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MONDAY AM: Paramount's Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull keeps piling up the box office gross domestically and internationally. After a 19-year hiatus, the fourquel mega-hit became the 10th biggest Friday-through-Sunday in the U.S. of all time, the 5th biggest international opening of all time, Steven Spielberg's biggest opener (passing War Of The Worlds), and George Lucas's second best opener behind Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith. But there's been very mixed morning-after watercooler talk about whether the actioner was even worth watching -- leading many Indy faithful to complain that Spielberg and Lucas just phoned it in. (However, my sources maintain the filmmaking duo thought they'd made a good pic. Go figure.) Monday's North American box office gross is expected to be $25M. That makes the total domestic box office gross $151M for the 5-day Memorial Weekend (including Thursday's opening haul of $25M, Friday's $31M, Saturday's $37M, and Sunday's $33M as well as Monday's $25M), $126M for the 4-day holiday, and $101M for FSS. The foreign estimate through Monday is expected to be $160 million -- shattering the record for the Hollywood studio's best overseas opening previously held by the opening of Spielberg's War Of The Worlds ($102M). So, with North America's $151M total take through Monday, that's a $311M worldwide total.
In second place for the 3-day weekend was Disney/Walden's sequel The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian whose gross fell 58% from a week ago to $23M for FSS from 3,929 venues and $28.6M for the 4-day holiday for a new cume of $96.6M. It's nowhere near as successful as the original domestically, as I pointed out last week when it opened. But it's now taken in $49.3M overseas from 13 territories which represents an 11% increase over Narnia 1. The 3rd spot was another Paramount actioner, Marvel's Iron Man, with $20.1M for FSS from 3,915 runs and $25.6M for the 4-day holiday for a giant new cume of $257.8M.
See my INDY MEMORIALIZED! for the Top 10 chart. (And please don't insert SPOILERS in your comments...)
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I wasn’t impressed, but they still have 2 more kicks at the can, if Lucas is true to his word.
I agree with the critics, the best came first.
That’s a good sign.
I still miss Henry and Marcus.
I can’t see how they will ever fill that gap.
SM
Does the film’s “success” mean that Lucas is going to continue with a TV series? Oh wait, been there, done that.
One word “dissappointing”.
The sets really looked like a newbee directing, not what I would have expected from the mighty Speilberg.
I want my ten bucks back. I also want the two hours of my life back. I couldn’t believe how bad this film was. Was Spielberg sleepwalking or did he just want the paycheck? I feel like a sucker. I left the theater feeling depressed, as though Lucas had sucked my blood. Ugh.
I disagree with Michael S. Watched the movie out of LA with a crowd of people mainly over 21 and they were excited…happy…thrilled to spend their money and be in the company of old friends. The music alone is enough to make you feel uplifted. In times like these, the idea that ANYBODY is a leader is so unusual…and if that leader has to be Indiana Jones, so be it. Nobody complained – there were happy people in those seats. Isn’t that the goal?
You’re such a whiner, Michael S. What did you expect? Raiders II? Its Indy, and its fresh and exciting.
I loved it, so get bent.
Welcome back Indy. 270M is far better than nothing. 20 yrs of wait and bam, you are at the top again.
Caught the show and love it. Going for 2nds this weekend.
It was no Raiders, but then neither were the last two. This movie fit in perfectly with Temple of doom and Last Crusade. It is funny that critics have been complaining about the use of cgi as the Indiana Jones films have always had state of the art effects. Personally I really enjoyed the movie with a few reservations, but hell – that’s Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones! Who can’t love that?
Come on people. It’s Indiana Jones. It’s meant to be a fun, turn your mind off kind of movie. My wife and I thought it was wonderful, and apparently a lot of other people liked it too. Why do you think they flocked to the theater? As for our review, you can check out A HREF=”http://framebyframe.godlaughs.net/2008/05/21/indiana-jones-is-back/” TARGET=”_blank”>”Frame By Frame: A Family-Friendly Guide to the Movies Blog.”
Dr. Rus
Shame they couldn’t get John Rhys-Davies back since the guy who plays Marcus passed away (I didn’t miss Connery).
The only character back is Marion, and she seems like she hasn’t acted in a while, there was zero chemistry between her and Ford. Definitely feels disconnected from the earlier ones.
