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SATURDAY PM, 6TH UPDATE: (Top 10 below.) Sony’s kid-friendly Karate Kid reboot of the ’80s hit film now starring Will Smith’s son and Jackie Chan was a breakaway #1 opener this weekend with at least $56M. That’s twice what the studio was predicting and twice what its competitor The A-Team made. Eleven-year-old Jaden and veteran Jackie Chan led the pic to $19M Friday and +15% for $21.5M, and broke the June Gloom that has descended over domestic box office this summer as movies underperformed. That’s what happened to Fox’s film action version of the 80′s hit TV series The A-Team which finished #2. But it only made $9.6M Friday and at most +4% for $10M Saturday, so it will be lucky to get to $27M for the weekend. That’s embarrassing for what was supposed to be the start of another franchise and a nailbiter between the two opening movies. It turned out not even close. ”A pretty spectacular win,” one Sony exec exulted. “Not even Jerry Weintraub predicted that.”
It’s ironic, isn’t it: the reboot succeeds, and the TV series-to-film doesn’t. And yet Hollywood keeps embracing these unoriginal movie ideas. This reimagined Karate Kid that updated the karate action to kung fu and stressed a diversity theme scored an “A” Cinemascore. Sony did a brilliant marketing job (hampered by the fact Jaden was obnoxious in interviews). Also helping was the Bieber factor: Justin did the main song and music video for the film with Jaden and told his loyal and large number of fans on Twitter to go see the movie. Besides Weintraub who produced the original, new pic was produced by Jaden’s parents Will Smith and Jada Pinkett through Overbrook production company with John Lassiter, and made for just $40M because it was shot in China. So the upside on this title is significant. Sony is expecting strong word of mouth and good legs (despite Toy Story 3), especially with schools shutting down for the summer. Saturday’s matinee bump is expected to be big.
But The A-Team cost considerably more after 10 years in development and millions of dollars in script costs. Reviews were mixed, but the pic managed a “B+” Cinemascore. Indeed, so many screenwriters labored so much to produce so little because the 20th Century Fox executive in charge lost control of the film. (Read my 11 WRITERS LATER: ’The A-Team’.) I reported exclusively that the Writers Guild recently decided the credits, and 11 screenwriters worked on the film — 5 single writers and 3 teams of two. And that’s with the interruption of the writers strike. The final credit now reads: “Written by Joe Carnahan & Brian Bloom and Skip Woods. Created by Frank Lupo & Stephen J. Cannell.” In the end, the director and his partner got first position credit.
But talk to insiders, and you’ll hear a story of panic, lies, and mimicry by then studio executive Alex Young, now a producer on the Fox lot. He oversaw several of Fox’s money-making guy movies. But I found he tried to make The A-Team anything but the A-Team — when that’s what the studio expected to release. I’m told that, at various points in the process, Young declared that A-Team should be “gritty like Bourne” (a big hit at the time) or “in the style of 24” (he considered hiring that TV show’s writers) or ”Hard R like Tarantino”. Most inexplicably, Young asked one seasoned writer to delete all the humor from the movie. Also to that end, I’m told Alex did everything possible to keep Stephen J Cannell, the genius behind the TV show who had script and story approval, away from the project.
Here’s the Top 10 (numbers will be refined in the morning):
1. Karate Kid (Sony) NEW [3,663 Theaters]
Friday $19M, Saturday $21.5M, Weekend $56M
2. The A-Team (Fox) NEW [3,535 Theaters]
Friday $9.6M, Saturday $10M, Weekend $27M
3. Shrek Forever After (DWA/Par) Week 4 [3,868 Theaters]
Friday $4.3M, Saturday $6.7M, Weekend $16M, Cume $210.3M
4. Get Him To The Greek (Universal) Week 2 [2,702 Theaters]
Friday $3.3 (-47%), Saturday $3.8M, Weekend $10M, Cume $36.4M
5. Killers (Lionsgate) Week 2 [2,859 Theaters]
Friday $2.7M (-52%), Saturday $3.3M, Weekend $8M, Cume $30.3M
6. Prince Of Persia (Disney) Week 3 [3,108 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $2.6M, Weekend $6.5M, Cume $72.3M
7. Marmaduke (Fox) Week 2 [3,213 Theaters]
Friday $1.8M (-47%), Saturday $2.5M, Weekend $6.2M, Cume $22.5M
8. Sex And The City 2 (NL/Warner Bros) Week 3 [2,750 Theaters]
Friday $1.8M, Saturday $2.0M, Weekend $5.3M, Cume $84.5M
9. Iron Man 2 (Marvel/Paramount) Week 6 [2,305 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.8M, Weekend $4.2M, Cume $299M
10. Robin Hood (Universal) Week 5 [2,450 Theaters]
Friday $786K, Saturday $1.2M, Weekend $2.8M, Cume $99.6M
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I think this was pretty much expected. And both movies will make a nice profit. If you go to RT and look at the critic reviews its pretty funny actually, every single female critic has trashed A-Team.
