Live from a bunker in the heart of the Ozarks, a podcast whose most surefire prediction for the summer is the eventual tightening of his clothing caused solely by Chick-fil-A peach milkshakes. It's Sif Pop. Welcome to another Sif Pop special episode. I'm your host Aaron Dicer and his picks are just hoping to look as realistic as Dwayne Johnson's hair. It's Andrew Ormsby, ladies and gentlemen. Ahoy.
And she's actually being played by Meryl Streep today in this episode. Accent and all. It's Alice Gedebra McKellie. G'day, g'day, g'day. She's just so talented. The dingo ate her baby. And he has the power!
It's John Paula. Hello. How are you doing? I thought you were going to do a Here's Johnny on account of the fact that it's my name. You wound it up and then threw a curveball at me. I did. I did. Each episode we'll chat about movies, TV, and whatever else from the pop culture universe is on our minds. Guys, it's good to see you again. You know, nothing has changed in anybody's life. No new babies or anything like that. I think I would be remiss not to check in, Alice. How is stuff going? How is the new world of a tiny little ball of screaming cells going in your home?
Yeah. So, yeah, on the on the 2nd of March, little Sullivan entered. So now we have him in the house and he's currently being looked after by his dad. And, you know, I was saying before, he actually slept for five whole hours in a row last night. Very kind of him. Very kind of him as a little six week old. But I mean, he's absolutely adorable. And of course, the cutest and smartest baby ever to live. So that's, you know, deprivation talking. No, no. Or, you know, the genetic desire to, you know, have your progeny be amazing. No, none of that. That's just truth. Those are just facts. It's been going well. And I've been lucky enough that my partner.
been off uh work until tuesday next week so we'll see how we're going when we come back for the summer some game results and i'll have been on my own for a good amount of time and see if i'm i've been driven insane so so far so good uh how's everybody else uh ormsby how you been how's life how's stuff man life is good life is good i am excited about today because as you all know i do so well at this game it is it is what my bread and butter is but in all honesty it is so amazing to see all your beautiful faces and to be back conversing with you again it's going to be a good day Paula, what's up? Yeah, no, I definitely want to echo those sentiments. I feel like the monthly commitment to doing this show in weekly for you guys took its toll on me included. But being able to pop in kind of a few times a season is so great. It's like catching up with old friends, because you guys are old friends. And I needed to defend my title today. I did really well last year. I got 9 out of 10. I got quite a high score. I don't want to brag. I mean, I do want to brag, and I will brag. You didn't have to. If you really didn't want to, you didn't have to. So the pressure's on. I have to defend my title and prove that it wasn't a fluke, and then I can do it again.
Let's see how... I came last. I came last last year. So I'll defend my title as not the only one who's terrible at the game. And, you know, maybe Andrew can take that back this year. Hey, that's why I'm here. It'll also be interesting to see. We will, I'm sure, have a generative machine learning pick or two for the occasion as well. So it'll be interesting to see that all.
Well, I'm glad that, you know, you're not having to deal with the weekly grind of this podcast, which brings me to my next point. We're coming back weekly. Really? Yes and no. Yes and no. Here, it is an announcement that I did want to make. The Cif Pop Podcast Network is now going to be a thing in this feed between these episodes. So there are several other podcasts that are done. But when I say several, I mean several. Like, you know, close to a dozen different podcasts that have been generated from writers and fans of Cif Pop and different things. Yeah, yeah. And we are going to make it a more proactive.
podcast feed for those things. We've been talking to the podcast, their willingness to post in this feed, those kinds of conversations, and we've landed. So starting very soon, in fact, next week, I believe. you're going to start seeing this feed expand beyond just these quarterly SifPop proper episodes. We're still going to continue to do these as long as we can. But we'd like to showcase the other talented contributors over at SifPop.com, many of whom you have heard on the show before. So and if not, you may have read their stuff at SifPop.com. You may have listened to some of these podcasts before. The next episode in your feed will actually be an episode of Geeks Not Nerds that I guest hosted on. So I'll be on that one next week.
And I'm sorry, Geeks Speak Louder Than Nerds is the name of the podcast. And then there's going to be new episodes from other podcasts that you may have heard of or may not have heard of that will pop up in your feed. So we're still figuring out the rotation, the rhythm, those kind of things. And we want your feedback. We'd love to hear from you how you feel about this. Basically, you can listen to any of these you enjoy. You know, if you enjoy them, pop them on, listen to them. It's just some nice pop culture contents between the quarterly Sif Pop episodes. Also, I have been encouraged by Nick, our new editor over at SifPop.com, to tell you to stay tuned.
for a big announcement later this summer about stuff going on at Sifpop. So a little bit of a Siftease, if you will. But yeah, excited to bring this to you. The Sifpop Podcast Network will begin showing up in the Sifpop Podcast feed. So yeah, let us know your thoughts. All right, now we can get onto it. As Jonathan mentioned, he did win last year.
So we are going to do this again in the same way we have done many, many years in the past. You can join along and play. There is a link at cifpop.com. Just look for Summer Sum Game. Click that and make your picks. You must do that before May 1st. So you have like a week and a half to do that. So my recommendation, as you're hearing my voice right now, is to open up your phone, go to cifpop.com, click the link and do it now so you don't forget. And then we can all compete together to see who can come away with the best picks. Winner, of course, always will get a shout out on the show.
um which will happen uh in the results episode uh later in september so that's where we're at um general thoughts guys as you put your list together without mentioning any specifics yet just kind of general how did you feel looking ahead to this summer and what's going to make money uh paul why don't you start what were kind of some of your general thoughts After you unmute yourself, I should say, what are some of your general thoughts? Thank you. I will say this summer feels, there's a few solids and a few gimmies, but a good chunk of my list is completely up in the air. And I would say really dependable stalwart franchises are now no longer that. And there's a couple big IP, a lot of IP coming out this summer. And a few that have in the past performed to the billion dollar mark that this year feel like total gambles. And on the flip side, underdog movies and things that are unproven feel like they might have a chance to break out. Legacy sequels that we haven't seen in a long time. A lot of these, I'm going on vibes and guesswork.
Whereas last summer and the years before, I felt like it was a little more analytical. You could kind of track it a little more closely. But I feel like ever since COVID, it's anybody's game. And this is such a volatile space. And there's always one or two breakouts that nobody sees coming. And I hope we're not missing on like a Sound of Freedom part two. I know that Angel Studios has a film coming out this summer. Do you think Young Washington will make our top 10? Let's tune in to find out. Listen, I looked at it and I considered it. And I was like, could it? And we'll see what I decided. Ormsby, some general thoughts as you kind of put your list together.
So I, um, I actually accidentally did last year's movies. Not too far off. So here's what happened. I filled out the form on cifpop.com for my picks and everything. And then I realized, oh, there's several movies that I just totally left off my list, like Spider-Man. Hopefully that makes money. So today I have the actual list in front of me that I'm going to be reading off, and then I will edit the list that I put on cifpop. That's totally understandable. Yes. Yes, whatever. Your canon list is what you say today.
If that makes sense. So feel free to edit your list after we have our conversation today. Alice, some general thoughts. Yeah. You know, as mentioned, six weeks ago, I was screaming in pain at a hospital because I was pushing a human out of me. And then you were like, let's do some of the game a few weeks later. And I was like, woo. And then I was like, oh, dear, I need to make a list. And I had 20 whole minutes in between feeds and all that crying. You're still going to beat me. Well, if you left Spider-Man off your list, yes, I think she still will. She may beat you. What can I say? I like to live dangerously.
Yeah, exactly. Well, again, need I remind you, Andrew, you beat me last year and I was actually trying. So in that, I don't know. Look, I put the movies that I think will make money on the list. I just didn't have proper time to sit and be like, what order should these be in and be analytical about it? So John, in the way that you're like, I'm going off vibes. Oh, oh, it is a vibey time. It's going to be a vibey time down here in Zippop and we're going to see how we go. I really tried though. I was scrolling through like everything that was releasing and I was like, what is going to be the weird one? What's the weird one? And I was looking at him and I kept being like, nope, that's a Netflix release, Alice. Nope, that's a Netflix release. So at least I had some sense of like brain.
not do that but i just yeah i'm i kept being like i just want to throw something random in but nothing quite but i think that's the point it's not going to stand out so it was just too much of a mind game so i gave up and just the list is the list is what i'm saying i think you hit upon it correctly though i think correctly guessing the top 13 is not going to be too tricky but guessing the order is what would really uh i don't want to say get me up at night because i sleep pretty easily after i had kids but it's the kind of thing where my entire list like three through 13 could be completely rearranged and i would look at it in september like yeah that makes sense too like it could come out completely backwards from what i predicted and i wouldn't even bat an eye at it Yeah, so let's get into it. We like to go from number one down because the interesting stuff is at the end of the list. In fact, just like Jonathan was saying, I think for me, I feel really solid about what the top, I'm going to say eight, although it will surprise you what I include in that eight. There will be one surprise, I think, for me in that eight. That I think, yeah, those are the ones. And then I've got like six movies to figure out what goes in nine and ten. Like it is, and I have them written down.
But I might change them before I get there. We'll see how that goes because the canon is what is said when it is said. It's a lot like ordering laughs at a restaurant. Go around the table and by the time you get back to me, waiter, I'll know what I want to eat. Yeah, exactly. All right. Well, let's get into it. We will start with the number one movie of the year. Ormsby, tell us what the number one movie of the year. Again, to clarify, box office, domestic, United States. The movie must release between May 1st and September 7th, which is Labor Day this year.
In theaters. In theaters. I don't care. You can pick a movie that doesn't really see how that goes for you. And the money it makes must be made in that window as well. We're not counting any money made after that window. So yes, that is the case. So to clarify, I can't pick a movie that opens in April but earns most of its money in May? Correct. Okay. I will take Michael off the list. Makes things a little easier. Fair enough. Fair enough. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how much Michael's going to make. I'm excited to see that movie next week. A boatload. Even excluding its opening weekend, I think it'll make.
be one of the top movies in the summer, but if it doesn't count, it doesn't count. Yeah, and part of the reasoning for that is there is pre-existing information on movies that have released before the episode comes out. So, you know, we're trying to keep it as no pre-existing information as possible. Which, even the movies that are coming out in early May, maybe there's some, you know, tracking, those kind of things, but it's about as good as we can get. Yeah, yeah. So, yes, that is the case, and that is how the rules work. So Ormsby, tell us what will make the most domestic dollars in this window.
Man, I always hate going first because that's when everybody's like, oh, your list is so different than mine. Here we go, ladies and gentlemen. You know what? I'm going to say this confidently and adamantly. I think Toy Story 5 is going to make the most money. Dang it. I knew you were going to say something. I couldn't just go, good job, Andrew. You had to go, wow. That's the nicest way of saying your list sucks already.
As I was saying the wow, I realized I should cut off the wow. I apologize that we didn't even let you finish your first answer and we're already into derision. Yeah, seriously. Wow. I would go second and make you feel much better because Toy Story 5 will make the most domestic dollars this summer. So that is my number one as well. And never underestimate Woody and Buzz. Just don't do it. They haven't missed yet. It's not going to start now. Yeah, this money, this will make between $400 and $500, at least domestically. It has a full runway for the whole summer. Yeah, this is my number one.
Jonathan, what about you? I'm going to go with Spider-Man, Brand New Day. I think the only other IP that has consistently just earned bank, especially front-loaded opening weekends, is Spider-Man. He's never had a bad opening, never had a bad run. The last movie made over $800 million domestic. And while superhero fatigue has certainly set in and is hurting a lot of franchises, I still would bet on the web-slinger any day of the week to take the summer, but I do think it's going to go 1-2 with Toy Story. Alice.
