Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
MONDAY AM: It's officially a mega-hit for adventurer Indiana Jones after a 19-year hiatus. 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. 
This tentpole kept going strong all weekend despite the 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. (But my sources maintain the filmmaking duo thought they'd made a good pic. Go figure.) The North American box office gross on Paramount's Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull will be $151M for the 5-day Memorial Weekend (Thursday's $25M, Friday's $31M, Saturday's $37M, and Sunday's $33M as well as Monday's expected $25M), $26M for the 4-day holiday, and $101M for FSS.
Internationally, Paramount's Indy 4 is also piling up the box office gross. The foreign estimate through Monday is expected to be $160 million -- shattering the record for Paramount'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 haul.
In second place for the 3-day weekend was Disney/Walden's successful sequel The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian whose gross fell 58% from a week ago to a big $23M for FSS from 3,929 venues and $28.6M for the 4-day holiday for a new cume of $96.6M. (See below for the Top 10 chart.) 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.
Indy's PG-13 fourquel opened at 12:01 AM Thursday into 4,260 theaters in North America and also day and date in 61 foreign territories (except Japan). Paramount saw some weakness in the tracking among teens. But that was made up for by nostalgia among adults: the problem is that those older moviegoers generally wait until the 2nd or 3rd weekend to screen a flick. And then there was the hot button issue of the film's story quality, or lack there-of. In the end, none of these concerns mattered: Indy 4 kept piling up the box office dollars.
Here are the records Indy 4 couldn't beat: The best 5-day opening ever was the humongous $172.8M recorded by 2005's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith. That pic also scored the best Thursday take of $50M; then again that pic finished out the prequel trilogy. The best Memorial Day Weekend was posted last summer by Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End which also completed a trilogy; its 4 1/2-day opening posted $153.0M and its 5 1/2-day figure was $160.8M. Still another number to consider is what Spider-Man 3 did during its first 5 consecutive non-holiday days last May: $169.4M. Globally, the record number floating around is a high-wire act of $400+M for summer 2007, when both Spider-Man 3 and Pirates 3 sparred over which set the worldwide debut total. But Pirates 3 opened day and date in over 100+ foreign territories.)
Informed guesstimates from my box office gurus before the film opened ranged from a North American low of $142 million to a high of $175 million. I thought the answer lay somewhere inbetween -- around $160M. Then again, that's not taking into account how movie theaters are raising ticket prices by a dollar or two this summer because popcorn is more expensive. (According to news reports, next year's corn stocks are expected to plunge to a 13-year low, corn-futures contracts have soared to an all-time high, and the sudden demand for ethanol will claim 40% of next year's corn crop. Even the paper for the popcorn tubs is more expensive. So the profit margins at theaters which rely on concession sales for as much as 45% of their revenue are desperate to make up the difference.) Also, major theaters in cities are starting to charge the same for children as adults. The result is that Indy 4's grosses fattened while filmgoers' finances thinned. No wonder the public feels increasingly ripped off at the cineplex.
Here's the Top 10 chart as of Sunday AM:
1. Indiana Jones 4 (Paramount) -- 3-Day Wkd: $101M, 4-day holiday $126M, Cume: $151.1M
2. Chronicles of Narnia 2 (Disney) -- 3-Day Wkd: $23M, 4-day holiday $28.6M, Cume: $96.6M
3. Iron Man (Paramount) -- 3-Day Wkd: $20M, 4-day holiday $25.6M, Cume: $257.8M
4. What Happens In Vegas (Fox) -- 3-Day Wkd: $9M, 4-day holiday $11.1M, Cume: $56.3M
5. Speed Racer (Warner Bros) -- 3-Day Wkd: $3.9M, 4-day holiday $5.2M, Cume: $37.4M
6. Baby Mama (Universal) -- 3-Day Wkd: $3.3M, 4-day holiday $4.2M, Cume: $53M
7. Made Of Honor (Sony) -- 3-Day Wkd: $3.4M, 4-day holiday $4.2M, Cume: $39.8M
8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) -- 3-Day Wkd: $1.6M, 4-day holiday $2.1M, Cume: $58.7M
9. Harold and Kumar 2 (Warner Bros) -- 3-Day Wkd: $915K, 4-day holiday $1.2M, Cume: $36.1M
10. The Visitor (Overture) -- 3-Day Wkd: $781K, 4-day holiday $917K, Cume: $4.5M
(Photo of Spanish tourists exiting an Indy 4 screening in Los Angeles by Jim Stevenson.)
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Nikki, I’m not really following your logic. If it made less that half of Revenge of the Sith’s opening day, how can it be expected to achieve anywhere near that film’s 5-day total? Even the “low” $142 million estimate looks absurdly generous to me.
Bob Loblaw (love the Arrested Development reference),
To put it simply Star Wars frontloads a hell of a lot more than Indiana Jones. If I recall correctly Sith drew well over $15 mil on midnight showings alone which speaks to what a presing Day One imperitive it had. It also attracted more young men than Indy (which tracks a bit older) who are the principle audience in a day one weekday release. Plus, let’s not kid ourselves, Star Wars has a much bigger geek factor than Indy which is the big cause for the big upfront Thursday money. Indy will play extremely well all weekend and will maintain great legs ending up comfortably over $300 million.
Considering the film is basically unwatchable and a disaster, I’m wondering how long it’s going to take word of mouth to kick in.
