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SUNDAY PM/MONDAY AM UPDATE: Box Office Cliffhanger: Sunday Numbers Show 'The Hangover' Caught 'Up' For #1
SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM: Some of the fun of summer box office reporting is that, every now and then, a low-brow sleeper comes out of nowhere and challenges for the No. 1 film crown during a weekend. "I guess there's no reason to do this if sometimes crazy things don't happen," marveled one rival studio exec. At first, Friday's domestic grosses indicated that Warner Bros' well reviewed Bachelor Party goes wrong comedy The Hangover might top Pixar/Disney's Up after opening for $16.5M from 3,269 theaters. Then on Saturday, the R-rated laffer slid to $14.8M Saturday for a $43.3M weekend with Sunday's estimate of $12M. That's without stars, too. Instead, credit a hot concept (directed by Old School helmer Todd Phillips) and marketing plan combining word-of-mouth with heavy TV ad rotation. It was the 3rd best R-rated comedy opening ever.
Instead, The Hangover finished No. 2 and Pixar CGI toon Up, because of this four-quadrant pic's usual Saturday crowded matinees for kiddies repeated as No. 1 with an impressive hold around -35%. Up was a strong No. 2 Friday with $13.1M from 3,818 plays, then jumped to #1 by adding $17.8M Saturday and an estimated $13.3M Sunday for a $44.2M weekend. Pixar's 10th straight smash, Up will post a $137.3M cume, so that's two success stories this weekend.
Universal told me its expensive Land Of The Lost needed to debut with at least $30M for the studio not to sweat. In 3rd place, it's now officially one of the first turkeys of the summer. (Because aren't dinosaurs related to birds?) Land Of The Lost opened Friday a distant 3rd with just $7.1M from 3,521 runs sliding to $7M Saturday for just a $19.5M weekend. That's unusually low for a Will Ferrell summer comedy, but this one received dismal reviews. Still, how typically Hollywood that rival studios are taking obvious enjoyment in Universal's distress, especially on the heels of its recent underperforming thriller State Of Play and last week's disappointing grosses for the Drag Me To Hell horror flick. But this is a cyclical biz. Last summer, Fox struggled.
But this time around 20th Century Fox will be enjoying the $127.3M cume for its sequel reteaming Ben Stiller Owen Wilson, Robin Williams with director Shawn Levy. Night Of The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian pulled in another $14.6M from 3,807 theaters this weekend for 4th place.
Paramount's Star Trek took in $8.4M from 3,202 dates for 5th place with a hefty $222.8M cume.
Warner Bros' Terminator Salvation made $8.1M from 3,403 plays for #6 and a cume of $105.4M. Overseas, it took in $67.5 million this frame, and the sci-fi action film was #1 in 66 of 70 markets and is the #1 grossing title of this weekend overseas. Sony acquired the rights to most foreign territories. The foreign cume is now $97.2M. Overall, T4 is currently pacing 21% higher than T3 in comparable territories at this stage in that film’s release.
Universal's Drag Me To Hell earned $7.3M (-54% from its opening a week ago) from 2,510 dates -- sinking to #7 with a cume of $28.5M.
Imagine/Sony's Angels & Demons did $6.5M from 2,925 theaters in the 8th spot for a new North American cume of $116.1M. The pic also crossed the $400M mark this weekend and became the No. 1 grossing global hit released to date this year. Of it's $409M, Angels & Demons has generated $292.9M in the international marketplace, including $22.2M this weekend from overseas. Best performing territories for the film include the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK and Russia. "No one ever expected to replicate the success of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code, which was a cultural phenomenon. But for his sequel to hit $400+M and continue climbing is really quite an achievement," Sony gushed.
No. 9 was that big fat hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding writer/star Nia Vardalos's new Fox Searchlight romantic comedy My Life In Ruins which debuted with $3.2M from only 1,164 venues. And, rounding out the Top 10, Paramount's spoof Dance Flick earned $2M from 1,707 locations bringing its cume to $22.6M.