How exactly is the A-team going to make a profit? You do know 70% of Hollywood films lose money, right?
70% of Hollywood movies lose money in theaters. When you start counting money from DVD rentals, PPV, Premium Cable and Basic Cable for the next few years after release, most movies will at least break even. And if movie is actually good, it will turn profit almost despite bombing in the theaters from continuous DVD sales.
No, you are wrong. I am talking about all revenue and expenses. 70% lose money. Seriously, if you don’t know what you’re talking about don’t post. I could get into production budgets, publicity costs plus the division of revenues but just get book on the business. They can explain it better than I.
That is correct: 70-80% movies lose money. Read “Entertainment Industry Economics” by Harold Vogel.
What’s laughable is the idea of people running out to buy the DVD of A-Team.
Really?
I’m glad Carnahan’s getting his due. Smokin’ Aces was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
If it’s actually the case that 70% of movies lose money, Bill, then why does Hollywood continue to make movies?
It’s the same model any VC uses – you expect 60% to fail, 20% to roughly break even, 15% to make a little bit of money, and the last 5% to pay for all the rest.
The vast majority of small businesses fail too (restaurants being the most notorious offender) but people still continue to set up their own business.
It look like Bill is the one who know what he is talking about… No?
C’mon Bill… Are you gonna answer jrb’s comment?
“If it’s actually the case that 70% of movies lose money, then why does Hollywood keep continue to make movies?”
Seriously Bill, if you don’t know what you’re talking about don’t post!
I recently read an article in which John Waters said he just received his first profit check from Hairspray. This movie is what, thirty years old?
C’mon Bill! Answer the damn question! Or are you busy trying to research your answer on the internet?
They need content that’s why. For the multiplexes and the cable channels that are the real money makers. But sometimes they do stop using failing models. That’s why the Specialty Divisions all closed. Because after publicity costs those “indie” flicks were money losers and so were the divisions producing them.
But they do tend to reward a group of overpaid individuals and those individuals represented by powerful agencies have a lot of sway in Hollywood.
actually, Bill is absolutely correct.
You are right most movies lose money, but most of the money lost is on paper.
Lets say studio V greenlights a movie for $60 million. It charges a distribution and admin fee of $30 million. In order for dis and admin fee to be fully paid the movie needs to make $150. The movie only makes $125 so the dis/admin take is $10 (others also get a reduced amount).
On paper two things happen – everyone gets paid something (almost always above their costs) and the movie ends up owning studio V money. Thus the film did not make a profit and a tax lost kicks in.
Movie finances is so strange that only entertainment accountants know it.
Classic case involved Bachwald vs. Paramount.
Just read
Movie Money: Understanding Hollywood’s Creative Accounting Practices by Daniels, Leedy, and Sills
Couple of good books to read:
Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis by Vogel
The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies by Epstein
If Coming to America didn’t make money, how could any movie make money really? LOL…
Wow. If anyone believes Bill, I have a timeshare on the moon I’d like to sell you.
When studios “say” they don’t make money on a picture, it is because of the shell game they’re perpetrating… just like in Coming to America.
A losing business model is a losing business model. If there’s no money in it, the house of cards will eventually collapse (as it did in the housing market). To make product just to “feed the pipe” as Bill suggests is just ludicrous. If indeed studios lose on 70% of movies, they stay in the game because the 30% that do make money, make ridiculous money enough to pay for that 70% many times over. Though honestly, it’s not 70%… more like 45%. There are many ways to make a dollar back in ancillary rights, and no, I don’t just mean DVD. So making movies IS an overall profitable business.
Now, if you want to talk the independent route, the vast majority of THOSE movies never make their money back. But that’s a different story.
What’s laughable is the idea of people running out to buy the A-Team DVD. C’mon, now.
