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The Amazing Spider-Man 2

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), now graduating from high school, has a handle on his double-life, though his love Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who knows Peter’s secret, is tired of it. They break up just as Spider-Man faces a new foe: Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx). A nerdy low-level electrical engineer at Oscorp, Max falls into a vat of genetically-modified electric eels and gets zapped, leading to his transformation into Electro, a power-eating incandescent blue figure capable of dematerializing and traveling through the city’s electrical grid in the form of a current.

Harry Osbourne (Dane DeHaan) is Peter’s former classmate and childhood friend who has a degenerative condition passed down from his father who needs Spider-Man’s blood to save himself, not knowing the web-slinger and his pal are the same person. After he attempts to treat it himself in the lab, the experiment goes awry mutating him into a sky-surfing green imp called the Hobgoblin.

As Peter and Gwen reunite, Hobgoblin enlists Electro to help him and the two go after both Spider-Man and Gwen.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy // Runtime: 2 hr. and 22 min. // Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore with Paul Giamatti and Sally Field // Directed by: Marc Webb // Based on the Marvel Comic Book by: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko // Screen Story by: Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci & Jeff Pinker and James Vanderbilt // Screenplay by: Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci & Jeff Pinker // Produced by: Columbia Pictures, Marvel Enterprises, Avi Arad Productions, Matt Tolmach Productions // Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

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The Other Woman

After discovering the man she’s been falling in love with, Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), is married, Carly (Cameron Diaz) tries to get her ruined life back on track. But when she accidentally meets the wife he’s been cheating on, Kate (Leslie Mann), she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. When yet another affair, Amber (Kate Upton), is discovered, all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on the cheating, lying, three-timing Mark.

Louise Keller of Cinefile calls The Other Woman, “Disarmingly funny in a raucous, slapstick kind of way, this Blonde Power revenge comedy is a laugh a minute, thanks to a bitingly funny script and knock out performances by Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann. First time screenwriter Melissa Stack has constructed a delicious over-the-top scenario in which sex, lies and infidelity are the name of the game. And the game is great fun. Diaz and Mann complement each other beautifully: Diaz is elegantly sexy, countered by superb comic timing, whereas Mann uses her wide-eyed girlie innocence through an onslaught of slapstick.”

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Comedy | Romance // Runtime: 1 hr. and 49 min. // Starring: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau // Directed by: Nick Cassavetes // Written by: Melissa Stack // Produced by: LBI Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation // Distributed by: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

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Transcendence

Researcher Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is one of the world’s most visible proponents of artificial intelligence (AI) along with close friend Max (Paul Bettany). When a group of Luddite, anti-technology terrorists, successfully coordinate strikes against researchers in the AI community, Will is shot with a bullet  primed with radioactive matter – giving him just weeks to live.

Initially devastated, Will and his loving wife and fellow researcher Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) realize that one of their slain peers successfully uploaded the consciousness of a rhesus monkey to a computer, so Evelyn and Max attempt to do the same with Will transferring his thoughts, memories and personality onto a super-computer PINN (Physically Integrated Neural Network). But once the upload is complete, Max immediately begins to worry that the computer has discovered awareness — what Will called “transcendence” — and is using a Will’s likeness to get Evelyn to go along with what might be more sinister plans.

Alonso Duralde of The Wrap writes, “One solid take-away from Transcendence is Rebecca Hall’s performance as a computer genius (she’s not just Will’s wife, she’s his collaborator) so blinded by grief and by the possibilities of pushing science to the next level, that she aids and abets Will’s ambitious, terrifying agenda.” Boxoffice.com predicts that Transcendence will open at $18.5M in its debut weekend.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi // Runtime: 1 hr. and 59 min. // Starring: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman // Directed by: Wally Pfister // Written by: Jack Paglen // Produced by: Alcon Entertainment, DMG Entertainment, Straight Up Films, Syncopy // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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Rio 2


Rio 2 finds our hero Blue (Jesse Eisenberg) living happily in Rio de Janeiro with his wife, Jewel (Anne Hathaway), and their three young chicks. But when an entire flock of their species, the endangered blue macaw, is discovered 2,000 miles away deep in the Amazon rainforest, Blue and company take off to investigate. What they find is that the rainforest macaws’ patriarch is actually Jewel’s long lost father, who’s leading the defense against encroaching loggers. Whether Blue can prove his worth to his disdainful new father-in-law and help offer an effective defense against the mounting threat may prove to be a staggering challenge for the formerly domesticated macaw.

