Tag: Tom Gormican

Anaconda Box Office Prediction

Sony is banking on Anaconda mixing up a lot of box office dough when it debuts on Christmas Day. The high-concept comedy from Tom Gormican finds Paul Rudd and Jack Black, fresh off A Minecraft Movie, attempting to remake the 1997 cult favorite feature of the same name that starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, and Jon Voight. The supporting players in this meta experience include Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, and Selton Mello.

Younger viewers may not be overly familiar with the source material. However, the PG-13 rating and comedic heavyweights should help push this to a decent start. With Christmas on a Thursday (that hasn’t occurred since 2014), crunching the numbers is a little tricky. A four-day rollout near $30 million is doable though I’ll go with low to mid teens for the traditional weekend and low 20s when counting the holiday.

Anaconda opening weekend prediction: $14.2 million (Friday to Sunday); $20.5 million (Thursday to Sunday)

For my Marty Supreme prediction, click here:

Marty Supreme Box Office Prediction

For my Song Sung Blue prediction, click here:

Song Sung Blue Box Office Prediction

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Review

Director Tom Gormican and his cowriter Kevin Etten’s reverence for Nicolas Cage is on full display in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. So is their affection for the kind of action packed and occasionally aimless buddy comedies that Cage might’ve starred in 30 years ago without all the meta sprinklings. Oh, and there’s also a deep reservoir of digging Paddington 2. 

Playing a fictionalized version of himself (he might even be more normal in this), Nicolas Cage is smarting from the loss of a movie role when he decides to give up acting. He’s also estranged from his 16-year-old daughter (Lily Sheen) and ex-wife (Sharon Horgan) – or is at least always making everything about himself. Facing financial woes as described by his agent (Neil Patrick Harris), he accepts a million dollar payday to jet to the Spanish Mediterranean. The assignment: hang out with billionaire Javi (Pedro Pascal), who may also be the head of a crime syndicate. His host is a huge fan of the actor and this allows for references to obvious titles like The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off and National Treasure. Most amusingly, the 1994 Secret Service romp Guarding Tess costarring Shirley MacLaine is given its share of exposure.

CIA agents Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz (two funny people given nothing funny to do) are convinced that Javi has kidnapped the daughter of a politician. His guest of honor is recruited with breaking her out. For much of the running time, Talent coasts on just that of Cage and Pascal. Their chemistry clicks as they start plotting their own screenplay which this often mirrors.

Unlike, say, the brilliant Being John Malkovich – Gormicon’s invention feels like more like a novelty item. Yet it is a frequently witty one mixed with a surprising amount of sincerity. In fact, I found myself wanting it to dig a bit deeper at times. The screenplay attempts to say something about its two protagonists always being forced to act like someone they’re not before it gets distracted by the next reference (The Bees!). In Cage’s massive filmography filled with triumphs, turkeys and Tess‘s, there’s an enjoyable enough catalogue to sift through.

*** (out of four)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Box Office Prediction

Nicolas Cage may not always be picky with his projects and that gets him into hot water in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, out April 22nd. The acclaimed comedy casts the eccentric national treasure as an exaggerated (?) version of himself who accepts $1 million from Pedro Pascal’s superfan to attend a birthday party. It goes downhill from there. Tom Gormican directs and the supporting cast includes Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish.

When Weight premiered in March at South by Southwest, it did so to sizzling reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes meter stands at a clean 100%. That should get a decent amount of cinephiles in multiplexes to see what all the buzz is about.

That said, I wonder if the concept is a little too inside baseball for general audiences. Additionally, plenty of viewers have grown accustomed to dialing up Cage’s new pics on streaming services and not in theaters.

Some forecasts have this reaching double digits in its debut, but I’m going a bit under that.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent opening weekend prediction: $7.9 million

For my The Bad Guys prediction, click here:

The Bad Guys Box Office Prediction

For my The Northman prediction, click here:

The Northman Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Nicolas Cage was probably close to a third Oscar nomination for last year’s Pig and now he’s earning kudos for playing himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The meta comedy finds Cage in a sticky situation when he accepts a hefty payday to attend the birthday party of a billionaire drug lord. Pedro Pascal is that financier and the supporting cast also includes Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish. Tom Gormican directs.

Prior to its April 22nd release, Weight dropped at South by Southwest and reviews currently stand at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Cage has become known for alternating acclaimed indie projects with dreadful direct to streaming material. This certainly appears to fall into the former designation.

Could awards voters take note? It might be a bit too out there, but Original Screenplay is not out of the question. A Best Comedy nod from Critics Choice next year is also a decent possibility. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…