The normal cycle of bigger budget movies has been distorted in 2020, like a lot of other things.
Mulan, yes, Mulan. The live action movie that Disney pulled from theatrical release, then tried the premium + subscription model (see: The Disney+ Mulan Premium Digital Launch Fiasco), only later to release to everybody on VOD ends its distribution where it was ultimately meant to be released: on Disney+ for subscribers without any extra fees.
If you waited this long, then perhaps the live-action Mulan just didn’t appeal to you for some reason. While Disney’s live-action remakes of its animated films have frequently brought in box office billions, there are those that don’t care for them, to be sure. But now that Mulan is all but $7 away, there are some reasons worth giving the new Mulan a chance.
Credit CINEMABLEND for trying to entice everybody left to want to see another live action Disney movie. I haven’t been super motivated to see the film yet. Maybe it’s burnout from the over-dramatic launch or the fact the live action Disney versions have paled in comparison to the original animated versions. Maybe by the time you read this I’ll already have watched it. I queued it up for watching.
It’s one thing to take a live action movie or TV show and animate it, but much more difficult to take an animated classic and give it the live action treatment. I mean, we’ve already seen the good version animated, why do we need to see it in live action? I’m hardpressed to come up with examples of great movies under these conditions. Please use the comments section below if you can think of some.
The live action Mulan might be a good movie worth recommending. If you’ve seen it, let us know, sans spoilers, in the comments below. If you really like it and recommended it, was it worth the extra $30 premium when it was first released? Should those with Disney+ be watching it ASAP?
Seeing this in IMAX would be ideal. Hopefully we can catch it in that format this week, but we will see this in some format very soon. The anticipation due to the lack of seeing any blockbusters for many months just makes this viewing all the more anticipated.
Anticipation: 8/10! (with an extra exclamation mark)
That’s the only new movie opening in the United States theaters this week, but there is another movie going to Disney+ and a premium charge of $29.99 and that’s …
We’ve been talking about this movie since the beginning of 2020. I’m a little bummed that with some theaters reopened, it won’t be screened. At least one reader has commented that their household will welcome the additional $30 premium charge (see: Will Movie Streaming Buffet Keep Adding Premium Titles Like Mulan for Extra Fees?). It’s about a 95% chance we will not be paying that to see Mulan. Instead, we’ll wait until it appears for no extra charge on Disney+ on December 4, 2020. You can read the details at that link, no sense rehashing in this post.
Going forward in September, we’re looking at a movie theater release schedule of one new movie each week with a bunch of classics and some special Fathom retro films. Hopefully, studios will gain confidence and move up dates of more titles. October is looking much brighter. It all just depends on how many theaters reopen and how many moviegoers feel safe enough to return.
Wherever you are watching movies, happy watching to you!
All you can eat buffet restaurants used to be all the rage. They can still be found in some areas, here and there, most notably inside casinos, but many these days have stringent social distancing rules in these murky pandemic waters.
Around the time I graduated from high school and for a number of years thereafter I worked for a buffet restaurant chain. When I started they had a half dozen or so restaurants, when I left to work for unrelated business in 1995, they had hundreds of locations. As the company grew, incremental cost measures were put into place. One of the more onerous changes required paid add-ons. So, now the all-you-can-eat model for one price suddenly had an asterisk. Regular customers on fixed incomes seemed to find these charges the most outrageous, and rightfully so. They also jacked around the menu, charging more money as time went on and reducing the amount of fresh food. I got out at a good time, because that restaurant chain is a shadow of its former success.
This is exactly the model streaming channels don’t want to follow. It’s confusing and irritating to customers. Either release a movie in the theater, on VOD or as part of the subscription process. Premium add-ons are a bad customer service idea. They might look good for shareholders that you are squeezing extra $$$ out of your customer base, but the bad will these additional fees incur are not worth it.
According to this article, Mulan will be available for free on Disney+ December 4, 2020.
We would rather have paid and owned Mulan for that money and don’t want to support additional fees as part of a streaming service. Bill and Ted Face The Music can be owned for $24.99 and yet we need to pay for a Disney+ subscription and an additional $30 to see Mulan? It’s not your customer’s fault, Disney, that you have a $200+ million budget and want to recoup as much of this as possible. This is a wrong-headed business move. Make something people want to buy at a price that makes it easier to recoup the expenses and you won’t have to charge extra — ever.