Tom Huddleston of TimeOut writes, “Director Carlos Saldanha is all heart. Every movie he makes is stuffed with warmth, charm and simple but effective lessons about family, responsibility and friendship.”

Rating: G // Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy // Runtime: 1 hr. and 42 min. // Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement // Directed by: Carlos Saldanha // Screenplay by: Yoni Brenner // Story by: Don Rhymer and Carlos Saldanha // Produced by: Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios // Distributed by: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Gkids

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300: Rise of An Empire

300: Rise of An Empire takes place simultaneously as its box-office-smash predecessor, 300. As the Persian military draws closer to Greece, general turned politician Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) readies his countrymen and leads the charge against the invading Persian forces at sea led by Artemisia (Eva Green), the most skilled and merciless commander in the Persian navy. With long sweeping action shots and incredible visuals and fight choreography, this follow-up was just as fresh as the original. It was actually the first movie I’ve really enjoyed in 3D.

Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times writes, “As much performance art as movie, 300: Rise of an Empire unfolds as beautiful, bloody, slow-motion machismo. Torsos bared, swords flashing, another 300 rock the leather skirts and loincloths with pounding, passionate music perfectly underscoring this latest round of the ‘beautiful death’ the ancient Greeks were so poetic about.” Boxoffice.com anticipates that 300: Rise of an Empire will open at $33M this weekend.

Rating: R // Genre: Action, Drama, War // Runtime: 1 hr. and 42 min. // Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson and Callan Mulvey // Directed by: Noam Murro // Screenplay by: Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad // Based on the Graphic Novel by: Frank Miller // Produced by: Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, Cruel and Unusual Films/Mark Canton/Gianni Nunnari Productions // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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3 Days to Kill

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is a spy – estranged from both his wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) and daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld) – who gets diagnosed with brain cancer early on in the movie. With months to live, he decides to get his affairs in order and go to Paris, where Christine and Zoey live, to reconnect with his family for whatever time he has left.

But when Christine leaves for a business trip, and he’s tasked with three days of babysitting the daughter he barely knows, he’s pulled back into the game by a CIA handler named Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) who promises him an experimental drug that may potentially save his life in return for killing a mysterious villain named the Wolf (Richard Sammel).

Roger Moore of the McClatchy-Tribune News Service writes, “Daft and sloppy as it is, 3 Days to Kill rarely fails to entertain. From the bike riding lessons on Montmartre to dopey interrogation of the Italian ‘Accountant,’ interrupted for a marinara sauce recipe, it’s all part and parcel of the madness of writer Luc Besson’s, From Paris, With Love, filtered through McG and slapping a new stamp of ‘cool’ on the aging Oscar winner, Costner.”

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Crime, Drama // Runtime: 1 hr. and 53 min. // Starring: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen // Directed by: McG // Screenplay by: Adi Hasak & Luc Besson // Story by: Luc Besson // Produced by: 3DTK, EuropaCorp, Relativity Media, Wonderland Sound and Vision // Distributed by: Relativity Media

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RoboCop


Like our last featured film – RoboCop is set in the near future where drones manufactured by OmniCorp have become one of the dominant forms of policing worldwide but are barred by law from operating within the US. Recognizing the potential revenue being lost, OmniCorp owner Raymond Sellars embarks upon an ambitious marketing ploy of sorts – combining man and machine – to create a cybernetic cop. Lucky for him, he the perfect candidate falls into his lap more or less. After a car bomb leaves Detroit police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), critically wounded, Murphy’s wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) consents to having him resurrected as a crime-fighting robot. Albeit, one that finds himself slave to a corporate grade like the 1987 original.

