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SUNDAY AM UPDATE: It was a very lackluster weekend for North American grosses and probably will be until the summer movies get going. Tops again, but with the lowest #1 gross so far this year, was the charming but slow-starting How To Train Your Dragon 3D from DreamWorks Animation distributed by Paramount. And it’s the 5th weekend in release… How embarrassing for The Back-Up Plan with its horrible concept. It debuted No. 1 Friday but fell to No. 2 Saturday. J-Lo’s pic is the 2nd straight loser from newcomer CBS Films which kept delaying the release for obvious reasons: because everyone knew Jennifer Lopez can’t open a movie anymore, except Les Moonves. (Sheesh, J-Lo can’t even keep a record label…) Before this, J-Lo’s most recent rom com, May 2005′s Monster-In-Law, opened with $23.1M. Yet a CBS exec emails me that The Back-Up Plan‘s $12.2M result is “very respectable” and “quite good”. Huh?… And the Warner Bros-distributed The Losers, from Joel Silver’s unsavory Dark Castle, was marketed like a low-rent A-Team – and still it disappointed like most of his pics from that brand. (Please, Joel, put it out of its misery already.) The actioner was only #4 Friday and may have fallen to #5 Saturday behind several holdovers… And Kick-Ass experienced a steep drop after Lionsgate unethically inflated its opening numbers by including last Thursday midnight’s take in order to grab the No. 1 title last weekend. No self-respecting studio does that anymore. But Lionsgate is feeling the heat from Carl Icahn and needed the PR boost…
Here’s the Top 10:
1. How To Train Your Dragon (DWA/Par) Week 5 [3,665 Theaters]
Friday $3.6M, Saturday $6.6M, Weekend $15M, Cume $178.4M
2. The Back-Up Plan (CBS Films/Sony) NEW [3,280 Theaters]
Friday $4.2M, Saturday $5.2M, Weekend $12.2M
3. Date Night (Fox) Week 3 [3,294 Theaters]
Friday $3.275M, Saturday $4.8M, Weekend $10.6M, Cume $63.4M
4. The Losers (Warner Bros) NEW [2,936 Theaters]
Friday $3.245M, Saturday $3.8M, Weekend $9.6M
5. Kick-Ass (Lionsgate) Week 2 [3,065 Theaters]
Friday $2.9M, Saturday $4M, Weekend $9.5M (-52%), Cume $34.8M
6. Clash Of The Titans (Warner Bros) Week 4 [3,271 Theaters]
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $4M, Weekend $9M, Cume $145.6M
7. Death At A Funeral (Screen Gems/Sony) Week 2 [2,459 Theaters]
Friday $2.3M (-58%), Saturday $3.5M, Weekend $8M, Cume $28.4M
8. Oceans (Disney) NEW [1,206 Theaters]
Friday $2M, Saturday $2M, Weekend $6M, Cume $8.4M
9. The Last Song (Disney) Week 4 [2,794 Theaters]
Friday $1.1M, Weekend $3.7M, Cume $55.4M
10. Alice In Wonderland 3D (Disney) Week 8 [1,385 Theaters]
Friday $590K, Weekend $2.2M, Cume $327.5M
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Don’t care about Jenny and Joel (although I do care about Zoe).
But how about the hold for Dragon? I can dig it
Hey Nikki – How much has Alice In Wonderland made worldwide right now? I read on one of the boxoffice sites that it’s on pace to make $1 BILLION worldwide by end of April – is that true???? Box office mojo reports that it’s over $850 million but that was last week and I heard it just opened in Japan and Spain.
CBS will redeem itself with BEASTLY. It is really good. I just hope they don’t bail on it with advertising. They have a hit, hopefully they know it.
Dragons and Alice. I’m just sayin’
Yeah, it’s a good movie but it’s not a DW movie. It’s a Pixar wannabe but they sold it like a typical DW movie, thin and fun. Dragon is heartfelt and a nice little allegory about understanding your fellow man.
DW was obviously jealous of Pixar’s whole quality thing. But someone forgot to tell marketing. Still it won’t make what Kung Fu Panda did.
damn, i wish kickass was doing better. Such a great movie.
In response to comment made by chris stating “Kick-Ass” as “Such a great movie”. You don’t see many movies do you. It was entertaining but everything about it was wannabe. I liked it, but you name a movie with a swear in the title and have it star kids who swear, masturbate, and murder, don’t be surprised when it isn’t a hit.
They made this outside the studio system, maybe a case where a few studio notes would have helped. I can’t believe I just typed that but Vaughn is not to be trusted!
Dude, you are so right about this. A PG 13 would have found this film a big hit. Violence, murder, sex, stabbing and a little girl getting kicked in the privates? Come on!
I haven’t seen it yet but I think bad word of mouth regarding the little girl sunk this movie, especially among the conservative crowds. It does look pretty cool so I might watch it when it comes out as rental.
Except Kick-Ass isn’t a hit.
