Tag: Need for Speed

2014: The Year of Michael Keaton

Concluding my series of six performers who had a memorable 2014 on the big screen, we finish with Michael Keaton. The 63 year old actor has had many career highlights in his over three decades of stardom. He was Batman, for goodness sake! He was Beetlejuice! There was well regarded dramatic work in Clean and Sober and My Life. His team up with Quentin Tarantino in Jackie Brown and Steven Soderbergh in Out of Sight (playing the same part too). A creepy tenant in Pacific Heights. Comedies such as Mr. Mom and Multiplicity, among others.

For the last few years, Keaton has mostly been relegated to supporting roles in some high profile material and some indies. And he doesn’t make this list because of his work in this spring’s Robocop remake or video game adaptation Need for Speed (which are two examples of the kind of material that seemed a little beneath him).

No, Keaton is here because of Birdman, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s acclaimed comedy/drama. This picture marked a career comeback that rivaled that of Travolta in Pulp Fiction and Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. This is the role of a lifetime for Mr. Keaton and there stands a very solid chance that he’ll hear his name called in an ultra competitive Best Actor race at the Academy Awards.

The Birdman love will almost certainly mean roles will be available for Keaton that perhaps haven’t been in recent years. Next year, he’ll appear alongside Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams in Spotlight, a drama which focuses on the Massachusetts Catholic sex scandals of recent history. It comes from Thomas McCarthy, the respected indie director of The Station Agent and The Visitor. With Inarritu’s rediscovery of Keaton’s great talent, there’s probably a lot of fine directors who’ll be calling up his services in the near future.

For my post on The Year of Shailene Woodley, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/12/23/2014-the-year-of-shailene-woodley/

For my post on The Year of Kevin Hart, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/12/23/2014-the-year-of-kevin-hart/

For my post on The Year of Scarlett Johannson, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/12/23/2014-the-year-of-scarlett-johannson/

For my post on The Year of Chris Pratt, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/12/23/2014-the-year-of-chris-pratt/

For my post on The Year of Angelina Jolie, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/12/23/2014-the-year-of-angelina-jolie/

March Badness: The Month’s Box Office Failures

As the month of March draws to a close – there are a number of success stories that opened during the time frame: 300: Rise of an Empire, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Divergent, God’s Not Dead, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Noah.

However, the news wasn’t so lucky for everyone and here are four examples of pictures that didn’t meet expectations:

Need for Speed

Based on the best selling video game and starring “Breaking Bad” actor Aaron Paul, Need for Speed was pegged my many (including me) to open in the $25 million range and yet it managed only $17 million. It will be lucky to earn $50 million stateside, though it’s doing decent business overseas.

Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club

Media mogul Perry is rapidly losing his luster with film audiences. Both Peeples and A Madea Christmas disappointed and Single Moms Club represents his worst opening as a director. The pic debuted to a tepid $8 million.

Muppets Most Wanted

When this franchise rebooted in 2011, the result was a $29 million three-day opening and $45 million five-day premiere over the Thanksgiving holiday. The follow-up couldn’t reach close to those numbers with a less than expected $17 million start. Most Wanted held up well in weekend #2 yet it won’t match its predecessor.

Sabotage

After bad openings for his last two features The Last Stand and Escape Plan, news got even worse for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The action pic Sabotage bombed badly with a puny $5 million opening. This represents Ah-nuld’s worst opening in nearly thirty years. Ouch!

 

Box Office Predictions: March 21-23

Two new entries should take the two top spots at the box office this weekend as Divergent and Muppets Most Wanted debut. You can find my individual prediction posts on both here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/03/16/divergent-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/03/16/muppets-most-wanted-box-office-prediction/

Prognosticators have Divergent debuting anywhere from $50 million to over the $70 million that Twilight achieved in 2008. My estimate reflects going towards the higher end of the scale though I believe it’ll reach just short of Twilight heights.

Muppets Most Wanted could debut with $30 million or more, but my prediction reflects a belief that it will open below its predecessor from 2011.

As for holdovers, this weekend’s champ Mr. Peabody and Sherman may fall more in its third weekend than its second due to Kermit and company. 300: Rise of an Empire and Need for Speed should suffer healthy falls in their third and second weekends, respectively.