“‘Mulan’ on Disney+ is a reflection of the abnormal state of the theatrical business right now,” Shaikh said. “I don’t think consumers have to suddenly start worrying about a number of titles on their streaming services requiring an additional fee.”
If Mulan does well with this premium model, then it will encourage other premium movie add-ons. It will distort the all-you-can-view for one monthly fee price.
This is also one of the reasons we didn’t go with AMC Stubs over Regal Unlimited monthly plan. AMC only offers 3 movies a week max, while Regal has no limit except for you can only see the same exact movie once per day maximum. If there are 16 movies showing, that means you could watch those same 16 movies every day (of course that wouldn’t be possible, time-wise).
Customers don’t like limits and add-ons and extra fees. Ask anybody with a cell phone, cable or satellite TV subscription about additional fees. They are irritating and annoying.
Regal Unlimited Friends and Family Program Only Works In App for additional convenience fee
Speaking of Regal Unlimited. They added this new feature called “friends and family.” In theory, it’s a cool feature.
The idea is that in the pandemic you can sit next to another Regal Unlimited friend or family member that also has a Regal Unlimited account. The feature is only available when you order through the Regal phone app which charges a “convenience fee” of $0.50+tax for each ticket. The theater itself cannot access this functionality, so they need to schedule the second person a social distance away and the customer just needs to move, not matching their purchased ticket location. Also, you don’t have to pay any fee if you buy the movie at the concession stand.
So, we are both at the theater and want to order tickets to sit together. If we do that through the Regal app it costs us an additional fee of $1 + sales tax OR while ordering concessions we pay $0 for the tickets, but can’t get printed tickets that have us sitting together. Yeah, I know, it’s only a buck, who cares, but when we’re already paying $44/month + tax (actually, right now we’re getting a free month and paying nothing until September), then why should we pay an extra dollar for every single movie when we — logically — want to sit together? And worse, why can’t the theater use the function we can use in the phone app?
The manager at Regal agreed with us that it was pretty silly to have a “new” function that is designed to solve the problem of friends and family sitting together in the pandemic but it only works on the phone app, not something the theater can access. Bizarre.
False advertising
The biggest problem is the false advertising that implies you are enjoying something “unlimited” and yet there is this need to charge extra money that should have been included in the subscription price. Unlimited members should not have to pay convenience fees when using the app to buy tickets within a certain radius of the theater. I understand paying for advance tickets charging a fee, because what if the moviegoer doesn’t show up? You could have lost a sale. So presale additional fees, although I still dislike fees, at least feel a little more reasonable. However, if we’re already at your theater and just want to get the tickets vs. waiting in line and we already are paying you a monthly fee for unlimited access, why charge an additonal fee?
Subscription tiers are OK
For the record, I think subscription tiers are fine. So, if streaming companies want to offer an additional monthly tier which guarantees true all-you-can-watch access to everything. For example, if Disney+ has a premium tier which would include movies like Mulan for say $100/year and guarantee access to any/all new premium movies without an additional charge, that would be fine.
The problem is when we signed up for Disney+ unlimited streaming when it came out last year, they didn’t say anything about adding premier movies for an additional fee. Sure, they didn’t know that there would be a pandemic and they probably never realized they’d be using this model, but now that they are, I don’t see them adding an additional membership tier to include any/all premium titles released in the future. It slaps your existing “unlimited” customers in the face.
What do you think? Are you OK with paying for premium movies on top of a streaming service like Disney+ or do you hope this is just a (failed) one-off Disney experiment? Would you rather see additional unlimited tiers or just not do this at all, period? We welcome your opinion, as always, in the comments below.
Am I the only one who misses the old MTV? The one where music videos were all the rage? That MTV TV channel that played music videos 24/7 is gone.
Videos still get made, but in 2020 they are uploaded to YouTube.
Christina Aguilera is not an artist I have listened to very much. Her style of music is not one I follow or am that interested in, however, I can get behind any good song, regardless of genre.
