The big release this Friday is John Krasinski’s “IF.” Based on presales, current projections have this one looking at a 3-day $35 million total. Deadline is reporting that the budget was $110 million. Again, this could be another case of a film, that should have cost max $80 million, not breaking even because of its budget.
We have a trailer for the film. It also has a prime summer release date, May 17, 2024. A source tells me that Paramount is promoting it as a “family movie” and that they want to “steer away” from critics with this one. If that’s the case, I should point out that the “hype” for this movie seems to be non-existent, and it’s supposed to be released in 2 days.
The story has a young girl (Cailey Fleming) discovering the ability to see people’s imaginary friends who have been abandoned by the kids they helped. Here’s the official synopsis:
A young girl named Bea, who has been going through a troubling experience in her life, unexpectedly gains the ability to see people's imagianry friends (referred to as "IFs" for short) who have been abandoned by the kids they helped. Bea then discovers that her neighbor, Cal, has the same ability. Together they join forces to reunite the IFs with their former kids.
“IF” has a ridiculous amount of talent behind it, Krasinski, Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Steve Carrell, and Louis Gossett Jr.. That’s not even counting the voice-cast which includes the likes of Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Maya Rudolph, Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Awkwafina, Jon Stewart, and Richard Jenkins.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.