And with that, my top five predictions for the weekend:

1. Divergent

Predicted Gross: $68.4 million

2. Muppets Most Wanted

Predicted Gross: $22.8 million

3. Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Predicted Gross: $12.9 million (representing a drop of 41%)

4. 300: Rise of an Empire

Predicted Gross: $8.8 million (representing a drop of 54%)

5. Need for Speed

Predicted Gross: $7.2 million (representing a drop of 59%)

Box Office Results: March 14-16

The story of the weekend was the lackluster openings of both new films – Need for Speed and Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club. Their failure to reach their intended audiences allowed Mr. Peabody and Sherman to rise to the top in its second weekend with $21.8 million, slightly ahead of my $20.4M projection.

300: Rise of an Empire fell to second in its sophomore frame with $19.2 million – in line with my $18.8M estimate.

Need for Speed disappointed bringing in a weak $17.8 million, well below my $25.3M estimate. The film proved one more example of a popular video game failing to generate audience excitement.

Non-Stop was fourth with $10.6 million – holding up stronger than my $8.2 million prediction.

In fifth with disastrous results was Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club, which represented the star’s worst debut ever for a picture he directed. It earned only $8 million, far below my $17.6M estimate. While Perry is finding success on the OWN Network with his television programs, his film career is clearly losing its luster.

As always, I’ll have full results Monday when the final numbers roll in. Stay tuned!

Box Office Predictions: March 14-16

It’s not often that there are four pictures that have real shots at being #1 in a weekend, but we have one such weekend this time around. This list includes Need for Speed and Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club in their debut frames and 300: Rise of an Empire and Mr. Peabody and Sherman in their sophomore weekends.

You can find my individual prediction posts on the newcomers here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/03/09/need-for-speed-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/03/09/tyler-perrys-the-single-moms-club-box-office-prediction/

I believe Need for Speed will appeal to enough of the Fast and Furious crowd to get it to the top while Single Moms Club will continue the trend of Perry flicks coming in slightly below expectations. Still either one could over or under perform and make it a race for number one.

Add to that the fact that Mr. Peabody and Sherman is likely to have a fairly small drop and it could be a real barnburner of a race. And there’s last weekend’s #1 300: Rise of an Empire. While I expect the sequel to fall pretty hard in weekend #2, if it doesn’t – it too could contend for the top spot. Non-Stop, in its third frame, should round out the top five.

And with that, here’s my predictions for the how it all shakes out:

1. Need for Speed

Predicted Gross: $25.3 million

2. Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Predicted Gross: $20.4 million (representing a drop of 37%)

3. 300: Rise of an Empire

Predicted Gross: $18.8 million (representing a drop of 58%)

4. Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club

Predicted Gross: $17.6 million

5. Non-Stop

Predicted Gross: $8.2 million (representing a drop of 48%)

Box Office Results (March 7-9)

While I did pretty well on numbers 2-5 for the weekend, I vastly underestimated the staying power of the 300 franchise with its sequel Rise of an Empire. The film took in a healthy $45 million, well above my $31.1M projection. While it was miles away from the original’s $70 million premiere, this still exceeded most prognosticator’s expectations.

The animated Mr. Peabody and Sherman opened in second with $32.2 million, just below my $33.7M estimate. This was a mid-level opening for an animated feature, but it should have solid legs in the weeks ahead.

Non-Stop took third in weekend #2 with $15.8 million – in line with $15.5M prediction while The LEGO Movie was fourth with $10.9 million, a bit below my $12.5M estimate. Rounding out the top five was Son of God, which fell hard in its second weekend to $10.3 million, under my $11.9M prediction.

As always, I’ll have final results for this coming weekend on Monday. Stay tuned!

Need for Speed Box Office Prediction

Based on the most successful video game series of all time, this Friday’s Need for Speed hopes to bring in a good portion of the Fast and Furious franchise when it debuts. The car chase action fest showcases the first major starring role for “Breaking Bad” costar Aaron Paul with Dominic Cooper and Michael Keaton rounding out the cast.

It has been proven over and over again for the last two decades that a massive video game doesn’t translate into box office success – Super Mario Bros. anyone? However, Speed has done a decent job at marketing itself as a Fast and Furious type experience and that should allow it to have a pretty solid premiere.

Need for Speed could potentially approach the $30 million opening that Olympus Has Fallen achieved in March 2013. I believe a more likely scenario is somewhere in the mid 20s.

Need for Speed opening weekend prediction: $25.3 million

For my prediction on Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/03/09/tyler-perrys-the-single-moms-club-box-office-prediction/