Tag: Tommy Lee Jones

Just Getting Started Box Office Prediction

A pair of Oscar winners hope to bring in an older audience next weekend when Just Getting Started premieres. Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones star as retirees taking on the Mob in this comedy from Ron Shelton, best known for his directorial efforts of the past including Bull Durham and White Men Can’t Jump. Rene Russo, Glenne Headly (in her final film role), and Joe Pantoliano are among the supporting players.

Freeman has been appearing in these geriatric yuck fests with increasing frequency as of late. Earlier in the year, Going in Style debuted to a decent $11.9 million. 2013’s Last Vegas fared even better with an opening north of $16 million. A number similar to Style would seem to be the absolute high bar here. However, I have trouble seeing this getting into double digits.

One big reason: distributor Broad Green Pictures is bankrupt and promotion for Started has been muted at best. A theater count will help shed light on its potential and my estimate could be adjusted accordingly. My initial feeling is that this just gets started in the mid single digits and fades quickly.

Just Getting Started opening weekend prediction: $5.2 million

Summer 1997: The Top 10 Hits and More

Put on your nostalgia goggles (or maybe the sunglasses that make you forget stuff if Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones flash a light at you) because I’m recounting the summer of 1997 on the blog today!

This has become a seasonal tradition around here and I gave you the top 10 summer hits of 1987 and more earlier this week. If you missed that post, you can find it here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2017/08/01/summer-1987-the-top-10-hits-and-more/

This time around, we’re going back 20 years when Nicolas Cage accounted for 25% of the top 8 moneymakers and Batman crashed and burned.

We’ll begin with the top ten and then get to some other notable pics and flops:

10. Hercules

Domestic Gross: $99 million

Disney’s ‘toon couldn’t reach the century mark and that was considered a disappointment after early and mid 90s smashes like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. 

9. Contact

Domestic Gross: $100 million

Robert Zemeckis’s follow-up to Forrest Gump (which ruled summer 1994) was a well-regarded science fiction drama with Jodie Foster and an emerging Matthew McConaughey.

8. Con Air

Domestic Gross: $101 million

This action thriller from the Bruckheimer factory is our first to feature Mr. Nicolas Cage (who was coming off a recent Oscar win), along with an all-star cast including John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, and Ving Rhames.

7. George of the Jungle

Domestic Gross: $105 million

Disney probably didn’t anticipate this remake of the  cartoon starring Brendan Fraser would manage to out perform Hercules, but that it did.

6. Batman and Robin

Domestic Gross: $107 million

This may have placed sixth for the summer, but Batman and Robin came in well below its three predecessors and director Joel Schumacher and new Caped Crusader George Clooney have been apologizing about it for the last 20 years. We’re still trying to block out those Arnold/Mr. Freeze bad puns.

5. Face/Off

Domestic Gross: $112 million

Mr. Cage teamed up for Mr. John Travolta for John Woo’s entertainingly over-the-top sci-fi and action mash-up.

4. My Best Friend’s Wedding

Domestic Gross: $127 million

Julia Roberts made a return to box office dominance in this rom com which featured stolen scenes from costar Rupert Everett.

3. Air Force One

Domestic Gross: $172 million

“Get off my plane!” became one of the season’s catchphrases with Harrison Ford as the butt kicking POTUS battling Russian terrorist Gary Oldman in the skies.

2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Domestic Gross: $229 million

Steven Spielberg’s eagerly anticipated follow-up to 1993’s Jurassic Park kicked off with the biggest opening weekend of all time (at that time). However, in the end, it couldn’t manage to top the gross of its predecessor. If you’d polled probably any box office analyst at the beginning of the year, they likely would have said it’d be #1 for the summer. Yet that honor ended up belonging to…

1. Men in Black

Domestic Gross: $250 million

A franchise was born and Will Smith made it two summers in a row with the top grossing picture (the previous year being Independence Day) with Barry Sonnenfeld’s megahit sci-fi action comedy.

And now for some other notable pics:

The Fifth Element

Domestic Gross: $63 million

Audiences and critics didn’t quite know what to make of Luc Besson’s visual feast featuring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Chris Tucker. Sound familiar? Same thing is happening 20 years later with Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. 

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Domestic Gross: $53 million

The Mike Myers 007 spoof performed well, but it wasn’t until home video that Powers turned into a genuine phenomenon spawning countless catchphrases. Its sequel two summers later would earn more in its opening weekend that part 1 did in its domestic total.

The Full Monty

Domestic Gross: $45 million

This British import about unconventional male strippers was the summer’s true sleeper and went on to earn a host of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Monty would earn over $250 million worldwide compared to its tiny $3.5 million budget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSqZzO47pHw

Cop Land

Domestic Gross: $44 million

After appearing in a string of high-octane action flicks, Sylvester Stallone changed it up with this crime drama featuring an impressive supporting cast that included Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Harvey Keitel.

