Top Movies - Opening in Theaters March 20th | Rotten Tomatoes

Top Movies - Opening in Theaters March 20th | Rotten Tomatoes

There's not much for thoughtful working-age adults this week. The blockbuster-in-waiting targets youthful audiences, while the Christian film, the Sean Penn film and the Al Pacino film seem to target the elderly.

Insurgent (3875 theaters, PG-13, 36% positive reviews), which is aimed at teens and tweens, is the sequel to Divergent, part of a sort of Diet Hunger Games series, which pictures yet another dystopian future filled with elites and proles.

The Gunman (2816 theaters, "rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality," 17% positive reviews) is a new action film from the director of Taken. It stars Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone and some other old geezers. The RT summary calls it "a muddled misfire in the rapidly aging Over-50 Action Hero genre."

Do You Believe (1300 theaters, PG-13, no reviews) is targeted at Christian audiences, presumably very elderly ones because the stars represent a trip back in time to my youth. This group makes the cast of The Gunman look like a boy band. The roster includes Mira Sorvino, Ted McGinley, Cybill Shepherd, and Lee Majors! I'm sure they would have hired Mr Roper and several of the non-Barbarino sweat hogs had they not been so inconsiderate as to have migrated to the wrong side of the dirt.

Danny Collins (arthouse distro, "rated R for for language, drug use and some nudity," PG-13, 58% positive reviews) stars Al Pacino "as aging 1970s rocker Danny Collins, who can't give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to rediscover his family, find true love and begin a second act." Well, isn't that special?

Box office:

Insurgent is expected to gross about $60M over the weekend, easily topping Cinderella's second week, which is likely to be in the $40M range.

The Gunman should take third place behind Insurgent and Cinderella, but it will probably struggle to make double figures.

I have no idea about Do You Believe? These Christian-oriented films are marketed outside the box. Sometimes they kick a bit of ass. God's Not Dead grossed some $60 million in only 800 theaters, and Heaven is For Real grossed nearly $100 million. On the other hand, sometimes they disappear without a trace. Let's take a stab at $5-10M for the weekend. Or not.