Among other openers, Focus Features' Away We Go debuted in 4 theaters to gross $143K. A young adult audience drove box office and sold out the late night screens.
Overall, this weekend's total movie grosses of $164M lagged last year's big $174.6M box office by -6.1%.
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Of course The Hangover did well. It got a rave review by that Joe Leydon in Variety. He’s the same guy who launched Knocked Up, remember? LOL.
Good. I’m happy the Land of the Lost bombed
I thought Terminator Salvation was the first turkey of the summer, with a reported budget of $200 million and an expected finaly tally of about $125 million.
Land of the Lost seems about on par with Will Ferrell’s back-to-back mid-performers from the summer of 2005, Kicking and Screaming and Bewitched, though this movie cost much more.
Creative laziness + vanity run amok = lost land and revenue. Always has, always will.
I hope Drag Me to Hell shows resiliency after a so-so bow. I’ll be shocked if I see a more entertaining film for summer’s remainder. I’ve seen this film twice and both times the crowd went wild.
Oh, THAT Joe Leydon. The only one worth reading in Variety. I could see that.
Terminator Salvation was the first Turkey of the summer
Land Of The Lost is definitely not the first turkey of the summer; don’t forget Terminator Salvation. :p
Warner Bros paid $60 million to acquire North America rights of Terminator Salvation.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-terminator26-2009may26,0,5446645,full.story
Warner Bros paid $50 to acquire the North America rights of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Warner Bros’ spokeman told Wall Street Journal that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines needed to gross about $150 million in US ticket sales to be meaningfully profitable for Warner Bros.
Since Warner Bros paid more money to acquire Terminator Salvation, Warner Bros won’t make money on the film unless this film gross much more than $150 million in US ticket sales.
Land of the Lost bombed? Even with Ferrell opening up the Conan era? Nah, people are going to go tonight.
I guess the audience isn’t interesting in Will Ferrell doing anything but playing a dumb jock.
As for The Hangover there’s no shame for an R-rated comedy to come in #2 to a Pixar blockbuster. In fact, it’s pretty impressive, and if it does beat to #1, no matter how slim the margin, it will create a lot of buzz for the film beyond any ad campaign, and the folks behind the film and its marketing should pat themselves on the back.
I don’t believe it. Warner Bros actually opened a comedy. Incredible. I never thought I’d see the day.
So here we have WB successfully opening an R rated comedy with no stars in the middle of summer and they are planning on releasing a Sex In The city sequel next year.
As Bob Dylan said “Truly the times they are a….becoming quite different”.
As a side note to this story I know of someone who is developing a tentpole film which heavily features dinosaurs at a major and is gutted that LOTL has bombed. He believes that Ferrel may just have killed off the dinosaur genre in a single weekend.
Universal Dropped the ball bigtime with Land of the Lost- They should have concentrated more on the special effects with the dinosaurs, strange animals and whatnot- so what did they push? Will Ferrell running around from some cheesy T rex…everytime I saw an ad. If they would have catered this towards kids- they would have made a fortune. Even the poster- Will running from a Dinosaur! Every guy I know who is a huge Ferrell fan- has no desire to see this crap, and neither do any kids!!. Nice going Todd Phillips!!
Wow! The Hangover. I guess concept rules the roost. And can we all please acknowledge that the Star driven movie is over. Its done. Kaput! I mean seriously, if the trailer is good, you’ll get butts in seats.
It also had a very good, very funny trailer. Expect THE PROPOSAL to do very well next weekend too.
I saw Land of the Lost, it had some funny bits, there is a lot of jurassic park action which is not in the preview, but I’m rather shocked that it didn’t do better — what really happened, bad marketing?– I thought the trailer was funny and Will Ferrell usually brings in at least 20 million without the big budget — was it too much competition from UP and Night of the Museum? Perhaps it should have opened next weekend when nothing is opening up except for Eddie Murphy’s Imagine That — which looks terrible and I love Eddie Murphy and Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3.