Decades ago, musician Christina Aguilera recorded a pop version of the song “Reflection” for Disney’s 1998 animated movie Mulan. Now, the singer is back with a new ballad for the upcoming live-action remake of the movie titled “Loyal, brave, true”.
Here’s the new Mulan video of the song, “Loyal Brave True”
Just an average ballad for me. What do you think? Does it make you more excited to see Mulan?
Am not seeing many people I subscribe to clamoring to drop 30 bones plus tax to see this one, but maybe they are containing their excitement, waiting for the date to draw nearer.
Mulan will be available as a VOD on Disney+ for an additional $29.99 fee. This isn’t a one time or 24 hour rental, as long as you stay subscribed to Disney+, Mulan will be there.
Or maybe it’s because AMC is more afraid of Disney than Universal?
Whatever the case, AMC’s empty threat of not showing any Universal movies was revoked and recently they struck a deal to shorten the theatrical window to 17 days for Universal and Focus Features movies (see: Good deal – AMC strikes historic deal with Universal to shrink theatrical window to 17 days), with AMC receiving a slice of Universal’s VOD revenue. I’m sticking by this being a good deal, but others in the industry, including other studios and the other two theater chains, have criticized the deal.
What’s fascinating is how quickly AMC’s #1 in the industry position being completely closed and flailing financially has warmed their tone. It looks like pure survival instinct vs. playing the industry heavy.
Aron’s comments are strikingly different from his attitude just five months ago. When the coronavirus pandemic shuttered theaters across the nation, Universal opted to release Trolls World Tour on-demand, prompting AMC to threaten a ban on the studio’s films. “This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theatres reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat,” Aron said of the ban at the time, which has since been revoked since AMC and Universal’s historic deal.
We’ve mentioned before that we rarely visit AMC theaters. The indecisive way they’ve behaved during the pandemic only makes them less desirable to us going forward to patronize. Admittedly, we have the benefit here — once most/all theaters reopen, that is — of having a cross selection of movie theaters including Regal and Cinemark, independents and AMC to choose from.
With multiple choices competing for our moviegoer $$$, and even before the pandemic, we rarely patronized AMC theaters. The AMC Stubs List program isn’t as good for our movie watching routine as the Regal Unlimited Plan (see: Yes, More Perks and Quirks to Entice Moviegoers Please + Regal Unlimited 2019 Recap), which is probably the #1 reason we prefer Regal over AMC, but if we only had AMC theaters to choose from, not being hypocritical, but we’d patronize AMC more. Having an indecisive corporation isn’t necessarily the fault of the local theater and management.
Recently, one reader commented that AMC has better popcorn than Regal. We need to do a taste comparison between the theaters, because honestly, my memory is both make good popcorn. It’s a curious observation and one marked down for future exploration.
We’ve got a rare 5th post of the day for some exciting news coming down the pipeline concerning the other shoe besides Tenet in the “when will it be released” camp.
Mulan has a reported ~$200 million budget and, after hemorrhaging billions of dollars in its various business interests in Q3-2020, will be streaming for $29.99 and whatever theaters are open — and will show it — under lack of honoring the theatrical window on September 4.
The news of the release came as Disney released brutal quarterly results that showed the extent to which the company’s media empire was ravaged by the pandemic. The company reported that it had a net loss of nearly $5 billion in the third quarter this year.
To my understanding, unless something changes (entirely possible), Regal Cinemas will not be showing Mulan under these conditions. They are sticking by the “must respect the standard theatrical window” requirement. So, when and if Regal Cinemas open later this month, Mulan will not be part of the offering.
Curious, I surfed over to Regal Cinemas website to see if Mulan was showing as a “coming soon” movie? Nope.
Cinemark is the only other giant player and they seem to be following Regal’s plans regarding not showing movies that don’t respect the standard 90 day theatrical window.
Streaming to VOD dates haven’t been pushed around that much (at all?), so I think it’s fairly safe to assume Mulan will be released on September 4, as Disney announced. What sort of theaters are open and screen it? Whole other enchilada.
Will Disney+ subscribers pony up another $30 to see Mulan? If you’re a subscriber, will you? Unless our grandchildren really want to see this movie badly, like they wanted to see Trolls World Tour, I don’t think we’ll be breaking out the plastic for this one.
