Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

July 3, 2019

Midsommar

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “Uncertain. Could lightning strike twice for Aster? His last film didn’t score any Oscar nominations, but critics gave it a few nominations and wins last year, so it’s entirely possible the same could happen this year. That said, sophomore success is rare and the film will have to significantly win critics over for that to happen, especially without a huge name in the cast.”
Oscar Results: Now None. While Florence Pugh has earned a few citations from critics for her performance, the film just hasn’t picked up much steam and her performance isn’t in the running for Best Actress.
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Uncertain. Ari Aster’s debut feature, Hereditary performed well enough for what it was, but didn’t gain true appreciation until late in the year when critics gave it several prizes and nominations. Since this is not a direct sequel to that and must rely on his name to sell it, I suspect that some horror fans wanting to see what he does will be drawn to it, but most everyone else will be turned away by its lack of horror tropes they are familiar with.”
Box Office Results: $27.4 M
Thoughts: [Minor Flop] Cerebral horror films haven’t always sold tickets and this movie seems to have underperformed even those low expectations

Click here to continue reading this article

Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

January 3, 2020

The Grudge

Premise: From IMDb: “A house is cursed by a vengeful ghost that dooms those who enter it with a violent death.”
Box Office Prospects: $75 M
Expectations: Uncertain. It’s been a long while since The Grudge, its remake or its remake’s sequel have been in the multiplex. Is it enough time to have built an interest in a reboot? We shall wee.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Click here to continue reading this article

It’s hard to believe we’re already at our Spring preview for 2020. Looking over the January, February, March, and April film releases will be fascinating as there is a lot of potential for studio and indie success. Birds of Prey has the most potential of any film in the next four months, but titles like Dolittle, Fantasy Island, Onward, A Quiet Place 2, Godzilla vs King Kong, The New Mutants, Mulan, and Trolls: World Tour all have the potential for success, but will they succeed? Some will? Some won’t.

To introduce you to the upcoming films, there will be two preview articles every month and this introduction every four months. The Season Preview article will focus on one of three seasons Spring Season (January through April), Blockbuster Season (May through August) and Oscar Season (September through December). In these introductory articles, I will give you the current release schedule for the specified season, which may change as the release dates get closer.

Click here to continue reading this article

Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

September 6, 2019

It Chapter Two

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “None.”
Oscar Results: Still None.
Box Office Prospects: $350 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Excellent. The first film made more than $327 million at the box office, it’s certain the final chapter will also make a good amount of money.”
Box Office Results: $211.5 M
Thoughts: [Success] It was to be expected that a sequel to a massive blockbuster would perform less impressively than its predecessor and that is certainly true of the follow up to the 2017 mega-hit It, which pulled in $327 million at the box office while its follow up pulled in more than $100 million less. It’s still a success, but not the major success the studio had hoped for.

Click here to continue reading this article

Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

December 6, 2019

The Aeronauts

Premise: From IMDb: “Pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) and scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a hot air balloon.”
Box Office Prospects: $35 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This aeronautical adventure might have been a box office draw two decades ago, but today, it all sounds too odd to make much of a run at the box office.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. While the production certain looks like something that could compete in Production Design and Costume Design categories, the wind hasn’t caught this balloon and sent it into the Oscar stratosphere, so it’s probably not getting anything in that regard.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

A Million Little Pieces

Premise: From IMDb: “A young drug-addled writer approaching the bottom of his descent submits to two months of agonizing detox at a treatment center in Minnesota.”
Box Office Prospects: $2 M
Expectations: Weak. There has been little in the way of advertising for this film and the subject matter might be too depressing for a massive box office success, especially with no Oscar buzz to go with it.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.


Click here to continue reading this article

Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

June 7, 2019

Dark Phoenix

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “Weak. The Fox Marvel films have seldom fared well with the Oscars and I don’t see this one overcoming everything else Disney will likely promote ahead of it.”
Oscar Results: Now None. With the box office and critical clop labels, it’s that much harder for the film to overcome more acclaimed films in terms of Oscar attention.
Box Office Prospects: $175 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Good. While Disney hasn’t been the best marketers for their former Fox properties, the advertising here has been adequate. That said, although the original series of films were quite popular, the new series and cast has been less so, so I don’t expect to high a climb for this film.”
Box Office Results: $65.8 M
Thoughts: [Major Flop] With disastrous reviews, the final film of the original X-Men saga was poorly supported by new parent Disney, which resulted in the film’s utter failure at the box office.

