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March 16-18 Weekend Actuals
1. 21 Jump Street (MGM/Sony) NEW [3,121 Theaters] R Friday $13.2M, Saturday $12.9M, Sunday $10.1M, Weekend $36.3M 2. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (Illumination/Universal) Week 3 [3,769 Theaters] PG Friday $6.8M, Saturday $9.6M, Sunday $6.4M, Weekend $22.8M (-41%), Cume $158.4M 3. John Carter (Disney) Week 2 [3,749 Theaters] PG13 Friday $4M, Saturday $5.7M, Sunday $3.9M, Weekend $13.6M (-55%), Cume $53.2M 4. Project X (Warner Bros) Week 3 [2,922 Theaters] R Friday $1.5M, Saturday $1.5M, Sunday $1M, Weekend $4.0M (-64%), Cume $48.2M 5. Act Of Valor (Relativity) Week 4 (2,765 Theaters] R Friday $1.1M, Saturday $1.6M, Sunday $1M, Weekend $3.7M (-47%), Cume $62.5M 6. A Thousand Words (DWorks/Paramount) Week 2 [1,895 Theaters] PG13 Friday $1.1M, Saturday $1.6M, Sunday $884K, Weekend $3.6M (-41%), Cume $12.0M 7. Safe House (Universal) Week 6 [1,920 Theaters] R Friday $827K, Saturday $1.2M, Sunday$701K, Weekend $2.7M (-43%), Cume $120.2M 8. Journey 2 (Warner Bros) Week 6 [1,935 Theaters] PG Friday $718K, Saturday $1M, Sunday $663K, Weekend $2.4M (-34%), Cume $95M 9. Casa De Mi Padre (Lionsgate) NEW [382 Theaters] R Friday $780K, Saturday $784K, Sunday $724K, Weekend $2.3M 10. This Means War (Fox) Week 5 [1,660 Theaters] PG13 Friday $760K, Saturday $921K, Sunday $460K, Weekend $2.1M (-43%), Cume $50.5M
SUNDAY PM, 6TH UPDATE: Welcome to another weekend of strong North American box office. But it’s down -6% from last year because Saturday grosses proved softer than expected. Probably the NCAA basketball effect. R-rated pics were hot. Numbers for the #1 movie, Sony Pictures/MGM co-production’ 21 Jump Street, 
showed an opening of $13.2M Friday and $13M Saturday for a $35M weekend from 3,121 theaters. Friday’s number includes the $700K Friday midnights from 598 theaters. Overall, nice haul for the raunchy laugher whose budget was only around $45M. What’s especially interesting here is that these remakes of popular TV shows rarely work on the big screen. But stars Channing Tatum (The Vow) and 
Jonah Hill (Moneyball) are hot right now — with Tatum having two films of different genres in the Top 10 this weekend and Hill coming off an Oscar nom. And directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs) found the right irreverent way in for their first live action feature. Michael Bacall’s and Jonah Hill’s story used the Patrick Hasburgh/Stephen J Cannell series as a jumping off point. Bacall is credited with the screenplay. This is the first successful bonafide comedy of 2012 (since Fox’s This Means War disappointed and Warner Bros’ Project X had a ‘found footage’ conceit). Reviews have been surprisingly good — not just 88% on Rotten Tomatoes but even The New York Times. (Not that this is a review-driven film.) Audiences gave it a ‘B’ CinemaScore. Exit polls showed moviegoers were 53% male and 50% were under 25.
Sony had an extensive word of mouth campaign for the film with over 350 screenings across the country. Overall, the marketing campaign targeted young adult moviegoers and positioned the film as a “must-see” action comedy. There was the usual promotion on high profile sports games and primetime TV But mostly Sony sold the talent to engage audiences and break through the clutter. ”We partnered with 15 different networks to create custom content to showcase the film talent and convey the irreverent humor of the film,” a Sony exec tells me. Jonah and Channing were joined by Ice Cube and Rob Riggle for a domestic regional press tour in Denver, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, and NYC. In addition to national talk show appearances, Hill hosted Saturday Night Live the weekend before 21 Jump Street opened. Also helping was the pic’s premiere at the South by Southwest fest, while Jonah and Channing visited Wondercon Friday. An extensive campaign was formulated for Twitter including a “Tweet-Off” between Tatum and Hill.