It’s not a complete bomb either. What I’m wondering is how many under 17s bought tickets for non-R rated movies and snuck in to see Kick Ass instead? This is something I’ve talked about with other people who’ve seen the movie. I know for a fact that when I saw it there were at least 4 kids under 17 who left the theater just in front of me. When I went into the theater at a 4pm show there wasn’t anyone taking tickets and at the top of the stairs that lead to the theaters like their usually is. You could go into any theater you wanted because there were no employees around to stop you. Other people I’ve talked to saw similar things at their local theaters – or saw kids coming in after the previews started. So who’s to say that Dragon’s numbers aren’t inflated by kids buying tickets to it and sneaking in to see Kick Ass? I’m sure the folks at Dreamworks appreciate the donations though…
Actually, that’s the point of the movie. It must not be taken seriously, at the same time you should. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen not only this year! It’s my favorite superhero movie ever, and yes, I’d pick this one anytime over the Dark Knight. It defied its genre and delivered a light to dark presentation. Sure, its pacing wasn’t that good but once you connect to it, you won’t mind watching a 12-year old doing mass murder. Apples-and-oranges. I think that describes the people’s opinion
Moviefandan, you’re obviously very narrow minded to think that KICK-ASS is only for those who have not seen many movies. I take in a good 80-100 movies per year and KICK-ASS was one of my favorites in a very long time.
Also, Hit Girl never masturbates in the movie. Not sure where you got that from…
As with Watchmen, the studios need to learn that R-rated superhero movies that push the envelope of taste (either with male full-frontal nudity or an 11 year-old talking like a drunken sailor) are going to have limited appeal and not do very well in the box office. Would it have ruined Kick-Ass to tone it down to a PG-13 in order to double or more the audience who would see it?
Jennifer Lopez certainly isn’t a big star anymore, but I have to admit, I’m surprised it did as well as that. Wouldn’t have been surprised if it made $8 million or less.
And saw “The Losers” this afternoon. It’s mildly entertaining, but has a lot of strikes against it. Still, you come away thinking Chris Evans will actually be a great Captain America given his tiny handful of action sequences.
J.Lo was all by her self on this one.
No Gerard Butlers, no Matthew McConaugheys, no hyped fauxmances, no Best Selling well loved books, or Ensemble casts that have been Best Sellers forever.
Yet even before this movie was screened or released Lopez had people dragging her down and beating her up in articles.
Why does she get kicked in the head by the celeb press, when people like TV’s Friends actress Aniston get more than a fair shot to come out of the gate and release their bombs unfettered and buoyed by hype.
J.Lo at 12+ mil, and a #1 (possible) opening, is still better than Aniston’s 8 mil opening for that ‘Love Happens’ stinker that she headlined herself.
J.Lo actually HAS charisma, and given solid outstanding performances in films like ‘Out of Sight,’ and ‘Selena,’ yet people dogged her out even before the reviews.
You are correct. I am not a big fan her movies and I to hope they fail, I have ask myself, why? Shes never done anything to me. But with that said, I think she is unfairly targeted by the press. Maybe its the way she carry’s her self off screen that turns people off, who knows. Then again, look at Aniston and Jolie, most of their movies bomb and aren’t as trashed by the press like Lopez is but that’s just my observation.
I’m convinced Aniston pays someone to link her name with Jolie’s. Because even in what are supposed to be tempered well-reasoned articles and opinions, where people just happen to be talking about how much Aniston sucks asss, Jolie gets mentioned. WHY? Why would anyone link Jolie, a two time Oscar nominee and winner whose last movie that opened on her name (Wanted), grossed 59 mil it’s opening weekend? Ditto Mr. & Mrs. Smith, her movie with Pitt. Ditto, Beowulf, Kung Fu Panda and ditto her Franchise, which left her in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the only woman to open an action franchise to success and gross a half bil EVER. Yet people bring her up when discussing, of all people…Aniston. That’s like comparing Liz Taylor to Alice from the Brady Bunch. Aniston fails miserably stacked up against, Sarah jessica Parker, Kate Hudson, and even her own co-star Lisa Kudrow…let alone your Cam Diaz’s, or Katherine Heigl’s…and yet, you decide to link her to the #1 actrss in Hollywood, Angelina Jolie?? Shyeah. Listen, go back to the ‘Friends,’ message boards and go to town with your jealous rants about Angelina there – in the real world, you just sound psychotic. The only place Aniston competes with Angelina is in the tabloid press, for ‘Brad.’ In the real world, which you need to visit, any comparison is laughable.
One word: Gigli.
I hate to be that guy, but Love Happens opened on 1800 screens while The Back Up Plan is on over 3200 screens. I’m not saying that Love Happens didn’t bomb but the comparison really isn’t fair.
Keepingitreal Ummm maybe you shoud stick to facts!
The back up plan opened in 3280 theaters and had a 1280 Friday per screen average whereas Love Happens had a 1630 Friday per screen average on 1898 theaters. If The back up plan does make 12.2M this weekend the perscreen average will still be less than Love happens OW.
I personally do not hate JLo, but to say that this film is doing well or better than Aniston’s last two films will be completely innacurate.
Aniston’s last crapfest got 8% on rottentomatoes, and scored 20 mil opening weekend WITH Gerard Butler. Heigl did about 8 million more than Aniston starring with Butler, and without the incessant in your face godawful hype. This movie opened on J.Lo’s name alone, with an unknown co-star. It was her movie, and she’ll take responsibility for it’s flopping I’m sure, unlike how Aniston plays it – passing the buck at every opportunity for her failures. Name the last movie that Aniston attempted to open on her name/plot point/character alone? You can’t do it – as she usually makes ‘her’ movies about ‘the guy’ to use as a cushion in case her endeavors FLOP – yeah, there’s woman power for you. She knows she can’t hold anyone’s attention on her own, so it’s ALWAYS about THE GUY, (i.e., he’s the bounty hunter, he’s the guy with the lovable dog, he’s bruce almighty, he’s derailed, he’s a widowed therapist…and on and on and on). At least J.Lo and most actresses take their hits themselves. It’s pointless to compare Aniston to any woman opening a film – as she very deceptively never does. But if it’s a success by virtue of it’s male comic lead, or best selling book status and lovable poooch, she’ll take the credit of course. J.Lo doesn’t even deserve to be compared to a literal no-talent like Aniston.
