Summer is starting a little early this year - at least when it comes to the annual Summer box office game! This is my sixth year predicting what movies will make the top ten highest-earners, and it never really gets easier. But that unpredictability is what makes it so fun! If you want to play along, read the rules below and leave your predictions in the comments!
- Pick 1-10 movies you think will top the US summer box office (April 27th through August 31st)
- 13 points for getting 1 or 10 exactly correct
- 10 points for getting 2-9 exactly correct
- 7 points if movie was one spot away
- 5 points if movie was two spots away
- 3 points if movie was anywhere in the top ten
- 1 point for each dark horse (pick three)
1. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Release Date: April 27, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War is going to be so huge it single-handedly pushed the Summer Box Office game a week early. Culminating 10 years-worth of superhero adventures under the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" banner, this major summer event will bring together pretty much every Marvel character under the sun (and even beyond): Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Thor, even the Guardians of the Galaxy! All will face off against the mad titan Thanos - whose skin may be purple, but will ensure a lot of green will roll into the box office this season!
2. THE INCREDIBLES 2
Release Date: June 15, 2018
If Finding Dory is any indication, Pixar sequels - even those made considerably longer after the original - can do some serious B.O. damage. The Incredibles is one of Pixar's most beloved films, and the time is right to mine the property for both nostalgic kids-grown-up and new young audiences. With Brad Bird back directing, I hope it is indeed an incredible movie!
3. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
Release Date: May 25, 2018
I can feel a bit of the Star Wars burnout starting to rear its head. While fans frothed at the mouth for The Force Awakens, both Rogue One and The Last Jedi were met with some mixed reactions from fans. Solo has the hurdle of a new actor stepping in to play a young Han Solo, Alden Ehrenreich (Hail Caesar!), who apparently needed on-set acting lessons to get through an already troubled production. I might be crazy for putting Solo this low, but I'm not going to underestimate Marvel or Pixar!
4. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
Release Date: June 22, 2018
Everybody loves dinosaurs. Kids. Adults. Teens. The elderly - who can actually relate to them. And while Jurassic World was a mediocre film, it broke box office records because dinosaurs, for lack of a better term, are cool. I don't think its sequel will be as earth-shattering, but I'd find it hard to imagine a Jurassic movie at this point - no matter how bad it is - ranking less than #4 or #5.
5. DEADPOOL 2
Release Date: May 18, 2018
The first Deadpool movie was a smash success, becoming the highest-earning R-Rated film of all time. With a fantastic, irreverent script, thrilling action, and hilarious performances, it was worthy of its broken records. The sequel is a safe bet to make a lot of cash this summer!
6. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT
Release Date: July 27, 2018
I love these Mission Impossible movies, and they seem to keep getting better! Like the Bond series, this is pretty much a sealed-deal hit, and it's one of the few big blockbusters that doesn't feature aliens or sci-fi in it (unless you count Tom Cruise himself as inhuman).
7. ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
Release Date: July 6, 2018
This one is tricky. The first Ant-Man did pretty well, but for some reason I'm not feeling the buzz for this one (pun intended). I expect lesser-end Marvel numbers for this one, but lesser-end Marvel is still a massive amount of money!
8. OCEAN'S 8
Release Date: June 8, 2018
I pretty much had to put this at #8. While "womanizing" the Ghostbusters franchise didn't work out too well for Universal, I don't think Ocean's 8 will come under the same controversy. With a huge female-driven cast and a basic story that will appeal to an older crowd, Ocean's 8 is another solid bet this summer.
9. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3
Release Date: July 13, 2018
When a month goes by after The Incredibles 2 and young kids need another movie to drag their parents to during the summer, Hotel Transylvania 3 will be it.
10. MAMMA MIA!: HERE WE GO AGAIN
Release Date: July 20, 2018
Little old ladies need something to watch this summer too, and I don't think they care about large purple aliens or epic space battles. What they do love? ABBA.
DARK HORSES:
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS
Release Date: August 17, 2018
It would have to be a shocking hit to land in the top ten being released this late in the season, but The Happytime Murders, combining puppets with film noir, could be the next Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which was both a box office and critical hit. There's no trailer yet, which isn't a good sign, but I'm crossing my fingers this lives up to its potential.
SKYSCRAPER
Release Date: July 13, 2018
The Rock has his hits and misses. Skyscraper, like San Andreas, is a wild card that could randomly be a hit if it's entertaining enough.
UNCLE DREW
Relelease Date: June 29, 2018
While the last basketball comedy to grace movie screens, Semi-Pro, wasn't a smash hit, I think Uncle Drew, starring Shaq among other NBA stars, could be one of those random, unexpected successes. It will cater to NBA fans, and there are a bunch of "hot" comedians in there like Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) and Lil Rey Howery (Get Out), so if it's funny enough, word might spread and make it one of those flicks that has an OK opening, but stays in the "top five" for a while.
The movies I left off my predictions include: the Anna Faris comedy OVERBOARD, the home invasion thriller BREAKING IN, the back-to-school Melissa McCarthy comedy LIFE OF THE PARTY, the older-skewing chick flick BOOK CLUB, the Johnny Knoxville stunt-comedy ACTION POINT, the lost-at-sea YA drama ADRIFT, the cerebral horror flick HEREDITARY (the movie I'm most excited for!), the Jodie Foster thriller HOTEL ARTEMIS, the buddy comedy TAG, the sequel to Sicario, SOLDADO, the horror prequel THE FIRST PURGE, the Denzel Washington action flick THE EQUALIZER II, the Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon comedy THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME, Disney's CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, the giant shark movie THE MEG, the book adaptation CRAZY RICH ASIANS, the sci-fi thriller CAPTIVE STATE, and finally the horror movie SLENDERMAN. I may regret not picking one of them!
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