Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[Oscarfan]

I just saw Brave. I can't really articulate thoughts on it. However, SPOILERS, I was glad the little boys "bear" thing wasn't the punchline of the story. I saw clips of it in the previews and they didn't appear until quite late, so I thought it would end up being a "Here we go again!" deal. Thank goodness it wasn't. PIXAR should be above that.

That short film was adorable too. However, this abomination appeared in the trailers:

Seriously? "Marketing VISIONARY BEHIND TELETUBIES?" The fact that you had to make up words ("Adventurific") to make the character's personalities? And poor, poor, poor Chloris Leachmen and Christopher Lloyd.

 

[Drtooth]

I just saw Brave. I can't really articulate thoughts on it. However, SPOILERS, I was glad the little boys "bear" thing wasn't the punchline of the story. I saw clips of it in the previews and they didn't appear until quite late, so I thought it would end up being a "Here we go again!" deal. Thank goodness it wasn't. PIXAR should be above that.

Remember how I was talking about how the Disney Store merchandise was huge spoilers?

They had a 3 brothers/3 bears "transformation" set. I don't think they even attempted to keep that gag half as secret as they did the whole mother turns into a bear bit... even though they had enough merchandise of that too. But no transformation sets, so it could have come off that there was a bear queen of any sort.

You're right. I think Brave will stay at number one, but unlike Afro Circus I see drop-off because viewers are less likely to come for repeat viewings.
I predict something like this (give or take a few M)

$29M Brave
$22M Ted
$18M Magic Mike

The only time an R rated film beat a family film during the first 2 weeks was last year's Hangover 2 over Kung Fu Panda 2... and that's because the first Hangover had such a response. Everyone I know who saw it regretted it, though.

Brave's destined to speak to tweenage/teenage outsider type girls, and it will find a loyal audience with them. I'm not sure about repeat showings (I don't know anyone who willfully brings the family to the same film the very next week. It could get some repeat business later on... but it's got one good more weekend before Spider-Man.

So I gave my 5 bucks to Ted yesterday, and I quite enjoyed it. It does have a lot of Family Guy humor (even adding a character that has "been living in the United States almost long enough to sound American")... but it's surprisingly sweet as a film as well. It is just over what you'd expect... I'm glad I saw it.

 

[KremlingWhatnot]

That short film was adorable too. However, this abomination appeared in the trailers:

Seriously? "Marketing VISIONARY BEHIND TELETUBIES?" The fact that you had to make up words ("Adventurific") to make the character's personalities? And poor, poor, poor Chloris Leachmen and Christopher Lloyd.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOT ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MOVIES!!!, YEAH I AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT!! WHAT THEATER WAS IN, ANYWAYS, CAUSE I DON'T WANNA GO THE THEATER SEE THAT ABOMINATION!!

 

[Drtooth]

That short film was adorable too. However, this abomination appeared in the trailers:

Seriously? "Marketing VISIONARY BEHIND TELETUBIES?" The fact that you had to make up words ("Adventurific") to make the character's personalities? And poor, poor, poor Chloris Leachmen and Christopher Lloyd.

This is going to be its own thread... RIGHT now. There's TOO much to complain about for this thread.

 

[Bannanasketch]

I don't know if I should make a new thread for this or not, so I'll just post it here. Anybody ever go to Drive-in theaters anymore? There's a couple near me that I'm considering going to this summer but I was wondering if any of you ever go anymore.

 

[Hayley B]

I just watched Lilo and Stitch last night. It is just so different from alot of the Disney movies.

 

[Drtooth]

It all depends on how Saturday and Sunday go. Kids are probably out of school by now, but the Weekend is when Family movies do their best.

 

[jvcarroll]

Runaway Box Office​

I have to amend my prediction. Brave might not even place 3rd! The Tyler Perry movie is biting at its heels with just over $10M. My weekend estimates for Ted and Magic Mike that came true in just one day. They made 20.2 and 19.4 respectively. Boy have movie trends changed! I was originally thinking they could take the weekend, but who would have expected these figures?

New Estimates:
Ted: $55M
Magic Mike: $48M
Brave: $30M
Medea: $29M
Madagascar 3: $12M

Spider-Man Can​

The new Spidey comes out Tuesday so that it can get a jump on Wednesday's holiday. Before people post gripes about why they rebooted this franchise, let me briefly explain.

1. Spider-Man's film rights are held by Sony, but they need to keep the projects rolling out every 5 years or the rights will revert back to Marvel/Disney. What company in their right mind would give up such an international cash cow?
2. The actors' salaries were getting ridiculous. Toby Maguire was set to make $50M for the sequel. Kirstin Dunst would likely have taken in close to $20M and then there's the director and other stars who would have all likely gotten money off the profits too. The picture would have already cost close to $100M just to get everybody to show up and another $220 for special effects. They could easily start anew and sign lesser-known actors to multi-picture deals. Makes sense.
3. Raimi's films painted Spider-Man into a creative corner. The key villain storylines were mostly wasted and the love interests no longer mirrored anything in the comics. A new take offers a fresh start and limitless options.

Sony's motives are purely cynical and financially based, yet they hired a creative team that reportedly transcends them so I'll give Spidey a chance. It has the makings for a much more satisfying series if played right. I predict it will take in over $300M in its first week and it's on track to be the third highest grossing film of the summer. I still think Avengers will beat the Dark Knight this time out.

 

[Drtooth]

The new Spidey comes out Tuesday so that it can get a jump on Wednesday's holiday. Before people post gripes about why they rebooted this franchise, let me briefly explain.

1. Spider-Man's film rights are held by Sony, but they need to keep the projects rolling out every 5 years or the rights will revert back to Marvel/Disney. What company in their right mind would give up such an international cash cow?

It's not that I have any problems with Sony's handling of the Spidey franchise at all... but I really wish that Fox's X-men rights would be reverted to Disney/Marvel. If nothing else, that would free up rights to get Wolverine into the Avengers. As it stands, Ant Man wasn't in the movie because of some solo project that may or may not get made. I don't think it makes too much a difference, but the second one should have some other heroes added to the group. Too bad they can't cross pollinate and allow for cameos of other Marvel Heroes.

It has the makings for a much more satisfying series if played right. I predict it will take in over $300M in its first week and it's on track to be the third highest grossing film of the summer. I still think Avengers will beat the Dark Knight this time out.

Dark Knight will be a strong franchise film, but the lack of real interest comes from their choice of villain. In the entire rouge's gallery of Batman villains, they picked a heck of a character. But due to circumstances beyond their control, they couldn't get The Riddler into the film. They wanted Leo Decaprio to play him, and something went down and they couldn't. The story is going to have to outshine the lack of major name characters (Catwoman is clearly just going to be in the beginning stage in the film, and rise to become a major villain at the end of the film). Especially since the rumors around who it was going to be are stronger than the concept of Bane.

It is a shame they killed off Two-Face in the second. I would have had him rise to power as a major figure in the underworld, and be a menace in this one. Sort of like how Scarecrow appeared in the last one as a petty drug dealer... just a short sequence with him in it.

 

[jvcarroll]

Early estimates are in. We won't know the final figures until Monday.

Ted - $54,100,000
Magic Mike - $39,155,000
Brave - $34,011,000
Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection - $26,350,000
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - $11,815,000

Rated R movies have certainly done well this weekend.