Top Movies of Summer 2017

[Udaman]

I suspect women and teenage girls are fueling this run. My 18 and 16 year old daughters saw it and loved it. My 18 year old said "its as good as The Avengers and Iron Man and Guardians." That's high praise from her. She's seeing it again tonight. My 16 year old loved it as well. Seeing it again in Sunday.

I suspect they are finally happy to see a really smart, strong woman who isn't somehow broken by her romantic past. The fact that she kicks butt only helps with their admiration!

Should have picked this movie over Pirates. Costly mistake

[brevity]

Results!

The 5 Biggest Films of the Summer (so far)

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $366,361,172
2. Wonder Woman $205,002,503
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $135,839,294
4. Alien: Covenant $71,212,212
5. Baywatch $51,065,135

Here are the current standings:

1. (tie) murpho, Reddevil, tdrake51, YmoBeThere are 3/5 (#1, #2, and #3 films)
5. (tie) IrishDevil, luburch, mkirsh are 3/5 (#1, #2, and #5 films)
8. chriso is 3/5 (#1, #4, and #5 films)
9. (tie) The 27 other people who picked Wonder Woman are 2/5 (#1 and #2 films)
36. (tie) JNort, nmduke2001, Tommac, udaman are 2/5 (#1 and #3 films)
40. BD80 is 2/5 (#1 and #5 films)
41. (tie) The 13 people who did not pick Alien or Baywatch or Pirates or Wonder Woman are 1/5
54. Bluedag (still 0/5)

Welcome, Baywatch voters! Enjoy it while it lasts, like in slow motion or something.

[Olympic Fan]

Realistically, we've nailed down two films -- Guardians and Wonder Woman.

Those two will be in our final five. Basically, everybody picked Guardians, so the contest comes down to the 27 who voted WW (and didn't vote for any of the movies that have already tanked).

The other three spots are clearly in the air. Despite Brevity's updates, neither Baywatch nor Alien has a chance in heck of being in the final five.

I think Pirates is also going to miss, but I won't write them off just yet. There is a very slim chance that we end up with a deeply divided list of films and Pirates slips in the top five with something like $160-70 million. A very slim chance.

The real news this week as that The Mummy tanked out of the gate. That only eliminated two voters (Mt. Devil and BD80, who was already out for missing on WW)

Now the next one to watch will be next weekend when Cars 3 zooms into the theaters. Will that one be a player? 21 voters think so ... this could be a big decider.

[CameronBornAndBred]

The real news this week as that The Mummy tanked out of the gate.

Thanks a lot, Tom Cruise! While I didn't vote for The Mummy, I also didn't vote for WW. I was counting on it not being in the top 5 because being sandwiched in between Pirates and TC would keep sales down.
In the end, the bread was stale but people still enjoyed fixin's, so much so that they went back for seconds.

[chriso]

Thanks a lot, Tom Cruise! While I didn't vote for The Mummy, I also didn't vote for WW. I was counting on it not being in the top 5 because being sandwiched in between Pirates and TC would keep sales down.
In the end, the bread was stale but people still enjoyed fixin's, so much so that they went back for seconds.

WW is becoming a phenomenon. The wildcard in picking box office of course is how good a movie actually is and how is resonates with the public. Cars 3 should do well. It's getting bad buzz but it's Pixar and kids don't care about that stuff.

[PackMan97]

WW is becoming a phenomenon. The wildcard in picking box office of course is how good a movie actually is and how is resonates with the public. Cars 3 should do well. It's getting bad buzz but it's Pixar and kids don't care about that stuff.

WW was a slam dunk given the success of the DCU movies to date. They haven't been good and they've still made bank.

Movies like Cars 3 are much more of a gamble. The second one was such a stinker and such a different movie.

[Olympic Fan]

WW is becoming a phenomenon. The wildcard in picking box office of course is how good a movie actually is and how is resonates with the public. Cars 3 should do well. It's getting bad buzz but it's Pixar and kids don't care about that stuff.

