2017 Preview: January

January 1, 2017

xXx: Return of Xander Cage

December box office numbers helped 2016 end on ... a note. The good news and the bad news almost exactly balance out. On the one hand, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will finish the year with more than $400 million after just 16 days of release. That’s a stunning amount of money that helped 2016 earn a record box office at the domestic market. However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned $650 million during December of 2015, so the month lost a lot of its lead over 2015, so much so that ticket sales fell behind last year’s total. The weakness at the end of the year will spill over into 2017, which is terrible news. A slow start could result in the dominant box office story being 2017 struggles compared to 2016. Bad news like this can sometimes become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sadly, 2017 is also going to get off to a slow start when it comes to wide releases / expansions. There are 16 films scheduled to open or expand wide this month and none of them are expected to get to $100 million. It is likely none of them will even get very close. xXx: Return of Xander Cage is expected to be the best of a weak bunch, but I could see it getting beat by one of the five Oscar contenders opening wide this month, if it gets off to a slow start and one of the Oscar contenders starts picking up steam. Hidden Figures got off to a great start on Christmas Day and should it continue to earn Awards Season recognition, including some Oscar nominations, it could be in wide release well into February. Last January wasn’t as busy with 13 films opening or expanding wide over five weeks. Of these, two of them, The Revenant and Kung Fu Panda 3, topped $100 million domestically, while another, Ride Along 2, came close. 2017 is going to get destroyed in the year-over-year comparison.

Weekend of January 6th, 2017

Underworld: Blood Wars

The month starts with just one wide release, Underworld: Blood Wars; however, there are also three films expanding wide... maybe. Hidden Figures did well enough during its opening day that it should be able to expand wide. Additionally, it has earned a few major Awards Season nominations and while it likely won’t be a major player on Oscar night, it should be a contender. Silence wasn’t quite as strong at the box office, while it has been snubbed during Awards Season so far. It could expand truly wide, but I wouldn’t count on it. On the other hand, A Monster Calls’ box office opening was okay, but nothing special. I would be surprised if it opened in significantly more than 1,000 theaters. This weekend last year was led by The Force Awakens with $42 million, while The Revenant expanded wide earning nearly $40 million. $40 million will likely be out of reach for three of the four films opening or expanding wide this week. 2017 will lose in the year-over-year comparison this week, and indeed could lose every week this month. On last note, despite what some sources say, Amityville: The Awakening is not opening this week and has been pushed back till June. This is the fourth release date for the film, which was finished back in 2014. I would not be shocked if it were pushed back again.

Last Minute Update: Silence’s wide expansion was switched from the 6th to the 13th. That will help the films this week, but kill its box office chances.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: FoxMovies.com/Movies/Hidden-Figures
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: December 25th, 2016 (Limited Release)
Release Date: January 6th, 2017 (Expands Wide)
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and some language.
Source: Based on Factual Book/Article
Genre: Drama
Keywords: 1960s, African-American, Bigotry, Sexism, Womens Rights, Mathematics, Space Program
Directed By: Ted Melfi
Written By: Margot Lee Shetterly, Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae
Production Budget: Reported at $25 million
Box Office Potential: $55 million

This film tells the real life story of three African-American women who worked at NASA during the space race. The film’s reviews are amazing and the movie has picked up a few Awards Season nominations. Furthermore, it earned more than $500,000 during its opening day. We don’t have numbers for its first full weekend yet, but it looks strong and that bodes well for its wide expansion. Additionally, there are major awards and / or nominations practically every week from now until Oscar night and if Hidden Figures continues to do well, it could last just as long. That’s a little too bullish for me; I think it will earn many more nominations, but it will struggle to turn those nods into wins. That said, it should still become a midlevel hit.

