Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

December 2, 2016

Incarnate

Premise: From IMDb: “A scientist with the ability to enter the subconscious minds of the possessed must save a young boy from the grips of a demon with powers never seen before, while facing the horrors of his past.”
Box Office Prospects: $15 M
Expectations: Weak. While horror fans can do well, the post-Thanksgiving weekend isn’t the best place to launch one. With minimal advertising, I suspect this one will be easily forgotten.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Jackie (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband’s historic legacy. ”
Box Office Prospects: $25 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While the prestige of the pic is sure to send it into the specialty box office stratosphere, general audiences may not have much interest in seeing the film. However, Natalie Portman could help that, as could the dire state of politics at present.
Oscar Prospects: Good. The film will certainly be nominated, for Best Actress (Portman) at the least. It’s also a key competitor in several races like Production Design, Costume Design, Original Score, Original Screenplay, Picture and Director respectively.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

December 9, 2016

Office Christmas Party

Premise: From IMDb: “When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand…”
Box Office Prospects: $80 M
Expectations: Good. A holiday-themed gross-out comedy could be just what audiences asked for and the trailers certainly make it look like it has a lot of box office potential
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

La La Land (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. ”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Good. While the film may not become a breakout hit, the reviews have been excellent and a solid performance should be well within range.
Oscar Prospects: Excellent. This is one of the year’s top contenders. Not only is it almost assured a Best Picture nomination and many other categories, Emma Stone is currently the frontrunner for the win in Best Actress.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

December 16, 2016

Collateral Beauty

Premise: From IMDb: “Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty. ”
Box Office Prospects: $150 M
Expectations: Excellent. Will Smith hadn’t had a major hit in some time, but Suicide Squad changed all that. Add in several famous faces and a heart-tugging trailer and you have a recipe for a major seasonal hit.
Oscar Prospects: Weak. The film looks a bit light in terms of critical weight, but Smith could be a dark horse Best Actor contender.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Premise: From IMDb: “The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans to the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow. ”
Box Office Prospects: $400 M
Expectations: Excellent. The Star Wars name alone will make it a hit. The big question is will this first non-Episode of the franchise be as big as the main entries or will it perform a bit more weakly, especially considering how dark the film looks.
Oscar Prospects: Good. The film should make a play for several creative categories, but beyond the sound and visual effects categories, I suspect it won’t gain much ground. Perhaps in editing as well.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Space Between Us

Premise: From IMDb: “The first human born on Mars travels to Earth for the first time, experiencing the wonders of the planet through fresh eyes. He embarks on an adventure with a street smart girl to discover how he came to be. ”
Box Office Prospects: $65 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The young love elements will probably give it a box office boost, but the trailer isn’t that impressive and something about the film just doesn’t feel like a major performer.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

December 21 & 23, 2016

Assassin’s Creed

Premise: From IMDb: “When Callum Lynch explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar and gains the skills of a Master Assassin, he discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society. ”
Box Office Prospects: $85 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Video game movies aren’t doing as well at the American box office as they should. That said, Michael Fassbender could be just enough of a draw to get this one closer to $100 million than many of its kind have ever dreamed.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Passengers

Premise: From IMDb: “A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early. ”
Box Office Prospects: $100 M
Expectations: Good. Are there two more bankable stars in Hollywood right now? The pairing of super charismatic Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt should be enough to get the film to or above $100 million. Whether it can fly higher depends on how good it actually is.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Early on, this seemed like a solid potential nominee in several categories, possibly even Best Picture. However, it seems like the film might just end up isolated to the tech categories like Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Sing

Premise: From IMDb: “A koala named Buster Moon has one final chance to restore his theater to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition. ”
Box Office Prospects: $275 M
Expectations: Excellent. Animation is hot at the box office even when the films aren’t very good. However, everything about this film screams out for blockbuster status and if reviews are as good as I suspect, it will be one of the top box office performers of the year.
Oscar Prospects: With strong reviews, this could be one of the key Best Animated Feature contenders.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Why Him?

