Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
March 27, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Brett Ballard-Beach: Monsters University, for the family. That'll be the first First-Run feature I am considering taking my three-year-old to (we saw about 15 animated films in the last 12 months second-run). And for myself, Frozen, to simply hear what Kristen Bell can do with the role of a Disney princess. Nothing else I see on the slate through December inspires much more than a "meh/eh" from me.
Felix Quinonez: Monsters University. I am a bit disappointed that Pixar seems to be relying more on established product than original ideas lately but the first Monsters, Inc. was one of my favorite of their movies. And I am still a Pixar supporter.
Matthew Huntley: I'd have to say Despicable Me 2. The first one was good, but I have a sneaking suspicion the filmmakers are really going to hit their stride with the next one. I hope so, anyway.
Bruce Hall: The Wind is Rising. Miyazaki. Man-squeeee. Yeah. I said that.
Edwin Davies: I've heard a lot of great things about From Up on Poppy Hill, the new film from Goro Miyazaki who directed the pretty dire Earthsea adaptation from a few years ago. However, everyone I know who's seen it says that it's great, and given his pedigree I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Other than that, I'm in full-on Pixar fanboy mode as far as Monsters University is concerned.
Jay Barney: I am actually excited to see the Croods, and I just hope that the local drive-in movie theater decides to offer it as one of its kid-friendly options. Drive-ins are such great fun. To that point, let's just take a look at last summer and discuss MISSED opportunities. During the course of 2012 there were not that many kid-friendly films. Some people might take issue with my defining an age range here, but I am talking about that group of movies that you would logically take only little kids to. If I remember correctly, there were really only a few. Last year when the summer movie season arrived, the Lorax was still playing, but that was already two months old. It was quality, and deserved the time in theaters that it got. That flick was really the only kids selection for nearly two months of box office screen time. That is crazy. Late April 2012 gave us Pirates:Band of Misfits but there wasn't another kids offering for several more weeks. It wasn't until June that Madagascar 3 was released. Then it was another couple of weeks before Brave made it into theaters. Ice Age: Continental Drift wasn't released until mid July. Finally, on one of the last weekends of the summer, we got ParaNorman. I just don't think five or six kids releases during the obvious time of the year to bring kids to the movies is smart on the part of the major studios.
So which kids films am I excited for? ANY of them. Let me bring my son to a nice, non-violent, animated film and I will consider that time well spent.
Max Braden: I'm still a fan of origin stories and prequels, so I'm happy to get Monsters University. I'll miss the little girl from Inc., though, she was adorable. For this year though, the one I think I'm most excited to see is Planes. I thought that trailer was great, and Cars was one of my favorite movies of the year. Turbo also looks ridiculously funny, and I like ridiculous.
David Mumpower: I want to answer Monsters University. Really, I do. My love of Monsters, Inc. is total; I consider it to be one of Pixar's three finest outings. My concern is simple. We all saw Cars 2 and Brave. After Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up, Pixar could do no wrong in anyone's eyes. At this moment, the bloom is not fully off the rose but there is enough cause for concern that I refuse to raise my hopes for Monsters University. In truth, my primary concern is that its quality lessens my enjoyment of the original movie. That thankfully did not happen with Cars, a movie I happen to love, when Cars 2 proved to be above average but nothing special.
Since Pixar does not excite me at the moment and I am not the Miyazaki fan that my wife is, my options are reduced to a pair of less heralded animation houses. Despicable Me from Illumination Entertainment was an imperfect film but its heart was in the right place, an aspect I prioritize with family entertainment. I love the Minions and I adore "It's so fluffy!" so much that it warms my soul.
Upon reflection, however, I have determined that the animated movie I anticipate the most this year is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. I loved the original to the point that I ever so slightly preferred it to Up. I have a concern about a successor in that I believe the presence of the Clone High team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller was crucial to the original. Still, I think that this is the premise that lends itself most naturally to a sequel. I also loved the whimsy and geniality of the original. As long as those traits carry over to the sequel, I expect Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 to prove satisfying. At the moment, I am more optimistic about it than its more celebrated counterparts.
Kim Hollis: I love animated films of all sorts, as has been well documented over the nearly 12 years this site has been in existence. Monsters, Inc. is probably my second favorite Pixar film (it was my favorite until Up), and I will watch everything Hayao Miyazaki ever directs. So I guess that means I'm all about Monsters University and The Wind Rises, which reminds me of an earlier Studio Ghibli film in Whisper of the Heart (which Hayao Miyazaki wrote but did not direct). Miyazaki is truly one of my biggest inspirations.
