Each Thursday we look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week.  The reign of terror by the animated middle management baby genre will come to an end this weekend as a box office juggernaut, a highly-acclaimed adaptation of a nonfiction classic, and another horrifyingly bad animated film hit the screens.

 

Furious 7 defied all box office logic to become one of the highest-grossing pictures in global history.  It was a perfect storm of a tragedy on-set with the death of Paul Walker, the best film in the series, handled by the best director the series had in an empty April 2015 that allowed amazing numbers.  Fate of the Furious‘ reviews are currently in the 60’s on Rotten Tomatoes, but for the first two weeks, the movie is pretty review-proof.  It’s going to dominate.

The Lost City of Z is getting sterling reviews, starring Charlie Hunan as an Amazon explorer, and adapted from a best-selling nonfiction book, the film could do very well behind F8‘s lead.  Spark: A Space Tail makes me want to see The Boss Baby.  I can think of no greater insult.

The Fate of the Furious (Vin Diesel, PG-13, 2hr 16min)

The Lost City of Z (Charlie Hunan, PG-13, 2hr 20m)

Spark: A Space Tail (Patrick Stewart, PG, 1hr 30m)

HOW DID WE DO LAST WEEK?
KT held its nose and picked The Boss Baby to barely hold off Beauty and the Beast for a second winning weekend and that’s just what happened.  I take no joy that our 50th all-time win came from Alec Baldwin’s creepy suited puppy bigot of a baby.  No, I don’t know why I’ve chosen this film to draw a line in the sand on, but I clearly have.  Boss Baby took in another $26.4 million to Beast’s $23.7.  Beauty and the Beast passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office today.  It’s currently 29th on the all-time global box office chart, and should easily pass The Dark Knight at #28 this weekend.  Domestically, the film is at #14 and should pass both Shrek 2 and The Dark Knight Rises and be at #12 by Monday.
(2017 Prediction Record: 12-3; Lifetime prediction record 50-8).

WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
Don’t look for F8 to have near the box office clout that the last installment did, but above average reviews, little competition, and a franchise that defies normal trends by getting stronger as it ages will have The Fate of the Furious dominating the box office, likely, until Guardians 2 arrives.