Okay, well, apparently I'm the weird one because I'm going with the Odyssey. Whoa! It's a big swing. I think it has such a long runway after it comes out where it's like there's a lot of stuff that I think is going to cannibalize each other, but then the Odyssey comes out and then it's like August is just kind of like a sad little desert. Except for what Jonathan just mentioned. Except for Spider-Man. Spider-Man, yes. However, I think it could be a bit of a Barbenheimer situation, literally, except it's a Spidey scene.
because in like in the same christopher nolan again but also like it is dominating all the imaxes it's been dominating conversations for so long i just i it has so much excitement behind it if it's amazing i do think it may i can see it being an oppenheimer but like the barbie style version so interesting man i i it will be interesting i guess i'll talk about it more when i get to it on my list if it's on my list that is um all right let's go on to number two so let's just uh hit the brakes and go in reverse alice what you got number two Okay, so my number two is Minions and Monsters because I don't like the Minions movies, but I am not a five-year-old child or a 15-year-old child for that matter. And these movies, for some reason, always make so much freaking money. So I just think because as well, it's one that apparently references a lot of movies and it's like meant to be all pop culture-y. So I think it's going to be a big meme go of it. It's early July as well. And at that time in early July, there's not a lot of like...
kids stuff that's like animated like for little kids and like that sort of thing so i can see a lot of families just being like oh easy two hours to myself and going in so that's my thing all right uh real quick yeah are we doing the the learning ais at the end yes we'll do the machine learning uh predictions at the end yeah paula uh what do you got for number two uh this is where i have toy story five i definitely agree with you guys that it's going to do at least 400 million maybe 450 domestic uh and i really do think it's a coin flip as to who wins but uh yeah for all the reasons i think spider-man will win this is why i think toy story will get silver very nice uh i also had minions and monsters at number two um i i think this will uh As Alice said, perform just ridiculously well and unworthy of doing so. I don't know. I haven't seen the movie. I have seen other Minions movies. Maybe this is going to be like Puss in Boots and The Last Wish, and it's just like weirdly amazing. That'd be great. I would love that. I would absolutely love that. In my mind, it's hard to make a good movie from a sidekick. That is a tough thing to do. Puss in Boots is the exception that proves the rule, I think. But Puss in Boots also isn't this kind of sidekick, right? It's not the, you know, it would be like... Nonsensical? Yeah. Yes.
You think of like, you know, making an Apu movie in the Aladdin franchise or making a, you know, Iago movie in the, you know, like it's just like the sidekicks just they don't, their whole thing is they don't have to have like this deep story. And so it's just hard to make good movies. Is it hard to make movies that people will see? Apparently not because people are seeing it. Although I was a little heartened at the fall off in the Super Mario Galaxy numbers this week that maybe when a movie, because that movie is terrible, by the way. I don't know if you all agree, but that movie was terrible. I haven't seen it yet.
and she loved it but she's six oh yeah of course of course but that's but that's my my i am a little heartened that maybe like this will be kind of like oh you know actually quality does matter but maybe we'll see whatever i still think it's going to be number two so yeah i think it could also make 400 million domestic uh this summer my guess is probably around 350. uh ormsby what do you got number two Aaron, we're two for two. We're going minions and monsters. I feel great about this. I have two more. I have two more. I feel great. Yeah, fine. Know what? I'm going back to bed. Suddenly it's a three man show. No, I think I have one more safe bet and then things kind of get a little bit kind of predictable. But after that, it's.
it's gonna be all over the place yeah yeah it's gonna get interesting uh all right let's head into number three uh paulo why don't you kick us off what's your number three This is where I have Nolan's The Odyssey, I think, given his success with Oppenheimer, which was a slow, indoor period drama that grossed, I think, 390 domestic. A Swords and Sandals epic with action and big movie stars like Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland and Matt Damon. It's definitely going to make a boatload of money, but it is also a long, big-screen, R-rated adult film that won't have, I think, the legs because of Spider-Man and because of the other stuff. And it won't have, like, the familial appeal, Minions or Toy Story or Moana might. So I'm thinking it'll come in third, maybe around 350, 390 million, upper 300s. It should do really well and probably...
Grab a bunch of award nominations come wintertime. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. This is probably my most anticipated of the summer. Yeah, I think that's probably right. Alice, what's your number three?
Okay, this is where I have Spider-Man because I think particularly watching the Daredevil show, I don't know, there's just, I can sense something in the air of like, maybe this will excite people. Also their advertising and marketing campaign so far has been quite good in getting people excited. And I think that as well, something to consider, people love Tom Daya, people love Zendaya and they really love Tom and Zendaya. And so seeing them like, and hopefully having a nice happy ending or hoping for a happy ending might also spur that. So I have it at number three. All right. Ormsby, what's your number three?
i agree spider-man brand new day the reason why i don't have it higher on my list is because it comes out july 31st so it doesn't have that long four maybe five weekends yeah get up to this to them and you know it could it could absolutely you know it's gonna make 200 million its opening weekend but like is it going to make it's gonna be so weird that's a great point and i don't know if i fully calculated that I'll try this year, guys. They always get a lot of money. Marvel films especially are very, very front-loaded. It'll make 80% in the first month, but that 20% is a big difference. That 20% could be the difference between that coin flip I mentioned, so I may have miscalculated. We'll see. It could still do it. It's just that runway is shorter than you'd like for something that's going to be this heavy in the list. Yeah. No, that's a good call.
In fact, it's such a good call. I don't even have it at number three. I have Mandalorian and Grogu, the first to mention this movie. I think everybody's underestimating the power of a new Star Wars movie. I think they're watching what happened with a lot of the TV shows and those kind of things. The fact that it's been so long since we've had a Star Wars movie in theaters. And I think we forget that when there's a Star Wars movie on the big screen, people just go. And I'm excited to see baby Grogu up on the big screen. I'm excited probably the most to hear the theme song in a theater.
is so good uh but uh the other the other part of it is it's early and it kind of kicks off you know the memorial day weekend and just the the big summer i i cannot i can't see this making under 300 so uh so yeah i have it at number three i i have it i have it making under 200 on my prediction that's and you're not alone listen i know this is a this is probably my first kind of like out of pocket uh pick but i just think people are underestimating um Yeah, this is one of those vibe picks where I'm like, I don't know, man. Mando has a much smaller appeal. It's a TV show that not everyone has seen. I still haven't watched the entire TV show. So I'm probably not going to see it opening weekend because I haven't caught up on the show yet. And I'm a diehard Star Wars fan my whole life, but I'm probably not going to go. And I know I'm not the only one in that position. I think it's just been a long time since the last season. And in that seven years, Star Wars has made a lot of decisions, for better or worse, that has bled off a good deal of their fan base. And will that actually hold in the space of normies? Or is it just within the internet echo sphere?
where that actually makes a difference. I don't know. It's hard to say, but I'm feeling a different vibe from this, and I don't think it's going to do as well. I applaud you for taking the chance, though, Aaron. Listen, this will be my undoing. No, you totally convinced me. This is an incorrect pick, and I've ruined my list already. No, I know that's the comment. Well, that seems unlikely, but I do sense that there's an underestimation of a Star Wars film going on here that it would be surprising to me.
because it's going to own memorial day weekend in the week in the next weekend at least like if it doesn't uh make a boatload i just don't know i don't know what I mean, what are people just going to hang out together and play board games? No, you know, families need a movie to go see over Memorial Day. So they're just going to have conversations with each other. Who wants to talk to each other? You know, so. So, yeah, they got to go see a movie. All right. On to our number fours. I'll kick us off. This is where I have Spider-Man brand new day. I think it is going to get to 250 in those five weeks. I think it probably will get over right around 300 in those weeks. I think it'll get, you know, 200 its first week, you know, and then.
100 maybe it's second week and you know then nothing like that's kind of how it seems to work so that's kind of what it has to do to uh to really hit this list hard is is go that hard so um so yeah it'll be interesting to see if if four weeks is it four or five i was thinking four but it's actually five isn't it because labor day is the extra week in september yeah it's the seventh that actually might have changed my math a little bit but uh but yeah i've got it at four so we'll see how that lands uh what's number four for you The Odyssey. Christopher Nolan, he doesn't need Barbie to make his movies extremely, you know... That's what's kind of on trial here, isn't it? Like, you know, a lot of people think the Oppenheimer thing happened because of the Barbenheimer thing, you know? It became an event, whereas otherwise Oppenheimer might have been slept on a bit. But here's the thing. I think that this movie...
is going to be his most accessible movie. And by that, I mean, you look at movies like Interstellar or Inception or Memento and you have these high level concept movies. This is the Odyssey. A lot of people know this story. So they're going to be going just for the entertainment purposes as opposed to the let's try and decipher what this movie is about. I guarantee you he's going to have a deeper meaning hidden within this movie, but not everybody knows that. So I think that the Odyssey is going to do really good numbers this year.
i mean it's the ultimate hero's journey like it's what so many have been based on since then and people love greek god stuff like yeah yeah and everybody's in it so there's there's actually every single person every single actor that is in it Alice, what is your number four? This is where I have Toy Story 5. Similar thinking to what everyone's had and also along the lines of Minions and Monsters, but I actually think Toy Story 5 is going to be good. I remember when number three was coming out and everyone's like, really? Okay. And then when number four was coming out, everyone's like, come on, they finished it perfectly. And then I've just stopped being, I've just been like, all right, I'm ready to watch some of the most amazing animation and cry and be like, ah!
My childhood! Except now I feel like I'm going to... Now, as a parent, I feel like it's going to be really different as my experience. Because I'll be watching it through new eyes or whatever. To be honest, I'll probably just cry again when a toy gets like...
Although I feel like it seems like they're going down the whole AI messaging thing, which is going to be really interesting. But yeah, I'll probably just be a puddle and then give them all my money anyway. So we're story five. Again, I pay no attention to trailers or anything. So that's interesting to me. Paula, what do you got at number four? At number four is where I have the live action remake of Moana. I think a lot of people are sleeping on this because we as adults all kind of detest the...
existence of these live-action remakes, but they have consistently, with the exception of Snow White, made a lot of money. And Moana 2 only came out a couple seasons ago and made like $600 million. Like, it wasn't even a good film. It was like a rejected Disney Plus show that got re-cobbled into a movie. But everyone in my house loved it, and it made a lot of money. And I think kids and families are going to go back and see live-action The Rock play animated The Rock. And I'm not particularly personally excited for it, but yeah, it's probably going to make like $300 million. It opens on July 10th, so it's got two full months to do it. Yeah, a lot of these movies I'm kind of trying to go deliberately against my own.
predilections in my own sort of uh interest i am not interested to see this i'm not interested to see minions but like i know they're going to do well and i have to shut off my own expectations and my own personal excitement like well what is what does the normie family from indiana want to go see on the third weekend in july like yeah they're probably going to see this yeah all right uh on to our number fives um ormsby why don't you kick us off what's your number five Number five, this is where I have the Mandalorian and Grogu. The reason why I have it lower than several people is because I don't think Allison and Jonathan have mentioned it yet. Have they? No, you're just lower than me. I'm the only one who thought it might perform well. Okay. Well, the reason why I have it lower than you than Aaron is because it's been three years. It's been three years since the last episode of the Mandalorian. Yeah. Granted, there are only 24 episodes in the entire show.
So you can binge it really quick. I think the episodes are only like 30 to 45 minutes depending on the episode. So you can binge through the show fairly quickly. When does this come out? Like in three weeks? You can do it. I watched the entire first season of Shrinking yesterday. You need some time? You need to breathe a little bit? I feel so much better after watching that show.
But no, I think that it's just been a hot minute since people have cared about the Mandalorian and Grogu. Having said that, like Aaron said earlier, this is Star Wars and Star Wars makes money. The show, if you have watched it, is really good. And it makes me wonder, spoilers if you haven't seen the show, is Luke going to show back up? You know? Right. Yeah, no, this is the thing.
