Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: TheNunMovie.com
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: September 7th, 2018
MPAA Rating: R for terror, violence, and disturbing/bloody images.
Source: Spin-Off
Genre: Horror
Keywords: 1950s, Monks and Nuns, Romania, Demons, Possessed, Based on an UNTRUE Story, Catholic, Paranormal Investigation
Directed By: Corin Hardy
Written By: Gary Dauberman, Gary Dauberman, James Wan
Starring: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $15 million to $25 million
Box Office Potential: $85 million

This is the fifth film in the Conjuring franchise. So far the previous four films have earned an average of $106 million. I don’t think this film will match that average. In fact, I’m worried it will be the worst film in the franchise with $80 million or less. That’s probably too pessimistic. Hopefully it is too pessimistic, because if this film struggles, then September will get off to such a bad start that the negative stories could dominate the month and negative stories like that can become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: Peppermint.movie
Distributor: STX Entertainment
Release Date: September 7th, 2018
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Action
Keywords: Revenge, Death of a Son or Daughter, Death of a Spouse or Fiancée / Fiancé, Government Corruption, Corrupt Cops, Corrupt Judge
Directed By: Pierre Morel
Written By: Chad St. John
Starring: Jennifer Garner
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $20 million to $30 million
Box Office Potential: $30 million

Jennifer Garner stars as a woman whose husband and daughter are killed by a drug cartel and when the corrupt system won’t help her, she becomes a vigilante. The buzz is quiet and films like this haven’t been box office gold recently.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: FoxMovies.com/Movies/The-Predator
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: September 14th, 2018
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Action
Keywords: Alien Encounters, Hunting, Life in a Small Town, Cover Up, Ex-soldier, Delayed Sequel, Humans as Prey
Directed By: Shane Black
Written By: Shane Black, Fred Dekker
Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Alfie Allen, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown, Jacob Tremblay, Yvonne Strahovski, Thomas Jane
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $40 million to $60 million
Box Office Potential: $75 million

This is the fourth or sixth installment in the Predator franchise, depending if you count the two Alien vs. Predator films. This film is co-written and directed by Shane Black, who has made some amazing movies over his career. Unfortunately, only Iron Man 3 did as well at the box office as it did with critics. (He’s made so many great movies that didn’t find an audience in theaters. So many.) There are some who think The Predator will be the biggest hit of September, but I’m not among them. I do think it will be a financial success and break even relatively early in its home market run, so I think the studio will be happy with that result.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: ASimpleFavor.movie
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: September 14th, 2018
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content and language throughout, some graphic nude images, drug use and violence.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Keywords: Life in a Small Town, Missing Person, Same Actor, Multiple Roles, Money Troubles, Twins, Murder Mystery
Directed By: Paul Feig
Written By: Jessica Sharzer, Paul Feig, Darcey Bell
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $20 to $30 million
Box Office Potential: $45 million

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively star are two women who are very different, but become friends. When the latter disappears, the former starts digging into the missing woman’s past to find out what might have happened. The trailer has a stylish and tense feel to it and that could help the buzz. Also, the book it is based on is quite popular. That said, I think Lionsgate would be very happy if it could just get close to $50 million domestically.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: MichaelMoore.com
Distributor: Briarcliffe Entertainment
Release Date: September 21st, 2018
MPAA Rating:
Source: Based on Real Life Events
Genre: Documentary
Keywords: Agitprop, Political, Politicians, Archive Footage, Political Protest
Directed By: Michael Moore
Written By: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $10 million or less
Box Office Potential: $25 million

Michael Moore is inarguably the most successful documentarian when it comes to box office success. He has three of the top twenty documentaries of all time, inflation adjusted. And that number looks even better if you don’t include IMAX films. However, it has been nearly a decade since a film of his has hit $10 million domestically. That said, Fahrenheit 9/11 remains his biggest hit and even if this film only makes a fifth of what that film made, ignoring inflation, it will likely be the biggest documentary of the year.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: HouseWithAClock.com
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: September 21st, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements including sorcery, some action, scary images, rude humor and language.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Horror
Keywords: Secret Magic, 1950s, Good vs. Evil, Orphan, Death of a Sibling, Young Child Dealing with the Death of a Parent
Directed By: Eli Roth
Written By: Eric Kripke, John Bellairs
Starring: Owen Wilder Vaccaro, Jack Black, Cate Blanchett
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $50 million to $60 million
Box Office Potential: $70 million

Owen Wilder Vaccaro stars as a 10-year old boy whose parents recently died. He is sent to live with his uncle, Jack Black, who happens to be a middling warlock. Their neighbor, Cate Blanchett, is a much more powerful witch. They live in a house that used to be owned by a powerful, and evil, warlock, who created a clock that is counting down to an unknown event. The three of them try and stop whatever it is.