I think what has me pausing is just how darn fast Scoob went from VOD to available on HBO Max. I mean it seemed like only a few weeks later. Don’t know the specific amount of time, but it might have been less than the 17 days!
Why pay $30 for Mulan, if a few weeks later it appears on Disney+ for $0 extra? I think this is a problem if there is no reasonable VOD streaming window. The other part of this decision is will we be able to buy it for $30, or is that strictly rental only? Buying and owning the movie for $30 doesn’t sting as much as renting it, only to see an appearance for $0 extra shortly later.
We’re just speculating on when Mulan will move away from $30 price at Disney+, but it’s an intriguing move considering the movie’s large budget. Does Disney need to do this out of financial necessity or is it trying to throw customers a 30 dollar bone?
Your comments, as always are welcome. Will you be paying an extra $30 for Mulan on Disney+ or waiting out the inevitable release without the extra VOD fee?
Avatar 2 will now be hitting theaters December 16, 2022, instead of 2021
Please excuse the FIRST LOOK Friday interruption, as there are many, many film delays to comment on. It’s becoming hard to keep up with them all, but by the end of this post we’ll both be more in the know.
First up, James Cameron’s billion dollar budget Avatar sequels may have started refilming not too long ago but Disney is delaying the December 2021 release by a full year. It doesn’t stop there, that pushes back the other sequels, of course.
Of course, with Avatar 2 being pushed to December 16, 2022, that means the other three Avatar sequels have been delayed as well. As it stands now, Avatar 3 is now scheduled for December 20, 2024, followed by Avatar 4 on December 18, 2026 and Avatar 5 on December 22, 2028. Assuming those dates stick (and given this franchise’s track record and these crazy times we live in, that’s far from guaranteed), that means by the time the Avatar film series concludes, it’ll have been nearly 20 years since the first movie came out and took the world by storm.
Who didn’t expect this delay? These Avatar sequels have been cursed for delays since starting. I’m about 30% certain we’ll even see this in 2022, but we’ll save that snark for another day. What’s even worse, perhaps, is contemplating how even the wizard James Cameron, master of technology in filmmaking can make back this mammoth budget. I suppose if anybody can do it, he has the track record. Just seems on the heels of a complete abortive Terminator sequel failure and the pandemic fallout, prospects are unfavorable.
Mulan delayed, but not “indefinitely”
Moving to the next obvious delay from Disney is Mulan. They’ve pulled a Tenet and aren’t giving us any sort of future date yet. “Indefinitely” is what other publications are labeling it, but that’s misleading. They aren’t indefinitely delaying Mulan, they just haven’t chosen a future date — yet. Am curious if that date will be close to Tenet. The two films have enjoyed a lot of promotional press for being indicators of the healthy state of cinemas during the pandemic.
Don’t want to speculate too much here, but it seems reasonable to believe that whatever films open first are likely not to perform as well as they would have before the pandemic — but there are so many details involved: when the theaters are reopened, how many theaters are opened both domestically and internationally, safety protocols and more. I do believe there is a strong desire for people to see movies in theaters again someday, but safety first is on everybody’s minds as long as there isn’t a vaccine for the The Thing That Should Not Be Named.
Bottom line is Summer 2020 for movies in America is dead, gone and soon to be cremated or buried. We now must look to the Fall and beyond for cinematic salvation.
Bill & Ted Face The Music – day and date release on September 1
Bill & Ted: Face The Music, which I have scheduled for a FIRST LOOK today has been bumped to September 1, 2020 simultaneously on both VOD and whatever theaters are open. We won’t hear a peep from NATO / AMC on this one, as they have too many fires raging on their lawn to squabble over theatrical windows any more.
Speaking of NATO, they lost their lawsuit to force opening in New Jersey.
Top Gun: Maverick re-holsters release until July 2, 2021
We’ll have to contain our excitement for Maverick’s return. Paramount has grounded Tom Cruise’s sequel until July 2, 2021. Paramount’s horror sequel, A Quiet Place: Part II, will not be released until 2021 either. That is covered below.
