Weekend Preview 2015: "The SpongeBob Movie," "Jupiter Ascending," ''Seventh Son" Among New Releases
The first weekend of February will kick off with a big slate of blockbusters hoping to continue the booming 2015 box office.
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water"
Based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, the new film follows SpongeBob Squarepants, who goes on a quest to discover a stolen recipe that takes him to our dimension, our world, where he tangles with a pirate. The film stars Antonio Banderas and is receiving overwhelmingly positive reception. The cartoon used to be popular and continues to have a huge following among children. With little offerings for the family, this will definitely be a first choice. According to pundits, the movie is likely to open with $35 million and most likely top the weekend box office.
"Jupiter Ascending"
The Wachowski siblings are back after an absence of three years. Their new film stars Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis and Academy Award-nominee Eddie Redmayne, and it tells the story of a young destitute caretaker who gets targeted by a ruthless son of a powerful family who lives on a planet in need of a new heir. As a result, she travels with a genetically engineered warrior to the planet in order to stop his tyrannical reign. The movie had a surprise screening at Sundance where it received underwhelming applause and was later destroyed by critics. The reception seems to have not surprised many especially after Warner Bros. delayed the film from its original July 2014 opening. However, the movie is still tracking well, and it could likely open with $20 million. Expect Wachowski fans to support the film.
"Seventh Son"
Universal will finally release this long overdue film. The science fiction film tells the story of Young Thomas, who is apprenticed to the local Spook to learn to fight evil spirits. His first great challenge comes when the powerful Mother Malkin escapes her confinement while the Spook is away. The movie stars Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges, which reunites the two stars for the first time since the cult classic "The Big Lebowski." "Seventh Son" has been panned by critics, with most stating it's contrived and boring. The film currently has a zero percent aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes and is likely to make Worst 10 Films of 2015 at the end of the year. Even though the film had a pretty high production budget, Universal has not really been marketing it, and as a result, pundits don't expect the film to do well at the box office. Expect an opening as low as $6 million.
In art house theaters, Ryan Reynold's latest film "The Voices" will be released, and Magnolia will unveil "Ballet 422." Monterrey Media has "3 Nights in the Desert," and Variance will take out "Enter the Dangerous Mind."
Freestyle Releasing will release "One Small Hitch," and First Run will bring "The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the end of Apartheid in South Africa." Also in release is Diginext's "Pass the Light."
If audiences are not interested in any of these releases, "American Sniper" will continue to play strong, and "Black or White" and "Project Almanac" will continue in theaters. "The Loft" and "Paddington" will also be available.
Oscar nominees "Birdman," "The Imitation Game" and "the Theory of Everything" will continue to expand their reach to other audiences.
Other movies also expanding this weekend include the Marion Cotillard flick "Two Days, One Night," Julianne Moore's "Still Alice" and the Russian Oscar-nominated film "Leviathan." Also expanding are "Timbuktu" and "Mr. Turner."