The Wild Robot is one of the best-reviewed movies of the year. The film is now available to watch on Digitial, but additionally, the Dreamworks Animation movie is set to get a Collector’s 4K Blu-ray just in time for Christmas. According to Blu-ray.com, the physical media versions will be hitting retailers on December 3.

The description reads,
“An adaptation of Peter Brown’s award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, THE WILD ROBOT is an epic adventure staring Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, the Black Panther franchise) as Roz, a robot that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must adapt to the harsh surroundings. Gradually Roz starts building relationships with the animals on the island, including a clever fox voiced by Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian), and becomes the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling named Brightbill voiced by Kit Connor (Ready Player One, Heartstopper). THE WILD ROBOT is a powerful story about self-discovery, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature, and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things.

Directed by three-time Academy Award® nominee Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, The Croods), THE WILD ROBOT features an incredible supporting voice cast alongside Nyong’o, Pascal and Connor, including Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Rango), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fall Guy), Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise), Matt Berry (“The IT Crowd”, “What We Do in the Shadows”) and Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). Showcasing music by Emmy® and Grammy® nominated composer and Oscar® winner Kris Bowers, the film also boasts two original songs by Grammy®-winning singer-songwriter and music sensation Maren Morris.”

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• Optional English SDH, French Canadian, and Latin American Spanish subtitles for the main feature
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
• COMMERCIAL FOR ROZZUM – An alternate opening to the film in storyboard form, with introduction by writer/director Chris Sanders.
• MOMENTS FROM THE MIC – Straight from the recording booth, watch the star-studded cast of The Wild Robot perform some of their most memorable lines!
• MEET THE CAST- How do you give empathy to the voice of a robot, vulnerability to a fox, and wisdom to an opossum? Meet the talented voice cast and learn more about your favorite characters from The Wild Robot.
• THE OVERPROTECTIVE MOTHER – A deleted sequence from the film in storyboard form, with an introduction by writer/director Chris Sanders.
• ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: ANIMATING THE WILD ROBOT – Go behind the scenes to see how filmmakers pushed the boundaries of animation to achieve the uniquely immersive world of The Wild Robot.
• FEELING ALIVE – Learn how filmmakers and cast enhanced the universally relatable thematic elements of Peter Brown’s original story to deepen its emotional connection to audiences.
• WILD SOUNDS – Explore the incredible music of The Wild Robot – from Kris Bowers’ enchanting score to Maren Morris’ two new songs.
• HOW TO DRAW – Follow along with writer/director Chris Sanders as he teaches Lupita Nyong’o how to draw Roz and then learn to draw Fink, Baby Brightbill, and Pinktail with story artist/character designer Genevieve Tsai!
• FLY YOUR OWN BRIGHTBILL – One of Roz’s primary tasks is to teach Brightbill to fly so he can migrate with the other geese. Here, you’ll learn how to create your very own Brightbill Kite so you can help him fly too!

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Sometimes you ever know what the best-reviewed films of the year will be. And right now, one of them is The Wild Robot, the rare original film that DreamWorks was able to shimmy in between their Trolls, Kung Fu Panda and Shrek movies. But, taking a cue from these franchises, the studio has greenlit a sequel even though The Wild Robot has only been out for two weeks.

Now, The Wild Robot has already crossed $110 million worldwide, with the bulk coming domestically (it’s currently tracking to take the #2 spot at the box office this week, behind Terrifier 3). With that, we shouldn’t be surprised that a sequel for The Wild Robot is moving forward. This was all confirmed by director Chris Sanders, who said, “100% yes there are absolutely plans for a second one.” Details are obviously vague or nonexistent at this point but that’s still encouraging.

Sanders – who was also responsible for Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, the latter with DreamWorks – previously praised the studio and expressed his interest in a sequel, telling NBC, “I would very much like to [do a sequel to The Wild Robot]. I think the entire crew really, really involved themselves in this film in a way that I’ve never seen before, myself included. This was a labor of love on the part of everybody at the studio, and yes, I think I’d love to go and stay here for a while.”