I think there's, the reason I have it so high is because the fans of this show are going to want to like, they're going to be very fervent about this. Like Grogu is a thing, right? Like even if you haven't, right. Even if you haven't watched the show, like you're aware of Grogu, you're aware there's a, there's a baby Yoda out there. And I just, I don't know. I just think people are going to want to go watch this. And if it's good, especially, and it might be.
I think they missed an opportunity by literally not calling it the Baby Yoda movie. I think they left like 50 million on the table by not calling it the title. I am not joking. You are everything I hate about modern marketing. I know what sells.
That's why we got to call it a Knives Out movie. A Knives Out movie, yeah. I was about to say, I'm surprised they didn't call it Mandalorian and Grogu, a Star Wars story. Just a really, like, you know, I actually think that would have helped people, because there are going to be people being like, Mandalorian and Grogu? What's this? I don't know what these words are. People, my in-laws, would not take my eight-year-old daughter to see the Mandalorian and Grogu, but they would take her to see the Baby Yoda movie, and I would bet you a $12 ticket that that's the case for a lot of families. Yeah, no, you're probably right.
Smarty pants, Paula. What do you got at number five? Number five is where I get Minions and Monsters. And I think I have this the lowest of anybody. You all picked it at number two, I think. I don't know. I'm just not as bullish on this franchise. I feel like they've done like nine of these things in the last 12 years. Illumination is so consistently like junk food cinema. I think with all the other offerings out this summer for families like Moana and Toy Story and Grogu, I think families are going to take them to see proven franchises instead of one that I think most adults kind of deride or watch holding their nose a bit. And I think...
People are a little more... You think so? Or you just think film adults do? I don't know that... I'm looking at myself and other millennial parents, and I think if I had three movies in front of me and I could only afford to take my family to two, Minions is third on that list. Yeah. I do know a lot of adults, though, that love Minions. Yeah, that's the thing. They might break out with the Gen Z, the whole gentleman trend last time.
yes to gen z but also like i'm thinking like nans and stuff like there are so many of like you know my like my parents generation and stuff and they're all just like oh they're so funny they're the ones sharing all the memes on facebook and like all that sort of thing witches it's typically the mums i'll be it's the nans specifically who just love it and they love you know you buy them a t-shirt with a minion saying like banana on it and they can't stop laughing because it's got nan right in the name so exactly so to your point jonathan maybe the parents will put this like stick their nose up noses up and then the grandparents will just grab the kids and take them anyway Yeah, right. What was the last Minions movie that came out? Was it Minions and the Rise of Gru? It was Minions something. I don't know. Minions 9 or Despicable Me movie. The last one that had them in it. I don't know either. There's been like nine of those movies. I think it was the Rise of Gru, right? Probably the Rise of Gru, yeah. And that made like 370 million domestic. So I could be way off. But I think the Gru movies do better than the Minions on their own movies, don't they? I don't know if that's the case. All my math is wrong. All my math is upside down this year. I don't know if that's the case. I mean, there was also Despicable Me 4 that came out in 2024.
So that was the most recent of the Despicable Me franchise. Man, I remember when Despicable Me came out and I was like, wow, this was great. What an original story. I really enjoyed that. That was a fun movie. And now my way to beat a dead horse and ruin it.
Yeah, this will probably make 300, 320 million minions. So Rise of Gru made 370. Despicable Me 2 made 370. Despicable Me 4 made 360. Minions made 340. Despicable Me 3 made 270. And Despicable Me, the original, made 250. So the original is still the lowest, and it just keeps going up. It's the best. It's a good one. What is wrong with people? As you point out, Aaron, Mario Galaxy didn't do too well last month.
yes and but my point on that is i hope that's a quality thing i hope that that drop-off is a result of people not like word of mouthing it and being like yeah yeah that was just kind of a race through the references as much on cinema scores i don't know if that's the case i don't know why this is our discerning as we'd like them to be so yeah this is probably top out around 300 maybe it goes as high as 350 and i have i have moana in the wrong place but yeah i don't think minions gets more than odyssey toy story or spider-man i think those are all locked above that my opinion uh i'll go next um i have moana at number five i'm kind of with you paula i i think we underestimate continue to underestimate how strong the pull of these live actions are. And that character specifically, Moana has been a perennial streamer on Disney+. That is one of the highest watched movies on that platform since its inception. People watch Moana every single day in this country. Go sing the songs again. Go have fun again. See it in a different way.
I'm not, I mean, and I think my track record of what I've thought of these movies is proof of this. I'm not actually opposed to the concept. I actually really like some of these live actor remakes. I like the idea. I thought the Lilo and Stitch one was really fun, actually. I actually did too. Everybody hated the Lilo and Stitch one, but I actually thought that was pretty good. But I think there is something fun about seeing something you love in a different way. And in fact, you talk about like, you know, generative technology, those kinds of things. It won't be too long before we'll be prompting, you know, I'd like to see Singing in the Rain, but with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. And you can just, you know, watch it, you know, like it's, but there's something internal.
That makes that interesting. It does not exist. Listen, I'm not making it exist. I'm just seeing the future. I am a prophet, not a creator. You saw what they're doing with that Val Kilmer movie, right? I know. Yeah. No, I guess, listen, we can all groan or whatever, but this makes my point. The point is, it's fun. It's fun to see the things you love in a different way. It's like a good cover band, right? Exactly. I know the tune. I can come along, but it's presented in a different way. Kids love that especially. And I think parents who are taking the kids, it's a known quantity. I know exactly what I'm going to get with a live-action Moana remake.
There are no surprises. There's nothing I need to worry about in terms of is it offensive or appropriate for my kids. They know the story already. It's just this will be a slightly more exciting and maybe more realistic take on it. Like last year's How to Train Your Dragon, I think we all thought that was going to do really well, and it did do really well. It made $260 million, and I think Moana can do at least that much, if not quite a bit more. Yeah, it comes out the week after the 4th, right? So it comes out after a bunch of big releases, so it'll have some competition, and then, you know, I mean, the summer's busy. There's lots of stuff, but it has an 8-week runway. It has, I don't know, I really...
there's there's a world where i'm not kidding there's a world where this is number one guys like literally there is a world where this makes 600 million dollars domestically because because people love these songs like last year i picked uh lilo and stitch and none of you did and i ended up making like 400 million like 100 million more than the the next place movie which was superman and i yeah it's entirely possible we see a repeat of that again is the property as, I don't know, fervent? Is it as virile? It feels more fervent than Lilo and Stitch. Am I wrong about that? It feels like a more fervent IP. I do wonder, with Lilo and Stitch, it was like a long, dormant franchise. It had some TV shows, but nothing on the big screen in a long time. Moana just had Moana 2 out a couple years ago. That's true. Is it relevant or is it fatigue? It's two sides of that same coin where does its recency help it or hurt it? I don't know. But you're right. It's very possible this does insane numbers and beats Toy Story and Minions and we all look like fools in four months. Alice, what's your number five?
The reason I didn't talk much is because I also have Moana. I agree with what everyone was saying, particularly because of the children I have been around. I feel like the movie, whenever it's been like, oh, I'll just put on a movie or something just to kind of keep them occupied. I swear the last 10 years, it's been Moana. You would think it's been like Frozen because that was big. I think Frozen was like really big for a time. And then but then Moana has this like longevity to it. And this is the other thing. Kids have no object permanence. So even though Moana 2 just came out.
they don't care they're just like moana again but different i'll watch that and then that'll it'll just be a put on whatever you want to put on as long as it's a very strong argument you make it your object permanence is completely correct that is how kids look at it i mean and so they're just like it's it's it's the songs i like but and then for parents it's like oh it's a slightly different version okay that like i'll have some variety in my life but i just think moana for some reason is just whether it's the lin-manuel songs or the you know the fun like demigod element or whatever it is it is a story that has for some reason even though it's recent in the re like to need a reimagining and that's the bit that annoyed me is mainly like i've also enjoyed a lot of the reimaginings i just want i wanted the tangled and princess and the frog reimagining i'm sitting here waiting for those um and then they did my one and i was like oh moana's just coming out give me the other ones first um but i just yeah even though It seems like it's getting more criticism online. I just think that's more like movie people or people more in tune. We don't represent like 5% of the movie going public. Yeah. And I just think people are going to be like, it's Moana, but different. And also seeing like, you know, seeing the Chee-Hoo live. And then I'm actually curious, to be honest, I'm curious to see how the third act looks because it could be really good. Could be terrible. Could be good. Is this the first time an actor has reprised their role from the animation into live action? She's not reprising her role. Oh, you mean Dwayne Johnson. Sorry, I thought you meant that. Somebody in The Lion King did, I thought.
Yeah, I think James Earl did come back. Right before he died, I think. I could be wrong about that, but I don't think it is. I asked live action. That is still a voice role. Technically correct. The best kind of correct. The other reimaginings had such a gap between the last time those movies existed. Joe Benson has a nice camera in Little Mermaid, but she's not in it.
Yeah, and I think all the costs of Cinderella are dead. You know what I mean? I don't save them. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. It's such a recent adaptation that The Rock is able to convincingly play himself, having just done the animated version 10 years ago. I wonder if that's part of it. People don't care, because we already saw the newest version of this is very recent. Maybe there's a little more appeal when it's The Little Mermaid, where there's a generation going by. Let's go to number sixes.
I was just trying to do a little bit of research on what you said, and I think other than voiceover-ish kind of things, I think it's the first person on screen that I can find that is playing there. Now, there have been examples of this, like in speaking of The Mandalorian, there have been animated characters whose voice actors have played the live action versions in Mandalorian and Grogu. It's happened in other properties a few times, but yeah. The article I saw mentioned Jim Cummings doing the voices in Christopher Robin for like Winnie the Pooh and those kind of stuff, but that's, but you know, that's a voice actor kind of thing. So, so there you go. All right, let's get on to our number sixes. Alice, continue on. What do you have at number six? I don't think you're that crazy, Aaron, because I have the Mandalorian and Grogu here. So I think. Well, I had it at three, so you can still call me crazy if you like. Well, double it and pass it to me because that's the one I do think. Look, I think it with Grogu having been at the Oscars, like I remember being like, oh my God. Yeah, that's right. The Mandalorian and Grogu movie is coming out this year. And I can't like, I wouldn't be surprised if a few people had that.
But the Oscars, you know, that's watched by a specific sect of people. But I do think once people realize that it's got a cutesy little puppet in it and that it's a Star Wars movie, and given it comes out at the end of May, so it has a long time for people to realize that and then go to the movie theater. And this is all... Word of mouth makes or breaks it, I think. If it gets really good scores in word of mouth, it could do really well. And it's Fabro, right? Like, I mean, he makes good movies. He does. I think if it's good, and then, you know, people realize it's a Star Wars movie that's got cute, fun elements of it. And, like, also, I know Jeremy Allen White's in it. I don't know how much of that draw necessarily that's going to be. But, you know, and he's not...
in it in it so he's kind of voice actor in a way but i think it has enough there where if it's really again if it's good i can see it doing really well but we just have to see how it translates from tv show because that's the other thing some people might not want to do the homework even if it is only 24 episodes because it's just there's too much to watch nowadays there's so much out there and i personally have been re-watching heated rivalry for four months over and over and over again and that's all i have time for so why would i watch a mandalorian but um i'm just saying like that could potentially put some people off so hence number six but I still think, yeah, like what you said, Aaron, it's a Star Wars movie. Baby Yoda is the cutest thing in the entire world and a merching gift. And yeah, so if it's good, six. That's what I've got.
