By Chris Kavan - 04/27/17 at 06:31 AM CT
Five new releases last week all failed to make any impact whatsoever, while The Fate of the Furious continued to drive circles around the competition. This weekend might turn out slightly better than last weekend's massacre, but I still don't expect any of the new films to be able to dethrone Fate. The best bet looks to be the techno-driven thriller The Circle, with Emma Watson and Tom Hanks providing the star power to back it up. Also on the slate is the inner-city drama/super-powered Sleight and the comedy How to Be a Latin Lover. It's not going to be the bloodbath we saw last weekend, but it's also probably not going to be the most exciting weekend of the year, either.
THE CIRCLE Big Brother is always watching! When Mae (Emma Watson) lands a job at the world's most popular tech company, The Circle, she finds herself going from unknown to the top of the ladder when the enigmatic owner, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) takes an interest in her work - and encourages her to push the boundaries of her new experiment. With her ethics, and the world's privacy on the line, she realizes her dream job has turned in to a nightmare - one that threatens her life and those she most cares about. It's nice to see Hanks in evil mode - playing nice guys all the time has to be grating. Watson is coming off a red-hot performance in Beauty and the Beast. John Boyega plays the paranoid worker trying to warn Watson, and the rest of the cast shapes up nicely with Patton Oswalt, Karen Gillan, the late, great Bill Paxton, Ellar Coltrane, Nate Corddry and Glenne Headly all on board. Even with all the star power, and an amazingly limited budget of $18 million, this is still going to have a tough time breaking out. Techno-driven thrillers aren't exactly huge money-makers and I don't Watson is enough to bring in a big enough female audience to balance things out. It will be the best chance at taking down Fate of the Furious, but the prospect is still on the low end, though this one should easily place in the top five.
Sleight brings together many different genres. On one hand, it follows a young man thrust in to an impossible situation when his parents are killed and he is left in charge of his young sister. While he can get by somewhat on his talents as a street magician, he turns to a darker side dealing designer drugs to ultimately support his family. But he meets a girl while doing his street magic that sparks a relationship - one threatened by his increasing involvement in drugs. This involvement eventually becomes too much but his escape results in betraying his kingpin and when it's found out it results in his sister being kidnapped. But he has more than just magic up his sleeve and when push comes to shove, he will stop at nothing to save the ones he loves. Sleight throws out drama, action, fantasy, even romance - like Now You See Me meets Boyz in the Hood meets Iron Man. I have to say, the premise is pretty unique and, if played right, could be about as interesting as Chronicle (though with a bit more bite). This movie screams under-the-radar minor hit. I don't know how big its impact at the box office is going to be, but I'm interested in watching how this one turns out.
The life of Maximo (Eugenio Derbez) has relied on his looks and charm to seduce older women. But after 25 years of marriage, he finds himself kicked the curb and, with nowhere else to turn, moves in with his estranged sister (Salma Hayek) where he learns the value of family. This comedy features a decent lineup with Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Rob Corddry, Michael Cera, Rob Riggle, Raquel Welch, Raphael Alejandro and Mckenna Grace helping things along. Star Derbez may be making his first American debut, but he has had a long run in Mexico going back the the late 80s. He also starred in the well-received Instructions Not Included, which is still in the top five of foreign language films ever released. The film is certainly a comedy first and foremost, but it looks to attract a Latino audience - and if they turn out, this could be a surprise hit. Still, its unknown if it can draw out its target audience, at least enough to make a huge impact at the box office.
Last weekend was a big disappointment all around. I'm hopeful that this new batch of entries can succeed where the five last week all but failed. We'll find out on Sunday whether these new films will make a difference or not.
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