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. April 8th…..I won’t lie to you, people. It’s grim. The dark shadow of Batman vs. Superman is likely going to stay looming above theaters until Disney returns next week to save us. There are three new offerings to check out.
Ok…..so before we get into the movie coming out this week, hey STAR WARS IS ON BLU RAY!!! You can go pick that up, pop it in, enjoy deleted scenes and the whatnot, watch it 18 times, etc. Still want to talk about the ….yeah, ok. So Melissa McCarthy has a comedy in which I’m pretty sure she’ll swear and fall down. It’s called The Boss (is a lack of enthusiasm leaking through my prose here?). There’s Demolition which is a brooding movie about…well, Jake Gyllenhaal broods in it, so if you enjoy both those things….BAZINGA! Your best shot (punny) is probably Hardcore Henry with Sharlto Copley, which is essentially FIRST PERSON SHOOTER: THE MOVIE. If you get carsick or object to copious amounts of violence, I’m going to bring you back round to that Blu Ray plug I made at the top of the paragraph.
The Boss (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, R, 1hr 39min)
Demolition (Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, R, 1hr 40min)
Hardcore Henry (Sharlto Copley, R, 1hr 30min)
HOW DID WE DO LAST WEEK?
Batman vs. Superman, as predicted, held the top spot with $51.3 million; quite a drop off from it’s opening weekend, but given the reviews, not really as much as a drop as I thought. Zootopia remained strong, pulling in nearly $20 million in second place (Lifetime record 4-1!).
WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
There is a chance….a chance that Batman vs. Superman won’t win its third weekend in a row, but given the reviews The Boss is getting, I think the super hero epic will take the weekend. If a strong picture had stayed its ground and opened against BvS, I wonder how it would have done. At any rate, next week comes Disney’s The Jungle Book (which is getting “masterpiece” as its advance review) and its time as King of the Mountain is guaranteed.
The Boss looks… not good. But Hardcore Henry… I might have to see it, just because it looks like one of those technical high wire acts that always impress me way too much (“Story and performances be dammed! I want to know how they shot that scene!”).
BTW… there is an old movie from the late 40’s called The Lady in the Lake, starring Robert Montgomery, and it uses the exact same gimmick. It’s kind of clunky, and you never hear much about it. But depending on how you look at it, Hardcore Henry is either a ripoff of Lady in the Lake, or Lady in the Lake somehow foresaw the phenomenon of first person shooters, which in turn gave birth to Hardcore Henry.
Also… it looks like I was dead wrong about Jungle Book. I can admit it when I’m wrong. If it’s a huge hit, Andy Searkis might be in trouble, depending on how far along he is with his “dark” Jungle Book adaptation. I hear the people at WB are skittish right now…
LikeLike
Serkis’ Jungle Book has already been delayed until 2018 to give it space. Jungle Book looks like a special thing. Disney is going to end up making more this year than last. They should rule the box office for the next five weekends.
LikeLike
All I can say about Serkis is, you don’t want to follow Dr. Strangelove if you’re Fail Safe. As much as I want to see his take on the story (I actually would love to see him try his hand at directing anything) I would question WB’s wisdom if they kept their Jungle Book version on the slate, in the face of a hugely successful, recent Disney version.
LikeLike
Right now I question WB’s judgment on pretty much everything.
LikeLike