Here we look at the upcoming month’s offerings.

September 2, 2022

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.

Premise: From IMDb: “In the aftermath of a huge scandal, Trinitie Childs, the first lady of a prominent Southern Baptist Mega Church, attempts to help her pastor-husband, Lee-Curtis Childs, rebuild their congregation.”
Box Office Prospects: $35 M
Expectations: Uncertain. There will be a segment of the population that will flock to this, but will it be a large enough batch of attendees to turn it into a surprise hit? Seems doubtful.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Clerks III

Premise: From IMDb: “Dante, Elias, and Jay and Silent Bob are enlisted by Randal after a heart attack to make a movie about the convenience store that started it all.”
Box Office Prospects: $18 M
Expectations: Uncertain. The first film made just over $3 million in 1994. The second film pulled in over $24 million 12 years later. We’re now 16 years after that and could it be an equally large jump? I doubt it. If anything, my hunch is that it’s likely to take a drop in tally in its third outing.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

September 9, 2022

Barbarian

Premise: From IMDb: “In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that her rental has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway, but soon discovers that there is much more to be afraid of in the house than the other house guest.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Uncertain. It’s not quite in the perfect cooridor for pre-Halloween ticket sales, but a September release is pretty close to it, so it could do decently well, though it’s doubtful it can make too much at a box office that hasn’t supported most new horror films.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

The Woman King

Premise: From IMDb: “A historical epic inspired by the true events that happened in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.”
Box Office Prospects: $70 M
Expectations: Good. Viola Davis is a force to be reckoned with and she has a lot of fans. While the film looks great, it’s not certain it can cross-appeal very successfully to non-Black audiences.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. On paper, this sounds like just the kind of film the Academy would love to recognize. That it’s playing Toronto is a good sign.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

September 23, 2022

Don’t Worry, Darling

Premise: From IMDb: “A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.”
Box Office Prospects: $80 M
Expectations: Good. Audiences are looking for something unique and this most certainly scratches that itch. I suspect this could be a sleeper hit.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. It’s playing Venice, which is a good sign, but the talent involved doesn’t quite scream Oscar contender. Yet, I still think it could be a player, especially for star Pugh and for the film’s production design.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Catherine Called Birdy

Premise: From IMDb: “A 14 year old girl in medieval England navigates through life and avoiding potential suitors her father has in mind.”
Box Office Prospects: $20 M
Expectations: Weak. Lena Dunham is popular, but not popular enough to turn a period comedy into the winners circle at the box office.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. Here’s yet another festival release, this one also playing Toronto. It’s also a good sign and the film, even if it’s not a major contender above the line, the costumes and sets could well be up for consideration and possibly too the screenplay.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

September 30, 2022

Bros

Premise: From IMDb: “Two men with commitment problems attempt a relationship.”
Box Office Prospects: $40 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Gay comedies haven’t exactly been a commonplace release at the nationwide box office, so it’s not clear whether the film can play to large crowds without ramping up through a platform release.
Oscar Prospects: Uncertain. It’s another Toronto player, but it feels a bit different than the prior ones mentioned. It’s a modern-set gay relationship comedy. That’s not exactly an Oscar recipe. Good reviews could help, but I expect the closest it will come to Oscar consideration is in the screenwriting category.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.

Smile

Premise: From IMDb: “After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.”
Box Office Prospects: $50 M
Expectations: Uncertain. It’s another pre-Halloween horror release and thi sone is close enough to Halloween that it might just benefit from an increased interest in such fair. It also looks a bit more unique than this month’s other horror release, so it could do a bit better, but I’m still not sure it can be a huge success.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Cinema Sight Preview: See my preview of this title here.