So happy about Hangover’s success!!!
Maria — Land of the Lost makes Terminator look like a massive hit — and Terminator will finish with at least 125 and will do well internationally. Maybe land of the lost will get a jump on Saturday.
JESS-
I’m sorry but I don’t see why anyone should be happy about a movie bombing — it’s bad for the industry and a lot of people work very hard on a movie 15 + hour days, etc. — what are you a rival studio?
Off topic — but why are Final destination 4 and halloween 2 — both horror films opening on the same weekend on August 28th? It’s not like there are a lot of horror films out there.
I’m glad Old School 2, er… I mean The Hangover, is a success – funny stuff. Correct me if I’m wrong here but didn’t Warner greenlight the sequel before this one even came out? Looks like Warner read the market a lot better than the ‘experts.’
Not at all surprised to see Land of the Lost flop, frankly I’m surprised it’s going to do as well as almost 20 million. Silly old show without a real fanbase, horrendous trailers, Will Ferrell’s unfortunate diminishing box office appeal (time for Old School 2 and Anchorman 2 to reinvigorate his career methinks) and, the final nail in the coffin, putrid reviews combined to torpedo that one. I’d have expected more like 14-16 million.
Up is one of Pixar’s finest (not to mention the hilarious Partly Cloudy that plays before Up) and I’m so glad to see their artistic gambles succeed. Something tells me Toy Story 3 opens to 9 figures next summer.
Well… Terminator Salvation was dissapointing in the US but Overseas Box Office will save it, Land of The Lost is the REAL first bomb of the summer.
mjr, Warner Bros doesn’t officially finance and produce Terminator Salvation; Warner Bros only paid $60 million to buy this film’s North American rights.
Warner Bros will still probably lose money on this film, though.
The Hangover is number 1 cuz it’s the first R-rated comedy of the summer. It also looked better than Land of the Lost, which wasn’t the first fantasy comedy of the summer.
SAM:
It’s nice to see that moviegoers are not rewarding mediocrity-for once. Why buy a bad product? Quality seems to be winning out this year at the B.O. which for once, is really refreshing.
Land of the Lost is the bigger bomb. At least Terminator Salvation is going to recover some money overseas, while Land of the Lost-like most US comedies-don’t play well overseas. Nevertheless, both films really underperformed.
Great for Hangover to open so well, and it’s fantastic that Up is displaying tremendous longevity. I give the edge to UP to take no.1 given the Sat and Sun family matinees. However, no matter who finishes no.1, I think both studios are happy with how their respective films have performed.
I’m sticking up for Land of the Lost. If it does completely crash and burn, it’s still going to have cult status for years to come.
I get and love Ferrell and Co.’s embrace of dumb fun, and I’m glad they didn’t do a standard, by-the-book studio reboot of a tv franchise.
I’m with Ebert and Movieline on this one.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090603/REVIEWS/906039993
http://www.movieline.com/2009/06/in-theaters-a-defense-of-land-of-the-lost.php
And by the way, I loved Up and I look forward to The Hangover.
The Hangover.
Thinking it would do better than 50! Audiences are eating it up, word of mouth is going to be huge. Kudos to Garelick and Philips.
The WGA failed you guys. The brother-in-law, Tyson & the tiger. The baby. The cop car! You guys were robbed.
Land of the Lost.
Isn’t this the film that Will Ferrell decided didn’t need a screenplay during the strike? They’d just ad lib?
Wise move. Who needs writers. Will’s a comic genius.
Not so much, hey Universal? Suck it!
You deserve this one.
Was Donna Langley involved?
If so, maybe it’s time she’s put to pasture.
Nice lady, but how many times are they going to give her a pass?
I’ve been saying it over and over, why in the world did they take the KIDS out of Land of the Lost?!?!? Who did these people think were going to want to watch this movie, adults? It’s kids who like dinosaur movies. And I think it was a huge mistake to turn it into a dumb comedy. While it was quite cheesy, the original Land of the Lost was also weird and creepy and that’s what made it awesome. They’ve killed this mythology by dumbing it down and taking the kids out of it.