Just like OFFICE SPACE turned a profit when it hit the video stores.
Two big differences between the A-Team and Office Space.
1. Office Space was like a 10 mil budget.
2. There WAS a video/DVD market back then.
Factor in the fact that while comedies normally get a bump from DVD sales, actions films do not.
Where do you guys work anyway – Joe Carnahan’s agency? The film underperformed, it has a downward arc for the weekend which means you’re probably looking at a 60-70% drop next weekend in an even more crowded marketplace and a sea of red ink.
Office Space had good WOM, and didn’t have to worry about Netflix.
Enuf with duh gross. Why is the Carrey-McGregor comedy, “I Love You, Philip Morris,” not getting US release. Mischief afoot. Dont expect dumb ink press, like NYT, to ask questions. Ink only bows
to press agents.
Philip Morris was a really well done movie. I cant believe it hasn’t been released.
Jim Carrey should at least get nominated for an award for his role. Ewan McGregor is pretty damn good too.
No real surprise. Carnahan is a hack who lives off burning writers like he did my friend. If your a fan of Carnahack ask him where he got his idea for Smokin Aces. Compare that to his other writings and ask yourself how he manged that. He burned a good writer and a lot of indi actors with his “smokin” rip off.
I love that it’s called the KARATE kid and it’s about kung-fu. Who cares, right Hollywood?
No surprise there.
MEMO: TO HOLLYWOOD
RE: MORE 80s MOVIES TO REMAKE WITH AN ALL-AFRICAN-AMERICAN CAST
E.T. (Jaden Smith)
THE BREAKFAST CLUB (Beyonce can do a musical number in this!)
THE LOST BOYS (Snoop Dog will have a cameo)
PRETTY IN PINK (Rhianna as the lead)
POLICE ACADEMY (Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Tyler Perry)
INDIANA JONES (Will Smith)
FOOTLOOSE (Chris Brown)
BACK TO THE FUTURE
TOP GUN
Wow, you aren’t racist or anything. Have you even watched the movie or is the fact that the kid is Black too much to handle? P.S. Chris Brown and Rihanna aren’t actors they are singers. Snoop Dog is a rapper. I’m sure this is the only list of Black people you ever see on your little hick t.v. so you think they are the only Black people in America. This kid worked his butt off and is talented but your biggest problem is you are pissed that he is Black. Evolve buddy, evolve. The world is moving past your racist self.
Tony, Thank you!!!!! Last week someone posted about gays/liberals/Obama. There seems to be a rotten egg here. Thank you again for speaking up against this. Now! Keeping it moving back to the movies and past racism.
he was funny, you’re just pissy
The best part…is that he or she could be black. You’re assuming that he or she is white. This would actually imply that YOU are, indeed, a racist. But really, typing with one’s foot in one’s mouth transcends any and all racial barriers.
I suggest that you look into the history of the Confederacy, the Nazis, and the KKK before you throw such an absurd and idiotic accusation around in the future.
Just to confirm…you are an idiot.
Deen! I think you wrote both posts. I’d rather be an idiot & pissy than a racist. I have said this once before politics, race and a person’s sexual preference doesn’t matter to me when choosing a movie to watch. Racism not is limited to KKK and Nazi’s.You are obviously someone who only read about racism & not experienced it.This is why you could only reference it in text book terms. Be thankful for that. But, we can go all day on that. Can we! The truth is you and again I believe you wrote those posts have a sense of humor that is racist & hurtful to some. You have freedom of speech and every right to express yourself.But, don’t get upset when you are called out. By the way to me it doesn’t matter if the writer is black or white. If he/she is black they do not get a free pass with me either.
Hi Tracy. Hi Tony. It’s Snoop Dogg with two g’s. And he acts as well as raps. Pretty much regularly, actually. Check him out on imdb, it’s amazing.
Wow…I’m suprised the A-Team is tracking that well.
Fox and Carnahan predicting A-TEAM would be a reboot success like BATMAN BEGINS was just ridiculous. What Kool-Aid were they drinking?? The trailer and ad campaign were cheesy from day one. Never once did I feel excited to see this movie yet there was Carnahan talking about the time it took to get the script just right and make it a great film with a solid budget (110 million)that will create a huge franchise.
FOX’s recent action track record remains intact. MAX PAYNE/BABYLON A.D./12 ROUNDS/ DRAGONBALL/PERCY JACKSON
I totally agree about Smokin’Aces. A-Team was worse. Felt like Charley’s Angels cheesy.
