July saw the continuation of the animation dominance this summer, as The Secret Life of Pets blew past even the most optimistic expectations (now passing $300 million), and Finding Dory overtook Shrek 2 to become the highest grossing animated film of all time at the domestic box office. Elsewhere, however, the month of July suffered substantially at the box office. While Lights Out and Jason Bourne seem poised for decent grosses, Ice Age: Collision Course and Star Trek Beyond appear on track to become the lowest grossing entries of their respective franchises.

Looking ahead to this month, all eyes seem to be on Suicide Squad, which looks guaranteed to break the August opening weekend record that has been held for two years by Guardians of the Galaxy. The film should be enough to propel August ahead of that of last year’s (when Straight Outta Compton ruled and Fantastic Four bombed), with some added support from Florence Foster Jenkins and Pete’s Dragon.

Nine Lives – August 5 (EuropaCorp)

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Image via EuropaCorp

Although the concept admittedly feels like the basis for an SNL sketch (Kevin Spacey being turned into a cat), Nine Lives managed to assemble an impressive cast that also features Christopher Walken and Jennifer Garner. While all three actors have starred in hugely successful films, Nine Lives seems unlikely to break out for a number of reasons, including that the film’s plot can’t help but feel recycled (a neglectful father and husband caring only about his work being punished until he can understand and bond with his family) from numerous prior movies.

Looking back at past films featuring the lead character being turned into a pet, the genre has seen some success. The Shaggy Dog, for example, grossed a strong $61.1 million back in 2006. That film, however, faced very little competition for family audiences. During this summer, by contrast, competition for families this has been fierce, with The Secret Life of Pets and Finding Dory taking in record grosses, and established franchises such as Ice Age: Continental Drift, flopping.

Nine Lives also has to contend with Pete’s Dragon the following weekend, which looks to continue Disney’s winning streak for 2016. This should end up at least above last year’s EuropaCorp offering The Transporter Refueled, but will likely end up as one of the summer’s lowest grossing films.

  • Opening Weekend: $7 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $15 million - $45 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $20 million

Suicide Squad – August 5 (Warner Bros.)

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Clay Enos/ & © DC Comics Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

While it’s awfully hard to call a movie that grossed $872.6 million worldwide a disappointment, last March’s franchise and DC shared universe starter Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice arguably fell below its sky-high expectations. While the polarizing reaction to Dawn of Justice might cause concern for DC’s next installment, Suicide Squad looks well positioned to become one of the top grossing August releases of all time.

Although comic book adaptations aren’t exactly in short supply these days, Suicide Squad has what Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool had going for them: it has a sense of humor and looks wholly original, featuring a team of crime fighting super villains that includes iconic characters such as The Joker and Harley Quinn. The film also benefits from a strong cast that includes Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto.

Warner Bros.’s marketing engine has characteristically been working in overdrive on this film, with trailers dating back to last year’s Comic Con, and frequent commercials airing during the summer’s biggest televised events. The film seems in line for a huge opening weekend, likely topping Galaxy’s $94.3 million to claim a new August record. How high the film can go largely depends on the quality of the film, which given director David Ayer’s track record may be a bit of a toss up. If it leans more in the ballpark of Fury and End of Watch than Sabotage and Street Kings, Suicide Squad may even pass Galaxy’s final gross of $333.1 million.

  • Opening Weekend: $135 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $250 million - $400 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $360 million

Florence Foster Jenkins – August 12 (Paramount)

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Image via Paramount

Florence Foster Jenkins continues Meryl Streep’s trend of playing interesting and eccentric characters, telling the true story of the title character who late in life began a singing career despite being heavily criticized for her lack of rhythm and pitch, and for her poor pronunciation. Streep here also receives some strong support from Hugh Grant as her husband, and Simon Helberg, whose presence may help draw in some of The Big Bang Theory crowd.

Meryl Streep is no stranger to August release dates, and has found much success with them. 2009’s Julie & Julia went on to become one of her most successful films, grossing $94.1 million, and 2012’s Hope Springs ended its run with $63.5 million. Streep’s impressive box office run did stumble a bit with last summer’s Ricki and the Flash, grossing a low $26.8 million. Unlike most of Streep’s films, however, Ricki and the Flash had a relatively low theater count and received a middling 65% Rotten Tomatoes score. Florence Foster Jenkins, on the other hand, currently sits at a 92%, which is not terribly surprising given that director Stephen Frears’s previous two major releases, Philomena and The Queen, were nominated for Best Picture for their respective years.

