Grading 2019 Year In Movies So Far

Wow it’s been a minute. Thomas here to give you a little update on The Hollywood Speakeasy, which I can’t believe I’m rebooting for the third time. First of all, thank you to everyone who listened to the podcast. However, I recognized something wasn’t right, which is why I’m rebooting The Speakeasy again. Like anything that gets rebooted in Hollywood, this reboot brings a major change: The Hollywood Speakeasy is going to be exclusively a blog for The Hangover Network, along with me going on the various shows as a sort of traveling segment.

So with that, I wanted to talk about how the studios have done in 2019 leading into the fall especially with the summer “blockbuster” season ending….although it should have been called lackluster this year. Keep in mind, 20th Century Fox will be missing as Disney bought them and, well, their films have all sucked in 2019 (although I’m looking forward to Ad Astra and Ford vs. Ferrari). So let’s get it started:

• DISNEY

Alright let’s get the big one out of the way. There really isn’t much to say about Disney’s 2019 except that it’s pretty green. And by green I mean money. I mean all but one of their films that have been released in 2019 have crossed the $1 Billion mark with the lone failure being Dumbo. But that list is Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, and The Lion King. So what else does Disney have left in 2019? Well, the crazy thing is two of Disney’s next three non-Fox films are pretty much locks to cross that same $1 Billion mark also with November’s Frozen 2 and December’s Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker. Plus, there’s still the launch of their streaming service (Disney+) in November, which we will cover as that gets closer to the November 12th launch date. 2019 GRADE SO FAR: A

• UNIVERSAL

Talk about a studio that knew how to take over headlines this summer. Universal probably had the two most talked about films that weren’t Disney films, and they still haven’t been released. The first was the trailer for Cats, which I’m still having nightmares from. The other story was The Hunt, the Jason Blum political satire thriller that won’t see the light of day thanks to outrage about the film’s premise: Rich elites hunting deplorable for sport. If it sounds like it could align with today’s political landscape, you nailed it on the head. But fans wanted fresh ideas and Universal sure did deliver. Good Boys became the first original comedy to hit #1 at the box office in three years. Plus they had the surprise hit of the summer with Yesterday, the Danny Boyle rom-com that centered around the hits of The Beatles. On top of that, they released their first Dreamworks Animation film How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which closed out the beloved franchise. And they had successful release of the Fast and Furious spinoff Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs and Shaw. So what’s left? Universal will release the Dreamworks original film, Abominable, along with the rom-com Last Christmas and then the (scary) big screen adaptation of Cats. 2019 GRADE SO FAR: B

• WARNER BROS

Talk about a 2019 that Warner Bros would like to forget. Outside of Shazam!, Detective Pikachu, and Annabelle Comes Home, WB hasn’t released a film that has made a profit. The shocking thing is that you can usually bank on Godzilla to bring in the big bucks. But Godzilla: King of Monsters performance was very lackluster, The Lego Move 2 came no where near the original Lego Movie, and the films released this summer have all bombed (Blinded By The Light, Shaft, and The Kitchen). The suits at Warner Bros have to be happy that It: Chapter 2 is finally here to save their box office, along with Doctor Sleep, the reboot/sequel the classic horror film The Shining, the big screen adaptation of The Goldfinch, and Joker, which is getting great reviews coming out of the Venice Film Festival and generating early Oscar buzz. 2019 GRADE SO FAR: C+

• SONY

So just to make sure I get this out of the way: I will not be talking about the Disney/Marvel-Sony split with Spider-Man. That being said, how can Sony not be pleased with their 2019 box office so far. After a successful Oscar season with Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse winning “Best Animated Feature,” the studio goes and gets their biggest hit in the studio’s history with Spider-Man: Far From Home, granted that may have been because of Avengers: Endgame and seeing the aftermath from the Marvel Studios hit. But we also got Quentin Tarantino’s best film since Django Unchained with Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The only real misstep the studio had this year? MIB: International, which turned out to be a failed attempt to reboot the successful franchise by banking on Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson to repeat their chemistry they had in Thor: Ragnarok. So what’s left? Well, Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Jumanji: The Next Level, and A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood, which will be a MAJOR Oscar contender with Tom Hanks playing Mr. Rogers. 2019 GRADE SO FAR: B+

• PARAMOUNT

If it wasn’t for this blog (or if you are in the industry), you’d probably forgot that Paramount even released anything this year. And think about it, they’ve only had one major box office hit this year with Rocketman, and it barely made a profit in the box office. But outside of Rocketman, Paramount’s films have all not done too great. Those films? Pet Sematary (the remake of the Stephen King thriller), What Men Want (the remake of the Mel Gibson rom-com, starring Taraji P. Henson and Tracy Morgan where Tarji can read men’s thoughts), and Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Yes….Paramount released a Dora the Explorer movie. And to be honest, it wasn’t half bad. Problem is no one went to see it. So can Paramount even salvage a little bit in 2019? The good news is yes. They have 2 BIG releases coming with Gemini Man starring Will Smith and Terminator: Dark Fate, which marks the return of James Cameron to this great franchise. Will Cameron retconning everything since T3 save one of Hollywood’s most beloved franchises? We will find out in November. 2019 GRADE SO FAR: C-

And that’s 2019 cinema so far. There are still some great films to come later in the year especially with Oscar season coming up. Keep your eyes peeled here for more blogs breaking down that race, reviews of Joker, It: Chapter 2, Gemini Man, Zombieland 2, and so many more. Plus, the Emmys are coming up and Disney+ (aka the Netflix killer) is coming soon. So we will have coverage of everything right here.

Make sure you follow us on Instagram @TheHollywoodSpeakeasy! We are going to be alive there as well. And you can follow me @T_Shults89