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SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM: This has been a topsy-turvy box office as North American grosses come in for Friday Saturday, and the weekend (which will be another down one overall compared to last year). Friday night, it appeared that Fox’s Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules sequel opened as a surprise No. 1, but then Warner Bros’ Sucker Punch came on strong in late night West Coast shows. By Saturday moning, they were looking neck-and-neck for the weekend depending on how much Zach Snyder’s scifi fantasy film dropped on Saturday or Wimpy Kid 2 surged in kiddie matinees. But by Saturday night, the kid sucker-punched Zach Snuder for #1. Meanwhile, 2 pics this first quarter of 2011 passed $100 million domestic: Paramount’s Rango and Sony’s Just Go With It (Adam Sandler’s 12th pic to do so while international is headed to $100M, too).
Here’s the Top 10:
1. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Fox) NEW [3,167 Theaters]
Friday $7.3, Saturday $10.4M, Weekend $24M
Interestingly, a year ago, the first installment of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid embarrassed much-hyped The Bounty Hunter with Jen and Gerry on Saturday. Same thing happened this weekend with Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules and Zach Snyder’s Sucker Punch. Who’d a thunk it? The sequel was already in development when the first one struck gold based on Jeff kinney’s wonderful book series with 40 million copies in print since first published in 2007. It was fired Disney movie chief Nina Jacobson’s first film as a producer (Color Force is her indie company), and she brought on Brad Simpson to co-produce the franchise. Together, they spent 5 months looking for the wimpy kid and even had an audition website where thousands tried out before choosing Zachary Gordon. The first pic cost only $19M to make. Now the sequel has come in at $21M despite having different directors, this time first-time live action director David Bowers who comes from animation (Flushed Away, Astro Boy) and got the job pitching the big comedic set pieces that ended up in the trailer.
Wimpy Kid 2 has more laughs and family involvement than the original, plus more older brother Rodrick, played by Devon Bostick, who has driven greater girl interest because they think he is “hot”. Jacobson et al are currently working on the script for Wimpy Kid 3 with Bowers attached to direct, and Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky writing. “Carla Hacken and Elizabeth Gabler have always realized the importance of keeping up momentum ever since Fox 2000 bought the books,” Jacobson tells me. “Kids who have made the books into a phenomenon want to see them brought to life while they are still kids.” Meanwhile, I’m told that book author Jeff Kinney is ”very involved in the movies well beyond contractual obligations, very engaged in the script process, a frequent and welcome presence on set, and very visible in the marketing and publicity”.
Fox would have been happy doing even 2/3rds of the first movie’s $22M biz last March. Because the studio told me there wouldn’t be as many K-to-12 classes out of school for Friday’s sequel opening — 20% for a year ago vs. 14% now — so matching openings wasn’t anticipated. And yet Wimpy Kid 2 played stronger to open with a better-than-expected $24M this weekend thanks to strength from kids up to age 14 and their parents. Overall, Saturday’s grosses surged +43% over Friday’s. The sequel also had a higher CinemaScore than the first movie: ”A-” vs “B” last time.
2. Sucker Punch (Warner Bros) NEW [3,033 Theaters]
Friday $8M, Saturday $7.4M, Weekend $20M
This latest mind-bender from Zack Snyder (300, Watchman, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, the upcoming Superman) fell short for #1 this weekend despite a significant uptick in tracking this week. Immediately, rival studios lined up to criticize that “Sucker Punch joins Kick-Ass as ‘can’t miss’ cool pics that missed”. But whereas Lionsgate over-estimated Kick-Ass grosses (a $19.8M opening), Warner Bros and other studios expected Sucker Punch to come in around $20M. The sci fi fantasy was tracking best among males, with older males taking the lead. But the PG-13 pic didn’t show much heat — maybe because those trailers were the definition of confusing — until the very end of the campaign, where rival studios told me Warner Bros “spent a fortune pumping it up” given the film’s cost. (I’ve heard a range from $85M to $95M to $100+M.) Then again, it is harder to sell original pics.
