By Chris Kavan - 09/08/16 at 07:50 AM CT
Now that summer is officially in the rear-view mirror, we can usher in the fall and the start of the award season. Things are getting off to a strong start because how can you go wrong with Tom Hanks? Anyways, Oscar season aside we have a long-delayed horror film, another thriller and an animated film all vying for attention. I'm guessing that Don't Breathe is going to have enough competition to fall from the top spot but it will be interesting to see if any of the new films can truly stand out after a couple of rather dull weekends.
SULLY By far the film that should be getting the most attention this weekend is Sully. Based on the true life of airline pilot Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, Hanks portrays the man who performed the "Miracle on the Hudson" only to face an inquiry after the fact that threatened both her professional and personal life. Besides Hanks in the lead role you have director Clint Eastwood. While I may not always agree with his political leanings, he has brought us plenty of fantastic films, including one of the last, great biopics American Sniper. So I feel this combination will be pretty amazing. Granted, not all of Eastwood's films have been grand slams (J. Edgar was a miss and Invictus wasn't good enough) but this looks to be a sure thing. Hanks isn't alone - Aaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn, Laura Linney, Mike O'Malley, Michael Rapaport and Molly Hagan are just a few people along for the ride. While it's still a bit too early to call this an Oscar contender, certainly this has the right combination to be considered in the months ahead. Depending on the competition this fall, and if it doesn't completely fall flat with audiences or critics, I put its chances at above average.
The long and arduous of The Disappointments Room might be more interesting than the actual film. Thanks to the trouble Relativity Media has been going through, this is an oft-delayed film going back at least a year. The trouble doesn't stop there - as for a bit, this was going to be direct-to-video, a limited release until it finally settled on an actual theatrical release. Don't think that will save it as tracking has this opening very low. Kate Beckinsale, Lucas Till, Michaela Conlin and Michael Landes star in the film in which a mother and son move in to a new home only to discover a secret, hidden room - one that hold a sinister past and a supernatural terror. I have a feeling that if it would have come out when it was originally planned, things would have turned out much better. Even though low-budget horror has seen great success this year, I don't think The Disappointments Room is going to follow suit.
WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS Need to add a little spice to your thriller? Then you're in luck because this weekend Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall, Romany Malco, Michael Kenneth Williams and Jaz Sinclair are here to scratch that itch. When the Bough Breaks follows a young, professional couple who are unable to have children and think they have found the perfect surrogate. But as the pregnancy progresses, she becomes more and more obsessed with the husband - and she literally holds the future inside of her. It probably isn't going to become the next Fatal Attraction, but at a mere $13.3 million budget, it will probably be good enough to make some money in the end. Similar films (The Perfect Guy, No Good Deed, Obsessed and the like) have all done north of $50 million and I don't see why this one would be any different.
THE WILD LIFE This is actually a German animated film being dubbed and released here. This retelling of the Robinson Crusoe story (which was the original title) has talking animals, a colorful setting and plenty of fun to go around. However, was it doesn't have is any big-name talent behind it or really any marketing aside from a trailer or two. Now, it doesn't look too bad in the animated department - it's not Pixar or Dreamworks or Laika - but it's not too bad, either. Yet it's coming out in the fall, well after school has started and I just don't see it making any waves at the box office despite its family-friendly nature. I have a feeling this one is going to get buried.
That's the rundown this week. I'll be back on Sunday to see whether Sully can soar above the competition and take the weekend or if any of the other contenders can put up a fight.
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