August 2024 box office preview: ‘Alien: Romulus,’ ‘Trap,’ ‘It Ends With Us’ among potential blockbusters
It’s almost August, which means two things: It’s the last month of the summer movie season, and we’re into the traditional “Dog Days of Summer” when studios often dump a lot of crap in hopes that moviegoers, at least those not taking their last-minute vacations, might go see them. Oddly, this month we also have a number of original films with just two franchise reboots, and a couple movies based on popular books and one video game. Read on for Gold Derby’s August 2024 box office preview.
“Alien: Romulus” (20th Century – Aug. 16)
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Uruguyan filmmaker Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe”) is the latest director to take over this long-running horror sci-fi franchise that began all the way back in 1979 with Ridley Scott‘s “Alien.” Scott is still involved as a producer after directing “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” in 2012 and 2017, respectively, the former being the highest-grossing movie in the franchise with $402.4 million worldwide. Alvarez’s cast includes Cailee Spaeny from “Civil War” and “Priscilla” and Isabela Merced from “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” Expect this one to open upwards of $45 million or more as potentially the last major studio blockbuster of the summer, which will make Disney happy, since this is its first “Alien” movie released after buying 20th Century Fox.
“Trap” (Warner Bros. – Aug. 2)
M. Night Shyamalan‘s latest high-concept thriller stars Josh Hartnett – fresh off his resurgence from being in Christopher Nolan‘s Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” last year – as a father taking his daughter to a concert by “Lady Raven” (played by Saleka Shyamalan), only to learn it’s an elaborate trap put on by the FBI to capture a brutal serial killer. Although Shyamalan’s two movies since returning to the world of “Unbreakable” – 2021’s “Old” in 2021 and “Knock at the Cabin” in 2022 – never made $50 million domestically, there continues to be interest in his films when marketed right. This be one of the month’s breakouts, but we’ll have more about its box office products in this week’s weekend preview on Wednesday.
“It Ends With Us” (Sony – Aug. 9)
Blake Lively stars in this adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s best-selling novel, playing Lily Bloom, a woman trying to overcome her traumatic childhood who sparks a connection with a neurosurgeon (played by the film’s director Justin Baldoni), just as her first love (Brandon Sklenar) returns into her life. Some might casually overlook this adaptation as a movie that might not do very well, but the popularity of Hoover’s book and Lively as an actor has already led to decent ticket sales. In some ways, this is this summer’s “Where the Crawdads Sing,” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones from “Twisters,” which opened with $17.2 million and grossed $90.2 million domestically. That just goes to show you the power of counter-programming, and “It Ends with Us” could open in the $20 to $25 million range, by comparison.
“Borderlands” (Lionsgate – Aug. 9)
Director Eli Roth (last year’s “Thanksgiving”) tackles a popular video game with an eclectic cast that includes Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as Kevin Hart and the voice of Jack Black (reuniting after the blockbuster “Jumanji” movies), as well as Haley Bennett, Florian Munteanu (“Creed III”) and Ariana Greenblatt (“Barbie”). “Borderlands” is a super-popular first person shooter game, but video games have historically been super-spotty at the box office with some notable recent exceptions like “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and the “Super Mario Bros. Movie.” While this one looks a bit like the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, it has a far more limited, mostly male audience, that might only allow it to open somewhere between $15 and $20 million.
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“The Crow” (Lionsgate – Aug. 23)
Bill Skarsg?rd plays Eric Draven in the latest in a long line of attempts at bringing James O’Barr‘s dark comic superhero to the screen. In the film, directed by Rupert Sanders (“Ghost in the Shell”), Eric and his girlfriend Shelly (rapper FKA twigs) are brutally murdered, so Eric sacrifices himself to get revenge for the death of his true love. Thirty years after the beloved film, this one will probably end up opening with around $15 million, being released in one of the worst weekends of the summer when movies frequently go to die with a lot of negative advance buzz from early marketing.
“AfrAId” (Sony – Aug. 30)
Filmmaker Chris Weitz makes a rare foray into horror with this high-concept horror movie starring John Cho, Katherine Waterstone, Havana Rose Liu (“Bottoms”), Riki Lindhome (“Knives Out”), David Dasmalchian and Keith Carradine. The high-concept involves a family that brings home a digital assistant named “AIA,” that learns the family’s behaviors and needs and does whatever it can to keep them safe. With the success of the high-tech horror of “M3GAN,” a horror movie based around a Siri-like personal assistant was bound to happen sooner rather than later, and this one is likely to make between $12 and $15 million over Labor Day weekend.
“Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM – Aug. 23)
Zo? Kravitz makes her directorial debut with this dark comedic thriller that is reminiscent of 2022’s “The Menu,” starring Channing Tatum as tech billionaire Slater King, who invites cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackle of “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody”) to join him and his friends for a dream vacation on his private island where strange things happen. This has a great trailer, but it’s also being released in historically, one of the weekends of the year to release a movie, so we’ll have to see if this can open over $10 million.
“Harold and the Purple Crayon” (Sony – Aug. 2)
There aren’t a ton of family-friendly PG movies out this month, but this adaptation of the children’s book by Crockett Johnson will launch the month with Zachary Levi (“Shazam!”) playing the title character, co-starring Lil Rel Howery, Zooey Deschanel and Jemaine Clement. We’ll have more about this in the weekend preview on Wednesday.
