Top movies of summer 2018 (top 3!)

[LasVegas]

Quite possibly. Uncle Drew is going to be up there for sure!
Besides Ant Man & Wasp, toss in the Rock saving a Skyscraper, Jason Statham vs a giant shark in Meg, another Mission Impossible, and a few comedies that could surprise. I don't think any will be in the top 5, but it would have been a tempting choice.

I am so sick of action packed Rock movies. Yuck.

[BD80]

I am so sick of action packed Rock movies. Yuck.

You'd prefer drama packed Rock movies? ...shudder...

[LasVegas]

You'd prefer drama packed Rock movies? ...shudder...

Hey, the scorpion king wasn’t that bad!!!

In all seriousness, I just dislike all rock movies.

[Udaman]

Sort of wish we had kept Top 5 and had people rank them from 1-5. That would have allowed for more diversity in answers. As it stands, it is likely that several people will get the Top 3 correct. I probably won't be one of them...just because I never am.

But...following the rules here, my top 3 are

1. Infinity War. This is a no-brainer. It's the culmination of years of incredible Marvel movies. It will ride on the strong results of Civil War, Thor and Black Panther. It will make $180M in it's first weekend, and then doesn't have any competition (really) until Han Solo comes out.

Then I'm really torn...but I think I'll go:

2. Jurassic Sequel. I didn't like the first one...but dinosaurs sell, and lots of people seemed to like it, and it has Chris Pratt. And, it really has no competition for several weeks - including the 4th of July weekend (yeah, Ant Man is out then, but that's not serious competition, in my mind).

3. Deadpool. So yeah, this means I keep out Solo and Incredibles. On paper, that's hard to do. In practice, not so much. But first Deadpool. It has an insane fan base. I mean insane. Every single person who saw the first one will see this one. Every one. And lots of now 14-16 year olds who were too young to watch the first one, but have seen it on video, will go see it. And women liked it. And they'll go and see it. This movie is going to make $375M, and I think that will be enough because...

Incredibles - even though it's probably my favorite Pixar movie...it has one thing going against it. My kids all love it now...but when they were 6 or younger, it scared the crap out of them. This isn't Wall-E. Or Dory. It's more intense. That keeps away the really young. It also has Jurassic opening right after it. Not good. And it's 10 years old. So there isn't as much interest. It will do well. It could pass Deadpool...but I don't think it does.

And

Solo. The MOMENT they cast Alden Ehrenreich as Solo, this movie was doomed. I saw Hail Caesar. He was purely blah in that movie. A one trick pony with no charisma on screen AT ALL. NONE. And this is Han Solo - one of the most iconic characters in history. It would be like doing an Indiana Jones remake, and putting in Sam Worthington or Dane DeHann. Both could certainly do the movie, but would be terrible choices. They should have cast Miles Teller, or Ansel Elgort, or go outside the box and cast Michael B Jordan or even Donald Glover. Of course, the choice would be Chris Pratt. Any great actor in this role and it is easily in the top 3. But when you fire the directors half way through, bring in an acting coach half way through (because your lead isn't getting the job done)...that's TROUBLE. And Chewy can't carry this film. Nor can Woody, or Glover. It's all on Alden...and he's not good enough, or the right person, in any way. I'll go see it. I'm sure lots will. It could make it in the Top 3, for sure...but I don't think it will, and I think Deadpool blows it away. But yeah, it's risky not to take Solo. It's the smart choice. And it might be just like a lot of movies that have finished in the Top 5 or our poll - nowhere good enough to deserve that ranking. Hope I'm wrong...because I really want to see a good Solo movie.

[JasonEvans]

Sort of wish we had kept Top 5 and had people rank them from 1-5. That would have allowed for more diversity in answers. As it stands, it is likely that several people will get the Top 3 correct.

Yeah, I regret my decision now. Sorry.

