New in Theaters June 14: Men in Black: International, Late Night, Shaft

By Chris Kavan - 06/13/19 at 07:47 AM CT

It has been a couple of weeks of disappointing openings - all sequels which, to be honest, may not bode well for the big new film of the weekend. Both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and X-Men: Dark Phoenix failed to spark much interest at the box office. Now we're going to find out if Men in Black has any better luck. As a counter-punch, Late Night offers up some laughs while Shaft offers up plenty of old-school action. Still, it will be Men in Black: International that will shape the box office, for better or worse.

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL It has been seven years since we last had an adventure with the Men in Black - and now they're back, but without their big guns. That's right, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are out. Instead, we're going across the pond where newly-minted Agent M (Tessa Thompson) is teamed up with exceptional Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) in order to track down a new threat - one that can form a perfect copy of anyone, including fellow agents. Led by Agent O (Emma Thompson) the agents will certainly have their work cut out for them. The cast is solid and also includes Liam Neeson, Kumail Nanjiani (voicing a small alien pawnbroker), Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall and Les Twins (playing some aliens with fancy moves). All in all, it does look like a lot of fun, but if early critical reception is any indication, it's not going to be much more than summer fluff. Sometimes that's all you need, but as shown by Godzilla and Dark Phoenix - fun will only get you so far. We'll see if this latest iteration can perform better or be just the latest in disappointing sequels.


LATE NIGHT With so much action overload at the box office, Late Night is poised to offer up some nice counter-programming. The film follows a long-time late night host, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson - double duty this box office weekend!) whose career is waning as she suspects a replacement is soon coming. A new female writer - the only one in fact, Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) makes it her mission to not only impress Newbury, but revitalize her fading career. In a male-dominated industry, these two are going to prove a woman's place is not in the home any longer. John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Denis O'Hare, Max Casella, Amy Ryan, Ike Barinholtz, Paul Walter Hauser and Luke Slattery round out the cast. It did amazing in a four-theater limited opening, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will explode with general audiences, but it's clearly going for a female demographic, so it has a chance. There isn't a lot out there targeting women, so it can only help its cause.


SHAFT Speaking of long times between sequels, the last time John Shaft was on the big screen was back in 2000, when Samuel L. Jackson put a new spin on a classic. Jackson is back - and, in fact, so is the OG Shaft Richard Roundtree - and this family affair also includes an estranged son, JJ (Jessie T. Usher) who has to call on his pops when he suspects foul play in his high-tech sector. This takes them deep into Harlem's dark underbelly, where drugs and guns are the commodity of the streets. While JJ just want's to solve his friend's murder, Shaft is looking for something much more personal - a vendetta that has been dogging him for years. Shaft is all action - updated for modern times maybe, but still action. It's also probably going to draw a more limited audience and I expect it will wind up right in the middle of the pack once the dust settles. And no, I'm not expecting this to start up a new Shaft franchise.


Men in Black: International should have no problem topping the box office. The question is whether it's going to be another disappointing entry in a franchise or will manage to exceed expectations. All we be revealed come Sunday.

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