The most famous ape in movie history in back on screen for the first time in over a decade when Kong: SkullIsland debuts next weekend. With a reported $190 million budget, Warner Bros. is hoping to keep their monster franchise reaping big grosses as they move toward a planned Godzilla/Kong pic.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts directs and he’s certainly an interesting choice as his only feature was the low-budget indie TheKingsofSummer in 2013. The director may not be high-profile, but the cast is. Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, Corey Hawkins, and Jason Mitchell headline. Even with those recognizable names, the real star is that giant CG creature that first graced the screen almost 85 years ago.
Kong is not expected to match the earnings of the Godzilla reboot three years ago. It had a plum summer release date and made over $90 million out of the gate. Competition from the second weekend of the acclaimed Logan could also hinder this a bit.
I expect this will hover right above or below $50 million and word of mouth will determine how it goes from there.
Kong: SkullIsland opening weekend prediction: $48.6 million
The month of March at the box office claws its way into theaters with three new releases premiering. They are: Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine in Logan, faith-based drama The Shack, and teen thriller Before I Fall. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on them here:
Logan, with some of the greatest reviews of the X-Men franchise, should easily top the charts. It’s worth noting that my mid-60s forecast is a bit lower than some others. We shall see.
I’m expecting sub double digit openings for the other two newcomers, with The Shack landing in fourth and Before I Fall in sixth.
Critically lauded horror pic Get Out had a spectacular opening (more on that below) and I expect a rather small sophomore decline. It should have no trouble placing second. That leaves other holdovers The Lego Batman Movie in third and John Wick: Chapter 2 at fifth.
And with that, my top 6 predictions for the weekend:
1. Logan
Predicted Gross: $68.6 million
2. Get Out
Predicted Gross: $20 million (representing a drop of 40%)
3. The Lego Batman Movie
Predicted Gross: $11.1 million (representing a drop of 42%)
4. The Shack
Predicted Gross: $9.7 million
5. John Wick: Chapter 2
Predicted Gross: $5.6 million (representing a drop of 39%)
6. Before I Fall
Predicted Gross: $5.3 million
Box Office Results (February 24-26)
With its red hot buzz and perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, Jordan Peele’s Get Out got off to a scorching start with a $33.3 million opening – blazing past my meager $16.3M prediction. With a budget of reportedly under $5 million, this is a massively profitable venture for Blumhouse.
The Lego Batman Movie slipped to second to $19.2 million, a bit shy of my $22.1M projection for a three week total of $133M.
John Wick: Chapter 2 was third with $9.3 million, in range with my $8.4M forecast for a $74M overall gross. The Great Wall was fourth in its second weekend with $9.1 million (I said $8.2M) for a lackluster tally of $34M. Fifty Shades Darker rounded out the top five with $7.7 million in weekend #3, under my $9.9M prediction. Its total is at $103M.
Two other newcomers failed to make any impression with moviegoers. The animated Rock Dog was 11th with $3.7 million, in line with my $4.4M prediction. Action thriller Collide was DOA in 13th with $1.5 million, not even my matching my $2.1M estimate.
After nearly 17 years playing the most popular cinematic character in the X-Men universe, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine for reportedly the final time in Logan, out next weekend. This is the third stand-alone feature focused on Jackman’s character following 2009’s X–MenOrigins: Wolverine and 2013’s TheWolverine. Like the 2013 entry, it’s directed by James Mangold. Patrick Stewart appears here as Professor X and other supporting players include Boyd Holbrook and Richard E. Grant.
One thing is for certain: Logan is receiving easily the best reviews of the trio and it currently sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s a considerable upgrade of the 38% of Origins and 69% of TheWolverine. On the flip side, the franchise as a whole suffered a minor setback when last summer’s X–Men: Apocalypse was the second lowest grosser of the six X pics, with only X–Men: FirstClass earning less.
Let us take a further trip down stand-alone lane, shall we? Origins made $85 million for its start in summer ’09 with an overall $179M haul. Four years later, TheWolverine managed a $53 million opening weekend with $132M overall.