While this movie is doing well, I think stories like this are overhyping how well it’s doing. It’s a sequel to a huge trilogy, of course it’s going to open big. But I’m not that impressed by the numbers, it’s on the low end of predictions (and I bet actuals are lower than estimates for sunday and monday) and it seems likely to drop big next week. Probably won’t top the summer as some people still seem to think.
I liked it. I thought it was very true to the tone of Raiders and Last Crusade. Harrison’s still got it and I keep getting pleasantly surprized by Shia.
I personally do kinda wish he hadn’t gone all the way where he went with the Chrystal Skull– she said cryptically so as to avoid spoiling anyone — but the effects were cool. My daughter loved it. It deserves every penny of box office it gets.
Excellent movie. Very light, very relaxing and a lot of fun. The nicest thing – it has the same spiirit as the previouse Indianas, so you feel like it is real continuation. And Ford looks almost the same. Really sorry for those who wasn’t able to enjoy it.
it’s so weird! every article on this site about indy has comments like the ones above- just absolutely spewing bile and hate. and yet, if you look at rotten tomatoes, it’s 79% fresh. If you look at box office mojo, 57% of the readers rate it an A with another 37% rating it a B. Just who are these internet comment haters? And why don’t the critics or the public agree with them? I’d say it’s because it’s actually a perfectly fine movie. No, it’s not as good as Raiders, but how COULD it be? It’s not 1981 anymore, people, and we’re not 9 years old at this point. Raiders was lightning in a bottle- don’t destroy this flick just because it didn’t live up to unrealistic expectations. God, fanboys and haters just make me sad.
People should stop complaing that the movie was so bad. It had its crapy moments but it was still an enjoyable installment.
About halfway through the film, I turned to my friend (a film director, a big film snob)… we both said, surprisingly, “this is solid.”
Critics and nitpickers should sit back and enjoy it. An imperfect film, but we both thought it was totally enjoyable. It’s popcorn entertainment, well done.
Where Speed Racer in that list of tent poles box office dollars, Nikki?
This was by far one of the worst films I have seen in a long time. George Lucas has now tainted TWO franchises that I once enjoyed. And Spielberg should be ashamed to have made this film.
Batman and Robin come to mind as complete stinkers that relate to how bad this one is.
To ‘elvisizer’,
It’s not the high level of expectation, it is such a blatant reach for the lowest common denominator. Sad to see that Spielberg is now a Lucas follower of cynical, cyclical business-think. The student has become the master: The ‘tinkerer’ is now leading the ‘filmmaker’ into revenueland. Usually you see this type of profiteering from the studios, to see their tattered indie legacy trampled, that is just sad and I pity both.
“t’s so weird! every article on this site about indy has comments like the ones above- just absolutely spewing bile and hate. and yet, if you look at rotten tomatoes, it’s 79% fresh. If you look at box office mojo, 57% of the readers rate it an A with another 37% rating it a B. Just who are these internet comment haters?”
From a small band of sad Internet nerds who has an agenda to kill the good word of mouth this film has, with out the common sense to know that if word of mouth as as bad as they are trying to say this film has, the film would not have made the money it did this weekend. By the way Nikki, what watter cooler talk are you talking about? This negative posts here, that its obviously the same person, or from the real people who saw the film?
It boggles my mind that these talented billionaire filmmakers are still so interested in making money. (Not to mention obsessed with industry recognition and awards.)
Why can’t they challenge themselves and make something truly risky? Instead of endless packaged deals, how about a $10m quality indie, showcasing new actors and other talent?
Stop coasting! Fight for your art!
“It’s meant to be a fun, turn your mind off kind of movie.”
I don’t get the notion that a popcorn movie should require you to turn your mind off. What about a movie like Raiders, or the other GREAT summer movies (as opposed to movies like this and Transformers where the action and FX are impressive but everything in between is lousy filler? So many popcorn movies are the equivalent of a porno movie, the dialogue and “plot” is just an excuse to get to the next money shot.
Some of us want our movies to be complete movies. Complete with story, characters, and good dialogue. Don’t get me wrong, this movie was still entertaining, but it sets the bar so low – why NOT expect more from filmmakers, especially someone like Spielberg who has made quite a few great movies already?
You know there’s a problem when even the people defending it say it had its crappy moments. I don’t think I’ve even seen anyone try and defend the dialogue, plot, or new characters (other than Blanchett). It’s just sure that all sucks, but how dare you not turn off your brain and accept the suckiness?! And if audiences should have to turn off their brains for summer movies, then I guess nobody should criticize a turkey like Speed Racer? Or 10,000 B.C.? “It’s just a movie!” can be used to defend any piece of crap.
