Box Office Preview: July

The Box Office Preview features movies with teen and tween appeal opening this month. For the most part I won’t feature R-rated films, but occasionally there will be R-rated movies on teens’ radar and the rating will be noted. Limited release movies will be featured the week they get a wide release.

July 1

In preparation for the holiday weekend, we’ve not only got Eclipse opening on June 30, but also The Last Airbender, based on the popular animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender opening on Thursday, July 1. This live-action adaptation, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, has already garnered a lot of buzz, but primarily for negative reasons. While the series is set in an Asian-inspired universe, the movie features mostly white actors and many are boycotting the movie, including Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese. See his comic explaining the boycott. Despite the controversy, many fans and new viewers will likely turn out for the movie.

July 9

The 3d animated film Despicable Me attempts to steal some of Toy Story 3′s box office thunder this weekend. This darkly comic tale sees the world’s second best supervillain, Gru, try to dethrone his archnemesis while also caring for three young orphans. Universal has been heavily promoting the movie and it features some popular voice actors including Steve Carell and Miranda Cosgrove, so this looks like an no-brainer for the family crowd and the dark undertones will likely appeal to teens as well.

Sci-fi horror fans will be interested in the Predator sequel Predators (Rated R). In the movie, a group of humans finds themselves trapped on an alien planet as prey for a new breed of predators.

July 14

Loosely based on the Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment in Disney’s Fantasia, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice features Nicolas Cage as a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan. He takes reluctant college student Jay Baruchel under his wings as an apprentice and the two fight evil together. While the plot seems weak, it may find traction with tweens, which looks to be the target market for this film.

July 16

Inception brings together Leonardo DiCaprio and noted director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins, Dark Knight) for what promises to be a mind-bending look at dreams and espionage. Not much is known about the plot, but with its pedigree, this film should be a big hit with teens and older audiences.

July 23

Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books get the movie treatment in Ramona and Beezus starring Joey King and Selena Gomez as the title characters. In this adaptation, rambunctious third-grader Ramona attempts to save her family’s home before it’s too late. Some long-time fans may not like the film interpretation, but it looks appealing to a younger crowd.

Angelina Jolie stars as Salt in this action thriller about a spy on the run after being accused of working for the enemy. Originally written for Tom Cruise, the script was reworked for Jolie after Cruise dropped out. Though it will be competing for the same audience as last week’s Inception, this should be a welcome summer distraction for an older crowd.

July 30

Jay Roach of Austin Powers and Meet the Parents directs Dinner for Schmucks, remake of a French dark comedy film. Paul Rudd stars as an executive who invites Steve Carell to a dinner party that rewards its attendees for bringing the stupidest guest. As the lone pure comedy this month, the movie should appeal to the teen crowd, especially the boys.

Nearly 10 years after the original Cats & Dogs, we get the inexplicable sequel Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore in 3D, natch. The plot hardly matters for a film that will attract the kids in the heat of the summer.

Zac Efron stars as the title character in the drama Charlie St. Cloud. Charlie has to find a balance between coping with the death of his younger brother and developing a romance with Tess. Based on the 2004 Ben Sherwood novel The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, this film will appeal to teen viewers, especially fans of Nicholas Sparks and similar romance stories.

What movies are you or your teens most looking forward to this month?

June 30th, 2010  ♥  Box Office Preview, Movies  ♥  No Comments »