Meanwhile, #2 Illumination Entertainment/Universal’s Dr Seuss’ The Lorax after three weeks in release is benefitting from the fact that 24% of K-12 classes were out of school Friday. But Disney’s disappointing holdover John Carter is still disappointing a week later. Despite its $250M budget it’s only a distant #3. It’s now up to international to perform: this weekend the film earned $40.7M internationally for a worldwide cume now of $179.3M. Otherwise director Andrew Stanton’s domestic bomb is a $100M-$150M writeoff for the Walt Disney Co.
But the real surprise this weekend is Casa De Mi Padre, which is Will 
Ferrell’s $6M-costing indie filmed almost entirely in Spanish with English subtitles and playing in only 382 locations. The R-rated pic opened in the Top Ten with an impressive $2.2M weekend and the 2md best per screen average. Ferrell, who speaks surprisingly good Spanish in the pic, got the project off the ground and is the only on-screen gringo in what he says is a “telenovela meets a Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez/bad Mexican spaghetti Western”. Ferrell brought in pals from his Funny Or Die website, director Matt Piedmont and screenwriter Andrew Steele, whose script was written in English and had to be translated into intentionally bad Spanish writing. Casa De Mi Padre was a 23-day production financed by Nala Films, the Santa Monica company behind In The Valley Of Elah and Dan In Real Life. The film is being distributed in limited release in the United States by Pantelion Films, which is a partnership between Lionsgate and the Mexican media company Televisa.
Here’s the Top 10 based on weekend grosses:
1. 21 Jump Street (MGM/Sony) NEW [3,121 Theaters] R-rated
Friday $13.2M, Saturday $13M, Weekend $35M
2. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (Illumination/Universal) Week 3 [3,769 Theaters] PG-rated
Friday $6.8M, Saturday $8.7M, Weekend $22.8M, Cume $158.4M
3. John Carter (Disney) Week 2 [3,749 Theaters] PG13-rated
Friday $3.9M, Saturday $5.6M, Weekend $13.5M (-55%), Cume $53.1M
4. Project X (Warner Bros) Week 3 [2,922 Theaters] R-rated
Friday $1.5M, Saturday $1.4M, Weekend $4.0M, Cume $48.1M
5. A Thousand Words (DWorks/Paramount) Week 2 [1,895 Theaters] PG13-rated
Friday $1.1M (-43%), Saturday $1.6M, Weekend $3.7M (-39%), Cume $12.1M
6. Act Of Valor (Relativity) Week 4 (2,765 Theaters] R-rated
Friday $1.1M, Saturday $1.4M, Weekend $3.6M, Cume $62.6M
7. Safe House (Universal) Week 6 [1,920 Theaters] R-rated
Friday $815K, Saturday $1.0M, Weekend $2.7M, Cume $120.2M
8. Journey 2 (Warner Bros) Week 6 [1,935 Theaters] PG-rated
Friday $716K, Saturday $975K, Weekend $2.4M, Cume $95M
8. Casa De Mi Padre (Lionsgate) NEW [382 Theaters] R-rated
Friday $782K, Saturday $784K, Weekend $2.2M
10. This Means War (Fox) Week 5 [1,660 Theaters] PG13-rated
Friday $745K, Saturday , Weekend $2.1M, Cume $50.5M
Meanwhile, 21 Jump Street had a very limited day-and-date rollout overseas grossing $7M. But it had a big opening in Australia where it became the #1 movie with $4.3M U.S. dollars (including previews) on 243 screens. It was #1 in the market so far, pulling in 38% of the country’s total box office, following a big publicity push by Channing and Jonah who are also executive producers. The film rolls out in the majority of the world in coming months. That said, in North America, I’m told that audiences are responding with whoops and hollers when they see the movie’s biggest unadvertised surprise…
SPOILER ALERT… SPOILER ALERT…
Cameo appearances by the original 21 Jump Street TV show duo of Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise. So why did Johnny do it? “Because he loved the TV show,” a Sony exec tells me. Cool move by Depp.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Jump Street and The Lorax are going to show John Carter how it’s done.