8:15 multiplex show in Austin, Texas and my screening was sold out. Seems to be selling out all the evening screenings here. Crowd seemed to enjoy the film.
No Way Indy is touching 150 million over the long weekend.
And it won’t be touching 300 million in it’s entire run.
Raiders was very good.Last Crusade and Doom were fine.
Times have changed, Indy mania has thinned considerably.
I just don’t understand this obsessive talk about how much a movie will make.
“It made 20 mil on the first day…..no no it mad 22 mil,….hmmm the record stands on 25 mil…..well then it must be a flop then???
If people are so interested in these numbers,why not just wait for monday when the actual numbers are released.
It’s so pointless.
It is sad to say it, but this is not a good film. The first 20 minutes show great promise…but shortly after that, the film falls apart. There are too many characters in the film…specifically too many good guys. John Hurt’s character was not needed and Karen Allen could have easily been used to deliver the story exposition that Hurt’s character, I suspect, a fill in for Sean Connery, attempts to deposit. Amid a low point in the mayhem, we hear a tale about lost Spanish Soldiers who’s fate is discovered by Hurt’s character, a lost archeologist…unimportant story details which cause the film to drag, and should have been cut from the movie. And then there is the double agent–I won’t identify him for those who haven’t seen the movie, but he gets in the way–once was fine, but by about the 6th time it was entirely too much!!!
As for the story, McGuffin after McGuffin…it was all over the place. This should have been a great film about someone stealing the Ark of The Covenant from the Americans and Indy having to find it again…in order to use it against a great evil. But no, we just got a movie that repeatedly referenced the best moments of Raiders…and the worst moments of it’s sequels…and time after time, these scenes were copied…but not approved upon…no, they were greatly diminished!!!
Next, CGI effects were used to animate photo-realistic Ground Hogs and Monkies…for comedy slap-stick antics which played like cartoons. The tone of the film was off…as scenes like that, and Shia Labeouf’s Tarzan vine swinging sequence seemed out of place, something better suited for a immature child themed film…and don’t make me mention the awful waterfall sequence.
Karen Allen was under used here, and strangely Cate Blanchett was the only shinning moment in the film…in fact, she stole every scene that she was in, and I am not even a fan of her’s, or at least, I wasn’t until I saw this movie. The camera loves her. She is smart and over sexy at every turn…and that is a good, and even great, thing. I think I fell in love with her. Talk about being gorgeous, charismatic and dominating!!! A love triangle between Blanchett’s character and that of Indy and his lady love as played by Allen, would have raised the proceedings, but alas, that was not to be.
Unfortunately, one could sense that numerous writers pieced the film’s script together as it was often disjointed, sloppy and embarrassing to watch. There was almost zero character development and no real emotionally engaging points for the characters. The audience knew everyone would survive, leaving the impression that the characters were never in any real danger. There were no real high stakes for the characters and that is the film’s main failing.
The critics were generally favorable but it’s taken all of 24 hours for the backlash to officially become ingrained in the net community. Certain key creative decisions regarding content and execution are being second guessed into oblivion and Lucas is being targeted as the primary scapegoat whom everyone’s eager to hang out to dry because of his perceived past story transgressions with the prequels. Having seen the movie myself yesterday evening I have to admit a lot of the outrage is not undeserved: it’s unquestionably the weakest of the series and seems to have been made primarily to make a buck quickly because there’s no sense of vitality to the storytelling that the three key players (SS/GL/HF) allegedly agonized over until it met their rigid demands. I’m sensing that Spielberg and Ford, eager to put an end to their mutual blockbuster drought, were tired of waiting until the stars aligned perfectly because of the age factor so they cobbled this thing together using spare story parts from previous proposed versions that got nixed and the final result consequently suffered from a lack of real focus or cohesive direction. It may be serviceable summer adventure escapism but sadly it doesn’t pass muster when compared with the set standard of what should’ve been a definitive trilogy of closure and finality.
I was at a 12:01 showing. A 300 seat theater was at about 260, and today shows were running at about 95% capacity daytime, 100% after 4pm on three screens. Those kind of numbers mirrored Ironman locally. Considering the long weekend, based on past performances in this same theater-plex, I would see 140 mill over the weekend as very doable, provided the word of mouth factor doesn’t kick in fast. Its a holiday weekend, word of mouth badpress usually rears its ugly head on weekend number 2 with dropoffs in the neighborhood of 70% over opening. General consensus was that IJ4 was “exactly” what they expected, but hoped for spectacular. Personally, I hated the opening scene. There was way too much cheese in the first 5 min.
Anyone who believes that Indy 4 won’t make money is an idiot.
Unwatchable?
Ridiculous.
The movie is easily as good as Last Crusade.
One thing to consider when trying to figure the number is that the Thursday opening might be expected to be smaller than it might be in a non-holiday weekend as a fraction of total ticket sales this weekend. While many were ready to go out for opening night, many others don’t start their long weekend until work is done on Friday and weren’t about to catch a flick Thursday night.
So let’s not count out a possible run up to 150 mil yet. I shouldn’t expect Thursday to be more than a sixth of that total for a holiday weekend.
“Considering the film is basically unwatchable”???
Have you actually seen the movie? It is a very solid film. I need to preface that by saying that if you enjoy Indiana Jones movies, you will enjoy this one.
If you didn’t see the first 3, 4 will leave you scratching your head.
