Will 'Kingsman' Save the Summer for Hollywood?
by EG
The American box office went to sleep sometime in the middle of the summer, and it has yet to wake up. The summer season has seen a string of mediocre-to-awful film openings and no blockbuster debuts since Wonder Woman back in June, and ticket sales have been the worst Hollywood has experienced in decades. Hollywood has essentially given up on the remainder of the summer, opting not to release any movies nation-wide over the Labor Day weekend. The industry is holding out hope, though, for a couple of early-fall movies that may have a chance to lure moviegoers back to theaters.
British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn's cheeky spy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle is generating strong interest among moviegoers, according to early tracking.
The 20th Century Fox release is projected to open in the $40 million to $45 million range when it rolls out in North American theaters Sept. 22. That's ahead of the $36.2 million domestic debut of Kingsman: The Secret Service in February 2015. A sleeper hit, the first Kingsman went on to earn $414.4 million globally.
Hollywood needs good news after a miserable August and an up-and-down summer. Even before Kingsman debuts, It is expected to bring the box office back to life Sept. 8 with a record-setting September debut in the $55 million-$65 million range. (Warner Bros. is being more conservative in suggesting $50 million-plus for the adaptation of Stephen King's novel.)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle reteams Vaughn with Taron Egerton and Colin Firth. Newcomers to the budding franchise include Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal and Jeff Bridges. It is the first sequel Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass) has made. The movie will hold its world premiere Sept. 18 in London, Fox said Thursday.
This time around, the story follows the Kingsmen as they head to Kentucky after their U.K. headquarters is destroyed. They must seek help from some U.S. counterparts (the Statesmen), who also have a still-alive Harry (Firth).
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
Are you planning to see Kingsman? What about IT? Is there another fall movie you're looking forward to? Let us know in the comment section below.