Because box office and being number 1 is what makes a good movie…
Notice how most of the negative reviews for John Carter always reference it’s budget & BO? When the same people who trash JC (when they haven’t seen it) are the same ones who make Transformers and Pirates 4 a hit, I think I’ll trust my own judgement on the movie. Shockingly, those opinions aren’t based on monetary values. New concept, I know.
The fact that people like you have been gunning for JC to fail at all costs is disgusting. Enjoy the reboots, remakes and sequels Hollywood churns out. You deserve it.
Correction: Most of the negative reviews for John Carter reference its pacing issues and poor leading man. Just because it hurts your feelings, you don’t get to ignore that. Suck it up.
I saw reviews that liked Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins and had no problems with most of the movie. Most less-than-stellar- reviewers seemed to have comprehension problems which I find laughable as the movie is not hard to follow. It’s subjective at best when it comes to most reviews these days. I can only count good critics on one hand. The rest are seriously lacking.
Most of the folks doing the negative reviews and articles of John Carter that mention the budget forget that this movie is heavily CG and that costs big money, along with the years worked on it, and the higher costs of shooting the live action in the US and England.
Equally poorly promoted Tangled cost $260 Million to make and hung in the Top 10 for weeks eventually bringing in over $590M worldwide with $200M of that in the US and Canada. It had an A+ Cinemascore and JC had a B+ Cinemascore from real audience members who actually see the movies. The word will get out to folks that John Carter is a fun movie to go see. It went up around 25% in box office last Saturday after opening Friday, and some reporters, including Nikke, referenced good word of mouth. Bad movies or ones with problems don’t usually get good word of mouth and good Cinemascores. JC has been bringing in over $2M daily this week just in the US and had number one rankings in other countries.
Just because a bunch of wannabes think JC didn’t have this or that doesn’t mean squat and you know it. Look at the movies that do well that really are bad.
And they are ignoring the fact that March is a sucko month to open, lots of other distractions going on like basketball, and it opened in a week with no payday. I would guess most folks spend their money on movies after a payday as that is a familiar consumer pattern the past few years in other retail segments.
This weekend it opens in China. It will probably still be in the US Top 3 this weekend. Disney will end up laughing at folks like you when its run is done.
There is a big difference between an A+ and a B+ on cinemascore. B+ is an average score. Pirates 4 got a B+ and that movie was shit, so I wouldn’t be touting John Carter’s B+.
There is no way John Carter will have a similar hold as Tangled, so the comparison makes no sense. Animated family films have much better holds than Science Fiction/Action movies.
Disney will not be laughing at anyone, only feeling shame. The movie is ok, but it will not be considered a success no matter how hard you clearly want it to. It’s weird to say that John Carter will do fine and Disney will be laughing in the end..and then in the same post make excuses (March Madness, opened in a week with no payday? seriously??). Suck it up.
“Disney will be lauphing”. Thats funny. JC is going to lose alot of money. You clearly don’t know what your talking about.
You cite a whole lot of evidence, but none of it makes sense. Hence, I will refer to it as “evidence.” As someone else already said, an A+ and a B+ Cinemascore are worlds different. A+ is exceptionally outstanding, few movies get it. It seems most end up in the B/B+ range, which puts John Carter in the average range.
And paychecks… it varies by company. Some do every other week where this is the off week, yes, but other do every other week where this is the on week. Others pay weekly as well. That’s like the ultimate cop out excuse for any box office, since someone is always getting paid on release week.
Finally, Carter tumbled 55 percent this week. While that’s a pretty standard drop nowadays, when you combine it with its adequate opening last week, it doesn’t make a good combination.
Granted, I haven’t seen JC, and it might very well be a good movie, but your evidence is very poor.
Uh, yeah, sorry, “John Carter” bombing has nothing to do with its budget – the movie was terrible. It’s like they took all their shots and threw them into a blender. It’s a mess, with an awful leading man and special effects that look like a cross between “The Beastmaster” and leftovers from “The Phantom Menace”. It’s AWFUL. And this is coming from a big sci-fi fan.
