Box Office Predictions: Power Rangers is Going to Destroy CHiPs and Life
Notable Openings This Weekend: Power Rangers, Life, CHiPs
IT’S MORPHIN TIME!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogMBLRHJYXU
Oops, wrong one. Power Rangers is one of three wide releases this weekend, so we have a lot to get through, including a double dose of nostalgia. We may as well kick it off with those ninja fighting rapscallions. Get your zords ready.
The reviews aren’t exactly ripping apart Rotten Tomatoes (currently 46%), but let’s be honest – did we expect them to? In fact, that’s a much higher number than anyone probably expected. The trailers have generated the right buzz among fans, and Power Rangers has vintage nostalgia appeal. With a modest budget, relatively speaking, this movie is going to do just fine. There will be a sequel. It’s certainly not at the level of Transformers, but Power Rangers is pretty damn critic proof.
Speaking of nostalgia, how about CHiPs? No, thanks. Dax Shepard? Eh. Nobody cares. And by the way, this is coming from someone who was a mild CHiPs fan. I love that theme song!
This is what studios don’t understand about nostalgia though. This show premiered back in 1977. 1977?!?! Even the most diehard CHiPs fan is going to look at this and say, “Yeah, I don’t have time. My kid has a lacrosse game.”
What’s also working against this movie is that 21 Jump Street already exists. We’ve seen the whole, “Let’s make a joke out of it” schick, and it was done really well. Twice. We don’t need another one. This is the same problem Baywatch is going to face this summer, but at least that has The Rock. Also, Dax Shepard is no Christopher Miller/Phil Lord. Apologies to Dax’s family. This won’t be a train wreck, but it’s still a complete waste of time, and something I’ll be reviewing over the weekend (you’re welcome, Bill).
Life, man. Life. Yeah.  Life looks like the movie Arrival was supposed to be: Boring. Generic. Forgettable Sci-Fi. The cast is definitely stacked, but they aren’t good enough to save it. Ryan Reynolds is set for life with Deadpool, which is good, because he’s not great at picking other projects. Maybe this script looked good on paper, but we all know the score here:
This won’t bomb, but it’s not going to sniff Arrival numbers.
HOW WILL IT ALL BREAK DOWN…
Despite all the new releases, none of them have a chance in hell at dethroning Beauty and the Beast. There’s no doubt the drop off will be huge, as it’s a very top heavy movie, but that doesn’t matter. The damage is done. Power Rangers will easily finish second, and I say Logan hangs in by a claw to fend off CHiPs for that final fifth spot.
- Beauty and the Beast – $78 Million
- Power Rangers – $42.5 Million
- Life – $15.5 Million
- Kong: Skull Island – $14.5 Million
- Logan – $8.5 Million
