Three movies opened over the weekend and all were hopeful of more success then they received. Our Brand Is Crisis, Burnt, and Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse all fell short of expectations.
Our Brand Is Crisis
The film was fairly promising with George Clooney behind it and Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, and Anthony Mackie starring, but it seems to fall in that dangerous middle ground between comedy and intense drama. Not many directors/films can achieve this successfully, they usually have to be one or the other. Ignoring that, there just wasn’t enough interest in the film from the public. It was a premise not many Americans probably cared about, so it may have needed someone more compelling than Sandra Bullock as the lead role. Whatever the reason, it performed shockingly, earning $3.4 million to sit in eighth place for the weekend, which was won again by The Martian. Warner Bros. representative Jeff Goldstein issued a statement saying “We’re proud of the movie, we had higher expectations and we’re obviously disappointed.”
Burnt
https://youtu.be/IiGJlUVQDGk
A movie about a chef is only ever going to get so many people through the doors on opening weekend, no matter how good it is. It simply isn’t a concept that will appeal to everyone. Bradley Cooper too is a star that some people love and some people just don’t. Although in recent years he’s starting to win more fans. However, the times he’s been highly praised he’s been under some fantastic directors like Derek Cianfrance in The Place Beyond The Pines, David O. Russell in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, and Clint Eastwood in American Sniper. Outside of that, under lesser directors he hasn’t been able to produce the same performances and it may be the case here too. Burnt cost $20 million but only opened up with $5 million. It’s obviously disappointing and if word of mouth doesn’t praise the film they’ll have a hard time making a profit.
Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse
At this point we’ve had a lot of zombie movies and TV shows in a short space of time. Some of them serious drama, some of them funny drama, some of them outright comedy. Some have been good (The Walking Dead, Zombieland) and some have been bad (Dawn of the Dead). Scouts looks to fall into the obviously dumb comedy category, and into the bad pile too. The trailer is the worst thing for the movie. It appeals to a very minor audience, one who must enjoy nonsensical stupidity and finds unfunny things funny. While this film may have been hoping for more it was never going to get it. It earned only $1.8 million and is a significant step back for the talented Tye Sheridan who was quickly making his mark in drama before this.
Of the three debutants, only Burnt made it into the top 5 for the weekend, behind The Martian, Goosebumps (which has surprised many by not being terrible), Bridge of Spies, and Hotel Transylvania 2.