—-CarnaHAM-N-CHEESE—- any moment now he’s gonna remove his face ala Mission Impossible and reveal he’s really Brett Ratner.
Except Fox has Predators coming out in July. It will be a saving grace.
The Sony marketing team is incredible! Jacket on, Jacket Off!
If Karate Kid crosses the $100M mark, that would be a humongous achievement for an 11 year old. Especially since your father is still very much the worldwide box office heavyweight champion.
All I can say is; “Wow”.
without jackie chan the film would be DOA.
“without jackie chan the film would be DOA.”
are you kidding? Jackie is great, but he’s a cadaver now. He has next to no box office weight in the US now. In Asia? Sure.
Just wait til the international numbers come in. This film is gonna make 400-500 when it’s all said and done.
I agree.
Jaden is terrific, but he would not be “kicking butt” at the box office without Jackie Chan at his side. Jackie brings Kung Fu credibility to the film, and the Jackie/Jaden chemistry works. (I’m guessing it helped that both Jackie and Jaden started acting before they were 10, and that both of them are singers as well as actors.)
Moreover, Jackie is HUGE as both an actor and a singer in Asia, and without him, I don’t imagine the production would have gained access to The Forbidden City — which had not been opened for shooting since “The Last Emperor” (1987).
LoL, seriously? You think The Forbidden City’s been closed to filming and only a heavyweight could pull off getting permission to film there? Then I guess Tyra Banks’ ANTM finale in China was all green screened.
The Forbidden City is filmed in quite often. I would say every other month for a major production.
you mean like all the other Jackie Chan box office hits in the last 5 years? Wake up and smell the Jackie Chan bombs. This was a combination of jackie, Jaden, good storytelling, and beautiful china. All elements were required for it to work. Jaden had to actually learn martial arts, try getting a 10 year old boy to stay that focused and learning for hours a day not to mention the acting classes. I can’t even get my 12 year old son to take out the garbage….
Um, Forbidden Kingdom made money. And I don’t doubt that its good will helped it partly carry KK.
All three of you are clueless. This box office has nothing to do with Jackie Chan or little 11-year old Jaden Smith. It has EVERYTHING to do with Jaden Smith AS the son of Will Smith (because, Napoleon Solo, like you said, his papi is the current box office god across the globe). A large portion of the public that has nostalgic memories of the original now have kids around the age of wee Jaden, so right there your audience automatically doubles. While I’m a bit cautious about a love story subplot involving an eleven year old kid, this entire project has been savvy and well thought out. In every aspect Will Smith has catered this project to the demographic that grew up with him over the course of his rap career and the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. He made a movie for his kid so that his fans could take their kids to see it.
It’s that, and the timing is great. People might not recall so much now, but the original Karate Kid was an absolute phenomenon for kids when it came out. And had a very popular sequel. All those kids are grownup now and have their own kids, and I’d bet they’re getting a big boost from them. The A-Team was a great show but it’s had zero visibility since 1987, so there’s no built in audience with today’s teenagers, who are the movie’s audience – plus those 80s kids with kids aren’t taking them to A-Team when Karate Kid is out there too. Plus the A-Team was popular, but not THAT popular, and definitely not the phenom Karate Kid was. I think you have to treat A-Team as “just another action movie” rather than “hot property from our childhood” because of this.
And let’s get our terminology straight – these are both reboots. Sure, A-Team is technically a TV-to-film thing, but they’re both about the same process – restarting old characters with popular new faces. Sure one started as a film and one started in TV, but does that make a difference anymore? They’re both reboots.
It was popular enough that Mr. T could make a comeback with it, and popular enough that people wished George Peppard was still alive. The problem is that the movie barely looked like A-Team.
Excellent points Josh. We seem to be logical guys with a similar line of thinking, we should start our own production company. The original ‘Karate Kid’ was indeed a phenomenon during my youth. My VHS copy got extensive play throughout my formative years. On accident I recently sat down and re-watched the first sequel. I could be wrong, but I found the sequel fantastic and considered it to be a fairly risky narrative angle. While the trailers for the reboot have been appealing, I’m still not sure I’ll rush to see it on the big screen. I’m a considerable Will Smith fan, however, at the moment, I’m not really digging the idea of supporting Will Smith: The Next Generation. I’ll be shocked if they don’t start production on the reboot’s sequel by the end of the fall/autumn season.