MY LIFE WAS in RUINS last night after watching this so-called comedy. Nia Vardalos, irritating beyond belief and sad to see the once-great Richard Dreyfuss playing a fat, balding, unfunny widower. Everything sucked, even the great locations couldn’t save this turkey. Had to flee the theater halfway through.
SPOILER ALERT: On to EASY VIRTUE, a Noel Coweard piffle, with a luscious Jessica Biel (must rent POWDER BLUE!) and a witty Colin Firth. However, the film was stolen by the Butler; he did it.
Up could still be number 1. Family films tend to do a lot better on weekends. R rated films like the Hangover tend have less of a increase with the weekends. Since there’s only a 3M difference in the Friday figures, I’m betting Up will end up on top.
Original Product > Remakes of things people never cared that much about in the first place.
Nikki -typically Hollywood to revel in failure unless you do it, in which case it’s justice.
Was it the marketing of “Land of the Lost” or the freefalling appeal of Will Ferrell that led to the dismal BO opening?
Really, how much more of the hamming, obnoxiously loutish persona that Ferrell almost always portrays can movie audiences want?
As for “The Hangover”, I’m both delighted and disconcerted by its success. 1) It shows, once again, that A-listers’ importance is grossly inflated. I don’t think a bulk of the audience came from those who read the glowing multipage profile of Zack Galafinakis in last Sunday’s New York Times and bought tix. At the end of the day, writing and story are of paramount importance. Oh, and that marketing job was A-1. But 2)based on the reviews, it seems to follow the formula that’s become de rigueur for today’s comedies: let’s make it as vulgar as possible for the first 2/3 and then make it sugary sweet in the last 1/3 so that people are reminded that love and friendship are all that matter. Awwwwwwww. I guess this softens the blow for the female/gelded male demographic. I blame Judd Apatow for this trend. I know this makes $$$$, but I just wish comedy would remain subversive and sardonic all the way through.
Alas, I’ll see The Hangover with the knowledge that cloying sentimentalism will take up the last 30 minutes.
Judging from the artwork, MY LIFE IN RUINS is supposed to bring in $ 600+ mios – like MAMMA MIA! Is that why the artwork looks nearly identical? It was fresh the first time around, now it’s just shocking to look at it and think Rip-Off! Or do we now need to recycle stuff from previous prods?
Perhaps the people who’ve seen any one (or both) of WILL FERRELL’s last two movies don’t feel the need to rush out and repeat that experience. Dinosaurs or not. BLADES OF GLORY was the last truly enjoyable movie I’ve seen him in. Feels like that was eons ago.
I’m confused. Up’s total gross as of Thursday is 93 mil. If it does gross 45 mil this weekend (and end up topping The Hangover which I think it might), it will end up with closer to 140 mil, not 120, which would make it on track with the biggest Pixar hit, Finding Nemo. Also helping Up’s grosses- when I saw the Hangover last night, so many kids were buying tickets to Up and sneaking into the R-rated Hangover.
German B, Terminator Salvation may do better overseas, but Warner Bros only owns this film’s North America rights.
That is the difference between doing or not doing publicity…. WB did a huge junket to promote The Hangover, every one saw a good movie and told the audience…. Land of the Lost… well nobody knew about it!!!!
Major props to Will Ferrell manager and Land O’ The Lost Producer Jimmy Miller for putting another nail in Will’s coffin with this “turkey.” I know Will’s had a few others too… Bewitched, Semi-Pro, The Producers, Kicking and Screaming and Stepbrothers.
I know more people who wanna see LAND OF THE LOST because of upcomer Danny McBride then star Will…
Ferrell is a great guy, he deserves better, Jimmmy. It’s time to invite longtime partner Eric Gold back into the fold. YOU need him. The CLIENTS do too.
