Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

June 2, 2017

Captain Underpants

Premise: From IMDb: “Two overly imaginative pranksters named George and Harold, hypnotize their principal into thinking he’s a ridiculously enthusiastic, incredibly dimwitted superhero named Captain Underpants.”
Box Office Prospects: $85 M
Expectations: Uncertain. DreamWorks has a strange history with audiences. Even movies that are trashed by critics still do well and some that aren’t do poorly. It’s almost a crap-shoot whether it will succeed or not. After The Boss Baby,. It’s possible that parents will take their kids to see anything animated if given an option, which could help the film, but the impending release of Pixar’s Cars 3 could depress attendance afte rthe first two weekends.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Wonder Woman

Premise: From IMDb: “Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny.”
Box Office Prospects: $300 M
Expectations: Excellent. Like its counterparts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe films have all been successes and I see little reason to expect this one not to be. The only question is can a female-led superhero movie succeed? The studio doesn’t seem to confident in that, nor has Marvel since neither studio has put a woman in the lead before now. Still, the character is incredibly popular and whatever it loses in the male demographic will certainly be made up by woman flocking to see only the second female-headlined superhero movie ever (Supergril was the first in 1984 and it was a box office bomb).
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Superhero films have a weak relationship with Academy voters who tend to ignore these features in favor of more traditional efforts. Still, the period setting and the win by Suicide Squad last year could put Wonder Woman into play in several tech caetgories.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

June 9, 2017

It Comes at Night

Premise: From IMDb: “Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge. ”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Horror is a tough sell these days, especially horror that doesn’t have a supernatural theme. That’s unfortunate, but that could hinder this film’s chances.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Mummy

Premise: From IMDb: “An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.”
Box Office Prospects: $150 M
Expectations: Good. Tom Cruise has had few box office bombs and could bolster Universal’s attempt at creating its own Cinematic Unvierse surrounding its legendary monster movies. While it will do decently well at the box office, I suspect it won’t be nearly the hit the studio is expecting. That’s especially true considering what surrounds it in terms of blockbuster releases.
Oscar Prospects: Potential. The film looks incredibly effects-laden, which will certainly boost its chances with the tech branch, but other than the sound and visual effects categories, the film doesn’t have much opportunity.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

My Cousin Rachel (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.”
Box Office Prospects: $2.5 M
Expectations: Weak. Literary adaptations rarely do well at the box office, at least adaptations of works that aren’t popular with modern audiences. While My Cousin Rachel is based on the acclaimed Daphne Du Maurier’s work, Du Maurier hasn’t been a major name at the cinema in over 60 years.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Rachel Weisz would have to compete in a very weak race for actresses to trancend the June dumping of this period Daphne Du Maurier adaptation. The film could still figure in the Production Design or Costume Design categories, but it may have stiff competition from the likes of The Beguiled.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

June 16, 2017

47 Meters Down

Premise: From IMDb: “Two sisters vacationing in Mexico are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. With less than an hour of oxygen left and great white sharks circling nearby, they must fight to survive.”
Box Office Prospects: $55 M
Expectations: Weak. After The Shallows became a box office disappointment, shark movies don’t seem like they are as appetizing to audiences as they were when Jaws dominated cinemas in 1975.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

All Eyez on Me

Premise: From IMDb: “A chronicle of the life of rapper Tupac Shakur.”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While the film could certainly perform similarly to fellow music biopic Straight Outta Compton, this film doesn’t look like its being bolstered by the cultural zeitgeist that Compton was. As such, I suspect it may be a bit of a dud.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Cars 3

Premise: From IMDb: “Lightning McQueen sets out to prove to a new generation of racers that he’s still the best race car in the world.”
Box Office Prospects: $200 M
Expectations: Good. While Pixar has had plenty of success at the box office, the Cars series has done weaker business. That said, it’s still certain to be a hit and Cars 2‘s lesser performance won’t be the hindrance that it might be for another studio.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Cars was the second Pixar film to lose Best Animated Feature and it was the first to have a sequel that failed to score a Best Animated Feature nomination. That could spell trouble for its third outing. That said, this film looks to be more akin to the original than the sequel, which could bode well for its chances. That, paired with the rule changes and lack of notable competition so far, could give it a shot.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Rough Night