Actually, the A-Team TV show was the top-rated TV show for a couple of season’s in the early-mid 80′s.
The A-Team should have done better box-office, alone, just from viewers from the old TV show. The Karate Kid did way better than expected….considering I saw more advertising for the A-Team than TKK
11 year olds don’t have incredible achievements. They have powerful parents with big egos who try to extend their own fame through their children.
I feel sad for the kid.
Hey, now somebody can respond that “you can’t feel sad for him because he has money!”
What a bunch of douches you all are.
Interesting. Didn’t expect that.
A-Team sucked. I should’ve seen Karate Kid.
Always go to the tomato first.
IMDB.com is a close second.
Nicky, even bought the Karate Kid part 2 DVD before I see the remake.
Now question is this next weekend will A-Team fall t0 number 10 when Toy Story 3 comes out and blows everything apart ( like the real A-TEam)
Also while you were gone read on the post Zucker is seeking a 300 million buy out (like Conan) is that true.
And one final note will that producer of the A-team be fired.
Will the manager who was let go, light a cigar and say Told you too?
Well there goes any chance of an A-Team sequel. I guess people don’t know a good movie when they see it. Liam Neeson in an action movie should be a must see for everyone.
Liam Neeson needs to do a movie with Jolie in order to be popular. Perhaps as her bitch or a sidekick…
Jolie wasn’t in Taken. Taken = box office gold.
Agreed! Jolie is a cadaver too! Only half the age and not as pretty as Jackie! lol!Liam carried Taken on his own merit! He’s wonderful! Clash of the Titans should thank Liam and Sam for the 486 million worldwide sum as well! Let’s face it! Star power not writing & directing saved this film. Wow! A-team is getting slammed. Won’t stop me from seeing Bradley this weekend!!
The problem with A-team was casting of Bradley Cooper as the main lead. He is known for sensitive roles in chick flicks and no one could see him as an ass kicking tough man. The same goes for Prince of Persia and Killers. Hence all three movies flopped.
Seriously Jolie and Neeson should team up. They would make a great pair. What about rebooting Thomas Crown Affair with Jolie and Neeson?
The $480 WW for Titans is from inflated 3-d ticket prices. It still bombed in the U.S., though.
Well, those people are simple minded. Bradley was amazing in the A-team. He just has this really up beat attitude. Maybe he should mix up the roles he accepts in the future to avoid being typed cast. There is more to him than those swimmy blue eyes. He can really act!
At one time there was talk of a sequel. Great movie! I remember reading that Pierce was asked about Jolie starring in the female lead for the Thomas Crown Affair sequel. She was at one time rumored to be in talks for this film.He said he preferred Charlize Theron, because of her femininity & inner strength. I don’t know if this film fell thru or not since then. I would add Marian Cotillard to the list.
How is Jolie a “cadaver”? Her last few movies have either brought critical acclaim or good box office. Not having a movie for two years =/= a struggling career.
Wow, audiences must’ve really loved Jaden in Happyness, because I can’t explain it being a hit otherwise, since that Jackie Spy Kids wannabe was a total bomb.
Had a hunch Jaden and Jackie and the rest of ‘The Karate Kid’ crew would high kick at the box office this weekend.
Why? I went to the 12:01 a.m. screening Friday at the Southcenter Mall, about 20 minutes south of downtown Seattle, and it was PACKED — with moms and dads and their kids and, most importantly, with young women on dates AND packs of teens and their buddies. It was a stunning demo spectrum for what is basically “a kid movie” albeit one with strong, nostalgic roots.
From a storytelling perspective, this movie does have great appeal, especially if you dig non-CGI brick-and-mortar storytelling. Who can’t relate to the underdog tale of a kid coming of age against big, bad bullies? This reboot/update, which turned that old story into a “fish out of water tale” — the kid moving with widowed mom from Detroit to China — was a genuinely nice, modern update. The update of the “wax on, wax off” to “jacket on, jacket off” was clever, too.
Martial arts movies have appeal as well, and Jackie comported himself with pre-geriatric aplomb here; Jaden, skinny and short as he is, did, too.