Part of the backlash is probably because Iron Man just came out two weeks ago and reminded us all that a summer action movie can have solid acting and script.
I was not happy with it. The jungle/driving/fighting was outstanding but other than that, quite dull. No wonder Karen Allen hasn’t worked, she smiled throughout like she was on drugs. Half of Harrison’s dialogue was rerecorded and sleepy. The audience laughed at Blanchetts character.
People ‘flocking to the theatres’ on opening weekend doesn’t count as an indicator of how good it is. Check back after next and 3rd weekend and see how big the drop. That’s your indicator.
I’m surprised this movie is getting as much love as it is – I thought it was terrible, and I certainly wasn’t alone. I was at the 12:01 am screening opening night at the Dome here in Hollywood, and while the beginning of the film received wildly enthusiastic cheers, by the time the end credits rolled, there was only a couple of seconds of extremely tepid applause. Worse, I’d actually gotten up to use the restroom about 30 minutes before the end, and as I was walking back into the theater, I was shocked at how many empty seats there were – many people had walked out before the film was finished.
I tried to lower my expectations going into this movie, knowing that my childhood idolization of Indy would make it difficult for the film to live up to what I wanted out of it… but there was no way I could prepare myself for the absolute drivel left on the screen. Bad dialogue, a ridiculously terrible plot and acting that ranged from mediocre (Ford) to embarrassingly awful (Allen) ruined what should have been a fun revisit to an old favorite.
Oh, and while I normally worship at the alter of Speilberg, I’ve gotta ask – you’re making a movie with Indiana Jones, which is practically like printing money; you can’t afford to shoot one damn scene on location? “Temple of Doom” traveled San Francisco, Hong Kong, Macow, Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, and London (according to the VHS teaser trailer that I watched a million times as a kid); “Kingdom”, on the other hand, apparently traveled all the way from Soundstage 25 to Soundstage 31. ;P
I have nothing against turning my mind off. I do it every day when I turn on the TV. I would just rather turn my mind off with Iron Man which is Citizen Kane compared to Crystal Skull. This Indy episode was boring. I could barely keep my eyes open. Where was the tension? It was like being on the Disney ride over and over an not being able to get off. Lucas and Speilberg are smart cookies which is why this film reeks of cynicism. They wanted a surefire hit so they sunk as low as they could to make a movie for the video game zombie demographic. It’s really sad and it depresses me. Lucas and Spielberg are old men who still feel they have to prove their mojo. When is enough enough. Spielberg has tons of talent, why is he stooping so low with this crud. He must really be hurting inside. Oh well, maybe he enjoyed visiting Max at Yale while he was on location in New Haven.
1st – I’m surprised The Last Crusade has been so elevated in the memories of fans.
2nd – what’s the deal with AMC’s ticket takers? I bought two tickets for Sarah Marshall this weekend and was issued Indiana Jones tickets. When I asked for the correct movie, they said they couldn’t fix it but it would be alright. This situation – buying a ticket for the older movie and being issued a ticket for the popular new one – has happened a few times in the last couple years to me. Not always the same theater, but always AMC. Anyone else?
It was so melancholy and yet, I am so glad they made it.
And for those that didn’t like it, so what? You are voices in the distant basement, hoping and dreaming that someday a film as great as “Raiders” will come again but incapable of enjoying what is on the table in front of you.
I made it a feast and I am satisfied.
But I still can’t get over the fact that Indy has done so much are received so little credit. That’s a brave thing for the makers of this film to face, especially in these new Dark Ages.
JJ – It’s 1 of 2 things – Either the show was sold out and they were just selling standing room (computers for most ticket systems won’t let you sell past capacity).
And/Or – Theaters get a larger % of ticket sales for movies that have been out for a few or more weeks. So while they may only get $2 of your Indy ticket, they get $3-4 of your Sarah Marshall ticket.
A long long long time ago I had a summer job at an AMC theater. Both were common practice for blockbusters.
