After a red hot July at the box office, thanks to major Disney hits Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, we arrive at the doldrums of August where tentpole films continue their holdover reign and where studios typically roll out a wide variety of content in the hopes of a breakout hit. Our picks for the strongest contenders arrive within a weekend of each other: the much-buzzed about book adaptation It Ends with Us, starring Blake Lively (August 9th) and Alien: Romulus, a sequel set 20 years after the original 1979 film, which promises to return the Alien franchise to its roots (August 16th).
Harold and the Purple Crayon | Sony Pictures
August 2
Harold (Zachary Levi) can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. Now all grown up, Harold decides to draws himself off the page and into the real world when his narrator goes missing. When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends’ creativity to save both the real world and his own. Harold and the Purple Crayon marks the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic by Crockett Johnson. Directed by Carlos Saldanha, who has previously helmed animated films like Ferdinand ($84.4M domestic/$296M global) and Rio ($143.6M domestic/$483.8M global), the live-action family comedy also stars Lil Rel Howery, Benjamin Bottani, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds, Alfred Molina and Zooey Deschanel. Read out interview with star Zacahry Levi here.
The last week of July/first week of August release corridor has proven a solid one for studios pushing a new take on classic children’s IP, as parents look for a final movie outing before children return to school. Recent examples include Disney’s 2023 remake of Haunted Mansion ($24.0M domestic opener, $67.6M total domestic) and 2021’s Jungle Cruise ($35M domestic opening, $116.9M total domestic). Working against Harold is that its source material is not based on a Disney theme park attraction and the IP remains untested on the big screen.
Trap | Warner Bros.
August 2
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan returns to theaters with Trap, a film which has been described by the writer/director as, “What if The Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?” The film stars Josh Hartnett as a serial killer who takes his daughter to a concert–only to discover that the cops know he’s there and have set a trap for him. The thriller should attract fans of Shyamalan and serve as a solid counterprogramming option in a week otherwise dominated by holdovers and new family release Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Trap is more likely to enjoy an opening weekend in line with 2023’s Knock at the Cabin ($14.1M) or 2021’s Old ($16.8M), both original high concept films, though a promising social media reception to Trap‘s trailers could put it on the higher end of opening weekend predictions. Like Old, Trap is a high concept thriller hitting theaters in late July/early August, but lacking A-list star power. Interestingly, the melding of thriller and concert film is also present in the upcoming Paramount release Smile 2, out on October 18.
Borderlands | Lionsgate
August 9
Based on the popular looter-shooter video game of the same name, Borderlands is helmed by Eli Roth (Thanksgiving $31.9M domestic/$46.5M global, The House with a Clock in Its Walls $68.5M domestic/$131.5M global). The film follows infamous bounty hunter Lilith (Cate Blanchett) on her mission to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramírez). Her ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Kevin Hart), Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), Krieg (Florian Munteanu), Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), and the wiseass robot Claptrap (Jack Black)—must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets.
On the list of best-selling video game franchises of all-time, Borderlands ranks #29, just ahead of Mortal Kombat and right behind the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The long-delayed project began way back in 2015 when Leigh Whannell was in talks with Lionsgate to write and direct. After an official announcement in August of that year, the film went through years of development—with Roth eventually signing on to direct by February 2020. Initial filming took place in 2021, followed by two weeks of reshoots directed by Tim Miller in 2023 (Roth was busy on Thanksgiving). Early buzz on the film has been negative and has us apprehensive about its prospects in the market.
Cuckoo | NEON
August 9
Neon scored the first major breakout horror hit of the year with Longlegs. The deft and mysterious marketing campaign helped to prove that audiences want some intrigue in their trailers, particularly when it comes to the horror genre. Longlegs is already Neon’s top grossing film ever, surpassing Best Picture winner Parasite’s $53.3M, with $60.9M in the domestic bank as of July 30th.
Neon’s next horror film, Cuckoo, written and directed by Tilman Singer, follows 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved to a resort in the German Alps with his new family. When she arrives at the tranquil vacation paradise, she is greeted by Mr. König (Dan Stevens), her father’s boss. Gretchen begins a job at the resort and is soon plagued by strange noises and bloody visions.