Click here to continue reading this article

Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

November 1, 2019

Arctic Dogs

Premise: From IMDb: “Swifty the Arctic Fox works in the mailroom of the Arctic Blast Delivery Service but dreams of one day becoming a Top Dog (the Arctic’s star husky courier). To prove himself worthy of the Top Dog role, Swifty secretly commandeers one of the sleds and delivers a mysterious package to a secret location. He stumbles upon a hidden fortress, where he comes face to face with Otto Von Walrus, a blubbery evil genius, who walks around on mechanical legs and commands a loyal army of oddly polite puffin henchmen. Swifty soon discovers Otto Von Walrus’ plan to drill beneath Arctic surface to unleash enough ancient gas to melt the Arctic, in order to reign as the world’s supreme leader. Now, Swifty has to enlist the help of his friends: PB, an introverted polar bear, Lemmy, a scatterbrained albatross, Sal and Weez, two conspiracy theorist otters and Jade Fox, a tough as nails mechanic. This ragtag group of Arctic misfits has to band together to stop Otto Von Walrus’ sinister plans and save the day.”
Box Office Prospects: $20 M
Expectations: Weak. This terrible-looking animated feature didn’t even show up on the Academy’s list of Animated Feature submissions, suggesting it’s either too awful to be selected or is about to get pushed into next year. Whatever the reason, it looks like a flop in the making.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Click here to continue reading this article

Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

May 3, 2019

The Intruder

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “None.”
Oscar Results: Still None.
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Uncertain. These kind of house-stalking movies have been known to be modestly popular, but not popular enough to be box office sensations.”
Box Office Results: $35.4 M
Thoughts: [Minor Flop] The film came into the box office competition already an underdog thanks to its terrible reviews, but even that couldn’t have stopped a dedicated audience from watching. There just wasn’t one.

Click here to continue reading this article

Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

October 4, 2019

Joker

Premise: From IMDb: “A failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and becomes a psychopathic murderer.”
Box Office Prospects: $150 M
Expectations: Good. Although the film doesn’t fit into the current DC Extended Universe, it’s still a DC film, which should allow it to make a fairly large sum of money.
Oscar Prospects: Good. There’s talk of Joaquin Phoenix being an Oscar contender for this role. He would be the second person to be nominated should that occur and the second to win for this same role as well if he should.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Click here to continue reading this article

Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

April 5, 2019

The Best of Enemies

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “Uncertain. It was briefly in the hunt for Oscar consideration last year, but got pushed into 2019. That fact, combined with the April release, suggests that the film isn’t much of a contender.”
Oscar Results: Now None. The film was a flop both with critics and at the box office.
Box Office Prospects: $15 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Weak. This is just not the kind of movie that sells many tickets. I’d be surprised if it even makes it to the tally I predicted.”
Box Office Results: $10.2 M
Thoughts: [Unexceptional] When it was moved from its pre-Oscar berth to an April release, it was clear the studio didn’t have any faith in its Oscar chances and for a film like this, no Oscar chances means no box office chances and so it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Click here to continue reading this article

Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

September 6, 2019

It Chapter Two

Premise: From IMDb: “Twenty-seven years later, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.”
Box Office Prospects: $350 M
Expectations: Excellent. The first film made more than $327 million at the box office, it’s certain the final chapter will also make a good amount of money.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Click here to continue reading this article

A bountiful Christmas is what’s on deck for this year, but the three months prior will have plenty to offer the desperate moviegoer. That said, there aren’t a lot of known Oscar contenders set for the next four months, but that may change as more limited releases find their berths on the list.

To introduce you to the upcoming films, there will be two preview articles every month and this introduction every four months. The Season Preview article will focus on one of three seasons Spring Season (January through April), Blockbuster Season (May through August) and Oscar Season (September through December). In these introductory articles, I will give you the current release schedule for the specified season, which may change as the release dates get closer.

Click here to continue reading this article

Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

March 1, 2019

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “None”
Oscar Results: Still None.
Box Office Prospects: $60 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Uncertain. Only one film with Madea as the central character failed to pass $50 million at the box office. That film was the only genuine sequel on offering from Tyler Perry: Boo 2! A Madea Halloween. Most of the films have topped $60 million, but a few haven’t. Considering the law of diminishing returns, I suspect this one will barely eke out a $60 million run.”
Box Office Results: $73.3 M
Thoughts: [Success] An improvement over recent Tyler Perry efforts.

Click here to continue reading this article

Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

August 2, 2019

Hobbs & Shaw

Premise: From IMDb: “Lawman Luke Hobbs and outcast Deckard Shaw form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.”
Box Office Prospects: $150 M
Expectations: Good. The Fast and Furious films have become reliable box office draws, regularly topping $200 million. With Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson on the outs, this new film has pulled Johnson and Jason Statham into their own buddy film and the prospects, being pulled away from the original “family,” are a bit weaker. That said, I could expect it to top this number easily if it pulls those fans to the theater.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Click here to continue reading this article

Below is a wrap-up of the predictions I made several months ago, an exploration of what succeeded and what failed, and how I observe things to have gone.

February 1, 2019

Miss Bala

Oscar Prospects: What I said: “None.”
Oscar Results: Still None.
Box Office Prospects: $50 M
Box Office Expectations: What I Said: “Uncertain. I’m tempted to compare the film to Proud Mary, which released a couple of weeks earlier last year with the same general feel. However, this film feels more in the vein of Liam Neeson revenge flicks and the Hispanic community tends to rally behind films that have good word of mouth.”
Box Office Results: $15 M
Thoughts: [Major Flop] The early-year positioning didn’t likely help this film, nor did the anemic advertising.

Click here to continue reading this article