Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Held at Caesar’s Palace, CinemaCon is the official convention of The National Association of Theatre Owners. The movie studios conduct presentations to get their exhibition partners excited about the products they will soon have to offer them.
WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Warner Bros. set a studio record in 2017 with a global box office of $5.1 billion and had their second best domestic box office at over $2 billion. Led by Wonder Woman, which owned the summer and had the 3rd largest domestic tally. It set box-office records for a horror film and for a Stephen King property.
DC is looking to take the tarnish of their brand with Aquaman which finds Arthur heading to Atlantis claim his birth right. Director James Wan wants to make a superhero movie but also wants to do something different and create a new world. Mera is going to be a strong character. Black Manta is driven and has a reason for what he’s doing. The work-in-progress teaser was action packed. The film is set for release on Dec 21. There were brief mentions of Shazam and Wonder Woman 2, which is set in ’80s and see the Amazonian fighting Cheetah.
Melissa McCarthy is the Life of the Party as she heads to college after a divorce, The film opens May 11 and has a funny supporting cast. Helena Bonham Carter and Rhianna are the ones of Ocean’s 8 main cast not here. Set in New York, the ladies plan a heist at the Met Gala. Even with the new footage they showed, I am not sure of it yet.
The Nun is another entry in the Conjuring universe. There’s a freaky-looking character that resembles Marilyn Manson in it. It 2 is set for Sept 6, 2019. Jason Statham takes on a big shark in The Meg. Looks like it has potential to be something between Jaws and Sharknado. Out June 15, Tag is based on a true story about a group of friends who continued to play into adulthood. Somehow Jeremy Renner’s character is so awesone he has never been it.
Based on a best-selling book, Crazy Rich Asians tells the story of a gal whose boyfriend turns out to be from a family of wealthy developers from Singapore. Of course, his mom doesn’t want them to get married. It is the first film in 25 years from Hollywood with an all-Asian cast. Set for release Aug 17.
There a few animated films. Teen Titan Go! To the Movies is out 7/27. Robin wants to become a hero and have a movie made. The team also battles Slade, which probably makes sense if you know the series. Out September 28, Small Foot tells of a young yeti who tries to prove humans exist after seeing one, but his tribe disbelieves him. Mowgli is a darker version of The Jungle Book, which utilizes motion-capture. Directed by Andy Serkis, who plays Baloo. It also stars Cate Blanchett as Kaa and Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan.
Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born comes out in October. From the trailer, it looks good and this version of the film has a country folk vibe to the music. On November 16, audiences get to return to the Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. We get to back to the past to see Hogwarts and meet Dumbledore.
STX FILMS
STX Films business model is to focus on the mid-budget films that the major studios stopped making.
Based on a true story, Adrift stars Shaeliene Woodley and Sam Claflin in harrowing look at couple that gets caught in a Category 5 hurricane. Peppermint stars Jenifer Garner and looks like a variation on Death Wish as she loses her family to a gang and seeks revenge against them and the justice system that failed them. She thought it was a smart script and not just action for action’s sake. It’s out in Sept and she had a funny comment when she said who knows how it’ll turn out since she hasn’t seen it.
In Second Act, Jennifer Lopez gets a chance to be somebody after her friend’s son creates a fake Facebook profile and resume for her. Ugly Dolls is set for May 2019. Pitbull does the theme song and plays a dog character.
All involved are hoping Mile 22, starring Mark Wahlberg will be an action franchise not limited to films, but TV and virtual reality as well. It’s supposed to be a government-agent story with a twist as a group has to transport an asset 22 miles. Wahlberg’s team is the third option after diplomacy or military fail.
