Tag: Natalie Morales

Oscar Predictions: My Dead Friend Zoe

My Dead Friend Zoe marks the feature-length directorial debut of Kyle Hausmann-Stokes. The dramedy is out in limited fashion this weekend. It premiered nearly a year ago at South by Southwest and stars Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales with support from Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris.

Reviews are mostly impressive with 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 78 on Metacritic. The indie flick might be too small (and too early in the release calendar) to resonate with the Academy for next year’s ceremony. A stronger possibility could be the Independent Spirit Awards taking notice, particularly in Best First Feature for Hausmann-Stokes and maybe Lead Performance for Martin-Green. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: No Hard Feelings

There are times when these Oscar Predictions posts quickly morph into Golden Globe Predictions entries. Such is the case for No Hard Feelings. The raunchy comedy hits theaters this Friday with Jennifer Lawrence starring. Good Boys director Gene Stupnitsky is behind the camera and the supporting cast includes Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, and Matthew Broderick.

The hard R-rated flick is generating mixed notices with a 61% Rotten Tomatoes score. The Sony Release isn’t meant to be an awards player. However, even the bulk of negative reviews have kind words for Lawrence. In her first theatrical headlining role since 2018’s Red Sparrow, J-Law has been with a fixture at the Globes. She’s a five-time nominee and three of them were for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy. Two were victories for 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook and 2015’s Joy. She also made the cut for 2021’s Don’t Look Up.

A sixth GG nod is not out of the question, but it will depend on how stacked the race is. That remains to be seen. My Oscar (Globe) Prediction posts will continue…

No Hard Feelings Box Office Prediction

Jennifer Lawrence enters new genre territory with No Hard Feelings on June 23rd. The raunchy comedy casts the Oscar winner as a down on her luck Uber driver hired to teach a 19-year-old (Andrew Barth Feldman) the birds and bees. Gene Stupnitsky, who made the 2019 sleeper hit Good Boys, directs. Costars include Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

It’s been a minute since Lawrence has graced the big screen. She was in the supporting cast as Mystique for Dark Phoenix four years ago, but you have to go back five years to Red Sparrow since her last headlining multiplex appearance. Her last two features (Don’t Look Up, Causeway) went the streaming route. Audiences are accustomed to seeing her in action flicks and dramas so this is certainly a test.

As I’ve mentioned a lot over the past few years, it’s a challenge for original comedies to break out. Plenty of viewers may simply wait until it’s ready for home consumption. If this had come out at the height of Lawrence’s bankability, I might be offering a different outlook.

Sony Pictures won’t like this comp, but Rough Night with Scarlett Johansson was another example of a popular actress branching out to this type of movie. Debuting in June six years ago, the result was a soft $8 million start. I’ll say this gets over that figure, but not by too much.

No Hard Feelings opening weekend prediction: $11.7 million

For my Asteroid City prediction, click here:

Asteroid City Box Office Prediction

Stuber Box Office Prediction

Arriving two years following his breakout theatrical role in The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani stars in Stuber next week. He plays an Uber driver who picks up a detective (Dave Bautista) and becomes embroiled in action comedy shenanigans. Michael Dowse directs with a supporting cast including Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Mira Sorvino, and Karen Gillan.

Stuber premiered at the South by Southwest Festival back in March to mixed reaction. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is a middling 47%. That leaves it without the positive word of mouth that greeted Nanjiani’s Sick.

I don’t believe the rather generic looking trailers and TV spots will make this is a must see among many moviegoers. I’ll predict this struggles to even reach low teens.

Stuber opening weekend prediction: $10.8 million

For my Crawl prediction, click here:

Crawl Box Office Prediction