Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

February 3, 2017

The Comedian

Premise: From IMDb: “A look at the life of an aging insult comic.”
Box Office Prospects: $25 M
Expectations: Doubtful. The film was positioned for an Oscar run, but never materialized the requisite buzz. Now it’s a February release hoping to take Robert De Niro’s name and use it as a clever marketing tool. So far, it doesn’t appear to be working.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Rings

Premise: From IMDb: “Samara returns with a familiar video tape to strike terror again in the third film of the Ring series, Rings.”
Box Office Prospects: $65 M
Expectations: Uncertain. It’s been a longtime since the Ring films were popular, but there could be residual love for them since they haven’t had sequels done ad nauseum in the interim.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Space Between Us

Premise: From IMDb: “The first human born on Mars travels to Earth for the first time, experiencing the wonders of the planet through fresh eyes. He embarks on an adventure with a street smart girl to discover how he came to be.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. I want to say it will be a hit since there isn’t much in the release window to suggest competition, but there’s something about it that makes me think it might have a solid opening and then crash afterwards.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

February 10, 2017

Fifty Shades Darker

Premise: From IMDb: “While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her.”
Box Office Prospects: $150 M
Expectations: Excellent. The original film was a solid hit and there’s no reason to believe the sequel will be any different.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Maybe a new song will be written for this film that will earn a nomination and force Oscar completists to watch the film.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

John Wick: Chapter Two

Premise: From IMDb: “The continuing adventures of former hitman, John Wick.”
Box Office Prospects: $50 M
Expectations: Uncertain. I’m not certain why a film that had mediocre success at the box office now has a sequel, but a lot of films have gotten that lately. Has it built enough of a cult audience to succeed? Who knows for certain, but they are releasing wide in hopes that it will.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Lego Batman Movie

Premise: From IMDb: “A spin-off of The Lego Movie (2014) centering on the character of Batman.”
Box Office Prospects: $300 M
Expectations: Excellent. The original Lego Movie was huge. Combine that with the very popular Batman character and you have a hit that will likely be even bigger.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. The first Lego Movie was thought not only to be a slam-dunk nominee, but the eventual winner. The Academy said “no” and it became one of the biggest Oscar upsets in history by failing to even get a nomination. This time will likely be different. That is if there isn’t too much competition this year.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

A United Kingdom (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana causes an international stir when he marries a white woman from London in the late 1940s.”
Box Office Prospects: $2.5 M
Expectations: Weak. It was originally slated for 2016, but has ended up pushed back to a February limited release. It doesn’t appear anyone has faith in the film.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

February 17, 2017

A Cure for Wellness

Premise: From IMDb: “An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem.”
Box Office Prospects: $30 M
Expectations: Uncertain. I want it to be a success, but it looks odd and unusual, which won’t help build an audience.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Fist Fight

Premise: From IMDb: “When one school teacher (Charlie Day) gets the other (Ice Cube) fired, he is challenged to an after-school fight.”
Box Office Prospects: $80 M
Expectations: Decent. The film enters a landscape that is seriously starved for good, non-animated comedies, which could make it an unqualified success.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Great Wall

Premise: From IMDb: “A mystery centered around the construction of the Great Wall of China.”
Box Office Prospects: $100 M
Expectations: Good. Matt Damon is a well known name and the film has a lot of style on display in its trailer. I suspect the film could be pretty big. It could also get lost n the shuffle.
Oscar Prospects: Decent. It could make some of the tech categories next year, but it won’t approach any of the major categories.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Patient Zero

Premise: From IMDb: “After an unprecedented global pandemic has turned the majority of humankind into violent “Infected,” a man gifted with the ability to speak the Infected’s new language leads the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure. ”
Box Office Prospects: $25 M
Expectations: Weak. This horror film has no marketing avaialble as yet. That’s troublesome for a film that needs some kind of marketing to be popular. Either it releases and flops or gets pushed back to have more time to germinate.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: No preview available.

Land of Mine (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A young group of German POWs are made the enemy of a nation, where they are now forced to dig up 2 million land-mines with their bare hands.”
Box Office Prospects: $2 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This film is on the Oscar shortlist. A nominationc oudl bolster its box office potential, as I suspect it will. No nomination will drop its potential significantly.
Oscar Prospects: Good. It’s on the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. I suspect it will be nominated next week. A win seems unlikely, but not impossible.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

February 24, 2017

Get Out

Premise: From IMDb: “A young African American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s cursed family estate.”
Box Office Prospects: $55 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This has an unusual storyline that might encourage a lot of people to seek it out to discover the truth. It could also fail to catch on for lacking any supernatural elements, which seem to be far too often required from horror these days.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Rock Dog

Premise: From IMDb: “When a radio falls from the sky into the hands of a wide-eyed Tibetan Mastiff, he leaves home to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician, setting into motion a series of completely unexpected events.”
Box Office Prospects: $75 M
Expectations: Uncertain. I want to say the film will be a huge failure, but it’s polished enough to at least perform adequately. On the heels of the Lego Batman Movie, there won’t be as much desire for an animated film, so it could easily collapse.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.