Mercy Box Office Prediction

Originally slated for release last summer, Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson headline Amazon MGM’s sci-fi action pic Mercy on January 23rd. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the recently lambasted Ice Cube version of War of the Worlds), costars include Annabelle Wallis, Kylie Rogers, Kali Reis, and Chris Sullivan.

Despite their combined participation in mega-franchises Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, Mission: Impossible, and Dune, this pairing of Pratt and Ferguson seems like it just as easily could have premiered on a streaming service. Pratt has gone that route recently with The Tomorrow War and The Electric State. Buzz is far from electric. Forecasts have this in the low double digits and I’m not confident it even gets there.

Mercy opening weekend prediction: $9.3 million

Oscar Predictions: Rebuilding

Josh O’Connor is already an Emmy winner as a young Prince Charles from Netflix’s The Crown. He’s recently had acclaimed roles in La Chimera and Challengers and probably isn’t far away from his first silver screen awards bait role. Could that be Rebuilding?

Max Walker-Silverman’s drama casts O’Connor as a rancher displaced by wildfires. Costars include Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, Lily LaTorre, and Amy Madigan. Reviews out of Sundance screenings are positive at 94% on RT and 76 on Metacritic. Some notices are strong enough that I wonder whether this could be an awards player with the right campaign. The timely nature of the subject matter should additionally be taken into consideration.

That chatter could extend to O’Connor and the lauded cinematography (a similar combo to Train Dreams which was also unveiled in Park City). My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…