And now for some of the season’s large belly flops:

Speed 2: Cruise Control

Domestic Gross: $48 million

Keanu Reeves didn’t want to touch it, but Sandra Bullock came back for this ridiculed sequel where Jason Patric was the new lead. Considered by many to be one of the worst follow-ups of all time.

Out to Sea

Domestic Gross: $29 million

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau created comedic gold with The Fortune Cookie and The Odd Couple and reunited years later to box office fortune with the Grumpy Old Men movies. This one? Not so much.

Father’s Day

Domestic Gross: $28 million

Ivan Reitman directing Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in a high-profile comedy? Sounds like a good recipe, but the product was mediocre at best and audiences didn’t turn out.

Excess Baggage

Domestic Gross: $14 million

Two summers earlier, Alicia Silverstone had broken out with Clueless. The summer of 1997 was a breakdown. In addition to appearing as Batgirl in the already discussed Batman and Robin, this action comedy with Benicio del Toro bombed big time.

Steel

Domestic Gross: $1.7 million

People may have wanted to watch Shaquille O’Neal on the basketball court, but they had zero interest in watching him as the title superhero in this disaster.

And that does it for now, folks, but I’ll be back soon recounting 2007!

Mechanic: Resurrection Box Office Prediction

Jason Statham starred in one of the biggest sequels of 2015 with Furious 7. He is highly unlikely to repeat himself this year as Mechanic: Resurrection hits screens next weekend. This is a follow-up to 2011’s The Mechanic, a remake of a 1972 Charles Bronson vehicle that performed fairly modestly with an $11.4 million opening and $29.1 million overall domestic gross. Frankly, I’m not really sure why this warrants a sequel.

The supporting cast includes Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, and Michelle Yeoh with Dennis Gansel taking over directorial duties from Simon West. While the past five years has given its star more exposure with hits like the aforementioned seventh Furious entry and Spy, I doubt that will be enough for Resurrection to rise above what its predecessor even earned. Heck, this isn’t even the most high-profile sequel ending in the word “Resurrection” (as Ripley and Winona Ryder could tell you).

In this same late August weekend last year, similar genre type pic Hitman: Agent 47 made $8.3 million. That actually seems about right for this and I’ll predict it just tops that unimpressive number.

Mechanic: Resurrection opening weekend prediction: $8.5 million

For my Don’t Breathe prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/08/16/dont-breathe-box-office-prediction/

For my Hands of Stone prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/08/17/hands-of-stone-box-office-prediction/

Jason Bourne Box Office Prediction

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass return to their blockbuster franchise after nearly a decade when Jason Bourne hits theaters next weekend. Originating from the novels by Robert Ludlum, this sequel may succeed in not being a box office letdown as a number of others have this season. Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Julia Stiles, Vincent Cassel, and Riz Ahmed are among the costars.

Let’s take a trip down Bourne franchise history lane, shall we? In 2002, The Bourne Identity became a summer sleeper hit with a $27 million debut and $121 million overall domestic gross. The numbers increased with the 2004 follow-up The Bourne Supremacy (when Greengrass took over directorial duties). It had a $52 million premiere and $176 million eventual tally. In 2007, third entry The Bourne Ultimatum hit the high marks with a $69 million opening and $227 million take.

It was after Ultimatum that Damon and Greengrass departed the critically acclaimed and audience approved pics. 2012 brought The Bourne Legacy, which cast Jeremy Renner as a new operative. While it scored a respectable $38 million debut, its $113 million domestic haul was a franchise low.

Four years later – the team behind the two most successful Bourne‘s return and my hunch is that moviegoers will be ready for it. This is quite simply a well-regarded series and it doesn’t hurt that Mr. Damon is coming off an Oscar nominated turn and mega-hit with The Martian. The question to me is whether or not this manages to top the opening of Ultimatum. It might and it wouldn’t surprise me, but my projection has it falling just short of that $69M number for a movie in which sequelitis should not apply.

Jason Bourne opening weekend prediction: $67.6 million

For my Bad Moms prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/07/20/bad-moms-box-office-prediction/

For my Nerve prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/07/20/nerve-box-office-prediction/

Criminal Box Office Prediction

Superman’s Dad (Kevin Costner), Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), and Wonder Woman (Gil Gadot) headline the CIA action thriller Criminal, out next weekend. The pic hopes to bring in an older audience not preoccupied with taking their kids to see The Jungle Book.

It could be a tall order. I don’t believe the marketing campaign has done much to inspire enthusiasm and Costner’s track record over recent years has been spotty when he’s in the lead. This will be lucky to reach the $12.2 million that his 3 Days to Kill managed two years ago, though it’s certainly possible. Summit Entertainment’s best hope might be that audiences notice the participation of Mr. Reynolds (in a supporting part) so soon after the massive success of Deadpool.

I’ll predict Criminal doesn’t quite reach double digits.

