Also opening this weekend is the action-thriller Homefront. Starring Jason Statham and James Franco, the story follows a widowed ex-DEA agent as he moves to a small town for the sake of his daughter, only to come up against a meth druglord. The film is supported with performances from Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth and Frank Grillo.
This weekend will also see the release of Spike Lee‘s remake of the South Korean cult-classic Oldboy. The mystery-thriller follows Joe Doucett, a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned for 20 years. After being released inexplicably, he sets out to find and punish his captors. The film features a solid cast including Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Michael Imperioli and Samuel L. Jackson.
Rounding off this weekend’s wide releases is the TIFF Audience Award runner-up Philomena. The drama stars Judi Dench as Philomena Lee, a woman who was forced to give up her baby in 1950s Ireland. She lived in a convent and decades later, sets out to find her son with the help of the reticent journalist Martin Sixsmith, played by Steve Coogan.
Finally, the holiday musical Black Nativity, starring Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson, opens wider, releasing this weekend in Toronto and Montreal.