I agree that the quality of the films we pick is just a small factor in their success. If quality mattered, then the Transformers wouldn't have made so much.

I can see the argument for Cars 3 ... but let's look at the record.

The original Cars made $244 million -- which would almost certainly be in our top 5.

But Cars 2 made just $191 million -- which would probably not made our top 5.

Will Cars 3 continue the decline or will it match the original? I think the answer to that question is the quality of the film. If it is getting bad buzz, I'd be worried about the pick.

[PackMan97]

I feel like the race is going to be:

1. GG2
2. WW
3. Spidey
4. ?
5. ?

[JasonEvans]

I feel like the race is going to be:

1. GG2
2. WW
3. Spidey
4. ?
5. ?

1. GG2
2. WW
3. Spidey
4. Despicable Me 3
5. ?

DM made $251 mil in 2010 (inflation adjustment puts that at $280 mil in today's dollars), DM2 made $368 mil in 2013, Minions made $336 mil in 2015. So, those three films are averaging a boxoffice take of around $330 million. The notion that the next DM franchise film is going to make less than $250 million is laughable (IMO).

-Jason "the first 2 DM films did pretty well with critics too, which should provide goodwill to keep the third from being too much of a critical bomb... not that critics really matter much for animated kid-flicks" Evans

[PackMan97]

1. GG2
2. WW
3. Spidey
4. Despicable Me 3
5. ?

DM made $251 mil in 2010 (inflation adjustment puts that at $280 mil in today's dollars), DM2 made $368 mil in 2013, Minions made $336 mil in 2015. So, those three films are averaging a boxoffice take of around $330 million. The notion that the next DM franchise film is going to make less than $250 million is laughable (IMO).

Whew! I picked DM3. So it's going to come down to #5 for me, and I picked Cars 3.

[DUKIECB]

Whew! I picked DM3. So it's going to come down to #5 for me, and I picked Cars 3.

Same here but #5 is Dunkirk for me. I know I want to see it but will the masses?

[Reisen]

Whew! I picked DM3. So it's going to come down to #5 for me, and I picked Cars 3.

Those are the 4 most voted for movies, so I think there are going to be a lot of us that picked them. My 5th was Transformers.

[bluedag]

Results!

The 5 Biggest Films of the Summer (so far)

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $366,361,172
2. Wonder Woman $205,002,503
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $135,839,294
4. Alien: Covenant $71,212,212
5. Baywatch $51,065,135

Here are the current standings:

1. (tie) murpho, Reddevil, tdrake51, YmoBeThere are 3/5 (#1, #2, and #3 films)
5. (tie) IrishDevil, luburch, mkirsh are 3/5 (#1, #2, and #5 films)
8. chriso is 3/5 (#1, #4, and #5 films)
9. (tie) The 27 other people who picked Wonder Woman are 2/5 (#1 and #2 films)
36. (tie) JNort, nmduke2001, Tommac, udaman are 2/5 (#1 and #3 films)
40. BD80 is 2/5 (#1 and #5 films)
41. (tie) The 13 people who did not pick Alien or Baywatch or Pirates or Wonder Woman are 1/5
54. Bluedag (still 0/5)

Welcome, Baywatch voters! Enjoy it while it lasts, like in slow motion or something.

Love my underdog status. I am smelling a comeback...

[BD80]

Love my underdog status. I am smelling a comeback...

Congrats!

With my picks, I'm just smelling ...

[JasonEvans]

Those are the 4 most voted for movies, so I think there are going to be a lot of us that picked them. My 5th was Transformers.

My 5th is War for the Planet of the Apes.

You guys have nailed the major contenders. I'm fairly sure the 5th film will be one of War for Apes, Transformers 5, Cars 3, or Dunkirk. Reviews will play a big role here. Expectations for Cars 3 and Transformers 5 are extremely low. If either of those films can be in the 60 or 70% kind of range on Rotten Tomatoes then it will be huge for their chances. Both Dunkirk and Apes come from folks who have a history of making great films so they will need to get really strong reviews or their chances will be sunk.