Is it far fetched? You betcha, what indy film wasn’t?
I’ve waited many years for this movie as I did phantom menace. I left indy 4 a happy man, I left phantom menace thinking what have they done??
Comment by Socratores — May 22, 2008 @ 10:38 pm
Hope you see the fun in all this. It is things like this that rocks our boats, guesstimation on the BO potential of a movie. Some do get carried away and throwing ‘fur-ball’ at each other’s posting but it is all in the name of good fun
25M is a good start for a old franchise. The only way is up hereonwards
Oh! One more thing, I read the reviews and loads of them are saying how old Harrison is in this movie. He is old, he has aged, just like ALL OF US. What we’re expecting? A botox-filled young Indiana? Sheesh! Or maybe the the kind of CGI-effects you get in X-Men 3 with Dr X and Magnito in the opening scene digitally ‘younged’ on screen? How creepy is that?
I agree the numbers are pointless, especially since Nikki reports kids being charged adult prices in some places, inflated prices etc. Why not just tally up the number of tickets sold regardless of revenue, otherwise you have this endless “money=popular/good” argument.
The Geek audience for Star Wars movies is definitely more front loaded. That made the midnight showings much more heavily attended. I desperately wanted to see Indy last night (as did my two teenage daughters and my wife), but with school and work today, we put off our trip to the cinema until the weekend. I think the more adult skewing Indy will have a spectacular weekend. It’s more family oriented than Star Wars, has the action to bring in the boys, the nostalgia and Harrison for the geezers, and has a not-so-secret-weapon in Shia who will draw teenage girls (who might not care as much for a Spiderman or Star Wars film). This is a rare Summer Film that can hit all demographics, so do not underestimate it.
They didn’t tinker with the elements that worked in the first three films, and that’s exactly what people wanted. Doesn’t matter if it’s the least of the four, or if it’s the best.
This movie will be a phenominal success because there’s nothing else quite like it out there, and because it’s appeal isn’t limited to people who have to see a movie in it’s opening weekend or they don’t bother. It’ll play strong through the 4th.
Ignoring what the movie critics say, people want to be entertained and they’ll go see this movie. The only thing that will hurt it is if the viewing public agree with the critics and word of mouth dampers enthusiasm to see it. Chance are that won’t happen even though George LucASS can’t write to save his life. Lucky for him he has such a huge following that he could pen another Star Wars movie of Yoda humping Jabba The Hut’s leg for 2 hours and the Star Wars fans would eat it up and say it’s a great movie.
With about three good movies put out every year nowadays, going to the movies is like digging for your Crackerjack prize. Who knows what you’ll get. With outrageous ticket prices I not only wait past opening weekend, I wait for the little red envelope in my mailbox.
I took my family to the theater last night to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find there were no lines that formed hours prior to the movie start time and the theaters were pretty much empty. However, the movie was horrible when compared to other Indiana Jones’ movies. First off, could there be any more cliches in the story line? The writer went a little overboard…. Now Indy meets aliens????WTF??? I expect this movie will do well, as you have already noted, but will not surpass any major benchmarks set by the other films you mentioned. Especially when word gets out that the movie sucked! But, to each his own. You may love it!
This movie sucked.
the real ?
Did people use their $600 tax rebate to see this movie?
Imagine if there were no extra money to see the film? … What would it all mean?
Here’s why it WILL be big. How many people do you think will be looking for “cheap” entertainment as the price of gas continues to go through the roof? I know I already am. I will take my two sons, ages 9 and 13 to see it….and that is about it for the Memorial weekend. There is no way I’m taking out the Yamaha Waverunners when it will run me about $140 for a days fun. Times are tough….a new economic dynamic needs to be realized.
This film is enjoyable, but for a surprising reason: the relationships. Watching Indy, Miriam and Mutt adventure together was more fun than the adventure itself.
I agree with Curious; once people hear from friends how bad it is (I’d give it a C- and that’s generous), a lot of them aren’t going to waste $7 or $8 on a ticket. The forums on Rotten Tomatoes are buzzing with how bad it is. I can’t believe the critics didn’t do their jobs and forewarn us.
And for the long haul, who’s going to watch it again?
The problem I see, which was the problem with the second in the series as well is the foundational premise of the story a Crystal Skull/ET??? Religious artifacts such as the Ark or the Cup of Crist really strikes a chord with people on an emotional level but this is more like Indy meets the X-Files. The Temple of Doom had this problem and I am surprised theses Hollywood giants don’t understand the power of Western Religious Symbology. People want to believe the bible tells a deeper truth about a past the truly existed and that stirs the imagination more than anything. We’ve had X-Files for a long time now so why go there???
Learn to read Bob
Mr. Wee Wee sez “You go girl and vote Obama!” Mr. Wee Wee likes Indy and Barrack in a Armani suit! You go girl!
It might be better not to compare it to any of the movies that Nikki came up with but to compare it the Star Wars: Episode I. SWEI, had a very long gap from the time Return of the Jedi came out and when SWEI came out. Same story family but two different eras. By comparing it to that, you may come up with better projections for what this 5 day run might be for IJ4. However, like Socratores stated, it is pointless trying to guess…just wait until Monday.
Don’t you just love the flame throwing commentators? Poor mouthing a Raiders’ film is just sour grapes from a grumpy person.
Not sure what movie you guys viewed, I thought it was great and teen has gone twice already.