Here’s the thing though, Love Happens costed about $15 million to make and recuperated that in the U.S. Back-Up Plan costed $35 million and will stuggle to even get to $30 million.
I’ll explain why J-Lo gets railed and Aniston doesn’t.
J-lo is one of the biggest bit—s to ever grace this planet and JA is an absolute pleasure to work with.
This movie getting slammed is just a platform to go after her – do u really think anyone cares that much about this tv movie of the week?
It’s not J-lo’s fault the movie sucks, she did her job. Same with u attacking JA for her stinkers…she did her job. The prep and 9 months that followed her work, (where they put the movie together and actually make the thing), that’s where things went wrong.
But most press leave JA alone because she shows up on time, is nice to everyone, drives herself to appointments, has no demands, is self-sufficient, says hello, says goodbye etc. In other words, acts like a functioning member of society.
Try and work with J-lo. Godspeed.
And her behavior has been consistent for over 10 years. It sucks.
And u know why she doesn’t have the co-stars u mention? Which is also the reason she stuck working with a first time director (who’s really a tv producer), writer from Will and Grace and for CBS films (the Lifetime Network of the movie business), because no one wants to work with her.
I knew someone would put up a post like yous. All I can say is truth is truth. Jenny has been punishing people for years and I just don’t get her unhappiness. Perhaps being a Latina is still not quite like being white.
That said I got dragged to “Bounty Hunter” but walked out thinking it was pretty good and Jennifer Anniston has the body from hell! Honestly, she has never looked better. Also, Gerrad Butler’s scene when he finds out he has the right to arrest his ex is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a movie in a long time.
Should I do the typical idiot comment of “you’re just jealous of J-Lo!!!”?
Just kidding, Lopez is an idiot, typical Bronx chick who thinks her shit don’t stink…
Hopefully Dragon will pull ahead. Never had hope for Back-Up Plan. Thought Kick-Ass would fare a little better with good word of mouth. And poor LOSERS…
Dark Castle had a good thing going on with its branded content in the horror genre. Maybe they’ll smarten up and go back to their roots.
Castle still has a bunch of horror films they could remake or if they wanted to do something high concept–they should do the new project causing quite a stir in the industry this week… THE BUTCHER’S BRIDE.
The novel has sold out of most bookstores since the film was announced a couple days ago. I called everywhere.
Are you kidding me? THE BUTCHER’S BRIDE is not causing a stir in the industry, unless you count the gales of laughter that terrible script is generating.
I admit I’ve not read THE BUTCHER’S BRIDE novel, but the screenplay was one of the worst written pieces of shit ever dumped into the marketplace. With spelling errors, an egregious lack of punctuation, and nonsensical sentence structure on the first page, it’s a sure bet the storytelling is going to elicit a dry heave. The script doesn’t disappoint.
All involved should be ashamed.
See, you tip your hand producer-or-director-of-”Butcher’s Bride”-adaptation with that “I called everywhere”-thing. You can go to Amazon and overnight stuff, donchaknow, and as the thing is currently ranked #196,000 or whatever, you just sent a bunch of studio folks over to Amazon to see that – in fact – the book actually ISN’T a bestseller.
Wow. I came on here to read about Losers performing and this caught my attention. Having had this as a ‘read’ this weekend, I had no problems with it, I actually dug the script. Too dark for the regime’s mandate I work for, but then again I remember reading SAW and really liking it as well.
I’m floored that audiences didn’t turn out for Back-Up Plan. I went with my girlfriend and was entertained. She didn’t want to see The Losers…I’ll be seeing it without her.
Bye bye Amy Baer.
And Dark Castle’s next film The Apparition I hear is awful.
Let’s move out the garbage people…
Dark Castle has lost its vision. You’re right, Apparition isn’t looking so hot.
I did read the spec that went out, The Butcher Bride…
the reviews the novel is getting are dead on. The film itself, if directed well should literally kill at the box office.
It will literally kill? Someone stop it please!
Just read about ‘Last Vegas’, which sounds like the best project CBS Films has. But their first two movies? WTF! Get some real film makers. That’s people who have made good films, not TV people making a move into films.
Amy Baer is a moron. So… soon she’ll be the head of a REAL studio.
Good about Apparition, the director is a hack and Rona is the only fool who would hire that guy.
I still think young teens are buying tickets for How To Train Your Dragon and then slipping into Kick Ass.
Maybe the kids ARE doing this! But given how the studio, as Nikki reported, used Thursday box office totals to “win” the weekend — what a cheating crock! — I say it all evens out in the end. A mediocre, um, not so “Kickass” movie inflated by fan boys (and girls) yielded fallen souffle results.
Too bad.
Next week it will get FLATTENED further by Nightmare on Elm Street. Thank goodness.
