As August fades away into our cinematic memory, it will be remembered for the dominant performance put forth by Rise of the Planet of the Apes (your most anticipated movie for August) and The Help, which came in third in our poll and stayed on top of the box office thanks to positive word of mouth and a crop of movies that audiences passed on.
To prove that this isn’t an exact science, the second and fourth most anticipated movies for August were 30 Minutes or Less and Conan the Barbarian, respectively, though both fell flat in theaters. Your three least anticipated August movies were Glee 3D, Colombiana and One Day.
September is set to be a thrilling month at theaters, literally. Nine thrillers hit theaters – the found-footage sci-fi flick Apollo 18, the Helen Mirren-Sam Worthington spy movie The Debt, sharks eating people in 3D in Shark Night 3D, Steven Soderbergh’s viral outbreak movie Contagion starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law, the much-buzzed about Ryan Gosling action-thriller Drive, Rod Lurie’s remake of Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, Taylor Lautner as a young man who finds out he isn’t who he thinks he is in Abduction (insert werewolf joke here), Jason Staham and Rober de Niro trade clichés with Clive Owen in Killer Elite and Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz move into a Dream House.
Those looking for some laughs can turn to these five movies for some comedy – Nick Swardson in the Adam Sandler-produced porn comedy Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, Sarah Jessica Parker in I Don’t Know How She Does It, Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman in Dolphin Tale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt battles cancer with Seth Rogen at his side in 50/50 and Anna Faris looks back at the past twenty men she’s had relationships with and wonders if one of them might be her true love in What’s Your Number?
Rounding out the wide releases are the Tom Hardy-Joel Edergton MMA action-drama movie Warrior (which features a heart-breaking supporting performance from Nick Nolte), the Brad Pitt sports drama Moneyball, religious drama Courageous and a Disney favorite gets the 3D treatment with Lion King 3D.
As we approach awards season, a few early favorites will be arriving in theaters as well. The above mentioned Drive and Moneyball are two of the early contenders. Gerard Butler is getting early buzz for his performance in Machine Gun Preacher, which opens limited in mid-September before expanding at the end of the month. Michael Shannon is also generating buzz for his performance in the apocalyptic drama Take Shelter.
The sleeper hit of the month may be a horror comedy titled Tucker and Dale vs. Evil which opens limited during the last week of the month and is currently boasting a 100% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.
Now that you know what’s hitting theaters, we want to know which movie you’re looking forward to the most. Vote in our poll below and let us know which movie you’re excited to see.
