Category: Looking at the Weekend

Of the new limited releases, Hidden Figures has the best chance of becoming a hit outside of the specialty box office, thus it gets my prediction for top new release. Our Highest Rated Films: Hidden Figures, Toni Erdmann Our Best Awards Ratings: Toni Erdmann (Oscars); Hidden Figures (Oscars); 20th Century Women (Oscars) OTHER LIMITED RELEASES…

It’s going to be a fascinating weekend. With Rogue One likely to take the top spot for a second week, second place is up for grabs and I think the favorite would have to be Sing, which is the first major animated film in weeks and the Christmas holiday is a perfect release window. Passengers…

The film that will be the top box office draw this week and likely every weekend through the end of the year and into next year, Rogue One is guaranteed the top spot. The only question is how well Collateral Beauty can do against a film of superior box office clout. Our Highest Rated Films:…

Another weekend with only one major new release. Office Christmas Party will be that top release and, depending on how its popularity shakes out, it could top Moana in its third weekend, but it might be close. A separate note: this is the first time in my memory (not entirely reliable) that a film has…

There’s nothing much on the new movie front this week, with an under-advertised horror flick taking on the post-Thanksgiving weekend slate that is sure to be dominated by holdovers. (NOTE: Tripp had an unexpected delay, so we’ve added his ratings and commentary below) Our Highest Rated Films: Jackie Our Best Awards Ratings: Jackie (Oscars) OTHER…

If it weren’t for Disney’s Moana, there might be an interesting competition here between Allied, Bad Santa 2, and Rules Don’t Apply. Ultimately, though, they’ll all be crushed by Moana. I’d say that Bad Santa 2, being so far removed from its predecessor and Rules Don’t Apply not looking like a typical blockbuster, only Allied…

The Harry Potter franchise is one of the most successful in film history, making its prequel (of sorts), a likely box office success. While the film may not perform quite up to that series’ best films, it will still do amazingly well and easily top the box office for the weekend. None of the other…

Sci-fi spectacles tend to be big box office draws and I see no reason why this won’t be the same. The key question is whether Arrival can top Doctor Strange‘s second weekend. It will be close, but ultimately Arrival should be able to eke out a narrow victory. Our Highest Rated Films: Billy Lynn’s Long…

Every single Marvel Cinematic Universe entry has debuted at number one at the box office. Further, only three titles haven’t held the spot for at least two weeks (one of those returned to number one in its fourth weekend and stayed there for a record three more weeks). As such, there is no way that…

It’s rather strange for a film like Inferno to find itself without competition. That makes it the only choice to be number one of all new releases. So, will it surpass the second weekends of Boo! A Madea Halloween and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. It’s very likely. The first film opened to $77 million…

Tom Cruise is still a big draw at the box office and the previous film in this series was popular enough they made a sequel. Compared to the other releases, it’s likely an easy victory will await Jack Reacher. Boo! A Madea Halloween could give it a run for its money, as could the pre-Halloween…

Ben Affleck’s espionage-style actioner should be able to topple the teen-targeted superhero drama at the weekend box office. Whether The Accountant can also beat the second weekend of The Girl on the Train is uncertain. Our Highest Rated Films: The Accountant, Certain Women Our Best Awards Ratings: Miss Hokusai (Oscars), Certain Women (Oscars/Critics) OTHER LIMITED…

Will controversy spoil Nat Turner? That’s the big question as one of the year’s most talked-about, but most controversial films opens at the multiplex. While the controversy isn’t like to keep its target audience away, the advertising has been minimal and the subject matter isn’t your typical blockbuster material. That’s why I give the edge…

The weekend should be a win for the box office. With Deepwater Horizon and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children hoping to do big dollars in an environment that hasn’t seen either type of film in some time. To a lesser extent, Masterminds does the same thing. This could be a strong weekend with Deepwater…

Two of the hottest names at the box office, Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, headline the weekends surefire number one film: The Magnificent Seven based on the American remake of the Japanese classic The Seven Samurai, this film hopes to cash in on name recognition to solidify its monetary potential since the genre, western, hasn’t…