Premise: From IMDb: “A male stripper ends up dead at a Miami beach house during a bachelorette party weekend.”
Box Office Prospects: $120 M
Expectations: Good. Female audiences were once catered to with great zeal. Then the male-dominated blockbusters of the 1970s and 1980s pushed women’s considerations to the back-burner. Still, whenever studios target films at female audiences, they are consistently rewarded and this female-driven, raunchy comedy should perform quite well with audiences of all genders.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Book of Henry (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A single mother raises a child genius.”
Box Office Prospects: $30 M
Expectations: Uncertain. It’s possible that this film resonates with fans of the book, but whether that will translate into major success depends on how the studio handles its distribution. Right now, they appear to be heading towards a platform release, but anything could derail its potential.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. On paper, this looks like one of those child-anchored family dramas that Academy voters have embraced in the past, but after the utter collapse of the terrific A Monster Calls, all bets are off and the June release will probably hurt the film tremendously even if it is brilliant.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

I, Daniel Blake (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A middle aged carpenter who requires state welfare after injuring himself, is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.”
Box Office Prospects: $1.25 M
Expectations: Weak. Certain artistic voices don’t have a lot of success at the box office. Ken Loach is one of the many directors who don’t care what they make at the box office and I, Daniel Blake is unlikely to change that. While some British exports, especially ones about working-class families like The Full Monty and Billy Elliot have done well, there are many many others that have not. This will likely be one of them.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

June 23, 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight

Premise: From IMDb: “Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth.”
Box Office Prospects: $250 M
Expectations: Good. The first three Transformers films were huge successes. The fourth took a major slide at the box office, but was still immeasurably successful. This film will perform on the same level as the fourth, though it could slip further if the long-in-the-tooth franchise doesn’t right itself.
Oscar Prospects: Good. This is another series that the Academy loves to heap with praise. While the Shia LaBeouf films were all Oscar nominees, the last outing, starring Mark Wahlberg was entirely shut out. It’s possible that this Oscar-less franchise is going to be similarly rebuffed, especially with even more direct competition this year than in the year Age of Extinction competed.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Beguiled (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “While imprisoned in a Confederate girls’ boarding school, an injured Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women’s hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.”
Box Office Prospects: $25 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Sofia Coppola isn’t a box office draw. Her films tend to play well at the art house, but seldom outside of it. Still, even her most recent films haven’t been particularly successful. That however, will like change with this film starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell.
Oscar Prospects: Good. This is Sofia Coppola’s sixth film. Her first was never a contender, but her second, Lost in Translation made her the third woman ever nominated for Best Director. Of that film’s four nominations, including Best Picture, it won a single award for Coppola’s original screenplay. Her follow-up, Marie Antoinette wasn’t too much of an Oscar player, but it did manage a single nomination, which it also won for Best Costume Design. Her next two films were Oscar no-shows, so her history is uneven. However, the period detail of this film is sure to bring her film serious consideration in both Production Designa and Costume Design categories. With enough critical support, it could also compete in numerous other categories, including above the line acting, directing, writing, and production categories.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

June 30, 2017

Amityville: The Awakening

Premise: From IMDb: “A single mother moves her three children into a haunted house, unaware of its bloody history.”
Box Office Prospects: $75 M
Expectations: Weak. Although the original Amityville Horror was successful, the sequels weren’t. The reboot in 2005 did well enough, but is there really much interest in an origin story like this? Not likely, but with few supernatural horror flicks at the box office recently, it could be a surprise hit.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Baby Driver

Premise: From IMDb: “After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.”
Box Office Prospects: $65 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While the film certainly has more excitement involved than the more pensive Drive six years ago, it’s unlikely this movie will have the broad support the Fast & Furious films have had. That being said, it’s possible I’ve utterly undervalued its chances and it does boffo business.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. The film looks like it’s going to have some killer editing in it, but that alone isn’t likely to be enough to get the film Oscar attention. Not only will critics have to shower it with praise, the film will have to do well at the box office and impress the Film Editors branch to make the cut.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Despicable Me 3

Premise: From IMDb: “Gru’s long lost twin (Drew) will emerge and there will be a theme of sibling rivalry.”
Box Office Prospects: $350 M
Expectations: Excellent. A consistent franchise performance, Despicable Me 3 should easily socre major wins at the box office, racking up plenty of money towards a likely fourth outing.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. The first film was a surprising omission at the Academy Awards. It was expected to be a Best Animated Feature nomination, but missed out. Three years later, it became the first sequel to score a Best Animated Feature nomination when its original failed to do so. There’s every possibility that this sequel will pick up a nomination, but there’s an equal possibility that the sequel curse of this category will claim another victim.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The House

Premise: From IMDb: “A dad convinces his friends to start an illegal casino in his basement after he and his wife spend their daughter’s college fund.”
Box Office Prospects: $80 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This Will Ferrell-Amy Poehler comedy will be filling an empty void at the box office. It will also be the latest adult comedy to try hard to become a box office success. There is plenty of evidence to suggest it will do well, but there are a few pieces of damning evidence to suggest otherwise.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.