The posse of teens sitting behind me chatted incessantly through the movie, which was a tad annoying but opened a revealing window to their movie-viewing thinking process. They loved the action/fight sequences, rooted for the undersized Jaden character, was emotionally touched by the emotional loss/back story of the Jackie Chan character, sweetly giggled at the budding romance between Jaden and the Chinese girl, bought into the chemistry between Jaden’s character and his overprotective and tenderly disciplinarian mom, and, finally, they appreciated the travelogue aspect of the flick, given the many honeyed shots of an amazingly antiseptically clean & scenic China.
Heck, some shots were so pretty it made me want to jump on a plane for Beijing ASAP.
Add it up and it’s solidly entertaining fare. This 2010 movie, which had a great Pat Morita/Ralph Macchio 1980s head start, could have gone wrong in a million ways, but the actors, director and writer(s)? did not let it happen.
So KUDOS to them.
Those folks at Will Smith’s ‘Overbrook” really know what the heck they’re doing. Smith’s production house has got to be the most successful of any actor-backed production house in Hollywood, along with, maybe, Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison. Will and Adam are box office gold.
Looks now as if Jaden is off to a good start in the family biz. Way to give the A-Team (a lame script if I ever read one) a beat down. (I suppose Bradley “Hangover” Cooper isn’t the surefire box office king as all those magazine profiles were leading us to believe, huh?)
Kudos to you, you must be a sony publicist…
this is clever.
Maybe Kung Fu is the star, with a kid given the lead role, and it’s, for the most part, a serious movie. Jaden or rather Will and Jada were smart making and marketing the movie that way.
You guys are all ridiculous… “I can’t explain it being a hit…” Did all of you go to business school and law school? None of you went to actual “film” school did you?
REASONS KK IS A HIT:
1.) It’s a family film. Family films generally make money.
2.) It is a Kung Fu film. When was the last Kung Fu pic released? Exactly. It was time.
3.) It is BEAUTIFUL to look at. Every other picture out there looks like their art director came from pre-school. Every other picture looks cheap. This looks expensive.
I could go on and on… but the number one reason this movie made money…
IT’S A GOOD MOVIE. Period. And so far, this summer has been lacking in good movies. Doesn’t matter the star, if it’s good, the audience will find it. Maybe not always, but more likely than not.
If it being a family and “kung fu” film were enough, then Stephen Chow’s CJ7 would have made money here.
You have to KNOW abut a movie to go see it.
And I didn’t say it was enough. Read the post. I said the number one reason people went to se it is that it is a good movie. PERIOD.
Have you seen CJ7? I love Steven Chow but the film looked like it was shot by a junior high class learning to use cameras for the first time. And Chow needs to get a real scriptwriter if he wants to be successful in the US. The story was incomprehensible. There was no way they could have ever given CJ7 s wide release and it didn’t get one.
“I love Steven Chow but the film looked like it was shot by a junior high class learning to use cameras for the first time. ”
It was meant to be a different type of movie than his usual stuff.
“The story was incomprehensible. ”
Um, no Speed Racer’s story was incomprehensible. CJ 7 is a Chinese take on E.T.!
I KNEW this would happen…Mark my words – it’s the young female population that’s buying tickets to “Karate Kid”. As for “The A-Team”, Show me one 13 year old girl who wants to see a movie based on a show that was both before their time and not even of their interest. By Sunday, you’ll see that the audience was made up of 60% female, aged 9-16. Bravo, Sony – great marketing to the tween set.
It isn’t the chicks. It’s the man-children geeks.
I think it just has broader appeal- really young, families, teens, then older nostalgic types. Man-children geeks are more likely to favor the A-Team.
Most of the people in the movie was little kids and their parents. Some dudes alone. some girls. mostly little boys.
A 30 million opening isn’t embarrassing. The movie is going to play through the summer because it’s the only big fun action movie out there.
Knight and Day, Jonah Hex, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Expendables are just a few big fun action movies that come to mind this summer. In three weeks the theaters will be dropping this flick.
until Knight and Day…
and Salt…
and Airbender…
and shall I go on?
MARMADUKE – THE A-TEAM – KNIGHT AND DAY the three biggest flops of the summer brought to you by FOX and KRAFT CHEESE.
Memo:
To: Tom Rothman
From: Alex Young
The A-Team has flopped. I made another bad film and this time I didn’t get away with it. I understand why you fired me now. Perhaps a few more writers would have made the difference?
I only hired 11.
Perhaps I should have let some of the Fox VPs work on the project instead of completely locking them out of development.
The Karate Kid cost one-third as much as The A-Team. We are going to lose money on this one.
