Cannes: Sundance Selects Acquires Dardenne Brothers’ … 
Cannes: Wrekin Hill Acquires U.S. On Gabriele … 
Bill Hader’s ‘SNL’ Stefon Farewell: Video 
Cannes: The Weinstein Co. Books ‘Suite … 
BBC Confirms ‘Doctor Who’ Season 8 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $22M Friday For Lower … 
Finally, Cannes Dealing! Radius-TWC Nabs Director’s … 
Hammond On Cannes: Wet Fest’s Official Competition … 
‘Vampire Academy’ Adds ‘Modern … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Shark Tank’ Finale Up, … 
Cannes: Worldview Options Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn … 
UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To … 
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For … 
Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 … 
Cannes: Fake Gunshots Interrupt Canal Plus Live Broadcast … 
‘The Great Gatsby’ Starts With $5.4M … 
Cannes: Music Box Snags Competition’s ‘Michael … 
UPDATE: Amazon Studios Begins Pilot Pickups; … 
Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye 
RATINGS RAT RACE UPDATE: ‘American Idol’ Hits … 
SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM, 3RD UPDATE: In terms of box office grosses but not necessarily box office quality, Summer 2011 roared in with overperforming hits like 
Fast Five and Thor and Bridesmaids, then gained steam with Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. But now it’s leaving with a whimper, not a bang. This was one of those weekends when studio executives didn’t even bother coming up with excuses about why their movies were stillborn. Instead they just held their heads and moaned. Anecdotal reports reaching me from all over showed that moviegoing redefined the terms “soft” and “flat”. As one studio exec told me, “It looks like a ghosttown in theaters.” And yet no less than four wide-release studio films opened Friday. There was some initial confusion over Top 5 order, but the movies sorted themselves out. DreamWorks’ holdover The Help (which needs none) started Friday as the No. 1 movie and ended that way Sunday to distributor Disney’s delight.
But there was widespread disappointing over the failures of Dimension/Weinstein Co’s Spy Kids 4D, Nu Image/Millenium/Lionsgate’s Conan The Barbarian, and DreamWorks/Disney’s Fright Night which wound up all bunched together between a dismal $8M and $11.5M behind another holdover, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Not surprisingly, Conan and Fright Night received only ‘B-’ CinemaScores while Spy Kids managed a ‘B+’. Focus Features tried but couldn’t get its romance One Day to do much but eke out an opening especially with that ‘B-’ CinemaScore. So now two more stars find themselves in trouble at the box office: Anne Hathaway and Colin Farrell. That’s after Ryan Reynolds and Tom Hanks crashed and burned as well. Who’s next?
1. The Help (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 2 1/2 [2,690 Runs]
Friday $5.8M, Saturday $8M, Weekend $20.5M (-21%), Cume $71.8M
Again, the continuing controversy over the black-white issues in The Help has people debating and, most importantly, buying tickets. Nothing like Internet chatter and watercooler talk to keep a small film like this #1. And the Oscar buzz is good for business, too. At least this overperforming pic lessens the sting of Fright Night tanking for DreamWorks. (Well, you can;t win them all…)
2. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (Fox) Week 3 [3,471 Runs]
Friday $4.6M, Saturday $6.7M, Weekend $16.3, Cume $133.7M
Look for lots of technical awards nominations for Apes as well as a big Fox push behind popular Andy Serkis for Supporting Actor.
3. Spy Kids 4D - 3D (Dimension/Weinstein) NEW [3,295 Runs]
Friday $4M, Saturday $4.4M, Weekend $12M
I don’t know how The Weinstein Co is going to stay on track with its reorganized finances if Dimension films keep bombing. The whole underpinning of the Weinstein Brothers’ success at Miramax was that Dimension threw off wheelbarrows of box office cash. No more. Here’s yet another unnecessary sequel not helped by its 4D gimmickry, Aroma-Scope schtick, or Robert Rodriguez. (See Robert Rodriguez On His ‘Spy Kids’ Stinker.) The Weinstein Co saw the handwriting on the wall and didn’t bother to brief the media on the film ahead of time. With a ’B+’ Cinemascore and exit polls showing that kids rated the film much higher than parents did (72 excellent and 90 in the top 2 boxes) the film should have done better especially with 3D’s higher ticket prices. But Spy Kids: All The Time In The World had 60/40 with 2D in terms of screens but only 54/46 in terms of business. (To give you some context, The Smurfs was 77/23 with 2D which is more in line with the family film trend). Dimension can keep making this sequel swill but until it comes up with fresh ideas for fresh films, then TWC could tank again.
4. Conan The Barbarian – 3D (Nu Image/Millenium/Lionsgate) NEW [3,015 Runs]
Friday $3.6M, Saturday $3.8M, Weekend $10.5M
Lionsgate execs today are despondent as they try to figure out what went wrong. “It’s one of those weekends that gives me a stomach ache,” one Lionsgate exec told me Friday night. “It’s a headscratcher but it won’t kill us.” But they also know that with Carl Icahn back breathing down Lionsgate’s mane by buying up company shares, and the annual stockholders meeting scheduled for September 13th, this is a really lousy time for this secondary studio to have such a box office bomb. Over the last two weeks Icahn has acquired 756,840 shares in Lionsgate, growing his ownership to 33.2% from 32.6%, presumably in his so-far-unsuccessful effort to gift his son Brent with a Hollywood studio. Last year, Icahn tried but failed to seize control and, after a brief respite, he’s trying yet again all the while carping about Lionsgate’s profligate management and moviemaking strategy. Here’s more ammunition for him. First off, being in business with Avi Lerner’s Nu Image/Millenium film company is a dicey proposition at best. Especially when this Conan The Barbarian reboot cost nearly $90M, which makes this weekend’s opening disastrous even if Lionsgate’s exposure was mitigated by the co-production and co-release. Not even spreading the buzz that previous Conan The Barbarian Arnold Schwarzenegger was treated to a private screening and “really liked it” helped box office which didn’t come near even Lionsgate’s low-ball expectation of $15M from a wide release.
This R-rated reboot of the 1930s Robert E. Howard original source material, portraying the character as the Cimmerian warrior, was supposed to have a devoted fanbase. And tracking showed strong interest from African-American and Hispanic male moveiegoers. There seemed to be a ton of interest when Deadline’s Mike Fleming broke first news of the remake. That is, until Conan was cast. Even Lionsgate admits that the film absolutely hinged on finding the right Conan, and fanboys reacted horribly to then virtual unknown Jason Momoa even though he has since become a break-out star from his role on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Problem: “There’s so much history with this character and this brand they needed someone who could both really ‘own’ Conan (making him feel relatable for this generation), but also who offered continuity with what fans already know and love. Because there’s no competing with Arnold, Jason’s performance bypasses all of the comparisons, playing the character in a very different way than Arnold did and instead taking inspiration from the written source,” a Lionsgate exec emailed me. I happen to think the studios should have bet on a wrestling The Rock-style star with a ready-made fanbase.
