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.

Elusive Monkey: 'Spark' Only Opening in 350 Theaters Nationwide

It all makes sense now...

The arrival of the trailer less than two months before release, the relatively quiet marketing, the long wait...

ToonBox's second animated feature, Spark: A Space Tail, is opening in (according to Box Office Mojo) around 350 theaters this coming Friday. Talk about little-to-no confidence.

Open Road's first animated release, ToonBox's own The Nut Job, was a pretty wide release. It is actually Open Road's highest grossing film at the domestic box office. The sequel - opening in August - will also be a wide release. It always seemed like they had little use for Spark. The movie was completed back in early 2016, and was shown at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International in April of that year. For a long while, it didn't have a concrete theatrical release date or a distributor.

Perhaps Open Road got cold feet after the performance of a similar spacey animated release, Ratchet & Clank. Unlike Ratchet & Clank, Spark is not based on any pre-existing source material. The trailer did give me Ratchet & Clank vibes, but it also reminded me of other platformer games that came out in the late 90s/early 00s, such as Jak & Daxter. When talking about upcoming movies with my manager today, this came up, and he described it as "Ape Escape on steroids" or something. To me, it almost looks like a pilot for a mid-2000s Cartoon Network CG TV series, honestly. Something they would've shown on their old Miguzi block, a.k.a. the wannabe-successor to Toonami.

But Open Road still has enough to confidence to book it in 350 theaters. I honestly didn't think it looked that bad from the trailer, but it didn't look like anything special either. Certainly better-looking than The Nut Job, and more interesting-looking than Nut Job 2. Well, I guess the distributor doesn't expect a small success out of this one.

What say you?

Monkey Business: 'Spark' Trailer Finally Debuts

Completed over a year ago, and set to hit theaters in a matter of weeks... Spark finally got itself a trailer.

Oh, excuse me. Spark: A Space Tail... Yep, they're sticking with that. Okay, so the trailer itself...


Honestly?

It doesn't look too bad!

One thing is for certain, though. The writing is pretty much aiming at a younger crowd here, but I do like everything else. I'm fond of these particular kinds of stories where they build these weird worlds and planets. Nothing new, but it's something I've always liked. I got some serious Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank vibes from this, two video game franchises that started in the early 2000s and were just this. It's no surprise that the movie is reminding some of the Ratchet & Clank movie from last year.

On the whole, it looks inoffensive and just okay. No cringeworthy lines or jokes sans the "kick some asteroid" line (you stole that from Ratchet & Clank!), got a chuckle or two out of it. It'll probably just come and go, though I am curious. It has the potential to be a surprisingly fun, lightweight adventure. What I really want, soon, is a picture like this. A sorta set in another world colorful adventure, but one written like a Disney Animation or Pixar film. Disney Animation did it before with Treasure Planet, it'd be nice if they could do it again. They almost did with the cancelled Cosmic 3000/untitled space race movie.

To those outside of the animation sphere, this probably looks like a kid-lite Star Wars/Guardians of the Galaxy. The trailer's text and editing probably doesn't help much, nor does the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 opens weeks after it. I know a great, all-ages movie can be made out of this sort of thing, and be a great animated alien/fantasy tale. One that doesn't look like "Star Wars/GOTG for kids"... In the meantime, I'm curious about this one.

What say you?

February Bits: 'Cars 3' Cast Info, 'Spark' Gets Title Change, Chris McKay Lands 'Nightwing' Movie

A few little tidbits came about...

If what has been said about Cars 3 for the past two years hasn't driven home the fact that it's going to be like the first film in that series, then this announcement sure will. In addition to The King returning to the series, with the actual King - Richard Petty - voicing him, a host of other race car drivers will voice car versions of themselves in the film.

One of which is former NASCAR driver and the King's son, Kyle Petty. He'll voice Cal Weathers in the film, since Richard's car equivalent was named Strip Weathers. If only he was named Richard in the movie, with the son being Kyle... Then that would make Cars 3 the first Pixar film with a Kyle in it! So close!