I went in with low expectations and just wanted to have fun. This was one of the most dissapointing movies I’ve ever seen. The people that liked this would have settled for anything. If this movie had been Indy looking for Jimmy Hoffa they would have still had a great time. I loved Transformers, so it’s not like I’m some snob. This has nothing on the original films, and it was maddening that the entire film was shot on a soundstage. They couldn’t spend a few weeks anywhere? You can’t make a movie about a globetrotting hero in LA. You just end up with a movie that looks like Sky Captain.
So my point of view is different than those expressed here. I feel that the other indy movies were so good that we owe it to the franchise to check out this one. If for the very least that George Lucas probably won’t be happy till he has more money than Bill G.
this movie truly SUCKED!
you go to message boards of other movie sites, you will see outright HATRED towards this movie: why the hatred? because Lucas and Spielberg duped the masses with hype and produced a sloppy, lazy, soulless, meandering movie—and we reward them with EVEN MORE MONEY…those two are laughing their fuckin’ ases off to the bank right now
and those that defend this movie are either studio plants/flaks or truly deluded fanboys who will slurp up whatever Lucas/Spielberg serves them, or moviegoers who think that endless exposition, lackluster action sequences and cgi monkeys and gophers constitute a good movie
A nuclear war proof FRIDGE??? are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me????
another reason for the hate—with $4 a gallon gas and a shitty economy, the public doesn’t have much of a disposable income anymore…and when one of the few “event” movies that can maybe restore faith in Hollywood movies serves us hyped up shit….the already dwindling confidence in Hollywood storytelling will further erode
If Lucas, Spielberg, and Koepp can’t make a decent movie—then it’ just fuckin’ depressing
THAT’S why all the hate
and don’t blame my “expectations” hey it’s a two way street this expectation business….we expect that you at least TRY to make a good movie—this was cynical, money grabbing movie making at its worst
SHAME ON LUCAS and SPEILBERg!
Lucas has become a nostalgia merchant. Young Lucas, that edgy, nervous kid with the amazing imagination has been replaced by a bored, bloated billionaire with nothing to offer.
If you watch the first forty-five minutes and split, you’ll think you saw a pretty amazing movie. How does something like that happen?
Next weekend will be the true test. Also curious to see how the Indy merchandising/toys are moving at Wal-Mart…
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is unfortunately an empty, vacuous waste of talent…and Lucas and Spielberg are money grubbing whores….
http://www.theweeklydonut.com/index.php/2008/05/26/an-empty-vacous-waste-of-talent/
I read the preliminary reviews that told two different views of the film. Many were negative in tone – Harrison Ford can’t act anymore and is just like Shatner, he can only play himself. The script was in trouble. The editing needed work. Karen Allen was pulled in to make the movie more likable. The kid sucked. Kate Blanchett was wasted on the role. Many were positive in tone – Indy’s BACK! What a great 4th story.
I wasn’t excited about the movie. Harrison Ford’s appeal has passed with time and since that stupid PSA where he gets a waxing of his chest hair for a charitable organization was just stupid. Where was Callista during this decision? She’s now got to live with stubble on the chest of the man she’s canoodling with. Another mental drawback was George Lucas. I just could not get over what he did to Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars and still can’t forgive him so that tainted the flavor of the movie in my mind – even though I hadn’t seen it yet. Let’s not forget Spielberg and his Tom Cruise movie fiasco which to my mind screams: Spielberg is a has been.
So with all this in mind, we went to see the movie anyways AND….
It got no mind share residuals, unlike The Ark which has many great one liners that can be used in conversations to invoke a picture of what you’re trying to convey.
It was a movie. Entertaining but not life changing.
Its time to hand the reigns of movie making over to some of the 40 year olds. Speilberg and Lucas and Harrison Ford are done.
The extent of the second weekend drop will speak for itself, but I think the naysaying is exaggerated. It was a fine film. I could’ve done without some of the elements that Lucas obviously wanted and had been (thankfully) diluted from earlier script drafts, but it was good overall.
Internet postings have become a good contra-indicator for films and television shows.
Save the negativity for “The Incredible Hulk.” I will be ignoring the fanboy-impacted opening weekend results. The second weekend will be the truthteller.
Someone here was asking about Speed Racer’s numbers – this weekend – $4.0 million – 3 wk total $36.2m. Source: Cynopsis
“and those that defend this movie are either studio plants/flaks or truly deluded fanboys who will slurp up whatever Lucas/Spielberg serves them, or moviegoers who think that endless exposition, lackluster action sequences and cgi monkeys and gophers constitute a good movie”
and those trying their best to bash it are doing it to maybe kill it before their studio movie comes out.