So where does Logan land? The solid reviews should help (something Apocalypse didn’t have). So should the report that it’s Jackman’s swan song. It should land higher than TheWolverine, but not achieve what Origins accomplished (it was the first X flick to open after franchise highest grosser TheLastStand).
Happy New Year y’all and hope you’re enjoying your first day of 2017!
For my inaugural post of the year, I’m giving you 17 of my eagerly awaited pictures hitting screens this year. They’re listed alphabetically and represent some circles on the calendar for yours truly.
Here’s to a great year at the movies!h
Alien: Covenant
Release Date: May 19
The sixth installment of the Alien franchise is a sequel to 2013’s Prometheus, which received a deserved mixed reaction. Ridley Scott is back behind the director’s chair with Michael Fassbender returning and Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, and Danny McBride among the supporting players. There is also expected to be an alien involved.
AllEyezonMe
Release Date: June 16
Benny Boom is known for directing many well-known hip hop videos, but this feature tells the tale of one of America’s finest rappers – Tupac Shakur. Newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr. plays the late performer.
BeautyandtheBeast
Release Date: March 17
Disney has found tremendous success with their live-action remakes of animated classics and this reworking of the 1991 Best Picture nominee is likely to follow suit. Bill Condon directs with Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast.
BladeRunner2049
Release Date: October 6
Arriving 35 years after Ridley Scott’s heralded science fiction experience, Arrival director Denis Villeneuve brings back this noirish world with Harrison Ford back as Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling.
ACureforWellness
Release Date: February 17
Talented director Gore Verbinski has made some impressive pics – TheRing and the first PiratesoftheCaribbean among them. He’s also had some not so impressive ones, including the Pirates sequels and TheLoneRanger. This psychological horror thriller looks like it could be a return to form.
TheDarkTower
Release Date: July 28
For many years, a number of filmmakers have attempted to bring Stephen King’s novel to the screen. It’s finally happened with Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba starring.
NO TRAILER AT PRESS TIME
Dunkirk
Release Date: July 21
Anything from Christopher Nolan has earned our anticipation and so it goes with this World War II effort featuring Tom Hardy and Kenneth Branagh.
GhostintheShell
Release Date: March 31
Based on the wildly popular Japanese comic book series, Scarlett Johansson headlines the sci-fi action thriller.
GuardiansoftheGalaxyVol. 2
Release Date: May 5
Summer ’17 kicks off with Star Lord, Rocket, and Lil Groot back on screen after their acclaimed first foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014.
JusticeLeague
Release Date: November 17
Speaking of superheroes, DC has Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot – who has her own stand-alone pic this summer), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and the Flash (Ezra Miller) joining forces.
Kong: SkullIsland
Release Date: March 10
The giant ape is back for the first time in 12 years in this 1970s set blockbuster hopeful boasting a first-rate cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and John C. Reilly.
Logan
Release Date: March 3
17 years after first creating his signature role, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine for (apparently) the final time.
TheMummy
Release Date: June 9
The Universal monsters reassemble in this reboot that stars Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and lotsa hopefully cool CG.
MurderontheOrientExpress
Release Date: November 22
This property based on the Agatha Christie Book was adapted successfully in the mid 70s by director Sidney Lumet. This time around, Kenneth Branagh is behind the camera with an all-star cast that includes Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Michael Pena and Michelle Pfeiffer.
NO TRAILER AT PRESS TIME
Spider–Man: Homecoming
Release Date: July 7
After making a nice impression in CaptainAmerica: CivilWar, Tom Holland is the third actor to portray the title superhero. Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark costar.
StarWars: EpisodeVIII
Release Date: December 15
The still untitled follow-up to TheForceAwakens is pretty much unquestionably going to be 2017’s highest earner. Expect considerably more screen time for Mark Hamill’s Luke and sadly, Carrie Fisher’s final screen appearance as Leia.
NO TRAILER AT PRESS TIME
WarforthePlanetoftheApes
Release Date: July 14
Kong isn’t the only big-budget monkey business happening onscreen as the third installment of this franchise finds Andy Serkis’s Caesar returning and Woody Harrelson joining the mix.
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