Weekend Box Office Report: Easter Dips

Not quite a fruitful weekend for animation, considering the holiday and all...

Second place. The Boss Baby. Dropped 41%. Home did way better that weekend, so it looks like The Boss Baby will end up somewhere in the low-to-mid 160s, which is still pretty good. Worldwide it sits at $238 million, it is out everywhere now except in Kuwait and Poland. I guess it'll be another $300 million+ worldwide grosser for the studio. I wonder if they'll view it as a pass or a flop.

The little blue guys got hit even harder. Smurfs: The Lost Village fell 50%, an unusually big drop for an animated film on its second weekend. So much for taking advantage of that Easter timeframe, eh Sony? Domestically it's at $24 million and worldwide it's at $95 million. The last three markets are China, India, and South Korea. Could it triple its $60 million budget? Who knows, but I reckon the juice has run out and Sony might move onto other things.

All the way down in 24th place is ToonBox's Spark: A Space Tail. A movie that was completed in early 2016, screened to an audience at a film festival just about a year ago... Open Road Films sat on it, didn't ink a release date for a long, long while. Then they did, but didn't promote it. A trailer came out just a matter of weeks ago, and then it turned out that they had no use for it. It was dumped in a little over 350 theaters this weekend, not screened for critics, and the few reviews that seeped onto Rotten Tomatoes are pretty... Well... Unkind.

Makes me wonder how they'll handle Blazing Samurai and Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad, both of which are set to open next year and also don't carry any concrete release dates at the moment.

It opened with $112k. What was the point of even releasing it theatrically? Quite something, how an inoffensive, arguably DTV-grade picture like that can get a release this size while truly great works of animated art have to settle for tiny amounts of theaters. I was very curious about this picture for a long time, then the trailer showed up and while I didn't dislike what I saw, I did see that it was just another pic aimed at the roughly 6-10 set.

Sing and Moana still roll in some venues. The former: $270m DOM / $621m WW. The latter: $248m DOM / $637m WW.

GKIDS gave My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea an expectedly tiny release. $15k from 3 theaters.

No update on Your Name. yet.

Baby Beats Blue: 'Boss Baby' Tops Weekend, 'Smurfs' Opens Softly

Probably inconceivable back in October, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby may just secure the top spot on its second weekend.

Facing a pretty good-sized dip, the DreamWorks comedy is expected to take in around $25 million off of a $6 million Friday haul. Now that's a roughly 47% dip, but it would have it narrowly beating out Beauty and the Beast, which has entered the fourth weekend of its run.

That puts the picture on par with Home at the moment. That opened with $52 million and sank 48% on its second weekend, it too was a late March release. If The Boss Baby follows its trajectory, it should finish up with around $170 million domestically. Either way, it's going to be a domestic hit for DreamWorks. Now we shall see how the overseas grosses add up.

Smurfs: The Lost Village, Sony's all-animated restart of the Smurfs movie series, was no match for the baby. Opening soft with $4 million yesterday, projections have it at $13-14 million. A little lower than what The Smurfs 2 took in on opening weekend back in summer 2013. Given slightly better critical reception than its hybrid predecessors, Sony probably isn't worrying - the film is one of their cheapest to date. I'm hearing nothing but mixed things, but the consensus is basically "It's better than the hybrid movies." Some are saying it's pleasant and fun, others are saying it's mediocre and run-of-the-mill.

The film cost $60 million, and looks quite amazing on a budget that size. Shows that not every computer animated movie has to be this gargantuan $100-million production. Sony Animation has shown that time and time again, as has Illumination and other houses. The previous hybrids cost around $100-110 million to make, each... The second film's $347 million worldwide gross against that was what lead to this reboot.

So what went wrong? Audiences probably got tired of the schtick when Smurfs 2 was coming out, and didn't think this looked much better. I certainly had my doubts, instead of a fun adventure that respects the actually decent Peyo comics, it looked like a typical "kids" movie with forced "adult" jokes (haha, a Smurf is kicked in the groin!) and noise and such. Maybe the movie isn't just that, I don't know yet, but marketing can make something - regardless of how good or bad it may be - look crumby. With a smaller opening, it could still be pretty leggy.

Worldwide, it just has to top $150 million (2.5x the $60 million budget), which I think it will do with ease given the blue creatures' origins.

Your Name., in its limited run, debuted with $627k. Looks like it'll have a solid opening for an anime film. Hopefully it gets some traction...

UPDATE (4/10/2017): Totals are in...

