Eric the Clown

16% drop. That's better than both Monsters Inc. 3D in 2012 and Alvin and the Chipmunks in 2007 (that one did come out a week earlier tho)

August 9 Artemis Fowl: Kenneth Branagh’s follow-up after doing solid business with both Cinderella and Orient Express, this will be a downgrade when it comes to box office. The book series isn’t as popular as it once was, while the trailer was pretty lame, apparently failed to excite fans, and basically came and went online. Lion King will still be roaring strong too, so I don’t see how this will catch on at all. 20/65 (3.5x) Midsommar: Hereditary surprised everyone with a 3.25x multiplier after a dreadful Cinemascore. Now Ari Aster is back with another movie that will make us shit our pants. It’s a bit hard to judge this movie considering we have no trailer to base off of. Admittedly, I’m leaning towards it making less. Toni Collette’s acclaimed performance helped, and I don’t think the hook in the marketing will be as strong as the tongue clicking kid in the last movie. Scary Stories is also coming out same day. I dunno. Again, I need a trailer. 11/33 (3x) Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: The director of Autopsy of Jane Doe and Trollhunter, with Guillermo del F*ckin’ Toro as a producer seems like a good creative team. It’s apparently based off a children’s book series, but I don’t think this is going to go for kids based off the director’s previous works. Like Midsommar, one that’s hard to grasp until we get a trailer. Just gonna assume the del Toro name draws people's attentions more than Ari Aster's. 15/40 (2.67x)

Well, I guess I might as well do a couple of mine. August 2 Dora the Explorer: Just the very idea of this movie’s existence makes me laugh my ass off. A live-action adaptation of a Nick Jr. show that sees Dora dealing with high school? It definitely feels like Paramount was really scrounging for ideas when this got greenlit. Not only is the premise stupid, this movie doesn’t seem like it will appeal to anyone. Preschoolers likely won’t be interested in a live-action spin that sees the character they know all grown up. Hell, the actual show ended in 2014, so do many current-day preschoolers even know who Dora is? The brand has no appeal towards adults, and it’s a stretch to say kids today will have much interest in seeing a show targeted towards babies on the big screen. With Lion King still bringing in money, don’t expect this to stick around. 10/35 (3.5x) Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw: For the record @WrathOfHan, you need to change your name to WrathofHobbs when this comes out. It's just a perfect name change. Anyway, we finally have a studio capitalizing on the Guardians/Suicide Squad weekend with another big summer end capper. Of course, this won’t be anywhere near as big as those movies, but I think this will do very well. There’s already a lot of publicity for the film with the Rock/Tyrese feud, while Johnson and Statham certainly have their fanbases, and people liked them together in F8 of the Furious. Add on David Leitch as a director, and Idris Elba as the villain, and it’s fair to say this could do reasonably well, especially since August and Labor Day will somewhat alleviate the franchise’s typical frontloaded nature. 80/195 (2.43x) New Mutants: Ah yes, the X-Men movie that was supposed to come out April last year. Like Dark Phoenix, does anyone actually care about this? Hobbs and Shaw’s already coming out the same day, and Fox is probably twiddling their thumbs, waiting for Disney to put the X-Men in the MCU. And while Dark Phoenix at least has characters fans will recognize there’s nothing for fans of the FOX-Men to really latch on to in the marketing, so there’s even less appeal. Sorry Anya. 20/50 (2.5x)

Escape Room's Monday is: 106% of Hannah Grace's Monday: 6.8M 57% of Hell Fest's: 2.9M 63% of Slender Man's: 7.1M Not a great start, but it's still just Tuesday, and we should never underestimate bored teens with nothing to do.

Movie Monday Escape Room 111 Movie/Day Monday Dogs Way Home 9 Replicas 2 Upside 6 Us 17

Y'know, at times I question our friendship.

Oh yeah, I guess Bumblebee was the last movie I saw in 2018. 'S alright I guess.

I got the trailer for it in front of Bumblebee today, and this is the first time I noticed that the train Billy goes on is Philly transit. Didn't know Philadelphia was the setting, but that's pretty cool.

How did I not recognize that was Dallas Howard as the voice? Girl deserves better than just dogs and dinos.

Fuck what past me said. I've gotten this trailer four times in a row in the theaters, and I hate it every time it pops up. Can't wait for it to finally be out and the beast is slain.

So I know this is supposed to be the controversial* predictions thread (*controversial results may vary), but Han...what is this garbage?

