There are no two bigger months at theaters. While the Summer may provide box office swing, both box office and Oscars dominate the final two months of the year with November likely the biggest of them all. This year, a number of top notch films will compete for audience dollars and critics’ appreciation going into the final weeks of pre-Oscar wrangling. This November features one of the most impressive line-ups Oscar has seen in some time, with many of them strong contenders for one or multiple nominations.

January 3, 2014

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Premise: From IMDb: “After being “marked,” Jesse begins to be pursued by mysterious forces while his family and friends try to save him.”
Box Office Prospects: $35 M
Expectations: Weak. The fourth outing of the Paranormal Activity franchise didn’t do very well compared to its predecessors. This isn’t technically the fifth outing, that’s coming in October 2014. This is a Hispanic-targeted pseudo-spin-off. I doubt that fact will help it do very well.
Oscar Prospects: None.

January 10, 2014

Hercules: The Legend Begins

Premise: From IMDb: “When prince Hercules learns of his real identity, he must choose to flee with his true love – Hebe, Princess of Crete – or to fulfill his destiny by overthrowing the tyrannical rule of the king and restoring peace to a land in hardship.”
Box Office Prospects: $35 M
Expectations: Uncertain. It’s the only mega release slated for the second weekend of the year, but the previews don’t really set it apart form the normal fare of this time of the year and with no major names attached, I suspect it will have one week to prove itself and then drop precipitously from there. Being the first Hercules film out of the gate doesn’t necessarily mean it will succeed.
Oscar Prospects: None.

January 17, 2014

Devil’s Due

Premise: From IMDb: “An unexpected pregnancy takes a terrifying turn for newlyweds Zach and Samantha McCall.”
Box Office Prospects: $45 M
Expectations: Decent. It’s the only horror film around and tackles devil-possession, so it could do well; however, there’s been very little advertising and against higher profile male-targeted fare, it may suffer. Finding information about this film is like searching for a needle in a haystack, so when I say there’s been very little advertising, I mean almost non-existent.
Oscar Prospects: None.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Premise: From IMDb: “Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.”
Box Office Prospects: $80 M
Expectations: Good. It’s the only high profile action film on the schedule for January and with hot-property Chris Pine, it could perform much better than his prior rom-com outing. Still, Jack Ryan may suffer a similar fate to Tom Cruise’s attempt to start up a Jack Reacher franchise. Jack Ryan, though, already has Hollywood bona fides, so it could do well. Right now, I expect this film to finish about where Reacher did.
Oscar Prospects: None.

The Nut Job

Premise: From IMDb: “Surly, a curmudgeon, independent squirrel is banished from his park and forced to survive in the city. Lucky for him, he stumbles on the one thing that may be able to save his life, and the rest of park community, as they gear up for winter – Maury’s Nut Store.”
Box Office Prospects: $12 M
Expectations: Poor. This is only the third computer animated film to release in January. The prior two released in 2007 and 2008 and failed to pass $16 million at the box office and at least one of those had a much larger reputation backing it. Still, families might want something else to watch post-holidays, but I doubt this will be their choice.
Oscar Prospects: None.

Ride Along

Premise: From IMDb: “Fast-talking security guard Ben joins his cop brother-in-law James on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta in order to prove himself worthy of marrying Angela, James’ sister.”
Box Office Prospects: $75 M
Expectations: Good. Black audiences love to go to the movies when they have protagonists worth watching. Ice Cube and Kevin Hart have pretty solid reputations and could pull in a solid cross-demo audience, making this a decent hit.
Oscar Prospects: None.

January 24, 2014

I, Frankenstein

Premise: From IMDb: “Frankenstein’s creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.”
Box Office Prospects: $30 M
Expectations: Poor. While using the film’s tangential Underworld connections may help find an audience, the film looks like mostly a rehash and won’t do incredibly well for those who aren’t fans of the source material.
Oscar Prospects: None.

January 31, 2014

That Awkward Moment

Premise: From IMDb: “Three best friends find themselves where we’ve all been – at that confusing moment in every dating relationship when you have to decide “So…where is this going?””
Box Office Prospects: $20 M
Expectations: Uncertain. Zac Efron keeps trying to find a hit and continues to struggle in his post-High School Musical years. Unless teen audiences turn out in droves, I expect this to be another dud for him.
Oscar Prospects: None.