The Boss Baby tops all at $26 million, down 47% from last weekend. This is looking at a Home run, pun shamelessly intended.

Smurfs: The Lost Village might've landed at #3, but took in $13 million - as expected - over the weekend.

Your Name. took in a solid $1.6 million. A wee bit below the $1.8 million Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' took in back in 2015, but I'll take what I can get. It isn't playing near me, unfortunately.

Sing still sings worldwide, now at $620 million. Moana is a few steps ahead at $634 million.

Shufflin' Sony: 'Hotel Transylvania 3' Moves Up

Look at that, more release date shuffling!

Not too long after their recent slate roll out, Sony has announced that one of their animated pictures is moving up a few months. That film would happen to be Hotel Transylvania 3, which was originally set to open on the same day as Warner Animation Group's S.C.O.O.B. - September 21, 2018. The picture, which is about Dracula and the gang on a cruise ship, is now slated to open on July 13, 2018...

But that's the same day as Paramount Animation's Amusement Park, their first all-original, all-animated movie. The very movie that could be the one that establishes them as a legitimate player again. Methinks Paramount moves it yet again... But to where? Well, maybe early August. Two weeks after Mission: Impossible VI, maybe?

Sony filled Hotel Transylvania 3's old date with Goosebumps 2, which will likely come with the Sony Animation logo attached, despite it and the first one not being Sony Animation productions. January 2018 seemed a bit too soon, so it's cool to see it easing back into the pre-Halloween field... But why against S.C.O.O.B.? Both go for the families and are spooky-themed. Maybe one moves to mid-October, who knows.

It'll be settled eventually,  I think.

What say you?

Sonypalooza: Numerous Sony Animation Announcements Made

Out of nowhere, Sony Pictures Animation gave us plenty of updates on their big slate yesterdary...

Why? Apparently, it was Sony Animation Day, even though the studio was founded in May 2002. You're almost 15, guys, hold 'yer horses!

Before anyone asks... Yeah, I'll say one thing about The Emoji Movie's casting. Patrick Stewart as the poop emoji... Now we've seen it all. You can't make this shit up. (Yes, shamelessly intended) Oh, and the character Maya Rudolph is voicing is kind of unsettling-looking.

In fact, the whole design of this movie is just... It's some of the most questionable I've seen for a big-time CG animated movie.

Anyways, despite how I feel about any animation studio wasting resources on something like this, I'll still say a few other things. The full cast - outside of Stewart and Rudolph - consists of TJ Miller, Jennifer Coolidge, James Corden, Ilana Glazer, Rob Riggle, and Steven Wright. It's kind of a solid cast, I suppose, but it's still baffling to me that Stewart is on board on this flick, let alone voicing "Poop Daddy". Yes, I'm still processing the fact that the character is named that.

Perhaps the only cool thing about this movie is that it'll have a Hotel Transylvania short attached to it. Titled Puppy, it's one of the only Sony Animation theatrical shorts to be based one of their movies.

Hotel Transylvania 3 is keeping the September 21, 2018 release date (regardless of S.C.O.O.B. having that date, the Drac Pack got it first), and the plot synopsis sounds a bit interesting. Dracula and the gang will go on a cruise, Dracula falls for the captain, who turns out to be the daughter of Van Helsing. Now that is kind of a cool plot, despite what I think of the Hotel Transylvania series. I have a little faith in this particular entry because it seems like the Adam Sandler camp has been dialed back a smidge, and that Austin Powers scribe Michael McCullers will be handling the script instead.

Opening after The Emoji Movie is The Star, a new take on the Nativity story. Sony Animation's co-production with Walden Media will actually be outsourced to Cinesite Animation, who are up and coming and actually quite promising. Anyways, Sony Animation is usually conservative with budgets, but this move is rather smart. An animated faith-based movie is not a guaranteed $150 million-grossing no-holds-barred blockbuster, so it's good to see them being careful here.

We now have a look at two of the main characters...

Who is starring in The Star? Zachary Levi, Gina Rodriguez, Steve Yeun, Kristen Chenowth, Keegan-Michael Key, Anthony Anderson, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Tracy Morgan, and Christopher Plummer. The latter two are voicing Felix and King Herod, respectively.

The most exciting of the 2017-2018 Sony Animation bunch is the still untitled animated Spider-Man movie...

It has been confirmed that the film will be about Miles Morales, not Peter Parker.