Well technically it “bombing2 (it hasn’t ‘bombed’ yet it’s only been a week, however unlikely financial, theatrical, success is) has EVERYTHING to do with its budget. It is only a ‘bomb’ if it maes less money than it cost to produce / sell. S if the film had cost half as much it would already be seen as a bit of a hit and likely to make enough to justify a sequel. A film that made $100m by the end of its first weekend? That cost a total of say $125m – $175m (inc P & A) would be thinking it was well on the way to at least breaking even in global box office and likely to make enough to justify moving on with part 2.
Also does anyone on here actually still believe that financial success or failure is a given when a movie is either good or bad? Great movies fail to earn money every year and terrible ones get bucket loads, so let’s not “joyfully” proclaim that movies aren’t earning because they are crap, we all know better.
I like reboots and remakes. More often than not, they tend to be much better than the original/previous film. Dark Knight, Star Trek, Hulk, etc, and I bet Barbra Streisand in Gypsy and Illumination’s Cat in the Hat turn out much better too. Stop hating on the remakes/reboots. There’s room for everyone here. And, if not, there’s always HBO and the good cable networks.
“I like reboots and remakes. More often than not, they tend to be much better than the original/previous film.”
So you’re telling me that Nightmare on Elm Street, The Karate Kid, Dawn of the Dead, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Fog, Footloose, Fright Night, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Death Race, The Hitcher, The Invasion, The Karate Kid, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Omen, Planet Of The Apes, Psycho, Red Dawn, The Stepford Wives, Straw Dogs, and The Wolfman are better than their originals???
No, remakes are nothing but the studio’s desire to haul in more cash off the backs of superior films, using updated visual FX, the newest flavor of the month actors, hipper soundtracks, and modern, flashy, MTV cinematography in order to lure in ADD riddled, generation Y-ers, who can’t sit still for 2 hours without texting. These movies are not “better” than the originals. They are inferior…and merely dressed up in a newer, fancier outfit. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but they “more often than not” they are inferior.
The Karate Kid is much better than the original. It has more scope, higher stakes… It’s visually more striking and better coreographed and is much more relatable.
Did you really think the original Karate Kid was a good movie?
Enjoying the view from your high horse? Can you still see your own rightous ass from that high up?
John Carter was not an art house movie – it was intended as a franchise by Disney. If that doesn’t tell you that it IS, in fact, all about money, nothing will.
As for the supposed ‘hate’ – it would only be hate if JC had been a fan project, funded by hard earned fan money, aimed at fans. Stanton claims to be a fan, yet readily crapped all over the property – for money. It is not surprising in the least that many people were prejudiced against this new McFilm – what is surprising is that there are fanboys like yourself who stubbornly refuse to see it for what it is – a failed mass product. Worse, a failed mass product made from wasted quality ingredients.
Bobo: If you spent ANY time reading about John Carter on here, you would realize that the VAST majority of the criticism is about the abysmal marketing campaign. Following that criticism, many point out that the leading man was HORRIBLE casting and very similar to the bad choice of leading man for Prince of Persia.
You’ll see some criticism of the actual movie, but since it was soundly beat in first weekend box office by a remake of a lame 25-year-old TV show, there aren’t enough people who have actually seen the movie to care to comment on its poor quality/story/acting.
I defended JC, telling people to give it a chance, to go see, to not judge it till they saw it and to get past the bad ad campaign.
And then I saw it.
There was a lot to like in the movie. A lot. And this is my greatest disappointment. Because overall the movie doesn’t work.
Two things:
The Pacing/Structure was slow and overcomplicated. (The first rule I was would have applied: Like the books, stay with John Carter. We learn the world and the story through his eyes.)
The CG was great, but the visual palette was redundant against the other movies audience had already seen over recent decades. This has nothing to do with the fact that the John Carter books have inspired so many other movies (which they have). The point is, if you’re making a story about an earth-man who goes to an alien environment, you’re obliged to create an alien environment to US, the audience. This isn’t an academic exercise in staging the John Carter books “as they were written.” The movie needed a viscerally strange environment that felt as real, STRANGE and tactile as Burroughs made Barsoom in the books (or Cameron made the alien world in AVATAR, for that matter.)