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune writes, “Intriguingly ambiguous – there’s a lot to enjoy. This movie comes at you with an idea or two, as well as every available gun blazing.” Boxoffice.com predicts that RoboCop will take in $28M this weekend.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi // Runtime: 1 hr. and 48 min. // Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson // Directed by: José Padilha // Screenplay by: Joshua Zetumer // Based on the 1987 Screenplay by: Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner // Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Strike Entertainment // Distributed by: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

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Her

Set in a future Los Angeles, Her is the story of Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a soft-spoken, bushy mustached writer who composes heartfelt notes-for-hire at a company called beautifulhandwrittenletters.com. Pining over the pending divorce from his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara), with whom he is already separated, Theodore signs up for the latest in computer breakthroughs, the OS1 (operating system), in search of companionship.

Highly intelligent, eager to learn and able to speak for herself, his personal Siri-like OS calls herself Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Chipper and smoky-voiced, she is an ever evolving consciousness. Not only does Samantha debug Theodore’s computer – she helps reboots his life as their rapport goes from flirty to romantic, and the two figure out how to make things work while learning and growing both as individuals and as a couple.

Christopher Orr of the Atlantic writes, “Her is a remarkably ingenious film but, more important, it is a film that transcends its own ingenuity to achieve something akin to wisdom. By turns sad, funny, optimistic, and flat-out weird, it is a work of sincere and forceful humanism.”

Rating: R // Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance // Runtime: 2 hr. and 6 min. // Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Ronney Mara, Olivia Wilde and Scarlett Johansson // Directed and Written by: Spike Jonze // Produced by: Annapurna Pictures // Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

In the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy, the 12 dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), along with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), continue on their quest across Middle-earth to reclaim their homeland from Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), the dragon that drove them out in the exposition of the first movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the company continues to travel east, encountering the skin-changer Beom and swarms of monsters in the treacherous forest of Mirkwood. After escaping capture by the dangerous wood-elves, the dwarves journey to Lake-town and finally to the Lonely mountain itself where they must face the greatest danger of all – the dragon Smaug.

Justin Chang of Variety writes, “Robust and action-packed, Jackson’s gargantuan undertaking maintains an impressive visual continuity with his incomparable Lord of the Rings trilogy. There’s an unmistakable pleasure in being transported back to his Middle-earth. As ever, in terms of logistical mastery and marshaling of resources in service of a grandly involving bigscreen [sic] entertainment, one couldn’t ask for a better ringmaster (so to speak) than Jackson.”

BoxOffice.com is predicting that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug takes in $80M in its opening weekend. Its predecessor, An Unexpected Journey, opened at $84.6, so we’ll see what happens. Linked above is the official Warner Bros. site for The Hobbit where you can explore Middle Earth interactively, and it’s remarkable to say the least.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy // Runtime: 2 hr. and 41 min. // Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage // Based Upon the Novel by: J.R.R. Tolkien // Screenplay by: Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro // Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), New Line Cinema, WingNut Films // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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Carrie

A reimagining of Stephen King’s Carrie, Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a shy girl bullied relentlessly by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore). But when Carrie gets pushed past her breaking point at prom, she wreaks vengeance on her high school classmates.

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Director Kimberly Peirce’s respectful Carrie overhaul is an earnest yet engrossing take on the original. What’s more, it captures the tender, tortured mother-daughter conflict at the center of Stephen King’s indestructibly compelling story in vivid performances from Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore.”

Rating: R // Genre: Drama, Horror // Runtime: 1 hr. and 40 min. // Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Gabriella Wilde // Directed by: Kimberly Peirce // Based Upon the Novel by: Stephen King // Screenplay by: Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa // Produced by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Screen Gems, Misher Films // Distributed by: Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Releasing

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Captain Phillips

It was just another day on the job for 53-year-old Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship carrying food and agricultural materials for the World Food Program among other things, until armed Somali pirates climbed aboard using a ladder they hooked to the ship’s side. Despite the captain’s $30,000 offer, all the cash he has on hand, to call it a day, the gate of pirates opts to hunker down and wait for millions of dollars in insurance money. But as a U.S. Naval vessel closes in, the pirates take off in a lifeboat to ransom their most valuable asset, Captain Phillips, culminating in a tense five-day stand-off.