On a positive note, I have to give props to John WIlliams. Although he has phoned some in in the past, there is some great music in this one. It’s nice to hear a solid “traditional” film score that can create excitement without resorting to the heavy drumloops (Stormdrum specifically in most cases).
There was so much missing from the movie. Compare this to the Rambo and Rocky Balboa movies that just came out. Now, none of the three are “great art.” That being said, both Rambo and Rocky Balboa had really intense, amazing nostalgic tributes to what we loved about those characters all along. Even in the first few minutes when Indy is first introduced – it’s just not exciting or chilling or emotional. There were so many missed opportunities. For the people that didn’t see it the first weekend, I would imagine they’re going to be bombarded by negative word of mouth. I wasn’t expecting 4 stars but thought it would be fun; it wasn’t.
To those who were disapointed, sorry to hear Indy 4 failed you guys. I am sure you were expecting a remake of Indy 1 or 2 or 3 but nope, they have moved on and so must you guys. Keep up with times will ya!!
No matter what you say the movie open HUGE. 311M is like HUGE. Now, many were expecting more or less around that range and Nikki, your B.O guru are spot on. Well done!
The next tentpole movie is Batman. Now, I am not a fan of the last one cause I thought it was too arty-farty with the ‘ninja-kungfu martial arts’ thingy. But it was sure better than ‘melo-dramatic Superman; by ‘I’m so much better for X-men 3′ Singer.
I just hope The Darknight will be the one to beat Silly Spidey 3 opening weekend record, if WB starts the shows on Thurs mid-night 12:01
Things can only get better from here..
oh please armand you are so transparent in your bias and lies it isnt even funny.
nikke’s predictions were all over the map. A DOMESTIC RANGE FROM $142 TO $175M. anyone can look right on a prediction when you cover the whole bloody field. What the hell kind of prediction is that? AS WELL AS MAKING EXCUSES JUST IN CASE INDY BOMBED. GOT CORN ANYONE??? AND WHAT EXACTLY WERE HER FOREGIN PREDICTIONS ANYWAY?
…and you are probably one of those who agreed with nikke LAST YEAR that sequels are a sign that hollywood has lost its ability to come up with original ideas. yet there you and her are promoting & gloating over speilberg and lucas INDY PIC as if its the 2nd coming of Casblanca. GET REAL! well its still not a record breaker in the end. a little pic by the name of Pirates kicked its butt. oh and incase you forgot, pirates and “SILLY” spidey were both sequels that nikke negatively critized last year for being “unoriginal.” AND YET THEY KICKED ROYAL ASS.
i think i smell a rat folks. and its the entertainment press not staying objective in their reporting, oops…i meant “promotion” of films & the related news surrounding them. ITS CALLED “SHILLING.”
“toldya”
Took my folks out on sunday to the matinee, we all enjoyed it. Not as good as the first, but so very little ever is. This movie is far better than, say, _Highlander 2_ or the Star Wars prequels or _Godfather III_.
Hey, I’m still as pissed about Greedo firing first as the next nerd, but there have been far worse films than this getting far less opprobrium. Have you all forgotten the _Matrix_ sequels?!
Comment by lu-ee — May 27, 2008 @ 9:11 pm
Yep! You got me lu-ee. I hated Spidey 3 , Pirates 3, and lets throw in Shrek in the mix as well. The quality of those 3 movies was just plain bad. One of the MAJOR problems we have with Hollywood is with 3-quels. See Matrix 3, Die-Hard 3 and many others. Somehow Hollywood always gets it wrong the 3rd time round.
I’ve never said I never like 3-quels. Sure, Nikki did
commented on last year buckefull of 3-quels cause there was just too many and what’s more, 90% of the were horrible, except for Bourne. If Hollywood were to produce good 3-quels, then no one will complain but looking at the top 3-quels performance last year, nuff said. All 3 were the lowest grossing title of respective franchise, Worst, 2 of them were the top 5 movies of all time (US) on their 2nd try, which tells you alot of the 3rd movie’s quality.
PoCD: Dead Man’s Chest $423,315,812
PoCD: At World’s End $309,420,425
Spidey 2 $373,585,825
Spidey 3 $336,530,303
Shrek 2 $441,226,247
Shrek 3 $322,719,944
2ndly, Rottentomatoes overall rating of the 3 movies shows each 3rd-quel has the lowest ratings from both audiences and critics.