Well, I appreciate that. My number six is my final in my first of three categories of film. One through six, I consider any of these could be number one. Any of these could have it. Because they all feel like, yep, I'm going to be in that 250 to 400 range. You never know where I'm going to land. They all come from big, successful franchises. Toy Story and Minions and Spider-Man. Well, except for the one I have at number six, which we already mentioned, which is The Odyssey. That's the Christopher Nolan franchise. Honestly, he has his own cachet now. He's dependable for at least 250 to 300 million anytime he opens any type of movie.
He's guaranteed that. So I, again, I think I have this, I don't have, I have this at the lowest, right? Everybody else has already mentioned this. I had it at four, Alice at one, Andrew at four. Yeah. No, yeah, yeah. Three, four, one. Yeah. And you have it at six. So like I said, I still put it in the category of could win the summer. Like it just, that could happen. I think more than you guys, I do think the Barbenheimer thing was why Oppenheimer made $900 million or whatever it ended up, you know, making worldwide. Do you think this will perform closer to like Dunkirk?
I do. I do. I made 200 million. So that would put it in the middle. That would put it around five, six, seven. That's why I have it here. I think it's going to make two to 250. I just, I think great. You know, the only thing that gives me a little pause is watching.
Project Hail Mary's numbers, you know, kind of come in. Like, there still is room for, like, adults entertainment. But then I start thinking, you know, Project Hail Mary could have been PG rated. Like, it's not a violent film, really. I'm probably going to let my eight-year-old watch it when it comes out on video. It feels like a family film, whereas I don't think The Odyssey in any way is going to feel like a family film. You know what I mean? You know, you guys keep saying this. I'm going to be taking my, what, four or five-month-old to the cinema to see it? So, you know, I'm just saying. Depends on what age family. Correct. Will you be paying for a ticket?
No. Okay. Well, there you go. You know what? I will. I will. I'll pay for one of those family tickets. So he technically gets counted in that. That's what I need to see. I was looking up if the Odyssey has a rating from the MPA, and it doesn't yet. Okay, that's what I was looking up, too. That would really affect my prediction. I thought it was rated R. It actually isn't. So if it comes in as a PG-13, that could be another $30, $40 million. It could. If not more than that, honestly. Because that's interesting. Do you bring your teenagers, do you bring your maybe 12-year-old son to a movie like this? As a 12-year-old, I would love a big Swords and Shields epic.
But if it's on R and we have violence in it where people are getting decapitated and like, well, maybe you don't bring your 12-year-old. Yeah, that could be... I mean, Christopher Nolan's done both. He's done some good PG-13 action movies like Inception and I want to say was done correct there too? I don't know. And certainly he's done R-rated films as well that are totally not appropriate for teens or kids. So yeah, depending on how this gets rated, that could make a difference. I wish I had that info today so I could make more accurate guesses. No, that's where my inkling comes from. Basically, I haven't seen this kind of movie.
compete in the three to four hundred you know a million range without the cultural deluge outside factors yeah it is but and but like nolan's his own thing that's why i said it could it could again it could make 700 million like i like that could happen uh my in again my instinct is that it is more adult fare it is not going to be the take your kids do it three times movie it's not going to be you know it's got two weeks of runway before spider-man just destroys screens it's later in the summer um i don't know i i think two to 250 feels right for the odyssey uh but uh i could be wrong you're talking me out of my if it ends up being pg-13 you know what else who else it's gonna attract the english class crowd yeah the schools that are paying for excursions and they're like easy easy day if you're learning about you know greek mythology and all that yeah i'm not sure which school's in session around here in july 17th but uh but yeah that's right i forgot that's right you guys do your holidays in the middle of the year
It's just when it's warm, you know, and it's warm different down there. So, you know, that's how it works. All right, that's my number six is The Odyssey. And I do think those six, I can just, you just have, you know, six dice and you just roll them and they could end up in any six order, honestly. So it'll be interesting. You had Toy Story 1 and Minions 2nd, is that right? Yes, correct. Yeah, no, you're looking at your list. I'm thinking, yeah, there's a lot of logic here. Except for Mando. I don't think we have anything, you and I, Aaron, in the same spot.
And that might be the first time that's happened. Yeah, for real. I'm feeling less confident about my place all of a sudden. Same. And he bragged, bragged, bragged at the beginning of this episode. I am as humble as I am confident. I think you guys are right about Mando. I think I have overrated that. So I think that will probably be my downfall. I feel decent about my other logic. Are we allowed to change our picks before the end of this? If you've said it already, it's locked. So like, yeah. Well, I haven't submitted to Sif Pop yet. So when I do that, I might make a couple of...
There you go. There you go. Andrew, you must be feeling good. No one's criticized you like at all. Oh, you did. You did. My very first pick. My very first pick. You're like, wow. Yeah. Besides that. That was an observation. Yeah. She was amazed at your acumen. Wow. You did good for once. That's what it is. That's what it is. I think we're ready for Paula's number six, I think is right. Yeah. I'm surprised we actually haven't mentioned Supergirl World of Tomorrow yet.
coming off the number two movie of last summer. And that was just last summer. They are striking wild. The DC iron is hot. I have full faith that the internet hype around the new DCU and Supergirl, the character, which was sort of had a backdoor introduction at the end of Superman, the way they used to do it. They would tease the next movie at the end of the last one, the way Marvel really got their ball rolling at the beginning of its MCU, what is it, 19 years ago now. So I have a strong feeling that Supergirl will perform well and outperform a lot of these other movies that maybe we thought were, you know, guaranteed hits. But this has a really high ceiling for me. This could go as high as...
250, maybe even 300 million. And I feel like the floor is the harder thing to guess because superhero fatigue is a real thing. This comes out sandwiched between Toy Stories and Minions. It's a crowded June. And I think this will get around 200, maybe 220. Good enough for number six anyway. And I'm probably gonna go see it. And what I love is there's not a lot of baggage. You don't have to, you only need to see one other movie. And that's attractive. Ormsby, what do you got at number six? So unlike you, Aaron, where you have a top five or top six that you think could take, top six that could take this summer. I have a top four that could take this summer. So now we're into my could.
make some decent amounts of money, but I will say that my number six pick here, this is my first crazy pick of the entire... Ooh, love it. Go for it. I think that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is going to make so much money. I have an agreement. A stupid amount of money. I almost put this higher myself for that reason. I think it's going to grab the same audience Barbie did a few summers ago. Yes. Moms and their adult children. This is a sequel to maybe the most rewatchable film of all time. I think we have a tendency, men, I'm speaking for us, to overlook the female demo, and when they turn out...
They go see movies five, six. Titanic was the highest grossing movie of all time for like 20 years because women went to see Rose and Jack on that boat four or five times in the theaters. And I think this is, if it's good, and that's a big if, if it's good, I think this type of film that... will resonate and i'm guessing you agree i think that the only or what i'm hoping this movie addresses and what could make it last longer in the theaters is if it has a good story about like what the magazine industry is looking like nowadays you know with the onset of the internet and everything if they address that and they can make this movie relevant to a modern audience this movie's gonna make so much money do you think it will do that I actually haven't seen the trailer, so I'm not sure if that's true. Oh, I haven't seen a trailer either. That's just what just popped into my head. Yes, that is what it's going to do. Oh, is it? It's kind of like an old guard versus new guard sort of thing, but they're made up of the same cast. Yeah. So, yep, number six, The Devil Wears Prada 2. That's a good pick.
Yeah, we'll talk more about it as it pops up on our list. I think there's an interesting, this has been a good year at the box office so far. It feels like people are making movies part of their life again, which is, you know, I wasn't sure it was going to happen at all, but it really kind of feels that way. Project Hail Mary really gave me a good dose of optimism last month. Like, oh wow, an original movie based on a book people like did well, not even did well, it did really well. I mean, it's what Ryan Gosling's been saying. He's like, just make good movies, guys. People will go see them. It's not, you know.
It's always been that. It's not rocket science, ironically. It's frustrating that even though that is all you have to do, it's frustrating that so few studios seem to get it. Because they'll take a movie like Batgirl and then they'll shove it for tax reasons. And they'll greenlight just this crap and this AI slop we see on streamers every other week. And I say, why? Why are you doing this? And they'll put good movies out. We saw it this week with the new Avatar Last Airbender movie where they decided we're going to put it out. And then somebody leaked it out of spite. And it's like, you guys are shooting yourselves in the foot. Just commit to a good idea. I'm so upset about that. It's crazy. Yeah.
Yeah. All right. On to our sevens. Jonathan, why don't you kick us off? What do you have at number seven? This is where I have The Mandalorian and Grogu, and I think I have it the lowest of any of us. For all the arguments you made, Aaron, I currently, and I could be talked out of it, hold the opposite view. I think Star Wars fatigue is real. I don't agree with a lot of the trolls in this space. I think The Last Jedi was a brilliant film, but Kathleen Kennedy has made a good deal of enemies in the Star Wars fandom for the decisions she's made, and I think a good sect of that fandom.
is not going to watch this for those reasons. I think the fact that it's an adaptation of a TV show that's been off the air for years is people kind of forgot about it. It doesn't have the hype or the fanfare. When you see the news and the buzz coming out of CinemaCon, who is the primary demo for this movie, it seems like people are tracking more towards Spider-Man, Odyssey, and Supergirl, and less towards Star Wars, which feels like an afterthought. And it's crazy to hear those words come out of my face that Star Wars is like an afterthought in a summer box office schedule, because this used to be an automatic. A Star Wars movie came out, that's number one every single year. But I don't know, I just don't have any faith that this is going to break out.
the way it ought to. It'll probably have a decent opening weekend, 60, 70, 80 million, but it's probably going to have like 2x legs or worse, and only end up with, I think I predicted it'll end up with 200 million, 190, and that would be a disappointment for a Star Wars movie, and that's what I'm predicting. I think you're right and very much regret having it as high as I do at this point. I have been convinced. That's funny because when you said everything you said, I was like, well, you're not wrong though because Star Wars is Star Wars. I think I am. I think I might be wrong. The part of your logic that has appealed to my brain going, oh, yeah, I didn't really consider that is the TV part of it because I think I underestimated in my brain how much that mattered. And I think it matters more than I thought. I think there's...
Now, listen, if I'm right, I'm right. If it makes a bunch of money and I'm right, I will pretend I never said all of this stuff. And we'll just remember the stuff I said earlier about how it was going to do gangbusters. But no, I think that logic makes sense to me that in this case, the TV stuff may have an oversized impact because it's recent. Like, you know, it's not like it's a nostalgia play for a show that was out 30 years ago. You know, it's a show that was out within the last decade. And yet it's not recent. It's been dormant for a while. To be fair, of all the Star Wars shows...
Mando did the best. We're not adapting the Acolyte or the Obi-Wan show. We're adapting their biggest show. It kicked it all off, right? When it was first announced, it was like, really? Really? A show about Mandalorian? No one wants that? What are you talking about? Why are you doing a show? And then it also came out around COVID, which was excellent timing because everyone was like, oh my God, it's a baby Yoda. It's the cutest thing in the world and I have nothing else to take my attention right now. The other thing that I consider is this is one of the few properties...
where I don't have to divorce my own personal anecdotal experiences and enthusiasm from the larger box. Because I do represent the core demo. And if other people feel like I do, I think that doesn't bode well for this franchise. Whereas in Toy Story and Minions, I have to kind of separate what I think from what I think the audience wants. And in the case of Star Wars, I'm the core demo. So if I'm kind of like whatever and kind of milquetoast on it, I think other people will too when you multiply that by 400 million people in this.
continent and it's like well i would love for this to become number one and then all this conversation well then every pick i made would be wrong if this gets number one my one through seven are all out of order uh i'm putting my hope in for my picks i'm putting my hope in the practice of it all it comes out on memorial day people love a cute you know creature it's a huge family pull star wars still has pull outside of just the film community there are people who you know love star wars and don't even know you know the acolyte exists you know what i mean like um so uh that's where i'm gonna put my hope in because that's the logic i used but you guys have swayed also i do reckon there's gonna be a good chunk of fans who are like i haven't caught up on the show but i'll just go watch the movie it's fine like literally my partner is one of those people like we have been stagnated on episode two of season three since it came out because i keep waiting to watch it with him because that was one of the shows we watched together and he didn't he's just been like i don't want to i don't want to and now he's just been like i don't just watch it on your own i don't want to watch i have no interest in watching the show and i'm like but the movie's coming out he's like oh i'll come see the movie i just have no more interest in the show so
there could be a bunch of people who are like, I'll just go watch the movie and just like finish that off, but I won't catch up on the show. So it could be a good audience, you know, amount of people like that. Yeah. Alice, what do you have at your number seven? This is another punt. This is a vibey one, guys, but kind of not because there was excitement at CinemaCon, so we'll see. But this is Disclosure Day. This is where I've got Disclosure Day because I think there is a lot of name brands on the roster this summer, this American summer, as it were. And I just think there's going to be a bunch of people like, I don't want to go see a movie that requires homework. So this, if, again, if it's good, if Disclosure Day is good, it comes out in mid-June.