This wouldn’t mean betraying the books in any way. There were plenty of ways of building a visual setting that would have not looked a) Just like the Southwest and b) built off sets and costume pieces of everything from “Star Wars” to HBO’s “Rome.”
Barsoom wasn’t exotic enough to a contemporary movie audience — and that’s just a fact.
Again, there’s a LOT to love in “John Carter.” But those two points (clumsy story structure and the redundant visual palette) nailed it to the wall.
Totally agree with your assessment. I saw the movie last weekend and while it wasn’t a great movie by any stretch, it wasn’t bad either. I went with my husband and 7-year old niece and nephews and all of us enjoyed it. It was easily better than most of the 2011 summer movies like Thor.
Discussing the film in the car on the way home, my main criticism was that it was 30 minutes too long. And nothing in the design was really original.
But as many have said before, the horrendous marketing was what killed this movie. Dropping “of Mars” from the title because it wouldn’t appeal to women was stupid corporate decision-making at its worst (and this is coming from someone with an MBA). Disney could have easily made female-targeted ads that played up the Princess’ character and romance angle, male-oriented ads that played up the action, geek-oriented ads that played up the film’s pedigree, and kid-oriented ads that played up some of the lighter aspects of the film. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall during the meetings for the marketing for the movie, because it’s hard to understand how it ended up being so spectacularly bad.
That’s what you think. We are developing a sequel titled
JOHN CARTER OF JUMP STREET
And it’s going to be the start of a new teen franchise for us.
Great idea, how high will Carter be able to jump on Jump Street? As high as he can jump on Barsoom? Half as high? That’s still pretty darn high.
Wow –- this is all Channing Tatum. That guy is on fire! Jonah Hill solo has shown that he can’t open a movie.
Um. What? The movie’s a hit. Jonah Hill has been everywhere promoting it. The guy was just nominated for an Academy Award and hosted probably the best SNL in months last week before the movie opened. What are you babbling about?
They are both having a good year.
AGREED, I knew 21 Jump Street would be a hit the first time, I saw it – proud for both.
Always, knew Channing Tatum was very talented with Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Stop Loss, She’s The Man, Step Up, The Eagle, The Dilemma under his belt, it’s just other’s catching up now (very smart guy with his movie choices).
After this, bring on Magic Mike, WHEN do we see trailer for that if it’s coming out this year, and G.I. Joe Retaliation.
On a side note: This is what it looks like when Nikki likes a movie (I was wondering, what that feeling was like) and the people involved. I still don’t understand the hate for John Carter, its a great movie, hopefully the international numbers saves it, as it has been poisoned at home.
Also, regarding This Means War at least it did much better than Wanderlust FUNNY, how she FAILED to mentioned that (always protecting Jennifer Aniston now that’s a dilemma, I don’t understand, she’s best on TV).
Best in months? Wow. Maya Rudolph was legions better.
Really? Maya Rudolph is SUPER mediocre. She’s lucky to have got into the biz at a time when people are going crazy for female comics/part of the Fey/Poehler/Wiig era of SNL (kinda like if you were part of the earlier Sandler/Rock/Spade era). If soul legend Minnie Riperton wasn’t her mom, she’d be nowhere. Yeah, I said it.
Mark, please, Jonah Hill was mediocre on SNL , and that episode was not the best in months. Stop overrating this guy. Jonah was good in Knocked Up & Superbad, but the rest of his performances are average or bad.
Jonah Hill’s OK with a script. He is really bad in live TV interviews. Bland, no energy, and really short answers. Maybe he doesn’t like getting up early.
I believe that Jonah Hill scripted this film, I do know he’s the reason it was made. He’s been championing it for quite a while. Both of the co-stars are going to come out of this smelling of roses and cash.
Jonah worked on the script for about 5 years. He really is a talented young man. Very funny.
I’m glad the film is doing well.
even tom cruise and brad pitt have shown that they cant open a movie
Ha, are you crazy? Sure, some of their movies didn’t open well, but many of Cruise’s have.
Surprisingly funny. Jonah and Channing make a good comedy duo. The profanity and a couple of gross out moments could have been toned down.
Agreed – the movie was funny on its own. Channing & Jonah are very talented and it didn’t need to be dumbed down with as much profanity and gross-out. All of the “gay” jokes were a bit much.
