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SUNDAY AM: What a huge disappointment for Disney. Jerry Bruckheimer’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice tanked by making only $5.4M Friday and $6.9M Saturday from 3,504 U.S. and Canadian theaters for what should be a paltry $17.3M for the 3-day weekend. So the pic’s cume is now $24.4M. Little wonder that Hollywood thinks this may well be the last film at Disney where megaproducer Bruckheimer just phones it in.
FRIDAY PM: Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice only made $5.2M Friday from 3,504 theaters for what should be a paltry $17.5M for the 3-day weekend. The pic’s 5-day projection keep going down, from $35M to $30M to $25M for the costly Nic Cage starrer.
FRIDAY AM: Disney’s disappointing Sorcerer’s Apprentice made $3.2M Thursday for a new 2-day cume of $7M. “Hard to believe it’s going to be a happy outcome,” one rival studio mogul chortled to me. “It’ll struggle to hit $30sM.” (Solid $3M Midnights For Nolan’s ‘Inception’)
WEDNESDAY PM/THURSDAY AM UPDATE: Sources at rival studios tell me that Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice made about $3.7 million today from 3,385 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. That makes for a 5-day projection of less than $30M, and one studio predicted only $20+M, which is extremely disappointing for the costly Jerry Bruckheimer tentpole starring Nic Cage, and much less than even the low-ball $35M which Hollywood thought it could make. But I’d been following the pic’s tracking, which at no point hinted at a blockbuster.
At 2 1/2 weeks out, Sorcerer’s Apprentice was tracking worse than his U.S. underperformer Prince Of Persia: only 29 definite interest and 3 first choice compared to Persia‘s 36 definite interest and 5 first choice at the same time period. Though exhibitor screenings had gone well, Disney was concerned. A week later, numbers for Sorcerer’s Apprentice showed gains with tracking “a lot less dire,” one rival studio exec told me. But then, Sorcerer’s Apprentice stalled at 8% first choice and didn’t gain anything last weekend, which is unusual. “You’d like to see that weekend before opening show some real growth. But the pic is not showing a heck of a lot of strength with family audiences,” another source told me. “I’d be surprised if it got to $40M over the 5 days.” Yesterday, tracking was still stalled, showing that the 5-day total might only reach $30M and maybe get to $35M. ”That’s bad,” a rival studio exec told me.
Then again, Prince Of Persia was a North American disappointment when it opened to $30M and has now taken in $89M. But it has made 72% of its money internationally for $236M and what is now a worldwide cume of $325M. So perhaps Sorcerer’s Apprentice will, too.
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It’s a shame…I thought Sorcerer’s was fun with some enjoyable performances from Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Alfred Molina. What more could you want in a summer flick? Considering that I wasn’t a fan of the National Treasure flicks and that Nic Cage generally disappoints me, I was pleasantly surprised. I can see why it may fail, however, with parents thinking its too dark for their kiddies and teens thinking its too childish for them.
You hit the nail on the head. Disney has desperately (and pathetically) been trying to recreate the magic of films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-man, and Iron Man (they finally said “screw it” with respect to the latter two and simply bought Marvel) where kids, teens and adults all think the movie is cool.
But they have ended up with kiddie films where they try to market it to look cool to teens (like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Race to Witch Mountain) or films that are in no-man’s-land like this one … too edgy for kids and too lame for teens/young adults.
The problem isn’t in the film itself. Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a fun flick that, while no cinematic masterpiece, is ideal summer fluff that made this 30-year old very nostalgic for the movies of his youth (time to pop in Neverending Story, Jumanji, the original Escape to Witch Mountain).
The issue comes down to the marketing for this one. They should have bit the bullet and gone PG-13. That way it would have at least appealed to the teenage crowd, but maybe pulled in some parents and their kids with the Disney name.
It’s a shame, really, because there was definite potential in this to spawn some sequels. Maybe word of mouth will be decent?
did you really utter the words jumani?
the poster should’ve been more kid friendly. it’s too dark. i say pick the audience that won’t run out and download the movie after the first weekend, when you have a choice.