Sucker Punch was positioned from the start as a wholly original escape from reality and a bold visual experience unlike any other. ”The pedigree of 300 and Watchmen, the incredible realization into the action fantasy worlds, really appealed to our primary target audience of male moviegoers,” a Warner Bros exec told me about the marketing campaign that kicked off at Comic-Con last July — Comic-Con #11: ‘Sucker Punch’ – where not just Deadline’s correspondent thought it cinematically revisited Tank Girl. ”Ultimately, any film as audacious as this one will polarize in terms of reaction, but the message is clearly that this is a must-see movie-going experience.”
The studio pandered to fanboys and Zack’s loyal following at first, but the broader campaign that followed launched with trailers for male- and female-targeted films ranging from Due Date and Black Swan to Green Hornet and Battle: Los Angeles. A very broad TV campaign started in mid-February “and the hyper visual nature of the film really made the advertising cut through the clutter”, claimed one exec, along with a massive outdoor campaign. Online was key to cementing the young male demo via a mobile application directing people to a secret website with exclusive content that would appeal to art and music fans, comic lovers, gamers, and technology early adopters. There was something called a “trailer painter” where users could paint their own frames of a 2-minute Sucker Punch music video to create a collaborative art project, plus a free iPad video game that made it into the Top 10 games and top 25 overall apps on the Apple store. Four animated shorts were created by Ben Hibon, who created the animated sequence for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 in collaboration with Zack Snyder. But did all this stuff actually put asses in seats this weekend? Undoubtedly yes.
3. Limitless (Relativity) Week 2 [2,085 Theaters]
Friday $4.6M, Saturday $6.5M, Weekend $15M (-20%), Cume $41M
4. The Lincoln Lawyer (Lionsgate) NEW [2,707 Theaters]
Friday $2.9M, Saturday $4.8M, Weekend $10.5M (-20%), Cume $28.5M
5. Rango (Paramount) Week 4 [3,645 Theaters]
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $4.5M, Weekend $10M, Cume $106.5M
6. Battle: Los Angeles (Sony) Week 3 [3,118 Theaters]
Friday $2.1M, Saturday $3.5M, Weekend $7.8M, Cume $72.8M
7. Paul (Working Title/Universal) Week 2 [2,806 Theaters]
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $3.5M, Weekend $7.8M (-40%), Cume $24.9M
8. Red Riding Hood (Warner Bros) Week 3 [2,715 Theaters]
Friday $1.4M, Estimated Weekend $4.5M, Estimated Cume $33.6M
9. The Adjustment Bureau (MRC/Universal) Week 4 [2,282 Theaters]
Friday $1.2M, Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $54.5M
10. Mars Needs Moms (ImageMovers Digital/Disney) Week 3 [2,170 Theaters]
Friday $675K, Estimated Weekend $2.5M, Estimated Cume $18.5M
FRIDAY 4:45 PM: Based on very early box office, Warner Bros’ Sucker Punch from Zack Snyder (3,033 theaters) is looking to open for $7.5 million in North America Friday and may get to $8M. Fox’s Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (3,167 theaters) may debut with $6M for the day. So far, based on early grosses, Hollywood think both films will be neck-and-neck starting at $20M and maybe even around low $20sM as Wimpy Kid 2 gains momentum from Saturday kiddie matinees. More later…
For more estimates listed by title, see box office results here...Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Very impressive Nikki that you can get such early box office results…..
Yeah, too bad only one of these movies is impressive. WHIMPY 2 just made its budget back in one weekend! how many decent films can actually say that?
Another smart move by Nina Jacobson and her Colorforce banner. 2 Hits and Hunger Games on the way.
RE: Wimpy Kid 2:
[i]Immediately, rival studios lined up to criticize that “Sucker Punch joins Kick-Ass as ‘can’t miss’ cool pics that missed”.[/i]
What?? In a weekend face-off between a violent, PG-13 rated action heavy pic and a family-friendly kids movie with a strong following, the FAMILY movie will ALWAYS typically win.
Does this mean that SUCKER PUNCH “missed”? Hell no it doesn’t! It means on Saturday the “kiddie matinees” as Nikki describes them just by definition brought in more people as they of course will.
SUCKER PUNCH may not be faring so well on RT but I saw it at a Thursday night screening and thought the action and effects were amazing! I can’t see how this will be a miss for WB.
Unfortunately the animated shorts Nikki referred to that promote this film (created by Ben Hibrand), which can be found on YouTube, were very poorly made (I am an animator myself) and looked like a first-year animation student’s work. Very bad judgment on behalf of Zach Snyder.