Crystal Skulls will clearly not reach any kind of 5-day Memorial Day Weekend record, and I say great! When will Hollywood’s libtards realize we in the heartland are tired of sass-talking archaeologists who antagonize the United States Government? All that time spent traveling overseas – what’s the matter, Indy? America’s treasures not good enough for you? Here’s a thought, Hollyweird: make a movie where Indy signs up for an extended Afghanistan tour of duty. Sure, he’s killed his share of foreigners in the previous movie – but never for LIBERTY! He wants to find mythical artifacts? Fine, let him dig for WMDs in Syria!
Long live Indy, and steve bayzoe too!
I saw the movie last evening with my family and cannot fathom how one would deem the film “unwatchable”?
I thought it was a great adventure with a reasonably typical Indy story-line. The action is non-stop and everyone in my family enjoyed it: my wife (hardsell to be sure), and my 17 and 11 year old sons alike.
Is not a trip to the movies supposed to be a break from reality? I view this as a thrill-ride and it is successful as such. If you like the Indy-franchise at all– this movie will not let you down. “Curious”…your comments make me think you’re a stuffed shirt and I find you them most “curious”. Can’t please everyone of course.
Nikki: When is Hollywood gonna wake up and make you the head of a studio? Hmm. UA needs help. I think there’s a strong interest in Indy 4 across the board. The audience I saw it with was about 30% female, and most of them high school age. And many were not with dates; the row in front of me had eight young women, all friends, out to see–Shia LaBeouf. I don’t know what his reputation is on the Left Coast, but LaBeouf’s entrance on the motorcycle got big applause. The box office numbers might be critical for analysts and studio heads whose jobs depend on them, but the average moviegoer cares only about whether the pic “is any good.” I think the big test for “Crystal Skull” will come next week with the bow of “Sex and the City.” Fanboys might flock once again to the Spielberg flick, even at ten bucks a pop, but I expect SATC will do healthy business among women as this summer’s “The Devil Wears Prada.” Ultimately, “Skull” will do well in the next few weeks, but will be crowded out by “Dark Knight,” “Hancock” and “Kung Fu Panda.” “Panda” will be huge. “Get Smart” and “The Love Guru” look like this summer’s stool samples.
Saw “Indy & the Skull” at a sparsely attended screening, so perhaps my experience would have been better with a packed theater of paying filmgoers eager for a good ride, but my feeling is that this movie will be hard-pressed to pass $220 once word of its mediocrity gets out. This is a summer picture everyone will see once.
But only once. It’s like a reassuring dinner with old friends who you’ve not seen in years, so it’s fun to hang out with them as a special occasion. But times have changed, so have they and so have you, and there’s not any strong urge to repeat the experience.
Indy 4 starts with much promise, but quickly becomes boring and repetitive of both itself and the other pictures. The first half hour is far and away the best section, with the opening in Area 51 and the nuke blast escape. But it all too soon gets bogged down in exposition and increasingly over the top action sequences. I was willing to tag along (barely) for the motorcycle fight/escape, but the sword fight on the jeeps in the jungle, followed by the incredibly stupid Tarzan-like escape by Mutt was beyond the palatable. As the plot escalates, Indy becomes more and more a bystander instead of an instigator, and the effects are mere spectacle without emotional resonance. Not enough whip action, either.
Ford is still good in the role, however. It’s not his fault, and when he’s on the screen the movie managed to hold my attention. But he’s lost in the relentlessness of the last 45 minutes, and bogged down with all the characters tagging along. And the alien stuff felt shoehorned in.
It’s a servicable escape from reality for two hours, but nothing more. It’s certainly no “Die Hard 4,” which still stands as the best of the resuscitated heroes popcorn pictures from the past few years, and better than the first two “Star Wars” sequel/prequels, but that’s saying almost nothing.
Can we all start to talk about George Lucas and the creative kiss of death? The guy’s ratio of good to bad movies is becoming perilous. I’m not even talking about the Indy sequels or the Star Wars prequels. Remember “Willow”? “The Radioland Murders”?
Abhishek, your completely out of touch with what people are excited for, this is a genre(adventure films) that’s almost completely untouched, and people are longing for it, everyone involved is still well loved. And people still love indy, I don’t care how long it’s been. And honestly times have changed but that’s helped indy, people are more into the blockbuster films these days then just any old film coming out. Indy has been successfully painted as a blockbuster, it’s been well received by critics(79% on Rottentomatoes) it’s selling tickets weeks in advance playing on tons of screens, there is nothing stopping this film breaking 300 million.
I’ve been waiting for someone to make a comment like Socratores’! It is strange, isn’t it? I’m old enough to remember when the general public not only didn’t know box-office numbers, they didn’t care. It was considered boring. A film was either a ‘big hit’ or it wasn’t… that was the extent of most people’s interest. The figures themselves were hard to come by; well anything like that in the pre-internet days was. I don’t know that they were as closely guarded as, say, the Nielsen/Soundscan sales numbers are today, but you definitely had to know where to look and who to ask. Now the f****** newspapers print a detailed top ten list every Monday! I sometimes wonder if the average person really IS that interested.
Anyway, back to Indy. It’s probably true that the audience skews older and so it might be mildly disappointing in its opening weekend numbers, but it’s still going to make a lot of money; I’m thinking somewhere around $300 mil. Purely anecdotal evidence indicates to me that this is the one summer film that most qualifies as a ‘must-see.’