Nice! Phil and Chris are finally taking over Hollywood! Couldn’t happen to nicer, more talented dudes.
Seriously. Genuinely nice guys, great vision, couldn’t be happier. Hoping the final Friday number gets higher with the late night crowds. Congrats!
I’m stoked for Jonah he’s a good guy and deserves all the success he’s found.
saw midnight. was so much effing fun… did not expect that… total goofy silly buddy thing but fast and hill and tatum elevate it with great great chemistry
Now, I just hope that The Cabin In The Woods will do very well. That was very popular at SXSW.
The stars of this movie are the idea and the title — undercover cops in high school is a killer idea in a hundred different ways and 21 Jump Street is a recognizable brand and has been for 20 years… Channing is handsome, Jonah is funny — mix, heat and serve. See you at the sequel… and then it is likely the TV series will be done again… People might not remember how funny the original series was — but in its day Jump Street was edgy and provocative and funny as hell… but it was also on TV; so all the dick jokes were out. … And it’s very cool that Johnny and Holly and Peter gave their nod of approval…
Yes it’s funny but Sony has always been good at selling trashy vulgar crude R rated comedies packed with drugs and profanities to YOUNG KIDS. Who said Hollywood doesn’t care about our kids!
You obviously aren’t around many kids. Kids since the ’50′s have been saying things a million times worse than anything in this movie.
Parents raise kids, not movie studios.
So why did Johnny do it? “Because he loved the TV show,” a Sony exec tells me.
I don’t believe that at all. For years, he made several negative public comments about 21 Jump Street.
So what are you saying? That he made the cameo because he needed the money?
thanks i needed the laugh
Of course not. Most likely, Depp agreed to do it for two reasons: 1) Depp knows that a lot of fans of the show would expect that he’d make a cameo so he’d get bad press if he declined and 2) since Jonah approached him.
So, again, look at his past comments about 21 Jump Street to see how he feels about the show. Compare that to someone like Luke Perry (of course Luke didn’t obtain anywhere close to a career as Depp) who not said anything negative about 90210 and embraces his role as Dylan McKay.
Saw it on Tuesday. Much funnier and sharper than I expected. Never cared for Channing before this but now I’m a fan, he showed great comedic chops. Could have been a movie not tied to 21 Jumpstreet but was fun nonetheless. And Depp was always friends with Cannell and almost certainly did this to honor him who was, himself, one of the nicest guys in the biz.
Loved it. Can’t knock on Tatum anymore. Kid is a real actor. Depp cameo the best of the year.
The real reason why this movie do well: profanity and more profanity… be prepared for it.
And STOP trashing “John Carter”. It didn’t do well because the market for the genre is hard to SELL, and the fact the haters are whiners. Like little babies not getting their wish.
“Profanity”?
Seriously? What are you, the Pope? Good grief. Let us know when you stop being scared of WORDS.
Anyway, as for “John Carter”? It bombed because it’s TERRIBLE.
Uh, no Mark: John Carter bombed because it didn’t have any profanity. Didn’t you know a few common swear words will get them to the cinemas in droves? Well, on Planet Giuseppe it does, anyway.
So you think millions of people plunked down money because the movie had profanity? The same profanity that you can hear every day for free while walking down the street?
Guiseppe – oh please! Best laugh of the day! It’s not that hard to sell a genre pic like that if you sell it right and don’t fowl it up royally from the start.
Also, it’s ludicrous budget makes it EASIER to trash it but the whole flick has so many problems anyway that is basically just the icing on the cake of it.
The movie isn’t that good.
I like how John Carter earning $500,000 at midnight screenings and $30 million in its first weekend is a HUGE disappoinment but 21 Jump Street earning not that much more (in movie economics) during the midnight shows and the predicted same amount for the opening weekend is some sort of triumph. Sounds like the same number of folks going to see the movies two weekends in a row.
You do realize that 21 Jump Street cost about 1/7th of what John Carter cost to make, right?
because John Carter cost 250mil+ to make…21 Jump Street did not
Y’know, I was just thinking the same thing…
Um.
A $30 million opening for a movie that cost $350 MILLION to make and advertise?
YEAH.