A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: FocusFeatures.com/AMonsterCalls
Distributor: Focus Features
Release Date: December 23rd, 2016 (Limited Release)
Release Date: January 6th, 2017 (Expands Wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic content and some scary images.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Cancer, Terminal Illness, Bullies, Dysfunctional Family, Novel or Other Work Adapted by Author
Directed By: Juan Antonio Bayona
Written By: Patrick Ness, Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd
Starring: Lewis MacDougall, Liam Neeson
Production Budget: Reported at $43 million
Box Office Potential: $5 million

I’m not convinced this film will open truly wide. The reviews are amazing compared to most wide releases, but it hasn’t been able to earn any major Awards Season nominations, at least not here. (It is one of the major players at the Goya Awards in its native Spain.) Furthermore, its opening weekend was okay, but nothing more. If the film didn’t have a wide expansion scheduled, I would be skeptical of its chances of getting to $1 million in limited release. There is one wildcard that could boost its chances. If it earns a WGA nomination, which are announced two days before its planned expansion, then it might get the boost it needs to do well in wide release. I’m not optimistic that will happen and I’m not willing to bet on a long shot like that. Even if it does open truly wide, it will likely struggle to earn a spot in the top five and won’t get past $20 million, while there’s a chance it won’t expand into more than a few hundred theaters and will disappear before it hits $2 million. The above box office potential is the weighted average of those two extremes.

Underworld: Blood Wars

Underworld: Blood Wars
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: https://www.UnderworldBloodWars-Movie.com
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 6th, 2017
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, and some sexuality.
Source: Based on Folk Tale/Legend/Fairytale
Genre: Action
Keywords: Vampire, Werewolf, Monster, Betrayal, Urban Gothic
Directed By: Anna J. Foerster
Written By: Cory Goodman
Starring: Kate Beckinsale
Production Budget: Estimated at $40 million to $50 million
Box Office Potential: $40 million

It has been almost five years since last installment of this action / horror franchise hit theaters. That’s long enough that there’s a chance fans of the movies have moved on, as previously there had been an installment every three years. The critics have certainly moved on, as the early reviews for Blood Wars are terrible. The franchise has never been a critical darling, but 11% positive reviews are still the lower than any of the previous films had managed. Granted, the awful reviews don’t seem to have hurt the film’s box office performance internationally. In fact, the film has already made more than $40 million internationally, which could be more than it cost to make, while it has yet to open in Japan, Spain, Italy, and the U.K. It could do well enough that its domestic numbers are not necessary to break even. That’s the good news, because while it is expected to have the best weekend of the four wide releases / expansions, it isn’t expected to last in theaters very long. Not only do horror movies tend to have short legs, but there are three other films opening this month, one a week, so the direct competition will hurt.

Weekend of January 13th, 2017

Patriots Day

This is the busiest week of the month with five films opening or expanding wide. Of these, Patriots Day is the only one that has a shot at becoming anything more than a midlevel hit and that’s only if it can latch onto the American Sniper audience and avoid being seen as exploitative. From there, the box office potential drops. Sleepless could become a midlevel hit, but that’s far from a sure thing. The Bye Bye Man is a low-budget horror movie, so as long as it doesn’t get lost in the crowd, it should break even eventually. Live By Night’s reviews are really bad and that will likely kill it in limited release, meaning it won’t be able to expand truly wide. Finally, Monster Trucks will be the first $100 million bomb of the year. It cost $125 million to make and won’t earn back a fraction of that. This weekend last year Ride Along 2 opened with just over $35 million. That’s more than any film will open with this weekend. That’s more than three of the five films opening / expanding this weekend will earning in total. Again, 2017 will lose in the year-over-year comparison.

Last Minute Update: As I mentioned above, there are now six films opening or expanding wide. This is far too many and at least two of them will fail to find an audience.