The movie itself was a visual spectacle – very much like a giant video game – think TOMBRAIDER meets HELLBOY 2. The plot is thin and one-dimensional, but that may have been what Zach was going for here. And as predicted, there were copies amounts of the slo-mo effect Zach is so widely known for.
International on this will be very hard to predict as the film is essentially filled with nobodies. Actuals may depend on performance comps of similar films with no following overseas.
I only hope SUPERMAN is as dark but not as reliant upon the “slo-mo” effect, as SUCKER PUNCH absolutely killed its impact.
From Flashmob:
“The plot is thin and one-dimensional, but that may have been what Zach was going for here.”
Q: “So Zach, what are you going for with the plot?” Zach: “I’m going for thin and one-dimensional. I think that would be great.”
bunter,
That made me laugh. I love how fanboys always try to justify the weaknesses in the films they like by saying “it’s supposed to be like that”. It’s right up there with their even more infantile retort “you didn’t understand it.” Lack of character development or narrative cohesion in The Dark Knight? “It’s supposed to be like that.” The truth is they are easily impressed by anything with flashy special FX, in the same way that a newborn can be entertained endlessly by jingling shiny keys in front of its eyes. They are simply too immature to admit that they like empty trash.
This result reflects one thing.
You need producers and studios who will make lower budget movies, regardless of G or R ratings. So many films could be profitable, and should be profitable. These films budgeted at 30 or 70 million should be budgeted at 15 and 35, respectively.
10 million dollar indies should be made for 3-6. And so on down the line.
To be completely honest…and im not even saying this to joke…but i actually have NO interest in seeing Sucker Punch because i have yet to see one black person in the posters or trailers…all i saw were a bunch of Paris Hiltons holding samurai swords and dressed like Britney Spears from her “Baby One More Time” video…
Studios spend all this money to produce and promote these movies and completely disregard the 100 million black and brown people in this country….so i think ill keep my $15…thanks.
I guess you must not watch any Asian cinema either, because there are no black people in those movies either. I’m a brown person but skin color has never allowed me to more easily identify with a movie character. If that was the case than Madea Goes to Jail would be the greatest movie I’ve ever seen. I identify with humans that have human problems. Sometime even non humans.
In support of the OP, I feel the same sometimes and I’m “colored.” I don’t see Tyler’s movies, because I just don’t like the subject and theme. But what’s happening is that Hollywood is totally overlooking that this country is almost 50% “brown and black” and having at least ONE person in the movie that represents would be a nice gesture, and it would employ black and brown actors. I love Michele Rodriguez but she only appears in action movies. I love Robt Rodriguez movies, he’s the only Mexican director these days who has an almost all Spanish cast. Then for the black people, there’s Tyler (vs. Spike, who’s now a professor and ceased making movies).
I love going to the movies, but I”m getting a little tired of sitting in the audience and thinking, hmmm….why isn’t there anyone who reflects “me.”
Thank you my sista…lol
Studios put out these low budget urban flicks like Lottery Ticket and Death at a Funeral and they fill up these ensemble casts with every working black actor and the budgets never exceed $30 million…thats affirmative action to me…thats them saying, hey we have an extra $30 million lying around, lets give the black people a movie even tho we know we’re not going to make a lot of money off of it because we’re not going to give it the promotion that we would give a movie with Michael Cera or Jonah Hill or Robert Pattison.
Madea goes to jail did $40 million opening weekend, Obssessed with Idris Elba and Beyonce did close to $30 million opening weekend…both of which BLOWS Sucker Punch out of the water…but will Hollywood take notice and wake up looking at numbers like that…HELL NO!!
So like I said, I’ll keep my $20 and catch it either on netflix, redbox or free.
Lois Lane should have been cast as a Latina. Or even Rashida Jones. This would have been an easy choice to make, since Lois is already drawn in a racially ambiguous way in the current comics. Lois is working a pretty fierce tan in the comics. Instead Snyder cast the whitest of all actresses to ever play the role. The gingery Amy Adams is pale as a ghost. They can’t even use the tired excuse of her looking like the character, since even the fanboys are crying fowl, and saying she looks nothing like the character in comics now.
Another missed opportunity from Hack Snyder.