We also spent more than fifty million to market because our tracking was so bad. How are we going to spin this?
I think Nikki’s story about me and how I developed the film only added to the negative perception in town. There are more than 160 comments from people who hate my guts.
I’m sorry Tom.
Rothman’s not gonna be let go until that X Men reboot inevitably tanks.
The committee that decided to take Joe Carnahan A-Team and make it CGI-laden and PG-13 should be blamed. It should have been a Hard-R, like the action sequences in Heat but more emotionally tugging.
Um, have you seen the original show? It was never hard R.
Yeah, make A-Team a hard R. That makes sense seeing as the television show was a lighthearted affair that went out of its way to NOT show blood and death.
Hey, it worked for Michael Mann. Oh, wait…!
Judging by the number of tickets I ripped for Karate Kid versus the A Team, I’d have to agree.
It’s the tweens and teens that rule the box office, they are the ones that will see something over and over and over again. Twilight is successful because of the same reason. Studios need to just market to tweens and teens.
Sure… Because it will be that set to make Inception the hit it will be…
Jesus, somebody let the gown-ups back in the room.
Stop remaking my 80′s classics. I am sick to death of Hollywood remakes, they take something from the past and screw it up. Just stop it! Get back to being original, what’s next taking on John Hughes Films and remaking them. I will not be seeing either Karate Kid or A-Team….
Let me know when you’re ready for the crashing the gates at the studios, because i’ll join you. If they touch John Hughes films, i will start the uprising.
am i the only one who can’t stand Jaden Smith? I love Will Smith but there’s just something about his kid.
nope u arent
he seems to think hes 22 already
he has future train wreck written all over him
I agree with you. I like Will, but I find the rest of the Smith brood tiring.
Not just you. Female here and going to see A Team and would not take my kids to Kung Fu Kid if they begged -the tyke rather irritating (do read Kyle Smith’s LOL review of the flick) and i just couldnt take two hours worth of him.
I can’t stand either one of them.
Totally agree! I can’t stand either one of them either. Will Smith is a great, likable guy, but his acting has fallen by the wayside. And Jaden, there is something inauthentic about him. I know he’s just an 11 year old kid, but like jon commented, he seems like he’s 22.
NO! I agree totally. He bothers me so much. I don’t think he is that great of an actor.
No you are not! He comes off smug. I remember him on one of the talk shows with his dad and him acting like a brat and punching his dad telling him to shut-up. And he was maybe 6 or so. But his sister seems sweet.
Sorry but the A-team sucked. There is only one Mr. T. This version was a cheap imitation of original t.v. series. I like Liam, Bradley, etc but they just didn’t cut it. Might see the Karate Kid on Sunday. Thought it was going to suck but the previews actually look good. The Jaden kid looks like he took this seriously and worked his tail off. We will see.
Not surprised. The trailer for Karate Kid is so much more interesting than the one for the A-Team. I never need to see a movie on opening weekend but I really wanted to go today – just couldn’t get there…the trailer was super enticing.
@ Shimmy Shimmy,
Yeessss. Bow before the young female demo. They are dictating what movies their boyfriends take them to. They travel in packs, going to movies with all their girlfriends. They hang out at the mall all day, all summer, and see their favorite movies over and over again. Bow to the young females.
I know. It’s like you have to get dragged to this Twilight crap and fake an interest in the shitty Disney music they like just to get laid or even have a relationship these days. Thank God for masturbation.
Really want to see “The A-Team,” but my enthusiasm has waned with bad reviews and cheesy CGI. Still will see. Can’t get into “KK.”. I’m one of the people who love Will (when he’s not trying to be philosophical/cerebral). Can’t stand his kid. He’s waayyy too cocky. Of course with my track record of hating popular crap like reality tv, he’ll be a megastar.
Brett – yeah I saw the kid Jaden Smith on Letterman this week, he seemed to have zero charisma going on, he basically gave yes and no answers the whole time. The dumbest thing about this remake is that he isn’t even doing karate! Even in the previews, Jackie says “I will teach you real kung fu”. It’s a headline that even The Onion couldn’t make up – Hollywood remakes The Karate Kid without karate in it.
Reviews matter more than ever to better box office. With the short window between theatrical release and DVD, really bad tentpole movies in the wake of the writer’s strike, along with a terrible economy and less disposable income, GOOD REVIEWS are a critical factor.
