically playing a version of his Oscar winning role in Little Miss Sunshine. Jon Bernthal becomes The Kid’s instructor and he is the son from Basinger that he never meets until present day. Bernthal has a precocious 8 year old son who teaches The Kid to be a grandpa. Also, Bernthal’s character is named B.J. and the writers get some comedic mileage out of it. This is the level of humor we are playing in, folks!

Grudge Match is chock full of cliches and a healthy portion of flat and obvious jokes. The best moments come from the amusing interplay between Hart and Arkin. We’ve already seen Stallone go to this well once before with 2006’s Rocky Balboa. Bringing De Niro along for a mostly stale second installment is about as unnecessary as it sounds.

** (out of four)

Grudge Match Box Office Prediction

Call it Grumpy Old Boxers and call it a potentially lame concept, but Grudge Match may have some nice Christmas returns when it opens Wednesday. The sports comedy pits 67 year-old Sylvester Stallone in a boxing match with 70 year-old Robert De Niro. Of course, these two actors are known for their pugilistic pics – Stallone from the Rocky franchise (the original won the Best Picture Oscar) and De Niro from 1980’s Raging Bull, for which he won an Oscar.

Don’t expect any Oscars here, but a solid box office gross seems more possible. Audiences could simply reject it, but I suspect older holiday moviegoers looking for a laugh could turn to this. Grudge Match is directed by veteran comedy director Peter Segal, whose credits include Tommy Boy, Anger Management, 50 First Dates, and Get Smart. Kevin Hart and Alan Arkin costar.

Reviews should be a non-factor (there aren’t any yet). Stallone has had a dismal 2013 with Bullet to the Head and Escape Plan, two action oriented bombs. This is De Niro’s umpteenth comedy of the year after The Big Wedding, The Family, and Last Vegas.

Grudge Match may play similarly to last year’s Parental Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, which opened on Christmas and took in $29 million over six days. The gross for Grudge will be for five days and it may not quite bring in the younger audience that Guidance did. However, I am estimating that this gimmicky comedy will find an audience and a fairly healthy one at that.

Grudge Match opening weekend prediction: $13.9 million (Friday-to-Sunday), $24.5 million (Wednesday-to-Sunday)