This isnt Deadline Bollywood or Deadline Asian Cinema…this is Deadline Hollywood and Im speaking of the lack of diversity in HOLLYWOOD my friend…and if u fail to see it, then you are eiher naive or just plain idiotic. Madea goes to jail was a low-bugdet urban comedy targeted to Tyler’s built in audience…it was NOT a major studio release thats supposed to be commercial appealing and broad. None of these tentpoles that these studios release seem to feature any relevant ethnic people if they arent Will Smith, Sam Jackson or Denzel…on the women side; Halle Berry.
Quite frankly, i dont care what drives to the movies, regarding relating to characters and what not…good for you…what i am saying, is that I will no longer spend my hard earned money on an industry that disregards me and everybody else that looks like me. Gracias my brown friend.
“Asian cinema?” Um, well if American filmmaking was referred to as “Caucasian cinema,” (and I’m sure a lot of people, based on hiring/casting practices think it should be)you might have a point. The POINT IS, in a country as diverse as ours, you shouldn’t have to look high and low to find people of color in a major film. Some day, casting agents will catch on and discover that the more inclusive casting is, the more money is on the table. But as it stands, why pay 12 bucks to see hypersexualized skimpily clad white women room together, when you can watch that on Hugh Hefner’s Girls Next Door for free.
This is exactly one of the reasons WME is getting sued for $25 million.
I have no dog in this hunt, but Vanessa Hudgens isn’t white.
Vanessa Hudgens is about as white as can be. She may be Italian or Scicilian. From Wikipedia:
Hudgens is of mixed cultural background,[12] as her father is of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, a native of Manila, Philippines is a Filipina.
That’s about as close to white as it gets, and I bet on her census she checks off “white”.
yea, ur right…She’s only part white…she’s Irish, Native American and filipina…im sure one of the members of the crew, probably the production assistant coffee getter was black tho.
Technically, neither is Haile Steinfeld – but they play white in the movies, so we’re back to square one. No women of color were cast in SP. Period.
I have no interest in watching black people in movies. Especially when you get Tyrese Gibson who can only express one emotion while trying to act: angry. The guy always looks like he’s trying to take a dump in every scene.
Will Smith is the biggest star in Hollywood. His son may be second.
Jessopbriddlegap,
You’re what’s wrong with Hollywood and by extension America. You don’t like Tyrese so therefore you have no interest in seeing ANY black people in the movies. You probably don’t think you’re a racist moron, either. You’d be wrong. By the way, you could say the same thing about Jason “does my face look intense enough eating this sandwich” Statham, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see any white Brits in the movie.
Nowhere near good enough for Sucker Punch… another tough weekend for Hollywood
Second Time WHIMPY poised for # 1, awesome run for an awesome series.
It’s been a tough 1st quarter. The biggest 3 day opening since December was Tron.
What a win for Wimpy Kid (budget: $15 million) and a disaster for Sucker Punch (budget: $165 million)!
Fascinating that their grossing practically the same number means nothing until you think about the actual costs.
Finally, a bomb (almost) as big as me!
No Kidding!
Whimpy Kid making $20 is like Sucker Punch making $130. My kids loved the first one. Just goes to show you don’t need a hundred million dollars to make a good film.
$165 million? Where did you get that number? Box office mojo says $82 million. Still not great, but…165?
What is your basis for this 165mil number? Not even close…it was well under 100mil. But thanks for playing.
$82 is an unbelievable joke of a budget for a film with that much VFX (which are astronomically more complicated than those used in 300) but $165 is in fact to high. The real number on Sucker Punch was $147 including the cost of shooting the new ending. But marketing spent like drunken sailors trying to open the film so that makes it nearly $200.
Howevermuch Sucker Punch cost to make, it seems to me that the combination of reshoots, edits to cut the musical numbers and the completely different ending should mean that Warner should skip the Theatrical Cut step of the typical VFX-movie double-dip cycle and just release an Ultimate Director’s Cut edition (with the Theatrical Cut as an option) the week before or the week of Comic-Con.
Not true… but thanks for spinning, Mr. Snyder.
Sucker Punch’s budget is only 82 Million not 165 and Wimpy Kid’s budget is 21 Million according to boxofficemojo
Does that $82 mil include marketing costs? Because you just know Warners had to have spent at least a good $30 mil there…
No. Whenever you see a budget listed, it’s usually a very conservative estimate of the production budget only. So whatever the real number is, including marketing, it’s *well* over 100 million.
