By Chris Kavan - 06/18/15 at 07:46 AM CT
Jurassic World managed to surprise pretty much everyone by having the biggest opening of all time. Yes, even The Avengers had to bow down in reverence as dinosaurs once again ruled the world. It also helped give a huge boost to the box office after several weeks of middling numbers. This weekend looks to continue the trend as Pixar delivers their latest (and it has already has impressed festival critics) while a coming-of-age story set to hip hop is sure to ignite urban audience. All told, we should be headed for another monster weekend.
INSIDE OUT The latest film from Pixar involves a group of emotions in the head of an girl, Riley, who has just found her life upturned after moving from the Midwest to San Francisco. Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness (voiced by Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling and Phyllis Smith accordingly) all work to try to navigate the pitfalls of this move - new home, new school - new life, really. I love the idea - and Pixar has a phenomenal track record - all but three of their films have earned over $200 million - and I see no reason while Inside Out won't be any different. The animation looks great - the casting is spot on and it's going to be the only family film around. Plus, early reviews have been stratospherically positive Taking everything into account, Inside Out should be a home run - probably not in the same way Jurassic World opened - but it's going to be huge. It may have to settle for second behind Jurassic World, but that may mean it will hold the record for biggest second-place opening ever. Even if nobody else I know wants to watch this in theaters, I'll still watch it on my own, that's how much I trust Pixar.
The coming-of-age story has been presented in many different aspects over the years - sometimes funny, sometimes serious. You would think this particular field has been played out, but Dope makes a great argument that everything old is new again. Malcolm lives in a touch neighborhood in the Inglewood, CA area. He's smart and about to graduate with excellent prospects for his future. Thus far he has managed to avoid the drugs and gangs all around him, but a chance invitation to a huge underground party in L.A. may finally let him go from a geek to Dope - if he can survive the night. The film is obviously targeting an urban African-American audience - which is fine. Better this then yet another Tyler Perry film. The red band trailers make this look like quite the adventure. It will certainly appeal to this generation - but it's probably going to be a bit too niche to capture a large general audience, but I think the future still looks good for the film.
With Jurassic World sure to be roaring loud, and a new Pixar film coming out, the weekend should be another huge weekend for Hollywood. I'll be back on Sunday with the final results.
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