Welcome to your 2017 Summer Movie Preview, where fascinatingly a new crop of A-List franchises
has graduated to the summer release schedule to battle it out with old favorites.
For instance, while Guardians of the Galaxy opened the first weekend in August back in
2014 - the "experimental blockbuster" release date - in 2017 it will kick off the entire
season with the coveted first weekend of May release date.
By the way, Marvel has that weekend booked through 2020.
Hollywood will be watching to see if James Gunn's misfit heroes can deliver an Avengers-level
box office opening, but with Infinity War fast approaching it's time for Marvel Cosmic
to not only to sit at the big movie table, but to get us frickin' excited about Thanos
already!
Then interestingly, while the first Guardians of the Galaxy proved to have very strong female
appeal, Sony and Fox are trying to counter-program the superhero flick the very next weekend
with the long awaited Barbie movie, and Amy Schumer's follow-up to Trainwreck - which
has brought Goldie Hawn out of retirement to play Schumer's mother in the adventure
comedy.
Then even as James Wan moves onto blockbusters with Furious 7 and Aquaman, his horror empire
also continues to grow - now with his The Conjuring spin-off Annabelle movies moving
from October to May!
But what could truly horrify audiences that same weekend is Dwayne Johnson's first big
effort as a producer - Baywatch.
Johnson is already promoting the adaptation non-stop on Instagram, but if a bunch of amateur
behind the scenes photos and cheesy jokes is his idea of good publicity, one shudders
to think what's his idea of a good movie.
Next, 2017's Memorial Day Weekend proves to be incredibly competitive yet again.
After Alice Through The Looking Glass in 2016, Johnny Depp returns to the holiday frame with
another sequel, this time Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales.
And before you claim Jack Sparrow fatigue, don't forget that fan favorite Orlando Bloom
is returning to the franchise, while Javier Bardem and Kaya Scodelario join the cast as
Norway's Kon-Tiki directors take the helm.
Now that sounds like one hell of a Disney Cruise.
Also that weekend, Seth Rogen takes on another genre, this time sci-fi with The Something!
Rogen, Bill Hader and Zach Galifianakis play astronauts who make a startling discovery
in space, and probably figure out how to smoke weed in space - Rob Lowe called in Thank You
For Smoking!
Then June kicks off with another blast from the past, as Hollywood resurrects yet another
old franchise.
Bad Boys 2 came out in 2003 and now, fourteen years later, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence
are back - this time for A-Team director Joe Carnahan.
Ooh, but at least Jerry Bruckheimer is still producing, and thankfully none of Smith's
family members co-star.
But he could still sneak one in there...
And while Will Smith works to revive his career, Dreamworks Animation will do the same as they
release their latest animated movie, Captain Underpants, based on the bestselling children's
books.
But the most shocking thing about this movie isn't this hero's tighty-whities, but that
Dreamworks has outsourced the animation on this movie not to its Oriental Dreamworks,
but outside animation studio Mikros Image up in Canada.
Ah, Katzenberg, we realize you need to do what you can to keep your company alive after
Disney bullied Hasbro from acquiring it, but is this really the way to go?
As for the weekend of June 9th, don't be surprised if someone blinks and moves off this release
date, as Ascendant, The Mummy and World War Z 2 all vie for you movie ticket money.
Ascendant is the least threatening as The Divergent Series is pretty much the walking
dead itself at this point, and the World War Z sequel should be able to easily neutralize
it after the surprising success of the first movie.
But the wild card here is Universal's The Mummy.
Sure Dracula Untold proved to dead rather than undead, but with Tom Cruise, Jurassic
World's Jake Johnson and Kingsman's Sofia Boutella as The Mummy herself, well, this
reboot might do the Brendan Fraser version proud.
And speaking of Kingsman, after the first film debuted in February 2015, this is yet
another franchise graduating to the summer movie season with its sequel.