30 mil – what year are you living in? – 1995 – Suckerpunch’s publicity costs are well over 100 mil.
Since Box Office Mojo is reporting the actual budget as $82M which may be a bit soft for the actual number, no studio would spend over $100M to promote it. Gross overestimation.
Actually, it’s not. Ask any producer in town how much it costs to release any movie these days. The standard for any release that comes out internationally is 100 mil. And many films now routinely go over that amount.
I mean, you can doubt those figures. But why don’t you ask a producer who makes films these days before you go around spouting your ignorance. Because I have.
Wait, people would rather see a warm and funny family film than a $200 million dollar soft-porn male fantasy?
actually people saw a corny and sorry excuse of a retarded kid flick
Bowers actually has a really impressive animated bg. I’m really interested to see what he does with Rodrick.
Reading Comprehension 101: look into it.
“Sucker Punch” is #1.
That was Friday. This is Sunday.
It’s funny. I’m a 25-year-old male who’s been to Comic-Con a few times (on a job, but whatever) and I’d much rather see Wimpy Kid. The fact is, Sucker Punch looked really, atrociously bad. It’s as simple as that.
I wouldn’t want to be a Warner Bros exec this weekend.
With production budget of $82 million for Sucker Punch $20 million opening weekend is a failure.
If Sucker Punch really cost more than $150 does that make it a bigger loss than Jonah Hex?
JH only cost $47mil to make maybe add another $15-20mil for marketing and JH still cost less to make than Sucker Punch.
Despite Zack Snyder’s woeful lack of writing skill, sucker Punch is worth seeing on the big screen for its production design, action sequences and effects. I look forward to seeing his take on Superman if only because he didn’t write the script.
No it isn’t. He’s become too dependent on his 300-esque slow-mo style. The movie plays out with a bunch of slow-mo music video/action scenes connected by a nonsensical story with horrible dialogue and overall hammy acting.
True though that there is more hope for Superman since he didn’t write the script and they’re casting good actors.
Agree on the predictable overuse of the slo-mo effect. Do not agree on “nonsensical story”. There was only ONE storyline here – how did you miss it?
Looky-looing at the pretty girls instead I see..
Anonymous didn’t say s/he missed it, s/he said it was nonsensical.
Which it was.
Because a SUPERMAN script by the writer/director of BLADE: TRINITY will be worth the wait
Although we all presume (and pray for) a Nolan rewrite…
I get that you’re trying to make a point here by choosing to mention one of Goyer’s less successful works but it’s a little misleading to ignore the fact that he is also responsible for the original Blade which was fantastic and Batman Begins as well as the story for The Dark Knight. The guy knows comics and superheroes and, along with Nolan, is responsible for creating the world in which the current Batman now exists which has clearly been wildly successful. If Blade Trinity sucked it wasn’t because Goyer is a bad writer.
Right…it’s because Goyer is a bad writer *and* director.
Thank you flack. We all look forward to your continuing hopeless postings of threadbare talking points throughout the weekend.
No it’s not. Do audiences really go to movies for production design, action sequences, and effects? I think that’s a myth in this day and age. Maybe 20 years ago, when special effects really were a draw, but these days every movie has effects. Audiences go to movies for the genre they’re interested in and because the picture looks good. Not because the explosion looks more real than it used to.
You must be a woman.
It’s a sure bet you are a misogynistic idiot–as well as woefully ignorant about what audiences really want.
Sucker Punch is an even bigger money loser than Watchmen, good luck on that spin cycle.
That’s my take on it, too. Maybe now Zach Snyder will try a different stylistic look. Or, how about this, he might want to try having a good script to start out with. I can’t even begin to think what Warner’s was thinking when they greenlighted this mess. They’d get a better return on their investment with a traditional savings plan. 1.5% interest is nothing to sneeze at when you’re looking at a $50-100 million loss.
Jesus it’s been out for TWO DAYS. You guys are all on the fuckin rag or something.
It would be nice to see Sucker Punch’s gross vs the number of people who a) walk out halfway through, b) fall asleep. :/p
Oh but they shall try desperately. All weekend long they shall try. And we get the entertainment of watching their flailing.
Which life preserver will they throw out next?
