With the methodically rising stock of Godzilla Minus One, the resiliency of both Frost/Nixon and King Solomon’s Mines ’50, and the possibility of success for four specific movies (Annapolis, Porco Rosso, White Lion, New York, I Love You) that are up for assessment, there could very well be a protocol of needing (possibly) seven new/fairly new movies to fail their assessments, as the Project eligibility of pre-2023 movies will pretty much expire on January 1, 2025. So, given that scenario, the question becomes A] Which possibly seven 2024 movies can easily take the dive and B] Which possibly successful 2024 movies will avoid the eventual 100 Stand page?
Well, the answer to Point A is that Night Swim is an easy mark for it potentially being a movie that insults the intelligence of any viewer. And that’s not the only answer to that point because in addition, Madame Web could also fail into that category for the continuity confusion that it’s already presenting pre-assessment. Now let’s delve into what can beat the January 1, 2025 deadline via the next sixteen paragraphs.
First up, we have Argylle, which could have its hard copy release date delayed via Apple being a production company involved with this movie. However, Universal Pictures is also involved with this movie and the latter of the two companies is pretty efficient about having its movies available for pre-order via Amazon.
Second, we have Drive-Away Dolls, which will be released by Focus Feature, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures. And of course, given that I already alluded to Universal’s expedient way of having their movies available for pre-order, this movie will definitely beat the January 1, 2025 deadline.
Third, we have Love Lies Bleeding, which will be released on March 8 of this year via A24. And speaking of A24, the best way that I found their movies as confirmed for hard copy release was going to VideoETA, as I saw their movie Talk To Me listed in the “Just Announced” section. However, that website is now defunct, so the best way to get hard copy confirmation about the upcoming Kristen Stewart movie is to set a Google Alert for it, especially since The Iron Claw (another A24 release) still isn’t listed on Amazon.
Coming out a week after Love Lies Bleeding is Arthur The King, which could very well be Mark Wahlberg’s best Flickuum movie, ever. But just like Love Lies Bleeding, Arthur The King could have a Google Alert put out on it, as it’s going to be released via Lions Gate.
Fifth is Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which will be released via Warner Bros. on March 29. And with that being said, Warner Bros. is always reliable in having their movies available for pre-order, no matter if it’s the first third of the year or towards the end of the year, as the latter applied to both Wonka and Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. So, yes Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire will beat the deadline.
Sixth, we have Kung Fu Panda 4, which is being reported as either a March 8 release or March 29 release. Either way, it’s being released via Universal Pictures, so a pre-order listing for this movie via Amazon is a slam-dunk.
Lucky number seven is the breath of fresh air that is Melissa Barrera via her upcoming movie, Abigail, which comes out April 19. And unlike Argylle, this movie is a Universal Pictures release without the partnership of Apple, thus another slam-dunk pre-order listing.
Eighth (and although not confirmed) is The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare. And should it meet its April 19 theatrical release date, well then it’s in the same boat as Arthur The King via it being a Lionsgate release.
Two weeks after the possible April 19 release of both a Melissa Barrera movie and an Eiza Gonzalez movie, we have The Fall Guy, which is the fifth Universal Pictures release in this entry. And given that it’s Universal Pictures being involved once again, you can put this one in the same category as Drive-Away Dolls, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Abigail.
Number ten is the first of two Steve Carell movies, as IF will come out on May 17 via Paramount Pictures. However, the absence of VideoETA makes the hard copy confirmation guessing for this movie an annoying one, thus Google Alerts will be needed here.
Numbers eleven and twelve are grouped together here, as The Garfield Movie and Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes are both May 24 releases. And as for how quickly that they’ll get hard copy confirmations, well the former is a Sony Pictures release, thus a pre-order listing, while the latter is a Fox release. And given that Fox is exploiting the absence of VideoETA, a Google Alert will be needed.
Thirteen is lucky via Ballerina, the John Wick spin-off movie, being released on June 7. However, the luck doesn’t go beyond the theatrical release, as this movie will fall under the Google Alert category via being a Lionsgate release.
Fourteen and fifteen are also grouped together, as Bad Boys 4 and Inside Out 2 will both be released on June 14. And since the former is a Sony Pictures release, expect a pre-order listing for it within a week of its release. However, the latter is a Disney release and given that Disney is also exploiting the absence of VideoETA, Pixar’s 28th movie will fall under the Google Alert category.
We’re getting “Despicable” at number sixteen, as Gru, his daughters and the Minions all assemble for a fourth time on July 3. And given that it’s a Universal Pictures-Illumination release, it will fall under the same category as the four other covered 2024 Universal releases.
Number seventeen continues the year of the sequel, as Beetlejuice 2 comes out on September 6. And since it’s a Warner Bros. release, it will follow in the tradition of both Wonka and Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, in terms of a movie being available for pre-order on Amazon.
And finally, at number eighteen is another sequel, in the form of Joker: Folie a Deux, which is yet another Warner Bros. release. And given what I’ve already established about that company in two other paragraphs, this movie falls under the same category as both Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and Beetlejuice 2.
In summary, these 18 movies are the ones that I think will A] Be accessible to assess theatrically, B] Pass their assessments and C] Get hard copy confirmation before January 1, 2025, despite the strong likelihood of pre-order listings not being almost immediate for nearly half of them. And while these are the ones that will check all three of those boxes, the entire potential field of 30 movies (that will be the last ones to ever move up to Tier 5) hasn’t been rounded out, due to both what else can beat the deadline and what else can be a potentially surefire successful movie. And should certain movies get postponed to the point that they won’t make the deadline, along with the possibility that others will get released theatrically too late in the year to warrant Amazon pre-order listings, well then there will be a head start on building the 100 Stand page. And should that eventuality come into play earlier then expected, well then I have some decisions to make about the remainder of my 2024 theatrical tour.
Time to see what else is worthy of beating the deadline.