Indy is the Best! Can’t get enough Indy Jones!!!
Hmmmmmm, I wonder if they take into consideration the cost of a ticket for the Star Wars movies to the price they are today? Would be interesting how that would compare.
Socratores – Because the executive producers as well as the studio find these numbers increasingly important to their bottom line. By historically tracking Day 1/Week 1 opening numbers, the cash guys can sleep at night knowing that they invested over $100 MIL for a film to be produced. Trust me – if you had invested the kind of coin it takes to produce one of these summer blockbusters, you would be tracking numbers from day 1 out of every theater demographic in Kansas.
I saw the film yesterday morning. The bad press is ridiculous…the film plays fine for a PG-13, action-adventure film which is a fourth installment of a film franchise created almost 30 years ago. If you have watched any of the prior-three films more than once or twice, you’ll appreciate this installment.
Saw it yesterday. Im a HUGE indy fan and thought the storylined seemed rushed, the character development was paper thin, and the plot line was WAY over the top. Wasnt impressed with the music either. John Williams is getting played out. At one point I swear part of the music was the EXACT same as minority report. bring something new to the table, please.
I would be interested in seeing how it fares demonatrated in inflation dollars compared to the original Raiders. I thought it was a GREAT movie! My teenage daughter is calling it her favorite movie afer one viewing. I never thought I’d see a patch-wearing Johnny Depp take a backseat to a whip toting Harrison Ford… but there you have it.
The movie was terrible. A bigger disappointment than the Phantom Menace.
My husband and I, ages 52 and 50, have been huge Indy fans since the originals. We went to the first show yesterday and are probably going a second time later this weekend with friends. The film isn’t GREAT but it is FUN and that includes its campier elements. There could be a lot of us 45+ types that have been waiting for a movie to really be excited about that will help push the $$$ higher than expected. For a workday (we took the day off) the audience was filled with people our age or so.
I saw it last night. This was the stupidest movie I have ever seen. Lucas and Spielberg have lost their minds. It was like a cartoon. A ten year old could have made this movie. It was almost like they forgot they weren’t making the X-files or something.
Saw it at a sold out show last night – crowd cheered, laughed and applauded…. I think it will do just fine. The emphasis on first weekend gross is getting a little stupid… Star Wars I, II & III were awful, 3 of the worst films ever, a tribute to wooden acting and shallow plotting. But hey, teenage boys loved it. I think Indiana Jones will make us oldsters very happy…it was loads of fun, and that’s what we were looking for. This film will have great legs…like its star!
I’d agree with the first post, that 140 mill over five days may be a stretch. Based upon your Thurs figures, I’d guess 100-110 mill for the five day period. Remember Iron Man, Caspian are still out there…
You’re so right. all this pontification is a big jerk-off. The movie is a hit. who cares about whether it’s bigger then….? Some people are obsessive about nothing.
Bob, maybe you can answer why hollywood doesn’t widely publish actual number of tickets sold instead of gross receipts. Or maybe they do and all the media only report the gross receipts.
I think it’s completely irrelevant that a film grossed $X in 2002 can be compared to a film grossing $Y today. Prices have gone up, and the number of screens film X played on in opening weekend versus movie Y can create a big difference. Hollywood has always assumed the public is stupid and will eat whatever they’re fed so it’s not surprise that they try to create more buzz by showing big $$$ figures instead of the real truth behind the numbers.
That’s a lot of disappointed people. It makes you wonder about the Frank Darabont script and the others because what ended up on screen is a real piece of junk. Spielberg and especially Lucas are reminiscent of two washed-up ballplayers who don’t know when to call it quits and end up embarrassing themselves. The CGI-heavy, labored “Crystal Skull” is surprisingly quite dull. Easily the worst of the four.
retarded movie. there is not a single minute where you think Indy is even the slightest danger. And this piece of crap re-defines the assinine concept that bad guys have terrible aim when firing guns…my advice is skip this one
The latest “Indiana Jones” is a stinker that suddenly gives me more respect for those cheap Indy ripoffs Cannon Films did in the ’80s with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone — “King Solomon’s Mines” and “Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.” To be fair, though, “Crystal Skull” is better than “Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.”
“movie theaters are raising ticket prices by a dollar or two this summer because popcorn is more expensive”
What’s wrong with this statement? If popcorn is more expensive… then raise the price of popcorn? Not everyone buys popcorn at the theatere? Still scratching my head on this one.
Saw Indy last night and, granted, I’m out of the kiddy demo, but it was a bore…charmless and belabored. It takes more than action sequences to make a movie. I found it as hollow as cotton candy, but not quite as exciting. Harrison looked tired…Karen Allen looked like his mother. Oy.
What ever happened to the days when we critiqued a movie based on it’s content and not its money making power.
Saw it at the Arclight in Hollywood. The theater was full (even at the 11:05pm showing) but saying there was a smattering of applause at the end would be generous. Harrison looks old. The opening is actually boring rather than thrilling. Events seem to occur for no reason except to keep the story going. And the scales of action to dialogue have tilted precipitously towards talking. And talking. And more talking. What action is there is constituted mainly of variations of set-ups we’ve seen in the earlier Indy movies.
I’m exactly the audience for this film and as much as I wanted to love it I couldn’t bring myself to find anything enjoyable. Except maybe the ants that make a cameo near the end of the film. And that’s not saying much.
