Editorial

The Bottom Line: July 14, 2017: APES! TOGETHER! STRONG!

Andy Serkis War For The Planet of the Apes 02

The Bottom Line: July 14, 2017

It’s time to quit monkeying around. Caesar and the other apes are back in theaters this weekend for the third time in War for the Planet of the Apes. Find out how it will do in this week’s edition of The Bottom Line!

Box Office Top Five

Spider-Man: Homecoming topped the box office this weekend, obviously. The movie made $117.1 million, and confirms Spider-Man’s return to box office bankability. Meanwhile, Despicable Me 3 dropped to second place, taking in a still-solid $33.6 million. Baby Driver has proven to be a solid performer, dropping to third place with $13.1 million, while Wonder Woman maintained its fourth place standing with $9.9 million. Transformers: The Last Knight rounded out the top five with $6.4 million.

A Closer Look at Some of this Week’s Films.

War For the Planet of the Apes (PG-13) 140 mins.

I don’t think anyone expected much when it was announced they were going to reboot Planet of the Apes with a prequel series. 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a welcome surprise hit, a change of pace from the usual studio fare, and an excellent showcase for Andy Serkis using motion capture to perform as Caesar. 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes deepened and matured the concept, and became a striking allegory that still resonates. War For the Planet of the Apes looks to take the series to its (probable) conclusion, and reviews indicate it may be the best one yet. The visual effects for these movies are mind-bogglingly good, and you throw in some Woody Harrelson into the mix? I’m in.

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It’ll face some stiff competition from Spider-Man in its second week, but I’m placing my bet on Caesar to win the box office this weekend. I just can’t betray those fierce, piercing eyes.

The Big Sick (R) 119 mins.

After a few weeks playing in limited release, The Big Sick finally opens wide this weekend. This was a huge hit out of Sundance, and it’s essentially made by every person who is the best. Produced by Judd Apatow, directed by Michael Showalter, written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon and starring Nanjiani in the lead role, this indie rom-com has been getting an overwhelmingly positive reaction.

I would love for this to do well, and the movie has some phenomenal word of mouth, but it would be tough to take down the Spider-Man and Ape juggernauts. Still, it’s crept around the top ten even in limited release, so third place isn’t out of the question.

Wish Upon (PG-13) 89 mins.

This weekend also sees the release of Wish Upon, a new horror movie from John Leonetti, the director of 2014’s Annabelle. If you’ll recall, Annabelle was not very good (as a sidenote, though: this year’s Annabelle: Creation – from the director of Lights Out – actually looks pretty solid). Wish Upon has also received pretty negative reviews, and I’m hearing that it’s a stale movie with weak performances and contrived horror situations.

So how do I think it will do this weekend? Probably not great. There are times when crappy horror movies can clean up (early January is prime for those), but since its surrounded by so many commercial and critical hits like Apes, Spider-Man, The Big Sick, Baby Driver, and Wonder Woman, it seems to me like Wish Upon doesn’t stand much of a chance. It may be the only horror out in theaters right now, but at a certain point that only counts for so much.

The Bottom Line

War for the Planet of the Apes will open at number one, while Spider-Man: Homecoming will drop to second. The Big Sick will get a win and make third place, while Baby Driver will take fourth. Wonder Woman will round out the top five..

Movies To Look Forward To:

Dunkirk,  Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Girls Trip (July 21st)

Leave your thoughts on The Bottom Line, War for the Planet of the Apes, The Big Sick, and Wish Upon below in the comments section. Readers seeking more The Bottom Line can visit our The Bottom Line Page. Want up-to-the-minute notification? Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook. 


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Michael Smith

Mike Smith is an avid filmgoer from New York who loves to hear his own voice - luckily his work as a podcaster on FilmBook allows him to do just that. Mike graduated from The College of Saint Rose in Albany with a degree in communications, and is ready to dole out critical analysis of all your pop culture fixations. Mike is the host of FilmBookCast and can frequently be seen at his local movie theater, patiently explaining to his friends that Superman Returns is a misunderstood masterpiece.
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