This is the price you pay for ignoring Mickey Mouse in your casting process.
He is still a draw and I hear he is available.
Bruckheimer losing his touch? Uh oh.
Persia, Gforce, Shopaholic, Deja Vu, Glory Road, King Arthur, Veronica Guerin, Bad Boys II, Kangaroo Jack, Bad Company…
That’s Jerry’s “touch” since 2002 without the two franchises that were handed to him prepackaged by Disney, Pirates and National Treasure.
The Emperor has no clothes and hasn’t for a long, long time.
Deja vu was pretty cool!!!!
Sorry, I’ll wait until the DVD comes out in 90 days, or when it is on HBO, Sho, or another movie channel sometime in December.
This is just more regurgitation from Jerry. PERSIA, then this. And you notice there’s no real interest- these will be break-evens. I’m sure Jerry is thanking god that Johnny Depp agreed to come back for a 4th round. That will save his ass for a while longer while he ‘cuisinarts more concepts’. You go, Jerry! 18 writers per pic!
Too many writers could very well be the downfall of this script as it has many others. I venture it comes from the fact that a singular vision of a writer (or writing team) holds a film together far better than the singular vision of a producer who hires as many writers as possible to deliver his or her vision. And, this because the vision a writer pursues is not the same as the vi$ion a producer/studio pursue.
Do I get a Toldja! for my comment on last weekends Box Office Report? I can’t remember a family film marketed with darker colors. Maybe the Dark Crystal? I could barely see the outdoor from the road. Its a tough break for Disney and Carney (didn’t she declare this was the first film under her tutelage?) as no one could have expected Despicable Me to take so much potential dollars out of the marketplace this weekend. Reminds me of when Chance of Meatballs came out of the blue last fall.
Hey MT,
The President of Marketing…It’s the coolest job ever!
Yup. For some reason I have to liken this to ‘Speed Racer’. The marketing dept. dropped the ball again. Or wait, was this poorly conceived?
Marketing dropped the ball big time. Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Alfred Molina should be hovering over one another with the tag, “This Summer, The Apprentice will learn a Lesson.” The poster itself would be much lighter in color except with black showing a tunnel down the middle.
Would help greatly if Jay Baruchel were nowhere on the poster or actually in the movie. I’m iffy on Cage and Molina too.
Nice Jessy S. I like that image much better for this film.
I can see why it can fail too…two words; Nic Cage.
The problem is story. What more could I want? A story. National Treasure hit the patriotic high spots, which is poison to Hollywood decision makers but lucrative if they can swallow their dislike for the country, because American audiences eat it up. But more importantly, it had a story. A guy (Cage) gets a task — find well, the “National Treasure” for all America before the bad guys do. That’s the movie. And the sequel. Simple, but it works.
By contrast, this movie is performances and effects in search of a story. There is no story. The younger guy is overpowered by Cage, there isn’t much there, the trailers do a horrible job of telling what the story is about … because there is no story in the movie.
The trailer is the best shot a movie has of convincing people to see it. You’ve got thirty seconds, show us what the movie is about. It should not be hard if the movie has a story. No story, not even effects galore and Nic Cage, who audiences LIKE, can save it. Ditto Alfred Molina (agreed, a class act always).
Glad you can evaluate the story of the movie without having seen it. As a matter of fact, the story is IDENTICAL to the National Treasure movies: A simple race to recover the maguffin before the bad guys do.
I can’t help comparing Sorcerer to Pirates: Both are potential smashes based on ancient Disney products, but Pirates was able to spin straw into gold with memorable characters, excellent special effects, mass-appeal humor and fabulous acting. Now, Sorcerer was never going to be the next Pirates, but there was definitely an opportunity to make a mini-Pirates franchise. And they squandered it.