It Ends with Us | Sony Pictures
August 9
Sony Pictures’ It Ends with Us marks the first screen adaptation of the publishing phenomenon Colleen Hoover and her best-selling novel of the same name. Adapted by Christy Hall (Daddio $915K — as of July 30th), the film is directed by Justin Baldoni (Five Feet Apart $45.7M domestic/$92.5M global), who also stars alongside Blake Lively, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Amy Morton and Brandon Sklenar. It Ends with Us and other Hoover novels gained significant attention in 2021 thanks to TikTok’s BookTok community. In 2022 alone, Hoover held six of the top ten spots on the New York Times paperback fiction best seller list.
Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) is a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) sparks an intense connection. Still, as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ relationship. When Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended.
It is worth noting that Hoover’s extremely loyal fan base calls itself “CoHorts.” Hoover’s sequel book, It Starts with Us, published in 2022, became Simon & Schuster’s most pre-ordered book of all time, selling over 800,000 copies by the end of its initial release day. Hoover’s fans should help deliver solid counterprogramming results for the author’s first film adaptation, as the film is scheduled to open within striking range of Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Lively’s husband.
Alien: Romulus | 20th Century Studios
August 16
The original Alien returned to cinemas earlier this year on April 26th, otherwise known as Alien Day, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece. This year at CinemaCon, Scott and Alvarez appeared via video to thank exhibitors for their ongoing partnership of the Alien franchise over the past 45 years and to introduce a special look at the upcoming film, which is promises to return the franchise to its roots.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. The Alien franchise returns with Alien: Romulus, starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez directs (2013’s Evil Dead $54.2M domestic/$97.5M global, Don’t Breathe $89.2M domestic/$157.7M global) from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2 $32.7M domestic/$53.7M global) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott, the director of the original 1979 classic, as well as series’ entries Prometheus ($126.4M domestic/$403.3M global) and Alien: Covenant ($74.2M domestic/$240.8M global).
Since Warner Bros. pulled Horizon: An American Saga: Part 2 from the release calendar, Romulus has the weekend to itself except for films with a much smaller footprint. Looking at other genre films aimed at adult audiences, the second weekend of Lionsgate video game adaptation Borderlands is unlikely to provide much by way of competition. However, Deadpool & Wolverine will likely continue to draw audiences and eat into Romulus‘ take.
Blink Twice | Amazon MGM Studios
August 23
Outside of Challengers, most of Amazon’s releases have been relegated to streaming, including a few titles that surely left money on the table for both Amazon and exhibitors, such as Ricky Stanicky, Road House, and The Idea of You. Thankfully, at least some of their slate is scheduled to see theaters this year, including the holiday-themed Red One (November 15th) and Zoë Kravitz debut feature as director, Blink Twice.
Blink Twice sees tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) inviting cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) to join him and his friends on a dream vacation — on his private island. The wild nights blend into sun soaked days. No one wants the trip to end until strange things start to happen and Frida begins to question her reality and her sanity. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive. The wild psychological thriller is directed by Zoë Kravitz and stars an ensemble cast that includes Ackie, Tatum, Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan and Geena Davis.
The Crow | Lionsgate
August 23
August has typically been something of a dumping ground when it comes to horror movies, with studios using the month to clear their slates of long-delayed titles before the horror fandom revs up during the September/October run-up to Halloween. Critical reception will help determine whether The Crow will manage to surpass the $10M mark on opening weekend, assuming there is enough of a fan base for the title. The Crow is very likely to end up in the middle of the pack when stacked up against lead Bill Skarsgård’s other 2024 releases: April’s Boy Kills World, released by Roadside Attractions in just shy of 2,000 theaters to $1.6M, and Robert Eggers’ highly anticipated Nosferatu, out from Focus Features on Christmas with Skarsgård as the villainous Count Orlok.
This year at CinemaCon, Lionsgate made it clear that this is not a remake of the 1994 Brandon Lee film, but rather, a new adaptation of the original graphic novel by James O’Barr. The story follows soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) who are brutally murdered when her dark past catches up with them. Given the chance to save his true love, Eric sets out to seek revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to settle the score. The film is helmed by Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell $405M domestic/$169.8M global, Snow White and the Huntsman $155.3M domestic/$396.5M global).
AfrAId | Sony Pictures
August 30
Closing out summer 2024 is Sony’s release Afraid, a Columbia Pictures and Blumhouse Studios production that follows the killer AI trend of Blumhouse’s M3GAN. According to the synopsis, Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device called AIA. Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, AIA seems able to do it all. She learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate anything they might need–even if they haven’t asked yet. Releasing a week after The Crow, a similar opening weekend range is expected here. Sony’s other 2024 horror release Tarot (under the Screen Gems banner) capped out at $18.7M domestic and $49M global.
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