Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

April 7, 2017

The Case for Christ

Premise: From IMDb: “Based on the true story of an award-winning investigative journalist — and avowed atheist — who applies his well-honed journalistic and legal skills to disprove the newfound Christian faith of his wife… with unexpected, life-altering results.”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Decent. The producers are hoping for a result similar to God’s Not Dead, but are more likely to deliver in the Soul Surfer range.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: Preview was not available by posting deadline.

Gifted

Premise: From IMDb: “Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While Chris Evans is a familiar figure and Octavia Spencer has been garnering plenty of attention with a string of high profile successes, the film doesn’t seem like it’s destined to be as popular as her other films.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. This is the kind of movie that pleases audiences, but is forgotten at Oscar time.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Going in Style

Premise: From IMDb: “Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.”
Box Office Prospects: $60 M
Expectations: Decent. These types of geriatric comedies have done both good and bad business in recent years. Morgan Freeman’s last such effort, Last Vegas, made $63 million. This should do roughly the same business.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Smurfs: The Lost Village

Premise: From IMDb: “In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting race through the Forbidden Forest leading to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history. ”
Box Office Prospects: $50 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Animated films not produced by one of the major studios don’t tend to do exceptionally well at the box office. While The Smurfs are a popular ’80s product, so they could do better than expected.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Colossal (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A woman discovers that severe catastrophic events are somehow connected to the mental breakdown from which she’s suffering.”
Box Office Prospects: $15 M
Expectations: Decent. While the film could have broad audience appeal, the producers are releasing it at the specialty box office first, which may ultimately mean nothing, but it could do well if it makes it wide.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Their Finest (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A British film crew attempts to boost morale during World War II by making a propaganda film after the Blitzkrieg.”
Box Office Prospects: $10 M
Expectations: Uncertain. This type of British drama can do well with audiences if it gets solid reviews and dominates the specialty box office. There sisn’t much indication of that as yet.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. It has the earmarks of an Oscar contender, but the April release casts some doubt on it.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Your Name. (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “Two strangers find themselves linked in a bizarre way. When a connection forms, will distance be the only thing to keep them apart?”
Box Office Prospects: $0.75 M
Expectations: Weak. Anime just doesn’t have the box office capability as traditional animation. While this was huge in Japan, U.S. audiences are likely to ignore it.
Oscar Prospects: Failure. It was eligible for last year’s Oscars but was not nominated.
Cinema Sight Preview: Preview was not available by posting deadline.

April 14, 2017

The Fate of the Furious

Premise: From IMDb: “When a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime and a betrayal of those closest to him, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.”
Box Office Prospects: $300 M
Expectations: Excellent. While this franchise has been steadily increasing the amount of cash it brings in, it has to reach a tipping point some time and the prior film, the last with Paul Walker, is likely to have been that high point. As such, I expect this new entry to do well, but not nearly as well as its predecessor.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Spark: A Space Tail

Premise: From IMDb: “Spark, a teenage monkey and his friends, Chunk and Vix, are on a mission to regain Planet Bana – a kingdom overtaken by the evil overlord Zhong.”
Box Office Prospects: $30 M
Expectations: Weak. The poor animation style and corny preview suggest this movie won’t do exceptionally well at the box office. Space Chimps is similar in style and in 2008, it barely made over $30 million. Even accounting for inflation, I doubt it would do better than that.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Lost City of Z (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.”
Box Office Prospects: $2 M
Expectations: Uncertain. While the trailers paint the portrait of a true-life story, that story doesn’t sound like it will have much appeal, so I doubt it will be much of a success.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Norman (Limited)

Premise: From IMDb: “Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman’s life dramatically changes for better and worse.”
Box Office Prospects: $7 M
Expectations: Weak. Richard Gere’s career resurgence post-Chicago, has been anemic at best, pathetic at worst. While this film could do as well as his films like Arbitrage, it’s unlikely to approach Amelia-level.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. While Richard Gere will yet again earn some attention for a possible Oscar nomination, all his other efforts released later in the year and were roundly ignored. The same will likely occur with this earlier release.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