Yeah and then they realized what an awful movie Kick Ass is and they slip back to HTTYD
Yeah, call me crazy, but I don’t think kids are buying premium-priced, $14 “How To Train Your Dragon 3D” tickets and sneaking into “Kick-Ass” when they could just as easily buy cheaper, normal-priced tickets for “The Back-Up Plan,” “The Losers,” “Date Night,” “Clash Of The Titans,” or “The Last Song” and sneak into “How To Train Your Dragon.” Just an obvious observation…
Normally you need to show your ticket for a 3D movie in order to receive the glasses. So good observation you just made, except completely wrong.
but if you’re a 15 year old boy, wouldn’t it make more sense to ask your parents for money to see how to train your dragon, than you know, the back up plan or the last song. and if you’re a fanboy, you’ve already seen clash of the titan.s
Yeah like they couldn’t buy HTTYD tix in 2D. Thisfu*kingguy
I think guys who are too embarassed to buy tickets to The Last Song are buying tickets to Kick Ass, and sneaking into The Last Song
and you’re basing that on what? nothing? oh okay.
Phht. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that excuse made…
The Back-Up Plan will flop due to the dvdscreener that leaked. those numbers are all wrong
like people who download movies illegally are interested in watching backup plan
I know people who download movies illegally and these people can clearly afford to buy a movie ticket or rent a DVD. If you ask me, they are a bunch cheap skates. With that said, movies are always being downloaded.
Yeah. The DVD screener that leaked. That totally explains why no one went to see this movie.
Correct. “Taken” was on the net for almost a year and still it rocked because you know, IT ROCKED!
jlo’s fans/ audience are not into torrents.
Riiiiiiight, it leaked. wink, wink. And THAT’S the reason the movie didn’t do well.
Does anyone else think the price of a movie ticket might be a big reason why a lot of people aren’t going to the movies right now? I’m a guy in LA and any movie I take a girl to is gonna cost $12 each ticket (more for some places), $2 for parking (more for some places), say $30 for two drinks each at a place like Father’s Office (more for some places). Do the math and for a basic Friday night, that’s $56 for a simple date with no food. I’m just sayin, I know this is still a cheap compared to going to a Lakers game but if you don’t make $40,000/yr, which is more than the average income in the US, simply taking someone to drinks, not dinner, and a movie isn’t really that feasible more than a few times per year if you live a modest lifestyle and plan on saving for the future.
$40K a year? You’ve got to be kidding. I’m a girl in LA – making more than that but less than twice that and I can barely afford my rent, car insurance, etc. I’m VERY picky about what movies I see first run. I get those $6 movie passes from my job and wait 2 weeks to see them. Sadly, the Pacific Americana just caught on to tacking on the $3 for 3D. I got into Avatar with the $6 passes but couldn’t get into Clash of the Titans without $helling out the $3 more. Luckily, I heard it was better in 2D anyway. I probably won’t see that Dragon movie. I heard it was good in 3D but I’m not paying more than $6 to see a non-Pixar cartoon. Thankfully, I don’t like the Lakers but “cheap but decent” seats at Dodger Stadium last year ended up costing us $110 for both of us not counting the bad food and the parking.
“Cheap but decent” dodgers seats for 110? You are either got scalped hard, or sat in the boring lower deck. Tip: If someone’s shushing you in-between pitches, you paid too much to sit there.
Next time, 40RS for 40bucks and the local wildlife will give you 110 Dollars worth of entertainment, with or without baseball.
$3.00!!!!
Maybe you can open a lemonade stand and get that extra scratch put together.
No.
Yes! Went to the movies Thursday and heard two people saying this very thing after commenting on the price of a bottle if water…. Have said it myself and make more than 40k. Overall boxoffice may go up with higher prices, but it’s feast or famine.
Of course the price of the ticket is a big issue. Unless somehow either the laws of supply and demand were thrown out the window, or everyone in America suddenly got a pay raise or hired, it matters.
Anything priced more will see less sold. Hollywood has steadily seen rising ticket prices, and dropping alternatives. Chiefly, Redbox. I can see a first run movie, or wait about five-six months and rent for $1. Gee, that’s not hard.
Hollywood does not get it — high prices discourage theatrical attendance. Probably AVATAR cannibalized a lot of attendance. It’s not like folks have unlimited cash, and high living execs, stars, producers, and the rest have no clue. Not the least of which is that the broad appeal is not there for most movies.
Dragon is amazing in its animation, Kick-Ass in its fight choreagraphy, even Back Up Plan has great cinematography. But the dead, empty, lifeless stories are boring even in the trailers. I sure as hell couldn’t figure out what Losers was all about. Heck, Steven J. Cannell decades ago could tell you what the A-Team was about in 20 seconds.
I agree!! Ticket prices are way too high. Not to mention the food & drinks which are unhealthy to your body and bank account. I also think hollywood politics play a role too. I love to see the different comments placed here. I am beginning to have more respect for persons placing comments than the actual bloggers themselves. When I read the blogs I often see too much hollywood politics and not enough about the movie. When Avatar came out most critics reviewed James Cameron,his temperment and the budget of the film. What ever happened to reviewing the movie? If a blogger/critic has a personal distaste for an actor, studio or director it seems they become sidetracked from the movie itself.Sometimes movies like Avatar can survive and sometimes movies like KickAss & Death At a Funeral don’t.
Well why don’t you get your girl to contribute half the cost? This is the age of equal rights. Your girl should be paying half the cost of the movies plus popcorn. Don’t let women get away with playing the “little pitiful me” role to avoid paying their fair share.
Thanks for missing the point.
You sound like a real catch Jason.
