Editorial

The Bottom Line: September 29, 2017: FLATLINERS Comes Back From The Dead

Ellen Page Flatliners

The Bottom Line: September 29, 2017

Things get resurrected on and off the screen as Flatliners makes its triumphant return. Plus this weekend sees the release of Battle of the Sexes and American Made. Find out how they will do in this week’s edition of The Bottom Line!

Box Office Top Five

Kingsman: The Golden Circle dethroned Pennywise for first place with $39.1 million. That creepy clown had to settle for second, as IT took in $29.8 million. The LEGO Ninjago Movie did a lot less business than its predecessors, opening in third place for $20.5 million. American Assassin dropped to fourth with $6.3 million, and mother! closed out the top five with $3.3 million.

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

American Made (R) 115 mins.

Tom Cruise and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman reunite for this loosely-based-on-a-true-story crime tale that looks like Cruise’s answer to The Wolf of Wall Street. Early reaction has mostly been positive, though the movie does seem to mostly live or die by Cruise’s performance. But Cruise always bring 110% to every role he takes, and it seems he does just that here. It’ll be nice to have a new Tom Cruise movie that isn’t The Mummy, anyway.

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As for the film’s box office prospects, it’s the kind of film that could be sold just from its star power, but there’s some stiff competition this week. I’m saying this opens at number two.

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Flatliners (PG-13) 108 mins.

In news that will make Bill Hader’s character from Popstar very happy, there is indeed a new Flatliners movie out in theaters this week. The question is… why? This seems like a pretty major example of a studio just making something because it is based on something else. Flatliners is not a movie that is particularly well-remembered, and what’s even weirder is this one even kind of continues the story of the original: Keifer Sutherland’s character from the first one plays a supporting role in this movie.

And even then, there have been plenty of great remakes based on so-so original films. Flatliners looks to decidedly not be one of them, currently holding a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. It looks like a waste of pretty much everyone’s time, and it bums me out that national treasure Ellen Page is slumming it in this remake/sequel that feels (un)dead on arrival.

I doubt the movie will do well at the box office, though it may make some money for those looking to see a horror movie and can’t get into a sold-out screening of IT. It’s not a horror movie, but it does have thriller elements, and that might be enough for some audiences. I’m going to say this opens at number 5.

Battle of the Sexes (PG-13) 121 mins.

Now this is going to make a ton of money. A well-known sports event that draws parallels to the modern world with touches of humor, emotion, and beloved actors Emma Stone and Steve Carell? This looks to be an incredibly crowd-pleasing mid-budget comedy-drama and the studio is about to cash in. Battle of the Sexes is going to make way more money than people may think, and my prediction is that it opens at number one this weekend.

The Bottom Line

Battle of the Sexes will open in first place, while American Made will take second. IT will hold its audience a little more than Kingsman, and it’ll take third while Kingsman drops to fourth. Flatliners will open in fifth place.

Movies To Look Forward To:

Blade Runner 2049, The Mountain Between Us, The Florida Project (October 6th)

Leave your thoughts on The Bottom Line, American Made, Flatliners, and Battle of the Sexes 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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