Tag: Liam Cunningham

Oscar Predictions: Palestine 36

Palestine 36 is in limited release after playing the festival circuit and it hopes to become the nation’s third submission nominated for Best International Feature Film. The historical epic with ties to current events is from writer/director Annemarie Jacir with a cast including Hiam Abbass, Kamel El Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Robert Aramayo, Liam Cunningham, and Jeremy Irons.

The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival where it received a prolonged ovation and traveled to the Tokyo International fest where it took the top prize. With a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the aforementioned resume would point to a possible nomination. It would join 2005’s Paradise Now and 2013’s Omar as Palestine’s other contenders (last year’s From Ground Zero was shortlisted but didn’t make the quintet).

Yet while all reviews are fresh, the 61 Metacritic score is more telling and this is a year where IFF is packed with hopefuls. I have yet to list this in my top 10 for possibilities and I don’t see that changing unless precursors change the dynamic. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: The Last Voyage of the Demeter

André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, based on one chapter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, certainly won’t sail off with a Best Picture nomination. However, there is one category worth considering. The ocean set horror pic is out this weekend with a less than impressive 44% Rotten Tomatoes log. Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Javier Botet, and Woody Norman star.

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version of the Stoker source material took the Academy Award for Makeup and Hairstyling. Other monster mashes that competed in that race are Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Shadow of the Vampire, and The Wolfman (which won).

Demeter is earning some kudos for the makeup work, including for Botet’s Dracula. The Makeup and Hairstyling derby is one that’s mostly immune to critical acclaim. Demeter‘s inclusion should come down to competition. Unfortunately for it, there could be plenty with Dune: Part Two, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Maestro, and Poor Things to mention some. It’s a stretch, but I wouldn’t completely discount this. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Box Office Prediction

Universal hopes that horror fans board The Last Voyage of the Demeter when it opens August 11th. Based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s signature novel Dracula, André Øvredal (maker of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) directs Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, David Dastmalchian, Javier Botet, Liam Cunningham, and Woody Norman in the tale of passengers trying to surviving a trip from Transylvania to London.

The Dracula angle could succeed in getting some genre fans out, but this Voyage‘s marketing campaign seems to be lacking. At this point, the studio might settle for a premiere similar to its Idris Elba starrer Beast, which took in nearly $12 million in mid-August last year. It could also debut in range with the vampiric The Invitation, which didn’t reach $7 million a week after Beast opened.

A gross closer to The Invitation as opposed to Beast is where this might land.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter opening weekend prediction: $6.4 million