Even though The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1’s almost $125 million weekend was not as high as expected, it is still the biggest opening so far this year. And even if it does take the usual 50-60 per cent drop this weekend, it will likely beat this weekend’s new contenders.
The Penguins of Madagascar spins off the popular birds of the blockbuster Madagascar movies, in which Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private are brought into the services an elite undercover inter-species task force that is dedicated to helping animals who cannot help themselves.
Although the Penguins have already had their own series on Nickelodeon, the movie is unrelated to the TV show and was originally developed as a direct-to-video film. But after the success of Puss in Boots from the Shrek movies, it was decided that the Penguins would get their own feature film. While it will likely not be as big as the Madagascar movies, it should chal lenge T he Hunger Games and end up a strong number two for the weekend.
Three years ago, Horrible Bosses was a surprise hit, eventually becoming the highest grossing movie in the black comedy genre. It featured Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day as hapless employees who want to kill their respective bosses. In Horrible Bosses 2, the three decide that they were no longer going to be employees but be bosses themselves and launch their own business. However, a savvy investor wants to take them down and with no other viable option, the trio decide to kidnap the investor’s son and hold him for ransom in order to take back their business.
Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine also star as the investor and his son, respectively, plus Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey make return appearances. Like the original, it will feature off-colour, controversial and even offensive humour, but fans of the first will know what they are getting into and will make the sequel a hit.
And finally, The Theory of Everything is opening at the Paramount this weekend. This highly anticipated biopic about astrophysicist Steven Hawking not only shows his success in physics but also his struggles with ALS and his relationship with his wife Jane. Watch for leads Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones during awards season.
