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.  This week brings three very different films to theaters, but can any of them knock the Odinson off his throne? (No)

 

Even thought I love him, I’ve not been a fan of Will Ferrell’s choices over the last few years, and that Daddy’s Home got a sequel in the first place blew my mind a little bit.  I will say that there is nothing in the first film that I found as funny as the counterpoint between John Lithgow and Mel Gibson in the trailer for the second.  That being said, the film is not being screened for critics, sooooo the trailer is probably as much of it as you want to endure.

Unfortunately, most people these days aren’t reading and they aren’t reading Agatha Christie, so remaking Murder on the Orient Express with another all-star cast seems like a great idea.  The trailers have been promising, but the reviews are tepid, but this one still may be worth a try.

Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, is a Martin McDonagh film.  In case you haven’t seen In Bruges or Seven Psychopaths, that means below is a RED BAND TRAILER (so don’t whine to me).  McDonagh has the darkest sense of humor of any director I can think of that can still pull off powerful movies that transcend his tendency to use the psychedelically colorful portion of the English language spectrum.  Three Billboards is, by far, the most critically acclaimed release of the weekend at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes at time of writing.

Daddy’s Home 2 (Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, PG-13, 1hr 40m)

Murder on the Orient Express (Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, PG-13, 1hr 55m)

Three Billboards (Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, R, 1hr 55m)

How Did We Do Last Week? KT predicted boldly that Marvel would win the box office with a MCU film (OK, sometimes this isn’t a hard call), but Thor: Ragnarok exceeded expectations and gave Marvel a 17 for 17 record in winning the box office weekend with the MCU.  Ragnarok today passed $500 million globally and massively outpaced the first two Thor films at the the domestic box office earning $123.0 million for the weekend.  Opening in second place was A Bad Moms Christmas with $17.1 million.
(2017 Prediction Record: 40-5; Lifetime prediction record 78-10).

WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
With stellar word-of-mouth, even the typical 50-60% drop-off for a blockbuster should easily give Thor: Ragnarok enough to hold off the newcomers.  It’s going to take a whole gaggle of other super heroes with Justice League to knock Thor off the top.