“Cuckoo” (Neon – Aug. 9)
German filmmaker Tilman Singer (“Luz”) delivers his second horror film, this one starring Hunter Schafer from “Euphoria” as 17-year-old Gretchen, whose family is staying at a resort in the Alps where all sorts of strange occurrences begin terrorizing them. Also starring Dan Stevens, Jennifer Henwick and Marton Czokas, the film might benefit from having its trailer in front of the equally strange “Longlegs,” which could help this open with $4 to 5 million or more.
As further proof of August being a dumping ground, we’ll do a quick lightning round of other movies presumably getting wide releases this month, all with lower box office prospects.
“Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics – Aug. 2)
An untraditional biopic getting a wide release this weekend is this film about the Belfast, Ireland hip-hop trio known as Kneecap, who famously perform in their Irish language to rebel against the country’s British oppressors. We’ll have more about this on Wednesday in this week’s weekend preview.
“The Firing Squad” (Atlas Distribution – Aug. 2)
Kevin Sorbo, Cuba Gooding Jr., and the unavoidable Eric Roberts star in this faith-based film about three Christian prisoners who face execution in a third-world country.
“My Penguin Friend” (Roadside Attractions – Aug. 16)
Another relatively mid-profile PG movie for the month teams French actor Jean Reno and Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza (“Babel”) with a penguin. It’s based on the true story of a penguin lost from an oil spill by a fisherman (Reno) whose life is changed by his new friendship.
“Skincare” (IFC – Aug. 16)
Elizabeth Banks stars in this thriller, directed by Austin Peters, as an entrepreneur beginning her own skincare line only to discover a rival facialist (Luis Gerardo Méndez) that’s opened a skincare boutique directly across the street, just as someone is trying to sabotage her business.
“Ryan’s World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure” (Falling Forward Films – Aug. 16)
The popular YouTube channel for kids age two through six, featuring Ryan Kaji and his family, hits theaters from this unknown new distributor.
“The Forge” (Sony/Affirm – Aug. 23)
Alex Kendrick (“Fireproof,” “Courageous”) directs this faith-based film about a young mane named Isaiah (Aspen Kennedy) who is urged to make better life decisions after graduating high school.
“Slingshot” (Bleecker Street – Aug. 30)
Casey Affleck, Lawrence Fishburne and Tomer Capone star in this space thriller directed by Mikael H?fstr?m (“1408”) about an astronaut losing his grip on reality aboard a compromised space mission to Saturn. It’s Bleecker Street’s 2nd attempt at sci-fi after “I.S.S.” earlier this year.
“Reagan” (ShowBiz Director – Aug. 30)
Dennis Quaid stars as the country’s 40th President, Ronald Reagan, in this biopic that follows him from childhood to the Presidency. Directed by Sean McNamara (“Spare Parts”), the film also stars Mena Suvari, C. Thomas Howell, Penelope Ann Miller (as Nancy Reagan) and Jon Voight. It’s unclear who this movie is for, so it may have a hard time finding an audience over Labor Day weekend.
“1992” (Lionsgate – Aug. 30)
Ariel Vromen‘s long-delayed drama set during the 1992 L.A. riots stars Tyrese Gibson as a formerly incarcerated father trying to save his son, while the late Ray Liotta and his own son (Scott Eastwood) plan an elaborate heist at a metal factory.
“City of Dreams” (Roadside Attractions – Aug. 30)
It’s a drama based on the true story of a Mexican boy whose dreams of being a soccer star end when he’s smuggled across the border and sold to an L.A. sweat shop.
Also, on August 16, A24 plans to expand the drama “Sing Sing,” starring Colman Domingo, while Focus Features will expand Sean Wang‘s coming-of-age film “Didi” into theaters across the country.
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We definitely have more than enough movies for you with all those above, but there are a few lower-key limited releases worth seeking out as well.
“The Instigators” (Apple Studios – Aug. 2)
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star in Doug Liman‘s comedy as two robbers who go on the run, helped by their therapists, after a robbery goes wrong. It’s only getting a single week in select theaters ahead of streaming on Apple TV+.
“Rob Peace” (Republic PIctures – Aug. 2)
Chiwetel Ejiofor directs and co-stars in this biopic about a brilliant young man who ends up using genius-level intellect to deal drugs after dropping out of college.
“Girl You Know It’s True” (Vertical – Aug. 9)
German filmmaker Simon Verhoeven tackles the story of dancers Pilatus and Morvan, who became famous in the ‘80s as Grammy winners Milli Vanilli, only to be hobbled by controversy.
“Good One” (Metrograph Pictures – Aug. 9)
Filmmaker India Donaldson, daughter of Australian filmmaking legend Roger Donaldson (“No Way Out”), makes her feature debut with this indie starring Lily Collias, as 17-year-old Sam, who goes on an awkward camping trip with her father (James Le Gros) and his friend.
“Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” (Well Go USA – Aug. 9)
This prequel to the popular Hong Kong action series takes place in a walled city, starring Louis Koo, Sammo Hung and Richie Jen.
“Close to You” (Greenwich – Aug. 16)
Elliot Page stars in and co-wrote this drama about a trans man who returns home for the first time since his transition. It’s directed by Dominic Savage.
“Strange Darling” (Magenta Light Studios – Aug. 23)
Another serial killer thriller, this one from JT Mollner, starring Kyle Gallner (“Smile”) and Willa Fitzgerald, whose one-night stand seems to be a part of a serial killer’s murder spree. Actor Giovanni Ribisi makes his cinematography debut on this one.
“Between the Temples” (Sony Pictures Classics – Aug. 23)
Nathan Silver‘s indie comedy, starring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane as unlikely friends, played quite well for audiences at Sundance but may not get a very wide release.
August being the last month of the summer, next month’s preview will start getting into the awards stuff with festival season kicking into high gear.
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