I see this film as a very similar to Goosebumps, both in terms of target audience and box office chances. This film does have a weaker release date, so it likely won’t match that film at the box office, but it should come close enough to be considered a financial success. There is a slim chance it becomes the biggest hit of the month, thanks in part to Jack Black being part of the main cast of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which earned more than $400 million. That might have boosted Jack Black’s drawing power enough to get this film over the $100 million market. Admittedly, it’s a slim chance, but there is a chance this will happen.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: LifeItself.movie
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Release Date: September 21st, 2018
MPAA Rating: R for language including sexual references, some violent images and brief drug use.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Romance, New York, College, Car Accident, Dysfunctional Family, Non-Chronological
Directed By: Dan Fogelman
Written By: Dan Fogelman
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Mandy Patinkin, Olivia Cooke
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $20 million
Box Office Potential: $25 million

A romantic drama that looks at the relationship of college sweethearts through marriage and the birth of their first child. Apparently this will be Amazon Studios widest release to date. This isn’t as impressive as it sounds, as their previous widest release only played in a few hundred theaters. There’s some talk this will open truly wide, but I think semi-wide is more likely. That should still be enough to open in the top ten, and it might even open in the top five.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: HellFestMovie.com
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: September 28th, 2018
MPAA Rating:
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Horror
Keywords: Halloween, Amusement Park, Haunted House, Teenage Slasher, Unbelieving Police
Directed By: Gregory Plotkin
Written By: William Penick, Chris Sey, Seth M. Sherwood, Stephen Susco
Starring: Bex Taylor Klaus, Amy Forsyth, Reign Edwards
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $10 million
Box Office Potential: $30 million

A teenage slasher that takes place in a Halloween-themed amusement park. When a killer starts stalking a group of teenagers and killing them, the rest of the visitors just think it is part of the act. That’s not exactly an original idea, but it is good enough for a teenage slasher. That said, the genre as a whole isn’t exactly a box office powerhouse at the moment and while I don’t think it will bomb, it won’t make much of an impact at the box office.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: NightSchoolMovie.com
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: September 28th, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug references and violence.
Source: Original Screenplay
Genre: Comedy
Keywords: High School Dropout, High School, Learning Disabilities, Heist
Directed By: Malcolm D. Lee
Written By: Kevin Hart, Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells, Matt Kellard, Nicholas Stoller, John Hamburg
Starring: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish
Production Budget: Unknown - Estimated at $20 million to $40 million
Box Office Potential: $80 million

Kevin Hart stars as Teddy Walker, a man who needs to get his GED to get his dream job. Tiffany Haddish stars as the tough as hell teacher. In the past four years, Kevin Hart has had three $100 million hits and is coming off the biggest hit of his career. Tiffany Haddish doesn’t have as long a movie resume, but she also has a $100 million hit under her belt. I’m not saying this film will get to $100 million, but I do think it will be a solid midlevel hit and it will earn a healthy profit during its home market run.

Trailer: Click to Play
Official Site: SmallfootMovie.com
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: September 28th, 2018
MPAA Rating: PG for some action, rude humor, and thematic elements.
Source: Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre: Adventure
Keywords: Bigfoot, Mountain Climbing, Humans as Monsters, Falsely Accused
Directed By: Karey Kirkpatrick
Written By: Karey Kirkpatrick, Sergio Pablos
Starring: Channing Tatum
Production Budget: Unknwon - Estimated at $60 million to $80 million
Box Office Potential: $70 million

Warner Bros. Animation group started out with a bang. Their first release, The LEGO Movie, was a monster hit at the box office and even earned some Awards Season buzz. However, since then, they haven’t be able to recapture that magic. In fact, except for the spin-off, The Lego Batman Movie, they haven’t come close. The lack of direct competition should help, but it will very likely finish near the very low end of the studio’s releases thus far.