PoCD: Dead Man’s Chest 54%
PoCD: At World’s End 43%
Spidey 2 93%
Spidey 3 62%
Shrek 2 89%
Shrek 3 42%
So tell me what went wrong here?
But lets get back to the topic of Indy shall we
That small 3rd Pirate pic you mentioned of was with a production budget of 300M vs Indy 4 185M (not incl prints and advertising for both films). So if we do the maths, looking at purely US receipts returns, guess who will have a better ROI? Need me to help you do the maths?
Oh! The rat you mentioned of, emm could it be coming from your cellar? Stop feeding it..
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is unfortunately an empty, vacuous waste of talent…and Lucas and Spielberg are money grubbing whores….
Well, in memorium Sydney Pollack, let me quote one of his lines from Tootsie: “This may come as a shock, Michael, but some people are in this business to make money.” And for the benefit of people who think “whore” is the most awful insult imaginable, remember that prostitutes have sex for money and don’t make any pretence to the contrary.
‘Crystal’ certainly wasn’t a great movie, but if I’m allowed to blaspheme here neither were the first three. (And IMNSHO, ‘Temple of Doom’ was creepy and borderline racist in a way you couldn’t rationalise away as some kind of hommage to politically incorrect Saturday morning serials.) All four movies have plot holes you could drive the Death Star through, and while performances are adequate nobody is exactly being challenged.
But to be quite honest, any film that doesn’t require me to spend two hours reliving Judd Aptow’s permanent adolescence is a plus.
Armand i am very sorry but your bias for Indy is still blaringly apparent and gets evermore stinky, post after post. You still have not shown any factual proof to the contrary: nikki and yourself are simply shilling for this pic and you dishonestly portray the creative & economic strengths of the other sequels you call “silly” or “not so creative.”
Ironic, at least to me, that if I like a film, i dont usually call it “silly,” like you did.
PIRATESoC3 still has industry records that Indy FAILED TO BEAT.
…and what is wrong in producing sequels? Who is to say what are TOO MANY SEQUELS?!! INDY HAS 4!! SO THIS SUMMER WE HAVE 4-6 SEQUELS OR OTHER FRANCHISES. SO DOES THAT MAKE INDY4 A PIECE OF CRAP FOR ALSO BEING A SEQUEL, IN CONJUCTION WITH ALL THE REST THIS SUMMER SEASON? AND IF NOT, WHY DOES INDY GET A PASS BUT OTHERS DONT? Give me a break buddy…your logic is very contradictory and smacks of being disingenuous.
Also, for all the folks I have read who liked Indy, they said that they had to see it more than once in order for it to “grow on them”!? wtf? now thats BLIND DEVOTION if I ever read it!
Also, i love the “supportive” comments by those who “liked” and “loved” the movie, especially when they said, “well Ford is 60 yrs old, what do you expect,” in response to negative criticism by some movie goers.
Unfortunately, that type of defense of Ford’s acting sounds more like A half-hearted excuse to me. And these type of supportive comments are coming from folks who liked the movie!! Again, i say WTF? Either Ford was good or not. Either the movie was good or not…
you see Armand, according to you, in order to validate the success of this movie, you have to be a CPA or some kind of psycho-anal-yst, and to me a great movie doesnt need all this twisting and turning to be good, or a success, or at least worth my $8.50.
so for me, all your accounting gymnastics and word-smything, is what is called “SHILLING.” Just like nikki had to explain to everyone the corn futures market this past weekend just in case Indy didnt meet expectations, and yet for all the other movie openings, she did no such thing.
honey, if its good people will know it. If not, then take the bad with the good. dont try and “RE-package it” into something its not.
I notice you show no evidence that Indy4 has made more than PIRATESoC3 (the movie you and nikki loathe.) Also, you may think certain sequels sucked, but alot of folks didnt. who are you to judge??
however, i still think, and do not retract, that you and nikki are not being objective in your support of Indy and the claims you are making. Either nikki is an objective reporter or she hedges her reporting to make a movie look good because she(or in this case YOU) want it to get some kind of notority, whether economic or creative. Somehow you have somekind of attachment to this work, whether it is good, bad, or otherwise.
