Looking at the Weekend: Mar. 23-25, 2018

The original Pacific Rim opened to $37 million five years ago. After myriad delays, the sequel is debuting this weekend and will take on Black Panther for the box office crown. Black Panther has proven surprisingly resilient the last few weeks, stopping two films so far from earning the top spot. The big question is if this will be the weekend it falls? All signs point towards yes. If Pacific Rim opens to half its original numbers, that will be $18.5 million. Black Panther lost 33.8% over its prior weekend. If those numbers stay the same, it’s sixth will be roughly $17.8. Neither of these two situations is likely to occur. Pacific Rim opening that low would be surprising, but Black Panther‘s weekly slide has dropped each week, which means it could fall much less than 33.8%. That puts us into uncharted territory. Black Panther is only the thirty-third film to sit atop the box office chart for five consecutive weeks or more. It’s also the first film since 2009 (Avatar) to do so. If it hangs on for a sixth week, it will join only eighteen others. That’s a tall order, but it’s been defying expectations all year, so anything is possible at this point.

Our Highest Rated Films: Isle of Dogs, A Bag of Marbles
Our Best Awards Ratings: Isle of Dogs (Oscars), Pacific Rim: Uprising (Oscars)

OTHER LIMITED RELEASES

Hichki
Summer in the Forest
The Workshop

Mar. 23-25, 2018
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Midnight Sun (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	3.7 Wesley Lovell: (3) Peter J. Patrick: (5) Thomas LaTourrette: (3)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): Young adult romances are seldom very good and this one looks rather predictable and unworthy. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Disease of the week romantic drama looks like something better suited to TV’s Lifetime. Thomas LaTourette (TL): Another film of a dying teen falling in love, and this one looks more generic and less interesting than most.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Pacific Rim: Uprising (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	4.0 Wesley Lovell: (7) Peter J. Patrick: (0) Thomas LaTourrette: (5)	1.0 Wesley Lovell: (1,Oscars) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (2,Oscars)	Categories: Sound Mixing (WL) Sound Editing (WL) Visual Effects (WL,TL)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): I enjoyed the original very much, but this sequel doesn’t seem to have the down-to-earth earnestness of the original. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Headache inducing trailer was more than enough, so no thank you. Thomas LaTourette (TL): The first movie was okay, and this looks too derivative to be that intriguing. Teenage boys should be excited, but everyone else should be wary.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Paul, Apostle of Christ (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	2.7 Wesley Lovell: (0) Peter J. Patrick: (4) Thomas LaTourrette: (4)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): I am not the audience for this movie and, even if I were, the trailer just wouldn’t do anything for me. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Belabored early Christian melodrama looks dour. Thomas LaTourette (TL): It feels like the filmmakers took an interesting part of the formation of the early church and made it fairly boring. The trailer did little to excite.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Sherlock Gnomes (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	2.0 Wesley Lovell: (1) Peter J. Patrick: (2) Thomas LaTourrette: (3)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): I never saw the original and while there are a couple of neat bits in the trailer, it is overall a very lackluster and childish affair. Peter J. Patrick (PP): All-star voice cast can’t overcome what looks to be a bad mix of genres. Thomas LaTourette (TL): I did not see the original, and the trailer does not make me interested in seeing this one either. Young kids may enjoy it, but few others will.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Unsane (Wide Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	6.7 Wesley Lovell: (5) Peter J. Patrick: (8) Thomas LaTourrette: (7)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): It’s an intriguing premise to be sure, but I’m unsure I am interested enough to see it. Peter J. Patrick (PP): A modern Shock Corridor from the always interesting Steven Soderbergh looks like it might be one of his best. Thomas LaTourette (TL): Actually, the trailer has me intrigued, and it will be interesting to see The Crown‘s Claire Foy in such a different role. Soderbergh is known for unusual films and this looks like it will continue that trend.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Back to Burgundy (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	6.0 Wesley Lovell: (5) Peter J. Patrick: (6) Thomas LaTourrette: (7)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): A seemingly paint-by-numbers family drama could be good, could be bad. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Beautiful scenery, routine story, looks like something for a lazy afternoon. Thomas LaTourette (TL): It may prove to be nothing but a formulaic family drama, but the trailer makes it look interesting enough to see as three siblings deal with their family’s vineyard.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
A Bag of Marbles (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	7.3 Wesley Lovell: (6) Peter J. Patrick: (8) Thomas LaTourrette: (8)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): It’s a World War II story that hasn’t often been told, so it should have some merit. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Is there anything more compelling than a Holocaust film centered around kids in peril? Thomas LaTourette (TL): This looks like a strong film about the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of two young boys trying to flee to safety. It looks very good.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Final Portrait (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	5.7 Wesley Lovell: (7) Peter J. Patrick: (5) Thomas LaTourrette: (5)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): I would see it for Armie Hammer, but not for the trailer, which was so-so. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Geoffrey Rush in another eccentric role seems to be the film’s biggest selling point. Thomas LaTourette (TL): Geoffrey Rush rarely disappoints, though his movies can. Unfortunately that looks the case here as he plays the artist Giacometti trying to finish a portrait. I fear he will be good and the movie merely serviceable.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Getting Grace (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	5.0 Wesley Lovell: (4) Peter J. Patrick: (4) Thomas LaTourrette: (7)	Nil Wesley Lovell: (Nil) Peter J. Patrick: (Nil) Thomas LaTourrette: (Nil)	Categories: None
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): It looks too manipulative for its own good. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Well-meaning, but tedious looking film about a dying girl teaching an old fussbudget how to live. Thomas LaTourette (TL): The second dying teenager film of the week, though this one looks to have a sense of humor. It might be fun or it might be trite, but I am willing to try it. One caveat is that the dying teenager looks awfully healthy.
Film	Our Thoughts	Awards Chances
Isle of Dogs (Limited Release) See the original CinemaSight Trailer & Poster Preview	7.7 Wesley Lovell: (9) Peter J. Patrick: (8) Thomas LaTourrette: (6)	6.7 Wesley Lovell: (8,Oscars) Peter J. Patrick: (5,Oscars) Thomas LaTourrette: (7,Oscars)	Categories: Animated Feature (WL,PP,TL)
	Individual Commentary:
	Wesley Lovell (WL): We Anderson’s previous stop-motion film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, was brilliant, but the dog animation in this one bugs me a bit. Peter J. Patrick (PP): Wes Anderson’s film are always interesting and this one looks to be no exception. Thomas LaTourette (TL): I cannot say that the trailer does a good job of making me want to see this film, but I know enough people that want to see it because of the director that I will go. I do wish that the trailer had done a better job of intriguing me.