Halle Berry and Julianne Moore join the cast as Eggsy and Merlin head to the United States
of America to join forces with The Statesman!
Plus rumor has it that in a nod to Roger Moore's Bond, a London Taxi will double as a submarine.
But Pixar's cars can talk and somehow build intricate machinery with only tires for hands!
Yes, the third installment of John Lasseter's oddly resilient franchise hits theaters the
same weekend.
Then there's another odd couple match up the very next weekend as Wonder Woman will look
to defeat Optimus Prime - and Mark Wahlberg!
And while Gal Gadot perhaps got the most out of Batman v Superman, the last two Transformers
movies have joined the billion dollar club while it looks like the last two DC movies
have not...
Next June closes out with the THIRD animated movie of the month, Despicable Me 3 - and
perhaps its most formidable as in 2015 Minions was only the third animated film to ever join
the billion dollar club.
Then after many collaborations with Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell will team up with Amy Poehler
for The House which will see the two former SNL-ers open up an illegal casino in their
basement to try and recover their daughter's lost college tuition money.
The new Neighbors?
Or Sisters, or Get Hard?
And speaking of placing bets, who really thinks Sony will be ready to release their Uncharted
movie the same weekend?
They've been trying to get it made since 2008, and it still doesn't have a director - or
cast.
But to Sony's credit, maybe they just want to get it right the first time and have it
stick, because with Spider-Man they have Round 3 hitting theaters right after The Fourth
of July.
Although what studio opens two big movies back to back...?
So far Spidey has his weekend all to himself though, and we'll see if Kevin Feige ACTIVELY
being involved in this version makes a noticeable difference - the character already sure does
LOOK different!
Caesar also gets his own weekend, a testament to Andy Serkis' growing star power.
Director Matt Reeves also returns to the Apes franchise, while the ever dependable Woody
Harrelson and newcomer Gabriel Chavarria represent humanity this time around.
Next we have yet another animated movie, this time Blue Sky Studio's The Story of Ferdinand.
Christopher Nolan also goes old school with his World War 2 movie Dunkirk.
Warner Bros is giving Nolan's Oscar bait flick a Saving Private Ryan release date, rather
than a December Schindler's List release date - we'll see if that was the right play.
And even with Nolan's name, the old fashioned Dunkirk might have a hard time going up against
Luc Besson's first space adventure since The Fifth Element, Valerian!
Based on a popular french comic started in 1967 which just ended in 2010, Besson is actually
bypassing Hollywood on this one and releasing the flick directly through his EuropaCorp
banner.
But are Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevigne and Clive Owen really suitable replacements for Bruce
Willis, Mila Jovovich and Gary Oldman?
Then July closes out the surprisingly much-anticipated Jumanji remake!
Lawrence Kasdan's son Jake, coming off of Bad Teacher and Sex Tape, will direct his
first ever action adventure movie with visual effects.
Hmm...
As for August, it's still being filled in but so far that first weekend - reserved for
"experimental blockbusters" - is going to Alien Covenant - experimental because Prometheus
sucked so bad.
This time Michael Fassbender's David will disdainfully terrorize Katherine Waterston,
Demian Birchir and DANNY MCBRIDE?!
And for some reason Pitch Perfect 3, a heavy weight contender which could pretty much open
any weekend it wants, has also chosen this weekend?
Open Road Films is also debuting yet another animated movie, this - Blazing Samurai - one
a blatant rip off of Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda.
Then the next weekend we get ANOTHER ANIMATED MOVIE: The Emoji Movie!
It might sound dumb, but remember how much everyone loved that Deadpool billboard?
Also Warner Bros has reserved this weekend for an "untitled event film"...
With dates already set for all their upcoming DC Movies, and Fantastic Beasts 2 set for
2018, this is genuinely a mystery movie!
So that's your 2017 Summer Movie Preview!
I'm Grace Randolph, and be sure to share your thoughts down below, as well as check out
these other videos right now!