Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, December 25. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Concussion
Director: Peter Landesman
Cast: Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Stephen Moyer, Alec Baldwin, Luke Wilson, Bitsie Tulloch, Eddie Marsan, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Morse, Matthew Willig, Hill Harper, Albert Brooks, Richard T. Jones, Mike O’Malley, Arliss Howard
Synopsis: “A dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B- (6 reviews)
Daddy’s Home
Directors: Sean Anders & John Morris
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Paul Scheer, Hannibal Buress, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lamonica Garrett, Cedric Yarbrough, Thomas Haden Church, Kerry Cahill, Scarlett Estevez
Synopsis: “The story of a mild-mannered radio executive who strives to become the best stepdad ever to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling, freeloading real father arrives, forcing stepdad to compete for the affection of the kids.”
Joy
Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Dascha Polanco, Édgar Ramírez, Elisabeth Röhm, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Drena De Niro, Madison Wolfe, John Enos III, Erica McDermott
Synopsis: “A story based on the life of a struggling Long Island single mom who became one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs.”
Criticwire Grade Average: C+ (11 reviews)
Point Break
Director: Ericson Core
Cast: Luke Bracey, Édgar Ramírez, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo
Synopsis: “A young undercover FBI agent infiltrates a gang of thieves who share a common interest in extreme sports.”
Limited
45 Years
Director: Andrew Haigh
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, David Sibley, Richard Cunningham
Synopsis: “There is just one week until Kate Mercer’s 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.”
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (27 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York and Los Angeles
The Hateful Eight
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Zoë Bell, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Demián Bichir
Synopsis: “While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth and his fugitive prisoner encounter another bounty hunter and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on a mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B (24 reviews)
Theatrical Release: Various (including New York and Los Angeles, Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco)
Mr. Six
Director: Guan Hu
Cast: Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Hanyu, Yifeng Li, Wu Yifan, Xu Qing, Liu Hua
Synopsis: “Many years ago Mr. Six was a notorious gangster. That was back when there was still such a thing as honour among thieves, when criminals earned respect and maintained principles. These days Mr. Six is all but forgotten, a living relic residing in a narrow alley. One day Six’s son, Xiaobo, is abducted by some spoiled punks after he scratches their precious Ferrari. Mr. Six realizes that he must do whatever it takes to get his son back — even if that means returning to the life he thought he had left behind.”
Theatrical Release: Various (including New York and Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle)
The Revenant
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Paul Anderson
Synopsis: “In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.”
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (22 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York and Los Angeles (opens nationwide on January 8th)
Where to Invade Next
Director: Michael Moore
Synopsis: “An expansive, rib-tickling, and subversive comedy in which Moore, playing the role of “invader,” visits a host of nations to learn how the U.S. could improve its own prospects.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B (24 reviews)
Theatrical Release: New York and Los Angeles (opens everywhere on February 12th)
Yellow Day
Director: Carl Lauten
Cast: Drew Seeley, Lindsey Shaw, Ashley Boettcher, Akeem Smith, Meagan Holder, G.P. Galle Jr., Rose Abdoo
Synopsis: “A young man’s incredible journey through the Yellow Day, a miraculous day where the world is revealed through the eyes of God. This man, in search of his lost love, will witness stories of real heroes, gain new perspectives, and face his deepest fears, if he is ever to find his love again.”
Theatrical Release: Select Markets
Missed last week? Here are all the releases from the week of December 18th.
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