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. August 12th brings an unusually large number of well-reviewed films across the entire spectrum of age and genre interests. The question is: will any of them stop the Suicide Squad juggernaut?
For those looking for a break from watching Michael Phelps morph into a dolphin in Rio, there are five releases this week, all of which are over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. Disney is on such a roll this year that I’m almost curious enough to go see if they somehow made Pete’s Dragon good enough to warrant Robert Redford’s presence. There’s the other end of the family-friendly spectrum with the R-Rated animated film Sausage Party. Three other promising releases star Chris Pine, Meryl Streep, and (if you don’t boycott his movies on principle) Mel Gibson (someone messes with his family SPOILER!).
Blood Father (Mel Gibson, R, 1hr 28min)
Hell or High Water (Ben Foster, Chris Pine, R, 1hr 42min)
Forence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, PG-13, 1hr 50min)
Pete’s Dragon (Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard, PG, 1hr 30min)
Sausage Party (Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, R, 1hr 29m)
HOW DID WE DO LAST WEEK?
Well, I thought Suicide Squad would win last weekend, but I thought having lower reviews than Batman vs. Superman would hurt it. It certainly hasn’t so far. Squad smashed Guardians of the Galaxy’s record for an August opening with $133.4 million (and has still been performing well throughout this week). Jason Bourne had a big drop in its second week, finishing second with $22.7 million. (Lifetime prediction record 20-3)
WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
Suicide Squad fans are rabid. They have done some the craziest things I have ever seen surrounding movies (for example the man who sued the film makers for there not being enough Joker scenes). Despite a second week drop-off, the Olympics, and a family friendly Pete’s Dragon, I think the Squad will win the weekend once more.
