Brian Banks | August 9th, 2019 | Bleecker Street | starring Aldis Hodge and Greg Kinnear | about the true story of a football player accused of a crime he didn't commit

[SLAM!]

 

 

 

This film is the true story of a football player accused of a crime he didn't commit. It stars Aldis Hodge and Greg Kinnear, among others. It releases on August 9th, 2019 in an attempt to serve as counter-programming against Artemis Fowl, The Kitchen, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Slambros

[JB33]

Hmm, I was wondering what this movie was after seeing it on the August schedule forever.

[SLAM!]

Just now, JB33 said:

Hmm, I was wondering what this movie was after seeing it on the August schedule forever.

 

I think Bleecker Street has been given a good opportunity here. The distributor was able to stand their ground on a crowded weekend slate, and now that it's four films instead of six films, it'll be much easier for the film to stand out. Mid-budget films starring African-American performers have recently been able to do well at the box office, easily make back their budgets, and display surprising legs (What Men Want, A Madea Family Funeral, and Little come to mind). This is a specific niche that this film is able to serve for the entirety of the month of August. So I'm definitely going to be optimistic about this film. I see it as a prime candidate to be a sleeper hit. 

[JB33]

On 4/27/2019 at 12:53 PM, SLAM! said:

 

I think Bleecker Street has been given a good opportunity here. The distributor was able to stand their ground on a crowded weekend slate, and now that it's four films instead of six films, it'll be much easier for the film to stand out. Mid-budget films starring African-American performers have recently been able to do well at the box office, easily make back their budgets, and display surprising legs (What Men Want, A Madea Family Funeral, and Little come to mind). This is a specific niche that this film is able to serve for the entirety of the month of August. So I'm definitely going to be optimistic about this film. I see it as a prime candidate to be a sleeper hit. 

How are you feeling about this now @SLAM!? The same? Breakout, dud or somewhere in between?

 

There's a chance it pulls an I Can Only Imagine but I'm willing to bet this will get lost in the shuffle among the 4 other wide releases it's sharing that date with, which aren't tracking too hot themselves. O/U $1,500 PTA on this one, folks?

[SLAM!]

8 hours ago, JB33 said:

How are you feeling about this now @SLAM!? The same? Breakout, dud or somewhere in between?

 

There's a chance it pulls an I Can Only Imagine but I'm willing to bet this will get lost in the shuffle among the 4 other wide releases it's sharing that date with, which aren't tracking too hot themselves. O/U $1,500 PTA on this one, folks?

 

I honestly think it's going to get lost in the shuffle. Bleecker Street has had mixed success with their wide releases, and many similar films have come and gone. I think one big problem is that the movie doesn't feel very 'theatrical'. Even films such as Green Book and Race at the very least felt theatrical.

[JB33]

1 hour ago, SLAM! said:

 

I honestly think it's going to get lost in the shuffle. Bleecker Street has had mixed success with their wide releases, and many similar films have come and gone. I think one big problem is that the movie doesn't feel very 'theatrical'. Even films such as Green Book and Race at the very least felt theatrical.

Yeah that's a good point. Watching the trailer, the film doesn't strike me as anything that couldn't have been made for and seen on TV.

 

I'm betting on under $1,500 PTA for this on OW, which means a $2.25M weekend or under.

[SLAM!]

3 hours ago, JB33 said:

Yeah that's a good point. Watching the trailer, the film doesn't strike me as anything that couldn't have been made for and seen on TV.

 

I'm betting on under $1,500 PTA for this on OW, which means a $2.25M weekend or under.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the movie fails to gross in the weekend top 10. Similar films have failed in a similar way.

[JB33]

Starts with 80% on RT after 5 reviews:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brian_banks

[SLAM!]

1 hour ago, JB33 said:

Starts with 80% on RT after 5 reviews:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brian_banks

 

I can't remember if it was I Can Only Imagine or Breakthrough that had 80% with five reviews, but that's still an interesting comparison. I really hope this pulls out a nice surprise for Bleecker Street's sake.

[JB33]

3 hours ago, SLAM! said:

 

I can't remember if it was I Can Only Imagine or Breakthrough that had 80% with five reviews, but that's still an interesting comparison. I really hope this pulls out a nice surprise for Bleecker Street's sake.

I'm not really sure. All I know is I have my doubts that this is a unique enough story to go big. I Can Only Imagine wasn't that unique either, but we know that anything involving music sells. Well, that and it was legitimately a good movie. Took my mom to see it when it released. Going in I thought it would be solely for her but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it myself.

[DAJK]

Is this... a Christain film? I honestly can't tell from the trailer. Is Morgan Freeman playing God again? This is directed by Tom Shaydac lol so... maybe?

 

Either way, I think it looks good. 

[MrGamer]

8 minutes ago, DAJK said:

Is Morgan Freeman playing God again?

The Bruce Almighty cinematic universe still going strong.

[JB33]

3 hours ago, DAJK said:

Is this... a Christain film? I honestly can't tell from the trailer. Is Morgan Freeman playing God again? This is directed by Tom Shaydac lol so... maybe?

 

Either way, I think it looks good. 

I don't know but I doubt he's in it for anymore than like a minute. He's uncredited for this apparently.

[JB33]

67% on RT after 6 reviews:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brian_banks

[JB33]

Deadline pegging this for less thatn $2M this weekend. 

 

And I thought I lowballed it.

[rjones1325]

No disrespect to the living figure, whose true story most likely is as incredible as it sounds, but Brian Banks is one of the most derivative and cliched dramas released this year. I don’t want to go on another tirade about White filmmakers telling Black stories, but when you’ve got the director of Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty, and Evan Almighty at the helm of a biopic drama, along with the screenwriter of Akeelah and the Bee -- who hasn’t written a movie since Akeelah and the Bee until now -- then you get exactly what you bargained for: a mediocre drama with simplistic dialogue, generic plotting, and scenes so obnoxiously confident that they’re saying something meaningful. Meanwhile, they can’t even tell a cohesive story. 

 

https://www.rendyreviews.com/movies//brian-banks-review

 

 

 

[JB33]

Welp, had to expect that. These biopics from small studios rarely work out.

[JB33]

Oof, this fell 67.1% in its 2nd weekend, losing only 21% of its theatres. Likely due for another big drop this weekend, after which it could very well be yanked from theatres. It JUST passed $4M domestic yesterday (56k on Wednesday for a $4,000,201 total).

 

Did anyone here actually see it?