New Movies January 22: Dirty Grandpa and The 5th Wave
by EG
The reign of The Force Awakens came to an end last weekend when Ride Along 2 took the top spot in the ticket-sales race. With three new films hitting theaters this week, they staying power of the new champion will be put to the test, as will that of The Revenant, the contender that's been hanging out in second place for the past two weeks.
The first of this week's new wide releases is The 5th Wave, an action-adventure story based on a post-apocalyptic young-adult novel series and starring Chloe Grace Moretz. In this one, the young heroes take on alien invaders, and although the film's producers hope it will found a blockbuster franchise, it's not getting good reviews.
The next new release is Dirty Grandpa, a comedy starring Zac Efron and Robert DeNiro. In it, Efron is a strait-laced young man forced to take a road trip with his uncouth grandfather. The film should not be confused with 2013's Bad Grandpa, which is about a youngster forced to take a road trip with his uncouth grandfather. Like most DeNiro comedies, this one might find a modest audience, or it might fade away quietly.
The last new wide release this week is The Boy, a creepy thriller starring The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan. It shouldn't be confused with the 2015 of the same name.