By Chris Kavan - 03/04/20 at 11:34 PM CT
With The Invisible Man giving 2020 the horror hit it deserves, this week brings a bevy of new releases led by Pixar's latest, Onward. The surefire family hit isn't alone, as Ben Affleck brings the drama with The Way Back, Anya Taylor-Joy brings some romance with Emma and we get another stunning Pacific Northwest drama from director Kelly Reichardt in First Cow. While Onward will certainly be getting most of the attention, we'll see if there's room for some other films to stand out in the crowd.
ONWARD Pixar has a more than impressive track record with their animated offerings. That is why there is little reason to think that Onward won't follow the same path and open at the top of the box office. Onward takes place in a fantasy setting where two elf brothers (voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt - both familiar to MCU fans) who are firmly entrenched in their suburban setting but go on a grand adventure with a gift from their late father, which could lead to bringing magic back to their world. Their mother is voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the film features plenty of other talent including Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Grey Griffin, Kyle Bornheimer, Tracey Ullman and Wilmer Valderrama. As a fan of things like mythology, Lord of the Rings, D&D and other such things - Pixar embracing a fantasy setting seems like a good fit for me. Regardless, I haven't watched an animated film in theaters for a long time, but rest assured I am looking forward to Onward. It's been getting decent reviews and looks to open in the same range as Coco. It's probably not going to be the highest-grossing Pixar film of all time, but I'm sure it will continue the tradition of studio wins.
Not tracking nearly as good is the latest drama for Ben Affleck. Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, a one-time high school basketball phenom who turned down a sure thing to spite his own father. Instead finding himself in a dead-end job and hitting the bottle hard while facing a series of personal struggles, Jack gets a second chance when his alma mater, Bishop Hayes High offers him a coaching job. The team is failing and Jack has never had a coaching job, but he takes them up on the offer. Thus a story of redemption, triumph, set-backs and ultimately facing reality. Director Gavin O'Connor has dealt with sports dramas before, having helmed the likes of Miracle and Warrior as well as working with Affleck before on The Accountant. That being said, The Way Back looks to fall far into maudlin territory, with soap opera aesthetics drowning out anything deeper. Despite what looks to be a talent young cast, The Way Back may struggle to reach a wide enough audience to be considered successful. We'll see where the chips fall on Sunday.
After a pretty good limited run (where it has earned $1.68 million thus far) Emma. expands nationwide this weekend to see if it can play as well with general audiences. The story is classic - Anya Taylor-Joy plays the rich, beautiful yet selfish Emma Woodhouse, who is more than happy to try to set up love for those in her small town, but doesn't know what to do when love comes calling for her. While still taking place in 1800s England, this is still supposed to be a more modern take on Jane Austen's novel. Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, Johnny Flynn, Rupert Graves, Callum Turner, Josh O'Connor and Myra McFadyen help round out the cast. This one is obviously hoping to bring in a largely female audience and should find some success by attracting said audience. The film has earned good reviews thus far and it may find a spot in the top five - or at least get damn close. No matter, Emma. has already proven to be a good film, now it just needs to find an audience to support it.
FIRST COW The last new wide release is the definition of art house film. Director Kelly Reichardt has made a variety of films set in the Pacific Northwest: Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy and Meek's Cutoff among them. And while her films are powerful and well-received, they are not exactly what I would call magnets for general audiences. Her latest concerns a skilled cook, Cookie Figowitz (John Magaro) who finds himself with a group of fur traders in Oregon, but finds a connection only with a Chinese immigrant King Lu (Orion Lee) who has a plan to earn a fortune- but one that relies on convincing a local, wealthy landowner to part with a prized milking cow. The film features Rene Auberjonois in one of his final roles, as well as Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Alia Shawkat, Lily Gladstone and Scott Shepherd. Much like many of her earlier films, I'm sure critics will praise this but as for general audiences, I don't think they're going to pay any attention to it. And that's art house films in a nutshell. I expect it to have minimal impact at t he box office but I'm sure those who enjoy these kind of films will love it.
That does it for the new box office entries. Onward should be able to claim the title while The Way Back, and possibly Emma. will find a spot in the top five. I'll be back on Sunday with the full breakdown.
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