Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[Drtooth]

While I kind of like the look of Book of Life, it just doesn't seem to resonate with me. More artifice than emotion, I guess.

Personally, I was fifty fifty about the whole thing until I found out one of my favorite cartoon writers was doing the script. And Ron Pearlman, as I said. I bet this film is going to stick in Pixar's Craw, since they also wanted to make a Dia de los Muertos film for some time. Just that I hear whoever is behind this particular film has been wanting to make one even longer. I just wonder if Pixar's going to say the heck with it and release their own in time, or they'll pull another Newt and just pull the film.

I'm usually up for an animated film as long as it's not an idiotic babysitter/get rich quick scheme for a tenth party studio.

 

[Drtooth]

Good news for Guardians fans...

The film was the biggest success of the summer.(domestically) Not only that, but in its 4th week, it managed to reclaim the number one spot, which TMNT had for the past 2. That really speaks volumes about the other films this month. I didn't think there was any competition other than TMNT and Guardians. Guardians pulled in some unprecedented numbers in a historically slow month.

Still, Sin City opened weak. Like single digit million weak.

 

[Drtooth]

Update on that last bit... GOTG finally broke the 300 million mark, the first film all year to do so.

And that stupid dolphin thing opened about 16 million... roughly the same lousy BO open for a certain other film that should have done much better. And I bet that's going to get a third movie over the one we were pushing for, which is bull. First Dolphin film wasn't even that successful. Only reason it had a better opening than the second one was the 3-D tickets that weren't in this sequel.

But YAY! GOTG is the most successful film of the year so far. It's been one of my favorites this year (Muppet bias pretty much stops me from making it a true favorite) and a great change of pace film for the MCU. It made Groot and Rocket pretty much household names when they've pretty much been obscure to everyone that isn't the diest of hards a Marvel fan. And to think, as soon as the film was announced, it sounded like a joke, if not a serious gamble. And it still made some money over a month since its release.

 

[mr3urious]

I really hope The Boxtrolls will be a better success than Coraline and ParaNorman. A late September release with no competition to speak of should be more promising.

But YAY! GOTG is the most successful film of the year so far. It's been one of my favorites this year (Muppet bias pretty much stops me from making it a true favorite) and a great change of pace film for the MCU. It made Groot and Rocket pretty much household names when they've pretty much been obscure to everyone that isn't the diest of hards a Marvel fan. And to think, as soon as the film was announced, it sounded like a joke, if not a serious gamble. And it still made some money over a month since its release.

A lot was going against Guardians, but Disney's promotion of it paid off beautifully, especially considering it was placed in the dumpiest of dump months.

 

[Drtooth]

I really hope The Boxtrolls will be a better success than Coraline and ParaNorman. A late September release with no competition to speak of should be more promising.

Paranorman was completely dumped in August, but it wasn't going to get much more than a respectable cult following anyway. Know how I'm always complaining about how PG kid's movies are really G movies? Only two films I've seen deserve a true PG rating was Paranorman and Rango. PN must've scared away the youngest crowd, but seemed perfectly fit for teens and older animation fans. Too bad that Brave got a pity Oscar for the behind the scenes shenanigans. PN should have gotten that one, or at least Wreck it Ralph or Pirates.

I've noticed that Boxtrolls is getting a lot more marketing during kid's programming than the last two had. Even managed to see some surprise Funko Pop figures of the characters. Seems like this looks wacky enough to get the younger audiences who were scared off by Paranorman.

A lot was going against Guardians, but Disney's promotion of it paid off beautifully, especially considering it was placed in the dumpiest of dump months.