“This movie is not made for Oscar critics or meant to be good! It’s meant for the troglodytes! So you can’t judge it!”
“Bad movies make tons of money all the time! (But sadly this movie is both bad and will lose tons of money)”
[Then comes bargaining]: “OK. Zack is terrible at original stuff. And narrative. And directing live actors instead of cgi. HOWEVER, his nonsensical action stylings will carry Superman to victory!”
[Then the Sunday morning desperation]: “Alright. Maybe Zack Snyder isn’t qualified to direct anything more than music videos. HOWEVER, Fanboy God Nolan will be secretly abandoning Batman to shadow direct everything on Superman! So no worries!”
[Finally Monday morning devastation]: “We know Zack is dogpoop, but he’s a puppet! A mere extension of Nolan’s will! Snyder will have absolutely no input on the Superman film. We won’t even allow him on set. He will directing by phone from home!”
Sucker Punch will do fine internationally. Warners will see a nice profit even if it caps at 100-120 domestic.
“Even if it caps at 100-120 domestic” ?! Ya, that is not happening. Not even close….
Except it is not going to come close to grossing $100 million.
If Sucker Punch is anything like Watchmen…it won’t even gross double its opening weekend.
100-120 domestic!!!!!!!!
BWAHAHAHAAHA!!!!
YOU ARE KILLING ME!!! HAHAHAHA
i saw the nanny show of it this morning and there were a lot of people in it. I enjoyed it a lot. Abbie Cornish is my new obsession. I don’t know why you guys are hating. You should want films like this to be successful so Hollywood keeps turning out original material. u always complain about sequels and remakes.
It was a fun ride. What do u want from him, dick?
I’ve said it before: All you sour pusses sound like you ought to be surfing with those Momma’s Basement-dwelling Talkbackers on Ain’t It Cool News.
I agree, Dana. Sucker Punch, at least, is an original confection. Sure, Snyder can’t write his way out of a strait jacket, but at least it’s original material and not another sequel or, worse, Milton Bradley board game. Writers, directors and other tinsel town wannabees ought to be rooting for its success, not sharpening their knives and chomping at the bit. You all sound like the Tea Baggers going multiple orgasm everytime Obama stubs his toe.
Another thing: Tundra sounds like the only other talkbacker here who remotely understands how Hollywood works. Yes, Sucker Punch will make moolah for Warners Bros worldwide, even if it only tops off at $80 million. With the international market yet to come, dvd, web streaming and other ancillaries such as the inevitable video game adaptation, SP just may turn a profit. And even if it doesn’t, you can always count on the oldest cardinal rule in Hollywood:
You fail upwards.
Zack’s already a part of the machine. They’ll keep throwing Jack at him till he starts snorting coke up his ass and shacks up with two porn stars named Babydoll and Blondie. And then they’ll throw even more dead, green presidents his way. Great work if you can get it.
“Tea Baggers going multiple orgasm everytime Obama stubs his toe”… I love that ha.
Yeah, I’m not saying it was great but I definitely think it will have a cult following in the future. If you go back into the archives there’s so many films that are just programmers and will be long forgotten. Also, very few films that are visually cool. I never expected there to be such hate about this film but whatever, I guess.
I thought it was fun. But then again I also liked COOL WORLD as a kid. Maybe this is our generation’s Cool World. I love great films like Black Swan and Social Network just as much as the next film snob but I’d rather have a Sucker Punch thrown in once and awhile then a BATTLE: LA (no offense, haven’t seen that yet maybe its good).
“Sure, Snyder can’t write his way out of a strait jacket, but at least it’s original material and not another sequel or, worse, Milton Bradley board game.
God, this is one stupid rationale. Just because something is original doesn’t make it good. And the killer of it is is that just about everything in SUCKER PUNCH is unoriginal–stolen from way better games and movies.
Seriously. Sucker Punch might be an original screenplay, but everything about it is familiar. The characters, genre, even the blocking. The anime world has been churning out this exact product, repeatedly, since the 1980s.
“I love great films like Black Swan and Social Network just as much as the next film snob but I’d rather have a Sucker Punch thrown in once and awhile then a BATTLE: LA (no offense, haven’t seen that yet maybe its good).”