Lupita Nyong’o, who voices Roz, has also been open about being down for a sequel to The Wild Robot. And considering how terrific she is here and the depth she brings to the character, no doubt fans would welcome the return. The rest of the voice cast includes Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Catherine O’Hara, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, Bill Nighy, and Ving Rhames.

The Wild Robot will likely see a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination, potentially even stopping Inside Out 2 from nabbing another for the series. To date, DreamWorks only has two wins in the category out of 14 nominations. One of these was for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and the studio could also find themselves facing off against that series’ follow-up, Vengeance Most Fowl, after they were dumped by Nick Park and company.

Despite the excellent box office, Dreamworks is giving the movie a rather quick debut on VOD, with it set for release on Tuesday. Is this too soon, and are you ready for a sequel? Let us know in the comments!

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Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Carrie by Stephen Andrade

The Corspe Bride by Kevin Tiernan

Dirty Harry by Charles Griak

The Legend of Zelda by Kyle Fast

Nosferatu The Vampyre by Graham Corcoran

The Substance by Siddharth Vinod

Tales From The Crypt by Bryan Johnson

Terrifier by Ted Hammond

Transformers by Ryan Button

The Wild Robot by Alan Dav

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Dreamworks Animation’s The Wild Robot performed way ahead of our expectations at the box office this weekend. Even the most optimistic industry estimates had this only making about $25 million (we pegged it at significantly less). Still, it looks like the excellent reviews (and the fact that it’s based on a universally beloved book) played in its favor. Its $35 million opening weekend is a pretty big coup for a non-sequel these days, with it all earning a terrific A CinemaScore rating, promising that it should have good legs in the week to come.

However, another animated movie about robots with solid word-of-mouth wasn’t so lucky. Transformers One, which also earned an A CinemaScore and boasts an all-star voice cast, collapsed in week two at the box office. It plummeted a massive 62% to a $9.3 million total and a $39 million domestic tally. It will be lucky to break $55 million in North America and will rank as the lowest-grossing Transformers movie since the original animated film way back in 1986. Perhaps this franchise needs to be retired for a while (do we really need a G.I. Joe/ Transformers crossover?).

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also sported another strong showing at the box office, earning a rock-solid $16 million and crossing the $250 million mark domestically. Not bad for a movie WB almost consigned to a streaming debut on Max. 

Of course, the opening everyone will be talking about this weekend is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, which turned out to be the disaster everyone thought it would be with a $4 million opening. Sporting a putrid D CinemaScore rating, the movie also proved to be the latest box office dud from Lionsgate, a studio which, sadly, cannot seem to catch a break these days. 

Megalopolis was soundly trounced by a few movies this weekend, including the Indian blockbuster Devara Part 1, which stars RRR’s N. T. Rama Rao Jr, and made a hefty $5.6 million for fourth place. Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil also continued to show some serious legs, making  $4.3 million (only a 26% week-to-week decline), with it likely to end its theatrical run in the $40 million range. 

Deadpool & Wolverine, despite its imminent home media bow, made another $2.65 million, which landed it in seventh place, with a $631 million total. Amazon/MGM’s My Old Ass, which has been doing well in limited release, expanded to over 1000 screens and made $2.24 million. Lionsgate’s Never Let Go lost 50% of its audience and sank to ninth place with $2.2 million (and a sub $10 million domestic tally – horrible for a horror flick). Finally, The Substance, despite great reviews, hasn’t been able to attract much of a theatrical audience, with it making only $1.8 million in tenth place and a $6.8 million total. Ouch.

Next weekend should give the box office a much-needed shot of adrenaline, with Joker Folie A Deux primed for a $60 million-plus opening. Did you see anything this weekend? Let us know in the comments! 