Enough of this box office minutae! Stop setting these impossibly high standards. It’s like we have to know how much money the thing’s gonna make during its entire run after the first night! It’s absurd!
ATTN: HOLLYWOOD – THE OPENING WEEKEND RECORD DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BROKEN EVERY YEAR!!!
I went to the 12:01 am showing on Thursday. It was sold out, and people were dressed in costumes from all the ROLA movies. It was fun – the audience participation was a hoot. I love going to midnight premiers. We did the same last year with Pirates 3 and half the audience was dressed in pirate gear.
Sure Indy #4 isn’t as good as the original. “Doom” was absolutely horrendous and unwatchable. This one was brainless fun. We went with 10 people and had a blast. I will probably see it again since I did doze off for part of it, despite a venti mocha from Starbucks. I don’t think it will break any records, but we had a good time, enjoyed the movie, and we’re going to stay home for a while after seeing this, “Ironman”, “Speed Racer” and “Prince Caspian” all in the last 2 weeks. We’re broke!
Out of curiousity what would it take for a movie of this magnitude to break even. Is 150 million needed to make a large profit??????
I love the Indiana Jones
franchise….a web page like this brings out all the wannabe critics, eh?
Burton
m51.com
Ahmen Curious
saw the movie last night & the theater was FULL… crowd cheered and clapped… what does that tell you?
Is it any good though? Who can tell until the lines go down. The remaining communists in Russia seem upset that the movie acknowledges the existence of the KGB. They are also upset that it would be silly for the athiest anti-superstition party to run around with crystal skulls. But they don’t need this movie to make soviets look bad. During the time when they posed the most military and existential threat to America, they were going through progroms to exterminate anyone who believed in just about any religion but communism. With a history like that, this movie makes them look good.
If you’re not interested in the box office estimates then why did you bother reading this story?
We agree with Socratores
Everything in this country seems to have a sports-like competition, everyone’s fixated on numbers instead of the value of the matter at hand.
This is true for movies – fixation on numbers instead of the movie. This has been true for the Presidential election process – it’s like a big sports competition with the media feeding off numbers.
The movie will make a lot of money, but it’s got to be turned into a competition – which opening day weekend was best, etc.
This is why there are so many crappy movies. They’re all geared towards this mentality.
“Then again, that’s not taking into account how movie theaters are raising ticket prices by a dollar or two this summer because popcorn is more expensive.”
Thanks for the laugh.
I agree with Socratores. People have nothing better to do than stare at numbers and make judgments based on that. I still remember the first three films, and I think they were all great. I’m sure I’ll like this one too. I’m not expecting it to be the absolute best movie I’ve ever seen, but I’m sure I will be entertained.
I’ll wait ’til the second or third weekend to make sure that the remake is not “Indiana Jones and the Geritol of Doom”
I think it’s reasonable to assume that the economy will keep a LOT of potential viewers from spending big bucks to see this one.
I loved Star Wars and Indie…but I just don’t have the cash to splurge right now on anything I cannot eat or put in my gas tank.
I’ll just have to wait until this one hits broadcast TV. Yea, I had to get rid of satellite…it’s that bad right now!
Gee Socratores, never played an office box-office betting pool, have you?
Yeah, they happen. Really.
And if it’s all so pointless, why are you reading this crap and then taking the time to comment on it?
Sheesh!
if this blogger is as representative as he implies, the money will come:http://spencertroxell.blogspot.com/2008/05/indiana-jones.html
I intend to see the film no matter what the president Firefly says!
What is that bitter taste in my mouth? It is from how much this movie sucked!!!!!!!! Pathetic effects and storyline. I think I would have had more fun drilling a hole in my head!
When are they going to start using attendance, not dollar amounts to judge a film’s popularity.
As to amount that the film grosses, that is just a gross, and can we see the breakdown of what the film returns to the studio, if that is so important, and the costs for prints, distribution, ads.
I have been informed that a print costs approximate $3000 each, so just the print costs for 4000+ screens is over $12 Million and that doesn’t include transportation/shipping costs.
But bottom line, is why is the box office collections such a big story.
Saw it opening night, was hugely disappointed. This was a National Treasure film, not Indiana Jones. And this is coming from someone who liked the new
Star Wars films.
It stunk.
This movie was like the “space balls” of Indiana Jones. It was a complete joke.
“Rambo IV,” even though the studio chopped it down to barely 80 minutes, is a much better sequel than this boring fourth Indy installment.
Costco shoppers can buy pairs of unrestricted passes to Edwards/Regal movie theaters for $15. That’s $7.50/ticket, which is what I paid to see the Wednesday midnight showing of Indy at my local gigaplex. There mayalso be discount movie passes available through employers, credit unions, or the Auto Club….
Get some back for your buck….
The complaints of “there isn’t enough character development”, “it dragged when there wasn’t action”, “there’s too much action” seem pretty inconsistent to me and make me wonder who here has really seen it. You do recognize this is Indiana Jones and not There Will be Blood, right? It fits in well with the rest of the sequels from the series (unlike Star Wars) and doesn’t feel like anyone involved forgot how to make an Indy film.
Saw the film yesterday and enjoyed the hell out of it. For me to even GO to see a film in the theater is something. For me to possibly see one TWICE is just madness for me. I’m looking forward to seeing it again on Monday with friends.
