Here’s the second of my three-part look at what this Summer has to offer. Several of these June and July releases will help determine whether or not Summer ’12 becomes the biggest of all-time:
JUNE (pt. 2)
22 – “Brave” Starring the voices of Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly. Pixar’s 13th animated film is the first with a female lead character (and third to be rated PG). Is 13 a lucky number? Preview Grade: B-; Opening Weekend Prediction: $65M; Total Gross Prediction: $215M
29 – “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” Starring Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum. The sequel to 2009’s hit brings in two new big names and loses a few others (Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller). PG: B; OWP: $55M; TGP: $150M
29 – “People Like Us” Starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer. Touchstone’s new drama about a long-lost sister hopes to be this summer’s “The Help” for the studio. PG: B-; OWP: $20M; TGP: $65M
JULY
3 – “The Amazing Spider-Man” Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dennis Leary. Is a reboot of the successful “Spider-Man” franchise too soon? I think so, but this should still do pretty well. PG: B; OWP: $80M; TGP: $250M
13 – “Ice Age: Continental Drift” Starring the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Jennifer Lopez. Lopez and Wanda Sykes join the cast in the fourth enstallment. The plot seems a little simple, but families are likely to flock to it, because they love these characters. PG: B-; OWP: $70M; TGP: $175M
20 – “The Dark Knight Rises” Starring Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy. Director Christopher Nolan’s third Batman movie has all the hype to do HUGE at the box office, and be a critical success as well. But can it take down “The Avengers? PG: B+; OWP: $185M; TGP: $460M
27 – “Step Up Revolution” Starring…a bunch of unknowns. Do we really need a fourth “Step Up” movie? I barely got throguh the third one, with so much in-your-face 3D. I hope that’s not the case again this time, but I’m probably wrong. PG: C; OWP: $15M; TGP: $45M