The trailers suggest the film was slapped together as fast as possible without direction or inspiration; it looks like it was made for the Disney Channel. Then there’s the talent… I like Nicholas Cage, but in the previews, he seems lazy, just playing himself and having no fun with the role. It’s no Jack Sparrow… hell, it isn’t even Damien McCreedy from Kick-Ass.
Jay Baruchel is another reason I won’t be seeing the movie: The guy is the cinematic equivalent of dehydrated rice. He’s faceless, unappealing and totally unmemorable. Maybe more people would’ve seen She’s Out of My League if there’d been an actor in the role instead of a bug-eyed amphibian. You can’t tell me there wasn’t a single alternative at the audition with a better resume.
Or maybe it’s because we already saw this movie in February, only they were stealing lightning in that one.
Amazing development notes, Whiskey. Where would we all be without your insight?
“…patriotic high spots, which is poison to Hollywood decision makers but lucrative if they can swallow their dislike for the country…”
There are plenty of ways to love this country without putting on brown shirts and marching in lockstep to your version of patriotism. Hollywood and MSM are not advertising/PR agencies for the powers that be. What part of free enterprise and freedom of speech do you “dislike” so much?
**There are plenty of ways to love this country without putting on brown shirts and marching in lockstep to your version of patriotism.**
You’re confusing patriotism with Nazism.
And somehow, that figures.
Actually, equating Whisky’s vision of “patriotism” to Nazism is fairly accurate. After all, Whisky routinely asserts that the presence of a black or brown face in a leading role in a movie causes white moviegoers to recoil in horror and spend their ticket dollars elsewhere.
Who are these “powers that be”, and if they really were the powers that be, wouldn’t they have Hollywood as their advertising/PR agency? I think if you put a little thought into it you’d realize that you’re on the side of the “powers that be”.
Whiskey, I’ve always wondered why you don’t just change your moniker to “Troll.”
It would be so much more accurate.
Why should Whiskey do that? You’re doing it so well yourself.
Does anybody else picture Whiskey sitting in his mother’s basement, hosting a show with cardboard cutouts of Beck and Limbaugh, and just waiting for the day O’Reilly calls to invite him on the Factor?
Great.
Now who’s going to clean up all this coffee I just spit all over my desk and computer?
A little harsh, whiskey may not be eloquent in expressing his opinion and his posts might be annoying but I have a feeling that if Hollywood adopted some of the basic themes of his posts they would create more successful products. When at best America is 50/50 liberal/conservative it is foolish to treat half of the audience with complete contempt.
Sean Penn and others like him are BO poison not because of their acting ability but rather because they hold political views that are toxic to many. At the very least actors and directors should refrain from discussing politics or other subjects in which they are uninformed, the same way Tom Cruise should avoid discussing psychiatry and other scientology related topics if he wishes to remain a top box office draw. In general allowing for differing views politically and otherwise creates better products, otherwise you wind up with a cultural wasteland like Stalinist Russia or Hollywood in 2010.
Can you name the last big budget blockbuster type film that Sean Penn signed up for? He mostly hangs around niche type prestige/art films that by nature don’t make a lot of coin.
It’s fascinating that you talk about the 50/50 split politically in the country, yet by your own words, you’d prefer that films and the people who make them reflect ONLY your point of view. Should Jon Voight also be banned from speaking politically if he wants to get movie work as well?
BTW, it’s kind of disconcerting to assert that in your 50/50 construct, you automatically assume that your preferred “half” is some sort of monolithic mass that views literally every life experience through a partisan political prism.
Stalinist Russian and Hollywood 2010. Yeah, you should be taken seriously.
This notion of Hollywood as this monolithic thing forcing it’s unified opinions on the world is just naive, paranoid, and wrong. These are not typical products that we’re making, which are driven primarily by what the consumer will by. Filmmakers tend to make the films they want to make and artists – for some reason – tend to be more liberal in their thinking. I’m sure someone can tell us why that is but just compare the inaugural guest lists between the Obama and Bush administration and you’ll see that the Republican talent pool doesn’t run very deep in the arts. Sorry. If you don’t like the films you’re seeing why don’t you go make something better. It is a free country. Oh, right- the new conservatives tend to have a victim mentality and simply want to complain. Makes me long for the old school conservatives. Sigh.