Other racers, some of which are veterans, include Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, and Ray Evernham. Jeff Gordon, who did a voice cameo in Cars 2, is back as well. What about Lewis Hamilton? Sportscasters Shannon Spake and Mike Joy will star as well, returning faces include Howard "Humpy" Wheeler and Darrell Waltrip.

No different from the first one, really. The first one featured the voices of Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Dale Earnhardt Jr., among other sportscasters and noted car enthusiasts.

Also, a new image...

Very, very nice.

Say it ain't so, the director of The Lego Batman Movie is looking to direct one of the DC Extended Universe movies, and a Gotham-based one no less... A Nightwing movie.

Yes, that's right, Chris McKay is set to direct a planned Nightwing movie for Warner Bros./DC. Maybe it'll actually happen, but given the way WB is and has been mishandling DC's cinematic output, I have my reservations. That means I'll be surprised if Matt Reeves ends up actually directing The Batman.

For those who are not in the know, Nightwing was Robin... In the comics, Dick Grayson ditched the Robin name and persona for Nightwing in the 1980s. Grayson/Robin is a major player in The Lego Batman Movie, so it all lines up quite nicely. This will be, if it happens, McKay's second live-action film. His first was a 2002 picture called 2wks, 1yr.

You guys know of Spark, right?

That space monkey movie that was made by ToonBox, the Nut Job creators? Completed a little over a year ago, the film was screened at a Toronto-based film festival back in April. Months later, Open Road Films got the distribution rights and announced that they would be releasing it this coming April... But no trailer has shown up, or an official poster (only the ones made for buyers/festivals), though we have a trailer for Open Road/ToonBox's The Nut Job 2, which was always set to open after this film. That comes out in August...

Where's all the marketing for this movie? Will it be pushed back? I have no idea, but...

Fandango's website has what looks like a new poster for the film... It looks like its title has been altered. It's now called Spark: A Space Tail. It appears that a spring release for the feature is still not out of the question.

Yeah, I think it's a dumb addition, but it could be just another tagline. Fandango, however, lists the movie as Spark: A Space Tail. Hopefully the movie itself is a bit of alright. I like the premise (space + animation + animals = count me in!), I just hope the writing stacks up. We don't want another Space Chimps with this movie, you know?

Update (2/25/2017): Spark: A Space Tail's trailer is set to debut in a week, according to the film's twitter page. I guess Open Road never saw much in this one... 

What say you on all of this?

Nut That Bad: 'Nut Job 2' Teaser Sorta Surfaces

Forgive the pun, but yes... The Nut Job 2... That animated sequel not too many folk want. The teaser is here.

You're probably wondering... Where? It's not online, that's for sure... But I saw it. Some other folk saw it, too. Where? If you're new here, fun fact: I've been working at my local movie theater since August of 2015, and when I'm an usher, I get the time to check on the movies and see trailers.

So when popping into a screening of Monster Trucks, I saw the very beginning of The Nut Job 2's trailer. Then I thought, "The trailer for this thing isn't out yet. At least not online..." So I stayed in the empty theater and gave it a watch, figuring that it may not pop up online for a while because of the recent release date change (Originally set for May, it's now set to open in mid-August) and the general quietness surrounding this movie. We also have the poster at the theater, which we got before the delay.

Honestly, the teaser wasn't all that bad. The Nut Job is currently viewed as one of those smaller and not-so-good animated flicks that tend to come out in January or so. I've actually never seen the film, I've seen the short that it's based on, but the movie? No. The trailers for it give me little incentive to check it out, and so did the pretty sour critical reception. How does The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature look?

Well... Tolerable.

Not funny or exciting or anything, just tolerable. Definitely slapstick-heavy, too. It looks very run-of-the-mill, and the plot is the tired "greedy human wants to develop on an area that the animals inhabit" slop. I guess no one learned from Norm of the North. All's okay until the final second, where the pug character farts for no reason.

That's basically it. You're not really missing much, but I figured I'd share my thoughts on it anyways. Not sure if or when it'll go online, but it's rolling before Monster Trucks, if you - for some reason - check that thing out.