The concensus among Avi Lerner and Joe Drake, who had successfully released The Expendables together, is that Conan The Barbarian didn’t have the “brand equity” they hoped it would. The pair had convinced themselves that the brand was ripe for a reboot and that the fans were ready for it, so they rescued the film from the major development purgatory it had been caught in for so long. The backstory is that Paradox Entertainment bought the rights in 2002 when the brand was hitting rock-bottom, with a bevy of licensed products in the marketplace but also quality and consistency issues at every turn. The duo’s first move was to take everything off the market. Then they connected with very select partners to introduce the rehabilitated Conan via just 3 laser-focused licensed products that appealed to a core demo of young adult males (comics, toys, and a computer game). Marketing generated considerable awareness, with a significant Comic-Con presence (which included: talent appearances, bar invasion promotions, interactive fan experiences at the booth). They targeted Hispanic outreach with Momoa traveling to Miami. They also released an online redband clip to reassure young males fearing this reboot would be sanitized. But it was all for naught.
5. Fright Night - 3D (DreamWorks/Disney) NEW [3,114 Runs]
Friday $3M, Saturday $2.9M, Weekend $8.3M
Not even a shortish 101-minute running time, or Dr. Who‘s David Tennant, or jokes about the Twilight franchise, or borrowing cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe from Twilight Saga: New Moon could save this film. Least of all Colin Farrell, who is decidedly not a star despite Hollywood giving him gazillion chances to become one. Everyone needs to stop trying. He’s a fine actor but audiences don’t want to watch him in massive numbers. Deal with it, people. That said, Fright Night certainly seemed like a good idea to do a contemporary revamp of the 1985 comedy-horror classic written and directed by Tom Holland. But in those days, spoofing vampires was still a relatively rare occurrence. Now the whole vampire thing is lame (except for Twi-hards). Director Craig Gillespie (Lars And The Real Girl) is being criticized for being too faithful to the original film and for not making any interesting use of 3D. Perhaps audiences sensed a rip-off and that’s why they stayed away. The marketing did no harm. And a 74% positive on Rotten Tomatoes didn’t hurt either. But all that Comic-Con hype and hoopla did nothing to bring in moviegoers (panel moderated by Chris Sarandon, star of the original Fright Night; a screening with introductions by talent; a Fright Night party themed as Peter Vincent’s lair with talent appearances; a bus wrapped in Fright Night art with a “text to win” message to drive guests to the event; live tweeting with Christopher Mintz-Plasse, a live online Chat With Colin, etc.) So the movie bombed, horribly underperforming the $14M Disney thought it would gross. The only good news is that it was produced for a very modest $30M. Produced by Mike De Luca and Alison Rosenzweig, the screenplay was written by Marti Noxon from Tom Holland’s story and film.
6. The Smurfs - 3D (Sony) Week 4 [3,427 Runs]
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $3.1M, Weekend $8M, Cume $117.7M
Those annoying little blue guys did $35.3 million overseas this weekend bringing the international total on The Smurfs to $211.4M and the worldwide cume to date to $329M after its 4th weekend of play. The Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures film hit $300 million worldwide on Friday. ”This film is shaping up to deliver a remarkable worldwide result for the team,” a Sony exec gushed. Again, this was Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Michael Lynton’s decision to bring it into the studio after Paramount passed.
7. Final Destination 5 – 3D (New Line/Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,155 Runs]
Friday $2.4M, Saturday $3.1M, Weekend $7.7M (-57%), Cume $32.3M
8. 30 Minutes Or Less (Sony) Week 2 [2,888 Runs]
Friday $2M, Saturday $2.4M, Weekend $6.3M (-53%), Cume $25.7M
9. One Day (Focus Features) NEW [1,719 Runs]
Friday $1.8M, Saturday $1.8M, Weekend $5.1M
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love (Warner Bros) Week 4 [1,944 Runs]
Friday $1.5M, Saturday $1.9M, Weekend $4.9M, Cume $64.4M
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Will LGF lose more on Conan then they did on Killers?
From what I understand, Lionsgate picked up US/Canada rights for $25 million. So if CONAN opens half-decently and shows some staying power, they can turn a tidy profit.
Fright Night is a movie they should have opened in October. That’s not Colins fault.I am a 26 years old nurse, young and beautiful. Now I am seeking an older gentle man who can give me real love , so i got a username Annababe2011 on—a’ge’l'es’s'da’te. C óM—it is the first and best club for y’ounger women and older men, or older women and younger men,to int’eract with each other. Maybe you wanna ch’eck it out or tell your friends.
Best post ever on Deadline…
An action movie like Conan could make it up internationally, even if it disappoints in the USA, depending on the budget. Does anybody know how much it cost to make & market?
Sean Hood said they spent 80 million.
Bearing in mind that it’s a Nu Image/Millennium films co-production shot in Bulgaria, the actual budget is proberly closer to $50-60 million.
I’ve heard they spent bout $35 million on marketing so it’s definitly a domestic flop.
However like Final Destination, the franchise is far more popular abroad than in the US, so it might make a profit, maybe even a lower budget sequel.
Can’t see Avi Lerner wanting to make anymore erm… expensive movies. Not unles they star Stallone.
How is Conan a franchise film?
Looks like back to Direct-to-DVD land for NU Image/Millenium.
What the hell is wrong with box-office reports?! Studios have a way of spinning us into believing everything is a hit. Conan is a flop. 10 million is not a good opening weekend when your tickets cost 10 to 15 bucks a pop. End of story.
Avi Lerner will probably end up just fine. LG not so good.
I was meaning the franchise of Conan The Barbarian in general. There’s more to it than a couple of Arnie films.
These numbers are as shocking as finding out that Ricky Martin preferred men – moviegoers are done at the end of summer.
How the frak is this Jason Momoa’s fault; he’s the only person in the film who’s been in a bona-fide hit. The director Nispel’s only claim to fame is the god-awful Pathfinder, which did nothing for Karl Urban’s career. Did you blame Urban for Pathfinder’s dreadful script and moronic pacing?
If the boys at Lionsgate want a cure for the Conan hangover all they have to do is watch Pathfinder; it is no mystery why Conan tanked. If they’d seen Pathfinder they would never have greenlit the project with Nispel.
Because Jason Momoa should have never been cast as Conan, he actually has more of the body type of Conan then Arnold, but doesn’t have the essence of Conan, poor choice
I would also dispute the characterization that Momoa was a virtual unknown among the fanboy community before being cast. He played a Conan-type muscle-man for four years on Stargate Atlantis. If anything his lack of awareness among mainstream audiences was the issue, as well as a weak supporting cast.
I agree the idea of going with a wrestler type may have been a better business move, but I get the impression the filmmakers might have been going for a bit more realistic approach than what had been done before (I have not seen the new Conan). I think using a known pro wrestler such as The Rock or John Cena would have been too much like the Arnold films.