The Back-Up plan isn’t failing because of high ticket prices: It’s failing because it’s stupid. What the hell is J-Lo doing in a movie? She hasn’t been famous since The Eminem Show and pregnancy movies were done to death in the last leg of the aughties anyway.
As for why everything else is underwhelming, it’s a mix of high ticket prices and the rampant unemployment/downsizing. I switched to smoking Cheyenne’s because they’re $2 a pack; I can’t keep paying thirty dollars a week for cigarettes. Same with the movies: I’d love to see Kick-Ass again, but tickets are $9… same reason I haven’t seen Dragon even though everyone tells me it’s great.
Stadium seating theaters now rival IMAX in ticket prices… we need more of those run-down crackhouse cinemas you see on Main Street in the big cities.
You might have a point. There were some girls who fit the ideal studio demo who were at a second-run theater in my area screening Runaways, and they actually asked the ticket-guy about the running time vs. another movie! This was also for a matinee show. And I always thought girls that age spend money more freely on these things.
Here’s an idea: get dinner and drinks BEFORE the movie. Back in the day, “dinner and a movie” meant that the couple actually went out and enjoyed each other’s company over dinner, then saw a movie.
Do that and you can save the “$30 on drinks” that you claim to spend at each movie.
Are people really that devoid of common sense?
A lot of people bought Avatar DVDs, maybe that, combined with the new films, depressed the box office this weekend.
Save what you wrote here. Next time you are sitting there wondering why you can’t get a date or get a girl to give you a second date, this should answer all your questions.
I’m surprised about the J-Lo pic – it actually looked kind of charming to me. Guess not to enough of us. Too bad.
Ms Lopez is officially a has been. Her diva act has past its expiration date and she’s done. Hopefully, this will put her on a slow boat to oblivion. Good riddance bitch.
Um, calm down. The level of hate you’re displaying is disproportionate to the subject matter, making you appear really invested though you claim not to be. Are you an ex bf or something, damn.
I sure as hell don’t see Lopez assaulting my eyes and ears every month releasing sh*tty movies like Aniston or Kate Hudson – who for some inexplicable reason don’t get near the amount of criticism Lopez does when she finally comes out from under and releases a new film (that plays wide).
Last time she had a film out, was a small indie venture a few years ago about salsa legend El Cantante – she’s been busy being a new mom to twins, and managing her other fashion/cosmetic endeavors.
When you start seeing her milking faux relationships, sticking her asss in the air on mexican beaches, dropping names and whining in interviews about movie star exes, and basically saturating the media every few weeks with shallow ridiculous hype (Billy Bush Access Hollywood birthday parties, and feeds to celebrity weeklies about her every move) then maybe, just MAYBE…your vitriol will be justified.
Until then, she’s just an actor who’s had a flop – happens to ‘em all. It shouldn’t mean the end of her career – especially since she actually HAS talent as opposed to other people I could name.
She’s no ‘actor’. ‘It’ factor, yes, but she’s no ‘actor’.
Jennifer Garner is that you? Ben has booked you seat on JLo’s boat to oblivion.
Prepare for sitcom “Oh That J-Lo” as midseason replacement, NBC spring 2012.
Is JLo that awful behind the scenes to warrant such venom?
Not surprised. J-Lo isn’t isn’t a movie star, although she THINKS she is and that is part of the problem. The Losers, I am sad about, I wanted it to do well. No real names but a funny concept!
What exactly IS the concept for The Losers? (maybe that was a big part of the problem)
And Jeffrey Dean Morgan, like Clive Barker, is box-office death. And his twin, Javier Bardem, actually, now that I think about it.
there are two reasons why clive barker is boxoffice poison. the politically correct reason is that it’s not 1989 anymore. lemme know
if you want to know the un-PC reason. it’s the same reason why his books used to debut on the nytimes top 10 list and now he’d be lucky if he could debut in the top 10,000. see point 2 for what i wrote about kick ass. i’m just being honest. not making a value judgement. but i used to work in publishing.
LOL Re Jeffrey and Javier. But you’re right – I had NO idea what ‘The Losers,’ was about. It had a good ‘look,’ to it that I thought might make it a hit – but without any ‘names,’ and a marketing plan that did not convey plot AT ALL (what is wrong with these people?) a good looking music video, sans music, is not gonna come out on top.
These studios are really screwing themselves out of dollars with their marketing/press ideas. Like take the Twilight movies – they get off to a slamming start with this gothic epic ROMANCE that makes every female 8 to 80 want to lay their money down…but then they get too greedy and start thinking, ‘Hmmm, let’s add action and fights and a love triangle that isn’t in the books,’ to draw in even more demos, except that pisses off the MAIN one that sent them into the stratosphere to begin with (females who loved the romance).
Seriously, who are these people hiring??
um are you an idiot? new moon made $300 million more than twilight so i think bringing in additional demos worked in that case. maybe try picking a better example to make your point next time, dummy.
new moon was front loaded. the film fell off 70 – 75% every weekend until it was out of the theatres. the first twilight film was around for about 5 or 6 months almost right up to the dvd release. the fan base expanded between the first and second movie.
but these new people won’t turn up for twilight 3. new moon’s badness sped up twilight fatigue. even the twilight fans didn’t turn up for robert pattinson’s first post twilight movie and they stayed away from kristin stewart’s rocknroll romp.