Joining director Bob Perischetti is Peter Ramsey, the director of DreamWorks' good but ill-fated Rise of the Guardians. It's great to see him at the helm of a new picture, and it's also great to see another big-scale animated feature being handled by a person of color. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as reported several times before, penned the script. It's sure to be great, and probably a unique and irreverent spin on superhero movies. The big superhero franchises are in need of a good send-up. (Whether Megamind was just that or not, that's all up to you.) No cast announcements were made, but the film is still set for December 21, 2018.

There was no word on the live-action/photoreal CG pictures Goosebumps 2 and Peter Rabbit. Both are set to open in the first quarter of 2018, and are likely to bear the Sony Pictures Animation logo. Also, no word on the untitled 2019/2020 pictures, not a peep on Vivo. Those projects are still a little ways off, but since it's been two-oh-one-seven for half a month, I'd expect some animation studios to talk 2019/2020 films... If not 2021 films.

Anyways, that's Sony Animation's line-up for this year and all of next year. Some of it's exciting, some of it I couldn't care less for, other parts make me curious. What say you?

Already Gearing Up: 'The Star' Logo and Website Revealed

Sony Animation's The Star isn't out till the next holiday season, but on Christmas Day, they already got the ball rolling...

The Star looks and sounds like a sort of modern-day Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey / The Small One, an animated take on the familiar Nativity story with the protagonist being the donkey. Originally, this film was going to be about a lamb, and was actually called The Lamb. Timothy Reckart, director of the acclaimed short Head over Heels, will helm the picture.

We have a new logo for the movie...

The recently-launched website reveals that Sony Animation is partnering up with Walden Media (best known for Holes and the Narnia films) to do this film, and will also bill it as a picture from their Christian film label Affirm Films. Cast announcements are supposed to come soon, says Patheos. A new plot synopsis has been released as well...

"In Sony Pictures Animation's The Star, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become accidental heroes in the greatest story ever told – the first Christmas."

Sounds kind of like a combination of the usual animated critter romp and something more interesting. This sits cheek-and-jowl with two other Sony Animation films next year, both of which couldn't be anymore different: Smurfs: The Lost Village and The Emoji Movie. This film certainly excites me more than those two, but will it be a surprisingly good retelling of this story? Or will it be a forgettable matinee? Who knows.

What say you?

Doomsday?: 'The Emoji Movie' Trailer Surfaces

Finally here, and I'm late to the party due to out-of-blogging responsibilities... The teaser for The Emoji Movie is finally here...

So is this the apocalypse? Did my eyes fall out of their sockets? Did my ears explode?


I didn't hate it.

Yes... But I didn't necessarily like it.

I'm more amused by the fact that the marketing seems self-aware, as if it's either saying "Yeah, we're sorry" or "We know you're not looking forward to this." We have this Eeyore Emoji who is quite thrilled to announce the movie to us, that I found kind of funny in a way. This could've been way worse.

Anyways. Check list.

Use of a classic or well-known song? Check.

A near "adult" joke? Check.

Toilet humor? Check. Gotta have that poop emoji in the movie!

It looks like your typical run-of-the-mill come-and-go animated comedy. Flavor of the week. I've pretty much been against the idea of this movie from the get-go, although I don't doubt that it could be decent. I'm actually willing to eat crow on this, but... This teaser really didn't leave me with much. Why is this movie here? Sony Pictures Animation could've gone forward with Genndy Tartakovsky's Popeye and Can You Imagine?, they could've gone forward with Lauren Faust's Medusa, or the stop-mo hybrid Superbago...

On the bright side, there's still The Star, Animated Spider-Man, and Vivo. Those sound like they have potential.

Another plus... It's not called Emojimovie: Express Yourself anymore.

I've got nothing. I'll be like the emoji in the trailer and give it a "meh".

What say you?

Not-So-New Blue: 'Smurfs: The Lost Village' Trailer Surfaces

Well, a real look at the revamped Sony Animation Smurfs is here... The full trailer for Smurfs: The Lost Village...


Honestly, I'm not too impressed.

Visually, it's gorgeous. Of course, anything other than a tired half live-action "they come to the real world" thing was already nice, but they actually did go all out here. The color work and lighting in particular is very pretty, as is the art direction. Too bad the writing doesn't seem to stack up. Lots of forced one-liners here, and the picture seems like it will be another fast-paced, loudmouth, frenetic romp.

But a trailer is a trailer, so maybe the film could be pretty decent. See, I was hoping for something a little more, because it was emphasized many times how much this Smurfs movie was not going to be like the two hybrid movies, and that it would be closer to the Peyo comics. To me, it looks like just another hyperactive kids flick, and it just happens to star the Smurfs. Hopefully I'm wrong on this one. There were a few funny bits here and there - like one of the Smurfs eating all his rations, but that was about it.

What say you?

Sequel Powers: Michael McCullers Writing 'Shrek 5' and 'Hotel Transylvania 3'

As Shrek 5 gets closer and closer to release, whenever that may be, we hear a little bit more about it...

Michael McCullers, confirmed in an interview with Trolls and Shrek Forever After directors Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn, is writing the script. From this, we can assume that those directors aren't tackling the ogre's fifth entry. Apparently McCullers came up with the story's idea, too. Who is McCullers? He wrote the two Austin Powers sequels, and has also written DreamWorks' forthcoming The Boss Baby.

This is good news to me. A little fresh blood, and someone who worked on another successful comedy series spearheaded by Mike Myers, is a good fit for Shrek. McCullers could perhaps weave some of that Austin Powers sense of humor into Shrek, which I think has been a tired series for a loooong, loooong while. (Yes folks, I'm the odd duck that doesn't think Shrek 2 is anything more than just decent.)

Getting his feet wet with animation, McCullers is also set to write Hotel Transylvania 3 for Sony Animation, which does have a concrete release date. That's also good news I think, because I wasn't fond of the first one, and apparently numero due suffered from the same problems: Great direction by Genndy Tartakovsky at odds with the Adam Sandler brigade's writing. Hopefully the third one is a step in the right direction and is a good animated comedy, not 90 minutes of noise with a mostly insincere, box-checking story slapped onto it.

It's interesting to see McCullers transition into animation at this stage in his career. He had previously contributed additional script material to DreamWorks' own Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Now tapped to write some real biggies, I can only imagine what he lands from there.

What say you?

Better Blue: Teaser for 'Smurfs: The Lost Village' Debuts

Well, we now have a real look at Sony Animation's upcoming Smurfs: The Lost Village...

Before we start, I didn't bother with the US trailer, which apparently uses an unfitting song during the final half... Watch the international one instead:


Well, it's nothing special, and I could do without some of the gags here, but... Visually it looks pretty darn good, just like the teaser poster from yesterday and the other images. I've said it before, but I really like the look that Sony Animation is going for with this feature. Not only does it eschew the hyper-real CG of the live-action hybrids, it aligns more with The Peanuts Movie and the scrapped Genndy Tartakovsky iteration of their still-in-the-works Popeye film. I like the environment it's set in, and the animation has that painterly, more 2D-esque quality to it.

A teaser's a teaser so I won't say too much about the forced humor and such. I'll wait for the official trailer before I can say anything, but how do I feel about it right now? The way I've felt since the day they announced the project. I hope it's what Sony and director Kelly Asbury are making it out to be: A fun adventure that takes cues from the original comics by Peyo, and not the Hanna-Barbera TV show adaptation.

What do you think of the teaser? Are you looking forward to this film? Sound off below!

Blue Reboot: Poster for Sony's All-Animated 'Smurfs' Surfaces

With its teaser arriving tomorrow, just in time for the release of Warner Animation Group's Storks (ironically, the animation for that was done by Sony ImageWorks, hence the SPA-esque aesthetic), a poster for Smurfs: The Lost Village has arrived.

For anyone not in the know, here's what Smurfs: The Lost Village isn't... An installment in the live-action/hybrid film series that Sony Animation jumpstarted five years ago. Smurfs: The Lost Village is in no way connected or related to those movies, it is a full-on reboot and one that promises to be closer to the original comics by Peyo, not the more familiar 1980s Hanna-Barbera TV series adaptation. All animated this time, no live-action, no venturing into the real world...

Opening next spring, the poster gives off a good idea of how this film is going to look. We already got some images beforehand, as they seemed to line up more with The Peanuts Movie than a more photoreal Pixar film like The Good Dinosaur. That being said... So much blue in this forest setting, it almost looks like Avatar, that is all kinds of bizarre because...

If you've lived under a rock for years, Avatar was and has been jokingly called "Dances with Smurfs"...

All that aside, it is a pretty image even though the poster doesn't let us see all of it. It works fine for what it is, and I'm looking forward to the teaser tomorrow. Hopefully we're in for something that honors the comic, and is overall more than just a pleasing diversion.

What do you think of Smurfs: The Lost Village?