You know how all those studio execs flock to Comic-Con every summer in order to connect with the hip and happening fanboys and girls? If they’d been paying attention last summer, they would have known that Land of the Lost was going to bomb. There was a panel with Will participating remotely and he was bombing badly with his shtick. Nobody was laughing. (This was a crowd that would soon be rolling in the aisles for Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen ad libbing hilariously and filthily.) There is nothing as profound as the sound of silence when you’re pimping your big summer comedy. Didn’t surprise me how it all turned out. But then, I’m not a studio exec.
Drag Me to Hell…dead in the water!?!
There is no justice. Shame on humanity for not making this a hit. I know, I know…cult following, dvd sales, overseas grosses, blah blah blah…none of that is a consolation for me this time. This was the very definition of a crowd pleaser, and if its gross was proportionate to its quality, it would’ve made 100 million domestically.
I’m sure Saw 12 will gross eight hundred gazillion dollars, though, and afterwards all the people who missed out on DMTH will whine about how no good horror movies are released theatrically anymore.
It looks more like $45m for UP this weekend followed by THE HANGOVER with about $43.5m LAND OF THE LOST at $20m
Congrats to Pixar on an amazing second week as Up will most surely pass Star Trek to become the biggest film of the summer so far (until Transformers of course).
I still think “Up” may have a shot at being #1 for the second weekend in a row. Saturday and Sunday matinees will be the decisive factor here. IMO Up will win Sat & Sun over Hangover. If I’m wrong, then I’ll be happy as Hangover was hilarious and deserves the success it’s getting. And YAY for another Will Ferrell disaster. I can’t stand his “comic” persona.
I know I’m wrong, but I don’t remember seeing such repulsively heavy promotion, complete with abashed Sid and Marty Kroft buttkissing and gushing over how ” faithful this movie is to the original,” which was a clear crock to anyone who saw tjhe smarmy promos. WF is fine guest-hosting SNL, but is unwatchable in any other venue so far.
I can’t recall any movie being so repulsively, heavily promoted as Land of the Lost. The worst was poor old Sid and Marty Kroft, arms twisted behind backs, gushing about how faithful the movie was to the TV show. WF is ok when guest-hosting SNL, but aside from that is unwatchable, so far. And I also hope Up ends up beating the latest in the long line of vulgar brain-dead comedies, but two wishes granted is one too many.
I saw LotL last night and thought it was really funny, but the humour wasn’t coming from the big budget and special effects but rather the interplay between Ferrell and Danny McBride. The script should’ve had a complete rewrite, dropping the remake premise and the kiddie baggage that brings. Done differently with original characters and untied from its predecessor, it could’ve been on a par with Anchorman or Old School because the chemistry with the cast and the comedic talent is obviously there… but it ends up only slightly funnier than Blades of Glory.
FD4 needs to stay on that date because of scheduling considerations for 3D, available screens and how many weeks before the next 3D release.
H2 doesn’t have the same restrictions. It should move. Besides, when I saw THE HANGOVER last night, the audience I saw responded hugely to the FD4 trailer.
The Weinsteins should find a weekend where they’re the only horror game in town and not leave any money on the table.
has hollywood learned its lesson yet? i love will farrell, but he does NOT work in wildly experimental adaptations of old tv shows. not at ALL.
if they had been even a bit more faithful to the original land of the lost, it would’ve been a hit. they could have cast a zac efron-type as the teenage son to appeal to girls (who must’ve stayed away from this film like the plague). even my mother, who loved the old show and was excited about the film when they heard they were making it, was horrified when she saw in the trailer that a fat ugly man was playing will. danny mcbride is cool and funny, but he is no teen idol.
be faithful, hollywood! you’re adapting source materials for a reason: because people liked the originals so much.
The Hangover is “high-concept” comedy? Please tell me you’re being facetious, NF. It’s a movie about vulgar idiots getting blackout drunk at a Vegas bachelor party. It’s succeeded because it pandered to the lowest common denominator – namely, jock douche-bags with awful taste in film and comedy. Real high-concept comedies that have actual wit and are character-driven generally struggle to find an audience in their initial release because they don’t lend themselves to moron-friendly advertising. The critics only praised this because they want to look hip by being on the bandwagon for the alleged hot crowd-pleasing sleeper of the season.