What other announced film delays?
Am certain to be missing some, but here’s what we’ve learned as of this writing, bullet-style in chronological delayed release date:
Unhinged – delayed from July 31, making this the lone new title that would have been released in theaters in July, now that only happens in the Twilight Zone. A third delay with no specific August date, but studio Solstice wants to release next month. They are in a holding pattern to see what Tenet and Mulan are doing.
The Empty Man – delayed from August 7 to December 4, 2020
SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run – delayed multiple times, most recently from August 7 until January 2021 with day and date release (VOD + Theaters)
A Quiet Place Part II – delayed multiple times, most recently from September 4, 2020 to April 23, 2021
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – delayed from September 11, 2020 to June 4, 2021
2 Hearts – delayed from September 11 to October 16
Halloween Kills – delayed from October 16, 2020 to October 15, 2021
The New Mutants – psych! This one has not been delayed again — yet — and is still planned for August 28. They reiterated this at the Comic-Con@Home panel. It’s still almost a month away, so this could change …
For a complete list of movies coming to theaters in 2020, visit: FIRST LOOK: 75+ Movies Coming To Theaters In 2020 — the title of that post will probably be wrong at the rate we’re going, but that page continues to be updated regularly. I’ve started a 2021 coming soon to theaters page, but not ready to share that quite yet, because of the ever-changing dates and moves.
What’s left coming to theaters in August 2020?
Seven movies as of this writing. I’ll have that posted at some point in the next week, but again, still waiting to see further movie delays. September only shows *3* movies coming to theaters at the moment. Based on everything that’s not happening, more delays should be expected.
You’ve probably heard there’s been a spike in new COVID-19 cases and Warner Bros. is saying goodbye to July for Tenet and pushing it back — again — this time to August 12, 2020.
The article linked and quoted below is claiming their “sources” are saying Disney will be announcing delaying Mulan, too, currently scheduled for July 24, to be pushed back further. If indeed that happens, there will only be two wide releases planned to open in theaters in July.
No movie dates can be considered guaranteed even not in our current times, but you might as well write all movie dates in pencil and have a giant eraser handy.
Warner Bros. announced the shift on Thursday amid rapidly changing and unexpected circumstances.
The summer is a busy time for theaters traditionally. A great time to get out of the heat and into air-conditioned theaters. July 10, our Regal Cinemas have committed to reopening (see: July 10 Cineworld Regal Cinemas to reopen all theaters – Update On Unlimited Pass Subscription), which barring our own unexpected circumstances, we intend to fully support. I heard they’re planning to show some classic movies like Jurassic Park. Yes, I’ll pay to rewatch that movie in the theater in 2020. Or, rather, since our Unlimited Pass will be available for use until we get billed again in August, we’ll get in for the awesome price of $0. We miss the big screen experience, the popcorn, the comfy recliner seats …
If the theater chains don’t change their mind based on this news, anyway. Hope not, but every day this pandemic seems to rain more bad news of some sort down upon us.
Do I think the theaters should delay reopening? If it’s unsafe in their area to do so, then yes, of course. What I don’t want to see is theaters closed and casinos open. I can’t believe a movie theater is higher risk than a casino, can you?
Disney has pushed back the release date of Mulan. At a budget exceeding $200 million (take that, $100 million club, see: $100+ Million Movie Budgets Are Stupid) this is the most expensive live action Disney film ever by a female director.
They need to get it right in this current environment where the NBA has shut down, schools are being shuttered, Governors are declaring no more than 250 people can assemble in the same location and Disney is shutting down their own parks (only the 4th time since 1955!)
Just not the gambling the House of Mouse wants to take. Can’t say we blame them, but then again I don’t understand why they have to spend $200+ million on this movie anyway? Maybe the amazing visual effects and elaborate sets and costumes and locations demand this, but in this day and age, even for Disney, I seriously question the need for giant budget movies like this.
Am sure when it is released, it will be a gorgeous looking film. Whether or not it will be a great film, we’ll find out whenever Disney decides to release it.
Oh, and had to chuckle when I saw the Fatherly article stating that it should be released to streaming for a pay-per-view price.