New Moon made it’s money on THE BACK of Twilight – the movies are based on several books, Catherine Hardwicke hit it out of the park, and as the previous poster said, set New Moon up real nice. But NM dropped the ball, the love story and emotion of the first that hooked the females was absolutely non-existent in NM. Major FAIL. It seems the way they’re promoting Eclipse, with fighting and action designed to lure fanboys who won’t show up to the 3rd movie anyway, will complete the circle of alienation.
Also, saying that just fans didn’t want to see Pattinson in another romance with someone besides Kristen/Bella, and didn’t want to see Kristen/Bella as a lesbian rocker chic, is kind of *PROVING the POINT* that THE FANS that made the Twi films gross a half BIL, watched The first Twilight repeatedly in theaters, DVD, and pay per view – as well as awarded them every little schlock award under the sun as Best Actor & Actress want to definitely SEE THEM in an EPIC ROMANCE with each other.
Bardem has never had the chance to try to open a film though. He only does little indies. Put him in a big budget film, at least in a supporting role, and I think he’d do well and people would like it. It’s a shame about Morgan though. He’s a great actor but I guess he just can’t draw a crowd.
I think Morgan’s very appealing. He has chest hair.
Hey MeOw, seriously, read the previous posts, you sound stupid. Bardem was compared in looks and is not in the movie. Don’t go off topic like that.
Bombs, I think you meant Clive Owen. Clive Barker is not the one who wronged you.
I bet Zoe is wishing it was still 2009
zoe saldana is very pretty and a decent actress. –although i haven’t seen DAAF or The Losers. but on paper it looks like she’s made some marginal choices. and should’ve waited until after avatar opened to pick projects. The Takers won’t do well because chris (women beater) brown is in it.
2 and a half men continues to be the #1 sitcom despite the assault charges against charlie sheen. i doubt anyone even knows chris brown is in that movie.
Yeah, but Charlie Sheen isn’t black. (There, I said it.)
He isn’t?
Zoe Saldana, in my opinion, was a negative for The Losers. I couldn’t understand how this very young woman was supposed to be plugged in to the highest levels of the national security establishment. Was she appointed by the Obama administration? It was one factor in why I couldn’t find this movie remotely belivable. No disrespect to her as an actress, but you can’t just plug in random actors into random roles.
This makes no sense.
Yeah, it doesn’t. didn’t know CB was in it and it still wasn’t on my to-do list.
It isn`t like Zoe was the lead or that movies were sold on her name.Both DATF and TL were ensamble movies where she wasn`t the biggest name of the bunch. Besides, I wouldn`t be worried just yet cause she still has Star Trek and Avatar franchises to fall back on if going gets tough. At least ST is going to happen. Avatar sequeling depends on Cameron`s mood.
You do realize she is a millionaire? Her pain is not the same as ours. Oh geez, my movie flopped I guess I can only buy one Mercedes instead of 12. Relax she will be just fine.
ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THE LOSERS: The Losers. The title. Sounds like a movie from ’93 that they’re REALLY hoping will appeal to the young people. No one uses this style any more (the self-deprecating irony thing), but unfortunately fossils like Joel Silver still think they do.
yeah, both “kick-ass” and “the losers” are horrible titles for wide opening movies… the comic books they’re based on weren’t high-profile enough to warrant keeping the titles…
I like your logic here. And it similarly applies to “Kickass”
Just saying!
also look at those weak legs on Kick Ass, i thought WOM was great?
WOM was great, internet fanboy WOM that is.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’m sorry, just can’t stop laughing about this.
Losers needed a good bad guy and a smaller core cast. A-Team should do better, but might not be as huge as FOX expects, given that the original show hasn’t aged well. Expendables is the real mystery, though. It was well-received by fans, will that carry over to a direct homage of the other movies in the series?
WOM is great among fanboys. Trouble is, fanboys prefer to sit on their big, lazy butts and wait for someone else to do repeat business. Which is not happening cause the movie didn`t cross over. In the meantime, instead of packing theaters that run KA, fanboys are sitting in front of their computer screens lamenting the poor taste of the general audience. In short, neither people who don`t care (understandable) nor people who say they do (ouch!) are seeing this.
The Backup Plan should end the weekend at around %17 million. I know lots of women that are going to see it Saturday including my lovely wife and her girlfriends. Kickass sucked big time. I walked out before the end. For people that never read the comic, it made no sense. I’m not surprised it’s bombing. Add to that that Kickass has been leaked all over the net. Who would pay to see it now? The Losers was poorly marketed. It didn’t look good from previews. Clash is not doing the business the industry thought. The studio is probably not in the black yet. How to Train Your Dragon is also not free and clear yet. Summer movie season should be big. We know all the ladies are going to see Eclipse and Sex and the City 2. The guys will see Iron Man 2, and there’s Toy Story 3 for the kiddies.
So you actually think JLo’s movie will make 13 million more between now and Sunday? What are you smoking? No way it’s making 17Million, no matter how many of your wife’s girlfriends see this mess. It will top at 12 or 13 million max, if that, and that my friend is disappointing given the number of theaters it’s showing in and the fact that they promoted the hell out of it, so on marketing alone, this movie is going to lose money. Sorry dude but 17 million is wishful thinking.
kick ass has not been leaked all over the internet. do you even know what you’re talking about? and try proofreading your post so it makes some sort of sense.
finally saw kick ass. the film is great overall. but there’s 2 things going against it.
1.) it’s rated R. but it couldn’t have been done any other way without it looking like, you know, The Losers.