The frustrating thing about this blog is that it always…ALWAYS equates first-weekend financial success with quality or ingenuity. I keep reading anyway, though, because I like NF’s no-holds-barred style. And I love to read the comments where the dumbassery never ceases to amaze me.
I watched T1 last night, and I was able to understand T4 a lot better. T4 is not masterpience but it’s better than Star Trek and Wolverine, and those two movies were not bad either. Giver Terminator 4 a chance.
Hangover word of mouth???
I haven’t seen so many TV spots for a movie in 10 years.
…saw Drag Me To Hell last night for the 2nd time.
probably see DMTH 3 times before it leaves. IT IS A CLASSIC.
just a perfect flick. catch it while you can folks.
cheers!
LMAO at Land of the Lost. A well deserved kick in the stomach to Will Ferrell. Thank heavens it’s the good films that are actually thriving in the B.O. (Up, Star Trek,…)
I don’t know if “Terminator: Salvation” will do so well overseas. I’m in Japan now and I’ve been going to theaters around the country with marketing folks regarding another project. We’ve been seeing “Terminator: Salvation” posters and displays all over the place…however, the marketing folks here say it’s not tracking well and won’t be such a big hit in Japan. “For people in Japan, ‘Terminator’ equals Arnold,” one of the marketing folks told me, “and he’s not in this film. And Christian Bale is not a star here.”
I know this is just Japan, but I wonder for how many other overseas territories “‘Terminator’ equals Arnold,” and what effect his absence (the cameo by his likeness doesn’t count) will have on ticket sales?
Note to Trekkies: now might be a good time to start formulating your alibis and scapegoats for why your beloved lens flare-riddled reboot got financially overshadowed by what is certain to be the one true mega-hit of the season in Transformers. If all else fails and the numbers can’t be fudged for the case to be made that Trek was ultimately more profitable, I’m sure you’ll just retreat to the default stance that Michael Bay is a worthless hack and J.J., with a whopping total of two features under his belt, is a visionary master. The amount of money J.J.’s films have grossed is what Bay drops on the ground an doesn’t bother picking up when he’s fumbling for change at a vending machine.
Caleb, have you seen Hangover?
Transformers may make the most money when it’s all said and done, but JJ abrams will still remain the more talented and capable filmmaker over Michael Bay when it’s all said and done.
Since when did financial success prove that a director is a better filmmaker than another director? Yes, Bay’s films make more money than films by Abrams and even Martin Scorcese, but anybody with a semblance of a brain knows that Bay is nowhere near the caliber of director that the latter two are. Bay may be the better NOISEmaker, but he is not the better filmmaker.
Terminator Salvation was the antithesis of a flop, goddammit :^(
Re. DRAG ME TO HELL
If it’s not doing all that well – only time will tell – then it’s not the mainstream critics’ fault who praised it in their reviews. What they call OLD SCHOOL or a CLASSIC I simply call “feels dated”. Perhaps it wasn’t such a stellar idea to make a PG-13 MAINSTREAM horror with a sucky ending. Tension? MIA.
Overlong set-up, weak protag and an unsatisfying ending. But then that’s what she deserves for killing her cat, that idiot. (That lame character didn’t make much sense to me, sorry.)
DRAG ME TO HELL felt empty, a pretty blah exercise. If that’s what you guys call “quality” then I’m happy to stick to “terrible” B-horror that can make me feel better after a bad day. DMTH can’t.
Jerry,
Terminator Salvation better than Star Trek? You, my friend, have absolutely no taste.
RBI,
Bitter at Star Trek much? Not sure that there was a soul alive, Trekkie or not, who thought Star Trek would outgross Transformers. Considering it’s a reboot of an outmoded franchise that flopped badly in its last two films, Trek HAS to be considered a gigantic success (much like Casino Royale vis-a-vis Die Another Day, it made the series matter again).