Criminal opening weekend prediction: $9.3 million

For my The Jungle Book prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/the-jungle-book-box-office-prediction/

For my Barbershop: The Next Cut prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/barbershop-the-next-cut-box-office-prediction/

Oscar History: 2007

Tonight on the blog – we review the Oscars from 2007, continuing with my series of Oscar History posts. 2007 was a year in which the brilliant Coen Brothers finally received some Academy love. Their critically lauded No Country for Old Men won Best Picture and earned the twosome the Best Director prize. It’s hard to argue with the Academy’s choice of this terrific pic for the top prize.

In my view, There Will Be Blood would’ve been another deserving recipient and it was nominated for Best Picture, along with Joe Wright’s Atonement, Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton, and Jason Reitman’s Juno. I likely would’ve left Atonement and Juno off the list and considered David Fincher’s meticulously crafted Zodiac and/or Ridley Scott’s American Gangster.

A running theme of my Oscar posts has been the Academy’s consistent lack of comedy inclusion and, for me, the genre’s 2007 highlight was Superbad, one of the finest raunch-fests in quite some time.

I was also a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s ode to B movies, Grindhouse.

There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson was included in the Best Director race along with Gilroy and Reitman. Atonement director Joe Wright was the lone director left out whose film was nominated and Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was a bit of a surprise nominee. As mentioned, they all lost to the Coens. I would have certainly included Fincher’s work in Zodiac.

The Best Actor race was over as soon as Daniel Day-Lewis’s work in There Will Be Blood was seen and it would mark his second win after being honored for My Left Foot eighteen years earlier. Other nominees (who truly can say it was just an honor to be nominated after Day-Lewis’s tour de force): George Clooney in Michael Clayton, Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd, Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah, and Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises.

Nobody plays a calculating bad guy better than Denzel Washington and I probably would have found room for him with his turn in American Gangster.

In the Best Actress race, Marion Cotillard would win for La Vie En Rose – beating out Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away from Her), Laura Linney (The Savages), and Ellen Page (Juno).

Leaving out Keira Knightley’s work in Atonement was a surprise. For my dark horse contender, Christina Ricci’s fearless work in Black Snake Moan might’ve made my cut.

Like the Best Actor category, the Supporting Actor race was over when audiences and critics saw Javier Bardem’s amazing performance in No Country for Old Men. Other nominees: Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War, Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild, and Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton.

Paul Dano’s performance in There Will Be Blood certainly should’ve been acknowledged here. Two others to consider: Robert Downey Jr.’s work as a boozy reporter in Zodiac and Kurt Russell’s hilarious and sadistic role in Grindhouse.

The Supporting Actress race belonged to Tilda Swinton as a ruthless attorney in Michael Clayton. She would win over double nominee Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There, Ruby Dee for American Gangster, Saoirse Ronan in Atonement, and Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone.

I would’ve included Kelly MacDonald as Josh Brolin’s wife in No Country for Old Men.

And there’s my take on the ’07 Oscars, my friends! I’ll have 2008 posted soon.

Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time: Nos. 25-21

Which stars are at the top of the mountain when it comes to overall domestic box office grosses? Well, this trusty blogger has your answers in my new series. This will be a five-part series revealing the Top 25 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time from #25 to #1.

When looking at the performers who make up the list, you’ll notice some very big names aren’t listed. Brad Pitt. Jim Carrey. Nicolas Cage. Denzel Washington. Why? Well, as you’ll see, it helps to be an actor involved in a successful franchise… or franchises. Therefore – some of the names may well surprise you.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

25. Tommy Lee Jones

Career Earnings: $2.4 billion

Franchises: The Men in Black series. The Fugitive/U.S. Marshals. *Jones also made one time appearances in ongoing franchises with Batman Forever and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Highest Grossing Picture: Men in Black – $250 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 8. The Fugitive, Batman Forever, Men in Black, Double Jeopardy, Men in Black II, Captain America: The First Avenger, MIB 3, Lincoln.

Lowest Grosser: House of Cards – $322,000

24. Stellan Skarsgard

Career Earnings: $2.5 billion

Franchises: The Marvel Universe (Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest/Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. *Skarsgard also appeared in Angels&Demons, the Da Vinci Code sequel.

Highest Grossing Picture: The Avengers – $623 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Mamma Mia!, Angels&Demons, Thor, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World.

Lowest Grosser: Boogie Woogie – $2,000

23. Helena Bonham Carter

Career Earnings: $2.5 billion

Franchises: The Harry Potter series. *Bonham Carter also appeared in Terminator: Salvation.

Highest Grossing Picture: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – $381 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Terminator: Salvation, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Les Miserables.

Lowest Grosser: The Theory of Flight – $73,000

22. Orlando Bloom

Career Earnings: $2.5 billion

Franchises: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Hobbit series.

Highest Grossing Picture: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $423 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 9. Black Hawk Down, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Lowest Grosser: Main Street – $2,500

21. Julia Roberts

Career Earnings: $2.6 billion

Franchises: The Ocean’s series.

Highest Grossing Picture: Ocean’s Eleven – $183 million

Number of $100M+ Earners: 11. Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy, Hook, The Pelican Brief, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Valentine’s Day.

Lowest Grosser: Fireflies in the Garden – $70,000

That’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow with numbers 20-16!