September 2024 box office preview: Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ kicks off festival season

Welcome to September! School has started back up, and a number of prominent film festivals kicked off this week and will continue through the month. Movie awards season is officially about to kick into high gear, while there’s still a suitable amount of genre and family fare, just trying to keep the summer movie love going strong. Read on for Gold Derby’s September 2024 box office preview.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros. – Sept. 6)

Like “Twisters” and “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” this is another legacy sequel, hitting theaters decades after its earlier installment. With director Tim Burton, and actors Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder all back reprising their roles, joined by super-hot Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe, this is looking to be another strong September launcher a la the 2017 adaptation of Stephen King‘s “It” ($123 million opening) and its sequel (which opened to $91 million). This “Beetlejuice” sequel has so much going for it, especially with the millions of people who will have seen the original movie since 1998, particularly on cable and streaming. Add to that the success of some of the original cast from hit shows like “Schitt’s Creek,” “Stranger Things” and “Wednesday,” and there’s little reason why “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” can’t push for an opening in the $90 million range or even higher. We’ll have more about this in next week’s box office preview.

“The Wild Robot” (Universal – Sept. 27)

The latest original animated film from DreamWorks Animation stars Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o as the voice of the title character in this new animated film from Chris Sanders (“Lilo & Stitch”) about a robot named Roz that gets stranded on an island where she/it finds an orphaned baby goose and begins caring for it. The voice cast also includes the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu from “Everything Everywhere All the Time,” Catherine O’Hara and Mark Hamill, which allows for lots of talk show appearances, though the trailer and reviews should be enough to push this north of a $40 million, a similar opening to 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon.”

“Transformers One” (Paramount – Sept. 20)

Opening one week earlier is an animated prequel to the “Transformers” franchise that presumably will be geared toward getting younger moviegoers into the popular Hasbro toys, movies and television cartoons. The voice cast assembled for this one is also pretty impressive, including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Michael Keegan-Key and Lawrence Fishburne, and Paramount has confidently been screening the movie months in advance, so it could also be good to open over $40 million.

“Speak No Evil” (Universal – Sept. 13)

James McAvoy stars in his third Blumhouse movie, this one an English remake of the Danish horror film of the same name, which premiered at Sundance a few years back and eventually ended up on the Shudder streaming service. Co-starring MacKenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and Aisling Franciosi, the terrifying premise involves two couples meeting on vacation and reuniting at the home of one where all sorts of strange behavior ensues. This looks like the month’s strongest horror movies, which could bring in $15 to $20 million its opening weekend.

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“Never Let Go” (Lionsgate – Sept. 20)

Halle Berry stars in the new horror film from Alexandre Aja (“Crawl”) as a single mother whose family has been haunted by an evil spirit for years, until one of the kids begins wondering if that evil is real. This is only Berry’s third theatrical release in the last five years, and it looks absolutely terrifying, so it could end up doing quite well as counter-programming to “Transformers One” with $12 to $15 million.

“The Killer’s Game” (Lionsgate – Sept. 13)

Dave Bautista stars in this action-comedy along with Sofia Boutella, and his “Guardians of the Galaxy” co-star Pom Klementieff. Directed by J.J. Perry, it has Bautista playing an assassin with a terminal illness who orders a hit on himself only to later learn he isn’t dying after all, forcing him to call it off, but maybe too late. Opening this against “Speak No Evil” might be a bad idea, and it might put this more in the $10 million range that weekend.

“Megalopolis” (Lionsgate – Sept. 27)

Francis Ford Coppola’s latest movie, which premiered at Cannes (to mixed reviews) and has been the subject of controversy ever since, is likely to be one of the stranger movies this month, starring Adam Driver, as an architect trying to rebuild New York City as a new Roman empire after an apocalyptic event. Coppola’s impressive cast also includes Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Laurence Fishburne, and it will be opening in IMAX theaters, which could help it get to $10 million opening weekend.

“DAN DA DAN: First Encounter” (GKIDS – Sept. 13)

This week’s Anime offering doesn’t come from CrunchyRoll but from the other purveyor of anime imports, this one adapted from the popular manga by Yukinobu Tatsu. It is made up of the first three episodes of the TV series, which won’t premiere until October, so this could do decently as the fans rush out to see it first.

“The Front Room” (A24 – Sept. 6)

Max and Sam Eggers, who are in fact the younger twin brothers of Robert Eggers (“The VVitch”), make their directorial debuts with this horror film starring singer/actor Brandy Norwood as a woman whose husband brings his hugely religious and potentially racist stepmother Solange (Kathryn Hunter from “Poor Things”) into their home, leading to all sorts of uncomfortable situations. This might not get as wide a release as some of A24’s other horror movies, and it will be lucky to open in the $3 to $6 million range against the much stronger “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” More on this next week.