2.) the subplot of how kick ass gets the girl. no teenage boy would ever tell his friend to pretend he’s gay to get a girl. and no teenage boy would ever do this. maybe old desperate fanboys might do this. but i think this is the big problem teens have with this movie.
Well this makes it official. Despite Hollywood’s insistance that Zoe Saldana is the newest “it” girl just because of Avatar, it simply isn’t true. Is she talented and enjoyable? Yes. Is she a STAR who should be headlining movies? No. Yet both Death at a Funeral and The Losers put her at the forefront of promotion, thinking she could drive the masses to the theaters, but she can’t. And God knows Takers will be a bomb and a half and Burning Palms is a D-list project if I’ve ever seen one. Zaldana’s good and a but the reality is she had a bit part in Pirates, was utterly forgettable in Star Trek, unrecognizable in Avatar, and has now proven that when leading or co-leading a film which relies on her name and face to succeed…it doesn’t. Ironically just like J-Lo, Hollywood may be taken with her, but the public just doesn’t care. They should let her keep playing supporting roles and stop trying to push her to the forefront, because she’s simply not a marketable lead. Avatar succeeded because of Cameron and 3D. Predictably, Hollywood gave too much credit to Worthington and Saldana and appointed them the next “it” leads, yet Worthington’s Titan epic was bland and two of Zaldana’s follow ups have bombed and the other two are destined to fail. I hope Hollyood has figured something out from this weekend inregards to casting and their idea of who they think will sell tickets as opposed to who people will ACTUALLY want to see.
Dragon sure is holding on tight and I’m really not surprised. It’s a genuinely funny, entertaining family flick.
Saldana will probably still get cast in too many flicks so people can pat themselves on the back about diversity, never mind the fact that she’s aging poorly and has all the charisma of a wet sock. What a shame for all the genuinely talented black actresses.
Ms. Saldana was good in Star Trek. The elevator scene…sigh
Does anyone actually think of Zoe when they see that big blue chick staring back at them in Avatard? No! Could be anyone under those dreds.
Exactly! I don’t know that the average moviegoer knows the Zoe was “in” Avatar.
I know people who rarely see any movies who went to see Dragons. They especially liked the 3D effects.
Part of the problem with The Losers in terms of marketing is that there was zero connection made between Zoe and Avatar and Zoe and Star Trek. No Watchman connection.
With a crowded marketplace some times you have to beat people over the head with stuff. And from the trailer I saw last month or whenever, there was zero connection made.
The trailer makes the film look like a cross between Miami Vice and a 70s blackploitation movie. And there are no hot guys in this movie. Chris Evans is geeked out in glasses.
Kick Ass. The main problem audiences have with the film is not the little girl. She saves the movie and is probably the only reason some people turned up. The problem is that Lionsgate didn’t take advantage of Aaron Johnson –and play him up like a teen idol. He’s totally geeked out in the movie. But in real life girls think he’s hot. Also most people aren’t aware that Nicholas Cage is in the movie. I wasn’t until I saw the film. Did he do any press for KA?
I think Johnson’s real problem is that there aren’t that many girls who know about him in the first place.
Saldana was in the forefront of the promotion of DEATH AT A FUNERAL? Not in any of the multitude of TV commercials I saw.
“Holllywood” did not give Worthington and Saldana credit for the success of “Avatar.” Rather, people who had these actors in their movie tried to exploit that fact in the wake of “Avatar’s” success–as one factor among many.
How are the Kick-Ass halfwits going to spin these pitiful week 2 figures? Last week, their only tactic for softening the blow of its limp opening was hyping up the effusive WOM that would surely propel it toward ultimate box office respectability, if not all-out hit status. WOM among who, exactly? Fellow likeminded zombies from message boards and social networking sites who ruled out the possibility of disliking it ten months ago when Ain’t it Cool conditioned them to worship it sight unseen? Please.
The creeps at the forefront of the bogus hype parade for this piece of crap deluded themselves into thinking it was going to be a worldwide sensation because it had good buzz among the online fringe who were fascinated by the concept of seeing a little girl behaving despicably. I pray to god this will be the last time studios and industry handicappers buy into a movie’s worth and potential just because a few dozen losers on the internet coalesce to prematurely deem it a geek event for the ages.
Continue to scapegoat Dragon for allegedly capitalizing on dummy ticket sales all you want. Just retreat to your cocoons of blissful ignorance and seclude yourself from the reality that Kick-Ass bombed because: A.) it wasn’t one tenth of what it was hyped up to be 10 months in advance, and B.) the crowd that likes brainless garbage like this views all of their movies via torrent because of their status as unemployed social rejects.
Bwahahaha! Best comment so far.
Even if every anti-social comic nerd in existence went to see Kick-Ass, the profits would still pale in comparison to other movies because they’re only buying *one* ticket. Films like HTTYD attract people on dates, families with children, groups of friends…all multi-ticket situations. Kick-Ass attracts only friendless, dateless comic fanboys.
I read that the comic book that Kick-Ass was “based” on was actually written while the movie was being made. Comic books, even though they only sell a few thousand copies at best, are the new “hot” path to a movie being made these days. It’s a bandwagon the studios are desperate to jump on, even though the fanboy base is nerdy guys in their twenties who don’t date, but sit on their computers all day in their underwear and eat Doritos. Appealing to this demographic, and assuming it translates to all of America seems silly, doesn’t it? Just because Spiderman and Dark Knight worked doesn’t mean ALL comic book adaptations work. I can’t wait until this trend ends and we go back to good stories.
