Weekend Movie Guide: Jem, Last Witch Hunter, Steve Jobs
Ryan
Jem and the Holograms, The Last Witch Hunter, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Rock The Kabash and Steve Jobs are among the movies opening in theaters this weekend around St. Louis. See Paranormal Activity starting tonight and Steve Jobs starting tomorrow at MX Movies in downtown St. Louis.
Don’t pay regular price for a ticket to see one of these new releases in the theater. Sign up now for MoviePass at MoviePass.com.
Recapping Last Weekend
Goosebumps took the weekend box office crown with $23. 6 million in its debut weekend. The Martian stayed above the $20 million mark in its third weekend of release with $21.3 million in receipts. Bridge of Spies and Crimson Peak came in third and fourth over the weekend with $15.3 million and $13.1 million, respectively. Hotel Transylvania 2, in its fourth weekend of release, rounded out the top five with $12.6 million.
Hotel Transylvania 2 has now grossed more than $138 million domestically and $269.3 million worldwide in under four weeks in theaters. 2012’s Hotel Transylvania earned $148.3 million domestically and $358.4 million worldwide in its 144 days in theaters.
Jem and the Holograms
Audrey Peebles of Nashville fame stars as Jem from the popular 1980s cartoon series Jem and the Holograms. It’s directed by Jo M. Chu, who directed the live-action G.I. Joe but more importantly also the best movie in the Step Up franchise, Step Up 2: The Streets.
In the cartoon Jem, the lead character was the owner of a record company that fronted a band as her alter-ego. Her disguise was actually a hologram. In the movie, the character played by Audrey Peebles is discovered by record companies after her sister posts a video of her singing on YouTube. This difference leads to comparisons like this one from A.V. Club, that calls the film a “bizarre, cut-rate adaptation“. Wait, the film was made for just $5 million? Ok, maybe it is “cut-rate”. Considering what this movie could have been, it’s really a shame this was the movie that they came up with.
Todd M. Thatcher predicts a $4.1 million opening weekend for Jem and the Holograms.
The Last Witch Hunter
Vin Diesel stars in The Last Witch Hunter, a special-effects-heavy film that Soren Andersen says you will forget about ten minutes after watching. Despite that, Diesel says there will be Last Witch Hunter 2.
Vin Diesel had planned of taking a year off after filming the latest Fast & Furious film, but agreed to film this script, which he helped create, when his friend Michael Caine signed on.
Screen Rant is predicting a $14 million opening weekend for The Last Witch Hunter.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
The Paranormal Activity franchise chugs along because it puts up numbers like 2014’s Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, which made $90 million worldwide on a budget of just $5 million. That number, of course, pales in comparison to 2009’s Paranormal Activity, which set the franchise with $193 million worldwide on a budget of just $15,000.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the sixth film in the franchise, is reported to be the last. It wraps up some things seen in the previous films while leaving some open. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the film is the way Paramount is distributing it and the response it is seeing from some theater chains.
The film will only open in 1,400 theaters around the country as some chains are boycotting it. The boycott comes in response to Paramount’s deal to release the film through video-on-demand (VOD) channels much quicker than is normal. The studio cut deals with chains like AMC Entertainment to fork over a percentage of those VOD sales in returned.
Although this marketing stunt for Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension is also pretty cool, Todd M. Thatcher predicts a $9.7 million opening for the film.
Steve Jobs
The latest film on the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, may take just a few liberties with the story of his life. Steve Jobs has seen itself become quite the target lately. Walt Mossberg of The Verge compared Aaron Sorkin’s film to Citizen Kane, which was loosely based on William Randolph Hearst, but wasn’t marketed as a movie about him. Mossberg knew Jobs and says Sorkin took quite a few liberties with the film’s subject matter and Walter Isaacson’s biography.
Many critics are praising the performances my the cast, which includes Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs as well as Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels. Critic Colin Covert also praised the work of director Danny Boyle.
ShowBuzzDaily predicts Steve Jobs will bring in around $18.5 million in its debut.
Rock The Kabash
Bill Murray and Bruce Willis star in this comedy about a music manager who discovers a female artist in Afghanistan and attempts to make her the next Afghan Star. Rock The Kabash also features Nick Jonas’s girlfriend Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Leem Lubany and Danny McBride.
Director Barry Levinson is known for the soundtracks to the movies he directs, like Good Morning, Vietnam and The Natural. He takes the same approach to this film, including “Bawitdaba” from Kid Rock, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” from Bob Dylan and “Pop Star” by Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam. Stars Lubany, Murray and Deschanel also have songs.
I’m not sure if Murray or Levinson did something to offend just about every critic out there, but Rock The Kabash is playing horrible with film critics. Todd M. Thatcher predicts a $7.8 million opening.
Catch It Before It’s Gone
Keller 8 Cinema in South County welcomes War Room, The Green Inferno and Minions to its screens this weekend.
Make It A Redbox Night
Redbox welcomes Pitch Perfect 2 to its magical red boxes this weekend.
Brought to you by Mills Apartments
Ryan
Ryan is a weird dude. He doesn't cook, yet owns a plethora of kitchen gadgets. He rationalized buying a SodaStream while unemployed. He counts Step Up 2: The Streets as one of his favorite movies along with Footloose, Rent, Grease and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He loves Mizzou but only wants them in the SEC so he can tailgate in Nashville. He owns a ShakeWeight and AbLounger, but still loves him some John Donut and Billie's Fine Foods. You can get more of Ryan at iLoveSoulard.com or just check the stool on the far end of the bar at iTap in Soulard.
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