“Bagman” (Lionsgate – Sept. 20)

Lionsgate continues to do odd things, like releasing a second horror film, this one starring Sam Claflin, the exact same weekend as its much-stronger Halle Berry horror movie, “Never Let Go.”  This one involves a father fighting against a thread from his childhood to protect his family.

“My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM – Sept 13 limited, Sept 27 wide)

Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella star in this new comedy from Megan Park that premiered at Sundance. Stella plays Elliot, a young woman on a mushroom trip who encounters her 39-year-old self (played by Plaza), who warns her younger version what to expect from her life. A bit like “Looper” as an indie comedy, this will roll out slowly through the month.

“Azrael” (IFC Films – Sept. 27)

This religious horror film from E.L. Katz (“Cheap Thrills”) and writer Simon Barrett (“The Guest”), which stars Samara Weaving, as the title character, a young woman who escapes from a society who wants to sacrifice her to an ancient evil. Presumably, this is getting a similarly wide release as “Late Night with the Devil” and other IFC genre films.

“Lee” (Roadside Attractions – Sept. 27)

Oscar-winning cinematographer Lee Kuras directs this biopic of war photographer Lee Miller, as played by Oscar-winner Kate Winslet, who probably was the inspiration for Kirsten Dunst‘s character in Alex Garland‘s “Civil War.” It also has an impressive cast, co-starring Josh O’Connor, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård and Marion Cotillard, and it will likely get a moderately wide release over a year after it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

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Then we get to some of the movies that are likely to get limited releases this month, which of course could change at any time.

“His Three Daughters” (Netflix – Sept. 6)

Another premiere from TIFF 2023 is the new film from Azazel Jacobs (“French Exit”), starring Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as three quarreling sisters dealing with a dying father in hospice care.

“Red Rooms” (Utopia – Sept. 6)

Montreal filmmaker Pascal Plante‘s horror flick follows a woman attending the trial of a high-profile murderer of three teenage girls, a case she has become quite obsessed with, along with a fellow voyeur.

“The 4:30 Movie” (Saban Films – Sept. 13)

“Clerks” director Kevin Smith returns with this teen comedy set in 1986, following 16-year-old Brian (Austin Zajur) as he tries to get a date with his high-school crush (Siena Agudong), only to deal with all sorts of mayhem at his local theater, run by Ken Jeong, along with his best friends.

“The Critic” (Greenwich – Sept. 13)

Sir Ian McKellen stars in this new period drama from Anand Tucker (“Leap Year”) as a London theater critic, who gets caught up in a murder mystery. The film, which also premiered at TIFF 2023, also stars Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong and Leslie Manville.

“The Substance” (Neon – Sept.20)

Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid star in French filmmaker Coralie (“Revenge”) Fargeat‘s horror film with Moore playing a fading celebrity who takes a black market drug that creates a young and better version of herself. Winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes back in May, the movie’s positive reviews could push Neon to give this a wider release.

“A Different Man” (A24 – Sept. 20)

Sebastian Stan aka Marvel’s “Winter Soldier” stars with Renate Reinsve (“The Worst Person in the World”) and Adam Pearson (“Under the Skin”) in Aaron Schimberg‘s Sundance comic thriller about a disfigured actor who goes through a process of facial reconstruction only to become obsessed with a man who looks like his former self. Another movie that could end up going wider.

“Wolfs” (Apple Studios – Sept. 20)

Originally planned as a wide release, this crime-comedy directed by Jon Watts (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”) stars no less than George Clooney and Brad Pitt as two fixers similar to Clooney’s Oscar-nominated character in 2007’s “Michael Clayton.” This was originally planned as a wide release but now it’s just getting a limited release before debuting on Apple TV+ on Sept. 27.

“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (HBO Documentary Films – Sept. 21)

This heartbreaking doc directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui covers the entire life and career of the actor best known for playing Superman in four movies during the ‘70s and ‘80s, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a horse-riding accident in 1995, then died in 2004. It’s a good contender for an Oscar nomination in the documentary category, even though it’s getting an odd Saturday release by Fathom Events.

“Amber Alert” (Lionsgate – Sept 27)

Hayden Panettiere (“Nashville”) and Tyler James Williams (“Everybody Hates Chris”) star in Kerry Bellessa‘s remake of her own 2012 feature about a high stakes chase as a ride-share follows a car reported for a child abduction.

That’s it for the ninth month of 2024, and we’ll be back next month for the start (and end) of “spooky season” with the October movies.

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