Welcome to the BBoM of September, ladies and gentlemen, where we focus on five films of the month and the predictions we have for them! As with every BBoM article, each film receives one of the following scores:
Boom: A film you’ll remember for the rest of the year.
Bust: A film you’ll regret watching.
Meh: A film that you’ll…kind of debate about for the rest of the months.
With that introduction, let’s crank open the month of September vault!
The Results
Before we get to our film predictions, let us take a look at the outcome of our August predictions!
1. Christopher Robin – BOOM!
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 70%
Audience Score: 87%
Box Office
Production Budget: $75 million
Worldwide: $133 million
Trey: Made me cry a little bit, honestly. Absolutely enjoyable!
2. Alpha – BOOM!
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 82%
Audience Score: 76%
Box Office
Production Budget: $51 million
Worldwide: $47 million
Trey: I am honestly surprised it performed this well critically. Sometimes, it’s fun to be proven wrong.
3. The Meg – Meh…
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 47%
Audience Score: 53%
Box Office
Budget: $130 million
Worldwide: $465 million
Trey: If it was rated R, it probably would have been a different outcome. Oh well.
4. Mile 22 – Bust.
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 22%
Audience Score: 48%
Box Office
Budget: $50 million
Worldwide: $39 million
Trey: Was honestly looking forward to this…
5. The Darkest Minds – Meh…
Rotten Tomatoes
Critic Score: 17%
Audience Score: 76%
Box Office
Budget: $34 million
Worldwide: $38 million
Trey: Did it perform well? Sure, but it isn’t as memorable as any of the latest YA novel-based movies are.
Each “Boom, Bust, or Meh” article will include each writer’s current record next to their name. My record is (77-35), Tyler Hummel is at (22-16), and Sarah Bennett is (30-29).
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The House with the Clock in the Wall
Rating: PG
Release Date: September 21, 2016
Synopsis: The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis going to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead (Rotten Tomatoes).
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Kyle Maclachlan, Colleen Camp
The Predictions
Trey Soto (77-35): – Meh… – I am honestly interested, but I am unsure at the moment. I am hoping that the outcome will be similar to the first Goosebumps a few years back, where it was unexpectedly enjoyable.
Tyler Hummel (22-16): Meh… – I’m not feeling this one from the trailer. Looks halfway between Spielberg’s BFG and everything Tim Burton has ever done.
Sarah Bennett (30-29): BOOM! – I’m hoping. It’s like Harry Potter meets steampunk, with a dash of “I think this might be scary!” Jack Black and Cate Blanchett are always amazing, as is Kyle McLaughlin as the villain. Director Eli Roth has several horror television shows under his belt, so I’m hoping the magic and fun doesn’t lose to that element.
Smallfoot
Rating: PG
Release Date: September 28, 2018
Synopsis: Smallfoot turns the Bigfoot legend upside down when a bright young Yeti finds something he thought didn’t exist – a human. News of this Smallfoot throws the simple Yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village, in an all-new story about friendship, courage, and the joy of discovery (Rotten Tomatoes).
Director: Karey Kirkpatrick
Starring: Channing Tatum, Zendaya, Danny DeVito, James Corden, Gina Rodriguez, Yara Shahidi
The Predictions
Trey Soto (77-35): Bust. – Just couldn’t get into it honestly. It is an interesting concept, but the execution looks over the top and forced.
Sarah Bennett (30-29): Meh… – I think the release timing is off for it to be a BOOM! Kids are already back in school. This looks like a Warner Bros. stab at a Disney or Pixar hit. Anyone watching the trailer can guess the plot, but it’ll be the little things that set it apart. Time will tell to see if it has any true magic.
Night School
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 28, 2018
Synopsis: A group of troublemakers is forced to attend night school in hope that they’ll pass the GED exam to finish high school.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Starring: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Taran Killam, Rob Giggle, Romany Maklco
The Predictions
Trey Soto (77-35): Bust. *Sigh* Oh look, another loud, raunchy Kevin Hart comedy…surprisingly enjoyed Ride Along, but that’s it honestly. The films he’s in are just annoying and predictable. Next.
Tyler Hummel (22-16): Bust. – This might be a fun little disposable comedy. I’m not a fan of Kevin Hart so forgive me if I’m the wrong person for this sort of thing.
Sarah Bennett (30-29): Bust – I predict a predictable, yet lovable, storyline littered with crude jokes. And I typed that sentence before I looked up the PG-13 rating for: crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug references and violence. This’ll be a movie to watch for laughs, without worrying about paying attention to the details.
The Predators
Rating: R
Release Date: September 14, 2018
Synopsis: From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race (Rotten Tomatoes).
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Ray, Yvonne Strahovksi, Alfie Allen
The Predictions
Trey Soto (77-35): Meh… – Do I want to see Predator back on the big screen without Xenomorph’s involved? Absolutely. Do I think it will do well? Kind of. There was something about the trailer that didn’t seem appealing. Not fully sure what it is, but aside from that, it is yet another sequel that hardly anyone asked for. If anything, it is just a cash grab with a basic plot. One way to find out.
Tyler Hummel (22-16): BOOM! – Shane Black has never steered us wrong. From his screenwriting days in films like Lethal Weapon to his masterpieces Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and The Nice Guys to even his controversial but fun Iron Man 3, the Guy has proved himself to be a guy with a voice and talent to spare! I have high hopes on this despite the mixed trailers.
Sarah Bennett (30-29): Meh… – Sometimes I wish they’d leave old movies alone. I’m highly unimpressed with an “official trailer” that flips the birds and drops the f-bomb—twice. Same story, different generation. Better CGI. But the good guys will win and the aliens will lose … until the last scene. Because ya gotta leave a nugget for a sequel.
The Nun
Rating: R
Release Date: September 7, 2018
Synopsis: When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in The Conjuring 2, as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned (Rotten Tomatoes).
Director: Corin Hardy
Starring: Tarisa Farmiga, Demian Bichir, Bonnie Aarons, Charlotte Hope, Jonas Bloquet, Ingrid Bisu
The Predictions
Trey Soto (77-35): Meh… – Saw the trailer in theaters a few months ago and literally almost jumped out of my seat. I think it will do well but my hopes have not been high for horror films lately.
Tyler Hummel (22-16): Meh… – The Conjuring films are excellent. I don’t know why they are trying to turn them into a huge franchise with dozens of spin-offs.
Sarah Bennett (30-29): Meh… – I think if they wanted a bigger box office return, this should’ve been released closer to Halloween. That’s about all the review you’ll get from me on this one, as I don’t watch horror movies and was ambushed into watching the trailer—which scared me.
Thanks for reading this month’s edition! Let us know your predictions in the comment section. Join us next month for another edition of “Boom, Bust, or Meh!”
Are you looking forward to any of these films? What are your predictions? What film are you looking forward to most in September?
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