With Father’s Day falling on Sunday, it’s only fitting that this weekend’s biggest release is from a long-running family franchise adored by children and adults alike. Toy Story 5 will dominate multiplexes this weekend as Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen), this time led by Jessie (Joan Cusack), set off on another adventure full of heart and humor. If that isn’t your jam, we have a fresh yet dour take on Robin Hood and a horror film tackling supernatural horror with a gay conversion therapy metaphor as some of your choices.
What’s Opening In Theaters?
Toy Story 5 is poised to be the top choice this weekend as the soon to be thirty year old franchise shows no sign of showing a creative downfall. Directed by Andrew Stanton and from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kenna Harris, Toy Story 5 is set two years after Toy Story 4 and sees Jessie, Woody, Buzz, and their fellow toys having to deal with their biggest challenge yet: Tech! Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) has a new tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee), and it threatens to take her away from playing with toys and focusing on screens.
Toy Story 5 enters the weekend with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the franchise, with a still stellar 92 percent. That just goes to show you how consistent this IP is, as it could’ve ended perfectly with Toy Story 3 and has continued with two extra entries that aren’t creatively bankrupt in the slightest. It’s a franchise loved by all ages, so expect the movie to explode this weekend with the best 3-day opening of the year (tracking has it as high as $170 million). Audience score is already at 93 percent, so Toy Story 5 should have legs with moviegoers to infinity and beyond.
The dads will also be served with something a bit more serious with A24’s The Death of Robin Hood, which doesn’t scream summer entertainment, but could attract an older audience. Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, The Death of Robin Hood is a very dark take on the 17th-century ballad Robin Hood’s Death. The follows a gravely injured Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) who comes under the care of a mysterious woman named Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer) who intends to leave him for dead, but things change when he begins to reflect on the life choices he has made.
Reviews are mostly positive at 70 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but even the good reviews point out how bleak the film is, so the movie likely won’t have mainstream appeal. But for those looking for something a bit more violent and introspective, this might be the film for you. Jackman is also learning raves during a summer that proves his range as an actor. This is the same man who was in The Sheep Detectives a few weeks ago. Go figure.
Neon unleashes its critically acclaimed horror film Leviticus onto audiences this weekend, hoping to get some of the same love afforded to Obsession and Backrooms. Written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, Leviticus follows two teenagers who find themselves under siege by a violent supernatural entity that was conjured up by their religious community to take the form of what they desire the most, each other, in hopes of scaring them into staying apart. The film stars Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, and Mia Wasikowska.
Leviticus earned raves out of the Sundance Film Festival and has continued that heading into its opening weekend. The film currently stands certified fresh at 92 percent, with many calling it innovative and a standout not just for the horror genre, but for LGBTQ+ filmmaking. The movie likely won’t be the phenomenon that Obsession or Backrooms have been, but it should do well enough given the size of the film ($3.5 million budget), and is on its way to becoming a cult classic and horror mainstay.
What To Watch At Home
The fate of Westeros leads the pack for home viewing with the third season premiere of House of the Dragon. At the same time, the well-reviewed war film Pressure hopes to get more play at home following a brief run in theaters, and those looking for a turn your brain off at the door survival thriller gets just that as a group of circling sharks attack their prey in Deep Water.
Game of Thrones remains a popular property for HBO, and that continues with House of the Dragon, the prequel series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal. The show begins 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest and close to 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The series has proven to be popular, with the premiere being watched by 10 million viewers across linear channels and HBO Max on its first day, a record for HBO.
It also earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. Season 3 currently has a 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, so that bodes well for the fans, and a bonus is being thrown in with HBO Max cutting its price for their annual subscription ahead of the premiere this Sunday by 40 percent for their Basic with Ads, Standard, and Premium tiers. Not a bad gift for Dad if he hasn’t committed to HBO Max yet.
The war drama Pressure is out on digital this week after pulling in a slim $17 million on a $30 million budget, but this is a film that could find more life at home, especially with older audiences. Directed by Anthony Maras from a screenplay he co-wrote with David Haig, Pressure is based on Haig’s 2014 stage play of the same name and follows meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) as they work to plan the Normandy landings during World War II.
Also starring Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, and Damian Lewis, Pressure carries an 86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics have said that it finds a fresh angle to tackle a day in history that has been well-documented. The movie also received an “A” CinemaScore when it was released so the film just needs to find more of an audience and Father’s Day weekend seems like the best time for that.
Director Renny Harlin returns to the world of sharks after 1999’s Deep Blue Sea with Deep Water. Written by Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause, and Damien Power, Deep Water is a survival thriller that sees a group of passengers and crew at the mercy of sharks after an international flight crashes in the Pacific Ocean. The film stars Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley. Reviews were kind of strong for this kind of film at 67 percent, so it appears that it delivers on what it promises. This one isn’t striving to be too deep, but Harlin is good at making films like these, and it looks like he hasn’t lost his touch. Also, fun fact, this one was produced by Gene Simmons, co-lead singer of the rock group Kiss.
Check back next week when we keep you in the know about What To Watch!
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