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.  January 27th has three challengers to the surprising success of Split, though none of them are garnering much praise with critics.

This weekend is really the first weekend of all 2017 films as the Oscar nominations have been released and the contenders have all gone wide in theaters.  That being said, while February and March have some truly awesome films to look forward to, it’s tough to say that about the last week of January.  The sixth Resident Evil film brings the franchise to a close, but it’s been five years since the last installment and, even if you were watching them as guilty pleasures, the last two have been awful.  RE6 was not screened for critics, which, as we know, means nothing good whatsoever.  Gold has the star power of Matthew McConaughey, but critics aren’t liking the film and there’s very little buzz surrounding it.  Then you have A Dog’s Purpose, which is based on a huge best-seller and would seem a lock to take the weekend, but over the last few weeks controversy surrounding animal abuse on the film’s set has caused enough damage to the film’s reputation that I think you’ll see it reflected in its box office performance.

A Dog’s Purpose (Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, PG, 2hr 0min)

Gold (Matthew McConaughey Edgar Ramirez, R, 2hr 0min)

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Milla Jovovich, R, 2hr 20min)

HOW DID WE DO LAST WEEK?
KT righted the ship, correctly picking Split to win the weekend, but I was surprised by the margin.  M. Night Shaymalan hasn’t had a success since 2002’s Signs, but it looks like Split may be the beginnings of a comeback.  Split easily beat Vin Diesel’s xXx 3 by a margin of $40.1 million to $20.2 million.  For Rogue One box office watchers, the Star Wars spinoff passed the $1 billion mark internationally, and is now the 7th biggest domestic release of all-time, with a very good chance at overcoming #6: The Dark Knight.  Four of the top 10 domestic releases of all-time are now Star Wars films.
(2017 Prediction Record: 2-2; Lifetime prediction record 40-7).

WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
As I said, I think the controversy surrounding it will cost A Dog’s Purpose any shot at the top spot, and I seriously doubt Gold will crack the top 5.  La La Land might get a huge boost from its 14 Oscar nominations, but I don’t think any film has enough to overcome even a 50% drop in Split’s opening weekend.  I think Night will repeat.