Whiskey – you took the words out of my mouth. I watched that trailer and all I could ask myself was ‘where’s the damned story in all this?’ Bang! Bam! Kapow! are great. But if there’s no story, no purpose, than they’re just noises. I need to have a story before I’ll watch the film. And this doesn’t have one.
I live for great fantasy and great science fiction. More importantly, I live for great scripts. The trailer for the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” promised endless special effects, little story and an effeminate looking Nicholas Cage; the ultimate high-priced arrogance and ignorance of suits who think they can sell styrofoam peanuts to hungry movie patrons. I won’t even wait for this dog on DVD. Quick…I need to see “The Dark Knight” or “Despicable Me” to clean this tripe from my palette. Heck, I’ll even take “Hellboy 2″.
Wow this is not Jerry’s year. First the flop of Prince of Persia and now this. Quick, bring on the next Pirates movie!
I agree with Whiskey and BigPicture5. You can tell this one is just a barrage of mind-numbing effects. Frankly, after last summer, I’m so sick of those that I’d rather just sit in the heat and read a book. Sorcer’s Apprentice doesn’t even seem worth it for the air conditioning….
I never agree with the poster Whiskey, but I think this is a case where, for once, he hits the proverbial nail on the head.
Just last night I read an interview in a screenwriter industry magazine with the alleged “writer” of this dreck, Matt Lopez, a former Disney executive turned scribe. He, too, was the mastermind behind the execrable “Bedtime Stories” — and I can’t help but think that the lack of craft and lazy storytelling of “Sorcerer” stems from his role as credited writer. The article mentions how Disney execs “raved” at early drafts of the script and how Cage and Lopez huddled to come up with such creative flourishes as using Cage’s real-life ring and auto and incorporating both in the movie.
I believe that stories oft live and die on structure and ingenuity and Mr. Lopez, from the work I’ve seen, lacks both. That said, I hear he’s a really nice guy. So he does have an amicable nature going for him. AAAAAHHH, Hurray for Hollywood!
Can’t speak for Sorcerer’s but I was an assistant at Disney when Bedtime Stories got developed and that script was brilliant, one of the best to come through there before Happy Madison got ahold of it and Sandler took over. You can’t always judge a script or a writer by the final product. (Sadly.)
Some will try to blame this on Cage, but I really don’t think he is the problem here. The public likes him no matter how weird he gets. He is the anti-Tom Cruise in that way. The public may skip a few of Cage’s films because he appears in so many each year, but they still like him, and will show up for his better quality movies. The problem with Apprentice is as noted above. It is a film with no demo target or maybe a film with too many disparate targets.
On another note, does anyone think this bodes ill for a Dr Strange movie? I’ve heard comparisons of the concept of Sorcerer’s Apprentice to Dr Strange. But I’m unfamiliar with the comic character. How valid is this?
Cage isn’t the problem. Its the young lead. Uninteresting and unappealing in every way.
Nic Cage and “better quality pics”? Now those are two terms I didn’t think to see in the same sentence. What exactly has Nic Cage done (outside of National Treasure) that could possibly be qualified as a better quality pic? Sorry, audiences don’t love Nic Cage, and he does not bring box office mojo.
That being said, I do agree that the MAIN reason for the movie’s potential failure is lack of target audience.
Peggy Sue Got Married, Raising Arizona, Vampire’s Kiss, Face Off, 8MM, Bad Lieutenant … all great performances by Nic Cage. As far as the things people show up for, you’ve got The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, National Treasure, even Ghost Rider opened to 50MM.
There’s nothing good to say about Prince of Persia. The admitted production budget on that thing is $200 million. It had the P&A of a tentpole release. And it’s been out overseas for two months just like it was in the United States.
That thing is probably a good $200 million gross short of breaking even.
