In the summer of sequels, ‘ Guardians’ stands out
School is still out, but if the box office is summer school, the grades are rolling in for Hollywood. This summer has been replete with big- budget sequels, from the crowdpleasing new Guardians of the Galaxy installment to another unholy trip into the wor
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 GRADE: A
Three years after the first Guardians hit theaters, the sequel found Star- Lord ( Chris Pratt) going mano amano with his long- lost dad, Ego ( a pitch- perfect Kurt Russell), while the rest of the gang dealt with familial rivalry, romance and, of course, space monsters.
“They had it all,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “It was one of the best stories of the summer.”
Thanks to a witty script and Baby Groot, Vol. 2 earned an A on CinemaScore and more than $ 385million in the bank domestically.
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES GRADE: B+
Consider it an interim grade. Whether audiences will embrace the latest chapter in the Apes saga ( in theaters Friday) remains to be seen, but critics gave the film a 95% fresh rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes.
Meanwhile, a chorus has risen for primate in chief Andy Serkis to be considered for Oscar acclaim for his portrayal of Caesar. “While it’s probably still a long shot ( no motion- capture performance has ever garnered an acting nomination), what he accomplishes here is monumental,” wrote USA TODAY critic Brian Truitt.
DESPICABLE ME 3 GRADE: B
America still loves those devilish little Minions, as proven by the latest Despicable Me, which opened with an A- from CinemaScore audiences and a respectable $ 72 million. While that’s $ 11 million less than Despicable Me 2 earned in its opening weekend in 2013, Illumination Entertainment ( The Secret Life of Pets,
Minions and Sing) maintained its status as a hitmaker.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES GRADE: C+
Johnny Depp’s personal troubles stayed with him as the new Pirates hit theaters. Despite a fantastic new villain, the franchise’s fifth installment garnered only a 29% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics.
“The bloom is off the rose with audiences,” says Dergarabedian, who notes though the film continues to make bank offshore ($ 565 million), American interest is dwindling. Dead Men has pulled in just $ 169 million stateside.
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT GRADE: DIf
we were assigning grades on the basis of public flogging, Transformers would take the cake, with The Village
Voice critic giving up and just typing gibberish as his review. Ultimately, The
Last Knight tallied a dismal 15% Rotten Tomatoes score with critics and has earned just $ 119 million domestically.
“Detention!” says Dergarabedian. “The long- lived franchise that finally met the saturation point.”
Still, like Pirates, the film performed well internationally, raking in $ 375 million.
ALIEN: COVENANT
GRADE: BCinephiles
are still scratching their heads over what happened with Alien:
Covenant. USA TODAY called Michael Fassbender’s performance a “tour de force.” Covenant “deserved more credit than audiences gave it,” Dergarabedian says, earning just $ 73.8 million domestically.