Muppets Most Wanted Box Office Numbers

jvcarroll

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I don't know what it is, but do have a few theories.

  • March movies fare poorly.
  • Fans of the last film didn't think this one was schmaltzy enough.
  • Fans who didn't like the last film didn't hold out much hope for this one.
  • Younger viewers of today don't respond to the classic, multi-layered, sophisticated humor of the Muppets.
  • People just don't go to the movies like they used to.
  • Maybe audiences had their fill with the last movie.
  • Sometimes this just happens.
  • The Muppets are creatures of television better suited for the small-screen until popularity gives them a reason for a full-fledged movie (that used to be how it worked).
That last reason is my pick. With the popularity of Hulu, Netflix and OnDemand now in the mix, there's really no bad place for a televised Muppet Show anymore. There's only a question of what will be the best place. I still say dump America's Un-Funniest Home Videos should be bumped off and the Muppets could be the lead-in for Once Upon a Time on Sundays. It's the best spot for them in the family hour (er...half-hour).
 

jvcarroll

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Out of curiosity, here are the domestic Henson/Muppet film grosses adjusted for inflation. It places the performance of MMW right around MCC, but nowhere near the industry-considered "flops" of MFS and EIG. The worst someone could claim is a "middling" performance. Hmmm

TMM
$206,769,700

DC $109,861,500

GMC $89,353,200

TM $88,966,500

MTI $61,820,400

MTM $60,492,900

MCC $52,354,200

MMW $51,132,820

FTB $31,304,900

LAB $27,312,700

MFS $26,051,500

EIG $18,306,500
 

Reevz1977

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There is another reason you may have missed Jamie. The Muppets, in no way shape or form, represent the bland generic, impossible to distinguish, CGI crap that kids today seem to lap up. I went to the movies recently and there were trailers for 3 CGI movies and/or sequels and I could not tell you what they were called or tell them apart!!

For me, the movie was absolutely brilliant, and whilst it's definitely far from flawless ("muppet-ladder"...grrrrrr), it built on and improved what Disney delivered in The Muppets. I also know of quite a few non-muppet-fans who are keen to pick this up on Blu and I personally think (and hope!) that is where this film is going to come into it's own!
 

jvcarroll

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There is another reason you may have missed Jamie. The Muppets, in no way shape or form, represent the bland generic, impossible to distinguish, CGI crap that kids today seem to lap up. I went to the movies recently and there were trailers for 3 CGI movies and/or sequels and I could not tell you what they were called or tell them apart!!

For me, the movie was absolutely brilliant, and whilst it's definitely far from flawless ("muppet-ladder"...grrrrrr), it built on and improved what Disney delivered in The Muppets. I also know of quite a few non-muppet-fans who are keen to pick this up on Blu and I personally think (and hope!) that is where this film is going to come into it's own!
I completely agree. That's probably why the Muppets print ads look as they do. They over-saturate the characters, make them look squeaky clean and place them against a minimal or white background in order to make them visually pop like the typical CG fare.
The problem is, that process removes all of their charm. While I kinda like what they did with the 2011 teaser, a lot of auds objected to it. Many cited the Muppet legs as the problem, but we've all seen Muppet legs for years. They ride bikes, they dance and they jump out of airplanes. The problem was that it really looked too clean and void of charm. They're kind of reduced to product like in the Apple ads. Of course, they really need to start fixing Kermit's leg/upper thigh connection in Photoshop - and that's what Photoshop is for. It's not meant to make these guys look dry cleaned. I prefer my Muppets to have a little schmutz on them.

Anyway, that's just the print ads. The broadcast advertisements, product tie-ins and media tour were fantastic. I really like this turn the Muppets took, away from Segel and back to their roots where they belong. The problem is probably what it's always been. Except for the film's media burst, the Muppets aren't around in our daily lives anymore. They really need to return to TV in some of their own well-written specials or heck, give them their own show again. It really is time for that and there are so many options these days. Unfortunately, the movies are the past. Even popular movie stars are taking roles as TV/streaming/cable regulars. Halle Berry. Kevin Spacey, Matthew McConaughey, Billy Bob Thornton and many others. I think the Muppets deserve to join that list of stars.
 

