By Chris Kavan - 08/02/17 at 08:52 PM CT
With Dunkirk leading the charge for two straight weekends, Christopher Nolan's war effort is going to see increased competition, from all fronts. Fans of drama have Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow's look at one of the largest race riots in U.S. history. For those who prefer more action, Stephen King's Dark Tower is finally getting a release after years of stalled progress while Halle Berry plays a mother who will do anything to get her child back in the action/thriller Kidnap. It will be a packed weekend, though Dunkirk should still have a nice edge as the summer enters its final push.
THE DARK TOWER I have been waiting patiently for an adaptation of Stephen King's groundbreaking magnum opus for awhile now (almost as long as a movie adaptation of Arrested Development). Rumors and directors have come and gone but finally, finally we have our big screen version. Nikolaj Arcel is not exactly the director I pictured (he is best know for historical drama A Royal Affair) but the cast has me more interested. For one, our Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (long pictured as Clint Eastwood circa his Man with No Name days) is being played by Idris Elba while Matthew McConaughey is his foil, The Man in Black. The young Tom Taylor is on board as Jake Chambers, a boy with a mysterious connection to the Gunslinger's world while the supporting cast includes Katheryn Winnick, Jackie Earle Haley, Abbey Lee, Dennis Haysbert, Nicholas Hamilton and Claudia Kim. While I was a bit worried about McConaughey playing a villainous role, I've been happy enough with the previews. Those who are familiar with King's work knows this is not a direct adaptation of his books, but rather a continuation using much of the same elements but switching a bunch of stuff around. In any case, I'm not saying this will be a huge, blockbuster hit, but as a King fan, I'm looking forward to this (though I'm still thinking It will be the author's biggest hit this year).
A sure bet to be up for several awards this year, Kathryn Bigelow gives us a look at one of the darkest moments in the U.S. history. Based on the race riots that took place in Detroit in the summer of 1967, Bigelow doesn't sugar-coat anything - the film by many accounts is pretty bleak even while weaving a powerful story. John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Jack Reynor, John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie, Malcolm David Kelley and Kaitlyn Dever are just a few of the names who lend their talent to the story. The talent is there both in front of and behind the camera, critics have been very supportive but Detroit isn't likely to break out big due to the very heavy subject matter. This is exactly the kind of film that critics with gush over, that will find nominations come awards season but that general audiences will not rush out to see. This is summer, and race riots are a bit of a bummer, even if the message is still as important today as it was when the riots occurred.
Kidnap is yet another victim of Relativity's demise, having been slated for release back in October of 2015, before repeatedly being pushed back until Relativity lost the rights and Aviron Pictures picked it up for its current release. And like most of the other films that suffered this fate, Kidnap, despite Oscar winner Halle Berry, is going to fall to what I dub the "Curse of Relativity" and likely open to single digit numbers and be largely ignored and or forgotten. Berry is in full Liam Neeson mode after her son is kidnapped and will stop at nothing to get him back. Lew Temple, Sage Correa, Christopher Berry, Chris McGinn and Jason George round out the cast. It's not likely to challenge any film for the top spot and I doubt it will even crack the top five.
Those are the new movies which, despite the wide range of subject matter and genres, aren't likely to spark a lot of box office fireworks. With things winding down Dunkirk and The Emoji Movie both have a good edge with The Dark Tower likely offering the biggest challenge for the top spot. I'll be back Sunday with the final numbers.
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