It has been getting a lot of excitement, similar with the Odyssey in a way where it's like, you know, it's an original thing and it's a huge filmmaker behind it, huge cast. But also now it's getting all this marketing hype because Steven Spielberg has said there is no anywhere on any of the marketing is there any inkling as to the third act of the film. So people can watch as much advertising and... look at the posters and do whatever they want and they won't necessarily have any chance of being spoiled but it also indicates that maybe there's something interesting and I think with the success of Project Hail Mary there is and also not just that the success quote-unquote but the pop culture success of the whole Artemis II thing people are in the mood for like sci-fi people are in the mood for sci-fi and exploring other worlds and kind of like this whole vibe I think it's coming at a good time and it's got a really nice long runway and it's a Steven Spielberg sci-fi film I know I'm excited about it. Yeah, personally, I can't wait for this. I mean, because it's unattached, it's a completely original movie, maybe the only one on any of our lists besides The Odyssey, which is based on a very old famous book. But I think disclosure, it's Spielberg. It's like his sandbox. It's where he cut his teeth. And we're finally getting like a big new adult drama from the best to ever do it. And I'm really excited for that. Yeah, well said, Alice, I think. I hope it breaks out. I hope it does really well because I want it to. This is the, oh, look what Project Hail Mary did pick as well. Like, you know, like this is, you know.
So, yeah, no, I totally get to pick at number seven. Not my number seven, though. My number seven was just mentioned. Supergirl is my number seven. We are in the category of two movies that I don't think can win this summer, but that I'm almost sure will be in the top ten. Yeah, I would be very surprised if this is not. Yeah, I can't imagine this makes under 100 million. You know what I mean? You might even make that in the first two weeks. Exactly, exactly. I don't think it's going to make 600 million. I don't think it's going to make 400 million. It could make 300 million, but I'd be surprised. But, yeah, I think this is just going to be one of those solid right around 200 million, you know, kind of.
kind of picks so yeah i have it at number seven last year for reference superman made 350. yeah i think i think it surprised a lot of us when we when we uh except for alice who had it exactly at number two and that's what it ended up but the rest of us that's why she won yep yeah i think it'll do really well Orange, what do you got at number seven? At number seven, this pick here, I think out of all the picks is my pick that I want it to do this good, not because of like a predictive sense. I just really want this movie to do well because I'm excited for it. At number seven, I have Masters of the Universe. Nice. This could be a sleeper hit.
This could be like Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves. You know, just a movie that comes out of nowhere. It's an older property, but they've revamped it and it's fresh and new and everybody's excited for it. I agree with everything you just said, but Dungeons & Dragons did not actually make any money. It didn't do super well. It was a good movie. It was a great film. It should have made a lot of money. I think you're right. It'll probably be like a cult favorite, but in the purpose of this contest, it might work against it.
I don't hate the pick though. I think this will make maybe 60 to 70 million. Is that enough for 7th place? Is that enough for the top 10? Maybe. I don't know.
Well, I will kick off our number eight just because it's a good segue to why Masters of the Universe, I don't believe, will make a lot of money. Because I, at my number eight, have the Aaron Dicer Final Destination lockpick of the top ten that nobody else will probably have. Scary Movie 6 is going to make the top ten. This is going to be a thing. That's a ballsy pick, my friend. Listen, here's what it's based on. It's based on old franchises that make a comeback, seem to do very, very well, especially if they're fun. Naked Gun has brought the parody back into our lives in a big way, and Naked Gun performed really well.
I think this has a little slot in the summer for adult R-rated comedy, adult horror. It has all of these boxes that it checks that people are going to be like, oh, I kind of want to say that's going to be a blast at the theater. We're going to go see that with the 10 of us. The 10 of us are going to go see this movie and we're going to laugh our heads off kind of thing. And it is just one of those movies where my instinct is it's just got a gravity to it from a lot of different groups. I think you're right on the money. And another thing I'd overlook is the audience it has with minorities. They are underserved market. And when a really good black-led movie comes out,
It does well. Tyler Perry is one of the richest men in Hollywood for a reason. It's because he's one of the only people that realizes, oh, yeah, African-Americans like their own movies, too, that aren't just, you know, stupid, marginalized, whatever. They want their own ideas and properties, and they get maybe one a summer for that underserved demographic. And Scary Movie 6, by the way, and his brothers, I think they're involved back in this one. Which is great. I'm excited to see it. I was a fan of that property 20-something years ago, 25 when it came out. So, yeah, but the thing is, you said Naked Gun did well, and it did, but it made like 50 million domestic. I think this will probably do 70 or 80, and it's like, is that enough to beat?
the next six movies i'm going to talk about i think i think this will do i think this might do 150. i really do i really do that is very ambitious i'd be very surprised if breaks uh i'd be surprised if it if it does much more than that but i think it could i think that's the top i think the top is around 150. uh the bottom is zero like i mean you know with these kind of picks you know like it could just be nothing it could just forget to release yes well they literally just changed the release date which actually i saw as an optimistic change um they moved it up and uh and they moved it the same weekend as masters of the universe which is why i said it was a good Good segue. I think this is the movie that's going to own the box office that week. No faith in Paul Rudd's Power Ballad, which I had on my most anticipated for June. No, not on this list. I don't think that's going to be good. You know what's funny? That's not even on the picks on the Cif Pop list. I had it on my most anticipated when we did that show back in January because it looked fun and cute and a little different and a little original. Whereas I'm looking at Scary Movie and Masters. It's like, yeah, I know what I'm going to get there. I like to go to the movies and get surprised. Yeah, sure. Those other ones.
uh so yes so this is like i said the uh the aaron dicer final destiny final destination memorial pick for uh movies remind me what happened there did you pick final destination nobody else did correct yeah like uh it was one of those things where i just had the sense that it's going to be that movie that you just want to drag people to have a good time and um and yeah you can look up the exact i'm not sure nobody else picked it but i definitely had it uh you had it at number eight and um yeah nobody else did yeah i am surprised by that because i was personally excited to see Final Destination. You're personally excited to see Scary Movie 6 as well, but is it in your top 10? I don't know. You're good at persuasion. Very good. Yeah, no, this is, again, right in that 8 slot, just like I had Final Destination, but this is a big swing, and I know it, but I just have a sense. So that's my number 8. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. That's right. Alice, what do you got at number 8?
This is where I have Supergirl. As the woman in the group, I think I can speak for us when I say that watching a movie with a woman as a superhero is rare, and I will be going to support it because I want more of it. But because it is an extremely, extremely, extremely stacked year, I'm only going to support it at the eighth grade. Do you think this has the same potential that Wonder Woman did eight, nine years ago, where the female man is really gravitated to it? No, I don't think it's a Wonder Woman, but I think it could.
There could be, you know how like Captain Marvel made tons of money, just like it just came out at the right time and everything happened. I don't think it's a Wonder Woman, but it could potentially have Captain Marvel. But again, I don't, obviously, because I put it at number eight, I just think it's too stacked of a time. Like it's a crazy few months that we have coming at us. And I think, yes, the Superman like excitement will be there, but also Superman, if we're going off the conversations we've been having thus far, Supergirl is less of a comfort property as Superman. People have seen Superman. They know the Superman story. People don't really know the Supergirl story. And it's kind of a...
quote unquote more adult story because it's all about how she's, you know, like, you know, she's all drunk and partying and like PTSD and all that sort of stuff. And so I will tell you, the tease put me off of the movie instead of making me excited for the movie. I was like, oh, I'm not as interested in seeing this anymore. Well, that's what I mean. Like, it's less accessible. Like, it's less like, let's go watch a fun superhero movie. People like, you know, I think it could be an amazing film. I just don't think it's going to have that Superman appeal necessarily. Having said that, I do still think there is going to be a market for it, especially again. And I say it once again, if it's good.
This is all assuming it's a good film. If it is not a good film, then I, you know, make some money and then drops off dramatically. But yeah, I do, especially because it's the, like, isn't it like the only DC entry of that, of this time? So that also potentially could want to support it so that we get, we get, we kick off the DC, you know, you want that to have a nice little kickoff, not just one film that's successful. As a level set, sort of frame of reference, I told my wife about my picks last night, and she was like, Supergirl, what's that? So to give you a sense of where the millennial woman perspective is, she didn't even know this was a movie, she didn't even know what the character's about. And that's why I think it's a Captain Marvel of it. She does not have the same sort of cultural visibility or cachet that Wonder Woman did. So yeah, it probably doesn't outperform those ones. I think 8's a safe pick. Ormsby, what do you got at number 8? I don't have too much to say about this because I think everybody's said everything I want to say about it, but at number 8 I have Moana.
Wayne brings in money. It's true. It's true. Well, Black Adam didn't... Okay. It changed the trajectory of the DC universe. It kind of collapsed an entire franchise last time he had a shot.
Paul, what do you got at number eight? This is where I have Devil Wears Prada 2. This, I think, a lot of people are sleeping on it. Who had it? Andrew, you mentioned it at number six. I think, yeah, there's this good legacy appeal here. A huge cast. Everyone loves Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. Emily Blunt. Like, nobody has anything bad to say about any of them. So I think that sort of comfort watch is going to get a lot of ladies out to the cinema on very crowded. When does Devil Wears Prada 2 come out? That comes out early. May 1st?
And so that has early, early release date with not a lot of competition for a while. It'll be going up against the Michael Jackson biopic. So I feel like good counter-programming. I feel like it's probably going to bank a lot of money before it gets bulldozed by Mando and all the rest of the journalists. Or maybe not. Maybe it just bulldozes through Mando and Grogu. Yeah, that's the thing. This has a really high... This could make $300 million, and I'd be like, yeah, sure. Devil Wears Prada, too, of course. It's a parental favor. I'd be shocked. I'd be shocked if it made $300 million. $200? I wouldn't be shocked by $200. I'd be like, oh, wow. But I wouldn't be like, you know... Yeah, that's fair.
All right, on number nines, why don't you just keep running? Jonathan, what do you got on number nine? Sure. A movie we haven't talked about yet, Mortal Kombat 2. I have a feeling that a lot of good faith, a lot of goodwill that they built up with this franchise from the last entry, which was pretty well received. That was released during COVID, and it still did pretty good numbers, because I think it was a direct-to-video release. I forget how it came out. It was direct-to-HBO. That's right, that's right. And I think, I mean, the cast looks good. I think that the trailers have been well received. This is the kind of film, when it comes out on May 8th, again, same situation. It has a couple weeks all to itself and a whole summer to make.
all of it's like, it'll have basically a full total gross by the time this contest cuts off in September. So yeah, I don't think it'll make the list with a lot of room to spare, but like a hundred million probably seems likely. You know, on a logical sense, Mortal Prada, I was going to say on a logical sense, you can't claim that both Devil Wears Prada and Mortal Kombat 2 have a clear runway when they are competing against each other. No, I know, I know. I'm just saying.
