Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings. With few of them and most of them being potentially rescheduled.

October 2, 2020

A Call to Spy

Premise: From IMDb: “In the beginning of WWII, with Britain becoming desperate, Churchill orders his new spy agency — the Special Operations Executive (SOE) — to recruit and train women as spies. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance. SOE’s “spymistress,” Vera Atkins (Stana Katic), recruits two unusual candidates: Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas), an ambitious American with a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Atpe), a Muslim pacifist. Together, these women help to undermine the Nazi regime in France, leaving an unmistakable legacy in their wake. Inspired by true stories.”
Box Office Prospects: $1 M
Expectations: Weak. The film doesn’t sound like something audiences will rush out to see.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Some elements of the film feel like they might be Oscar caliber, but with very little forward press, it might be a mirage.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

October 9, 2020

Honest Thief

Premise: From IMDb: “Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Weak. Even if the pandemic weren’t still an issue, Liam Neeson’s revenge dramas have been doing decreasingly less business as the years move on. I suspect that this one, a slight deviation from prior efforts, won’t do incredibly well.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The War with Grandpa

Premise: From IMDb: “Upset that he has to share the room he loves with his grandfather, Peter decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back.”
Box Office Prospects: $20 M
Expectations: Weak. Even before the pandemic put this film off, it had already been postponed before and the end result looks like a hapless attempt to pull families to the theater. That attempt will fail.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

October 23, 2020

Connected

Premise: From IMDb: “Katie Mitchell is accepted into the film school of her dreams. Her whole family drives Katie to school together when their plans are interrupted by a tech uprising. The Mitchells will have to work together to save the world.”
Box Office Prospects: $15 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This film is still a bit of a mystery and the trailer isn’t terribly memorable, so I suspect it won’t do terribly well at the box office.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Death on the Nile

Premise: From IMDb: “While on vacation on the Nile, Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress.”
Box Office Prospects: $30 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Certainty about anything in the pandemic is low, but this should perform modestly well considering the performance of its predecessor tempered against the current cinematic climate.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. The first film adaptation managed to win an Oscar for Costume Design. However, like the 1975 version of Murder on the Orient Express previously adapted by Kenneth Branagh went from several nominations to none in spite of some very pretty design elements. I suspect the same thing will happen here, though depending on the ostentatiousness of Salome Otterbourne’s outfits (which likely propelled the prior film to victory), it could still be nominated, at least by the Costume Designers Guild if not by the Academy.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.