I'm not sure there is a sleeper out there... maybe Valerian or The House... not sure I see anything else (though Atomic Blonde and Baby Driver both seem to have good buzz). I'm hearing some mediocre buzz on Dark Tower.

-Jason "I really think someone will go 5-for-5... and I think it will be the Dunkirk folks who will do it" Evans

[Reisen]

My 5th is War for the Planet of the Apes.

You guys have nailed the major contenders. I'm fairly sure the 5th film will be one of War for Apes, Transformers 5, Cars 3, or Dunkirk. Reviews will play a big role here. Expectations for Cars 3 and Transformers 5 are extremely low. If either of those films can be in the 60 or 70% kind of range on Rotten Tomatoes then it will be huge for their chances. Both Dunkirk and Apes come from folks who have a history of making great films so they will need to get really strong reviews or their chances will be sunk.

I'm not sure there is a sleeper out there... maybe Valerian or The House... not sure I see anything else (though Atomic Blonde and Baby Driver both seem to have good buzz). I'm hearing some mediocre buzz on Dark Tower.

-Jason "I really think someone will go 5-for-5... and I think it will be the Dunkirk folks who will do it" Evans

Even though it would mean I wouldn't win, Dunkirk would make me happiest. The reviews look amazing, and I love Nolan.

[PackMan97]

Even though it would mean I wouldn't win, Dunkirk would make me happiest. The reviews look amazing, and I love Nolan.

Like Hacksaw Ridge and the Dolittle raid, the story of Dunkirk is one of those where truth is stranger than fiction. It's one of those amazing stories that should have ended very very badly, and yet turned out not horribly.

[JasonEvans]

I did not bother to attend the Cars 3 screening, I hate those films, but I am now sorta sad I did not as I am hearing it is actually sorta decent. It is at 69% on Rotten tomatoes, nothing special but certainly better than the wretched Cars 2. Seems like Hollywood is expecting an opening in the $57-67 mil range. If it is less than $60 mil, that would be a problem for its chances. If it reaches the mid-60s, it will be a strong contender for our contest.

Cars opened to $60.1 mil and went on to make $244 mil (back in 2006, when Pixar movies always posted at least 4x multiples)
Cars 2 opened to $66.1 mil and went on to make $190 mil (in 2011, which shows how toxic reviews and word of mouth can really hurt a film's boxoffice)

-Jason "Cars 3 only gets 2 weeks until DM3 opens... which could be a major problem for Cars if DM sucks the air out of the kid's market" Evans

[Tommac]

Saw the Mummy tonight and thought it was a pretty good movie. It was better than the last one and Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis were equally good. If anyone has seen Peaky Blinders, Annabelle Wallis was in that for the first couple of seasons.

[brevity]

1. GG2
2. WW
3. Spidey
4. Despicable Me 3
5. ?

Those are the 4 most voted for movies, so I think there are going to be a lot of us that picked them.

There were 29 people who voted for Guardians, Wonder Woman, Despicable Me 3, and Spider-Man. Here is the breakdown by the 5th choice:

Baywatch (IrishDevil, luburch)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Reddevil, tdrake51)
The Mummy (Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15)
Cars 3 (bcsu, bjornolf, DevilBen02, FerryFor50, jjredickrules, Native, Natty_B, PackMan97, PensDevil)
Transformers: The Last Knight (94duke, dball, DU82, El_Diablo, NashvilleDevil, Reisen, trey)
War of the Planet of the Apes (Doria, JasonEvans, Olympic Fan)
Dunkirk (accfanfrom1970, DUKIECB, killerleft)
The Dark Tower (brevity)
Field (ryetales)

The only films NOT selected by those 29 people were Alien: Covenant and Captain Underpants.