April 21, 2017

Born in China

Premise: From IMDb: “Venturing into the wilds of China, “Born in China” captures intimate moments with a panda bear and her growing cub, a young golden monkey who feels displaced by his baby sister, and a mother snow leopard struggling to raise her two cubs.”
Box Office Prospects: $30 M
Expectations: Uncertain. DisneyNature hasn’t had a lot of success since it’s 2009 debut with Earth. While Chimpanzee did the best since in 2012, the subsequen two features have been the lowest attended. That should change with a film that looks at the daily lives of pandas, an animal that has a lot of admirers and should help give the shingle a boost.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: Preview was not available by posting deadline.

Free Fire

Premise: From IMDb: “Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival.”
Box Office Prospects: $25 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The film has a very Quentin Tarantino-esque vibe and could be a surprise hit, but while Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, and Sharlto Copley have each appeared in box office hits (Hammer, Copley) or are Oscar winners (Larson), none of them have proven to be box office draws in and of themselves.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. While the film has a period aesthetic that could be Oscar catnip, the only chance it likely has is in Best Costume Design and that category doesn’t tend to acknowledge films from early in the year.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Leap!

Premise: From IMDb: “An orphan girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.”
Box Office Prospects: $35 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Animated films can bring droves to the box office, or can keep people away if they don’t seem of sufficient quality or comic value. This doesn’t appear to be either, but targeting girls who are into ballet and young romance, they could do decently well.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Promise

Premise: From IMDb: “Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated Ana, and Chris – a renowned American journalist based in Paris. ”
Box Office Prospects: $20 M
Expectations: Most people know who stars Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale are, but they are most familiar to audiences who enjoy sci-fi and comic book specatacle. This is so far divergent from the type of films they tend to watch that my estimate might even be a bit overzealous.
Oscar Prospects: Doubtful. On paper, the film looks like an Oscar contender, but the late-April pushback suggests a film that couldn’t muster attention last Oscar season and thus won’t be much of a player this one either.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Unforgettable

Premise: From IMDb: “A woman sets out to make life hell for her ex-husband’s new wife.”
Box Office Prospects: $55 M
Expectations: Decent. Katherine Heigl gave up a lucrative TV career in the hopes of being a big screen star thanks to her box office success in Knocked Up. While her next two films did well, she has been performing largely in the mid-50 million range, which isn’t terribly great. This movie looks a little more bankable than those prior efforts, but the film seems inordinately cheesy.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

April 28, 2017

The Circle

Premise: From IMDb: “A woman lands a job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, where she becomes involved with a mysterious man.”
Box Office Prospects: $75 M
Expectations: Good. Tom Hanks has had some major flops in between major successes, but this Utopian sci-fi feature starring Emma Watson (Harry Potter and Beauty and the Beast) could be a big success for him and her. While it might not appeal to the fans who typically show up for either of their efforts, the subject matter should pick up decent support from others interested in its premise.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. This futuristic endeavor has all the earmarks of a potential Oscar contender, but films like Gattaca, which this bears a small resemblance to, haven’t earned Oscar attention in quite some time.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

How to Be a Latin Lover

Premise: From IMDb: “Finding himself dumped after 25 years of marriage, a man who made a career of seducing rich older women, must move in with his estranged sister, where he begins to learn the value of family.”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Eugenio Derbez is a popular Spanish-language actor and this comedy about a fading gigolo trying to re-assert his latin lover bona fides has a surprisingly funny trailer that could appeal to both his own fans and those not very familiar with his work.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Sleight

Premise: From IMDb: “A young street magician (Jacob Latimore) is left to care for his little sister after their parents passing and turns to illegal activities to keep a roof over their heads. When he gets in too deep, his sister is kidnapped and he is forced to use his magic and brilliant mind to save her.”
Box Office Prospects: $15 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The film is reminiscent of several high profile hits and misses that put teenagers into positions of wielding great super powers. This effort will have a very narrow demoraphic window to target and like similar recent failures isn’t likely to do very well.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.