Because everybody knows that the audience that's going to see Devil Wears Prada is the exact same audience that is going to go and see Mortal Kombat. I'm one of those audience members. They also host a movie podcast, Alice. In terms of demographics, I feel like they won't compete. And the closest analog to Mortal Kombat's audience will be probably Mando, and the closest to Devil Wears Prada is maybe, I don't know, Scary Movie or Disclosure Day. Maybe they're wrong, and this is Mortal Prada, you know? And it's going to be the biggest weekend ever. Yeah, absolutely. Alice, what do you got at number nine?
Well, I hate to repeat myself, but as the woman of the podcast, I think The Devil Wears Prada 2 is going to be number nine because it is, like I said earlier on, I think The Devil Wears Prada is maybe in the talks for the most rewatchable film of all time. A lot of this also has to do that growing up. I think every time I went back when you used to turn on the TV and just watch whatever was on and they used to have movies on Friday nights, The Devil Wears Prada was that movie like three out of five times and I would watch it every single time. And it is so, so, so, so rewatchable. Plus it has a nice runway. And for those who don't know, it comes out around the same time as the actual Met Gala. So it's got that nice, like, you know, it's going to be in the conversation. People want to watch cool fashion. They want to, you know, that's going to be a whole thing that people want to engage in. And yeah, I, what you guys said is right. I do think that there is a huge audience that will want to like grab the girls and be like, Oh my God, let's go watch the Devil Wears Prada too. Particularly because all the.
not just and it's not just the original cast coming back like they've got a lot of in small roles like really popular actors as well who are confirmed as kind of popping up here and there as well as cameos and that sort of thing so particularly as well the Met Gala that I mentioned is a plot point of the film so it's very all just you know one big happy kind of combination um and Anne Hathaway either way she's gonna be having a great year uh because this is you know one of many films she's in that are probably gonna make lots of money so is she in Odyssey I forget Every actor is in Odyssey. Yeah, I think so, right? She plays like the third most important character. Yeah, and then Mother Mary, which is coming out this week or next? I don't know.
yeah yeah well uh apparently my pick is in fashion uh apparently we are apparently we are all dressed to the nines uh because at mine i have the devil wears prada too as well uh yeah i don't think i need to really go into it because you guys perfectly explained why it is in this uh you know run for kind of the bottom of the list and has a sneaky chance of being in the middle of of the top 10 um you know depending on what happens Yeah, so we are now in the category of, what is it, six movies for five slots that I have no idea how it's all going to shake down, in my opinion. And Devil Wears Prada, too, I think is at the head of that list. So I have it at number nine. Ormsby, what do you got at number nine?
I think I have this movie the lowest out of everybody. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Disclosure Day. I haven't mentioned it yet. Me either, actually. Here is why I have this movie so low, and it's going to sound petty and stupid. Or high, considering that Jonathan and I haven't mentioned it yet. I'm the only one who's mentioned it. But I mean, it's a Spielberg movie. People would expect us to have this movie at least middling on our list and stuff like that, and I want to give an explanation for me as to why I have it so low, and it's going to sound petty. The title. The title is not appealing.
Disclosure Day. If you did not know that Steven Spielberg was directing this movie and you were just going through a list of movies and you saw Disclosure Day, you would just go right past it. Because look at all the other movies that are coming out. Supergirl, and just think of their titles. The Odyssey, Supergirl, Spider-Man, Masters of the Universe.
All these movies have exciting titles, but Disclosure Day just kind of doesn't hit it. But as soon as people find out it's Steven Spielberg, that's when they're going to go. You are right in that that is a very petty reason, but you're not wrong that it's a good knock because just look at some of Spielberg's like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Those are big evocative titles. I remember when I heard that, I was like, oh, all right, that doesn't really tell me what it's about. It has to do with aliens? Title is not clear on that. I just throw Minority Report in the category of title that doesn't really tell you what's going on either.
Spielberg. Project Hail Mary. Just saying. Oh, I don't know. But this is the other part of this. And the reason you haven't heard it come out of my mouth yet. I'm not sure Spielberg is technically a draw on a like big level. Like he is an incredible director. He is somebody that, you know, the four people on this panel probably are going to rush out and see his movie because it's Spielberg doing. I'm just not sure in the general consciousness that people are like, oh, got to go see the new Spielberg movie. I'm just not sure. I think he's still.
Has his fastball. I think he can still do it. That's not what I'm arguing. But I don't think he's had a big breakout cultural hit in 25 years. Yeah, it's been a long time. West Side Story was brilliant, but not a lot of people see it. Fableman's was intimate and powerful, but not a lot of people saw it. And everything he's done before that was, what, Ready Player One and The Post and The BFG. These are movies that did okay and received award nominations. Well, Ready Player One is the best example because it's Spielberg sci-fi, right? Did that do huge numbers? I don't actually remember if it...
It did. I'd have to look. I'd have to look. Actually, according to this made 600 million worldwide. So that's actually not proving my point. Well, worldwide isn't domestic. It was a different time. Pre-COVID, that made 130 million. If Domestic Day does half of that, I think it would be a good result. You mean Disclosure Day? Yeah. You said Domestic Day. I can't remember it. It's a fine title. The title's not bad. The title's bad in a marketing sense. I agree with you. I actually liken it like D-Day. There's definitely some evocative.
things you can think about with that title but Andrew was saying he was explicitly saying to be petty and I think that is a fair qualifier because I agree it is a petty reason but it's not wrong I'm with it too uh all right is that everybody's nines I think um yeah we're getting it's getting interesting now um yeah let's just go in reverse Ormsby what do you got at number 10. Supergirl! I don't have much to say about it. I am excited for it, seeing Lobo and all the other fun characters that they're going to introduce. I think that this is going to be the movie that really expands the DCU even more so than what Superman did because Superman came out swinging as far as showing you the universe. It's not just Superman. They weren't the Justice League. What were they? Justice Gang. Justice Gang or something like that.
But I think that this one is going to actually show the universe beyond Earth. And I think that that's going to be really exciting. So, Andrew, I'm curious. You had this the lowest. I had it at six. Aaron, you had it at seven. Alice at eight. You have it at nine or ten. But I feel like you're the biggest DC fanboy of the group here. Why do you have it so low? That's true. Sexism. Not on my part. At least he's aware of it. I'm not joking at all. I'm kind of a sexist. I would like to think he means it more on the general scale. Yeah. In a general sense, I think that sexism is going to keep this movie from...
getting you Superman numbers. Yeah, right. The same thing we saw with the Marvels, right? That movie did not do very well. You mean like the movie Superman, not super space man numbers. There's an argument, I'm not the first to make the argument, but there's an argument to make that the titles are themselves sexist. The fact that it's Superman and Supergirl. And Supergirl. And there is no Superwoman. I mean, there may be in the comics. There is a Superwoman. But that idea is, you know, in itself, because that's how, you know, that type of...
Sexism is one that I've become aware of in my life when I would talk about, you know, females or whatever. I would say, you know, you know, that girl or that, you know, and it's like, well, why are we infantilizing the females in our world, you know, and not letting them be adults, you know? That's why we call everybody folks. Just say folks. So, yeah, I think it'll be interesting to see where Supergirl lands. On a personal level, I'm not excited for the gun thing. I thought Superman was a great movie ruined by guns instincts. Not ruined, but, you know, taken down several notches.
by those instincts. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see how Supergirl plays. I guess that means I'm next for my number 10, and I'll just say, get over here! I think that Mortal Kombat 2, as mentioned by Jonathan already, is going to have some really strong performance. I'm glad to hear that because as soon as I made my argument, I'm like, wait a minute, is it going to be this well? I was so happy when you did. I was so happy when you had it at number nine. I was like, oh, I'm not going to feel as weird saying it at number 10 then. This feels a bit like a gamble because this could make like 30 million. It could. That's what I'm saying. This whole group here, like, the bottom could fall out of any of these. I don't have a lot of confidence in the background. I don't either. But this is the one that I felt the most instinct would have an audience. You may have mentioned this already. It's hard R. Yeah. Well, that's good though. That's good. I was going to say.
Yeah, I was going to say, that's good for this movie specifically, the way that it can earn. All the Die Hard sequels needed a hard R and didn't get it, and they suffered for it. This is the kind of movie that nobody, no matter what the rating, was going to say, hey, let's take the kids for a couple weekends and go see this a couple times. It was never going to be that movie. So you lean into the adultness of it, and I think that's actually better for its box office prospects in this case. I mean, like John Wick, those movies are all strong violence, and they consistently did, what, 120, 140? They were also really good movies. Yes. That's what has to land. It has to land in that 100 to 150 range to crack the list, and we'll see.
uh whether it can do that the last one was during covet though right like did we already talk about that like yeah yeah and it came out on hbo max also um carl urban being johnny cage like he which is an alarmingly similar ish like character to the a very big character that he's wrapping up at the moment with the boys because he's got his final season of that where he's playing you know this kind of character and everyone's you know i think it's probably a lot of overlap in those two audiences that's what i'm saying is that and then people are gonna be like oh i really like him And I'm literally, like, he's actively in my household once a week now. And it's the same audience because you want to talk about Hard R, the boys. So those audiences might then be like, I'm going to go see. And I don't know, this is a complete, complete out-of-pocket thing, but they recently released a couple of, like, we're finally filming Shogun Season 2, guys, stuff. And so Hiroyuki Sanada is back in the social consciousness as well. So these considerations will push people to go see the film, potentially. Yeah. Hiroyuki Sanada always lives in the back of my mind. That guy's great. Alice, what's your number 10?
I said all that, but I'm still not putting it on my top 10 because I agree with Andrew Moore that Masters of the Universe is going to be on this top 10 because I do think there's, and I say this is, I haven't even watched the trailer. This is like way before my time. I haven't, like, I don't really even understand what it is, but I'll watch it eventually. And then I'll understand. Having said that.
I know that there's a big audience. And also, there is a lot of people excited that Nicholas... God, I can't even pronounce his name. Galitz? Galitzine? I should have brought it up. But this man, the man who is playing, you know, the He-Man, as it were, people are really, really excited about him being in it. And, you know, he did the whole, like, putting on extra muscle and getting jacked for the role. Nicholas Galitzine. Yep. And that's pretty much what I said before. Cool. But yes, I do think that it's kind of superhero movie, but kind of not...
Hopefully the Jared Leto being box office poison doesn't take effect. It's third build. We'll see. But Idris Elba is in it, so maybe he'll cancel that out. Is Idris Elba known for his box office receipts? I don't know. I'm just like... Who else is known for their box office receipts? Jared Leto. That's what we're just saying. That's what I'm saying. I think that if I was looking at a thing and I was like, oh, Jared Leto. And then I saw Idris Elba, I'd be like, oh, Idris Elba. So maybe. It cancels it in my mind, at least.
All right, Jonathan, what do you got at number 10? I'm the first person to mention A24's Back Rooms. I think this... Oh, wow, you think this is going to be the out-of... I almost put this as my out-of-pocket one. This is going to be... I'm taking a gamble that this is going to be the low-budget horror movie that breaks out the way that Longlegs did or It Follows. Weapons last year was a huge hit, and I think this has a really... I saw a teaser trailer a couple days ago, and I was like, oh, this looks different and interesting, and it's a great gimmick. I think it has a couple recognizable faces. Yeah, I think it's the kind of movie that is going to make $100 million.
without even, like, breaking a sweat. And it's going to do it probably in a few weeks, but it's also the type of movie I could see very likely just legging out for the entire summer. I think this one opens early in the year, right? This opens May 29th. I think this is going to be in the top 10 for, like, probably nine weeks in a row. It's going to quietly just keep stacking $5 million, $8 million totals for a couple months. So by the time September rolls around, I think this is going to have, like, $110 million in its pocket. I love this pick. Yeah, this is the one I... There's no tracking on it. There's nothing we can really kind of guess. There's no comps besides some of these other ones. There are other original movies from A24. I think up until now, has A24 ever had a movie?
that went past $100 million? Yeah, Civil War did, right? Didn't Civil War do a bunch of money? Civil War did real big numbers. Yes. Oh, and Marty Supreme. Well, not real big, but big numbers for that year. Is there an A24 horror movie that has done over $100 million? And up until now... I could argue Marty Supreme's a horror movie, but we can have that conversation. But yeah, they've had... In the Civil War. Yeah, they've had success in that category. Hereditary kept close with $87 million. Talk to me got $91 million. I think this is probably comparable to Talk to Me or Long Legs or Weapons. And those made around $100 or so.
