SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 14, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Two major films open in theaters today, and although both films boast top-notch casts, the weekend predictions are less than stellar.
“The Accountant,” starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick, is predicted to walk away with the top slot over the weekend. Industry insiders are expecting the crime drama to debut with an estimated $16 million. The tally isn’t huge, but it’s enough to take the lead from last weekend’s top film, “The Girl on the Train.”
“Kevin Hart: What Now?” is a strong contender for second place as Box Office Mojo is calling for the film to premiere with an estimated $15.2 million weekend.
Here’s what is predicted for the weekend box office:
The Accountant – $16 million
Kevin Hart: What Now? – $15.2 million
The Girl on the Train – $11.9 million
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – $9.5 million
Deepwater Horizon – $7.1 million
The Magnificent Seven – $5.3 million
Storks – $4.8 million
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life – $4.6 million
The Birth of a Nation – $3.9 million
Max Steel – $3.8 million
The Reviews:
Kevin Hart: What Now?
Starring: Kevin Hart
Rated R
In this documentary, comedian Kevin Hart performs his standup comedy act in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at Philadelphia’s outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.
“Kevin Hart: What Now?” is a very watchable behind-the-scenes look at how Hart’s concerts are put together. Although the film offers some truly funny moments, not all the jokes land well as Hart does his fair share of milking as much out of a gag as possible.
But the film does show off Hart’s comedy style, his love of his craft and his devotion to his fans.
“Kevin Hart: What Now?” gets a B and is rated R.
The Accountant
Starring: Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick
Rated R
Ben Affleck plays Christian Wolff, a math savant with more affinity for numbers than people. Behind the cover of a small-town CPA office, he works as a freelance accountant for some of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations.
With the Treasury Department’s Crime Enforcement Division starting to close in, Wolff takes on a legitimate client: a state-of-the-art robotics company where an accounting clerk has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars.
But as Wolff unravels the books and gets closer to the truth, the body count that starts to rise.
“The Accountant” should have been a nail-biting crime thriller that kept the audience guessing until the end, but, unfortunately, the film only gets halfway there. Just as the excitement builds, the story goes flat and becomes contrived and confusing.
Ben Affleck does a reasonably good job in portraying Christian Wolff, who is a high-functioning autistic. But his portrayal is hindered by the film’s gimmicky use of flashbacks and subdued action scenes. Added to the mix is a tacked-on performance by Anna Kendrick, whose character, Dana Cummings, breezes through the film in all too short a time.
All in all, “The Accountant” is trying hard to be more than what it is, a very typical, uninspired and formulaic crime film.
It gets a C and is rated R.
