Top Movies of Summer 2019

[YmoBeThere]

I like your top 5, too.

Me three...

[BD80]

Now looking like the weekend was $88+ mil and the 4-day holiday number will be $110+ mil for Aladdin. Pretty hard to see this film earning less than $275 mil at this point. If Aladdin does not make the top 5, it will be the highest grossing film ever to not make our top 5 of summer.



I made the same coin flip... and it also came up SLOP2. I'm regretting that right about now.

Did we all flip the same coin?

[moonpie23]

Whoa... early tracking surveys have come in on Lion King and the numbers are crazy. It is looking like the live action Lion King come get close to a $200 mil opening which likely makes this a $600+ mil film. When we subtract the opening week numbers from Endgame, Lion King seems likely to be the biggest grossing film of this entire summer. Impressive.

-Jason "obviously need to see how the tracking numbers hold up over time... and also see if the buzz/reviews matches the early excitement for this flick" Evans

P.S. - Side note: Jon Favreau is rapidly turning into one of the most powerful dudes in Hollywood

where are you getting this info (other than your secret society of filmies) i had predicted this, but have friends that laughed at me...i could use some links to forward to them...

[JasonEvans]

where are you getting this info (other than your secret society of filmies) i had predicted this, but have friends that laughed at me...i could use some links to forward to them...

The early tracking was released a few days ago. There are a slew of stories on it since then:

https://www.boxofficepro.com/long-ra...ing-lion-king/

When this remake’s first trailer debuted last November, it racked up an estimated 225 million views in the first 24 hours. At the time, that ranked second all-time among all studio releases — behind only Avengers: Infinity War‘s 238 million. Since then, only Avengers: Endgame (a now-record 289 million) has surpassed it. By comparison, the Beauty and the Beast trailer earned an estimated 128 million views in its first day.

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/disne...eekend-a168601

The Lion King is expected to debut anywhere between $180-230 million during its first three days, with the most realistic outcome being around $200 million.

https://www.slashfilm.com/the-lion-k...fice-tracking/

Fandango recently polled users and the movie was picked as the most anticipated summer family movie, and that’s ahead of Toy Story 4 and The Secret Life of Pets 2. Plus, considering the late July 19, 2019 release date, it will have little to no competition in the family film arena for the rest of the summer.

-Jason "on HSX, Lion King is trading at $511 per share... which means that community of boxoffice watchers expect it to make $511 mil over the first 3 weekends it is in theaters... a huuuuge number" Evans

[LegoBatman]

So Aladdin ended up doing $91.5 (3-day) / $116.8 million (4-day). Virtually no drop between Friday/Saturday/Sunday and then another $25 million on Monday. The first SLOP was also at $116 million after 4 days, so maybe I and my fellow SLOP2 voters still have a chance...

It's not a contender for the contest, but also interesting that John Wick 3 ($107.6) out-grossed John Wick ($43) after the 1st weekend and John Wick 2 ($92) after the second.

Standings after Monday:

Avengers: Endgame	$376.3 ($803.4)
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu	$120.1
Aladdin	$116.8
John Wick 3	$107.6
The Intruder (2019)	$32.6

[CameronBornAndBred]

Rocketman is at 90% fresh on RT. If it were a PG-13 movie, I think this one could be a real player for the field, especially looking in hindsight at Bohemian Rhapsody.
This is the only movie of the coming summer that my gf has stated out loud that she really wants to see.

[JasonEvans]

My podcast review of Godzilla is up... Josh (my review partner) is taking his time posting my 100 word review, so I will post it here for folks who want to read, not listen.

100 Words – Godzilla: King of Monsters

William Penn once famous said, “Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.” So, in an effort to not waste your time, film critic Jason Evans is attempting to pare his movie reviews down to exactly 100 words… not 99, not 101, 100 words. Today he reviews Godzilla: King of Monsters

The Premise: Set five years after the events of the 2014 Godzilla film, this picture pits the giant lizard against several other Titans including flying Rodan and the three-headed dragon King Ghidora. The secretive Monarch organization (led by scientists Bradley Whitford and Ken Watantabe) has been tracking these giant beasts all over the planet and thinks Godzilla will keep the Titans from destroying our world. Thrust into the middle off the mayhem are husband-wife scientists Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga, who lost their son when Godzilla last appeared. The film also stars Millie Bobby Brown as their daughter and Charles Dance as an eco-terrorist who wants to use the Titans to change the face of the Earth.

The 100 Words: When will Hollywood learn that destroying stuff is only fun when there is a story that makes us care about the destruction? This film has several cool monster mayhem moments, but the script is nonsense. The rules of physics, geography, and time seem to not exist here and stuff happens just because the plot wants it to, not because it makes any logical sense. Whitford has some funny lines but the rest of the cast is given little to work with. There’s also surprisingly little monster action until the end of the film. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

[JasonEvans]

Well, you already read it in the post above but here is the link to my 100 Words on Godzilla.

And, as a bonus, here are my 100 WordS on Rocketman.

The same way Bohemian Rhapsody was about the struggles of British rock legend Freddie Mercury to find success and his place in the world as a gay man, Rocketman is about the struggles of British rock legend Elton John to find success and his place in the world as a gay man. But the two films approach that similar theme in very different ways.

More honest, edgy, and creative than the straightforward Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman tackles serious issues as it takes us on a trippy journey.

