Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

July 2, 2021

The Boss Baby: Family Business

Premise: From IMDb: “The Templeton brothers have become adults and drifted away from each other, but a new boss baby with a cutting-edge approach is about to bring them together again – and inspire a new family business.”
Box Office Prospects: $140 M
Expectations: Good. The first film was a surprising success, so a sequel was put into the works. Now, it’s out and it will show us just how well the post-pandemic box office is working. I’ve taken that into consideration and lowered my estimate to try and get closer to expected numbers.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Forever Purge

Premise: From IMDb: “All the rules are broken as a sect of lawless marauders decides that the annual Purge does not stop at daybreak and instead should never end.”
Box Office Prospects: $55 M
Expectations: Good. None of the prior films in this franchise has made less than $60 million, so if it weren’t for the pandemic, this number would be higher. Has the logjam been cleared or will it underperform the others as a result?
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

July 9, 2021

Black Widow

Premise: From IMDb: “A film about Natasha Romanoff in her quests between the films Civil War and Infinity War.”
Box Office Prospects: $200 M
Expectations: Excellent. This film should do quite well at the box office, but I’m uncertain how well it can or will do. This is the first Marvel Cinematic Unvevrse film to release in the post-pandemic landscape and since I don’t doubt Disney Plus will cannibalize it a bit, this should give us a good litmus test for future such features.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. The MCU films have an uneven track record at the Oscars, but have done better in recent years. This one seems less likely to make it to the Oscars, though, due to its lack of excessive visual effects.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

July 16, 2021

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

Premise: From IMDb: “Six people unwittingly find themselves locked in another series of escape rooms, slowly uncovering what they have in common to survive. Joining forces with two of the original survivors, they soon discover they’ve all played the game before.”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The first film did well enough at the box office to merit a sequel, but its chances of continuing that trend depends a lot on the post-pandemic interest in horror films, especially escape rooms.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Gunpowder Milkshake

Premise: From IMDb: “Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The solid cast might make the film more sucessful than expected, but I sincerely doubt it will be that popular with audiences. It’s going to need great reviews to make much head way.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: Coming Soon

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Premise: From IMDb: “NBA superstar LeBron James teams up with Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes for this long-awaited sequel.”
Box Office Prospects: $150 M
Expectations: Good. The original film did just south of $100 million at the box office, which meant it was a huge success in its day. Does LeBron James have the same cachet with audiences? And will the infantile nature of the trailer dissuade reticent cinematogers? We shall see.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

July 23, 2021

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Premise: From IMDb: “Drac’s Pack is back, like you’ve never seen them before in the final chapter of the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ franchise.”
Box Office Prospects: $140 M
Expectations: Good. In its umpteenth outing at the box office, the series continues to draw in audiences, so a decent outlay of box office receipts is probable.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Joe Bell

Premise: From IMDb: “The true story of a small town, working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay.”
Box Office Prospects: $65 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This is the kind of story that doesn’t have a lot of cross-generational appeal and limits itself to a very small demographic that won’t make it a huge success that easily.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. The film has an important message, but its June release suggests a lack of confidence in the film’s Oscar chances.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Old

Premise: From IMDb: “This summer, visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan unveils a chilling, mysterious new thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.”
Box Office Prospects: $85 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While M. Night Shyamalan has modestly rehabilitated his career, his films still don’t have as much oomph at the box office as they once did. On top of that, this film doesn’t have any major names attached, which might limit its prospects.
Oscar Prospects: Doubtful. The aging concept might give it a chance at either a Makeup & Hairstyling or Visual Effects citation, but there is too much competition to have much confidence in this film’s chances.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

Premise: From IMDb: “A G.I. Joe spin-off centered around the character of Snake Eyes.”
Box Office Prospects: $95 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The GI Joe films have been modestly successful, but this film will try what the X-Men failed at several years ago, create an origin story for one of its major characters. We’ll see how audiences react. A muted reception compared to its predecessors is possible.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

July 30, 2021

The Green Knight

Premise: From IMDb: “A fantasy re-telling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. There’s little guarantee that a period adventure for legendary British Knights will make this film a huge success. The studio clearly believes in it putting it against a potential juggernaut in Jungle Cruise, but its chances at broad acceptance with audiences is severely limited.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. The film could do well in Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup & Hairstyling, but it will have a ton of competition, much of it I’m not sure the film can overcome.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Jungle Cruise

Premise: From IMDb: “Based on Disneyland’s theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles, but with a supernatural element.”
Box Office Prospects: $80 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The film has the faint whiff of failure around it. Yes, it was postponed a year, but while Dwayne Johnson and, to a lesser extent, Emily Blunt have built-in fans, the film looks more like Dolittle than it does anything else and we all know how that film’s fortunes turned out.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Stillwater

Premise: From IMDb: “A father travels from Oklahoma to France to help his daughter who has been arrested for murder.”
Box Office Prospects: $25 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This will be a tough sell to wide audiences and I don’t imagine it will do nearly as well as the studio is expecting it to.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.