By Chris Kavan - 08/14/19 at 08:21 PM CT
There are so many new movies, again, this weekend, I couldn't even fit them all in the blog title! Another five films join the five new films released last weekend amid a very crowded box office. This includes the animate Angry Birds sequel, the new Superbad - Good Boys, the shark tale 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, the globe-trotting Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and the Bruce Springsteen filled Blinded by the Light. Once again, with so many new films I have a feeling the losers are going to outweigh the winners once again, but we'll see if any of the new films can compete with Hobbs & Shaw.
GOOD BOYS Good Boys takes what made Superbad so great and ages it down a bit - the decidedly R-rated description of strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language - all involving tweens - is a first for Hollywood. Instead of a group of inept high schoolers, we're following a group of inept middle schoolers. Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon are a trio of not-so-popular boys who are about to embark on their first, real party - and there will be kissing involved. But it turns out preparing for such a momentous event is challenging - especially when the boys inadvertently wind up with some stolen drugs and fun afoul of some angry teen girls (Molly Gordon and Midori Francis). I have to say, the red band trailer for this makes it look like hilarious, raunchy fun. And it certainly earns that R rating just by the bits I have seen. From sex swings to porn and more - these boys often find themselves in situations where they are just a bit out of their element. I'm guessing everyone survives and maybe is the wiser for it? Whatever, good times are going to be had and provided you aren't sensitive to such bad behavior, it looks like a riot.
This one actually opened early to the tune of $2.6 million on Tuesday, though it looks to open below the first film. I have to say that I wasn't expecting much out of Angry Birds, considering it was based on a freaking mobile game (that has spawned its own empire) but it was a lot better than I expected. Thus it comes as little surprise that a sequel would materialize. This time, the birds and pigs must make an uneasy alliance when a new, ice-happy threat makes an appearance. Pretty much the entire cast is back: Jason Sudeikis as the angry red, Josh Gad as Chuck, Danny McBride as Bomb, Bill Hader as Leonard, Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle, Maya Rudolph as Matilda and Tony Hale as Mime all return with new voices being provided by the likes of Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez, Tiffany Haddish, Dove Cameron, Pete Davidson, JoJo Siwa, Lil Rel Howery, Nicki Minaj, Gaten Matarazzo and Brooklynn Prince. If the sequel can deliver the same humor and fun as the original - I don't see why it won'e be as entertaining. Success is another matter as animated sequels (for the most part) tend to trail the original film and I don't see this bucking the trend. Luckily, it is reported the sequel also cost less than the original, so it just has to do good enough.
I admit to never having seen the first 47 Meters Down (or The Shallows for that matter). I have nothing against women being terrified by sharks, it just never peaked my interest enough to seek them out. But both went on to make a decent chunk of change and now one of them is getting a proper sequel. This version of 47 Meters Down follows four friend (played by Corinne Foxx, Sistine Stallone, Sophie Nélisse, and Brianne Tju) who go to an out-of-the-way diving location - a sunken Mayan City to be exact, only to find their way out blocked and also finding the location is prime hunting ground for great white sharks. With limited oxygen, the girls have no other choice but to try to navigate the twisting caverns and passages in hopes of finding another exit before they become shark food. Interesting to note that two of the main actresses are daughters of some famous actors you may have heard of - Sylvester Stallone, Jamie Foxx and this film is the first for both of them. The first 47 Meter Down went on to a $44.3 million total and, given the oddly good success of Crawl ($38.1 million to date) creature features still seem to interest audiences. While it may not break the bank, it will probably do well enough in the end.
With women being a driving factor at the box office, middle-age women going on life-changing adventures is sure to draw at least a cursory glance from the target audience. It helps when your lead is being played by someone as versatile as Cate Blanchett. Blanchett plays the titular character, Bernadette Fox, who is loving mom, hated by her neighbors and finally comes to realize maybe it's time to put herself first. Thus, she ditches everyone and goes on a globe-trotting adventure to rediscover herself. This is based on the best-selling novel by Maria Semple and features a knockout cast that also includes Judy Greer, Kristen Wiig, Troian Bellisario, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Zahn and Megan Mullally among others. This film is targeting a specific audience, one that is more often than not overlooked, and if said audience likes what they see, Bernadette could be in a for a long, lucrative ride. It may not break huge on opening, but should it find an audience, longevity will be a factor and it could wind up making some serious bank in the end.
I've already had my fill of feel-good films based on the music of a major music group and, sorry for Blinded by the Light, but The Beatles trump Bruce Springsteen and I was more than happy with Yesterday. Plus, what American audience is going to watch a bunch of Indians living in Britain? I kid - but not by much. Actually, if you look back at some of the releases playing in fewer theaters, Indian-language films tend to do very well in limited release. But I don't know what that means for this film, which features Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Aaron Phagura, Nikita Mehta and Tara Divina in major roles, along with Dean-Charles Chapman, Nell Williams and Hayley Atwell. The film takes place in 1987, under the rule of Thatcher's Britain, where a wayward teen finds his voice and balances his friends and family all set against the music of Bruce Springsteen. This has feel-good film written all over it - but, man, it's just entering an extremely crowded market and I don't think all the feels in the world is going to be enough for this to land anywhere near the top five.
Another huge amount of films opening in an already-crowded market does not bode well for a lot of the newcomers. A few should stand out, but I have a sneaking suspicion that most are going to struggle.
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