David Ehrlich of Film.com writes, “Captain Phillips is not only a masterful action movie that breathlessly and believably re-stages a tense standoff at sea, but a resonant portrait of systemized financial imbalance trickling down into the water. While this is arguably director Paul Greengrass’ best film, it’s almost certainly his most urgent.” BoxOffice.com predicts that the movie will open at $20M.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Biography, Drama // Runtime: 2 hr. and 14 min. // Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman // Directed by: Paul Greengrass // Based Upon the Book by: Richard Phillips, Stephan Talty // Screenplay by: Billy Ray // Produced by: Michael De Luca Productions, Scott Rudin Productions, Translux, Trigger Street Productions // Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing, Columbia Pictures

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Gravity

Veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), on what is slated to be his last mission to space, and his colleague Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical engineer on her first, are marooned when a swath of debris destroys their shuttle killing every other astronaut on-and-off-board. Drifting 372 miles away from Earth and cut off from any human contact, their only hope for survival is to quickly travel to a Soviet space station in search of a usable escape module before running out of oxygen all while avoiding more lethal debris.

Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice writes, “Gravity is remarkable. Both lyrical and terrifying, director Alfonso Cuarón merges the two, sending us into free fall along with his characters in the kind of movie that makes you feel more connected to the world rather than less.”

BoxOffice.com predicts that Gravity will earn $42M in its debut weekend. As of publishing, the movie is holding a solid 98% on RottenTomatoes.com with 99 reviews, only two of which are rotten.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi // Runtime: 1 hr. and 30 min. // Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris  // Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón // Written by: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón // Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures, Esperanto Filmoj, Heyday Films // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Bravo Design Inc
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 picks up right where its prequel left off. Inventor Flint Lockwood’s (voiced by Bill Hader) genius is finally being recognized as he’s invited by his childhood hero, a mash-up between Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, Chester V (voiced by Will Forte), to join The LIVE Corp., where the best and brightest inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. It’s only after Flint, Sam (voiced by Anna Faris) and the gang move to San FranJose that Chester’s ulterior motives reveal themselves. He wants Flint’s FLDSMDFR machine, which has evolved and now capable of producing entire ecosystems of “foodimals,” all for himself. And when I say “foodimals,” we mean shrimpanzees, French fry-legged cheespiders, hippotatomus, fruit cockateils and the like.

Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter calls it a “tasty sequel that gets an amusing boost from a genetically modified, marauding menagerie of tacodiles, watermelophants, sasquashes and assorted other ‘foodimals’ that have overtaken the once-tranquil island of Swallow Falls.”

The first Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie opened at just over $30M back in 2009, and BoxOffice.com predicts that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 will top that earning $45M in its debut weekend.

Rating: PG // Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family // Runtime: 1 hr. and 35 min. // Starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Will Forte  // Directed by: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn // Written by: Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Erica Rivinoja // Produced by: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI) // Distributed by: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing

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Prisoners

When Keller Dover’s (Hugh Jackman) six-year-old daughter and her young friend are kidnapped on Thanksgiving, he decides to take matters into his own hands. After the sole suspect, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), is detained and subsequently cut loose due to insufficient evidence, Dover takes him captive in an attempt to find out what he did with the girls, who he believes are still alive. But the further he goes to get the man to confess, the closer he comes to losing his soul.

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly writes, Prisoners is a dazzlingly potent, ambitious, and complex movie – a film that forces you to ask questions that have no easy answers. At its heart is something primitive and elemental and gripping.” BoxOffice.com predicts that Prisoners will earn around $21M in its opening weekend.

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Rating: R // Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller // Runtime: 2 hrs. and 26 min. // Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis  // Directed by: Denis Villeneuve // Written by: Aaron Guzikowski // Produced by: Alcon Entertainment, 8:38 Productions, Madhouse Entertainment // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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Getaway

In the Getaway, former race car driver Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) is pitted against the clock when his wife is kidnapped, and he’s forced to complete tasks set before him by her captor on the other end of a cell phone call. To aid in his rescue, he borrows a custom Mustang, taking it and its unwitting owner (Selena Gomez) on a high-speed adventure.

Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly calls it, “one-third Taken, one-third The Fast and the Furious, and one-third Selena Gomez in a baseball cap. It’s also 100 percent Ethan Hawke getting angry.”

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Crime // Runtime: Not Yet Released // Starring: Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, Jon Voight // Directed by: Courtney Solomon // Written by: Sean Finegan, Gregg Maxwell Parker// Produced by: After Dark Films, Dark Castle Entertainment, After Dark Films, Signature Entertainment, Silver Reel, thefyzz // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

A seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she’s a descendant of a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors, known as Shadowhunters, locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York, called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.

BoxOffice.com is predicting that The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones earns $15M in its opening weekend.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama // Runtime: 2 hr. and 10 min. // Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, CCH Pounder, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers // Directed by: Harald Zwart // Based on the novel by: Cassandra Clare // Screenplay by: Jessica Postigo Paquette// Produced by: Constantin Film International, Don Carmody Productions, Unique Features // Distributed by: Screen Gems

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We’re the Millers

David Burke (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele consists of soccer moms and the like. But when he gets jumped by a group of punks, he’s out both product and cash leaving him in major debt with his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms).

In order to square himself with Brad, David has to smuggle his next weed shipment in from Mexico. And by twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), wannabe-customer and actual virgin Kenny (Will Poulter), and runaway-teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof cover for drug smuggling: a fake family.

Jon Niccum of the Kansas City Star writes, “In a summer awash in lackluster action blockbusters and inevitable comedy sequels, We’re the Millers is a welcome arrival. A fresh premise, gifted cast and relentlessly abrasive tone make it one of the standout comedies of the year.”

BoxOffice.com is predicting that We’re the Millers generates about $22M in its opening weekend.

Rating: R // Genre: Comedy // Runtime: 1 hr. and 50 min. // Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Will Poulter, Emma Roberts // Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber // Written by: Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, John Morris // Produced by: BenderSpink, New Line Cinema, Vincent Newman Entertainment // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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The Smurfs 2

Set three-years after the first film, Gargamel (Hank Azria), last seen left in New York, has improbably become a celebrity sorcerer. Worse, he’s made two more ill-fated forays hoping to harness magical smurf essence, resulting in the creation of smurf-like creatures called naughties. Desperate to unlock the formula which would perfect his creations, he kidnaps Smurfette (Katy Perry) leading Papa (Jonathan Winters), Clumsy (Anton Yelchin), Grouchy (George Lopez), and Vanity (John Oliver)to set out for the real world and seek their friends Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and Grace Winslow (Jayma Mays) and their son, Blue (Jacob Tremblay), to form a rescue mission.

Scott Foundas of Variety writes, “Genially goofy shenanigans, incredibly corny punch lines and Hank Azaria’s go-for-broke performance as the incompetent wizard Gargamel are an entirely welcome thing in a summer movie season full of so much apocalyptic Sturm und Drang.” BoxOffice.com is reporting that The Smurfs 2 will open a around $26M.

Rating: PG // Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family // Runtime: 1 hr. and 40 min. // Starring: Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays // Directed by: Raja Gosnell // Written by: J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Jay Scherick, David Ronn, Karey Kirkpatrick // Produced by: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Hemisphere Media Capital, Kerner Entertainment Company // Distributed by: Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Releasing

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2013 Box Office

After a slow start to 2013, it turns out that the sky isn’t falling for the box office. This summer has proven to be one of the biggest on record despite an unprecedented number of big budget flops earlier on in the year. Thanks to more hits than misses, summer 2013 is running ahead of last year’s by just over ten percent and is the highest it’s ever been at this point in the season according to BoxOfficeMojo.

Highest-Grossing-Movies-Summer-2013-Bravo-Design

By definition, the summer seasons runs from the first Friday in May through Labor Day, so there are five weekends left to beat 2011’s total gross of $4.4B. Listed below are the remaining movies for the summer 2013 slate.

