Tag: Jay Ellis

Oscar Predictions: Freaky Tales

The most positive reviews of Freaky Tales, which has screened at Sundance, indicate it might be more at home coming in a VHS box. Called a love letter to the 80s era it is set in and to the city of Oakland, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (the team behind Half Nelson and Captain Marvel) direct the action drama depicting four connected stories. The cast includes Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Ben Mendelsohn, Ji-young Yoo, Jack Champion, and the late Angus Cloud. Fun fact: Too Short, famed Oakland rapper, narrates.

Critics extolling its virtues and shortfalls bring up Pulp Fiction and Tarantino. Yet unlike that 30-year-old classic, reaction is mixed with a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score. And unlike Fiction, it is likely a fact that Freaky Tales won’t be an awards contender. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Escape Room Box Office Prediction

Six strangers attempt to survive a deadly series of the title here in the horror pic Escape Room, out next Friday. It’s my first box office prediction for a 2019 feature and it comes from Adam Robitel, best known for directing 2018’s sequel Insidious: The Last Key (which was my first projection for this current year). Cast members include Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Taylor Russell, Tyler Labine, Jay Ellis, and Nik Dodani.

The market could certainly be ready for a fright fest, but whether Escape Room hits that spot for genre fans is questionable (especially with Glass coming two weeks later). The aforementioned Insidious entry had the benefit of being part of a successful franchise. It opened to just over $29 million almost one year ago.

I’ll estimate that this achieves less than half of that number with the caveat that horror flicks can manage to outdo expectations in January.

Escape Room opening weekend prediction: $13.8 million