Florence Foster Jenkins feels in many ways reminiscent of The King’s Speech, especially given the comedic tone, impressive cast, and the main character trying to overcome an impediment of sorts in order to perform in front of a large audience. The King’s Speech, however, was released at the height of Oscar season, which helped propel its gross to $135.4 million. Florence Foster Jenkins may receive awards attention as well, but a gross that high seems out of reach. That aside, the film should join Streep’s list of August successes and end up right around Hope Springs, if not a bit higher.

  • Opening Weekend: $17 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $40 million - $90 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $68 million

Pete’s Dragon – August 12 (Disney)

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Image via Disney

Pete’s Dragon marks the latest effort by Disney to reboot an animated film with a live-action adaptation. This model has worked wonders for Disney as of late, with Cinderella, Maleficent, and Alice in Wonderland becoming hugely successful, and this year’s The Jungle Book inching towards the $1 billion mark. Whether Pete’s Dragon joins these success stories remains to be seen.

While the original Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and The Jungle Book are considered among the Disney classics, Pete’s Dragon seems to be thought of as being one of the brand’s lesser known titles. All of the aforementioned titles were also released during the prime months of March and June, while mid August doesn’t necessarily indicate a major box office run. Live action family films have also had a rough run this summer, with both The BFG and Alice Through the Looking Glass flopping.

However, the film seems unlikely to venture into flop territory. The trailers for Pete’s Dragon have been hugely appealing, showing off the film’s sense of adventure, strong cast (Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard), and some impressive visuals. In addition, Pete’s Dragon has been receiving hugely positive reviews, which should help sway skeptical parents. Of the August family releases (Kubo and the Two Strings and Nine Lives being the other two), Pete’s Dragon seems poised to perform the strongest. It may not reach the heights of recent family outings (Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets), but this should end up becoming a late summer hit for Disney.

  • Opening Weekend: $40 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $50 million - $150 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $125 million

War Dogs – August 19 (Warner Bros.)

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Image via Warner Bros.

The premise for War Dogs, two twenty-somethings finding themselves way over their heads as gun runners in Afghanistan, lends itself to quite a bit of laughs, particularly when paired with comedic talents of Jonah Hill and Miles Teller. Both are popular actors and have been a part of successful films, and have proven to be able to walk the tricky comedy/drama tightrope in The Wolf of Wall Street and The Spectacular Now, respectively. However, it’s tough to say whether the juvenile humor that seems to be present here, as well as in Todd Phillips’s other recent films (The Hangover, Due Date), will mix well with themes of war.

Regardless of the exact brand of humor, war comedies continue to be a very tough sell with mainstream audiences. Despite an incredibly appealing cast that included Margot Robbie, Tina Fey, and Martin Freeman, last March’s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot grossed a disappointing $23.0 million. War Dogs may perform a bit better, but given the difficult subject matter and the release date, this seems unlikely for a major box office run.

  • Opening Weekend: $14 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $25 million - $50 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $34 million

Kubo and the Two Strings – August 19 (Focus Features)

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Image via LAIKA/Universal

Focus Features and the stop motion animation house Laika have produced a series of films together over the last decade, the most successful of which was 2009’s Coraline, grossing an impressive $75.2 million. Their latest offering, Kubo and the Two Strings, appears to align well with Laika’s reputation for impressive animation, original storytelling, and strong voice casts, which includes Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron.

Given that the last three collaborations between Focus and Laika have been critically acclaimed, it seems likely that Kubo and the Two Strings will turn out to be quite good. Although the fantasy animation subgenre has had its share of recent flops (Strange Magic, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return), the trailers for Kubo feel more reminiscent of the hugely successful Mulan, due to the Asian setting and the film centering on a young adult fighting for his family with help from a spirit that is sent to protect him.

While Coraline’s gross may be out of reach, a gross closer to that of Paranorman seems feasible, given the similar release date and supernatural elements. Paranorman also opened in the shadow of another film targeted at families (The Odd Life of Timothy Green), suggesting that Kubo should be able to stand on its own despite opening just after Pete’s Dragon.

  • Opening Weekend: $15 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $40 million - $80 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $52 million

Ben-Hur – August 19 (Paramount)

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Image via Paramount and MGM

The decision by Paramount to remake Ben-Hur is somewhat puzzling. Although Hollywood is obviously not averse to remakes, and the original Ben-Hur grossed $74.0 million in 1959 (or in today's dollars, $840.8 million), it seems like an odd choice because the film is not as iconic a classic as something like Jaws, Citizen Kane, or The Sound of Music. By no means am I endorsing remaking any of those titles, but they would at least make more sense than Ben-Hur.