The most obvious point of comparison here might be with Thor, which also involved a relative unknown as a comic book muscleman, leaving many fanboys skeptical (as with Momoa). I heard WWE superstar Triple-H tried out for the role, but the filmmakers went with more of a real actor, and surrounded him with a good supporting cast that included at least two Oscar winners (and having Natalie Portman just having won doesn’t hurt). Thor also hadn’t been done as a movie before AND had the advantage of being connected with The Avengers project, which has been very well received by the fan community. Plus it came out of the gate with good critic and audience reaction, which Conan did not. (Word of mouth: 47% audience approval for Conan vs 80% for Thor on Rottentomatoes.com).
EXACTLY!!! If the movie received some decent reviews, the results would be different, but it was ripped apart. Who in their right mind would hire Nispel to direct this!!!
If anyone of those “new” films do something in that range is it not considered a disappointment? Especially Conan and Spy Kids, yikes!
Nikki will never publish this, but I just have to vent…
You’re surprised they’re bombing? People don’t want to shell out $12 to see a crappy remake. The real question is:
Are you listening Hollywood?!
Anyone working on a remake is 100% creatively bankrupt. I don’t care what your friends and family tell you. You’re an a$$hole. Plain and simple. You have NO BALLS.
And for all those guys waiting to say, “Well, everything’s a remake of a remake of a remake. There’s no such thing as an original idea” — CAN IT! You’re the most boring hacks in the world.
Go back to reading your How-To-Write-A-Winning-Screenplay and your hero’s fucking arch. Keep churning out formulaic crap for the masses.
But when your movie bombs and is BLEEDING money… You’ve got nobody to blame but yourself and your “blockbuster-equation”.
As Jerry Seinfeld said, you can’t teach funny. That’s something today’s “filmmakers” and studio exec’s need to learn…
calm down there a bit. what you’re saying has actually been said by Nikki and everyone else who posts on this site, as well as every other entertainment journalist and blogger. also, no surprise here. no one is surprised that people did not turn out in droves for spy kids 4. besides that, it’s now the end of august, it’s a dumping ground.
@Holiday Inn, Chet Speaking ~ Thank you, thank you for saying what drove me out of LA. I went there, like many, bright-eyed and bushy tailed ready to write that award winning script and was told point blank by a major TV producer (as I interviewed for her formulaic cop show): we don’t need your “original” ideas. We’re looking for someone to “stick to the formula” and our way of doing things. That show was “Without a Trace” and I know this sounds like sour grapes, but I thought the show was kinda boring. God forbid, someone comes in to punch up the storyline. Forget it.
awwwww, So sorry you were not welcomed right off the bus with open arms and handed a pile of money to write the next Citizen Kane. SO tragic that you might have had to do grunt work and, i don’t know, pay some sort of dues.
Such a tragedy!
agree.
should be a line of text under our symbolic sign.
“hollywood, where creativity ends”
if we keep doing this, continuing on this path, we are doomed to our diminishing returns. the public are not morons (well some are) and we have to accept this.
IMO we need a new lucas, spielberg asap.we need a return to the 70′s, early mid 80′s blockbuster way of thinking, i.e. actual NEW scripts.
Don’t tell anyone to calm down, Cookmeyer. We need more angry young men and women, and fewer calm corporate drones – that’s the only way this shit is going to end.
I’m no corporate drone, and what I was mainly responding to was “holiday inn” saying nikki would “never publish” his rant, even though it’s hardly controversial or new what he’s saying.
I can’t agree more. Bring on the originals. Bring back the great spec scripts and filmmakers with vision. There are still a few great writer directors who stick to their guns and don’t taint themselves with remakes, but it takes these guys forever to get new projects off the ground. But I salute those guys/gals and every few years we get something bold and audacious – usually a film that every exec said had no audience or couldn’t be made. BLACK SWAN, anyone? Hacks go home. It’s time to celebrate some original thought and execution in this business again. If you come into a pitch meeting and say this film is like something meets something, then you deserve to get the door shoved in your face. How about pitching a great script as: “Well, this is going to sound strange because it’s never been done before…” The best films are coming out of the international markets today – and what does Hollywood do? Instantly try and remake them. Often times using the same filmmakers. I can’t even imagine what a soul sucking experience it must be to remake your own bold, original work for an American audience and be cutting its balls off at the same time. Spike Lee remaking OLDBOY, what a fucking joke. The well has really run dry for so many of these so called artists out there. We need to reeducate the public about what a good film is and deprive them of the junk food that the studios feed them 24-7.
Hate to sound like a ‘corporatist,’ but for all the high-minded idealism, do any of you want to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in projects with real meaning and the so-called “original ideas” for which you clamor?
The average American goes to the movies 5 times a year, and for those of us whonlive in major urban areas, it can be easy to overlook the rest of the ‘flyover people’ who comprise the retard voting demographic in this country.
My point: movies are mirror reflections of the culture. In jesusmethtopia, that means gi Joe, planet of the apes (though we didn’t evolve from monkeys! Get me a beer!), transformers, and every other stupid and derivative piece of crap you can think of.
sometimes, in hedging their bets against the better judgment of the American public, these projects flounder. But while fright night may have disappointed, transformers: taint of the moon made a gazillion dollars.
As long as Rick perry and dumbasses like him are legitimate candidates for president, nothing will change. Because why should illiterate hillbillies care about stories w meaning when they can watch a fucking car go round an oval for four hours and get shit-faced?
Enough outta me, back to my shikse girlfriend.
I agree with Holden, though I know a boatload of Drudgies will attack him. All politics aside, the truth is that Hollywood is about making money just like any other business, and if any of the studios could make money while making original, innovative movies with great characters, they would. But Americans have been ignoring those movies for years now (especially outside of the big cities), and are voting with their pocketbooks on the crappy sequels and remakes.
It’s not a foolproof formula, but for the most part, it’s the safest way to a buck. There may be the occasional Black Swan or Midnight in Paris, but the real big earners this year were sequels and remakes (Harry Potter, Transformers, Pirates, etc.) So it’s the way it’s going to keep going.
I grew up in Flyover Land. I distinctly remember my parents leaving me with babysitters so they could go see Taxi Driver, Network, Midnight Cowboy, Chinatown, Klute, etc., etc. Middle America used to watch the kind of films that would never get released today outside of major cities. If they mostly go watch crap now, it’s because that’s all anyone is serving them.
Totally agree. My family and I saw the ads for CONAN and then went and rented the original.
To me, the ONLY reason to see a remake is if technology that was unavailable for the original would have made the movie better. That’s why I don’t need to go see FOOTLOOSE or DIRTY DANCING — they worked fine in the 80s. I’ll put ‘em on my Netflix list now that you mention it. But pay $12 at a theater? What for?