As parents, we must choose carefully what movies we attend at the best of times. Given the option, many families would likely stream Mulan on the opening weekend versus seeing it in the theater, coronavirus or no. With kids suffering from cabin fever and parents at their wits’ end, the decision would be even easier today—and if a direct-to-steaming strategy worked now, it could become the new normal for film distribution.
So, let’s take a look at the official trailer and see what all this expensive fuss is about.
Mulan official trailer — was supposed to be released March 27, but Disney has changed it to “TBA 2020”
I’ve not seen Mulan the animated version, so can’t compare the two. When it came to The Lion King ⭐️⭐️⭐️ that I saw last year, I had seen the animated version and liked it better than the live action. No frame of reference here. Not really that interested in the animated version, although the trailer for the live action version seems somewhat promising.
Samurais are cool. This has the feel of that era where the sword dominated. I’d be really down for a darker movie than the story Disney will probably tell, but I may come out really loving this one. It seems a bit like it might appeal more to women than men, but maybe I’ll be wrong on that. Those that have seen the animated film can tell me what they think of that in the comments. I just checked Disney+ and the animated film is available there and even a sequel that I didn’t know existed.
Do we need to see one or both of these for comparison purposes? What do you think?
As of this posting, Mulan has no official release date announced, it was going to widely be released on March 27, 2020.
Movies coming to theaters in March 2020 (some pictured are coming other months)
NOTE: This post will continue to be updated until the end of March 2020, as movie release dates change, sometimes within weeks of the scheduled release date
The following are movie trailers and my early thoughts for all films tentatively scheduled coming to theaters in March 2020.
If you’d like to see a list of all movies released in 2020 click here (that post is being updated throughout the year). Most releases profiled below are WIDE screenings showing on 2,000+ theater screens in the United States. If the movie title has the word LIMITED following then it means it’s being released on less than 2,000 screenings in the United States.
All movie release dates unless otherwise indicated are for the United States, the release dates in other countries may vary.
March 2020 Movies
First Cow – LIMITED from A24
First Cow official trailer (A24) – opens March 6, 2020
LOL. I keep laughing while watching this trailer.
A movie about a … cow? They are like the most passive, boring animals on the planet. They move around lethargically and “moo!” all the time, eat grass and, well, provide a very awesome supply of milk. We wouldn’t have cheese or milk without cows, so god bless ’em, but a movie about a “first” cow?
Don’t know. It’s got to be a 0/10 for anticipation from me. That’s a first on this blog, as I’ve not been as disinterested in seeing any movie like this one.
The only reason it’s even here is because it is from the studio A24, that has released some surprisingly good movies. It’s a LIMITED release, which means I might not even see it pass through the theaters in this area, but maybe others reading this will. And can’t help but be at least a tiny bit curious based on the boring subject matter.
A movie about a cow .. yeah, ok, maybe it should be 10/10 for anticipation because, honestly, in the many thousands of movies I’ve seen in 40+ years of watching movies, I can’t remember seeing even one about a cow.
Didn’t think a movie about a tire called Rubber⭐️⭐️⭐️½ would ever remotely appeal to me either, so why not a movie about a cow?
Thank you for the laughs, A24, even though this appears to not be a comedy.
The Way Back official trailer – opens March 6, 2020
Bearded Ben Affleck as a high school (?) basketball coach. Looks a little on the sappy side and possibly even cliched. He’s got a drinking problem. Gee, where have we seen Ben Affleck in a movie boozing it up before? The plot all seems very familiar to me, based on the trailer. A man down on his luck, coaches a losing team (Bad News Bears, anyone?). Although this seems to be going the heavy drama route and not comedy.
Have enjoyed some Ben Affleck movies, but he is kind of like Nicolas Cage to me, sort of one-dimensional. And what was the last good movie I’ve seen him in, anyway? It’s been awhile. I know he’s now divorced from Jennifer Garner (sad, too, because they looked like a nice couple together), which should have nothing to do with his movies, but somehow that is the most recent thing I can think of hearing or seeing him in the news.
I’m not very interested in watching this movie after the trailer. The title is more interesting than the trailer.
Pixar does it again with eye-catching graphic work and a bizarre, yet catchy trailer. “24 hours to bring back … the rest of dad” — what a hook!
