As we head into Daylight Saving Time change and lose an hour on Sunday, the weekend box office looks to lose plenty of business due to lackluster new products. Sony offers Chappie [CHAPI], the latest sci-fi creation from director Neil Blomkamp [NBLOM]. He burst onto the scene in 2009 when District 9 debuted with $37.4 million, but his follow-up Elysium with Matt Damon failed to top that at $30.5 million. His fans may in for further disappointment as Chappie has received mostly negative...
The Weinstein Co. has released the trailer for the political thriller No Escape [TCOUP]. Owen Wilson [OWILS] stars as an American businessman living in Southeast Asia with his family when they find themselves in the middle of a violent coup. As the rebels attack the city, they must find a safe passage to the American Embassy. Looks like the Dowdle brothers remade World War Z and replaced zombies with Asians. No Escape hitstheaters on September 2nd.
Disney has dropped the third trailer for Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron [AVNG2]. The Artificial Intelligence created by Tony Stark to fight their battles goes berserk and decides to destroy Earth's Mightiest Heroes instead. Ultron apparently recruits the Maximoff twins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, intoning "We can tear them apart from the inside". Ultron doesn't realize the same plan already failed Loki in The Avengers before he was created. Avengers: Age of Ultron lands on May...
Focus Features has uploaded the first trailer for the sci-fi thriller Selfless [SLFLS]. Ben Kingsley [BKING] plays a wealthy man with terminal cancer who undergoes a radical procedure to transfer his consciousness into the donor body of a healthy young man in the form of Ryan Reynolds [RREYN]. However, the old man in the new body soon uncovers the donor's past and he must solve the mystery of his donor's murder before he is killed again. Selfless opens in theaters on July 31st.
Roadside Attraction has revealed the teaser trailer for the drama Mr. Holmes [ASLTM]. Ian McKellen [IMCKE] stars as famed Scotland Yard detective Sherlock Holmes. He comes out of retirement to revisit his final case with the help of a young protégé. Laura Linney [LLINN] co-stars in the directed by Bill Condon [BCOND]. Mr. Holmes arrives in theaters this summer.
Sony has unveiled the domestic trailer for the comedy The Lady in the Van [TLITV]. Maggie Smith [MSMTH] reprises her stage role of Miss Shepherd from playwright Alan Bennett's memoir about a real-life woman living in a van he permitted to "temporarily" parked in his driveway. She stayed on to live there for 15 years. Filmed on the London street and in the house where they lived, The Lady in the Van arrives stateside in limited release on December 11th.
A24 has released the full-length trailer for the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina [EXMCH]. Domhnall Gleeson [DGLEE] plays a programmer who has been invited by his company's CEO, played by Oscar Isaac [OISAA] to be part of a Turing Test to evaluate an android, played by Alicia Vikander [AVIKA], on whether her artificial intelligence can fool a human being. Ex Machina opens in theaters on April 10th
Warner Bros. has uploaded a restricted trailer for the comedy Get Hard [GHARD], which might as well be called "Prison Rape Jokes: The Movie". Will Ferrell [WFERR] taps into every white man's fear of the hard knock life. Get Hard hits theaters on March 27th.
Will Smith return to the top of the weekend box office as the R-rated drama Focus [FOCUZ] debuted with an estimated $19.1 million. While 53% of the audience was female, a whopping 88% was over the age of 25.
Kingsman: The Secret Service [TSSRV] remained in second for a third week with $11.8 million.
After two weeks at the top, Fifty Shades of Grey [50SHD] finished fourth at $10.9 million.
The Lazarus Effect [LAZAR] opened in fifth place with $10.6 million. The horror film attracted a...
After a nearly two-year layoff from the big screen, Will Smith [WSMIT] returns with the R-rated drama Focus [FOCUZ]. His bankability was severely damaged when his last film After Earth bombed commercially and critically. It’s also been 7 years since Smith’s last non-sci-fi role in Seven Pounds, which opened to $14.9 million. Smith hopes to entice his fans back with a con-artist role that plays to his strength as a smooth-talking, slick operator. Warner Bros. has paired him with Margot...