More like apathy. Fright Night has been advertising itself constantly, Spy Kids advertising failed to tell me that Joel McHale was in the film until I saw a stand-up in a theater lobby Wednesday. Conan… I didn’t know it was even coming out today until… two days ago.
Just 2 hours before showtime, only 30% of the seats for Fright Night are sold at the Sherman Oaks Arclight Cinema. That’s pretty horrible. Hopefully the scenario changes.
And too bad. The movie did get good reviews.
Colin Farrell has never been a draw. He never will be a draw. How can this possibly still be a shock to anyone in 2011?! Everybody has known this for the better part of a decade. Who in Hollywood has the nerve to be surprised by Farrell’s continued failure? What kind of a bubble has such a fool been living in?
Unfortunately, this is true. I happen to like Farrell — he’s certainly a decent actor and easy on the eyes. I think a lot of studio execs think “he SHOULD be a star”, even though he hasn’t attained that kind of status. He’s perhaps the Michael Sarrazin for this generation.
Colin Farrell is more than decent, he truly is a great actor. He deserved Oscar nominations for Tigerland & In Bruges. Farrell can do comedy, drama, and action with the best of them. Yes, he is good looking, also has a strong physical presence and unbelievable charisma. Colin & David Tennant are the best things in Fright Night. I just Farrell would be more picky about his film choices.
Colin Farrell is a mediocre actor appearing in mediocre films, whose day in the sun is long past.
Michael Sarrazin was a fine actor. And was a lead in a hit film. That screwball comedy with Barbra Streisand. Colin has no hits.
I don’t think Fright Night was supposed to be reliant on anyone’s star power.
Farell is very likeable in many of his roles and is capable. For an actor, becoming a star has a lot to do with luck, being in the right movie at the right time.
Many of the big “stars” routinely fail to open movies, but they are called stars just because of that one movie which “made them a star”.
And Farrell has had 15 to 20 years of such chances. Hasn’t happened yet. Won’t happen ever. He is wasting space that could be used to find a real star.
Since when does casting make a difference when it comes to the success of a horror movie? Who the hell were the “stars” of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY or INSIDIOUS for God’s sakes? Sorry but most of the time, it boils down to concept and execution and FRIGHT NIGHT is supposed to have delivered the goods.
Any ideas why people stayed away…? (Cuz I’m at a loss)
People are staying away because it stars Colin Farrell. DUH! Doesn’t matter how good the reviews are, people always avoid his movies. This is not a new phenomenon.
Sure, they wanted a star for the role, but the movie doesn’t rest on Farrell’s shoulders — they were obviously hoping for Disturbia business, and it’s not like David Morse was why people went to that.
Newsflash, dipsh-t, not everybody subscribes to your quantity (Transformers)> quality (In Bruges,Crazy Heart) belief so go f-ck yourself. Have fun when the next Friedberg/Seltzer movie comes out.
Nobody subscribes to Colin Farrell’s quantity, whatever that is.
Crazy Heart was a Jeff Bridges film. Farrell has never had a hit film on his own, just films like The Recruit or Minority Report that relied on another, genuine movie star like Cruise or Pacino. In Bruges was not that great, Farrell played a whiny obnoxious jerk in it. Brendan Gleesen’s character was the only reason to see Bruges, it would have been a much better film with a different, likable protagonist.
FRIGHT NIGHT isn’t rising or falling on Colin Farrell’s presence; none of the advertising I’ve seen is emphasizing his name. It’s being sold on the concept and action, but the target teen audience isn’t biting (sorry). Understandable; this is a weak, blanded out remake of the great ’80s movie, and I can’t understand all the positive reviews it’s getting.
It’s getting positive reviews because it’s a fantastic film. I don’t think you’ve seen it, so no wonder you can’t understand it. It’s also SUPERIOR to the classic original in just about every way, a feat that was hard to do. It added depth, character and drama to a great concept. It doesn’t deserve it’s fate at all.
Fright Night is failing because it doesn’t give anything to it’s core audience. Most idiots, and way too many development execs, think that scary movies are for young men. They’re not. The prime audience (and you can look this up) is young women 16-34. They want two things out these films. To be scared silly and get a little titillation out them. This film gave them neither. The movie was the dreaded “comedy-horror” hybrid that execs and comic con geeks love and no one else. Then they cast the extremely annoying and not hot at all Anton Yelchin in the lead while putting a hot, “I’m the chic who stole your boyfriend junior year” girl in the female lead. Bad move. If you want to see the postmortem for this film just put Jennifer’s Body in the search box. Same stupid development ideas, same results. The only thing more tried and true is that a script that was “at the top of the Black List” will end up at the bottom of the BO charts. Flipping morons run this town.
Hey Morial, I have seen the movie, and it *subtracted* depth, character and drama from the concept. Starting with the fact that Evil Ed has to *tell* Charley what’s happening next door instead of Charley figuring it out for himself. Little suspense and terrible CGI. I understand it just fine.
I saw it Friday and agree it was BAD. Personality-less, desperate remake. I am baffled by the reviews.
The big question now is: how bad is TOTAL RECALL going to bomb with Colin in the lead?
I’m more pissed about that remake – it’s by far the Governator’s best! And I heard they took out all the comedy. So it’s going to be straight sci-fi action. I see huge bomb a-comin’. And that had to be way expensive – they’re going to lose their shirts on that one.
A nice bubble with 400 thread count sheets and probably a company car to go with it.
Was it a 3D showing? I wanted to see it this weekend but didn’t want to pay 3D prices (and ordinarily dislike 3D anyway). Maybe more people would have gone to 2D showings?
Oh, yes, emphasizing Joel McHale would have made a HUGE difference at the box office. Kids really drive up those amazing ratings for Community!
McHale would probably make parents less resistant to take the kids out.
I think he’s trying to say not even enough adults watch Community. It is an offbeat single-camera sitcom on NBC.
Did Alvin and the Chipmunks ads play up David Cross?
I knew he was in that. Almost made me want to see it…almost.
You didn’t know Conan was coming out until two days ago?
Lucky bastard. I’m purposely not seeing it this weekend out of spite for the constant pop-up video ads I’ve been getting online for the last 3 weeks.
McHale is a fringe “star” at best; he should can his agent for signing to this dreck.
May I submit the potentially INSANE idea that it will be much less confusing if we wait until Saturday to count the money made on Friday? Never mind, I’m probably crazy.
Wait until Saturday to count Friday?
What, and should I switch off my cell phone and use the old phone with the wires attached to it this weekend?
Should I use money instead of my plastic when I go out tonight?
Should I tell Tiffani I can’t see her tonight because I have to go home and have sex with my wife?
What, are you drunk?
Yes, but usually at this point we would have some idea of how the films will rank, where right now we have next to no idea.