It’s not about being a film snob. There are plenty of action movies that have a plot. Your movie “Dana,” that you’re obviously intimately involved with, does not have anything that makes for a fulfilling experience at the movies. People are coming to see stories and characters and great dialogue. This is a steaming pile of crap. It’s an insult to even basic intelligence. Terrible movies get 50% on Rotten T’s all the time. This one is around a 12.
I’m not “intimately involved with” Sucker Punch, although I’d love to be with the cast. I don’t think it was a perfect film by any means but I enjoyed it. There are some movies that are absolute shit and I disagree that this one of them. It all comes down to a matter of opinion and taste. I excused some of its shortcomings on the film student checklist and enjoyed it for the spectacle and fun I got from it. As for the dialogue, it reflected the noirish world they inhabited. I don’t think the characters were flat. The film wasn’t plotless. I watch a shit load of movies and trust me there’s a lot of “steaming pile of crap” out there and this wasn’t one of them.
I’d give it a B-.
Dana California wants to give this a B-
If the movie got about a 22% on RT, maybe worse, it means that it’s an F. You can’t really get any lower of a rating. It’s extremely rare. This is a horrible film.
The film student checklist? The same lack of intelligence that blinds you to this terrible film’s status as terrible, it’s keeping you from comprehending what is being said. Plenty of dumb movies, like the Police Academy films, are brilliant in their characters or story structure.
Sucker Punch is just missing any sort of coherence or simple entertainment value. My point is that *no one* thinks it’s a quality film, and it’s also bombing with audiences.
What a bunch of assholes. Haven’t seen Sucker Punch yet but definitely plan to. Hmmm scantily-clad, live action anime chicks fighting samurai machine-gun robots and steampunk, WWI German soldiers in slow-motion. Sounds full of win to me. Its #2 standing to me says way more about where boring, conservative-ass America is (taking their 2.5 kids to a “family” movie) than about Zach Snyder.
Get it through your heads: Snyder is a VISUAL STYLIST. His movies don’t lay there on the screen like a dead fish. If they did, 300 would have been just like Troy or Kingdom of Heaven; flops. That 300M+ worldwide 300 did bought him the right to fail, WHICH HE HASN’T.
jessr15 nailed it. Be glad it wasn’t a sequel or a remake. Devastating post buddy.
Wow – you love REALLY great films. COOL WORLD was a nice one to throw in there – I was obsessed over it as a kid myself. Nice to see there are some FUN people left in the world.
People want GOOD original films to be successful, not crappy, loud, pointless original films.
Thanks Isell! I guess you’re right!
“The same lack of intelligence that blinds you to this terrible film’s status as terrible, it’s keeping you from comprehending what is being said.”
I wish I had your amazing brain capacity. I guess according to you anything that falls in line with popular opinion is the word of God. Even the invasion of Iraq.
Listen u half wit . If I like a movie I’m going to like a movie. And if I say that I like Suck Punch then deal with it. I don’t care if every single critic on earth hates it. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
U probably masturbate to Baywatch Nights. LOSER! I’m drunk.
Kevin Iwashina and Brendan Crane are going to get what they deserve.
Original? Hack Snyder? Hahahahahahaha.
You bring up a good point about supporting original material. I just wish I could have enjoyed it.
@ Sheldon — so true
Sunker punch has awful WOM. It will be lucky to make 50 with this opening.
sucker punch cost 80 million they can easily make that up
How? The studio doesn’t get 100% and WOM for Sucker Punch isn’t good. It’s a flop. The better bet was Wimpy Kid. Hollywood is so out of touch with the public. Wait until summer when the really big budgets begin flopping. Yes I’m looking at you Green Lantern.
I enjoyed this film, and I’m seeing others on this board speak up for it as well. That at its core means SP will develop a large cult following. Just because you don’t enjoy something does not make it a “flop”.
Also, the film has only been out for a few days. Comparing it to a family film with a large following is completely unfair – WIMPY KID has a built-in fanbase, so this is not an even fight.
You are seeing a few paid interns speak up for. Probably including yourself. SUCKER PUNCH is getting devastatingly bad word of mouth. From critics. From fanboys. From the general audience. From everyone. It is complete devastation.
Hopefully Wimpy kid wins out, because Sucker punch is garbage.
wimpy kid 2 is a god forsaken mess and deserve to flop. sucker punch will be #1
Actually, both of these films are equally awful, for different reasons.