Alright, I changed the title. Are ya happy now?

July 26 Once Upon A Time in Hollywood: Tarantino’s next film after Hateful Eight, the first away from Harvey Weinstein, and coming out after reports over how much of a tool the director is in real life (the Uma Thurman stuff), I'm quite confident in this film. For one, unless more allegations get thrown Tarantino’s way (or if Emilie Hirsch’s shady past gets brought up again), I have my doubts that much of what has been said will stick by the time this movie comes out (whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up to you). Second, having Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead will help generate buzz. Both Basterds and Django featured major starpower, which definitely helped them in the box office. Helps that Leo's selective, making each movie that features him an event. With it being the last major adult-oriented film of the season, I think this will do solid business for Sony and put Tarantino on the right foot (heh heh) now that he’s gone from Weinstein. 35/120 (3.43x)

July 19 The Lion King: Here we go baby. The mega star. The one film we’re all anticipating or dreading. To put things into perspective, Lion King is still one of Disney’s biggest hits in their history. It adjusts to $683.6M in just its original run, and its 3D re-release saw it clear $94.2M back in 2011, so this is obviously a big brand with evergreen appeal. Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book was a smash success, thanks to its incredible VFX technology, and Beauty and the Beast was an even bigger smash success, thanks to its capitalization on 90s nostalgia. Combine the two, and this leads to something majestic. The trailer’s already broken records online, and there seems like a genuine fervor and excitement for this production from audiences. But is this going to make $1B DOM? To be honest, I don’t even think it’ll be #1 for the year. Even with the VFX wizardry, there’s still the issue of whether or not audiences will just go for the exact same movie, only with a new coat of paint. Also doesn’t help that this is a stacked summer for family flicks. It’ll still make a buttload of money, but guys...calm down a bit. 210/620 (2.95x)

July 12 17 Bridges: Even with the Russos as producers, this will probably only hit Mile 22 numbers. Not that that’s a bad thing mind you (unless the film has a weirdly high budget). 15/40 (2.67x) Stuber: Another movie that will be lost in the crazy July shuffle. Funny enough, like 17 Bridges, this also stars an MCU actor. 10/35 (3.5x)

July 5 Annabelle 3: Annabelle: Creation managed to course-correct the franchise and make a movie people actually liked. This one is bringing in the Warrens, which will certainly excite Conjuring fans. Grudge doesn’t seem like it will go anywhere, and with summer weekdays, this will likely see a mild increase from Creation. 35/45/105 (3x, 2.33x) Spider-Man: Far From Home: Spider-Man is coming fresh off a banner year. Infinity War, the PS4 game, Venom, Into the Spider-Verse. People can’t get enough of the guy. People are also loving the MCU Spider-Man. Civil War and Homecoming were praised thanks to Spidey, while Infinity War and the “I don’t feel so good” scene made Tom Holland’s character both a meme and an icon, and people are excited to see this interpretation again. The film’s also taking place in Europe, which is a new and exciting location for the webslinger. And of course, there’s also Fishbowl Gyllenhaal. The one thing that might hold it back though its its competition. Lion King will be a far more formidable foe than Apes and Dunkirk, while Hobbs and Shaw ensures August will be bigger than 2017’s. But I feel like there will be enough of an OW boost that movie will at least stay close to the first movie’s total. 130/335 (2.58x)

Guess with 2019, y'all already know I'm down with Little Women and Chaos Walking. I'm also excited to see Native Son. Ashton Sanders is arguably the best out of all of his acting comrades his age, but Hollywood's too racist to give him work, so I hope this does well. Hoping Gemini Man works out too. Love me some Lee and I want Big Willie in a good movie again. Ford v Ferrarri should be cool too. Queen & Slim has potential to be epic, as does Knives Out. Del Toro Pinocchio will be sick too. And IX should be amazeballs (suck my dick, haters). I'm a basic bitch for anything Pixar, so I'm hype for Toy Story

This was the first year I actually saw a decent amount of movies from one calendar year (somewhere in the 70s. I might check out Bumblebee later in the afternoon). Of course, I forced myself to see stuff like The Kissing Booth and Life of the Party, so I missed a lot of the movies that BOT likes. Either way, the stuff that I liked was really good. Spider-Verse is potential movie of the decade material for me. ASIB is fantastic, as is Lean on Pete and Tully. Black Panther's still the best MCU movie and is still fantastic to me (suck my dick haters). Revenge is pretty cool. House w/ Clock was a pleasant surprise that I hope more people appreciate as much as I did. I'll see some of the other cool stuff BOT's recommended in a couple months.

