By Chris Kavan - 08/01/13 at 06:50 AM CT
Now the summer begins the gentle slide into fall. Although there are some blockbusters to look forward to, August tends to be on the quieter side compared to June and July. Still, with the overall box office still looking in very good shape, this weekend, featuring a family-friendly sequel and yet another action film looking to give the genre some kick this year, August should start off well enough. Plus, the top three films from last weekend (Wolverine, The Conjuring and Despicable Me 2) should continue to provide a nice base of support.
THE SMURFS 2 Despite the fact I thought the original was a travesty that literally destroyed a piece of my childhood, the original Smurfs movie still managed to rake in a tidy $142.6 million (over $560 million world-wide) and it's no surprise that a sequel was quickly greenlit. This time around Smurfette has been kidnapped as she holds the secret that will let Gargamel turn his creations, called Naughties, into full-blown Smurfs themselves. And he's in Paris. So of course our true, blue friends have to rescue her. Live action never seems to do as well as straight-up animated films - but, much like Alvin and the Chipmunks - kids really seem to have a thing for CGI characters in a realistic environment. Don't ask me why - but I have a feeling this will manage to make it to the top over the weekend - I just hope it doesn't take too big a bite out of the box office... because I could really do without a third entry in this series.
2 GUNS Has there ever been a year where action has suffered as much as it has in 2013? There has been little saving grace for this genre as film after film under performs whether in sequel format (Die Hard, Red 2) or original story (White House Down, The Last Stand - amongst many others). Can Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg be the duo to finally turn things around? Something tells me 2 Guns is going to run into the same issues as so many action films this year: it will attract a limited (mostly male) audience and open to middling numbers before quickly falling off the top 10 entirely. It's too bad, because the film does look entertaining - but nothing I have seen thus far screams "Amazing!" It merely mumbles "Adequate" in my ear. It's too bad because both actors have proven they have the chops in the past - I think this is just another action movie that is going to fall through the cracks.
I don't know how much there is to be excited about this weekend. But you know I'll be there Sunday when the final numbers come in and hopefully this last month of summer arrives with a decent bang rather than a whimper.
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