In the movie world, the month of March is coming in like a Star…and going out the same way! Films set for release this month feature some of Hollywood’s biggest names, rare for this early in the year. Headliners include several Oscar winners: Cate Blanchett as the evil stepmother in Disney’s live-action “Cinderella” (3/13); Sean Penn and Javier Bardem in the action/thriller “The Gunman” (out 3/20); Mira Sorvino in the Christian-based drama “Do You Believe?”; Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer in the music dramedy “Danny Collins” (Limited – 3/20; and Jennifer Lawrence with “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle” co-star Bradley Cooper in “Serena“ (Limited – 3/27).
There will also be plenty of Academy Award nominees on display: Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver in “District 9” director Neil Blomkamp’s “Chappie” (3/6); Tom Wilkinson joining Vince Vaughn for some “Unfinished Business” (3/6); Liam Neeson and Ed Harris square-off and are joined by new Oscar winner Common in the thriller “Run All Night” (3/13); and Naomi Watts is in both “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” with Kate Winslet, Shailene Woodley and Octavia Spencer (3/20) and Ben Stiller’s latest, “While We’re Young” (Limited – 3/27).
Plus – “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (3/6) features an all-star cast, including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere, David Strathairn, and “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s Dev Patel (who’s also in “Chappie”).
And on March 27th, DreamWorks Animation’s only 2015 release (for now) opens. “Home” stars the voices of Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”), singers Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez, AND Steve Martin. That comedy’s competition: Hollywood heavyweights Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart in the highly-anticipated “Get Hard”.
In comparison, March 2014’s releases (aside from “Divergent”) hardly featured any big stars and the result was a disappointing box office. Expect this year’s crop to make up for that.