Slow Weeks at Movie Theaters

The numbers will probably be close by the time this blog is created, so don't be surprised by an update. With not much going on with the new movies hitting theaters just before the latest Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, The Fate of the Furious will possibly stay number one for a third straight week. What is it with movies that aren't based on comic books that don't pick up strong numbers?

Quality is always the key to many moviegoers, and looking at the new set of films for this weekend, some of the numbers can be surprising. One of these is How to Be a Latin Lover, which is in just about 1,100 theaters. That's low, but at the same time pretty strong considering some of the stars it was able to have. Some might ignore what critics say and still enjoy a movie that has a mixed reception. Just a little bigger was an Indian film, Baahubali 2. It has a strong reception and despite being in less than 500 theaters, it is something people want to see that isn't a comic book film. I would think they would expand just a little bit to put it in other cities and towns and see how it performs. This could really be something that keeps moviegoers coming to view different kinds of films.

Despite some decent promotion and a budget of 18 million dollars, The Circle performed worse than Latin Lover and Baahubali. Maybe it's the material. My impression of it looking at the commercials is that it looks very weird and possibly confusing. Whatever the reason regarding the panning, this will be a big flop and it might make its budget back or just fail to. At least it was cheap considering how big some of their stars. If this truly was Bill Paxton's last film, not a good way to showcase the late actor's talents unless his role was well received.

There will be times when a week will feel like no one is going anywhere. You see numbers for a weekend like this and wonder how the next weekend will be. May is going to be an intriguing month. Some original films are going to be in theaters everywhere. Sequels to some of the biggest movies are slated for that as well. How will people react, though, to stuff like Baywatch or Snatched? Could King Arthur have some strong legs in the wake of yet another Marvel film the week before? Does Pirates of the Caribbean put Johnny Depp back on top following a disastrous 2016 privately and publicly? That's up to moviegoers to decide. They are the ones who dictate what gets made in the future and if a risk is put on other original films and sequels they did not expect.