The Bye Bye Man

The Bye Bye Man
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: https://stxmovies.com/thebyebyeman/
Distributor: STX Entertainment
Release Date: January 13th, 2017
MPAA Rating: R for bloody horror violence, language and some sexuality.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Keywords: Supernatural, Spree Killer, Possessed, College, Haunted House
Directed By: Stacy Title
Written By: Jonathan Penner, Robert Damon
Starring: Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas, Doug Jones
Production Budget: Reported at $6 million
Box Office Potential: $20 million

A low-budget horror film about a group of college students who discover a malevolent force that can possess a person and cause them to go on a killing spree. The only way to protect yourself is to not think about it or say its name. Of the four horror movies opening this month, this one has the least buzz and it is opening on the busiest weekend. Fortunately, it won’t need a massive opening to break even sometime during its home market run. Assuming the advertising budget isn’t triple its production budget and it can find some audience internationally, it should break even on VOD or some streaming service like Netflix.

Live by Night

Live by Night
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: https://www.livebynight.movie/
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: December 25th, 2016 (Limited Release)
Release Date: January 13th, 2017 (Expands Wide)
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Dysfunctional Family, Directing Yourself, Organized Crime, 1920s, 1930s, Prohibition Era
Directed By: Ben Affleck
Written By: Ben Affleck, Dennis Lehane
Starring: Ben Affleck
Production Budget: Reported at $65 million
Box Office Potential: $10 million

This is the latest film directed by Ben Affleck, which should give it an advantage at the box office, as his three previous directorial efforts all earned critical praise and the past two also earned a lot of box office success. However, this film’s reviews have gone from mixed to bad, which couldn’t have had a positive effect on its opening weekend. (Warner Bros. isn’t releasing box office numbers until January 3rd.) Like A Monster Calls above, if this film didn’t have a wide expansion already scheduled, then I would not assume it would expand wide enough to get to $1 million. It is a more marketable film, so that should help it at the box office, but it is also opening during the busiest weekend of the month and that will hurt.

Monster Trucks

Monster Trucks
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: MonsterTrucksMovie.com/
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: January 13th, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for action, peril, brief scary images, and some rude humor.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Adventure
Keywords: Monster, Monster Trucks, Friendly Alien on Earth, Development Hell
Directed By: Chris Wedge
Written By: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Starring: Jane Levy, Lucas Till
Production Budget: Reported at $125 million
Box Office Potential: $25 million

In the final quarter of 2016, Paramount admitted to investors that they were going to have a $115 million write-down for Monster Trucks. The film cost $125 million to make and they expect to lose $115 million. What more do I need to say?

Patriots Day

Patriots’ Day
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: PatriotsDayFilm.com
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: December 21st, 2016 (Limited Release)
Release Date: January 13th, 2017 (Expands Wide)
MPAA Rating: R for violence, realistically graphic injury images, language throughout and some drug use.
Source: Based on Real Life Events
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Keywords: Boston, Terrorism, 2010s, Track and Field, Marathon Running, First Responders
Directed By: Peter Berg
Written By: Peter Berg, Matt Cook, Joshua Zetumer, Peter Berg, Matt Cook, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
Starring: Mark Wahlberg
Production Budget: Estimated at $40 million to $50 million
Box Office Potential: $65 million

Patriots Day is a film based on the real life Boston Marathon bombing attack. Given its release strategy, I think the studio is hoping to tap into the same audience that swarmed to theaters to see American Sniper. I don’t think the studio is expecting to earn half of what American Sniper earned. Given the sheer number of other films opening or expanding wide this week, it likely won’t earn a quarter of that film’s box office. That said, it is by far the biggest release of the week and one of only two films opening this month that have a legitimate shot at $100 million. It’s a long shot, don’t get me wrong, but if it does become a $100 million hit, I won’t be that surprised.