@DeeCee @aabattery @Gamora We also need the deets from y'all

@WrathOfHan where's the last June weekend brah?

Having both Wonder Woman and Bond leaving November really makes the month feel empty and puts things out of wack.

June 28 47 Meters Down: Uncaged: The 2017 hit no one saw coming is getting a sequel. Legs were amazing for the first one, but it feels like it'll be a "one and done" for a lot of audience members. The plot description makes it seem like it's just the same movie again, and I don't think people loved the first movie that much to see a follow-up, especially with none of the original cast. Maybe a better OW, but don't expect it to reach the same total or have the same legs. 15/40 (2.67x) Limited Partners: Tiffany Haddish has a growing fanbase, while Rose Byrne has been in several hit films over the years. There also won’t be anything out for adult women specifically since The Hustle, so this should do well. Really depends on good reviews for it to cross 100M, but I’m optimistic that this will work as a counterprogramming flick. 28/95 (3.39x) Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis Comedy: This will probably be big in the UK. Not so sure about in the US. The whole concept of a guy being the only person who remembers The Beatles just seems niche and unappealing to us Yanks. It’s a great creative team-up though, and will probably live on as a cult classic. 18/55 (3.06x) Ford v Ferrari: Great cast, solid director, interesting premise. Has all of the components for a crowdpleasing summer adult drama. Feels like one of those sleeper hits few of us will see coming. 30/120 (4x)

Not true. I was very excited for Poppins, as a Blunt fan, musical fan, and Disney fan, and I was frustrated by all the doom and gloom over its OD, and even now ("WELL THE MOVIE ISN'T MAKING THAT MUCH MONEY YOU'RE JUST A STUPID IDIOT TRYING TO HIDE SOMETHING) Didn't help that it came from people like Johnny Tran, who has spouted vitriol on how "if it's RT score is that low, that must mean the movie's real bad", and Hades, who 98% of the time spouts obnoxious anti-Disney posts (yes, I have them on Ignore. No, that doesn't fix the problem). Hell, you were doing the exact same stuff I'm complaining about earlier ("Happy to see Poppins is floppin'. Always good when Disney bombs"). Guess it's okay for me to dog on Fantastic Beasts 3's performance in the future, right? 🙄

Back from Poppins. Now gotta do my last predix for the month. June 21 Child’s Play: Whatever executive at Orion Pictures decided to open this on the same day as Toy Story deserves a raise. Anyway, this seems like a real wildcard. The horror genre is killing the game, but most consider the Chucky franchise to be silly schlock. We got a straight-to-video sequel last year. However, this is a remake of the first film with a new cast, so it might get a new audience on board. Then again, Halloween showed that being a sequel can really help a film out. Just seems like a real hard one to pin down. Let’s just say an opening in the 30s and a total somewhere in the 70s to be safe. 33/72 (2.18x) Grudge: I don’t think there will be two horror films on the same day, but let’s just assume this happens. This is another old horror franchise that isn’t really all that well-remembered or looked at fondly. But I guess there will be an audience for this, even if Child’s Play might steal some of its attention. 20/50 (2.5x) Toy Story 4: Every time I see people (aka TOG being TOG) shouting that this will make less than 250M, I roll my eyes. Yes, Forky is weird. Yes, the teasers were overshadowed by Detective Pikachu. Yes, the third movie ended things perfectly. But the truth is, most audience members aren’t going to care. General audiences want to see characters they love in a new adventure, nostalgia will still be strong, and it is still Toy Story. It’s up there with Nemo and Incredibles in terms of Pixar brands, and it has a whole month to itself in terms of family films until The Lion King and to a lesser extent Far From Home, so it should have decent legs. It can also benefit from the fact that Toy Story 3 came out 9 years ago. At this point, the kids that saw the third movie in theaters are now grown up and would likely be interested in seeing a new adventure with characters they love. To say nothing of 90s kids who have children of their own. Just put out a killer trailer, and everything will be fine. Like I said with Pets, follow-ups to big animated movies see their finished total drop in the 20s from the last movie, so let’s just assume it loses about 25% from its adjusted number. It's been 9 years, so I think it's fair. (9 years. I was approaching middle school at that time. Christ, I’m old). 110/365 (3.32x)