And if I were you, I would wait for the FINAL receipts before claiming ANY KIND OF FINANCIAL OR CREATIVE VICTORY FOR THIS FILM OVER PIRATESoC3.
for your viewing pleasure:
TOTAL LIFETIME GROSSES FOR PIRATESoC3
Domestic: $309,420,425 32.2%
+ Foreign: $651,576,067 67.8%
= Worldwide: $960,996,492
In regards to “what went wrong”…since you are into putting things in “context,” you failed to mention PIRATESoC3 was blockbuster during a summer with at least 4 other movies that made between 800million and a billion each. If Indy is the “big tentpole MEGAHIT”, you and others claim it to be, lets see if it clears a billion with no other billion dollar babies on the horizon, either ahead or behind it.
and in terms of reviews, metacritic has many, if nt most, of the same reviewers as RottenTomatoes, and its was 65% professional critics, and 5.1 out of 10 for 454 votes by movie goers. go figure bud. Not too mention that it got a 61% by the Rottentomatoes member community, and 61% by top Rottentomatoe critics. To me, professional critics do not influence me anymore than anyone else, but since you wish to go by what the critics say, I gave you a more comprehensive list of what the “professional critics” say.
For you to use the pros as a gauge if Indy 4 was better than any other sequels is ludicrous, to say the least. They slaughtered the Da Vinci Code, yet most “insiders” would say it was a “success.”
oH….and yes, I have rats in my cellar, and they just happen to be dishonest and biased entertainment watchers, such as yourself, whose supposed “objective” comments are meant to sway the masses, such as myself, BUT whose comments are in fact crass and cheap devotion. A devotion which is for certain entertainment rubrics & associated worshipful services, as well as its industry-connected priests & pontiffs, i.e. movies and their associated producers, directors, and actors, who create said entertainment services.
what would make me real happy, is that ALL MOVIES receive the SAME treatement by the media, instead of all the BS BIAS, LIES, SHILLING & SUBJECTIVENESS.
cheers sport. wink wink
Armand noted: “looking at the top 3-quels performance last year, nuff said. All 3 were the lowest grossing title of respective franchise, Worst, 2 of them were the top 5 movies of all time (US) on their 2nd try, which tells you alot of the 3rd movie’s quality.
PoCD: Dead Man’s Chest $423,315,812
PoCD: At World’s End $309,420,425
Spidey 2 $373,585,825
Spidey 3 $336,530,303
Shrek 2 $441,226,247
Shrek 3 $322,719,944″
Actually, it tells me releasing 3 sequels to $375m+ films IN THE SAME MONTH hurts the box office of all 3.
I have good reasons why I thought it sucked. The flaws are too numerous and too egregious to pretend that nostalgia for the franchise makes them acceptable.
Uhh, the audience member who paid money to see the film? Who are you to tell me I can’t voice an opinion?
TRUE JimK and the SAME GOES FOR THOSE WHO THINK INDY4 SUCKS WHO PAID GOOD MONEY.
thanks for proving my point. I wouldve like armand to jump at that one, because he was complaiing about those who saw it and didnt like it.
in the end, these are just opinions…but my point is that just because the critics and pundits liked indy doesnt mean it HAS TO BE ENJOYED BY ALL, as well as the reverse…because last years sequels got low ratings doesnt mean others didnt enjoy it.
I realize its a catch-22 but my biggest problem is that the media and media watchers who, in my opinion should be alot more objective and unbiased are in fact doing alot of promotion for certain films THEY LIKE, even if many movie goers dont agree with them after seeing them.
cheers
Comment by lu-ee — May 28, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
Whoa Nelly! Who is eating lu-ee’s grape?
I think you’re missing the point here buddy. Again, I have never said I NEVER liked sequels or 3-quels. What I had said was that last year’s big 3-quels was the worst of their predecessor. I have quoted for you of their domestic B.O final tally and also of Rottentomatoes overall T-meter rating (Total-Meter rating which incls both critics and viewers final tally)
So again, looking at the performance of their franchise, all 3rd output was the lowest in terms of B.O and rating.
Personally, I do not like to use Global receipts to gauge a movie’s overall B.O performance cause unlike domestic which is only 1 country, global receipt is a collection of hundreds.
Back to Indy 4, it’s a jumpstart to an old franchise. So perhaps we shd not measure Indy 4 against last year’s big 3-quels. If anything, we shd measure it against ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ given the similarities.
Agree that we shd wait for the final tally of Indy 4 to gauge its B.O performance and wait we shall.
