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. May 5th is the first weekend in May and that means it’s Marvel’s weekend. The Disney/Marvel partnership has a death grip on this weekend that’s not likely to evaporate any time soon. This year, the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicks off with Captain America: Civil War. Three other smaller, indie films are also opening, but I’m not sure in how many theaters, because most will be showing Captain America on anything big enough to catch the projector’s image.
Reviews are fawning over Captain America: Civil War calling it “one of the best blockbusters ever made” and “the greatest super hero movie of all-time”. Personally, I don’t think any Marvel film is going to surpass The Godfather of the genre: The Dark Knight. By their nature (and this is not to denigrate them, I love the MCU as much as anyone), Marvel films don’t stand on their own; they exist within the context as episodes in the MCU. The Dark Knight can stand on its own. However, that we’re thinking that highly going into the film, is really not a problem. Marvel’s only really disappointed me once (Iron Man 3), so I am fairly confident when I see Civil War tomorrow, it’s going to get a sterling review. The three independent films opening this weekend are also all well-reviewed, but I honestly had not heard of them until researching for this column, but I will keep my eye open when they hit the streaming circuit.
A Bigger Splash (Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, R, 2hr 4min)
Captain America: Civil War (Chris Evans, PG-13, 2hr 26min)
Dheepan (R, 1hr 40min)
The Family Fang (Nicole Kidman, Jason Bateman, R, 1hr 45min)
HOW DID WE DO LAST WEEK?
KT picked Disney’s The Jungle Book to remain on top for a third straight week, and the film pulled in another $43.7 million. The film passed the $700 million mark worldwide and may be the first $1 billion film of 2016. Waaaay behind in second place was The Huntsman: Winter’s War, which opened with a paltry $9.6 million (Lifetime record 7-2).
WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
It’s not really a question of who will win the weekend, it’s how much is Captain America: Civil War going to rake in as Disney’s third blockbuster of 2016. The experts are looking at $175 million as a likely number, but who knows? Civil War is definitely the most anticipated film of the summer (if not the year), so it may well exceed that.
