Tag: Luke Grimes

Eddington Box Office Prediction

Ari Aster’s fourth feature Eddington hits screens July 18th after a May premiere at Cannes. The small town set satire takes place during the height of COVID with Joaquin Phoenix (who starred in Aster’s predecessor Beau is Afraid) and the suddenly everywhere Pedro Pascal headlining. Other cast members include Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone.

Reviews from the French fest were mixed with 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 64 Metacritic. That buzz zapped any awards chatter for the A24 feature. This has the appearance of an autumn release trapped in midsummer and I am doubtful that adult crowds will turn up. For one thing, audiences might be hesitant to relive the lockdown days of a half decade ago. If this gets over $5 million, I’d be surprised.

Eddington opening weekend prediction: $3.4 million

For my I Know What You Did Last Summer prediction, click here:

I Know What You Did Last Summer Box Office Prediction

For my Smurfs prediction, click here:

Smurfs Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Eddington

A contemporary Western set during the early days of COVID, Eddington is Ari Aster’s fourth feature which has premiered at Cannes prior to its July 18th stateside release. A24’s topical tale reunites Aster with his Beau Is Afraid lead Joaquin Phoenix along with Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone.

The auteur’s career kicked off with Hereditary and Midsommar, two horror experiences that are among the genre’s best reviewed in recent years. Beau had a considerably more polarizing reaction and Eddington appears to be doing the same. Early reviews have this at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 67 Metacritic.

While the strongest reviews are quite strong, the varied buzz from France likely means this won’t be a serious awards contender. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Fifty Shades Freed Movie Review

A franchise can’t run out of steam if it never gathered any to begin with. That is the legacy of the Fifty Shades films and it climaxes limply with Fifty Shades Freed. The third and final (!) entry in the romantic saga of Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele-Grey (Dakota Johnson), we open with the lovebirds tying the knot. And by tying the knot, I mean they’re getting married and not just tying some knot as part of their wild sex escapades. We’ve seen that before and it’s a major reason why the pictures (based on the E.L. James bestsellers) have their legions of fans.

Their wedded bliss is relatively short-lived, though describing anything as short-lived is generous in this sluggishly paced series. For one thing, Ana’s stalker Jack (Eric Johnson) is causing mischief once again. There’s also feelings of jealousy happening with Christian’s former flame (Kim Basinger). That subplot actually gets less screen time than the relationship woes of Ana’s best bud (Eloise Mumford) and Christian’s brother (Luke Grimes). What do these storylines have in common? None of them are interesting. For a trilogy wanting to burst with lustful excitement, Freed and its predecessors have been so very listless.

I was never familiar with the source material from which these movies were spawned. Upon viewing Fifty Shades of Grey for the first time, I was more than willing to keep an open mind and try to understand how the novels become phenomenons. Three tales later, I just don’t get it and that certainly applies to its cinematic renderings. The performances of Johnson and Dornan still come across as flat. My previous descriptions of the “hot scenes” being no more gripping than late night Cinemax still stands (the writing is no better either).

Thankfully I can now officially close that once open mind when it comes to Christian and Anastasia. I am freed.

* (out of four)

Fifty Shades Darker Box Office Prediction

Two years ago, the film version of the E.L. James novel Fifty Shades of Grey made a killing in theaters. This prompted the back to back shooting of second and third sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Next weekend, Darker hits screens and hopes to keep the momentum going.

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are back in the roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey as their, shall we say, unique love life is further explored. Costars include Marcia Gay Harden, Kim Basinger, Luke Grimes, and Rita Ora. James Foley takes over directorial duties from Sam Taylor-Johnson (Foley will also helm the third installment out in February 2018).

The initial pairing of these kinky leads led to a box office bonanza in February 2015 when Grey took in an astonishing $85 million in its first weekend with an eventual domestic haul of $166 million.

Early tracking suggests Darker is highly unlikely to compete with that opening frame gross. In fact, it’s been speculated that this follow-up may only earn about half that number. This sounds about right. While Grey easily took the #1 spot out of the gate, this opens against The Lego Batman Movie and probably won’t whip that serious competition. I’ll say Darker gets to the mid 40s for its start, which is still pretty solid considering its reported $55M budget.

Fifty Shades Darker opening weekend prediction: $44.8 million

For my The Lego Batman Movie prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2017/02/02/the-lego-batman-movie-box-office-prediction/

For my John Wick: Chapter 2 prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2017/02/02/john-wick-chapter-2-box-office-prediction/