I tell You what’s not insane.Those brilliant Marketing and Advertising people riding and out jockeying there films to get into The Top Ten.Not even The Great Finke can call this one tonight.Who knew those Primates had such hairy Legs.
If done well and you keep the budget below The Radar. A Reboot can make Money.Go Scott Brothers. The industry and The Box office is Healthy. I Love All The brother Teams.When we want to Hit One out of The Park.Look out Box Office Here She Comes. We be puttin Butts in Seats!
Doc JP Sinda
a weekend of shit. Why bother to have made any of these. The Help is the only good film out there right now
But The Help wasn’t good.
And it was racist. Glad you enjoyed it Joe.
Racist? really? Then why did the black folks in the house when I saw it applaud for it? And why have I seen several other reports of such ovations from mainly black viewers? Sure, some PC cognoscenti turned up their noses at it, but the word on the street and the butts in the seat say otherwise.
Anyone who says The Help is racist is a fucking idiot.
Whoever says you have any brains is a fucking idiot.
A hundred years after Birth of a Nation and the White Savior genre is still making tons of money.
Remember that next time some white person tells you Hollywood doesn’t support racism.
And has anyone noticed how white people go batshit crazy if anyone criticizes their precious white savior movies? I half expect one of them to threaten to murder anyone who calls the movie racist.
Hey, just because it’s trafficking in stereotypes (about blacks) and underplays the real suffering (of blacks) and goes out of it’s way to demean and marginalize any respectable representation (of blacks) and is being roundly assailed (by blacks) and the only people who defend it are white, well, that doesn’t mean the movies’ racist, does it?
Look if this movies gives you jollies that you can see a blatant and shameless externalization of your own twisted racist ideas about blacks then just admit it and shut up.
But all these bullshit denials have got to stop!
YOUR SO RIGHT. THE HELP IS JUST CONTINUING THE REALITY OF HOW BLACK PEOPLE ARE PORTRAYED BY HOLLYWOOD. SO WHY NOT ANOTHER MOVIES WITH BLACK CLEANING WHITE PEOPLE CRAP UP OR A MOVIE WHERE ALL THE BLACKS ARE SEEDY CRIMINALS LIKE DRUG DEALERS, DRUG ADDICTS, PIMPS, WHORES, ABSENT FATHERS,
OH THANK YOU DISNEY FOR REWRITING HISTORY SO WHITE PEOPLE DON’T HAVE TO FEEL ANY GUILT ABOUT MISTREATING HOUSEHOLD WORKERS.
Hey I saw it with two friends- both black women. An guess what , they loved it. And compared to the summer of shit from Hollywood . Its a good movie.
I think the really racist (even if unintentionally) are the ones like the Secretariat that turn a blind eye to their times.
I have heard that the Help is good from too many people not to go see it this weekend! I was waiting for my finer things book club members to get together to see it but no more!
Is it sad that there’s all these new movies and I just wanna head to our art house and see MIDNIGHT IN PARIS again?
Not sad, just means you have good taste.
Not sad at all. You, like me, want to see NEW films with ORIGINAL story lines. Not these ^%$# remakes or horrible sequels.
LOL…and I thought I was the only person who felt this way….nice to read I’m not alone!
you guys and anyone silently agreeing with thread you should be counting down the days to TAKE SHELTER at your local arthouse… saw at sundance, holy F’n sniz
Take Shelter?!? Overrated Sundance tripe! That crap is even worse than studio fare. No one’s gonna see it. And you can take The Debt, 50/50 and stuff them in a can with Submarine, Terri and Attack The Block. No one wants to see that shite. It’s a bad year at the movies and it ain’t getting much better the rest of the year.
I have to agree it’s been a horrible year at the movies. While MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is on my best list, it’s still not one of Woody’s best and I can’t believe there’s not going to be something better. Other than that, there hasn’t been anything (except I liked Araki’s KABOOM) to hit the theater this year that’s worth getting excited over. TOO BIG TO FAIL was really good, but of course that’s HBO (not TV, but HBO, cause it’s not TV, it’s HBO).
SUBMARINE was ok, but suffers from a weak third act that basically ruins the movie and makes it pretty forgettable – it’s trying too hard to be Wes Anderson. CRAZY STUPID LOVE was soooo mediocre with it’s unbelievable storyline and characters that wasted the talent involved.
I have no desire to see the rehash of CYRUS called TERRI. 50/50 actually looks good though, but probably a rental.
Anyhow, I hope something comes out to save this year.
“Anyhow, I hope something comes out to save this year.”
GO SEE DRIVE!!! I saw it at the LA Film Fest and it was awesome. An original story, with original music, plus excellent acting and directing. It is my favorite movie of the year so far, and I can’t wait to go again on opening night with all my friends to see what they think. Trust me, after you see it you will be walking out of the theater thinking “finally someone made an original movie!”
TAKE SHELTER is a terrific movie with a Michael Shannon performance that oughta get him nominated if it breaks out wide enough. ATTACK THE BLOCK is one of the most fun films of the year. Upcoming indies DRIVE and MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE are excellent too (and no, I’m not connected to any of them).
If you hate movies that much what are you doing on this site?
Because I actually love movies. And I don’t want the industry taken down by these amateurish crappy little Black List monstrosities that are the result of a bunch of losers going to the same parties together. If these “movies” you describe are so good how come no one wants to see them Seriously, when films have thousands of viewers in a world of 6 billion people that means no one wants to see it. That means they stink. Sorry. You can try and convince yourself that mumblecore BS, Kelly Reichart style no script we wander around doing nothing for 2 hours and tripe that only people at Comic Con and SXSW go to see – and they only see at the conventions and do go to the theater – garbage is all that so you can feel like an in the know cool kid. But those films are shite, they always will be and no one will remember them in two years let alone 50. Meanwhile they’ll still be showing the Godfather on cable every other week.
Personally, I’m saving my money so I can see movies like Drive, J.Edgar, and A Dangerous Method.
I saw a screening of DRIVE and would gladly pay to see it a second time.
that’s what the kids in my neighborhood were telling me. They all decided to skip Fright Night and Conan to save their pennies up to see Clint’s gay revisionist take on a man they’ve never heard of -
I’m guessing your dollars were never going to go for these movies so what is your point?
@Bill: I think JennyL’s point, much like my own, is that while normally I escape the heat in August by purchasing a ticket and sitting my butt in a theater to see whatever is playing, good or not, this year is different. Money is tighter, there are better movies on the horizon (and all 3 of the films JennyL mentioned are films that I want to see) and so that might explain why people didn’t go to see Fright Night or One Day or Conan.
In years past, I would have seen One Day and Fright Night opening weekend.
Go see the French film Point Blank. The frenchies really know how to do a great thriller. If you liked Tell No One (assuming you, arty person, saw it) then you’ll probably like Point Blank.
Will it make you happy if I tell you that it was announced that that movie will get a re-expansion sometime later this month?