As far as box office goes: No one is going to be embarrassed by the receipts in the long run. It not “Make $800 million it’s first weekend or bust.”
It must be nice to wake up in the morning and just enjoy being miserable. Lighten up and enjoy a good, fun film that makes you enjoy going to the movies again.
this movie was complete trash. my opinion doesn’t really matter cuz you’ll watch it anyway. that being said, this movie will do well this weekend. it’ll make good money this weekend and fall off everyone’s radar pretty quick. indiana has a huge name… people will see it. unfortunately, the movie isn’t any good. the mummy movies were better than this one. i was shocked and saddened when i left the midnight show.
a number of us started a support group in the parking lot for disappointed with the movie people. i suggest you join one too. it helps to come to terms with the fact that this wasn’t a good movie. because we all wanted it to be.
I saw it Wednesday night (I’m a 24yo Male) and its ok I guess. A little cheesy to be honest. And it is NOTHING like Last Crusade. That film was a masterpiece. Crystal Skull is what it is: a marketing gimmick. Nothing more. Labouf surprised in a good way. I was ready to hate him in it, but he was good despite the film bosses apparent demand that he be cast in a James Dean kind of light. I mean really, they didn’t even try to hide what they were doing. Over all I give it a C+ (and I’m being generous since I work in showbiz and am a member of SAG).
I saw the movie last night and the theater was about half full. I must tell you, not a lot of belly laughs from the audience. After it was over, I think everyone felt like it was sort of an obligation or right of passage to see this film. I didn’t hear anyone say they wanted to see it again (like I heard after Iron Man).
I found the movie to be too predictable from beginning to end. The story elements were inconsistent. After the big motorcycle chase scene (one of the few parts of the film I actually enjoyed), Indy and and Mudd are back at Indy’s house – what gives?? Did the bad guys give up that easily?
It just seems like the bad guys and the good guys got off a bit too easy during this film. For example, when Indy finds the skull the bad guys are waiting for them at the exit.
I also thought that the beginning of the film was hard to believe at multiple levels. So, the nation’s most important military secrets are held at a base guarded by 5 people…just makes no sense.
Aren’t anonymous posts great? People proclaiming the movie “unwatchable” – gee no agenda there. Others saying its the greatest movie of all time. More agendas. Why do Americans who have no investment in the movie studios, or who do not work for a studio,care what the box office is? Why do papers report about it obsessively? Publicists seem to make up the numbers anyway. If a movie has a high box office, is that supposed to validate your enjoyment of the film. If they are going to track anything, why not seats sold? And who cares what a site like “Rotten Tomatoes” says? How many uniques does a site like that even have. Its like those political commentators on TV 24 hours a day talking about Clinton and Obama. They’re just talking to themselves.
….and one more thing. If corn prices are up, why not raise popcorn prices? Why should I have to pay extra for a ticket because some morbidly obese person wants to sit a trashcan sized tub of junk food during a movie. Can’t they go two hours without stuffing their face?
Should have used the NOAH’S ARK script. I agree that the religious connection is the most intriguing. A crystal skull? Why not something everyone has heard about and would like to think exists. Noah’s Ark. It is fact that the russians sent a team to find the arc. Enough of the nazi thing… this plot could have had it all and more. The visual scenes would have been mind blowing on a big screen.
They really missed the “boat” on this plot.
It’s the summer of The Dark Knight, which will crush all the competiton. I don’t give two s***s about this latest Indy film, and I won’t be seeing it. Will probably top out in the $110-125 mil range
by Monday evening.
James – LMFAO about the comparison to King Solomon’s Mines, but seriously. This string is supposed to be discussing the PROFITABILITY of the film, not the STORY-LINE. BUT – Since we are all talking about it:
I have gone back and watched the first three films after yesterday morning. There is no way that anyone can dis this installment based on a plot that “seems like things happen to keep the action going”. Are you kidding me? The first one had that component of movement in the script. The only reasonable argument is the X-files direction that the film veered off into, BUT – it is 20 years later and the first sequence makes it completely plausible for the plot to revolve around an X-files storyline. Don’t forget, this film is set 20 years after any of the first trilogy. Plus we have George Lucas involved.
I’m not one to rush out to see films, I usually wait for them to arrive in my mailbox, but this film meant more to me…I saw the first one (9 years old) 22 times in the theater. I was satisfied that it delivered an action packed story that had me laughing at times, but always interested. Was it like Raiders? Hell no – I was a 9 year old kid and Raiders was a ground-breaking action film in 1981. You can never top a film being released during a certain time in history. Apocolypse Now in the late 70’s, Touch of Evil in 1959 and Independance Day in the early 90’s.
If you like the past Indy movies, you’ll like this one. Now, I am taking the UNDER on $140 MIL this weekend, but think that it will clear $ 100 MIL easily.
James – LMFAO about the comparison to King Solomon’s Mines, but seriously. This string is supposed to be discussing the PROFITABILITY of the film, not the STORY-LINE. BUT – Since we are all talking about it:
I have gone back and watched the first three films after yesterday morning. There is no way that anyone can dis this installment based on a plot that “seems like things happen to keep the action going”. Are you kidding me? The first one had that component of movement in the script. The only reasonable argument is the X-files direction that the film veered off into, BUT – it is 20 years later and the first sequence makes it completely plausible for the plot to revolve around an X-files storyline. Don’t forget, this film is set 20 years after any of the first trilogy. Plus we have George Lucas involved.
