Entertainment reporter Sandro Monetti’s business take on this weekend’s new movie releases.
THE VISIT: A 15-year-old budding moviemaker sets out to launch her Hollywood career by shooting a documentary about her grandparents as she meets them for the first time. She’s soon dreaming of an Oscar nomination and big money offers when the old couple turn out to be super weird and she captures their bizarre antics on camera. But when things turn from weird to menacing and granny asks her to climb in the oven, the starry-eyed teenager develops a new ambition – to survive the night. Director M. Night Shyamalan hopes this film will see him return to the top of the box office after a string of flops.
THE PERFECT GUY: A lobbyist loves her job and loves her new boyfriend too, until the handsome charmer turns out to be a violent psychopath. The business lesson here: Focus on work and don’t get distracted by smooth-talking heartthrobs. If this movie tops the box office this weekend it will be the sixth weekend in a row that a film with a predominantly black cast has been number one.
90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN: On his way back from a church conference, a minister and his Ford Escort are crushed by a big rig. Paramedics presume him dead, but another pastor prays and sings over his body and he comes back to life. Having cheated death, the minister not only sees the size of his congregation swell, but he also cashes in by writing a bestselling book. The business lesson? Keep the faith. The film hopes to continue the recent run of box office success by faith-based films. Christian-themed film “War Room” was the top box-office draw last weekend.