Summer movie blockbusters with a 'Jurassic' bite

ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times

The movie business has been going through some growing pains the last few seasons. But with this summer well underway, people all over are making their way to their local movie house, according to Southgate Cinema 6 Owner Brian Mitchell.

“So far for 2018 we’ve had some great movies including ‘Black Panther’ to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ to ‘Deadpool 2,’” Mitchell said. “So far for this year, everything’s been really great.”

And there will be something for everyone to watch throughout the whole summer, Mitchell said. 

“June will be a big one with ‘Ocean’s 8’ opening recently and then ‘The Incredibles 2’ having opened the weekend after that,” Mitchell said. “And then soon will mark ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ opening. Then going into July there will be ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ and ‘Hotel Transylvania 3’ and ‘Skyscraper.’ Then in August there will be ‘Equalizer,’ ‘Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!’ and Disney’s ‘Christopher Robin.’ One movie I think will gain a lot of attention is called ‘The Happytime Murders’ and that’s a comedy with Melissa McCarthy that’s basically ‘The Muppets’ gone bad. Those are just some of the ones we’re excited about. One movie a lot of people are looking forward to is ‘The Incredibles 2’ because it’s been slightly more than a decade since the original. What I like is the wide variety of the genres of movies that will be coming out.”

And that wide variety, Mitchell said, is one of the factors making this summer’s movie lineup different from last summer. 

“This summer has a much more fun lineup than last summer so that’s what got us excited, just the amount of good stories and titles,” Mitchell said. “The year’s been good so far, the winter did really well and the fall’s looking to be a good one too. Last summer they had some movies out that were sequels that a lot of people felt didn’t necessarily need to be made. If you’ve got good movies out you’ll find people are more excited to go.” 

And that excitement began, Mitchell said, with the release of ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ which was ultimately moved up one week. 

“The summer season typically starts the first week of May and this year, ‘Avengers: Infinity Wars’ actually got moved up to April and it used to be people mostly went to the movies in the summer and over the holidays, but that’s changed,” Mitchell said. “March of this year wasn’t as good as last year because last year was when ‘Beauty and the Beast’ came out and there was almost no topping that last year. More people are excited to go out to the movies if there’s a good story and overall, people are just excited to see what comes out.”

So what will be the big box office blockbusters for this summer? Mitchell predicted a toss-up. 

“It’s going to be a toss-up but I personally think ‘The Incredibles 2’ and ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ will be the big ones for this year. I haven’t seen either of them yet but I have a feeling those two will be especially big,” Mitchell said. “And it’s not just blockbusters out this summer, there’s a really wide variety ranging from ‘Ocean’s 8’ to ‘The Incredibles 2’ to ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!’ We actually saw part of ‘Mamma Mia’ and Cher came out and performed at CinemaCon in Las Vegas and it really looks good. From action to musicals to children’s movies it’s just a great-looking lineup for this summer.” 

And with the predicted extra influx of moviegoers making their way to the local theater, Mitchell said many accommodations are being made. 

“We have a lot of online ticket purchasing so that helps people and it for sure gets them into the movie, which is great,” Mitchell said. “We also just make sure we’ve got plenty of staff to help and plenty of concessions for everyone. The other side of that our customers are great, they’re so patient and they know if we get slammed it’s nothing personal. That’s one of the great things about Southgate is there’s such a great relationship with the customers.”

Overall, Mitchell said, he is excited for the rest of 2018. 

“The year started out really well and I think this summer will help that a lot because of all the great movies coming out,” Mitchell said. “Then with everything coming out this fall, that also looks to be a great lineup. Things just seem much more exciting this year than last year. I want to thank all of our customers for their business and I hope everyone enjoys the summer movie season this year.”