What’re you most excited to see?

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The Wolverine

Summoned to Japan by a comrade from World War 2, Logan (aka Wolverine) is presented the opportunity to end his curse of near immortality. Born with a mutant healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound, disease or toxin at an accelerated rate, the healing factor also slows down his aging process, enabling him to outlive everyone around him. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his limits, Wolverine becomes embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront Yakuza, ninjas and samurai, but the greatest battle of all is the one where Logan tiptoes between being a monster and becoming a human being.

Scott Collura of IGN writes, “This story paints a deep and compelling portrait of Logan, a haunted character that Hugh Jackman still finds new ways to play all these years later. A standalone adventure for the classic character that reminds us that there’s more to this genre than universe-building and crossovers, The Wolverine is the superhero movie surprise of the summer.”

Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press writes, “At this point Hugh Jackman could play the role in his sleep — but he doesn’t, and the nuances he and director James Mangold bring to the character lift this enterprise up from the usual blockbuster-sequel fare.”

BoxOffice.com is predicting that The Wolverine opens at $72M this weekend.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy // Runtime: 2 hr. and 6 min. // Starring: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Will Yun Lee // Directed by: James Mangold // Written by: Mark Bomback, Scott Frank, Christopher McQuarrie // Produced by: Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, Donners’ // Distributed by: Twentieth Century Fox

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Google TV

It looks like Google is making moves towards TV. According to the Wall Street Journal, the search magnate has approached media companies with regards to licensing content for a service that would not only stream programming but also integrate on-demand applications as well as search.

If successfully launched, this has huge implications for traditional TV as we know it and might, ultimately, create more robust competition for a segment already undergoing rapid change in the wake of new technology and diversified consumption.

Among Google’s competitors are Intel, Apple and Sony, all of whom are working on products with similar offerings. Reuters reports that Intel has allocated an estimated $2B to TV programming licensing deals but has failed to officially sign any major content companies despite offering to pay as much as 75% more than traditional industry-rates. Insiders emphasize that the $2B budget would span multiple years and is not “an upfront or ‘year one’ spend on content.”

To quote Tim Carmody of The Verge, “Internet TV is hard in ways that have little to do with technology. Striking deals with content partners is very hard. Bringing a product to market that’s comparable with what cable and satellite providers can offer, let alone more compelling, is extremely hard. It’s hard if this is what you do every day in your core business. It’s unbelievably hard if you’ve never done this before. Very few people would be surprised if Intel, like Google, couldn’t pull this off.”

Generally speaking, media companies are reluctant to rock the boat and undermine existing arrangements with distributors. While they’re open to licensing content, the best prices typically go to the biggest distributors. For Google and other would-be Internet TV companies to procure favorable rates, they would almost certainly have to accept standard programming bundles which would likely eliminate an à la carte channel offering.

That said, I can’t imagine a mass exodus from Comcast or Direct TV unless one or two things happen. The first scenario would be that Google acquires licensing rights and stacks the service with Fiber. The second, and I think this is a long shot, would be if Google offered a radically different on-demand service where content was made available as soon as it premiered, setting Google TV up with massive programming library. This would cost the company a fortune, but it would be a compelling reason to make the jump no less.

I, personally, think that application integration is a total wash seeing that TVs already come with Netflix, YouTube and Hulu installed on them. If they didn’t, I’d probably use my console. But if I didn’t have that, I could use an HDMI cable from my laptop to my TV. The point being that there’s no shortage of options here.

When it comes to the arms race for TV, the future is pretty obvious. Viewers want to watch what they want, when you want, however they want. While that might be on a tablet during your commute to work, at the gym or in the comfort of your living room, each and everyone’s preference is different. I can foresee how the first distributor who irons out all these nuances at a competitive price point might ultimately prevail in a winner take all situation.

I kind of hope it comes with super fast Internet.

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The Conjuring

Based on a true story, The Conjuring tells the tale of Roger and Carolyn Perron (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor) and their five daughters, who find that they’re not the only inhabitants in their newly bought two-story lake house. The signs, though not-so-innocuous-even-at-first (e.g., slamming doors, eerie presences, mysterious bruises), proceed to worsen.