It’s late august, it’s when studios realesed movies like conan and spy kids 4, they probally seem like they could be blockbusters when they were greenlit, but they turned out to be shit, so they got dumped here
Exactly. I think they messed up releasing Fright Night here, but Conan and Spy Kids 4 perfectly fit the late-August bill.
Or mid January to mid Feb….
the official dumping ground
SPY KIDS 4 will easily win the weekend purely off of the proven box-office drawing power of its star Jessica Alba.
OWCH! Just cracked a rib because I fell out of my chair laughing so hard at my own awesome joke. I’m kidding. The only joke in this post is the idea that Jessica Alba has any proven box-office drawing power. But you know, I guess she can sell crappy magazines talking about her awesome life with her awesome husband CASH WARREN!
Yeah, that’s like saying Katy Perry is the main reason for Smurfs doing well. It’s brand name you ignorant retards!
Are you with him or against him?
Word, mate,word. Cash Warren must be the most famous celeb you`ve never seen in your life cause she won`t stop yapping about him. of course, what else to talk about since there`s no career to speak of.
You are correct, sir.
And Jessica Alba’s AWESOME HUSBAND CASH WARREN is also running around town with some second-rate basketball player who is his “producing partner” looking for writers to screw over. These clowns have ZERO money and ZERO track record of getting anything done, but they’re strutting around town “offering” writers the “opportunity” to sign over their scripts for no money for two years with unlimited rewrites. But instead of saying, “Hey, this is a tough biz, we know you’r taking a risk with us, we’re in it together, let’s do the best we can and try to make something happen,” instead they try to act like they’ve been here before and know what they’re doing. As if writers, and any decent agents, can’t smell that stench a mile off.
Cash Warren needs to stay in glossy magazines being adoringly talked about by Jessica Alba. He’s such an awesome husband!
Aha, now that explains how he ended up with the AWESOME name Cash.
He must not listen to his wife. She’s made clear that actors just say whatever they feel like. Who needs a script when you’ve go her acting ability?
@HW ~ You’re funny
Is Attack the Block still expanding?
Saw it this week. Great, fun movie. Not a meaningful one or a groundbreaking one, but one that embraced it’s low-budgetness and just had fun with itself… without being masturbatory.
Dude. Attack The Block did a pathetic 2,600 a screen on 40 screens last weekend. which means they lost money on every new screen they put it on. So no it ain’t expanding. No one wants to see it other than the Comic Con geeks they already showed it to for free.
Just because a film flops in america doesn’t mean only nerds would like it. It was a hit in the UK. So don’t comment without knowing what your talking about.
Call me an ugly American, but $4,060,146 on a $13,000,000 budget is a hit in the UK?
Oh, Jack. Don’t you get it? When I’m calling out the Comic Con crowd I mean the UK. You guys have the worst taste in the world. Anything that looks like a second tier episode of On The Busses does well over there.
I hear it did good on its first week. Looks like now it will at least be dumped on video quickly. Do these kind of movies ever do well theatrically?
I watched it for free on CNN, FOX and MSNBC; it was called The Tottenham Riots.
It probably won’t. I see this as an Idiocracy esque cult movie that will do a lot better on DVD and repeated airings on Starz since it’s a Sony movie.
Lol Good joke!! Alba sucks!
And the starring role in a Spy Kid leftover that original stars of the franchise deserted is the proof. What a career nosedive!
All the originals are in it just well, less than you might expect.
Well excuse me for thinking that only Mrs Cash Warren is in it cause all trailers and commercials were about her. And look at the pathetic opening weekend that strategy produced.
Three out of the top five are remakes, not just remakes but dumb- down, there even remaking the bad films! Movies reflect the times, they always have and always will. When I ask people how was this or that movie they say “It wasn’t that bad” I remember when you saw a movie and it was great! If the movies now were like this say in the fifties the newspaper ads would be “Gone with the Wind” a small ad playing in one or two theaters, and a full page ad for “Killer Shrews” in 4000 theaters! I rest my case.
I’m no fan of remakes, but I’d rather see a bad film remade — and maybe, possibly done better — that a really good film rebooted and made worse.
WTF are you talking about? FN is fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. God forbid we have vampires that actually drink R rated gore instead of PG13 Mormon friendly pussy vamps.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is not a remake.
Well there’s Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
FRIGHT NIGHT and the original CONAN aren’t bad movies. They’re much better than any lame Michael Bay blockbuster.
The bigger memo to Hollywood is stop putting COLIN FARRELL in big movies — nobody cares about him.
I love how people keep knocking Colin Ferrell and acting like he’s untalented or nobody likes him. Horrible Bosses did 100 mill this summer. He may not be the biggest name, but who says he has to be? He’s a great actor and has a solid track record.
You know there are other worthy ‘art house’ movies for you to see, right?
Thanks for making my point, there was a time that a film with a script and real characters didn’t equate “Art House”. The problem is you and your mid set! Why look at a Picaso when you can have a paint by numbers?
you have selective memory. most movies have and always will suck.
Really? Where?
I saw Conan tonight at the Hollywood Arclight. I wanted to like it. I love good, escapist adventures. I always want these movies to be good because when done right, you get Lord of the Rings. I like the ’82 Conan and absolutely love the Frazetta artwork. Haven’t read much of the literature but I respect the Robert E. Howard/Conan genre. The theatre was maybe half full. The film had some pretty good production design, you could tell they were trying. But that script was such a piece of sh*t. It really was. Lazy, C- elements from other fantasy action movies over the past thirty years thrown together and woven into a two hour fight sequence. That’s all this friggin’ movie was. One, long, boring fight. Various moments of ballsy violence doesn’t make a good movie. The fact that a group of people all unanimously agreed that the script that was given to them was worth investing eighty million dollars, floors me. IDIOTS! But Jason Mamoa cared. You could tell, and I’d love to see him play Conan again in a GREAT Conan script. Because these types of movies should be great. Screw this “turn off your brain, summer popcorn movie” excuse. That’s rubbish. If you’re a producer who wants a multiple film franchise that will make hundreds of millions of dollars (and they DID want that with this movie) there is NO reason why you would deliver something as sh*tty as this. You’re shooting yourself in the foot if you think you can make a franchise off of dumb, brute violence. It’s very obvious the filmmakers just looked at a bunch of Frazetta paintings and thought that if they could somehow put a half decent narrative to those images, then they’d have a good movie. Not the case. Even though this film will, without a doubt, disappoint financially, there is always hope for either a sequel or a reboot. Because the CONAN property/mythology is respected the world over. I’d say hire the guys that wrote Game of Thrones or just someone of A level screen writing. Hire someone that cares about the storytelling! You CAN decide to take the material seriously and tell a great, mature story. Though the filmmakers might think they took this film seriously, they did not respect it. Because all this movie amounts to is a bunch of f*ckin idiots getting angry at each other for two hours. (Sigh) I get angry because I care.