Jeez – WIMPY KID is a great film for 13-year-olds. SUCKER PUNCH is an AWESOME spectacle for action nuts/comic geeks.
Can’t both coexist?
Everyone not on Warner payroll agrees Sucker Punch is garbage. The comic geeks are savaging it on every blog.
And a movie which features someone singing Tik Tok *isn’t* garbage to you? *rolls eyes*
I left the screening unsatisfied and remember turning to my friend asking him, “Other than fanboys, WHO exactly is gonna see this?”
Sucker i thought only cost $82m?
…oh and totally agree with jake about how impressive it is for you to get the numbers so early for box office junkies like me!
Anyone who thinks Sucker Punch will gross $100-120K domestic is delusional. (5-6X opening weekend? Really?) The horrendous word of mouth on this loud, dumb, soulless morass of masturbatory self-indulgence will sink it like a stone. How and why Warners & Legendary enabled Snyder on this fetishistic feature-length video game cut-scene after the disappointment of Watchmen boggles the mind. Execs and fans alike are now in escalating freak-out mode this weekend over what this portends for “Man of Slo-mo”. (That is what they’re calling it around the lot at Warners.) How embarrassing it’ll be to lose the weekend to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Sequel”, a film most people in Hollywood have never heard of.
Eheheheh. Did anyone seriously think Snyder’s amateur Frank-Miller/Alan-Moore-wanna-be writing was going to be good enough to make this work? He’s had a way better run than he deserves and he’s overplayed his hand big-time with this. No surprise at all…
Just to clear up a few things as your writing may have just been sloppy and you appear to be a mailroom courier…
“Anyone who thinks Sucker Punch will gross $100-120K domestic is delusional.”
$100-120K?? You do know that “K” means thousands right? The film so far has grossed in the millions.
“Execs and fans alike are now in escalating freak-out mode this weekend over what this portends for “Man of Slo-mo”. (That is what they’re calling it around the lot at Warners.)”
They are calling “it” (as in the movie) “Man of Slo-Mo”? Or did you mean “him” (as in Snyder)?
“How embarrassing it’ll be to lose the weekend to “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Sequel”, a film most people in Hollywood have never heard of.”
First of all the sub is “Rodrick Rules”, not “The Sequel”. And most people in Hollywood have never heard of the WIMPY KID movies by now? Are you seriously living under a rock??
Just some advice – you’ll never get promoted if you don’t start poking your head out of the sand. If you’d written this in an e-mail to an executive, you might find yourself out on the next round of layoffs.
SP will not hit 20 mill this weekend
mj
very rarely does a movie make its budget back in one weekend.
Sucker Punch wasn’t based on anything?
Fuck!!!!
So, at 7:45 p.m. EASTERN, you’re projecting box-office figures based on … studio reporting … of movies that haven’t even played yet? Shouldn’t you at LEAST wait for 8 p.m. shows to have SOME semblance of reality behind them? Oh, wait, you’re reporting basic studio projections. Mm-hmmm. Why not report them as such?
I love, though, that WB keeps getting the biggest “Sucker Punch” of them all. It still hires Zack Snyder, still imagines he has some kind of clout with fanboys or … something like that, I guess. “Sucker Punch” won’t even do its whole WEEKEND what “Watchmen” did on day 1 … and that thing was a financial catastrophe.
I think we’re seeing a national referendum on studio leadership, and it’s not looking good for them. Throw the idiots out, all of ‘em, and start again! Americans are sick of these idiotic retreads, comic-book adaptations, remakes, sequels and alleged “blockbusters” that are NOT WHAT WE WANT TO SEE! Where’s the Tea Party of Hollywood?! Where’s the Sarah Palin of La La Land? She may be lunk-headed, but no more so than those in power. Shareholders of Comcast, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, etc., deserve more than overpaid, under-qualified production and company heads who turn out crap like THIS. Seriously, this is a horrible, horrible year for movies, perhaps the worst ever so far.
You may want to force yourself to endure part one of that Atlas Shrugged adaptation before asking for ‘the Tea Party of Hollywood’…
And to think, Sucker Punch’s pathetic Friday numbers are actually front loaded due to Fanboys. Wow. Those suckers at Legendary and Warners sure got punched hard in the tender bits.