Historical epics have a spotty track record at the box office. In the last few decades, the most successful epics have included Gladiator, Troy, and The Last Samurai. Each of those films, however, had a major proven star attached to them (Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise, respectively), which Ben-Hur appears to be lacking.

Ben-Hur in many ways feels reminiscent of this year’s swords and sandals bomb Gods of Egypt, given the late marketing push and a release date that is considered somewhat of a box office dumping ground. That film went on to gross $31.1 million, which seems like a good target for Ben-Hur. Though it may fare better overseas, the film seems as though it will venture into flop territory.

  • Opening Weekend: $14 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $25 million - $50 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $35 million

Don’t Breathe – August 26 (Sony)

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Image via Sony

After 2013’s well received Evil Dead remake, director Fede Alvarez brings us another extremely creepy and suspenseful horror film, Don’t Breathe. Given the talented cast that includes Stephen Lang, Dylan Minnette, and Jane Levy, and the early positive reviews, it seems likely that Alvarez has another strong film on his hands.

Although the last couple of years have seen several home invasion thrillers (Hangman, Hush, Knock Knock), Don’t Breathe puts an interesting twist on the genre, featuring teenagers being hunted by a blind man after they try to rob his house. The trailers for the film are undeniably scary, and Lang makes for a convincing and harrowing villain.

In 2008, The Strangers brought back the slasher/home invasion genre in a big way, grossing a strong $52.5 million. While it would be unrealistic for Don’t Breathe to reach those heights, a gross closer to You’re Next ($18.4 million), another late August slasher release with a twist, seems within reach.

  • Opening Weekend: $9 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $15 million - $50 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $25 million

Hands of Stone – August 26 (Weinstein Company)

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Image via The Weinstein Company

It’s hard not to compare Hands of Stone to last year’s surprise hit Creed, which also featured a boxer who has been fighting his whole life and is being trained by an aging boxing veteran. While Hands of Stone has the true story angle going for it, Creed was technically part of an established franchise (Rocky), had a prime holiday release date, and was released to near universal critical and commercial acclaim. The reviews for Hands of Stone out of its premiere at Cannes have been positive, but journalists have pointed out some flaws in the story, indicating that it may not share the overwhelming love felt for Creed.

Despite this, Hands of Stone has quite a bit going for it. The film is a biopic of Roberto Durán, who is widely considered as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Robert De Niro is always a welcome presence, particularly in a movie about boxing (due to his iconic role as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull). Édgar Ramírez has been a part of several recent high-profile projects (though the majority of them haven’t performed terribly well), and Hands of Stone also features a dramatic turn from Usher Raymond IV.

Despite the fact that marketing has been light so far for the film, this should at least get past De Niro’s disappointing Grudge Match, which capped out at $29.8 million.

  • Opening Weekend: $10 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $20 million - $50 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $35 million

Mechanic: Resurrection – August 26 (Lionsgate)

Mechanic: Resurrection sees Jason Statham returning to the late summer release date he’s held for action films such as Transporter 2 and Death Race. The actor has been on fire of late, with strong supporting roles in last year’s Spy and Furious 7 (and next year’s Fast 8).

While 2011’s The Mechanic seemed to be a straightforward revenge/hit man film, the sequel appears to be taking a page out of the Transporter and Fast and Furious franchises by featuring some impressive stunts, and centering the plot more around saving a loved one. Resurrection also features a strong supporting cast, including Jessica Alba and Tommy Lee Jones.

Although The Mechanic was not necessarily one of Statham’s most iconic roles, the film seems to have built up a following on its home video release, which would explain why Lionsgate is capitalizing on it several years after its theatrical run. The R Rating will likely keep this from reaching Transporter 2 grosses, but this should come close to the original Mechanic, if not a bit higher.

  • Opening Weekend: $14 million
  • Projected Gross Range: $20 million - $50 million
  • Estimated Final Gross: $35 million

Studio Prediction for August:

After a rough 2015, Warner Bros. has seen much improvement this year and in particular this summer, with Central Intelligence, The Conjuring 2, and Lights Out all generating solid returns. It looks as though it will close out the summer with a win for August, as Suicide Squad should decimate everything in its path.