By Sarah Sluis
Paramount has been secretive about its new film Super 8 (3,379 theatres). The question this weekend will answer is: Have they been too secretive? According to Alterian's social media monitoring software, both last week's release X-Men: First Class and next week's Green Lantern are grabbing a larger portion of the online chatter. Super 8 was barely even on the radar until Memorial Day weekend. Both Super 8 and last week's well-reviewed X-Men: First Class have 64% positive sentiment ratings, which bodes well for Super 8. Industry insiders are predicting the film will debut to around $25-$30 million, not that bad considering the movie was made for just $50 million.
Critics have called out J.J. Abrams' style for what it is: an imitation of a master. A. O. Scott of The New York Times put it this way: "The visual and emotional poetry of those films, however, never quite blossoms, despite having been copied out carefully, line by line." That doesn't mean the movie still isn't enjoyable in its own right. The story centers on a group of kids making a Super 8 movie. They witness a train crash that unleashes something that wreaks havoc (but often sentimental havoc, like lost dogs) on their town. I think the fact that the trailer didn't give away the movie will provide audiences a better experience and in turn drive positive word-of-mouth. Paramount held sneak peeks last night that they hope will give them a head start on building positive buzz.
Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer (2,524 theatres) will do lesser business, primarily attracting pre-teen girls and a parent guardian. The PG-rated film did not find a fan with David Noh, who called the movie "shrilly bright, noisome" and filled with "charmless rambunctiousness." However, the bright production design and silly humor seem guaranteed to hit the sweet spot of its target audience, who probably won't have qualms about its "loud special effects" and "animated sequences...which contribute...chaos."
The British comedy duo of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon team up for The Trip (6 theatres). Critic Rex Roberts praised this "exercise in comic improvisation," which really only has a plot as an excuse to pack comedy into it. His warning? "You should have a high tolerance for drollery and affectionate raillery."
A rare gem in the comedy-horror mockumentary niche, Troll Hunter pairs up beautiful views of Norwegian fjords with man-eating trolls who must be dispensed with by government-hired troll hunters.
On Monday, we'll see if audiences were curious enough to catch Super 8 and if enough pre-teen girls were able to convince their parents to take them to Judy Moody.
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