RBI can suck it to quote Will Ferrel. The Star Trek reboot has done better than any ST film before and has found new audiences. Transformers will do great because it should be pretty good based on the trailers, but who knows. As long as Megan Fox is in it I’m there.
As for Land of the Lost I am going Tuesday but only because Anna Friel is in it and I am a big fan of Pushing Daisies. If she were not it it well then I probably would wait for the DVD or cable.
On topic: I thought Terminator Salvation was a solid movie that squared the circle of the franchise. Star Trek was as fluffy a film and as filling as cotton candy. Land of the Lost was lost to begin with and Will Farrell needs to get a new agent as it seems the only scripts he’s getting recently are BAD ones for him. He bombed in the role of the newscaster too.
Off topic: one of the cable tier channels like hbo, showtime, max, had Tropic Thunder on late night Saturday and even though I dismissed it in the theaters, I got to tell you, that was one funny(!) movie – I finally had a chance to see Tom Cruise as something other than a mechanized serious robot of an actor. That he pressed the button to play the music and started dancing to it as a balding fat guy who has sweat stains in his arm pits made me actually like the guy as it shows he’s got some sense of being human. He’s one actor that takes himself way too seriously.
Off topic but wanted to know: What’s George Clooney doing these days for his cause – Darfur? Haven’t heard anything except he went to meet the President and was told a special envoy would be sent. Was one ever sent? How does Clooney feel about what’s being done with his issue?
Off topic: What’s going on with Brad Pitt’s remodeling New Orleans? How’s that endeavor going? I hear its progressing nicely.
Bernard,
I will say it again, Terminator 4 was better than Star Trek. Then again, I never was a trekkie. ST was entertaining but not as good as the Terminator franchise and I am a film student so I know what is good and what isn’t.
the public is sick of Will Ferrell’s smug, aimless improv. Hopefully this and Apatow’s sure-to-bomb Funny People will clear space for some new comic talent in Hollywood.
Great point about Star Trek successfully rebooting a franchise financially and critically – though not too great with the Bond comparison.
Bond was more a critical rejuvenation than financial one in the U.S. – and that critical success lasted just one film into the reboot. Die Another Day sold more tickets than than Casino Royale (about 28m vs 25m) (and more than QOS at just 23m). Globally CR sold more tickets (mostly due to the U.K and some new and expanded markets) but sadly the franchise lost most of that gain with QOS (and it’s DVD sales in the U.S. sucked for a Bond film or any film that cost $200m).
Let’s hope the Trek rejuvenation sticks better. I’ll also be curious to see if the series expands on it’s international take next time or if Trek will remain a mostly U.S. phenomenon.
Back from the multiplex on Sat. PM: HANGOVER was good raunchy fun with lots of solid set pieces. This could be the one to put Brad Cooper over the top as a leading man.
I usually like Will Ferrell, but LAND OF THE LOST is awful. Come to think of it, so was SEMI-PRO (a flop) and STEP BROTHERS (a hit). Be careful, Will, $20 million a picture may be tempting but you can only burn your audience so many times before they go looking elsewhere. The movie delivers only one really good belly laugh and that ain’t enough!
“53.Note to Trekkies: now might be a good time to start formulating your alibis and scapegoats for why your beloved lens flare-riddled reboot got financially overshadowed by what is certain to be the one true mega-hit of the season in Transformers.”
Because after all, “Up” is an outright dud,the new “Harry Potter” film won’t make dime one and $225 million for a “Star Trek” film in one month’s time is weak.
Wow…Really?
RBI – I’m guessing you thought Watchmen would do more than Watchmen? Whoops. Wolverine? Whoops. T4? Whoops.
Bring on the toys, Trek has legs, and T2 will open large but let’s see whats up 3 weeks in.
In the end, Harry Potter will push for the fanboy title, NOT what is likely a headache inducing Bay movie. Troof.
RBI – what is the matter with you?
