New Jack City: A Sneak Peek @ Hollywood’s Holiday Season

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!

With this weekend’s kick-off to Hollywood’s Holiday Movie Season, here’s the upcoming celluloid lineup for the greater Kansas City market.

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This FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11—

Warner Brothers is first out of the holiday gate with director Ron Howard’s adventure-thriller “IN THE HEART OF THE SEA”—-a whale of a tale starring Chris Hemsworth.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18—

Walt Disney serves up J.J. Abrams highly anticipated “STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS” which is bound to break previous box office records!

Universal is counter programming for the gals with the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy “SISTERS.”

And Fox goes for the kiddies with “ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP.”

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23—

Paramount unleashes “THE BIG SHORT”—sort of a “Wolf Of Wall Street” meets “Margin Call” co-starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25—

Paramount has even more laughs in stock for Christmas as they team Will Ferrell with Mark Wahlberg in “DADDY’S HOME.”

Sony gets serious with Will Smith and Alec Baldwin in the controversial drama “CONCUSSION.”

Fox re-teams Jennifer Lawrence with Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper in David O. Russell’s “JOY.”

And Warner Brothers presents the remake of 1991’s “POINT BREAK.”

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ALSO ON DECEMBER 25—BUT OPENING KC IN LIMITED RELEASE—

Fox Searchlight’s “YOUTH” with Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda.

The Weinstein Company’s “THE HATEFUL EIGHT” from director Quentin Tarantino featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Michael Madson and Channing Tatum.

(Note: It is our understanding that this film will open as an exclusive one theater engagement in KC on 12/25 and that it will be shown—not via digital projection—but as a full blown 70mm film presentation beginning on that date.

The regular digital ‘wide’ release of Tarantino’s new film is then scheduled to open here one week later on January 1st.)

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Finally three films that I’ve been asked about:

Focus Features presents Tom Hooper’s “THE DANISH GIRL” with Eddie Redmayne and Amber Heard in limited release here on 12/25.

Then there is the  gory revenge tale “THE REVENANT” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.

The 20th Century-Fox film opens in only key markets on Christmas Day, December 25 and is then scheduled to open in KC on January 8th.

The third is Charlie Kaufman’s unique stop-motion drama “ANOMALISA” which Paramount is releasing ‘very carefully.’

I keep hearing that it may open here on an exclusive or semi-exclusive basis on Wednesday, December 30th.

But if that doesn’t happen then “ANOMALISIA” most likely won’t make it to KC until January 8th as well.

And now you know the rest of the story……