Silence

Silence
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: SilenceMovie.com
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: December 23rd, 2016 (Limited Release)
Release Date: January 13th, 2017 (Expands Wide)
MPAA Rating: R for some disturbing violent content.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Japan, Christians, 1600s, Feudal Japan
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Shusaku Endo, Jay Cocks
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver
Production Budget: Reported at $47 million
Box Office Potential: $15 million

Silence is a film that many thought would be an Awards Season contender, but so far that hasn’t happened. The film got off to a great start in limited release with a theater average of over $32,000 in four theaters, but until we see how well it does in its second weekend, I’m not convinced it will open truly wide. Like the other Awards Season contenders with wide expansions this month, it could get a boost from the major nominations. The week it comes out, the PGAs, DGAs, and BAFTA nominations are announced. If the film does start picking up major Awards Season nominations, then it could stick around in theaters long enough to earn $50 million, or more. On the other hand, it could slip up this weekend and struggle to expand to 1,000 theaters disappearing before it reaches $10 million. The above prediction is a weighted average of the two extremes.

Last Minute Update: This film’s wide expansion was pushed back a week to the 13th. The 13th was already the busiest week of the month and now it is even busier. It likely won’t expand truly wide, because there won’t be enough theaters for it to expand into. It could also hurt some of the other films due to the added competition.

Sleepless

Sleepless
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: SleeplessMovie.com/
Distributor: Open Road
Release Date: January 13th, 2017
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout.
Source: Based on Movie
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Keywords: Police life, Kidnap, Rescue, Organized Crime, Corrupt Cops, Remake, Foreign-Language Remake, Las Vegas, Internal Affairs
Directed By: Baran bo Odar
Written By: Andrea Berloff
Starring: Jamie Foxx
Production Budget: Estimate at $30 million to $50 million
Box Office Potential: $40 million

Jamie Foxx stars as a cop with criminal connections who has to rescue his son when he gets kidnapped. This is a typical January release; i.e. it is opening with very little buzz and it is just hoping to not get lost in the crowd. On the positive side, it is opening on MLK weekend and Jamie Foxx has more than a few hits under his belt. Perhaps it will be a surprise midlevel hit. It will need some louder buzz and good reviews to get there. In other words, it is too soon to tell, but I’m not overly optimistic.

Weekend of January 20th, 2017

xXx: Return of Xander Cage

There are two wide releases and one wide expansion this week. xXx: Return of Xander Cage is likely going to be the biggest hit of the month; however, I don’t think it will live up to the first film in the franchise, at least not domestically. Split is a horror film from M. Night Shyamalan. It has been a while since he made a movie that earned overwhelmingly positive reviews, but two of the last three films he made were low-budget horror films and both made money, so this one will likely do the same. Finally there’s The Founder, a biopic that was clearly going for Oscars, but while its reviews are great, they are not Awards Season great. This weekend last year there were also three wide releases, none of which were able to crack the top three. On the other hand, there were six films that earned more than $10 million that weekend. That’s great depth, but this is still January’s best chance to win the year-over-year comparison.

The Founder

The Founder
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: TheFounderFilm.com/
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Release Date: December 31st, 2016 (Limited Release)
Release Date: January 20th, 2017 (Expands Wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language.
Source: Based on Real Life Events
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Food, Restaurants, Biography, Relationships Gone Wrong, Entrepreneur, Epilogue
Directed By: John Lee Hancock
Written By: Robert D. Siegel
Starring: Michael Keaton
Production Budget: Reported at $7 million
Box Office Potential: $20 million

Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the man who didn’t found McDonalds. He just became a business partner with the actual founders and pushed them out of the company. It is being released by Weinstein Co., which is not good news for the film’s box office chances, as the distributor has been on a year-long losing streak. Worse still, the film’s reviews are good enough for limited release, but they are not good enough to win awards, so it could get a reputation as busted Oscar-bait. The film opened on Saturday, but it is an Oscar-qualifying run, which means there could have been very limited screeners only on that day. If so, it will have no impact on its chances to expand wide. If it is a limited release, then it will need a theater average of at least $20,000 to expand truly wide.