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In a surprising twist of fate at the often fickle box office, the exceedingly well-reviewed The Wild Robot is opening way ahead of expectations. Deadline has the film now opening at about $35 million, which is about $10 million more than even the most optimistic industry estimates and $20 million or so ahead of my own predictions. Good for Dreamworks, as this really is one of the best movies they’ve ever made (check out Steve Seigh’s rave review right here). In the meantime, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is moving down to second place, with $15.5 million, which will easily put it past the $250 million domestic mark.

Sadly, Transformers One, despite excellent word-of-mouth, is crashing and burning at the box office, posting a huge 59% decline in week two for a $10 million weekend. With a $39 million domestic total, this one will be lucky to cross the $55 million mark by the end of its run, which is disastrous for the franchise. That’s too bad, as it’s actually a good movie! It seems this is one franchise that has maybe run its course, even if Paramount is still planning that crossover movie with G.I Joe. 

Meanwhile, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is already being dubbed Megaflopulous online after being beaten Friday night by the Indian Telugu-language flick, Devara Part 1 (which stars RRR’s N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), with Deadline having a hard time pegging the final number. They say it may total anywhere between $3.2-5 million, but either way, that’s a disastrous start for Coppola’s passion project. Truth be told, while I didn’t like the movie (at all – and you can see from my review) it makes me sad that the movie is collapsing so completely at the box office, as even if I didn’t like it – I still kinda think people should see it.

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In this weekend’s box office preview, I was pretty conservative in my guesses as far as what the weekend grosses will be for the two big new releases, The Wild Robot and Megalopolis. I actually figured The Wild Robot would only open in the teens and be beaten by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but it seems my estimates might have been off as Deadline is reporting that the animated movie made a decent $1.95 million yesterday. That’s not a massive number, but it’s in line with what other animated movies like Trolls Band Together and The Bad Guys made, which suggests The Wild Robot should have no trouble opening in the $20-25 million range. Last week, Transformers One made about $3 million in previews on its way to a $24 million opening, but many believe the preview night number was front-loaded due to older fans.

In other news, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis posted $770k in preview revenue, which isn’t bad for an adult-skewing arthouse title. While there’s no way Coppola’s $100 million plus passion project opens north of $5 million, that preview number proves some faithful Coppola fans are willing to give it a show. It had special Monday evening screenings that largely sold out, and if you happen to see it on a premium screen, you might even be treated to a live theater component, which we explain here.

As usual, we’ll be updating the numbers as they come in, so stay tuned to find out whether the well-reviewed Wild Robot is able to take the box office crown from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in week four. 

What are you going to see this weekend? Make sure to let us know in the comments. While I didn’t care for Megalopolis, I still think it’s worth seeing just for how audacious it is. 

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This weekend is shaping up to be a rather quiet one at the box office, with two new releases, The Wild Robot and Megalopolis, coming out that no one thinks are going to set the world on fire. Indeed, while Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was a smash hit early this month, the rest of September had been loaded with bomb after bomb, with Transformers One having an especially underwhelming opening last weekend, where it lost to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in its third week.

Box office forecasters expect The Wild Robot to make about $25 million this weekend and take the top spot. But, I gotta say, I’m not so sure. The Wild Robot is a terrific movie, and I fully agree with our man Steve Seigh’s rave review (read it here). But Paramount and Dreamworks made a huge mistake scheduling two robot-driven animated movies so close together, and Wild Robot and Transformers One will cannibalize each other’s audience. As such, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict The Wild Robot will only open with about $14 million and be beaten by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which I think will once again take the top spot with $15 million.

Transformers One should take third place with about $11 million, although given the A CinemaScore, it could rally and do a bit better. Speak No Evil should hit fourth place with about $3 million, while Megalopolis will be lucky to hit fifth place with $2 million, as I truly think this is going to be the biggest box office disaster of the year. That’s a bummer, as I wanted to like Coppola’s passion project (suffice to say I didn’t) and a terrible note to end an otherwise dazzling career on – although then again, who knows, he might make another movie, and maybe it’ll be a masterpiece.

Here are my predictions:

1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: $15 million
2. The Wild Robot: $14 million
3. Transformers One: $11 million
4. Speak No Evil: $3 million
5. Megalopolis: $2 million

As bad as this weekend is shaping up, the release of Joker: Folie a Deux should kick the box office into high gear next weekend. 

Do you agree with my predictions? Let me know in the comments!

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The time has come for Francis Ford Coppola’s newest epic to hit screens. The early receptions for Megalopolis have been divided, with even our own EIC, Chris Bumbray, finding himself on the negative side of the reactions, stating in his review, “Indeed, I despise the fact that Megalopolis turned out to be such an unwieldy mess, as the last thing I wanted to do at this year’s TIFF was join the choir of Coppola haters – of which I’ll never be one, even if I didn’t like his movie.” Meanwhile, the most positive review may have come from Coppola himself as the director joined Letterboxd and gave Megalopolis five stars. Inversely, the new animated film, The Wild Robot, has been given an immensely positive response as it currently sits at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Both films will be hitting theaters this weekend and The Hollywood Reporter takes a look at the projections for the week’s new releases. Coppola’s passion project was a self-financed venture that had a price tag of $120 million before marketing. Unfortunately, the ambitious film is only projected to make $5 million to $7 million.

Meanwhile, the new Dreamworks animated feature The Wild Robot has both early buzz and the appeal of being a heartfelt family film that can be comparable to Inside Out 2‘s big business from this summer. It’s being predicted that the movie wins the weekend above past releases, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Transformers One, in the “$24 million range domestically, although more bullish forecasters believe it could easily fly past $30 million.” However, experts also kept in mind that Transformers One made $5 million less than projected after the film had the benefit of good word-of-mouth and action appeal as well as being a part of a popular IP.

While Coppola’s film explores the conflicts and politics of rebuilding a society, a film that aims to capitalize on election season is a new documentary from filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza about Donald Trump’s current bid to win the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. The film Vindicating Trump will be opening in 500 to 700 screens across the nation. The film was made in cooperation with Trump, who has been personally plugging the film, and comes from Faith-based distributor SDG, which recently put out the documentary Am I Racist?

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PLOT: Based on the novels by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot tells the story of ROZZUM Unit 7134, or Roz for short, a highly advanced, multipurpose automaton that washes ashore on a remote island teeming with wildlife. Programmed to assist in any task within her ability, Roz searches for a directive amidst the lush forest, tributaries, and craggy mountainsides. While exploring, Roz accidentally crushes a nest of gosling eggs, with only the runt of the gaggle surviving the unintentional destruction. Unsure of what to do, Roz assumes a motherly role and acts as the gosling’s caregiver until he can eat, swim, and fly alone. Considered outcasts on the island, Roz and the gosling struggle to win the approval of the local wildlife but eventually become something much greater than anyone expected.

REVIEW: I feel attacked. Allow me to explain. When I woke up this morning, pried myself away from playing Astro Bot, and drove to the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto for the world premiere of Dreamworks Animation‘s The Wild Robot, I was unprepared for Chris Sanders’ latest to hit me as hard as it did. What is essentially the last film to be animated entirely in-house by the studio that brought us Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, and more, The Wild Robot is nothing short of phenomenal.

The first thing that impressed me about this movie was its dynamic sound design. While Roy Thompson Hall’s sound system is among the best I’ve ever heard, the mix here is incredible. Most of The Wild Robot takes place in a densely populated forest, with weather and wildlife creating a geophony of thunderstorms, animal calls, and natural splendor shifting with each new season. The music by Kris Bowers is a brilliant accompaniment, saturating the audience in symphonic soundscapes oscillating between rollicking, wondrous, and melancholy. As your attorney, I advise you to watch this movie with a killer sound system, if possible.

Next comes the film’s visual design, which employs a look similar to 2022’s criminally underrated animated heist film, The Bad Guys. We live in a post-Into the Spider-Verse world, and animation is better for it. The Wild Robot combines Monet-like smears with Miyazakian character design, resulting in a style that looks infinitely better in motion than any promotional screenshot could hope to convey. The film’s color palette is boundless, with the natural beauty of Roz’s surroundings feeling alive, serene, and untouched by human hands.

Parents, prepare to explain Darwinism to your kids because The Wild Robot gives no quarter to depicting survival of the fittest but couches the instruction in humor and hilariously timed sight gags. Speaking of humor, I straight-up missed sections of dialogue because the Roy Thompson Hall audience, especially the adults in the crowd, was howling with laughter every few minutes. At its heart, The Wild Robot is a meditation on motherhood and the lengths we’re willing to go for the ones we love.

What surprises me the most about The Wild Robot is the film’s ability to reach into my sentimental soul and choke it until tears stream from my eyes. I’m not afraid to admit this movie is, at times, a tear-jerker, and I welled up about five times during the screening and cried twice, but who’s counting? I wasn’t the only one. All around me, I could hear people sniffling, gulping air, and shifting in their seats.

At the core of the film’s emotional output is the brilliant cast, including Lupita Nyong’o as Roz, Pedro Pascal as the conniving fox, Fink, and Kit Connor as Roz’s surrogate gosling son, Brightbill. The trio makes up the film’s beating heart. Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Matt Berry, Mark Hamill, and Ving Rhames deliver hilarious and heartfelt performances as various animals from the forest. Finally, there’s Stephanie Hsu as Vontra, an unfeeling robot sent to retrieve Roz and siphon the unique and invaluable knowledge stored inside her core memory. Think GLaDOS from Valve’s Portal video game series, but with less pithy humor and definitely lying about there being cake at the end of the experiment.

Undoubtedly, The Wild Robot is my favorite Dreamworks movie in the studio’s long history. In my estimation, it’s the studio’s most mature movie. Beyond the life lessons, laughs, and heart-stopping heroism is a carefully crafted tale about breaking the bonds of isolation, trying to fit in where others feel you don’t belong, and going about life your way and no one else’s. Roz’s winning the island over through her selfless acts will surely be a topic of conversation come awards season. I’m genuinely so excited for more people to see this film. The first act will leave you in stitches, the second will hug your heart, and the third will blow you away with action, inspirational acts of sacrifice, and closure.

The Wild Robot

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Prepare your inner child. Parents of children, parents of pets, prepare to feel your heartstrings pulled with the newest family film, The Wild Robot. The final trailer for the animated movie has been released by DreamWorks. Stay tuned for our review, which will drop later today.

The Wild Robot follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling.

Courtesy of the official press release for The Wild Robot:
The Wild Robot stars Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, The Black Panther franchise) as robot Roz; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as fox Fink; Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek, Best in Show) as opossum Pinktail; Oscar nominee Bill Nighy (Living, Love Actually) as goose Longneck; Kit Connor (Heartstopper, Rocketman) as gosling Brightbill and Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fall Guy) as Vontra, a robot that will intersect with Roz’s life on the island. 

The film also features the voice talents of Emmy-winning pop-culture icon Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise, The Boy and the Heron), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, The SpongeBob Movie franchise), and Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible films, Pulp Fiction). The Wild Robot is a powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature, and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things.

Chris Sanders (The Croods, The Call of the Wild, Lilo & Stitch) directs The Wild Robot from a script based on Peter Brown’s novel. Speaking of which, awards for The Wild Robot series extend beyond its position on the New York Times chart, including prizes for a Horn Book Award, two E.B. White Awards, two E.B. White Honors, a Children’s Choice Award for Illustrator of the Year, two Irma Black Honors, a Golden Kite Award and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award.

The Wild Robot stomps into cinemas on September 27.

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