That’s, um – that’s kind of a BIG disappointment.
One movie cost $250 million dollars. The other is going to make most of its budget ($42 million according to Box Office Mojo) back the first weekend of its release. I think it’s fair to say that John Carter’s a HUGE disappointment compared to 21 Jump Street.
Because of the differences in their budgets. Why is it that hard to understand that a movie that costs $250 million to make, and opens to a number that shows it may make 1/3 of that at the U.S. box office is a disappointment? 21 Jump Street cost an estimated $42 million to make. It will make money. John Carter will not. And don’t start with how John Carter is doing overseas, Disney sees less of a % of overseas grosses than they do domestic. $250 million budgets and $100 million P&A should be reserved for known entities like franchises and James Cameron because a studio is in the business of making money, not just movies.
I initially was going to pass on 21 Jump Street ( never watched the series) but am encouraged by good WOM so will check it out in the next week. BTW John Carter is really fun to watch & would love to see a sequel
The series and this movie have nothing in common, besides the title and premise.
One was an edgy, risk taking, provocative series that changed primetime television for years after, the other is a buddy cop comedy with a moron and that fat kid from Superbad that couldn’t open a paper bag without backup.
^^^
Best post here.
That these morons are raving about this remake says a lot about the movie-going public in 2012. More frat-boy, ha-ha bullshit. And they just greenlit a sequel. God help us.
Nothing in common, eh?
‘Cept for the fact that it’s a DIRECT SEQUEL to the show.
Really?!? Have you watched the show? We laughed at it when it was on because it wase clueless about high school. Johnny Depp tried to leave the show after the first season. He knew how bad it was. The Sony spin on his reasoning for his cameo is BS…he did it because it is practically a send up of the original. Please…go back and watch it….cheesy
I strongly disagree with you, js. the show touched on a variety of topic that few shows had done before.
NotQuiteRight, I agree wholeheartedly. The main problem with Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill , I always feel they are acting . It never feels natural. Channing’s acting , in particularly, is very stiff and awkward .
Exactly. And, that’s why it annoys me how Depp, for years, shunned his past on 21 Jump Street. It definitely was a trailblazing show and Depp should have never been (or seemed to have been) ashamed of being on that show.
21 Jump Street didnt cost $250M to make so thats why people are saing $30M opening is terrific.
Take a look at the difference in the two films budgets and then get back to me. It’s clear why this is considered a huge success and JC is a bust (and this is coming from someone who really hoped the best for JC).
Oh please, John Carter has to make 700 million worldwide to even break even. Do you honestly think that 21 jump street cost 300 million to make? John Carter will bomb not just because of it’s average earning but because of it’s absurd cost.
You do understand the difference between a movie costing 300 mil to make and one that cost maybe 50, right? John Carter opening to 10% of its total budget (to say nothing of marketing) vs 21 opening to probably double that at least…
If you read Depp’s forward in the book “Burton on Burton” it is quite clear he does not love the TV show.
I think Johnny regrets some of the snark he spewed about the series… it was the garage band where he learned to play his guitar… and without Jump Street there wouldn’t have been Cry Baby, etc… doing the cameo was a way to say thanks… it was a classy thing to do. Johnny is going to be 50 next year — and, let’s face it, he’s doing the same, heavy costumed character schtick over and over and over — if he plays anything else, it bombs… It’s hard to hold onto any artistic elitism when your hit movies are based on theme park rides. Like everyone in Hollywood, he’s lucky to be working — and I think he’s starting to realize that.
John Carter was a great movie and deserves more money. Hopefully America will listen to good word of mouth from normal people, and not the non-sence from whiners on the internet. Also go 21 Jump Street!! Another great film. The Lorax on the other hand needs to go!
Actually, the only people “whining” about John Carter are those trying their damndest to convince everyone else it’s somehow turning a profit.
The “haters” are right: John Carter represents everything wrong with Hollywood today. The industry has become so gluttonous and opulent that the studios are happy to piss away $250 million on garbage like JC. Sure, braindead popcorn films are nothing new, but since when did they all require record-breaking budgets?