People are way too serious. Prince of Persia was an immensely joyable movie and this probably will be too, why does everyone expect a citizen kane from summer popcorn flicks?
No, but we don’t expect razzie worthy on a Uwe Boll level either. People who use the “It’s not Citizen Kane/Godfather, who cares?” strawman are just as bad as Paris Hilton fans who call haters “jealous.”
“why does everyone expect a citizen kane from summer popcorn flicks?”
Oh STFU, no one expects Citizen Kane going to see a summer movie.
I do expect to see a halfway decent somewhat enjoyable and memorable well acted movie and Prince of Persia and the vast majority of the films released this summer HAVE NOT BEEN.
Prince of Persia was horribly boring. Immensely enjoyable? People like you and your lousy standards are why we have ended up with the summer of crud we got.
I really cant take the hacks on these message boards who hack it out for the industry and all it’s short comings.
Disney knew what they had for a long time. $25-30M was always the projected opening weekend. $75-100M was long projected for a domestic total.
They seem to have known for a while that big grosses were unlikely to materialise with SA but I can’t imagine that Disney and Bruckheimer originally spent the believed $150 million budget on SA to end up projecting only between $75 and $100 million as a final domestic total.
Just the same as they didn’t spend a minimum of $200 million on PoP to get a little over $325 million global return either. While SA is just getting started there’s not even a break-even in that film’s performance.
In the year of big-budget underperformers, it would appear that SA will join a fair few others this year. It just happens to be two big Bruckheimer underperformers in a row, like Universal had with The Wolfman and Robin Hood.
This dog won’t even do that. 20 mil maybe for a 5 day? That comes out to maybe 40-50 mil for the whole run. IF it hangs in there this weekend. Look for Inception to cut into it’s total this weekend. I’m guessing 17-18 mil for the weekend and maybe Kevin Smith numbers for the entire run. I’m pretty sure Disney was hoping for better than that.
I’d have to assume so. But last I heard, Inception was tracking at about a maybe $55 million opening, so I’m not sure how much it may affect anything else out at present.
Since when is a company OK with losing 100 million dollars or more?
Who the hell is running that place these days?
One more effects-laden reason to use NetFlix and my own A/C. Can we please get some good stories???
I had no idea this was opening mid-week. Did anyone? Even the poster you have accompanying this article states that it opens Friday. I am betting this thing does at least $30M for the 3-day. Still no great shakes, buy significantly better than spreading that out over five days.
Looks like a lame Harry P retread w half the heart… happy auds sniffed this out (or could the marketing dept not mask it;)
Sorry, but this just looks stupid. Disney is smart, WTF are they doing?
@Whiskey — we Hollywood “decision makers” love the country as much as you do. What we hate is the flyover morons who read an article in USA Today and post on industry bulletin boards like they know something. You criticize the story of the movie without seeing it. But thanks for your lesson on how a trailer can sell a movie — we’ll take it under advisement.
I went to 7:00 pm show.22 people . Bomb
Am I the only one who thinks this is happening because of Inception? Most people are waiting to spend their money to see Inception this weekend instead of this movie.
I wish studios would stop making movies based on existing titles/ toys/ board games. Just because I’ve heard of Monopoly or Stretch Armstrong doesn’t mean I’ll rush to the movie. Quite the opposite.
Hey M.T.,
The President of Marketing…It’s the coolest job ever.
Wow, another dud for Disney. Next up: Tron, The Black Hole, and the Muppets!!!!! So how long is Disney going to keep re-animating corpses and passing them off as feature films? No wonder they’re stinking up movie theaters everywhere.
Maybe the better question would be: how long before Rich Ross is shown the door?
Tron will actually do very very well, despite being a sequel/re-imagining/reboot/whatever they are calling it. But yes, everything else you said was pretty spot on.
Rich Ross is NOT a marketer. I’m not even sure he’s a good business person. I think he was good at navigating the political waters while demeaning those below him to keep himself on higher ground.
I’m not sure how the got the Sean Bailey and MT Carney hires past Bob Iger.