From Mario to Dracula, from basketball to boxing, April’s films span a wide gamut. Here are the biggest movies coming to theaters this month, in chronological order of their wide release date.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Wednesday, April 5
Premise: You know the sound effects. You know the mushrooms. Universal’s adaptation of the iconic videogame franchise stars the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Jack Black as Bowser, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Charlie Day as Luigi.
Box office: This will almost certainly become the highest-grossing videogame adaptation of all time. Right now the 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($190.8M) is at the top of the list.
Air
Wednesday, April 5
Premise: Ben Affleck directs the true story of Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, who in the 1980s launched the most successful sneaker line of all time: Air Jordans. Costarring Affleck as Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight and Viola Davis as the star athlete’s mother Deloris Jordan.
Box office: Among similar films about the intersection of sports and business, a best-case scenario might be 2011’s Moneyball ($75.6M), though more realistic are box office numbers similar to 2015’s Concussion ($34.5M) or 2014’s Draft Day ($28.8M).
Renfield
Friday, April 14
Premise: Universal’s R-rated horror-comedy stars Nicholas Hoult as Dracula’s assistant, with Dracula himself played by Nicolas Cage. (Who else?) Chris McKay, of The Lego Batman Movie and The Tomorrow War, directs.
Box office: Similar recent R-rated horror-comedies include February’s Cocaine Bear ($62.9M and counting, likely to finish around $65M) and 2022’s Violent Night ($50.0M).
The Pope’s Exorcist
Friday, April 14
Premise: Sony Pictures’ historical horror thriller stars Russell Crowe as Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s Chief Exorcist. Julius Avery, of 2022’s Samaritan and 2018’s Overlord, directs.
Box office: Similar horror films about possessions or exorcism usually earn somewhere in the $20M-$50M range: see 2022’s Prey for the Devil ($19.8M), 2014’s Deliver Us from Evil ($30.5M), 2012’s The Possession ($49.1M), 2012’s The Devil Inside ($53.2M), and 2010’s The Last Exorcism ($41.0M).
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant
Friday, April 21
Premise: MGM’s war thriller stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier embarking on a solo mission to rescue the translator who saved his life in Afghanistan. Guy Ritchie directs.
Box office: In recent years, Ritchie’s directorial efforts in the “action for adults” genre have earned numbers in the $25M-$50M range: 2021’s Wrath of Man ($27.4M), January 2020’s The Gentlemen ($36.4M), 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ($39.1M), and 2015’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ($45.4M).
Other action thrillers set during the 21st century wars of the Middle East include 2016’s Eye in the Sky ($18.7M) and 2016’s 13 Hours ($52.8M).
Evil Dead Rise
Friday, April 21
Premise: Warner Bros.’ fifth horror installment about a body-possessing demon arrives on the 40th anniversary of the 1983 original.
Box office: The fourth and prior installment, 2013’s Evil Dead, earned $54.2M.
Chevalier
Friday, April 21
Premise: Searchlight Pictures’ historical drama stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Joseph Bologne, the real-life violinist who became one of the leading classical musicians of his day.
Box office: While it seems unlikely to match the fellow 1700s European-set The Favourite ($34.3M), Chevalier may reach a box office similar to 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots ($16.6M), 2017’s Victoria and Abdul ($22.2M), or 2021’s The Last Duel ($10.8M).
Big George Foreman
Friday, April 28
Premise: Sony Pictures’ biopic stars Khris Davis as Foreman, the boxer who won heavyweight championships and Olympic gold medals while competing against the likes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier before an unlikely turn into ministry and entrepreneurship later in life.
Box office: 2021’s similar faith-based sports biopic American Underdog, about Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner, earned $26.5M. Foreman director George Tillman Jr. also helmed 2018’s The Hate U Give ($29.7M) and 2009’s Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious ($36.8M).
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Friday, April 28
Premise: Lionsgate’s comedy stars Abby Ryder Fortson as the title 11-year-old girl navigating the earliest stages of adolescence. Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates costar.
Box office: Other comparable titles range from 2018’s Eighth Grade ($13.5M) and 2016’s The Edge of Seventeen ($14.4M) on the low end, to 2017’s Lady Bird ($48.9M).
Polite Society
Friday, April 28
Premise: Focus Features’ action comedy about two British-Pakistani sisters—one of whom is determined to save the other from an unhappy marriage—was a standout at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Box office: Also examining the intersection of family and culture in the U.K. is 2019’s Blinded by the Light ($11.9M).
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