New Movies January 8: The Forest and The Revenant
by EG
Last week, Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, the week's only new wide release, did nothing to challenge the supremacy of Star Wars at the box office. In fact, The Hateful Eight only narrowly outpaced hold-overs Sisters and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip to take third place. This week, two more new movies step up to take a shot at The Force Awakens.
The first new wide release is The Revenant, an adventure drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a 19th-century outdoorsman trying to survive in the wild. This one is getting widespread critical praise and Oscar buzz for DiCaprio, but the failure of In the Heart of the Sea a few weeks ago suggests that high-minded adventure isn't necessarily what audiences are in the mood for right now. Predictions have the movie grossing somewhere around $20 million for the weekend, which won't be enough for the top spot.
The week's second new wide release is The Forest, a horror story about a young woman lost in a haunted Japanese forest. Expectations for this one are modest; expect it to take in $10 million or less for the weekend.
The week's real battle will probably be for second place, where The Revenant will have to contend with The Hateful Eight and last week's number two, Will Ferrell's Daddy's Home.