Top 10 Surprises of Season 31

 

Sherman J. Pearson here with another post-season Top 10 segment covering some of the biggest and most shocking events in LRF's 31st season.

Top 10 Surprises of Season 31

10. Friday the 13th: Blood Ties

Writer Jack Brown managed to write the best Friday the 13th film in the history of the franchise with this one.

9. The Diplomat

It's clear that Lon Charles was not afraid to take chances with the cast and crew for The Diplomat. I definitely did not have Woody Allen directing Johnny Depp in a film about the toll public false accusations take on my Season 31 bingo card.

8. Gamera

When Gamera was announced as the debut film for writer Nic Suzuki, expectations were probably on the lower end, but not only did the film turn out to be a hit, but it also even won the GRA for Most Wanted Sequel - the first debut film to ever do so.

7. Animated Films

Between Scrappy, Animal Farm, and Marvin the Martian, the studio easily had what could be considered its most successful season for animated films - and the first time more than two have been released in one season.

6. Ocean Pawn

This one is a bit of a two-part surprise. It was obviously a little bit of a surprise when the film was released and quickly lost the studio $99 million. But then when that happened, I doubt anyone would have said that the film would still take home a GRA trophy.

5. Season 31 Profits

Despite featuring the highest grossing film in LRF history, Season 31 was not one of its more profitable seasons. In fact, it is the 7th lowest profits for a season in the studio's history.

4. Saving Yemen

Shortly before release, writer Jacob Jones himself expressed doubts as to this film's chances. But it wound up being a hit, grossing almost $200 million with decent reviews as well.

3. Willamette

That ending. Usually when films depict a bunch of crazy cultists with a doomsday prophecy about UFOs, they are shown to be fools. Willamette's ending proposes an amazing question: "What if they are right?" It is probably Shyamalan's best twist ending since The Sixth Sense.

2. Justice League War

LRF awarded a new box office king when Justice League War was released to close out the season's slate of films. 

1. Season 31 Golden Reel Awards

Eleven different films winning trophies at the 31st Golden Reel Awards is certainly the biggest surprise of the season. It not only shatters the record of 9 different films winning trophies, but the ceremony also went on a streak of no film having multiple trophies for the first 11 categories, with things only breaking out of that with the final three categories of the ceremony.