Yeah, I love this pick. I don't agree that it's going to crack the top 10. I don't see that happening. I like the pick. I really do like the pick. I think I wouldn't do it myself just because it's never happened. It's just never happened. A movie, a summer, like this kind of movie, cracking the top 10 in the summer. Weapons was in the 10th slot last year. Weapons isn't like this. Weapons was a known director who had a big hit before this. Oh, but you don't have the... Oh, we lost you. You're muted.
Alice will be back to tell us why this might happen. Go ahead, Jonathan. I know what Alice is going to say, and she's right. Well, 2024, Longlegs got 13th place. It made 75 million that year. That's not the top 10. That's exactly what I'm saying. My instinct, based on what I've seen so far, is that your high to your window is still below the top 10. You have to hit 100 million to really crack the top 10, and I just don't see these usually hitting 100 million. When everybody's going to see all these other giant movies during the summer, right?
Counter-programming, though. We'll see. That's the other weapons thing. When did weapons come out? That's a good question. 2024? No, it came out last year, but let's see. Weapons. It seems like it was fall. Yeah, well, it was August. It was August. So, you know, it's still technically a summer movie, but it didn't have, like, I don't even remember. Last August, we were all talking about how wide open August was. This time, we've got Spider-Man in there kind of doing things. That's part of my prediction is I kind of neglected to look at the calendar for Spider-Man, but with back rooms, it opens so early in the year, in May.
that i think i think it'll just keep like i said keep ranking up smaller totals i don't think it'll ever be the number one movie maybe the weekend it opens but more than likely it'll be in the seventh or eighth spot in week seven eight nine where it'll still be making i hope you're right i hope you're right i love this pick i hope you're right i'm guessing you probably put it in a wild card spot and that's probably safer because it'll probably end up with maybe 70 to 80 or 90 million and that's not quite enough to break top no i'll just spoil i didn't even have it in wild card i don't even have this in my wild card so but i do i love the pick i love the pick well speaking of wild Speaking of, what do you want to say, Alice? No, I was just going to say what you guys might not know. It's based on an extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely popular, like crazy internet craze web series. And it's being directed. So what you said before about Zach Craig being a known director. So first of all, the director of Backrooms is 20 years old, which hurts me in my heart a little bit. Is this like an iron lung situation? It's kind of where it's like it's his passion project, which got so popular on the internet, like crazy popular, that A24 gave him money to make it a movie. This might be more analogous to like Five Nights at Freddy's, where it was...
sort of a game versus a web series. Don't put that stink on this. Don't put that stink on this. Yeah, I was going to say, the money and also the internet fandom that exists for FNAF exists for Backroom. That's what I was trying to draw that parallel. I think they both have dedicated younger audiences that I don't completely understand or in touch with, but I recognize that. It's like a whole thing. I don't get it, but people are obsessed with liminal spaces. It's just a whole thing.
I love it. I love the pick, and I'm rooting for it because I think that would be a really fun one to pull out. Like I said, I don't even have it in my honorable mentions. Speaking of which, it is time for the honorable mentions. Before we go to that, though, I'm looking at the list everybody picked, and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think any of us had a pick that someone else had at the same spot except for Andrew and Aaron. You both had Toy Story at one. Alice and Andrew, you both had Spider-Man at number three, but every other pick out of four... Alice and I both had Devil Wears Brought at nine. And we also had Minions and Monsters at the same one, right? Oh, actually, yeah, I'm sorry. That's the biggest consensus pick. All three of you had it second. I had it at five, so...
See how bad I was on that. Anyway, my point being, I feel like we usually congeal around a couple of consensus picks. This feels like the most eclectic group, or at least the most collective ranking we've had in the four or five years we've been doing this, which is surprising. It's the same 12 films all jumbled into very different arrangements, and that's very interesting to me. Jonathan, I want to kick us off with your wild cards. We do all the wild cards at once, is what we'll do this year. I think that's what we've done before, too, because they have an equal...
We're not ranking them. So yeah, what are your three wild cards? I originally had Paw Patrol in here, but looking at the calendar, I don't think Paw Patrol, the dino movie, will make enough money in three weeks to unseat Masters of the Universe. I also had that conversation in my brain too. I also had that conversation. I think it'll probably make like 50 or 60, but I think Masters of the Universe is a safer pick. It has a lot more time and for all the reasons Andrew mentioned and Alice. Also, I also have in here Scary Movie 6. I love that pick from you, Aaron. I think it is the kind of thing, a legacy sequel. We haven't seen in a while, a property everybody loved from a while back. It'll do well. And then Disclosure Day.
I think that'll probably come in right around Backrooms' total. I think those are both going to be right around the 10 or 11 spot. Nice. Alice? Well, the reason why I was so gung-ho about Backrooms is because I've got that as a wild card. I'll give you a quick little story around it. My sister-in-law, who hates horror films, won't even watch things that have elements of horror in it, messaged me a link to this trailer and was like, can we please go see this? And I was like, really? You don't like horror movies? And she didn't even want to go see FNAF or anything like that. And she's like, no, I love Liminal Space. It's like a whole thing.
I, it's like a weird, intense cult community. And I think it's going to just like the people that love it are going to go see it. And it's going to be that trickle effect because of how long it's out. So back rooms, Mortal Kombat two. I love Mortal Kombat one. Like I really enjoyed that film. It's so much fun. And so I was, I've been very, very excited for number two. So I would love for that to make a lot of money also. Cause it's filmed here. And then number three, scary movie six for all the above that everyone has said, because it's like, I remember watching scary movies when I was in year six, when, you know, the last few were coming out, like when I was 12 years old and being like,
And also, fun fact about me, Scary Movie 3, I watched as an eight-year-old and then I had to sleep in the same bed as my mom because I couldn't sleep alone anymore because I was scared. As someone with an eight-year-old daughter now, I cannot imagine showing them a Wayans Brothers comedy at that age. I'd seen a lot of, quote-unquote, inappropriate comedies at some point, but I got freaked out because it was the one based on The Ring and I had a TV in my room and I was convinced that she was going to call her TV and kill me. So anyway, I had to put number six. All right. Ormsby, what do you got in your wild cards? Well, I'm pretty confident, maybe not so much in the order of my top 10, but I'm pretty confident that the movies that I listed in my top 10 will be the top 10. So when it came to my wild cards, it was kind of hard for me to pick. One of them was Mortal Kombat 2. I did pick that. But then I kind of went outside the box because I was thinking, like I think Alice said earlier, what's going to be the weird movie that is going to get into the top 10? So I picked two kind of weird movies, but could potentially make it in. One of them is In the Grey, which is the Jake Gyllenhaal.
Henry Cavill movie that's directed by Guy Ritchie. The other one is The Dog Stars. This is a movie that stars Jacob Ellardy and what's his name? Josh Brolin. And it's directed by Ridley Scott. This is the first I'm hearing of this movie. I had no idea this even existed. Post-apocalyptic sci-fi film from Ridley Scott. I am in.
I just realized it came out on August 28th, so that's why it's in my wildcard. It's hoping to open to $150 million domestically. Exactly. It has two weekends. It could open to $40 million and still make it the wildcard. But that's a big opening for a movie like that, especially a weekend. I want to say the second to last week, the penultimate weekend of the summer is probably one of the lowest movie-going weekends of the summer. Not going to lie, I thought it said July 28th. So that's why I picked it. I think, Aaron, I'm going to...
float this idea now and you can maybe implement it next year. I think we should all be granted one chance to fix one item on our list at the conclusion. You know I would have beat you last year if we had that, right? What change would you have made? If you listen back, I forget which one it was, but if you listen back by the end, I'm like, oh, this is where my mistake was. And it was exactly, I think it may have been Karate Kid or something. I can't remember exactly what it was. Was it Lilo and Stitch? I don't remember. I just remember when we posted the results. We may have even talked about it in the results that I said, like, if I made this one change, it would have put me above you. But yeah, no, I think that's an interesting thought, like a post-conversation.
You mean like during this episode? I'm saying after we give our wild cards, we all are given the opportunity to change one thing. I love that. We could do that today. We could. I'm just saying. If you want to be cowards and not stand by your list. All right. All right. What we've all, I mean, what's the whole point of this is to have a conversation to persuade people. If we are unpersuadable, then we're just talking to avoid. I'm with Alice. I like the idea that we came up with these lists on our own with no peer pressure of any kind. Yeah, I like that too. I will say if we go down that road, we probably should institute locked lists before we start talking too. Like, you know what I mean? Like, cause I've said it's only canon when you say it.
like it can be canon before we even you know uh that's interesting well maybe next year we'll do something ahead of time yeah yeah yeah i mean i haven't changed my list the whole time i just i haven't either but i haven't heard some comments i haven't either after hearing some arguments though i'm like yeah maybe i have minions too low and Maybe I made some miscalculations on release dates. Has everybody given their wild card yet? No, it's me, and this is appropriate to the wild cards because I had a movie on my wild cards that actually doesn't come out in the summer. That's my mistake. I thought the release date was, so I'm going to have to fill it with something. So earlier when I said Backrooms wasn't in my wild cards, I now might be putting it in my wild cards, which I would not be able to do if the rules were, you know, whatever you presented before. I think if you make a mistake like that, then that's fine because I did that a couple years ago when I did Beetlejuice. I think, was it Beetlejuice? Beetlejuice was something I had in, and it was like, yeah, that comes down in September. I will say, I'll go ahead and give my two obvious ones. Disclosure Day, Masters of the Universe.
we've talked about them i have to have them in my wild cards because they could hit um i i think they will both end up uh under 100 million or right around 100 million but again like i said with this whole category they could be number nine on the list like it's just you know um you just never know so those are two the third that i thought i was going to have i don't know why i i don't it was young washington no no that actually does come out in the summer uh was fucker in law for some reason i thought that was coming out this this summer um it's actually a holiday release so um which uh i think it's november yeah it's like thanksgiving thanksgiving yeah yeah um so i do need to replace that the others i was considering were uh the sheep detectives oh hugh jackman hugh jack like there's there's a sneaky like possibility that this is really fun family bring the kids to watch sheep become detectives movie kind of thing uh i remember we talked about this in the most anticipated episode and i totally forgot it existed when it came time to build this list yeah yeah a pg rated like family comedy we don't get Is it going to be 100 million? No, I don't think it is. So I'm not going to put it on this list. But like 60 or 70, it might be enough to make top 14 or 15. Yeah, yeah. Nobody has mentioned so far today. Well, let me mention my others and then you can mention it. The other I considered was Jackass, the new Jackass movie, being the final one. People do love these, you know.
uh if i was uh locked into saying earlier the back rooms wasn't in my wild card that's probably the one i would pick but i am convinced the back rooms uh is the better pick here uh so i will have that in my wild card i will take credit for having helped you convince yeah you should you should andrew do you have any movies that now watch now watch the jackass movie 150 million dollars uh yeah andrew do you have any movies that we haven't mentioned that you think deserve um if If Animal Farm is good, I think because it comes out so early in the summer, I think it comes out May 1st. If it has long legs, yeah. Sometimes it just needs long legs if it comes out early enough. Mm-hmm.