I was expecting to go see The A-Team opening weekend. The reviews are so bad, however, that I just put it in my Netflix queue.
Ben — I agree with your line of thinking here. But how does this logic explain the implosion of the well-reviewed “GET HIM TO THE GREEK” ? If ever a movie should have stoked anticipation of box office gold — based on movie reviews and Cinemascore alone — this would have been it.
Yet we all now know it pancaked. So what’s going on?
If you look at the second week numbers, you’ll notice it has strong word of mouth. But someone else said it first and I agree… That was a HORRIBLE title. No one knows what the Greek is outside of Hollywood. Since it was made for a nominal amount, it will do well in the long run….
Another recent example was “How to Train Your Dragon”… really long legs on that one.
“The Black Chick” summed it up nicely. But I would add that isn’t reviews alone that compel people into the theaters — it is just an important factor. It has to be something the audience wants to see in a theater as well. I really liked “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” but I don’t see any reason to go see Greek in the theaters. Also, Russell Brand and Jonah Hill are both sidekick actors — not the big names you’d expect to open a movie.
It doesn’t have to be a huge budget movie to get you to want the theater experience: “Paranormal Activity” really did a good job selling being scared in a theater full of people and “Superbad” was this pop-culture phenomenon that people wanted to be part of.
My point is that the past few summers there have been some gnarly studio tentpoles like “Transformers 2″, “Spider-Man 3″, “GI Joe”, “Indiana Jones IV” and so on that people didn’t like at all even though they made lots of money. Of course, “Star Trek”, “Iron Man” “Avatar” and “The Dark Knight” were well reviewed and played longer but my inclination is to think people are skeptical and really scrutinize ads looking for quality.
Ticket prices have gone up as incomes have gone down — movie-goers have been forced to become smarter.
The campaign for “GET HIM TO THE GREEK” was all wrong. It’s no wonder it failed. Good reviews or not.
It’s pretty simple. If a movie looks unappealing but gets good reviews, it will still bomb. If a movie looks like it will be good but the reviews say otherwise, it will bomb too. Success depends upon if a movie delivers on the promise of the premise. If the promise is broken by bad reviews or a shitty campaign, the movie will die.
I read the Greek opening differently than Nicki and some of the rest of you seem to. I don’t see it as pancaking at all. Feels like a solid opening in line with other successful R-rated comedies like Role Models and Pineapple Express. If made prudently, what studio would want 3-4 of those a year?
The real story that has yet to be written in regards to Greek is it’s overseas opening. I was shocked to learn that Forgetting Sarah Marshall made almost half of it’s worldwide box office overseas. That’s very atypical for a US comedy Russell Brand is a draw overseas, and that was before events of the last few years gave him massive additional fame. I wouldn’t write Greek off yet — by the end of September, I’d predict it has an international box office of over 120 million.
I’d eat that pancake.
The writer’s strike did not influence feature films one way or the other.
Michael Bay just brought it up AGAIN. He said Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen wasn’t as good because they had to schedule the writing around the strike.
I am definitely on the writer’s side, here. I am one myself. It’s in the interest of the studios to avoid these strikes in the future: they don’t do well without us!
Karate Kid is showing strong appeal,in part, because lots of kids take Karate classes. In just my neighborhood there has to be six Karate schools,plus other martial arts/defense classes. As far as the movie business goes,the majority of summer films are aimed at kids,tweens,teens and twenty somethings,already.
Here’s a factor that people are not thinking about. When was the last time there was a young african american youth/tween in a lead in a major feature film? Gary Coleman? The African American audience is playing a big part in this film’s opening as well. They will come out in droves if there is product they feel is directed at them. Tyler Perry and Denzel aren’t the only ones to bring them out.
“When was the last time there was a young african american youth/tween in a lead in a major feature film?”
Like Mike? Of course that one bombed. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=likemike.htm And considering American kids that age have gotten even fatter since it came out, I’m surprised any movie revolving around any type of sport would sell better now. So maybe its real appeal is it’s a type of “payback” film to China for “stealing” our manufacturing jobs in the way Black Rain and Rising Sun were considered a form of “payback” to Japan for “destroying” our car industry.
That movie was awful. Just because there is a black lead, black people are just supposed to come out? No, try again Hollywood…
@the black chick
You’re one of the very few people on this board that seems to know what they’re talking about. Hope you’re doing something with your knowledge. Best of luck to ya.
Good point