When the second recession hits and Regal raises the ticket price another dollar or two, cash-strapped moviegoers will finally abandon theaters and turn to home entertainment. If Hollywood doesn’t learn their lesson (and all logic suggests they’re nowhere near pulling their heads out of the clouds/their asses), the cinemas will shut down within the next two decades.
Then people will start writing books on the industry’s history, and films like John Carter will be remembered, all right … as some of the leading causes behind the industry’s demise.
Says the person who hasn’t seen the movie…
Like others who have pointed out the hypocrisy, I don’t understand how JC is getting the thrashing while Transformers and Pirates gets a pass on here. And JC has gotten much better reviews than those, too.
It’s ironic. I see nothing but complaints here about how Hollywood is solely about money. And yet, that seems to be precisely how all of you judge movies yourself. Horrible films with terrible reviews like Lorax, Act Of Valor, Safe House, Journey 2, Vow, etc do well, and people here cheer for their success without a second thought. And yet JC, which has gotten better reviews than most of those, gets nothing but hate simply because it flopped.
The hate has nothing to do with the quality of the film (Since most of you haven’t seen it) It’s a self righteous stick-it-to-the-man style boycott. It’s pathetic and sad because you’ve chosen a film that’s actually fun and was made with some heart.
John Carter haters are whiners. They whine about a movie they have not seen, and talk about budgets as if they have a stake on its financing.
Its a good movie. Not a great one but very entertaining.
21 Jump Street is also a very entertaining and funny movies.
People are pitting these movies against the other as if putting one movie down will make the other better. Both movies are good and we as audiences should be lucky we’re getting a lot of these movies.
Now Lorax on the other hand, that is one movie that should have bombed. Really terrible, even my 6 year old didn’t like it.
DK, get out of your parent’s basement.
Movies will fail, its been like this since the beginning of Hollywood. John Carter’s failure or success will mean nothing at the end of the day. Nothing. The movie will make 300 to 400 million worldwide, and more on dvd and tv.
Failure? Yes.
Hollywood’s demise? LOL
Hey Kevin, you do realize $400 million WW would actually put JC in the red? Sounds like you’re the one who’s naive here, pal.
And to everyone talking about the “hypocrisy” between JC and POTC/Transformers/whatever . . . there is no hypocrisy. When those films make money, everyone’s complaining about how “the public has no taste” or whatever.
But since JC bombed, people are going to feel schadenfreude, because this time, the bad guys lost.
The movie will not touch $400 million worldwide, but keep dreaming.
U.S. box is going to stop around $75-80 million. Global box is now, what, $120 million after two weeks? So let’s just call global $200 million. Even $300 million is going to be a tough sell.
The good news for Disney — and this is really good news — is that when you add in DVD/BluRay and PPV, the writeoff is likely to be under $100 million, which is a lot less awful than feared.
It’s quite possible the final writeoff might fall under $50 million, but that’s a ways away and there’s a lot of guesswork involved in trying to extrapolate that.
1. Cleopatra
2. Heaven’s Gate
3. Waterworld
4. Town and Country
5. Ishtar
6. Howard the Duck
There’s always room for one more. “…It’s way-fer thin!”
Two of the biggest budget-busting flops from the dawn of commercial cinema, from the maker of the first blockbuster: D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance and America.
The job of being a director means knowing certain basic tricks to tell a story. Whether the director is a genius or simply a competent journeyman, he still must know these tricks. Having seen John Carter, I feel that the director simply did not know these tricks.
Yeah, Finding Nemo and Wall-E totally help prove your point…
Certainly there are very different skills needed to tell an animated story and a live action story. If John Carter had been an animated movie and Stanton had made it, I think it would have worked a lot better. This is what he knows.
Maybe Brad Bird should have directed it. JK. Although I thought MI4 was a great movie.
“…and reviews have been surprisingly good not just 88% on Rotten Tomatoes but even The New York Times. Not that this is a review-driven film.”
What teen-marketed film these days IS a review-driven film?
Sheesh.
Depp’s cameo was mocking the series in a way, so he really got to have it both ways. And he’s classy like that. He cameo’d in Freddy’s Dead as a thanks, too.
For those who haven’t seen the movie 21 Jump Street but are bagging on it, it really is the funniest movie of the past few months and Hill & Tatum make a great comedic team.