Holiday 2014 Forecast: 'Interstellar'
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Interstellar


Release Date: IMAX/limited on November 5th, nationwide on November 7th

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

Cast:: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck, Mackenzie Foy, Topher Grace, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, David Oyelowo, David Gyasi, Bill Irwin

Studio Description: A group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

Analysis: Interstellar is the latest movie from writer/director Christopher Nolan, who is coming off three massive blockbusters: The Dark Knight, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises earned a combined $2.9 billion worldwide. All three were well-reviewed by critics (at least 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and have very passionate fans (they're all in the Top 60 on IMDb's Top 250 list).

From the moment Interstellar was announced, it immediately became one of the most-anticipated movies of 2014. In the process, box office expectations probably got a bit out of control: back in April, this publication gave it a 25 percent chance of reaching $1 billion worldwide.

Those expectations need to be tempered a bit, though. From 2010 on, Inception ($292.6 million) and Gravity ($274.1 million) are the highest-grossing live-action movies that weren't based on existing intellectual property (so excluding sequels, adaptations, etc.). Those two are strong comparisons for Interstellar: Inception has the Nolan connection, while Gravity has the space angle.

It doesn't help, though, that early reviews for Interstellar have been mixed-positive: a week ahead of its nationwide debut, its sitting at 73 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (45 reviews in). That's not on par with Inception, and its miles away from Gravity's universal acclaim.

Still, the Nolan brand is strong, and Paramount has done a nice job selling the notion that this needs to be experienced on the big screen. Interstellar may not match Inception and Gravity, but it should be one of the highest-grossing movies of the year anyway.

Forecast: $265 million

Similar Movies: Gravity, Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness, Oblivion, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, Inception, Avatar, 2012, Star Trek, The Dark Knight, WALL-E

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