Premise: From IMDb: “A dad forms a bitter rivalry with his daughter’s young rich boyfriend. ”
Box Office Prospects: $60 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While Office Christmas Party seems like it has solid hit potential, this film doesn’t feel like it has the same potential. James Franco isn’t exactly a box office draw, nor is Bryan Cranston.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

A Monster Calls (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom’s terminal illness. ”
Box Office Prospects: $55 M
Expectations: Good. While the film is slated for a limited initial release, this is the kind of movie that family holiday excursions were made for. While it has some dark elements, there’s little doubt the film has potential.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. While the film looks like a winner, the Academy doesn’t always like to recognize dark dramas targeting younger audiences. This could be the exception.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Patriots Day (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “An account of Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis’s actions in the events leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists behind it.”
Box Office Prospects: $120 M
Expectations: Good. The title alone should guarantee solid business. The anti-terror aspect the film very likely evokes should prove catnip to the overly patriotic even if the film isn’t very good. Early word suggest that it might actually be good, which will undoubtedly help.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Like American Sniper, this film could be the balm for a patriotic subset of Oscar voters. While Peter Berg is certainly no Clint Eastwood, strong box office plus good notices from critics could give it a chance in Best Picture and possibly some creative categories, but that’s about as far as I can see it going.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Silence (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and propagate Christianity.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Weak. Period Scorsese isn’t the biggest box office draw and this subject matter in particular seems like a good fit for cineastes, but not for general audiences.
Oscar Prospects: Good. Sight unseen, Martin Scorsese I a sure contender for the Oscars. Its late release and limited press roll out might hinder its chances, though.
Cinema Sight Preview: Coming Soon

December 28, 2016

Fences

Premise: From IMDb: “An African-American father struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life.”
Box Office Prospects: $75 M
Expectations: Good. While it won’t likely play well to broad audiences, there’s plenty of interest in this type of drama to make it a solid hit in multiple demographics.
Oscar Prospects: Excellent. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are sure acting nominees and the film looks to be one of the strongest contenders in categories like Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Gold

Premise: From IMDb: “An unlikely pair venture to the Indonesian jungle in search of gold.”
Box Office Prospects: $60 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The film wants to draw fans of Matthew McConaughey to the theater, but as his Civil War drama Free State of Jones proved, his fans won’t show up for just anything. I suspect that might projection might actually be way too high.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

20th Century Women (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s.”
Box Office Prospects: $12 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The specialty box office crowd will surely go see it, but without Oscar nominations, it won’t likely be a break-out hit.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. While some say Annette Bening is one fo the year’s key Best Actress contenders, the trailer doesn’t showcase much for her and the film may not be that good, which could hinder her chances. Of course, early pushing by Oscar bloggers could make her nomination inevitable, even if the film itself is otherwise ignored.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Hidden Figures (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program’s first successful space missions. ”
Box Office Prospects: $50 M
Expectations: Decent. While not nearly as likely to be a hit as Fences, there is enough to believe the film could do decently well, possibly on The Help level of success. A lot depends on how it performs with critics.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Without knowing how critics will see the film, it’s difficult to know how the Academy will treat it. That it was scheduled for 2017, but given an Oscar-qualifying run could be good news for at least Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in Best Supporting Actress, if not the film in other big categories.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Live by Night (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A story set in the Prohibition Era and centered around a group of individuals and their dealings in the world of organized crime. ”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The period setting of the film will be its biggest stumbling block. However, director Ben Affleck has proven that audiences aren’t entirely against such things.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. There hasn’t been nearly as much talk about this film as Affleck’s prior efforts. While Argo won Best Picture, Affleck wasn’t nominated. Of course, many have been surprised by Affleck’s Oscar strength in the past, so the late release might help build some measure of buzz…that is if it’s any good and we won’t know that for a little while.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Paterson (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “Set in the present in Paterson, New Jersey, this is a tale about a bus driver and poet. ”
Box Office Prospects: $5 M
Expectations: Poor. I can’t imagine this film being much of a box office darling and even on the specialty circuit, I suspect it will struggle.
Oscar Prospects: Doubtful. Early in its festival run, many thought Adam Driver would be a Best Actor contender and the film could otherwise be an Oscar player. However, little has been seen or said about the film since, which suggests that it might not have nearly as much potential as it once did.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.