Split

Split
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: SplitMovie.com
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: January 20th, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for for disturbing thematic content and behavior, violence and some language.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Horror
Keywords: Kidnap, Multiple Personality, Mental Illness, Villain's Point of View
Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan
Written By: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor Joy, Jessica Sula, Haley Lu Richardson
Production Budget: Estimated at $10 million to $20 million
Box Office Potential: $35 million

James McAvoy plays a man with over twenty different personalities who kidnaps three teenage girls, Anya Taylor Joy, Jessica Sula, and Haley Lu Richardson. The three girls have to learn about his various personalities and figure out which ones would be willing to help them escape, while avoiding the wrath of his more violent ones.

That’s an interesting setup and M. Night Shyamalan has had some recent success in this genre writing Devil and writing and directing The Visit. Both of these films earned a profit sometime during their home market runs. On the downside, there are four horror films opening this month and two of them are part of long-running franchises. This might mean this one will slip between the cracks. Fortunately, it likely didn’t cost a lot to make, so it will break even eventually.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage

xXx: Return of Xander Cage
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: ReturnOfXanderCage.com
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: January 20th, 2017
MPAA Rating: Not Yet Rated - Very likely PG-13
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Action
Keywords: Delayed Sequel, Sequels With Returning Stars, Secret Agent, Extreme Sports, Out of Retirement, Faked Death, Conspiracy Theory
Directed By: D.J. Caruso, Rob Cohen
Written By: F. Scott Frazier, Chad St. John, Rich Wilkes
Starring: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen
Production Budget: $60 million to $80 million
Box Office Potential: $75 million

xXx: Return of Xander Cage is one of three delayed sequels opening this month. The first film in the xXx franchise came out in 2002 and earned over $260 million worldwide. The second film didn’t have Vin Diesel as the star and it struggled, to be polite. Vin Diesel returns for this film and most think it will bounce back. It might even top the original at the worldwide box office. It certainly has an international cast, which should help draw in audiences in China, for example. I think it will barely earn more than half of what the first film made, but then earn around $200 million internationally, which will be enough to justify a fourth film in the franchise.

Weekend of January 27th, 2017

A Dog’s Purpose

The month ends on a soft note with two wide releases and two other films that I’m not so sure about. A Dog’s Purpose should be the biggest hit of the week, mainly because it has no direct competition. On the other hand, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter has way too much direct competition. There are too many other horror films coming out this month for Resident Evil to thrive. Meanwhile, Bastards is the archetypal January dump. It is a film that looks good on paper, but obviously something went wrong, why else would they release it in January? Finally there’s Gold. I’m not convinced this film is opening wide, or indeed at all. This weekend last year, Kung Fu Panda 3 opened with $41.28 million over the weekend. There’s no way any film opening this weekend will match that. All four films combined might not match that.

Bastards

Bastards
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: BastardsMovie.com
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: January 27th, 2017
MPAA Rating: R for language and sexual references throughout.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Comedy
Keywords: Twins, Dysfunctional Family, Faked Death, Road Trip
Directed By: Larry Sher
Written By: Justin Malen
Starring: Ed Helms and Owen Wilson
Production Budget: Estimated at $30 million to $40 million
Box Office Potential: $20 million

This film has a good cast with two talented actors in the lead. However, while it looks good on paper, neither Ed Helms nor Owen Wilson have had a serious box office hit in at least two years. Furthermore, if the studio thought they had a hit, then why are they releasing it in January? There is some good news. This is the only comedy coming opening wide in January, so at least it doesn’t have a lot of direct competition.

A Dog’s Purpose

A Dog’s Purpose
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: ADogsPurposeMovie.com/
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: January 27th, 2017
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and some peril.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Comedy
Keywords: Animal Lead, Talking Animals, Death of a Pet, Reincarnation, Relationships Gone Wrong, Exes in Love, Romance, Police life, Coming of Age, Voiceover/Narration, 1960s, 1980s, 2010s, 1990s, 1970s, Same Role, Multiple Actors
Directed By: Lasse Hallström
Written By: Bruce W. Cameron, Audrey Wells
Starring: Josh Gad
Production Budget: Estimated at $30 million to $40 million
Box Office Potential: $60 million

A movie about a dog, voiced by Josh Gad, who is reincarnated over and over again all the time learning more about what it’s ultimate purpose is. This is a tearjerker. There’s no way around that. On the other hand, there hasn’t been a really good tearjerker that has come out for a while, so there should be built up demand. This is certainly the only film like this coming out all month, so it won’t have to split fans of the genre with any other film and this will help it at the box office. I think this film is going to be a sleeper hit; it won’t open in first place, but it will have longer legs than any of the other films that are debuting this week.