I’m not one to rush out to see films, I usually wait for them to arrive in my mailbox, but this film meant more to me…I saw the first one (9 years old) 22 times in the theater. I was satisfied that it delivered an action packed story that had me laughing at times, but always interested. Was it like Raiders? Hell no – I was a 9 year old kid and Raiders was a ground-breaking action film in 1981. You can never top a film being released during a certain time in history. Apocolypse Now in the late 70’s, Touch of Evil in 1959 and Independance Day in the early 90’s. One more point – Each of the installments used the same chase sequence elements of the first film to recreate a similar action sequence. I’ll say this…the jungle drive was a better rendition of Raider’s chance sequence for the Ark in the German transport than Doom’s roller-coaster coal-mine sequence.
If you like the past Indy movies, you’ll like this one. Now, I am taking the UNDER on $140 MIL.
And to those of you who will say, “This guy has time to sit around and watch all four movies in a day and a half!” – Realtor…the market sucks lately. I’m still scratching my head on the pop-corn price thing. WEIRD.
This movie was a huge letdown… wait until it comes out on pay per view; it certainly doesn’t merit to be purchased as seeing it once is good enough. One a scale of 1-5: 2 maybe a 3 at best.
Why do Obama-bots always have to inject their candidate into every unrelated discussion like the guy above?
Sheesh, you people are like Hare Krishnas bugging people at the airport. Stop trying to convert everyone to your cult, especially when it’s not the time or place.
Anyway, the reason people read these posts is because Nikki often has insightful commentary in between the hyper-obsession with numbers. We agree with the commenter above who said publicists and tv talking heads are just talking to themselves 24/7.
Big kudos that they didn’t make Indy’s love interest some 20-year-old.
It is sooo creepy and pathetic when they do that.
I caught the 7:00 thursday evening showing. What surprised me (but maybe shouldn’t have) was that although the theatre was about 90% full, all but about 10 people were 30-40 something couples. Almost no teens, only a few younger kids with parents.
As for the movie itself, I thought it was an acceptable action flick. Not the best in the Indy series but not the worst either. Harrison Ford has held up surprisingly well and remained convincing as Indiana Jones. Shia Labufe was ok, but not spectacular. The girls, Karen Allen and Kate Blanchett stole the show. The story was descent, but it seemed like the ending was kind of rushed and predictable. Unlike previous Indy movies, people will correctly figure out how this one is going to end about 1/2 way through.
“Should have used the NOAH’S ARK script. I agree that the religious connection is the most intriguing. A crystal skull? Why not something everyone has heard about and would like to think exists. Noah’s Ark. It is fact that the russians sent a team to find the arc. Enough of the nazi thing… this plot could have had it all and more. The visual scenes would have been mind blowing on a big screen.
They really missed the “boat” on this plot.”
How right you are.
It’ll make a ton of money. Let’s just leave it at that.
People, people, people!!! It’s just a MOVIE! It was never intended to be a factual documentary or some type of dissection of society, religion, communism, or any other hot-button you may have. It’s ENTERTAINMENT! If you like Indy, go see it. If you want to take some other person’s opinion on how good or bad the movie is, that’s entirely up to you. Personally, I enjoyed it because I went looking for fun at the movies, nothing else. Buy a ticket and go expecting to have fun, and you’ll have it. Go to the movie acting like a critic, and you’ll miss the enjoyment. Just my .02 – Richard4106
My wife and I saw the movie on Thursday night, 7:00pm show. The theatre was half full but they had four running. My wife was sooo excited to see this final chapter she was humming Johh Williams’ score in the car all the way there. We both left the theatre disappointed for the reasons already mentioned above. Hollywood did not need to make this film. It was a sad finish to a strong trio of films (although #2 was not that great either). Honestly, the best part of the film to me was the scene where Indiana’s shadow on the car door shows the profile of him placing his hat on his head. After that scene, I felt let down. Oh well, I have not been expecting much from hollywood over the past few years, so this was not a great surprise.
I want to see this movie no matter what anyone says and matter what the critics say. Why? Because I’m just looking for a movie that’s fun and doesn’t try to indoctrinate me with politics. I don’t care about cliches or his age or anything else. I just want to be entertained instead of be told how much to hate George W. Bush. Thanks.
Funny, all my friends who have seen it loved it. I plan to go next weekend when the crowds thin out. Since I and all of my friends are over 30, many over 40 and 50, we probably just don’t have any taste in movies.
The Indiana Jones franchise hinges on how Christian it is.
The first one was totally Old Testament–dealing with something every Sunday School kid knows (”Didn’t you go to Sunday School?”) It also had a useful woman sidekick though Indy had boyish charm and was more interested in artifacts than girls.
Temple of Doom lost its way and went into Far East zombie pull-beating-hearts-from-living-people and monkey brains for dinner stuff. Definitely not Biblical. And the girl was less than useless. And Indy went from boyish charm to playboy. Not the right character. Movie was totally fouled up.
The third one went back to Christian roots and chased after the Grail. And the Nazis were back. The girl was strong, but on the wrong side and misguided. Both Indy and his dad morally disappointed the audience. Movie did okay.
Now this Skull stuff. Is Indy Indy or is he some silly playboy? Is the story familiar or just weird?
Well, the weekend take will be $7.50 less than what it could have been. I walked out half way through and got my money back. (And I’m a big Indy fan.)