Weekend releases shouldn’t topple ‘Captain America’

With the Spring season finally in swing, box office releases are beginning to roll out at a much higher rate. This weekend will have three major releases, all catering to different types of demographics. The main question is can any topple the behemoth that is Captain America: Winter Soldier?

Rio 2 is the follow up to Rio, a 2011 film about a Macaw from small town Minnesota who travels to Rio de Janeiro. 2014 has seen a string of strong family films, including The Lego Movie, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and, most recently, Muppets Most Wanted. The film’s mixed reviews and the saturation of the market for family films could spell trouble for Rio 2, but its star-studded cast, including Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway, and fans of the first film could mean that it still gets a decent showing at the box office.

Kevin Costner is back with yet another sports movie. Draft Day focuses on the behind-the-scenes action that comes with each pro sports draft, something that most people might not be aware of. Costner is something of a sports film icon, known most notably for sports films like Field of Dreams and Bull Durham. The film should be popular for Costner fans and the fantasy sports types, but should not be able to reach out to a wider audience.

Oculus is a horror flick that looks to target anyone looking for a different kind of movie this weekend. The film has received strong reviews and looks poised to make a move into future sequels. It centers more on the supernatural and dread rather than pure gore, which could appeal to a wider audience. Generally, horror movies aren’t particularly strong in the box office, but Oculus should fare well.

Coming off a record-setting weekend, Captain America: Winter Soldier isn’t going anywhere. It will still claim the top spot by a landslide, and the new releases should fall in place afterwards.