In Theaters: 1917, JUST MERCY, UNDERWATER and LIKE A BOSS

Universal's war epic "1917" and Warner Bros' legal drama "Just Mercy" have both been expanded nationwide this weekend, but while the latter is on its way to a modest debut, the former is ready to hit the box-office hard and take down "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker".

Best Picture Golden Globe winner "1917" is off to a great start with $3.25 million from Thursday evening previews. The film is expected to rake in around $35 million this weekend from 3,434 theaters.

"Just Mercy", which has had an unsuccessful award season run, so far, has brought in 800,000 from previews, and the film could finish the weekend with around $9 million from 2,375 theaters.

There are also two new wide releases this week. The first is the horror film "Underwater" starring Kristen Stewart, which brought in $500,000 from Thursday evening previews, and looks on track to score a mediocre $6 million from 2,791 theaters.

The second new release is Paramount's R-rated comedy "Like a Boss" starring Rose Byrne, Tiffany Haddish and Salma Hayek. The film has delivered $1 million from previews and could end up with a decent $13 million from 3,078 theater in spite of a terrible critical reception.

Synopses, details, critical/audience reception, trailers, and more after the jump.

1917

Official Synopsis

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (Captain Fantastic's George MacKay) and Blake (Game of Thrones' Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers--Blake's own brother among them.

Film Details

• Director: Sam Mendes
  
  
• Starring: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong
  
  
• Genre: Drama, War
  
  
• Running Time: 119 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for violence, some disturbing images, and language
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 89% (234 fresh, 30 rotten, score: 8.3/10)
  
• Metacritic: 79 out of 100 (46 positive, 7 mixed, 0 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (average score: 4.6/5 from 714 user ratings)
• Metacritic: 7.9/10 (44 positive, 6 mixed, 5 negative).
• IMDb: 8.6/10 (9,420 votes)
  

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JUST MERCY

Official Synopsis

A powerful and thought-provoking true story, "Just Mercy" follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds-and the system-stacked against them.

Film Details

• Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
  
  
• Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, Tim Blake Nelson, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
  
  
• Genre: Drama
  
  
• Running Time: 136 min.
  
  
• Rating: PG-13 for thematic content including some racial epithets
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 81% (127 fresh, 29 rotten, score: 6.9/10)
  
• Metacritic: 68 out of 100 (32 positive, 8 mixed, 0 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 99% (average score: 4.8/5 from 309 user ratings)
• Metacritic: 5.2/10 (7 positive, 1 mixed, 5 negative).
• IMDb: 6.5/10 (1,674 votes)
  

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UNDERWATER

Official Synopsis

A crew of underwater researchers must scramble to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory.

Film Details

• Director: William Eubank
  
  
• Starring: Kristen Stewart, T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick, Vincent Cassel, John Gallagher Jr., Mamoudou Athie, Gunner Wright
  
  
• Genre: Action, Drama, Horror
  
  
• Running Time: 95 min.
  
  
• Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and terror, and brief strong language
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 53% (42 fresh, 38 rotten, score: 5.2/10)
  
• Metacritic: 49 out of 100 (11 positive, 15 mixed, 6 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 67% (average score: 3.6/5 from 63 user ratings)
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 6.3/10 (751 votes)
  

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LIKE A BOSS

Official Synopsis

Best friends Mia and Mel (Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne) are living their best lives running their own cosmetics company they've built from the ground up. Unfortunately, they're in over their heads financially, and the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the cosmetics industry Claire Luna (Salma Hayek) proves too tempting to pass up, putting Mel and Mia's lifelong friendship in jeopardy. The beauty business is about to get ugly.

Film Details

• Director: Miguel Arteta
  
  
• Starring: Rose Byrne, Tiffany Haddish, Salma Hayek, Billy Porter, Jennifer Coolidge, Ari Graynor
  
  
• Genre: Comedy
  
  
• Running Time: 83 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for language, crude sexual material, and drug use
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 24% (14 fresh, 45 rotten, score: 4.2/10)
  
• Metacritic: 33 out of 100 (2 positive, 11 mixed, 12 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• Metacritic: 3.5/10 (1 positive, 0 mixed, 3 negative).
• IMDb: 3.8/10 (186 votes)
  

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