Dragon established great repeat business weeks before Kick-Ass polluted movie screens, so that shoots down the ticket-fraud conspiracy theory right there. It’s not like Dragon fell off the map after its late-march opening and only saw a spike in attendance once Kick-Ass showed up to set a new precedent for worthless filmmaking. Plus, do you really think anyone would pay extra for Dragon’s 3D just to get the privelege of witnessing what the dregs of society are billing as the wheel of badass cinema being reinvented? Wake up and smell the feces that director Matthew Vaughn attempted to pass off as a movie. It’s a horrible movie that rightfully flopped, and 77% of the critics gave it their approval because they’re desperate for hipster cred in an era when professional film criticism is as irrelevant as ever.
“Not surprised. J-Lo isn’t isn’t a movie star, although she THINKS she is and that is part of the problem.”
Yep. And she didn’t have the savvy to cultivate directors/writers (like Soderbergh) who could get a real performance out of her. Having the smarts to do that is what separates a real movie star from the diva/wannabees.
That’s a good point–she probably never thought her well would run dry.
J-Lo (or is that J-LOW, due to her box office cratering tendencies?) needs to rip a page out of the savvy biz approach taken by — please don’t laugh — fellow singer Queen Latifah, who seems to have better instincts in picking material that plays to her strengths.
Latifah is not exactly a Box Office dynamo, but for an average looking, zaftig woman of color (I mean look how TOUGH it is for thin and pretty and talented women such as Zoe Saldana or Rosario Dawson or or Kerry Washington or Lucy Liu…ok maybe Liu is a tad overrated in the acting department!) Latifah manages to put solid projects together that appeal to a loyal demographic.
Her latest movie, “Just Wright”, a sports rom-com, seems poised to attract men who love the NBA and hip hop (the male love interest is the rapper Common) as well as women who love a story line in which the substance of a woman trumps her hotness (Latifah’s character beats out a pretty groupie, played by Paula Patton, for the affections of an NBA star who gets injured and falls for the physical therapist — Latifah — who nurtures him back to health.)
While the story line whiffs of a wee-bit of triteness, I saw the trailer. Sure the beats seem predictable BUT the chemistry between Latifah and Common is endearing (something I have not said about a movie with J-LO and her lead hunk in YEARS) and the exudes a believable sweetness.
But don’t take my opinion for how Latifah deals with Hollywood. Here is an thoughtful NYT magazine profile about her from a couple of years ago that shows Latifah’s moxie and savvy — and should give J-Lo’s handlers food for thought about her career. After reading this, my opinion about Latifah did a 180 degree turn. She will be a “player” in this business long after she stops singing and acting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/magazine/05latifah-t.html
Bingo! And this is essentially why I don’t care for her. She’s fantastic as Karen Cisco in Out of Sight. She and Clooney have great chemistry. So after working with Clooney/Soderberg she goes on to do a string of horrible romantic comedies. After Out of Sight, she could have had a really strong career had she chosen the right projects.
She didn’t believe she needed to cultivate those relationships. But she DID believe her own hype.
The back up plan seemed like a good film. I will like to know the cinemascore. However I think 12M considering the film was leaked is not bad. This film has been online since early this week. At least that’s when I realized it. I will see is on the big screen just not this week. Didn’t care much for Loosers. But wow, Kick ass is bombing hard 8.3M with all that promo, that’s gotta suck. If it keeps going that way it won’t get pass 50M domestic.
O.K. now I have to say give me a break! The Last Song was on the internet available for torrent download almost immediiately! What else is new? You don’t hear TLS fans making excuses like this. J-Lo is simply a second tier, non-A list actress. There is nothing wrong with that as she has plenty of company. She will never return to her glory days as actresses usually have to do more just to hold their own as they get older. Love Jennifer Aniston, hate her, or be indifferent (my vote), she knows enough to keep busy making films to stay in the mix.
I don’t know why people are suprised about Kick Ass! Sounds like a lame concept.
It’s not Jennifer’s fault the movie bombed. Amy Baer is no one who should run a studio. She is a fine executive as a number two, but anyone who would greenlight a movie with a concept that belongs on LIFETIME should not be running a studio. I honestly think I saw this movie on TV back in the 90′s. Les, if you do romantic comedies get someone who KNOWS them. Cut your losses while you’re ahead because with Amy at the wheel you won’t be for long.
Think outside the box on the next person who runs your company. Outside of LA. Maybe from the book world – NYC? Don’t recycle the same executives who were at the same companies over and over again.
Thank you for blaming a movie bombing on something other than the lead actress involved. What you said about the concept belonging on Lifetime is the same thing that you could say about Love Happens. We saw that concept a million times before, too.
Unless you bring in Jason Reed from Disney.
Nikki now be fair, 5 weeks ago you called Dragon a dissapointment because it didn’t do a gazillion opening weekend, now that it’s shown legs it’s “charming “. Way to flip flop.
It’s still a disappointment, just less of one now.
thats not a flip flop. she said the OPENING was below expectations, and now the movie has legs SINCE it’s opening weekend. see the difference dummy?
JLo was never happening.
KickAss is a milestone, and the person who said that kids are buying Dragon tickets to go see it is exactly right
I saw Kick ass last night and there was only about 10-15 people there. LOL
no that person isnt.