The writers of Conan also wrote the mega-bomb Dylan Dog, which has a hilarious 3% Rotten Tomato score. The performance of
Man-of-Petrified-Wood, Brandon Routh, probably didn’t help there. More worryingly, these writers also penned Marvel’s upcoming Dr. Strange script.
No one agreed that this script was worthy of 80 million dollars. The movie went into production with only 18 pages complete. Ron Perlman even said this openly when I interviewed him for the film.
It’s not that the producers couldn’t tell the script was bad, it was that they had pre-sold the foreign rights and had to have the film completed by a certain date so that the companies that bought distribution rights could get the film into theaters.
Then, after they finished shooting, everyone realized they had a giant PoS on their hands, so they cut it to the absolute minimum running time to try and get more showings a day and eek out what profit they could.
Thus, you have scenes like the bizarre fight on the ship, which is totally unmotivated, leads nowhere, and ends completely at random with the entire crew cheering loudly at nothing.
Conan runs for 102 minutes- hardly an ‘absolute minimum’ running time. There are at least a dozen movies this summer with shorter running times.
Yeah. But I’ve actually SEEN the movie, so I can tell you, point blank, they cut out everything that wasn’t a money shot. There is almost no connective tissue.
What can I say! Very well written!!!
Marcus Nispel, the director of CONAN, also directed PATHFINDER.
Nuff said.
I hope Avi’s company tanks over this bomb!!!
If you believe that, than you proberly believe that he really did spend $80 million on it.
Yeah, but it had to at least be $30-40 and he spent what, probably 20 on marketing, so even if he pocketed a few mill himself, at $10.5M for the weekend, that’s still a huge bomb and at the very least ruins his already pretty flakey reputation.
“I always want these movies to be good because when done right, you get Lord of the Rings.”
Exactly right! I was hoping against hope that we might get the movie that REH’s stories deserve, a sexier, more violent LotR. Oh well…
We live in a Twilight and True Blood world. Where vampires are hot, sexy, everybody adores them and they basically replaced boy-bands
That’s why Fright Night failed. Who want’s to see bad and disgusting vampire? If they would made Colin Farrel’s vampire some romantic hero who would fall in love with girl and then rescued her from bad boy Anton Yelchin then that movie would sell
But they made Colin’s vampire some disgusting freak and movie failed.
Personally, I hope they make a film of either Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan’s novel THE STRAIN, or the even better novel, THE PASSAGE. Those are some nasty freakin’ vampires, but there’s also some human story to go along with it.
Ridley Scott bought the rights to THE PASSAGE.
Great, now it will never get made like the other 1,399 things on his slate.
This is why they should have played up the comedy with CMP more in the marketing. The humor might have shown a point of difference from all the other vampire stuff out there.
So you’d rather prefer badly reviewed Mormon propaganda with female characters who set the women’s movement backwards than a good reviewed remake? You’re an idiot.
Dude, chill the hell out. I’m not a Mormon, and I’m certainly not a Twilight fan, but people have a right to voice their opinion rather than you spewing out bile about Mormons and your hatred of them. Some people didn’t like Fright Night, so what? Do you think hurling insults at them will change their minds?
So true. I was thinking that myself. If colin’s vampire indeed was some love sick puppy who fell for the girl who was dating a jerk. the movie indeed would have been a smash hit. After Twilight people have seem to forget that vampires are supposed to be creepy, not lovesick. They wanna kill you, not marry you and introduce you to their family.
So true. Unbelievable that the same team that brought us such great stuff (IMO) as Six Feet Under and American Beauty are pandering to that tasteless audience. And imagine you’re a novelist with a story to tell that isn’t about vampires, ghosts or some other idiotic occult superstition from the middle ages … sexed up for jaded masturbators. If you visit the web sites of any publishing house or literary agent, that’s all you see.
And I notice the Smurf movie is whaling on the big budget scifi movie it premiered against two or three weeks ago. It’s real life comedy like that, confounding at least once in a while the overpaid conventional wisdom, that keeps one from despair.
Alan Ball was always wildly overrated. American Beauty was good, Six Feet rode on the wave of the Sopranos and a lot of people without much critical judgement loved it. Everything else he did was shit.
What’s odd is that Chris Sarandon was one of the all-time most sensual, romantic vampires in the first FRIGHT NIGHT. If they had only stayed on the same type of story, that would’ve at least addressed your complaints
That’s a pretty fair and astute assessment. Women run the market, believe it or not.
Absolutely and vampires are now women`s thing. By vampires, I mean post-Edward type of vampires – always hot, always a romance. Horror fans gave up but FN tried to appeal to them while failing to project the type of the vampire that vampire`s new target demographics goes for.
Vampires are chick monsters now. Want a hit, than follow the new rules.
You’d think the casting of former Doctor Who David Tennant might have helped it.
Studio execs pay, the budgets, the horror.
Dreamworks looks to be headed towards the bankruptcy once again. Does anyone over there know how to pick movies. Disney beware those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat it.
“those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat it”
Complete and utter nonsense. That’s why the new Cleopatra is a fantastic idea, and the inevitable “Cutthroat Island” 3D reboot/do-over/try again is a guaranteed box office slam dunk.
Really? So far, all of the new Dreamworks/Touchstone movies were budgeted around $50M or less — at least up until “Real Steel” and “War Horse” comes out. It’s not like they started out of the gate with a $100M or $200M budgeted film.
So your arguing is premature. Wait until December before saying anything.
was planning on seeing fright night this weekend…but u know what….the theater i go to was only carrying the movie in 3D…and i’m SICK of paying the premium for movies that are in 3D for NO GOOD REASON…..
I’m not ashamed to admit I was really excited about Conan. I thought the red band trailer was great and was planning on seeing it Friday afternoon. Then I saw the terrible reviews pouring in and lost all interest. Yes, rational consumers do exist. Reviews matter.
Given how much they’ve been marketed lately, those are awful numbers for One Day and Fright Night. I wonder if the marketing overload actually backfired and turned people off. I couldn’t go online without seeing obnoxious video banner ads for it everywhere.
I’m sad about Fright Night, it’s gotten pretty good reviews, plus I so wanted to see this do well because David Tennant is in it.
But in a way it’s not surprising because this was a very stupid release date for Fright Night. This seemed like the perfect movie for Halloween, so why didn’t Dreamworks release it in October instead? It’s very bright and sunny and hot as hell in some parts of the country, hardly the type of weather to put people in a horror movie mood, plus it’s back to school weekend. I guess Dreamworks is happy enough with The Help that they didn’t give much thought to Fright Night’s scheduling or marketing. Too bad.
That’s actually a relatively strong opening for One Day, considering it’s only in 1,700 theaters (1,400 fewer than Fright Night and 1,300 fewer than Conan) and opened to so-so/poor reviews. Plus its audience is largely the same as The Help, which obviously has had a strong holdover. I wouldn’t have expected much bigger numbers.
