Four new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:
Expected to top the weekend box office is the thriller Split written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula and Haley Lu Richardson. The film’s original music is composed by West Dylan Thordson (Foxcatcher, Joy, The Jinx). Back Lot Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to learn more about the Universal Pictures release.
Also opening wide today is the action sequel xXx: Return of Xander Cage directed by D.J. Caruso and starring Vin Diesel, Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Kris Wu, Michael Bisping, and Samuel L. Jackson. Brian Tyler (Iron Man 3, Fast & Furious series, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Now You See Me) and Robert Lydecker (Sleepy Hollow) have composed the film’s original music. Paramount Music has released a soundtrack featuring the songs from the film. Click here for the full album details. A separate soundtrack featuring the composers’ score will be released by Varese Sarabande (visit Amazon to pre-order the CD version).
Opening in around 1000 theaters is the drama The Founder directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B.J. Novak and Laura Dern. The film’s original score is composed by Carter Burwell (Fargo, Twilight, Carol, In Bruges, True Grit, Being John Malkovich). As previously reported, Varese Sarabande will release a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score. The full details will be posted on this page soon. To learn more about the film, which tells the story of how Ray Kroc met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California, and is being released by the Weinstein Company, visit the official movie website.
The final movie opening nationwide this week is the faith-based comedy drama The Resurrection of Gavin Stone directed Dallas Jenkins and starring Brett Dalton, Anjelah Johnson, Neil Flynn, Shawn Michaels, and D. B. Sweeney. Jeehun Hwang (The Victim, What If…, Midnight Clear) has composed the film’s original music. No word on a soundtrack release. For more information about the High Top Releasing/BH Tilt release, which follows a washed-up former child star, who is forced to do community service at a local megachurch, and pretends to be a Christian to land the part of Jesus in their annual Passion Play, visit the official movie website.
Opening in limited release this weekend is the crime drama Trespass Against Us directed by Adam Smith and starring Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Rory Kinnear, Sean Harris and Lyndsey Marshal. The film’s original music is composed by Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers. No soundtrack album has been announced yet. The movie revolves around a man who looks to find a way to escape the criminal ways of his outlaw family. The drama premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and is being released in theaters and on VOD by A24. Visit the official movie website for more details.
Also opening in select theaters and on VOD is the thriller Detour written and directed by Christopher Smith and starring Tye Sheridan, Emory Cohen, Bel Powley and Stephen Moyer. Toydrum (aka Pablo Clements & James Griffith) (The Caller, Prevenge) have composed the film’s original music. No word yet on a soundtrack release. Detour follows a young law student who blindly enters into a pact with a man who offers to kill his stepfather. The thriller premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and is being released by Magnolia Pictures’ Magnet Releasing. Visit the official movie website for more information.
Also opening in select U.S. theaters is the French comedy Staying Vertical (Rester vertical) written and directed by Alain Guiraudie and starring Damien Bonnard, India Hair, Raphael Thiery. The movie doesn’t feature an original score. A soundtrack album featuring the film’s songs by Joe Walsh, Wall of Death, Wishbone Ash, Wooden Shjips and Julian Cope was released last summer when the film opened overseas. Visit Amazon to download the album. Staying Vertical follows a director who in the process of finishing his screenplay in a series of unexpected sexual situations that leave him in some very uncomfortable but humorous scenarios. The comedy premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and is being distributed stateside by Strand Releasing.
Also opening in limited release is the documentary Antarctica: Ice and Sky (La Glace et le Ciel) directed by Luc Jacquet (March of the Penguins) about French glaciologist Claude Lorius whose groundbreaking, decades-long research and analysis of deep Antarctic ice cores provided the first clear evidence of man-made global climate change. The film’s original music is composed by Cyrille Aufort (Splice, A Royal Affair, Ombline). A soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score was released last year when the movie opened overseas. Check out our previous article for the full album details and to learn more about the documentary, which is being released in the U.S. by Music Box Films.
Also opening in select cities is the animated feature The Red Turtle directed by Michael Dudok de Wit, which is the first international co-production of Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke). Laurent Perez Del Mar (Zarafa, Fears of the Dark) has composed the film’s original music. IDOL and Quartet Records have released a soundtrack album last year, when the movie opened overseas. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details. To learn more about the film, which is being released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics, visit the official movie website.