Kim Hollis: Olympus Has Fallen, the FilmDistrict thriller set in the White House, opened with $30.4 million this weekend. What do you think of this result?
Brett Ballard-Beach: I see a lot of upsides here - Director Antoine Fuqua's largest opening weekend, distributor FilmDistrict's largest opening weekend (and soon to be their highest grosser), Gerard Butler's biggest live-action weekend after 300 - as well as the fact that it just about outperformed the Schwarzenegger/Stallone/Statham trio of flops' combined final grosses, and it stacked up well against the latest Die Hard opening. If this has any kind of legs, it will push past that. too. The timing was right for an Act of Valor-ish, "America **- yeah" kind of action film that could be described as .... Die Hard in the White House. Kudos to Butler for exec producing and finding himself the right kind of role. On a side note, I think this will play Deep Impact to White House Down's Armageddon, meaning there are enough greenbacks to go around and nobody gets hurt (But since this is R-rated and WHD will be PG-13, I imagine, this opening is all the more impressive). The best review quote came from the Village Voice critic who noted that "there are parts of the country where this will play as less than total farce."
Felix Quinonez: I think this is a great result especially when you consider how many action movies with bigger name stars have flopped lately. I was expecting this to open in the high teens so I am very impressed. Also, its A- Cinemascore suggests that people seemed to be pleased. The only real problem I see is that it has GI Joe to compete with next weekend.
Bruce Hall: I think Brett kind of nailed the salient points here. But I would only add that for a generic looking potboiler starring the reliable but often bland Aaron Eckhart, the appealing but wildly uneven Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman (again) playing Morgan Freeman, AND the North Koreans (really?) taking over the White House - a $30 million opening is akin to the parting of the Red Sea.
Which, I believe, Morgan Freeman could facilitate.
Edwin Davies: Brett touches upon the reason why I think this is pretty impressive; it's an action film released in 2013 that's actually doing okay. In any other year, I'd think that this was a solid result, but when you compare it to the films that have crashed and burned over the last couple of months, this looks pretty damn spectacular. Even more so when you consider that it looked really uninspired from all the ads, which suggests to me that the old "Die Hard in a [blank]" plot construction still holds a lot of appeal, so long as it's not "Die Hard in Russia."
Jay Barney: This is a very strong opening and I wouldn't be surprised if we are talking about this film as a success story for a month or so. First, putting it up against the production budget of $70 million and doing the math; this film should make it all back and then some when worldwide gross is taken into account. Also, the reviews and word-of-mouth seem to be positive to strong, so this is a product many people will probably go ahead and see. It also helps to measure this against the other action movies of the year so far, and by that measure it is also a success. Die Hard flopped domestically, Arnold and Stallone's returns to the big screen bombed, and a few other "actiony" movies have not done great. The studio should be smiling about the prospects for this one.
Max Braden: I associate this movie more with Gerard Butler than Fuqua, and for something that looks fairly similar in style to Gamer and Law Abiding Citizen, this is a huge improvement for him. I wondered about potential sensitivity to images of the White House being attacked (somehow this version looks more concerning than the more cartoonish takeover in the upcoming GI Joe: Retaliation) with a slight uptick in awareness of 9/11 due to Zero Dark Thirty recently, and recent saber-rattling by North Korea, but that doesn't seem to have a negative effect at the box office.
David Mumpower: I agree with Felix in that his point is the most interesting one to me. In a year where so many action films have died horribly, this Roland Emmerich knock-off has performed very well on opening weekend. With a respectable budget of $70 million and some overseas appeal, Olympus Has Fallen has elevated itself above much more storied competitors. Brett touched upon the John McClane aspect. I would add that this is over $5 million more than A Good Day to Die Hard earned, and that was a *holiday-inflated* total. I guess monument porn is finally back in vogue after the awkward post-9/11 years.
Kim Hollis: Until I heard a co-worked being all excited about seeing this movie, I didn't give it much thought. It looked terrible to me, like something I'd never want to see. After hearing a small bit of buzz amongst the type of people who don't necessarily hurry out to movies on opening weekend, I figured it had a chance at breaking out pretty well. I was still surprised by how much.