Feeling increasingly tormented, the Perrons enlist the help of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), a demonologist and clairvoyant made famous by their investigation into the Amityville Horror, in what will prove to be the most terrifying case of their lives.

Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “On the basis of through-the-roof reactions at test screenings, Warners and New Line moved the film’s release from January to the summer tentpole season, a decision that should pay off with sizzling summer receipts from young adults. But the handsomely shot, expertly button-pushing scare-fest has the polish and the cast to draw older audiences who grew up on shockers built from performances rather than CGI.”

Justin Chang of Variety calls it, “A sensationally entertaining old-school freak out and one of the smartest, most viscerally effective thrillers in recent memory. Director James Wan’s sixth and best feature is pull-out-the-stops horror filmmaking of a very sophisticated order.”

BoxOffice.com is predicting that The Conjuring debuts at $30M.

Rating: R // Genre: Horror, Thriller // Runtime: 1 hr. and 52 min. // Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston // Directed by: James Wan // Written by: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes // Produced by: Evergreen Media Group, New Line Cinema, The Safran Company // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

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Tracking Movies: Hype in Hollywood

A couple of days ago, I was reading an article about Pacific Rim, a film we worked on that’s being released this weekend, only to learn that it had been tracking abysmally. Boxoffice.com projects a $41M opening for Pacific Rim second to Grown Ups 2. Forbes reported around $30M. Both are bad when you take into account that Pacific Rim probably cost around $200M to produce before print and advertising (P&A). For every dollar spent on production, studios spend an additional 51-58 cents on average to release and market a film in the United States and Canada according to Baseline Intelligence.

“What is tracking?” you ask. Good question.

In the Forbes article I mentioned earlier, Scott Mendelson defines tracking as “a way to measure the effectiveness of a marketing campaign and/or possibly signal where and how additional marketing dollars should be spent.” The tough part being where and how to allocate ad spend (see: attribution problems).

In any case, tracking works to gauge audience interest in a movie.

For distributors and movie marketers, the not-so-fun-part is that once you near a release date and reach the point of no return, there are no second chances to regroup or reposition a movie. Two examples off the top of my head of campaigns gone awry include Green Zone and, more recently, John Carter. Green Zone made about $15M in its debut weekend. How did it fare after? Not great. Marketing fizzled out, and the movie yielded a tepid $20M through its theatrical run for a domestic total of $35M on a $150M budget. The kicker: Matt Damon passed on a role in Avatar to make this film. John Carter proved to be an epic disaster for Disney when it yielded $282M worldwide on a $250M production budget. Why? Because no one knew anything about the film.

“How is tracking done?”

In part, through pre-release surveys and focus groups. I can’t find specific metrics currently used in forecast modeling for box office numbers, but I imagine it’s based on parameters like demand, market testing, ticket prices, number of exhibitors, rating, screening reviews, marketing/advertising budgets, etc.

Last month, Google announced that by measuring search volume, franchise status, time of year and other factors, it can predict a movie’s opening weekend with 92% accuracy. Wikipedia boasts high accuracy as well taking into account: page traffic, edits, links, etc., but Hollywood is less than impressed.

Kind of surprisingly (to me at least) is that social media isn’t a very good standard to use when testing the water whether that be for predicting box office numbers or award show winners. Dr. William J. Ward found that if Facebook were used to decide best picture at the 85th Academy Awards®, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (40M likes) would’ve won by a landslide. The same would be true if follower count on Twitter had been used. Is it a good thing the Academy isn’t run by tweens? I’m undecided.

But what strikes me as insane is that with exception to brand new releases (tracked here via seven-day-results and not weekend to weekend), every other movie is down at the box office. Monsters University, World War Z, Man of Steel, etc., each is losing steam, and will continue to do week by week, but the general outlook for Pacific Rim remains bleak despite early positive reception.