I went with Avengers (because you need to be insane not to pick that film), Solo (probably will be so-so, but a so-so Star Wars film still makes $500 mil), and Incredibles (I have faith in Brad Bird and this flick will dominate the family movie market with no meaningful competition all summer, plus I think the male-female role change thing will play well with adults).

-Jason "I came thiiiiiis close to picking Deadpool... but R-rated is tough and I think there is going to be some superhero fatigue after Avengers" Evans

[cato]

Sequel to the best superhero movie of this century.

Indeed. The thing that makes The Incredibles great is the simple human, family drama. The superhero stuff is just the overlay.

I have kids, so this movie is still in the regular rotation. It is a very good movie.

[bjornolf]

Crap. I thought I still had time to vote. Is Infinity Wars already out?

[JasonEvans]

Crap. I thought I still had time to vote. Is Infinity Wars already out?

Sorry, it closed when reviews of Infinity War hit. I figured it was only fair for everyone to vote before the first reviews of the first movies were out. For the record, I voted before seeing Infinity War.

[JasonEvans]

So, Paramount sent out their official synopsis for Deadpool 2 today... I don't think a single word of this is what happens in the movie.

After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Miami's hottest bartender, while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor - finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World's Best Lover.

[bjornolf]

Sorry, it closed when reviews of Infinity War hit. I figured it was only fair for everyone to vote before the first reviews of the first movies were out. For the record, I voted before seeing Infinity War.

Ah, well, this the first one I’ll sit out. I just won’t count it in my mind cause it’s only a top three.

[bjornolf]

Hey Jason, when do you see DP2? THAT’S my most anticipated film of the summer, and I’m starving for a review. START THE CAR!

[JasonEvans]

Hey Jason, when do you see DP2? THAT’S my most anticipated film of the summer, and I’m starving for a review. START THE CAR!

They have not given us the date for the DP2 screening yet. I'm terrified it is going to be May 7 or 8 as I would be unavailable those days... but that is well over a week before it is released and I suspect the screening will be a lot closer to opening. Typically, critics see movies on Mon or Tues of the week the film opens.

[bjornolf]

Not for nothing, but I would have gone:
1. Avengers
2. Solo
3. Jurassic World
In that order.

[bigperm13]

Avengers on pace for 235-240 opening weekend. About what Justice League made total. Marvel can do no wrong and DC can't get out of its own way. I've seen Infinity War twice so far. Loved it. Lock for the Top 3. Derp.

[PackMan97]

Lock for the Top 3. Derp.

Top 3 all-time.

[bigperm13]

Top 3 all-time.

Yep. Looking like perhaps edging out SW:TFA for biggest opening weekend. Ever.

[Nick]

Avengers on pace for 235-240 opening weekend. About what Justice League made total. Marvel can do no wrong and DC can't get out of its own way. I've seen Infinity War twice so far. Loved it. Lock for the Top 3. Derp.

The official tally is now up to $258MM, a new record.

[JasonEvans]

The official tally is now up to $258MM, a new record.

I'd say Avengers are roughly 2/3rd of the way to where they will need to be to make the top 3 (just under $400 mil, I suspect).

We get a break for a couple weeks until Deadpool 2 comes out. Nothing major will be released until then.

-Jason "will the folks who voted for 'Field' (SlimSlowSlider, Wander) tell us which films they think will crack the top 3?" Evans

[Wander]

-Jason "will the folks who voted for 'Field' (SlimSlowSlider, Wander) tell us which films they think will crack the top 3?" Evans

In reality? Jurassic World. But sharing a championship with 20 other people is as good as losing to me. So I picked the Field just as a darkhorse (but, to play along, sorta had Ocean's 8 in mind).

[JasonEvans]

But sharing a championship with 20 other people is as good as losing to me.

I hear ya and I hate that I did it this way... but I saw no way around it. If we had picked the traditional top 5, I'm convinced something like 90% of us would have picked the same 5 films... and those 5 are gonna be the top 5.