That was the big one that I was thinking of. Yeah. Did anybody else have anything? Oh, it's late August though, isn't it? One I'm keeping my eye on that we haven't mentioned, The Invite on June 26th. That's another one of those like low budget, high concept horror movies that could be good counter-programming to the big temples and could kind of sneakily earn a lot of small money for many weeks. And The End of Oak Street, that opens August 14th. So it only has like three or four weeks, but with Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor.
I think it has kind of a catchy enough concept that it might be like a late August surprise hit. And we usually get one of those movies every August that kind of breaks out. I don't think it'll make the top 13, but I could see this getting 60 to 70 million by Labor Day and getting real close to that top 13. Anybody else want to throw out one that they considered or chewed on for a little bit and then spit out? No, I think that will have been mentioned for me. Okay. Well, let's get on to the generative machine learning models and how they decided the year would go. Generally, Orms, you've presented ChatGPT's picks, and I've presented Gemini's picks. Did you prepare GPT? I sure did. How did you prompt? Did you do one single prompt? Did you do post-prompting? Like, how did you go about this? Here is the prompt that I used. Sort these films based on their predictive domestic income for 2026 at the U.S. box office. And then I gave it a list of 25 films. Okay. So you did prompt it.
You didn't prompt it that it had to be made in the window? No. Okay. All right. So that is a big part of the equation. And I totally spaced on it. No, no, no. I'm interested to see what it says and maybe how that's the difference. Also, you said U.S. box office. Domestic technically counts Canada, and I wonder if Chet knows that. Yeah. I don't know. I didn't even know that. Give us the list. Give us the list. What do you got? Number one, Toy Story 5. Okay. Number two, Minions and Monsters. Wow. Sounds very familiar. Yeah. Number three, Spider-Man Brand New Day. Looks a lot like your list, Andrew.
Number four, The Odyssey. Yes, four for four right now with what you picked. Is it? Yeah. I will say, I prompted Gemini after I had made my list. I'm not saying these are bad. I see where our lists diverge now. Okay, so what do I need to give you? Five. Mandalorian and Grogu. Still on five for five. The Devil Wears Prada 2. Moana. Disclosure Day. In the Gray. And Supergirl.
Interesting. In this wildcard, we have Power Ballad. Nice. Mortal Kombat 2. Okay. And the Dog Stars. All right. Okay. That's not a funny list. Well, you know, the technology is getting too good, probably. I don't have my prompt up here. Now that more people are using this technology, they're probably interested in the prompting.
Let's see. My prompt is we're going to play a game of predicting the highest earning movies of the summer. Your goal is to list the 13 highest grossing movies in order at the domestic box office. The movies must release between May 1st, 2026 and September 7th, 2026. And they should be ranked by how much they will make in the domestic U.S. box office. Only between those dates. You will not be able to include any box office that comes in after September 7th. Please list them one to 13 with your guests for the total amount they will make in the U.S. domestic box office during that time and your reasoning. That is a fantastic prompt, my friend. Thank you. Thank you. I just had an idea. Should we share a prompt? We probably should next year. We probably should share the same prompt and see how they compare. But yeah. What were you saying, Jonathan?
I was going to say, that's a great prompt, and you articulated everything you need to when you talk to an LLM, which is to be stupid, specific, and really hold its hand like you're talking to a child. And when I speak with a lot of people about LLMs and AI, they're like, oh, it doesn't work. Well, are you talking to it correctly? Because you do have to speak to it a way you don't, you can't just Google. You can't just say, how do I, what are the best movies of the summer? You have to be really specific with what you want. And how you phrase the first line, like, we're going to play a game. Like, you kind of have to give it, like, a framework. Very jigsaw of you, but yes. We're going to play a game. What do you got?
Gemini says, here's my definitive 1 through 13 ranking for the summer of 2026 domestic box office. Strictly capped it what they can pull in by Labor Day, September 7th. If I nail this, I'm claiming full bragging rights on Cif Pop. Oh gosh. You have to then go back and ask it what it wants to say if it ends up winning against everyone else? Yeah, you probably should. I probably should. Aaron, don't forget me, Aaron. Top 13, number one.
Toy Story 5. So both putting in Toy Story 5 at number one. Number two, Mandalorian Grogu. Interesting pick. Number three, Spider-Man Brand New Day. Number four, Minions and Monsters. Number five, Moana Live Action. Number six, The Odyssey. Number seven, Supergirl. Number eight, Masters of the Universe. Number nine, Devil Wears Prada 2. Number 10, Mortal Kombat 2. Number 11, Scary Movie 6. Number 12, Insidious Out of the Further, which only has like two weeks to make money, I think, on the list.
It thinks this insidious movie will make $70 million. And it says, late August is famously a great drop zone for horror. Blumhouse knows exactly how to market these films for a quick, high, profitable theatrical stunt. It's not wrong. It's optimistic. That is an optimistic guess at $70 million. And the last one, Jackass 5, it has making $65 million. It's not a bad list. That's a pretty good list. No, and I was, like, when it dropped Scary Movie 6, I was like, you know, told me so. I knew it. I want to say something I think is interesting. After I completed my list, but not before.
We wanted to see what Jim and I thought. And I had a similar prompt to you. I specified the window. And its top 13 was also very similar to what I had already predicted. Yours was similar to what you predicted. And Andrew's to what he predicted. And I wonder if there's some personalized bias there. No, no, that's interesting. My LLM didn't even glimpse Jackass or Insidious or some of these other ones. But the movies that I was already considering, I was already Googling, it seemed to have the information for. And I wonder if what we're feeding it is...
changing its diet because it's weird like it's an echo chamber almost almost a little bit of that and i wonder how much that is is uh yeah the one one mistake i'll say is i think um i should have toy story first i think that might be yes i'm doing i can i i stand firm that spider-man if it doesn't win i think it'll get silver pretty handily i do i do feel like those are the one two and i might have just flipped them but Yeah. I like the rest of my list. My mistake is having a Mando too high. I think that, you know, I've been convinced on that. Alice, do you think you have a mistake? I made no mistakes. It's a purple list. I'm going to be 100% correct come July. You're not feeling shaky on anything. The confidence is strong. You're feeling good. It has to be. I have to be caught strong in something right now. My sanity is hanging on my thread. Orm Sweet, do you have anything that you would have to chat with everybody? You'd be like, maybe I should have done this. Well, like I said earlier, I think Masters of the Universe I had as a bullish pick.
but that was intentional. So I think I'm pretty happy with my list. All right. One thing I do want to mention, because of the rules of the game, Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic that releases a week before May is disqualified. But I think it's very likely that when you look at highest grossing movies of summer 2026, Michael's going to be like the second movie on that list, excluding its opening weekend. I think it's still going to pull in hundreds of millions of dollars throughout the summer. I think it's going to be the list, right? I respectfully disagree.
I don't know that we're accounting for the fact that might disrupt some of the stuff in May from how well that's going to perform three, four weeks into summer. Yeah, you're super bullish on that. I tend to agree. I think there's definitely a lot of interest there. I mean, it'll certainly do insane numbers worldwide. I do feel like the American interest in Michael Jackson has waned quite a bit over the years, but that movie's going to make a billion dollars worldwide. Some of it will come domestic, and some of it will arrive in May, and it might upset some of those early movies that we picked for those first few weeks. So we'll see, but it's not part of this list, but it's going to be part of the conversation for a while.
If I were to put it on my list, Michael, like if it was within the window, I wouldn't put higher than maybe seven, maybe seven or eight. I actually had it in like fourth. That's interesting. So that means you would think even without its opening weekend, it would make $200 million, $250 million outside of its opening. Wow, you really think it's going to be a rocket ship. I think so. Michael Jackson, he's the best. I hear you. And look at what Bohemian Rhapsody did. That wasn't even a good movie. I think it'll probably make like $80, $90 opening weekend and then do like 4X that. And that's $300 something million. You discount the first weekend, but that's still $240, $250. Yeah, I think it really could blend in that. Michael has to think about his entire life before he goes on stage. That's a movie that should have made $200 million.
right yeah unfortunately we're starting with the films in the window uh so yeah there's there's no way to include michael uh all right so there you go that is the summer some game picks everybody feeling good alice especially she is confident she's got this she's got this this year uh and uh you know jonathan and i are pretty sure we made a mistake and uh we'll see how that impacts us at the uh at the end but uh we're glad you joined us and we hope we hope you will join us in making these picks um you can Base your picks on what we said, if you like. You can do that. How do they do that, you asked, Jonathan? How do they do that? Well, I'm glad you asked. They go to cifpop.com and click where it says Summer Some Game. It should bring you to the picks page. It is a Google form. There is a drop-down menu for each slot where you put your picks in. If there is a movie you think will do well that is not mentioned there, like I don't think actually Backrooms is even in that list. I could be wrong.
Can I petition to have it added? Nope, I'm not adding anything. But what I would say is, even if it isn't, there is a slot at the end for you to type, I want this movie at this number. So, yeah, you can put your own, you can put Fokker-in-law in there if you want. And, you know, just go wild. Yeah, why not? Why not? So, yes, please join us. Please join us in this insane process. And, of course, if you win, I'll reach out and you can say something.
when we come to the results in September. And that's next time this crew will be with you. But a reminder, there will be more podcasts popping up in this feed as part of the Sif Pop Podcast Network. So I hope you enjoy listening to those. Let us know what you think. And we'll catch you on the next one. Jonathan, Alice, Andrew, thank you for coming and hanging out. You guys are my quarterly pals now. So I know people kind of know where to find you. But just quickly, give them the one place you want to send them in case they haven't checked out your stuff. Jonathan. As always, you can find me on Letterboxd at JohnPaula, J-O-N-P-A-U-L-A. I'm watching and reviewing movies every week. And occasionally I'll upload to YouTube and talk about stuff there too.
alice um at ali g mick a-l-i-g-m-i-c-h on letterbox and instagram on instagram is where i'll update anything else i want to send you to baby pictures on instagram uh yes well yeah within reason you know because uh different people are different about those kind of things like yeah yeah yeah stories hey you can find me on letterbox at flick freaks one word Yeah, I don't use Letterboxd the same way a lot of people do. I use it mainly just for ranking movies that I've seen throughout the year as opposed to like having an in-depth review for each movie. I just have like a little blurb for a movie like for Project Hail Mary. It was like two or three sentences. I know, John, you go really in-depth with your reviews on Letterboxd. Occasionally. They're not all in-depth. Maybe once a week I'll write a long one, otherwise they don't get anything. So it's feast or famine on my page. Yeah. For me, it's just light snacking.
Every single movie I watch gets a paragraph. I wish I had the discipline to do that because it's more helpful to rejog your memory with. Even one sentence is better than nothing. Ormsby, baby pics? You got any baby pics on Letterboxd? How are you feeling about that? Working on it. Yeah, I'm on Letterboxd as well. Aaron Dicer, A-A-R-O-N-D-I-C-E-R. Pretty easy to find. I'm the only Aaron Dicer in existence. So you can find myself pretty easily.
No, it really has more to do with the weird fact that my last name is very rare. It's like incredibly rare. So, so yeah. Nice. Nice. Yeah, it was a game we used to play when we would travel. We would be back. There were these things called phone books. That was like a book of, you know, all the phone numbers. We'd be in a big city and we'd take the phone book and we'd go to the D's and look for Dicer and there were never, never any. And now in the internet age, you can search like on Facebook and find maybe.
four or five uh dicers so um so yeah anyways uh if you find the dicer they're probably related to me uh so that'll do it uh for this episode and we will be back like i said uh in september for the results and we'll have some podcast network stuff popping up for you until then so we'll see you then guys bye