Welcome to the Box Office Oracle–where new movies are pitted against each other for box office supremacy and only one can claim victory. Each week, I will be doing a quick box office prediction for all wide new releases. Sorry, obscure indie films I’ve never heard of, but you aren’t going to be discussed here unless you become big.
This is also something I’m going to keep as free of “controversy” if I can. This means that if, I don’t know, Jon Voight is voicing an evil government agent talking bear in a DreamWorks movie, I’m not going to make a bunch of Trump jokes. If a Tom Cruise actioner comes out, I’m not going to make a bunch of Scientology cracks. You get the idea. I want for this to be kept fun and simple.
So, without any further discussion, let’s get into this weekend’s two big new releases The Gentlemen and The Turning.
The Gentlemen
Alright, alright, alright!
Guy Ritchie returns to his edgier roots with this black comedy in which Matthew McConaughey plays a gangster and that pretty much seems to be the main selling point here. It’s hard to tell from the trailers what exactly the plot is, but there’s plenty of cheeky and violent humor, and it all looks very entertaining. Critics are on board at 71% “fresh” over at RT, but will audiences be eager to shell out ten bucks for this one?
That’s hard to say. From what I’ve gathered, The Gentlemen is being marketed as a big shoot ’em up when it isn’t one, as most of the story is about trying to figure out who shot who after an explosive opening. That may not be the kind of thing that sells with mainstream moviegoers–especially when they’ve been promised something else–and it’s worth noting that this is coming to us from the struggling STX Films. Give The Gentlemen a “fine” opening of $10 million.
Why Your Fortune Cookie Tells You To Go: This looks like a cartoony and enjoyable comedy that should please fans of the gangster genre.
Why Your Fortune Cookie Tells You To Stay Away: I mean, chances are you’re going to Bad Boys instead this weekend, right?
Today’s Lucky Lotto Numbers: $10 million debut; $31 million finish.
The Turning
Another week, another January horror movie. But this one does look pretty nifty, with slick production values and an effectively creepy trailer. The plot involves a nanny who gets far more than she signed up for when she’s put in charge of some probably very evil children. Also, a haunted house may be involved.
A loose adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, this is something that would be looking at a lot more money if we hadn’t just had two scare flicks thrown at us. That’s all a shame, since this does appear to be a solid thrill ride. Look for $8 million.
Why Your Fortune Cookie Tells You To Go: Haters gonna hate, but I quite liked the preview for this. It looks spooky and atmospheric.
Why Your Fortune Cookie Tells You To Stay Away: Again, Bad Boys is still playing.
Today’s Lucky Lotto Numbers: $8 million opening; $24 million finish.
Other fun stuff…
* Despite all of the bad reviews, I can safely say that Doolittle is easily the best movie I’ve seen all year. (Note: Doolittle is the only movie I’ve seen so far this year)
* What will YOU be doing this weekend? Sound off in the comments!