Gold

Gold
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: Gold-Film.com
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Release Date: January 27th, 2017
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Treasure Hunters, Indonesia
Directed By: Stephen Gaghan
Written By: John Zinman, Patrick Massett
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez
Production Budget: Estimated at $30 million to $40 million
Box Office Potential: $15 million

I’m not convinced this film is opening truly wide. It is being released by Weinstein Co. and the distributor is struggling, to say the least. Furthermore, there was some talk it would get an Oscar-qualifying run late in December, but its early reviews are bad. I’m not saying they are bad for an Oscar contender; I’m saying they would be bad for a mindless action film. Granted, there are only six reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, so things could get better, but that’s not a bet I’m willing to make. I wouldn’t be surprised if the film opens in select cities, or gets pushed back a few months.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: SonyPictures.com/Movies/ResidentEvilTheFinalChapter/
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 27th, 2017
MPAA Rating: R for sequences of violence throughout.
Source: Based on Game
Genre: Action
Keywords: Delayed Sequel, Corporate Malfeasance, Zombies, Post Apocalypse, 3-D, 3-D - Shot in 3-D, Non-Chronological, End of the World
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich
Production Budget: Estimated at $60 million to $70 million
Box Office Potential: $40 million

This is the sixth installment in the Resident Evil franchise, a franchise that began almost exactly 15 years ago. The films have never been monster hits here, but did well enough to justify making more movies. However, the last two installments were actually big hits internationally and likely broke even just in their international markets. This is good news for the studio, but bad news for the film’s domestic numbers. I think Sony is banking on the film doing really well worldwide and they are not going to bother pushing it really hard domestically, because their advertising dollars would be better spent elsewhere. Also, this is the fourth weekend in a row with a horror movie and there are three or four horror movies opening in February, so even fans of the genre might be burned out at this point.

Filed under: Monthly Preview, Silence, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Monster Trucks, Live by Night, A Monster Calls, The Bye Bye Man, The Founder, Gold, Patriots Day, Underworld: Blood Wars, Split, Father Figures, Hidden Figures, A Dog’s Purpose, Sleepless, xXx, Resident Evil, Underworld, Liam Neeson, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Berg, D.J. Caruso, Rob Cohen, Vin Diesel, Jamie Foxx, Josh Gad, Andrew Garfield, Lasse Hallström, Ed Helms, Taraji P. Henson, Doug Jones, Milla Jovovich, Michael Keaton, James McAvoy, Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Martin Scorsese, M. Night Shyamalan, Douglas Smith, Lucas Till, Chris Wedge, Owen Wilson, Donnie Yen, Paul W.S. Anderson, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, John Lee Hancock, Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Juan Antonio Bayona, Cory Goodman, Octavia Spencer, Adam Driver, Dennis Lehane, Jane Levy, Anna J. Foerster, Rich Wilkes, Patrick Massett, John Zinman, Baran bo Odar, F. Scott Frazier, Jay Cocks, Stephen Gaghan, Jonathan Penner, Robert D. Siegel, Theodore Melfi, Andrea Berloff, Joshua Zetumer, Matt Cook, Audrey Wells, Janelle Monáe, Stacy Title, Robert Damon, Shusaku Endo, Haley Lu Richardson, Anya Taylor-Joy, , Larry Sher, Justin Malen, Margot Lee Shetterly, Lewis MacDougall, Bruce W. Cameron, Jessica Sula, Chad St. John, Patrick Ness, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas, Allison Schroeder, Siobhan Dowd