Grown Ups 2 is its big competitor as it’s the only other movie with a wide theatrical release this weekend. Its predecessor, Grown Ups, raked in $270M worldwide despite less than stellar reviews. Its greatest strength was its sheer star power, featuring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, Steve Buscemi, Norm MacDonald, Tim Meadows, etc. The sequel has gone down the same vein boasting twice as many new celebrities (sans Schneider) that range from Taylor Lautner to Shaq to the Lonely Island and so on.

The only thing is that Grown Ups 2 is holding steady at a 7% on RottenTomatoes.com with 55 reviews, only four of which is positive. Boxoffice.com projects a $47M opening, but I’m not so sure. The Lone Ranger had a 20% approval rating this time last week, and it debuted to the tune of $29M. Granted, there are going to be people who buy in knowing full well what to expect but $47M?

“What does any of this mean?” I’m glad you asked.

A few months ago, I was reading about a major production that was plagued with setbacks. Described as “a nightmare from top to bottom,” it lacked any semblance of clear creative direction, was over budgeted, behind schedule and already in need of extensive reshoots. The problems seemed to never end, which more or less culminated in one very public setback where a Hungarian counter terrorism unit confiscated 85 prop guns on a location shoot.

If you haven’t guessed, the movie was World War Z. Early on, it looked like it was dead in the water. The bad press surrounding the film led to a consensus that it was unlikely to take in more than $55M in its opening and less likely to recoup its production costs in the long-run.

World War Z opened at $66.4M and has since earned $165M domestically and $207M abroad for a total of $373M worldwide. I mean, come on. It’s Brad Pitt vs. zombies, two things moviegoers around the world love.

Part of me thinks that Pacific Rim might do spectacular just for the fact that the premise is centered squarely on giant robots punching monsters that threaten the existence of humanity right in the face. And from what I’ve seen, fans will shell out cash to see gratuitous giant robot violence. That said, I also think it’s possible that Guillermo del Toro et al. set the standard for the genre moving forward. So in my mind, projected openings mean very little.

After the dust settles, what do you think box office numbers correspond to? Quality or hype? Tell us in the comment section below. 

Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com, BoxOfficeMojo.com, Filmcrithulk

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Pacific Rim and Grown Ups 2

Pacific Rim

In the near future, giant monsters known as “Kaiju” have risen from a portal in a crevasse beneath the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a war that takes millions of lives and consumes humanity’s resources for years on end.

To combat the Kaiju, massive robots, piloted by humans, called “Jaegers” are developed to fight off the menace. But even they prove vulnerable against the giant monsters. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes to make a final stand.

Robbie Collin of The Telegraph says, “At first, watching Pacific Rim feels like rediscovering a favorite childhood cartoon – but del Toro has flooded the project with such affection and artistry that, rather than smiling nostalgically, you find yourself enchanted all over again.” Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Guillermo del Toro’s imaginative sci-fi epic is everything that monster movies since the beginning of time might have wished they could be.” Angela Watercutter of Wired writes, “Pacific Rim is literally the most awesome movie of the summer.”

Boxoffice.com is predicting that Pacific Rim opens at  around $38M this weekend. I’m going to put my prediction out there and guess $52M+.

07/17/2013 Edit: I was most certainly wrong. Pacific Rim opened at almost $38M on the dot.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi // Runtime: 2 hr. and 11 min. // Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi // Directed by: Guillermo del Toro // Written by: Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro // Produced by: Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures // Distributed by: Warner Bros.

Grown Ups 2

The all-star comedy cast from Grown Ups returns for more summertime laughs. Since the end of the first film, Lenny (Adam Sandler) has moved his family back to his hometown where the kids can ride bikes to school, and he gets to hang out with pals: Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), and Marcus (David Spade).  What quickly becomes obvious is that between old bullies, new bullies, schizophrenic bus drivers, drunk cops and costumed party crashers, sometimes crazy follows you.

Boxoffice.com predicts that Grown Ups 2 will open at $47M.

Grown Ups 2, Bravo Design Inc.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Comedy // Runtime: 1 hr. and 41 min. // Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph, Maria Bello // Directed by: Dennis Dugan // Written by: Fred Wolf, Adam Sandler, Tim Herlihy // Produced by: Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) // Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing