John Krasinski Has A Box Office Hit On His Hands
John Krasinski has come a long way from the relatively unknown actor who first appeared on The Office in 2005. Now an established actor, he has also been making waves as a director with the success of his horror movie A Quiet Place and its sequel. Now, he’s making his way into the world of family films with IF, and it’s predicted to be a blockbuster hit.
IF And Imaginary Friends
John Krasinski’s IF follows a young girl who learns she can see other people’s imaginary friends whom they have outgrown. Her neighbor runs a house where many of these discarded Imaginary friends, or IFs for short, live.
Teaming up the girl and her neighbor helps the IFs reunite with the people who created them.
Ryan Reynolds Starring In IF
IF combines live-action with CGI and looks to combine the quippy comedy of Reynolds with its creative visuals.
While the tone and genre couldn’t be more different, John Krasinski’s use of CGI monsters in A Quiet Place means he has experience mixing live-action performances with entirely digital, characters.
Making a comedy is also a bit of a return to his roots, as his earliest directing credits include his independent comedy Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and a handful of episodes on The Office.
John Krasinski With Big Opening Weekend Projections
Despite his success as a director, John Krasinski is still best known as an actor. His career took off after playing Jim Halpert on the American version of The Office, making him a household name. He starred in everything from action movies like 13 Hours to the MCU film Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
The film is projected to earn $38 to $42 million in its opening weekend with some experts predicting even more. If these predictions pan out it will be another certified hit for John Krasinski as a director.
It would also establish his ability to direct family-friendly movies, a departure from the horror movies he’s become known as a director for.
IF And A Big Cast
Of course, John Krasinski’s directing isn’t the only thing contributing to IF’s potential success, which has a star-studded cast.
The adult lead is Ryan Reynolds, acting alongside child actor Cailey Flemming.
There are also an absurd number of starts contributing voice work for the movie including Steve Carrel, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Matt Damon, Jon Stewart, Maya Rudolph, Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, Blake Lively, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Amy Schumer, and Keegan Michael-Key.
Dominating New Releases
Both director John Krasinski and IF’s lead Ryan Reynolds are dominating new releases this year, each having an additional movie coming out this summer.
Ryan Reynolds will be reprising one of his most iconic roles in Deadpool and Wolverine in July, bringing his character into the film juggernaut that is the MCU. As for Krasinski, A Quiet Place: Day One will be released in June, a spin-off he co-wrote and produced.
Can IF Live Up To The Hype?
Whether or not IF will live up to its projections remains to be seen, but it shows a lot of promise with high levels of both brand awareness and interest, according to Paramount.
These projections are great news for both the studio and John Krasinski as theater attendance has been an ongoing issue for films in recent years. Of course, the real test of IF’s success will come on May 17th when the movie is released.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