UPDATE: A day later, it's online.

Road Trip Detours: Open Road Shuffles Animation Slate

Sometimes, even the smaller folk do some shifting in animation-land...

Open Road Films is the distributor of ToonBox Entertainment's films, scoring a modest success with The Nut Job some two years ago around this time. The Nut Job 2 was originally set to open in January of last year, but it ended up being pushed to this coming May... Well, it has been pushed again, even though a trailer for this thing is ready.

The new date is August 18, 2017.

The distributor is also handling the feature Blazing Samurai, a family-friendly cats-and-dogs in feudal Japan story inspired by Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks is involved, too!), and that was originally set for August 4th of this year. The same day as Sony Animation's *gag* Emoji Movie. That is now without a concrete release date, but fear not! It isn't in the "to be determined" black hole. Now, it's expected to hit some time in 2018.

ToonBox's other upcoming, completed film Spark is currently set to open on April 14th... Just about a full year after its screening at a festival in Toronto. It has not moved, though I think it should take advantage of the space The Nut Job 2 left vacant. Not like it's going to be a big blockbuster to begin with, might as well move it away from The Boss Baby (opening 3/31) and Smurfs: The Lost Village (opening 4/7), give it a little breathing room. Not saying animated films cannibalize each other, but I think for best possible results, it should get a new date.

Anyways, I hope all works out for Blazing Samurai. One of the companies behind it - Arc Productions  - went bankrupt, but said company got bought by Jam Filled Toronto, so it's still a go as far as I'm concerned.

What say you?

Oncoming Nerds and Apes: 'Nerdland' and 'Spark' Get Release Dates

Two features have locked release dates...

Titmouse, the house behind Adult Swim favorites like Metalocalypse and China, IL, completed Nerdland a while back and it screened at festivals earlier in the year. Now, it has a concrete release date. Previously, we learned that The Samuel Goldwyn Company was distributing the picture sometime next month. The official date is now December 6th.

But the catch? A very limited Fathom Events theatrical release, it's actually going to be a VOD release. Kind of a shame, because it looks like it cost nothing to make, and could probably make a small profit as an indie theatrical release. Little Prince route it is.

Perhaps it finally getting something of a release is all due to Sausage Party's success, which is good, hopefully that film succeeding makes the industry more confident in adults-only fare. Like I've said, if it's going to take a string of raunchy immature comedies to get to the good stuff, I'm all in. A new trailer has also been released...

Getting a wide release on the other hand is ToonBox's Spark. Like Nerdland, Spark was finished a while ago and even screened at a festival towards the beginning of the year. It was always meant to open between The Nut Job and its sequel. Open Road Films, distributor of the Nut Jobs, has finally picked it up. They will release the film on April 14, 2017. That's one week after Sony's Smurfs: The Lost Village, and that pic opens a week after DreamWorks' The Boss Baby. C'mon guys, space 'em out!

Spark is lower budget, so they don't have to worry. Smurfs: The Lost Village should cost around the amount of Sony Animation's more recent films, it'll mostly get its help from the worldwide box office given the fact that the Smurfs themselves originate from Europe. It's The Boss Baby I'm worried about, being a $120 million DreamWorks flick... but then again, Fox is probably willingly dumping this and Captain Underpants. I just hope, even though DreamWorks is now part of Comcast, that the animators don't get hit for these films flopping, should the films do so.

Spark is also one of three animated movies that Open Road is unleashing next year, alongside ToonBox's own The Nut Job 2 (5/19/2017) and Mass' Blazing Samurai (8/4/2017). No proper trailer is out, yet. I've only seen a clip months and months ago that unfortunately got pulled, wasn't too bad.

Anyways, it's good to see films locking dates. As far as 2017 animated movies go, we're still waiting on Blue Dream's Animal Crackers and Parallax's Musical to get distributors/dates. There's probably a couple others at the moment that could be squeezed in as well, but 2017 is almost rounded out.

What say you?