What's Next
By Michael Lynderey
June 28, 2010
Robin Hood ($103 million) - All things considered, Robin Hood has somehow ended up besting every single other summer action movie, save for Iron Man 2. That said, studios will probably take caution when headlining these pricey Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe collaborations, and historical epics aren't going to see much of a revival. As for Cate Blanchett, she'll go back to her natural habitat: December, where the only expectation for her films will be that they deliver Oscar nominations rather than box office - and that's something she's never had a problem scoring.
Sex and the City 2 ($93 million) - That's still a respectable number, when you think about it, but I'd expect the series to be just about finished, at least on the big screen (though rumblings about high school-set prequels are afoot, because who wouldn't want to see that?). At the moment, Parker, Cattrall, Nixon, and Davis have no solid follow-up projects, at least on the big screen. Make of that what you will.
Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time ($86 million) - Despite hefty oversees grosses, it doesn't look like PoP will make for much of a franchise, and Jake Gyllenhaal appears to be safely retreating to films that are considerably less action-oriented (Love and Other Drugs?). His co-star, Gemma Arterton, did double duty on fantasy epics this year (see also Clash of the Titans), but she's got no more of those lined up so far. Basically, it looks like everyone's learned their lesson.
The A-Team ($62 million) - While the prospect of The A-Team 2 is pretty much off the table, the cast won't suffer the consequences: Bradley Cooper's got The Dark Fields and The Hangover 2 lined up for 2011, and Liam Neeson will never face the unemployment line. District 9's Sharlto Copley has no solid upcoming projects quite yet, but it's not like they're going to blame the box office failure here on him, right? Right?
Get Him to the Greek ($54 million) - That number certainly isn't staggering, but it's going to keep Jonah Hill and Russell Brand afloat. It's their next projects that'll tell the tale: Brand will headline the Arthur remake, and Hill will cover next summer's Adventures in Babysitting reboot (while I can't be positive - it's entirely possible, if not certain, that they've got some non-reboot projects lined up, too).
Letters to Juliet ($49 million) - Amanda Seyfried really proved herself with this one, and it looks like she's picking a more unconventional path than her co-occupationist, Katherine Heigl; up next for Seyfried: a possibly R-rated version of Red Riding Hood, scheduled for April 2011 and presumably deferring from the typical romantic comedy format.
Killers ($44 million) - Bad reviews and a middling result were the order of the day here, but that won't be fatal for either Heigl or Ashton Kutcher: she's teaming up with Josh Duhamel in romantic drama Life as We Know It, scheduled for October, while Kutcher'll be matched with Natalie Portman in an Ivan Reitman comedy early next year. So, they've both found other partners and moved on.
Marmaduke ($30 million) - While this talking canine epic certainly won't help anyone involved (especially not William H. Macy), it surely won't kill the generally lucrative pet misadventure genre, and a straight-to-video Marmaduke 2 is definitely not out of the question (in case anyone is hoping for one). As for the box office, people were clearly just holding out for Cats & Dogs 2.
Jonah Hex ($9 million) - In between Wall Street 2 and Men in Black III, Josh Brolin will survive, and John Malkovich will have a home wherever villains are needed. It's Megan Fox whose fate is in question: her one completed film, Passion Play, doesn't sound much like a wide release, and with Transformers 3 having excised itself of her presence, she's got no sure things lined up. As for poor old Jonah Hex himself, just getting a film adaptation to his name must have been a win.
MacGruber ($8 million) - That MacGyver remake is looking more and more appealing by the day. And when will we see the next SNL film, I wonder? Couldn't be any later than 2050.
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