I wasn’t thinking of it from a theater count perspective (although you’re right about that) so much as from a marketing perspective – the way they pushed this movie everywhere, you’d think it would’ve done better. But at least both One Day and Fright Night didn’t cost much to make and will probably recoup their costs.
You are joking, right? The film is going to break down to about $3,000 a screen. That means it’s going to be lucky to pay for the cost to put it in theaters when it’s run is over. That means it will be on the 2 dollar screens in less than three weeks. Those are terrible numbers. Those are “we have to eat the production budget and the publicity costs” numbers. Can I make my point clearer. Learn about film financing and what it costs to put a film in the marketplace before you make stupid statements like that.
bill, you are a joke . One Day cost only $15 million to make. The domestic and worldwide box-office will make this film a hit. So a opening of $5 million is not bad.
One Day was surprisingly good; that was all thanks to the actors who got no help from a god awful script. As for the box office, not surprised. If I hadn’t had a date and had to pick up the tab myself I wouldn’t have gone to the movies this week. It feels like the economy is in free fall again and it’ll take a lot to pull me into anything other than an occasional matinee.
Anne Hathaway needs to start picking better scripts.
Or maybe, most film fans aren’t as enthused about Hathaway’s toothy horse face as the folks in Hollywood. I mean, is it only me that notices that she has a a career trajectory almost in line with Amanda Bynes yet is still somehow taken seriously as an actress. I mean, it was a long time ago when she had actual minor hits with The Princess Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada.
One Day will do well on DVD and Pay per View.Anne Hathaway isn’t disappearing she’s playing Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.
bill, you are ridiculous. I guess you are extremely handsome and sexy . Please don’t compare Amanda Bynes to Anne Hathaway. Hathaway is a triple threat talent, and I can’t say that about Bynes. One Day was cheap to produce ( around $20 million ) . It will earn a profit in this country and internationally. Her last live action film, Love And Other Drugs earned $102 million internationally on a $30 million budget. Most of Anne’s films have been profitable.
I don’t see at all how Anne Hathaway and Amanda Bynes have a similar career path. Hathaway while annoying, has been consistently acting in movies, has an Oscar nomination and is going to be in next year’s biggest movie. Bynes was last in Easy A and before that a Lifetime movie in 2008. How are they similar?
I don’t care that Anne is in Batman, anyone can be in Batman. And I love how people use “international BO” totals on here to disguise the fact that she has had nothing but bombs for years. It costs 100 mil plus the production budget to release a feature to international audiences these days (ask a producer of any recent film) so is it goes that wide it needs a lot more than 100 mil to be profitable.
Anne only real hits were the Princess Diaries 1 & 2 and The Devil Wears Prada. Bynes has had sililar success with her princess movies and I’m With The Boys – as far as Anne being a triple threat – what’s that supposed to mean. She sucks at more than things than other actors. Bynes had a successful sketch show that was actually very funny. Even if it was on Nick.
This thread is just anohter example of what film fans already know. Despite the fact that we vote strongly at the BO against the likes of Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Anne Hathaway and others. They will still be defended by their agents and PR hacks and then shoved back down our throats. It’s tough to kill cockroaches like these.
anonymous, don’t be a moron. Also , learn how to spell. Before you speak, do your research. Most of Anne Hathaway’s films have been successful because most of her starring vehicles cost very little to make. For example, Get Smart, Bride Wars, Valentine’s Day, and Love & Other Drugs were worldwide hits. Now , more than ever, studios rely heavily on international box-office. How can you describe One Day as a failure with a $15 million production and small release opening of $5 million dollars ? Also, your analogy makes no sense. Bynes cannot match Hathaway’s box office success.
anonymous, not every actor or actress gets the opportunity to work with Christopher Nolan. After Batman Begins, Nolan is very picky about the group of actors he works with. So, signing Anne Hathaway to
TDKR for a major female role is a big deal.
Bill must have not seen Love & Other Drugs or he wouldn’t be saying such bad things about Hathaway. She’s hot. Too bad old bitter Bill can’t pull tail that is half as hot as Hathaway.
Your inanely expressed aversion over her could be overlooked if your argument held some substance. As it stands, you sound like a spiteful person who doesn’t think their arguments through. She’s not my type either, but if you’re going to express dislike for her “career trajectory”, you might not want to open your rant by attacking her looks (which seem to have worked fairly well for her.) It paints you as a fitful child and makes it clear that you have absolutely no point to make. Btw, you might want to skip The Dark Knight Rises.
Bill is pretty much on the target. If you really think Anne Hathaway has any star power then that’s why you don’t understand why the movies you make are doing so badly.
In MOST of America schools are starting or about to start, nobody’s going to drop $30 or more taking a date or family to the movie. The people complaining on these movies not making money are the same morons who commented on the lack of ticket sales the weekend after 911. Fright Night is a movie they should have opened in October. That’s not Colins fault.
Fright Night would’ve been toast in October with Paranormal Activity 3 in the frame. There was never a good time to release this one. Sad, the movie would’ve had a shot if they’d stayed with the brevity thing, man.
How’s that 3D workin’ for ya?
Just fine. It’s a major reason the international BO has been so good this year.
Ummm, no. 3-D stocks have taken a big dive since the beginning of summer, the overall percentage of viewership is down on most of these films.
And this weekend? 3 big 3-D openings, 3 major flops all in a row.
The fad is coming to a merciful end.
FRIGHT night and conan actually had higher percentages that watched the movie in 3D more than other movies and it is the reason that international is doing very well.
God you’re an idiot. While you may be right that smaller movies won’t be going 3-D if their primary market is domestic you’re dead wrong about 3-D in general. If you don’t know what a killing 3-D has been for movies like Pirates, Transformers, anything at all animated in the last two years and Comic Book movies than you are either ill informed or a dolt. 3-D is huge overseas and that’s where the money is on most of these films. Disney doesn’t even need to release Pirate 5 in 3-D domestically to earn a profit. We’re the gravy here in the US, not the other way around.
BEST POST OF THE THREAD
3D was 62% of Conan and Fright Night’s gross for Friday. Imagine the numbers could have been even worse!
I saw one ad for Conan and was floored by how awful it looked. I said right away, “That movie will bomb”. Given the low bar for Conan, they could have easily rebooted the franchise in the vein of The Dark Knight or Ironman. The ad I saw looked like it was advertising a rerun of the 80s with sword-swinging from the beginning rather than showing some degree of mystery and intelligence beneath the character and concept.
I just don’t get how these movies get funded, but you’d think they’d know that if they want more than a strong couple of weeks and really want a lasting franchise nowadays that it needs to be intelligent and complex in addition to exciting. That’s what keeps people coming back. GI Joe comes to mind as a similar fail – so much potential but they wasted it by pandering to the lowest denominator and now have a questionable franchise going forward.