After the biggest summer ever, can things carry over into Fall?? Right now, there are a few movies that look positioned to at least earn $100 million domestically. There's also a few potential surprises.
Right now, it looks like animated sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 will top the Fall season. From the beginning, people questioned why this movie had been made, as the first Cloudy, while well-received, was not a huge success ($240 million worldwide). But, its' here. And so far, Sony Pictures Animation has done a great job marketing the pic, with fun, hilarious trailers. Plus, its' the only family movie releasing the whole season, so its' poised for a long run. It probably won't match Sony Animation's biggest movie stateside (Hotel Transylvania which earned nearly $150 million), but it should at least come close to matching its' predecessors' $125 million domestic gross.
Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity is also looking strong. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney's sci-fi thriller has already had strong buzz and reviews ahead of its' October 4 release date (it premiered at the Venice Film Festival). That and 3D (and IMAX 3D) could allow it to hit $100 million, as audiences will come out for an original, sci-fi flick.
The other movie that could be a $100 million grosser is Ron Howard's Rush, which has been getting strong buzz since its' first image came up at the beginning of the year. The R-rated thriller has scored a solid cast including Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, and Daniel Bruhl. Marketing is well into production, and early awards season buzz could very well carry this into long playability.
Tom Hanks stars in early Oscar contender Captain Phillips, which is already in the mix for solid buzz. Coming from the director of the Bourne movies could appeal to an audience that would normally not come out for these kind of thrillers. In that aspect, Captain Phillips could become a sleeper.
Horror sequel Insidious: Chapter Two has been receiving amazing buzz prior to its' release, and a prime Friday the 13th release date will bode well for it. The first Insidious was a word-of-mouth hit, going on to gross over four times its' opening weekend. Based on early tracking, Chapter Two looks poised to beat the original's $54 million final gross.
Vin Diesel is hoping that his reboot of Reddick will take in audiences. So far, tracking has been strong for the R-rated action thriller, and there's a chance that it could succeed. But another similar movie with strong buzz flopped last year, Dredd. But Reddick has been marketed strong enough it should be able to avoid that fate.
Chloe Moretz stars in the season's second major horror flick, the remake of Carrie, which has had solid anticipation all year. Originally scheduled for March, the film was later postponed to October. However, the original 70's hit still has a following, and as long as horror audiences aren't tired out after Insidious 2, this could still do well.
Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal team up for anticipated crime flick Prisoners, which is already looking like this year's Looper based on pre-release buzz. The only thing that could stop it is if the heavy amount of R-rated action flicks get in its' way. But Jackman and Gyllenhaal are bankable stars, so this should do as well as last year's Looper ($70 million).
Paramount had a fifth Paranormal Activity scheduled for this October, but instead, they decided to move that to January and schedule Jack***: Bad Grandpa instead. The stunt movies have been extremely successful, with the 3D entry grossing over $100 million back in 2010. With this being a spin-off, don't expect a similar number, but it should still do decently especially with it opening at the end of October.
Wild cards and potential losers include action comedy The Family, Ridley Scott's potential awards contender The Counselor, musical dance film Battle of the Year, Robert Rodriguez sequel Machete Kills, Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake crime thriller Runner, Runner, and the IMAX 3D re-release of The Wizard of Oz, which only has a one-week engagement.