Way back when they did an Iron Man movie, Iron Man wasn't exactly the most popular Marvel Hero. But he had been in cartoons before (years before), and was considered second string-ish behind the big stars the likes of Spidey, Hulk, and Wolverine. Maybe even third string (general public thinking, rather than Marvel fandom). That movie managed to become a popular franchise and bumped him into the A-list. Guardians was a huge gamble. Outside of a comic book, they had literally nothing mainstream up until the movie's announcement. Well... there was one thing. Rocket Raccoon was a playable character in Marvel vs Capcom 3, and immediately the complaints were flooding in that they dare chose an obscure character from an obscure comic over more famous Marvel heroes and classic version Mega Man. The MM fans were more livid than the Marvel ones, even though Zero was still there (and, frankly, Viewtiful Joe wasn't getting that much work lately, so it's great to see him there).

I swear... the second it was announced, Hasbro released an action figure set. Then Marvel revved up the hype machine through comics, the Guardians appeared on an episode of Ultimate Spider-Man (their big TV cartoon debut), and sure enough there was some semblance of them getting ahead through the sheer will of wanting this movie to perform well. But the surprise is not only did a movie based on an obscure Marvel comic with quirky characters work, it made May money in August! It out performed Captain America, and people actually know who he is.

Now, Dancing Groot's a meme (a spoilery one at that), they're getting a cartoon series, and a sequel.

 

[Muppet Master]

The Boxtrolls, let me guess. From what I saw from a commercial, it is that old cliche about a not very masculent boy getting into a wacky adventure with a masculent girl he has a crush on who only grudgingly agrees to go with him, the girl warms up to the guy they fall in love, the end. The typically story that Dreamworks is a culprit of making too much of, and September is not a good time to release an animated film, and since this is Sony and stop motion, I can not expect the film making over $100 million, but that is just my opinion.

 

[Drtooth]

Kids don't give two craps about cliches, and I'm sure that animation fans will overlook that and go for the gorgeous stop motion smooth enough to make you think its CGI. But, yeah... I see this film being made more for the pure love of artistic craft than money. Then again, it does look like a breath of fresh air in a CGI dominated market. Something the film going public is starting to tire of if that horrible Wizard of Oz thing is any indication.

I'm just wondering about Book of Life. It looks pretty good, not mind blowing, but a fun time at the movies. I hope that it finds and audience and beats the crap out of that terrible kid's book adaption.

 

[jvcarroll]

The Boxtrolls, let me guess. From what I saw from a commercial, it is that old cliche about a not very masculent* boy getting into a wacky adventure with a masculent* girl he has a crush on who only grudgingly agrees to go with him, the girl warms up to the guy they fall in love, the end. The typically story that Dreamworks is a culprit of making too much of, and September is not a good time to release an animated film, and since this is Sony and stop motion, I can not expect the film making over $100 million, but that is just my opinion.

*masculine: having gender qualities usually associated with a man

I don't know what masculinity has to do with it. I didn't see any deviation from gender norms in any of the previews or the premise you've outlined pronounced in the DreamWorks films I've seen. Furthermore, I don't see what the problem would be if that were the case. What the hey?

I expect the overseas markets to carry this film more than the domestic take. It definitely comes off as a niche film.

 

[Drtooth]

I expect the overseas markets to carry this film more than the domestic take. It definitely comes off as a niche film.

I figure that's the case as well. But darned if they aren't trying to appeal to kids with their non-stop advertising during kid's programming. They seem to be marketing it as a more wacky, kid friendly adventure than it most likely is. Do the Boxtrolls themselves come off as Minion-esque in their advertisement? A little. Seems kids could respond to that.

 

[Muppet Master]

*masculine: having gender qualities usually associated with a man

I don't know what masculinity has to do with it. I didn't see any deviation from gender norms in any of the previews or the premise you've outlined pronounced in the DreamWorks films I've seen. Furthermore, I don't see what the problem would be if that were the case. What the hey?

I expect the overseas markets to carry this film more than the domestic take. It definitely comes off as a niche film.

You know what I mean, the strong girl rescues the weak boy, and then the girl reluctantly goes with the boy on an adventure, the girl starts to warm up to the boy who has had strong feelings for her from the beginning, they fall in love the end. I do not care how good their animation is, because if they are reusing that old cliche story.