Oh! So you are no fan of DaVinci the movie, are you? “They slaughtered the Da Vinci Code, yet most “insiders” would say it was a “success”
Final tally of 217M domestically against a budget of 125M.
So it is NOT alright to hate the big 3-quels cause they all made money even though they fared worst with viewers and critics alike?
It’s feeding time. Your rats are waiting for their cheese. We don’t want any hungry rats do we, because we know what angry rats will do for food. They will nag, bicker, get totally annoyed and chow down at anyone’s liking for Indy 4.
Maybe you shd let your rats watch Indy 4 and who knows, they might just like it…LOL
Wink wink back at-cha
Comment by Sarcastic Cynic — May 28, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
Bingo! I too had thought that it was a BIG mistake to release 3 of the decade biggest blockbuster all in a month. I mean, Hollywwod was really hoping for triple bonus and what they got in the end was a big disappointment. Sure, some would say global receipts made up for the lower domestic grosses but c’mon now, who were they kidding. As if all 3 houses got together over coffee and decided, ‘oh lets roll out all 3 biggies in May shall we and we sure to hit Jackpot! Sheesh!
No matter what, it has been recorded in the history books, audiences prefered the 1st & 2nd and the 3rd one NOT that much
Oh well! Like I have said in the past, Hollywood always seems to fail on the 3rd round. Something are meant to stay for good…
Armand you are wrong AGAIN.
my points were that you cant come out and say Indy4 is some kind of MEGAhit and complain about other sequels, which also made a ton of money, just because u dont like them or want to make INDY4 better than it is.
AND thats more BS about thinking the foreign gross isnt important. Films are practically edited & written to appeal to a global market.
Also, I never said i hated Da Vinci. Please show me where I did.
I used your reasoning in reverse by using Da Vnci as an example: since Da Vinci Code made a ton of money, would it be a hit, especially since reviews were so poor & scathing? “insiders” such as Nikki, would say it was a “success,” because it cleaned up at the box office, yet Nikki AND YOU, DONT SAY THAT ABOUT OTHER MOVIES YOU DONT CARE FOR, such as PoC3 and Spidy3, which faired low with reveiwers, but MADE A TON OF $$, JUST LIKE DA VINCI.
YET YOU BENT & TWISTED YOUR POINT OF VIEW TO ONLY SHOW THE POSITIVE QUALITIES OF INDY4, without even the final take, which we simply dont know yet. SO WHY STRETCH THE TRUTH??? hmm??? Why report other movies different than those you care about?
sure yu can say “this movie didnt make much,” but what more can be implied just by sitting in front of a keyboard?
…your reasoning was that Indy4 must be “good” because of the high review ratings and then trying to get all negative about other films and/or sequels.
I dont care to see INDY4 and have never said one word about its content or quaity, but I sure as hell can criticize those who SHILL it, such as yourself or Nikki, especially with faulty and biased reasoning. I can also comment about the reasons why some peopel hate or like the film, especially when such comments sound as if those who liked it, are forcing the point, or even making excuses for any faults in the pic. There own wods prove their dismay as much as enjoyment of the film.
Armand, why cant you or nikki say, “INDY4 had a very good opening weekend, and came close to breaking industry records. although most reviewers had favorable comments about it, ranging from 61 to 79% positive, there is still a mixed feeling among moviegoers about its quality. It however has a chance of being one of the more watched movies of the summer season. Time wil tell in the coming months…”
THATS IT. DONE. NO BS. NO SPIN. NO BS PUT DOWNS OF OTHER FRANCHISES YOU DONT LIKE. NO MAKING EXCUSES FOR THE NEGATIVE CRITICISM(IF THIS IS ANY). WE GET ENOUGH OF THAT BS IN OUR POLITICS. DO WE ALSO NEED IT IN OUR ENTERTAINMENT? SIMPLY REPORT THE FACTS, NT THE HYPE.
oh..and you are still a rat, who is far from being correct or objective, and who has not learned when to jump off his own sinking ship of subjectivity.
wink wink sport.
Wow, this movie is hilarious and scintillating! To those people who foolishly compared it with Raiders, let me ask you, how old were you when you saw Raiders? 9, 12? Now, I dare you to go ask the 9-year-olds or 12-year-olds and see what they think about this movie. If you are now in your early 30’s to 40’s, I doubt if you think Raiders is a hoot now. Aples and oranges, people!