-Jason "this was the most difficult 100 words I have ever had... I could have easily written another 500 words about this film. It is not an easy one to sum up quickly" Evans

[JasonEvans]

So, here is what happened this weekend...

Godzilla:KOM opened to just $49 million. With poor critic reviews it is hard to see this one having really long legs. I suspect it will struggle to even get to $150 mil. It is not going to be a player in our contest.

Rocketman opened to $25 million. An adult-skewing film like this that is getting very good reviews is likely to have longer legs. Still, unless something really remarkable happens, it likely won't make more than about $100 mil.

The story is Aladdin, which made $42.3 mil after falling 53% from its strong $91.5 mil opening weekend. Ideally, a family film would hold up a little better than a 53% drop, but it is not like the film tanked. It has now earned $185 mil and seems well on its way to $250 mil. As I said a few days ago, if it does not make the top 5, it is going to take a unprecedented performance by some other films.

-Jason "next week brings Dark Phoenix and SLOP2... we are gonna learn a lot from those openings" Evans

[PackMan97]

The story is Aladdin, which made $42.3 mil after falling 53% from its strong $91.5 mil opening weekend. Ideally, a family film would hold up a little better than a 53% drop, but it is not like the film tanked. It has now earned $185 mil and seems well on its way to $250 mil. As I said a few days ago, if it does not make the top 5, it is going to take a unprecedented performance by some other films.

-Jason "next week brings Dark Phoenix and SLOP2... we are gonna learn a lot from those openings" Evans

SLOP earned $389,897,100...so just a similar take puts it will into contention.

If we are looking at movies who have passed $300m in a franchise that leaves us with:

* Endgame
* Toy Story 4 (TS3 earned $415 million)
* SLOP2 (SLOP earned $390 million)
* Lion King (Original earned $313m in 1994 dollars)
* Spidey: FFH (Homecoming earned $334m and plot tie with Endgame)
* Aladdin: (original earned $217m in 1992 dollars)

So the question is really...is $250m or even $300m, or maybe even $350m going to be enough to get a top 5 spot? It's hard to see TS4, Spidey or Lion King not doing $400 million...which makes the battle for #5 between SLOP2 and Aladdin...with maybe Hobbs and Shaw an outside shot.

[JasonEvans]

Hey BLPOG, dudog84, PSurprise, and richardjackson199---

I saw Dark Phoenix last night. The review embargo prevents me from commenting on it until tomorrow.

So, I'll just leave this here until then...

[BLPOG]

Hey BLPOG, dudog84, PSurprise, and richardjackson199---

I saw Dark Phoenix last night. The review embargo prevents me from commenting on it until tomorrow.

So, I'll just leave this here until then...

Well, at least we got a handy a gif out of our misplaced optimism.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Well, at least we got a handy a gif out of our misplaced optimism.

I always assume that movies without a review a week before the opening are gonna suck. That being said, it's still Marvel, it's still X-Men. Will people be clamoring for more after Endgame, or wanting a break before they get back to the REAL Marvel and that universe?
Time will tell, but I'm guessing even though it will likely suck, it will also suck some air out of SLOP2's opening. (And if by some miracle it doesn't suck, that would be very bad news for the sloppiness.)

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I always assume that movies without a review a week before the opening are gonna suck. That being said, it's still Marvel, it's still X-Men. Will people be clamoring for more after Endgame, or wanting a break before they get back to the REAL Marvel and that universe?
Time will tell, but I'm guessing even though it will likely suck, it will also suck some air out of SLOP2's opening. (And if by some miracle it doesn't suck, that would be very bad news for the sloppiness.)

I enjoyed almost every XMen outing except number three, but the most recent movie (Apocalypse?) was just terrible. Not sure where they went off the rails, but if Dark Phoenix is along those lines, it needs to be put out of its misery.

[PackMan97]

I always assume that movies without a review a week before the opening are gonna suck. That being said, it's still Marvel, it's still X-Men.

Is it really Marvel? This is the last of the Fox produced X-Men. It's not part of the MCU. It's not planned to be part of the MCU. I wouldn't really consider it Marvel.

At least not in the Spiderman sense of things. Even though Homecoming and Far from Home are Sony pictures, they have collaborated with Marvel to make those movies part of the MCU and make Spidey an intricate part of Phase 3 and Phase 4.

As for the X-Men franchise, outside of Deadpool, they've been middling at best. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franch...t/?id=xmen.htm

It wouldn't surprise me to see Disney put the X-Men on ice and have them appear to help kick off Phase 5 of the MCU. However we hear from the X-Men again, it will be with a reboot.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Is it really Marvel? This is the last of the Fox produced X-Men. It's not part of the MCU. It's not planned to be part of the MCU. I wouldn't really consider it Marvel.

Which is why I added..."before they get back to the REAL Marvel and that universe? " You skipped over that statement entirely.

However, it is still Marvel characters and people seem to enjoy those. Even the gawd awful Fantastic Four movie (the gawd awful last one, not the gawd awful one before it) made $170M. (wow, gawd awful first one made 330M, suckers!)

[YmoBeThere]

(wow, gawd awful first one made 330M, suckers!)

Two words: Jessica Alba

[CameronBornAndBred]

Two words: Jessica Alba

Was she in that movie? I didn't see her.

[YmoBeThere]

Was she in that movie? I didn't see her.

Well played. I must spread comments around...yada, yada, yada.

[BD80]

Was she in that movie? I didn't see her.

But you get to see the clothes she left behind ...