Muppet Master

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Out of curiosity, here are the domestic Henson/Muppet film grosses adjusted for inflation. It places the performance of MMW right around MCC, but nowhere near the industry-considered "flops" of MFS and EIG. The worst someone could claim is a "middling" performance. Hmmm

TMM
$206,769,700

DC $109,861,500

GMC $89,353,200

TM $88,966,500

MTI $61,820,400

MTM $60,492,900

MCC $52,354,200

MMW $51,132,820

FTB $31,304,900

LAB $27,312,700

MFS $26,051,500

EIG $18,306,500
Well, that may be true, but in the end its all about the budget. If a film makes $600 million at the domestic box office and it has a $700 million budget than it flopped, but if a film makes $10 million at the box office and it had a $1 million budget then time to order the sequel. With that said, this is how the muppet films stand, profit-wise. budgets adjusted to 2014 $, profits are rounded

TMM Gross: $206,769,700 Budget:$25 million Profit:$181 million

DC
Gross: $109,861,500 Budget:$41 million Profit:$68 million

GMC Gross: $89,353,200 Budget:$40 million Profit:$49 million

TM Gross: $88,966,500 Budget:$45 million Profit:$43 million

MTI Gross: $61,820,400 Budget:$9 million Profit:$52 million

MTM Gross: $60,492,900 Budget:$25 million Profit:$35 million

MCC Gross: $52,354,200 Budget:$23 million Profit:$29 million

MMW Gross:$51,132,820 Budget:$50 million Profit:$1 million

THIS IS WHEN THE MONEY-MAKERS ARE SEPARATED FROM THE BOMBS

FTB Gross: $31,304,900 Budget:N/A Profit:box office bomb (as listed in many sources)

LAB Gross: $27,312,700 Budget:$51 million Profit:$0,000,000

MFS Gross: $26,051,500 Budget:$38 million Profit: I think I see a moth

EIG Gross:$18,306,500 Budget:$41 million Profit: BOMB



In the end, MMW stands at the bottom of the money-making henson films, so ya it should just be called middling.
 

jvcarroll

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Well, that may be true, but in the end its all about the budget. If a film makes $600 million at the domestic box office and it has a $700 million budget than it flopped, but if a film makes $10 million at the box office and it had a $1 million budget then time to order the sequel. With that said, this is how the muppet films stand, profit-wise. budgets adjusted to 2014 $, profits are rounded

TMM Gross: $206,769,700 Budget:$25 million Profit:$181 million

DC
Gross: $109,861,500 Budget:$41 million Profit:$68 million

GMC Gross: $89,353,200 Budget:$40 million Profit:$49 million

TM Gross: $88,966,500 Budget:$45 million Profit:$43 million

MTI Gross: $61,820,400 Budget:$9 million Profit:$52 million

MTM Gross: $60,492,900 Budget:$25 million Profit:$35 million

MCC Gross: $52,354,200 Budget:$23 million Profit:$29 million

MMW Gross:$51,132,820 Budget:$50 million Profit:$1 million

THIS IS WHEN THE MONEY-MAKERS ARE SEPARATED FROM THE BOMBS

FTB Gross: $31,304,900 Budget:N/A Profit:box office bomb (as listed in many sources)

LAB Gross: $27,312,700 Budget:$51 million Profit:$0,000,000

MFS Gross: $26,051,500 Budget:$38 million Profit: I think I see a moth

EIG Gross:$18,306,500 Budget:$41 million Profit: BOMB



In the end, MMW stands at the bottom of the money-making henson films, so ya it should just be called middling.
What you've done with the numbers to devise the profit is kind of strange and inaccurate. It also doesn't take into the account the international markets or the advertising budgets. Those are usually kept under wraps. MMW's ad campaign was brilliant because half the ads were tie-in commercials for products. That means Toyota etc paid Disney to advertise MMW as long as the Muppets were seen driving in their car.

Also, what film costs $700 million? I wanna see dat. LOL!
 

JimAndFrank

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MMW has made over 78 million dollars domestic and worldwide combined.
Thank you! I was just about to comment on that! And as far as I am concerned, it could be far worse than that. This overreaction to the films performance in the box office makes it sound like it was a direct-to-video scenario! For a April- March film and considering what it was up against, MMW did fantastically.
 
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