This looks like a ton of animated fun. Am not sure if it will be age-appropriate for our grandchildren, but the story has a very Twilight Zone like edge to it which definitely appeals to me. Looking forward to this almost as much as Trolls World Tour.
Anticipation for Onward: 7/10
Bloodshot [FIRST LOOK] RELEASE DATE CHANGED from Feb 21 to March 13, 2020
Bloodshot official trailer – opening in theaters March 13, 2020
This shares the distinction of being the only 2020 movie based on a comic book character not coming from Marvel or DC. Have been a fan of Vin Diesel in action, notably the Fast & Furious franchise, so curious to see what he does with a Valiants comic character.
I don’t like the background song choice for the trailer. Doesn’t fit. The trailer otherwise makes the film look interesting. The release date was delayed and pushed back a month, was this so they could work on it more or the result of a negative test screening? Don’t know. Torn on this one. This could go either way.
Anticipation for Bloodshot 5/10
My Spy
My Spy opens March 13, 2020 – official trailer
Another delayed and pushed back title. Juvenile action-humor feel to the trailer. Reminds me of something The Rock or John Cena would do/have done, but instead this is Dave Bautista trying to be Dwayne Johnson or John Cena. Big, strong tough guy with 9-year-old girl “teaching” her how to be a spy. This doesn’t seem like a promising movie — at all.
Will probably appeal to families though like Playing With Fire⭐️½ which means it will likely get horrible reviews, but make money, encouraging similar future movies. I don’t think, based on the trailer, that this movie will be for me. Hoping I’m wrong.
Anticipation for My Spy: 2/10
The Informer (LIMITED)
The Informer opens (LIMITED) in theaters March 13, 2020
“It’s happening.” Seems more like a horror line than a thriller, but could fit.
Originally scheduled to release January 2020 and moved which makes me a bit less interested by default. The third movie this month moved from another month. Are the studios making March 2020 their new dumping ground? Also, this went from a wide release to LIMITED, which means less likelihood I’ll see it in theaters near me, anyway.
My original trailer viewing had me thinking this was an average thriller. Rewatching? No change.
Bonus drop-in movie on 2/13/2020. This film was mired in controversy back in September 2019 when it was dropped for being a political hot potato. Read the FIRST LOOK for more.
Anticipation for The Hunt: 7/10
I Still Believe
I Still Believe official trailer – opens March 20, 2020
Christian musician who wants his fans to help him pray for his wife that is diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is based on a true story. Jeremy Camp’s spiritual journey to overcome his wife’s illness. This looks like a crying fest. Stay away from Wikipedia as it will ruin what happens in this movie. Darn it, why did I bother to look up this musician’s page? Oh well, I knew what happened with the Titanic and still enjoyed that, so maybe the spoilers won’t matter.
I don’t look for tear-jerker spiritual dramas, but this one seems more promising than several other titles this month.
Easily the most anticipated movie of March. I hadn’t seen the first horror film until recently and that easily became one of the best newer horror films I’ve seen in several years. Very scary, non comedy horror. These sightless creatures are the stuff of nightmares. Can’t wait to see this one!
Anticipation for A Quiet Place Part II: 9/10
Mulan
Mulan official trailer – opens March 27, 2020
Disney live action based on the animated film of the same name. This will probably make boatloads of $$$ at the box office, but definitely not something I’m very interested in seeing. I do like the whole China backdrop, however, so maybe I’ll turn out loving this one. Just never know.
I’ve never seen the animated film it’s based on, either. These Disney live action remakes have been received less enthusiastically by critics, but moviegoers have seen them in droves.
Anticipation for Mulan: 3/10
Ranking the March 2020 movies by anticipation (as of this writing)
A Quiet Place Part II – 9/10
The Hunt – 7/10 (bonus 10th movie added on 2/13/2020)
Onward – 7/10
Bloodshot – 5/10
IStill Believe – 3/10
Mulan – 3/10
The Informer – 2/10
My Spy – 2/10
The Way Back – 1/10
First Cow – 0/10
What movies in March 2020 are you looking forward to seeing?
Movies, Movies, Movies 