This site is increasingly filled with deranged posts from ranting box office nerds who have got it in their heads that the only measure of a movie’s quality is how much it grosses at the box office. By any sane measurement, Star Trek (I’m not a Trekkie by the way) has done extremely well. Whether or not Transformers takes a little bit more money is irrelevant to anyone apart from the studios, box office analysts – and lunatics like you. It’s certainly not proof that Michael Bay is a superior director. Did you see Pearl Harbour?
I don’t know what you do for a living, RBI, but I suspect that compared to your empty, bitter existence, JJ Abrams has achieved a fair bit, even after ‘only’ two films. Get up from the computer screen and go outside and smell a flower or something. It’ll do you good.
Land Of The Lost comes off as to childish for teens and adults, and was not marketed as a family movie. So who is left? Why did they not follow the original formula and have Will playing a father who is trapped there with his kids??? Do all these movies have to do the incestuous cast thing all the time? I’m a fan of his, but why is Danny McBride in this movie? If Farrell went the Eddie Murphy family movie way with this, it could have been huge.
The only thing that looks worse than Land Of The Lost is Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes doing kung fu.
The man-child schtick isn’t funny once an actor reaches a certain age. It happened to Robin Williams and Adam Sandler too. Will Ferrell’s career is following Nicole Kidman’s into the tank.
First, some things that need to be clarified. Terminator 4 wasnt a bomb because it had a big opening weekend and fell off second weekend. Its a typical under preformer that will make money back overseas. Land of the Lost bombed because of pathetic opening weekend numbers which should have been better. The filmmakers should have kept the kids and a PG rating. I could smell a bomb months ago with this one.
And to call ‘The Hangover’ a surprise hit would be like saying Obama surprisingly won the November election. With the saturated, clever marketing that showed most of the best parts IMO and an empty market for 20-somethings, no wonder this movie did big. These Appatow inspired, no name stars, R-rated movies do very well. But a surprise? Hardly. Word of mouth will bring it Wedding Crashers business. One thing is true; the closing credits with pictures of their wild night killed the NC-17 rating. Im surprised Nikki didnt mention that.
Finally, Drag Me to Hell rocked and I hate horror movies.
I might add that “Away We Go” is the best movie Ive seen all year. That will be the Juno/Little Miss Sunshine of the summer. Wait and see!
>>“For people in Japan, ‘Terminator’ equals Arnold,” one of the marketing folks told me, “and he’s not in this film. And Christian Bale is not a star here.”<<
I also have a feeling many are underestimating how crucial Arnold was to those overseas grosses.
I’m a little surprised people are trying to say that T4 wasn’t a flop, especially since it cost so much more than LOTL. These movies didn’t just “under-perform”, they likely killed any chances for a sequel. In 2009- an age where even Fast and Furious can open huge- that’s known as being a flop.
@Jerry: You’re a **film student**, and you thought T4 was not only better than Star Trek, but better than **the first Terminator??!? Where do you go to film school, man?? T4 was horrrrrrrrible.
Frankly, Will Ferrell turning Land of the Lost into a mindless spoof was such an obvious bomb waiting to happen the only suprise is someone at Uni thinking it was a good idea to greenlight it in the first place.
The reason the postings here have become more deranged is because Drudge is routinely linking to this site. Given that the normal Drudge reader has the cultural awareness and intellectual firepower of freshly hatched fleas, it should be no surprise that the level of discourse has collapsed.
…for those who call Drag Me To Hell “dated,” in what way?
also what is so wrong with a PG-13 horror movie? It was just as scary & edgy then any R-rated Friday the 13th I ever saw. I really dont care what rating a horror movie has. as long as it is scary & keeps me on edge. at each showing i was out, everyone was roaring with fright and/or dark humor.
…and the movie is a classic because it can carry a scare all the way through without necessarily being a splatter-fest. not that splatter-fests necessarily equate a “bad” movie.
SPOILER: also the protag lead character IS the villain, NOT the heroine of this flick. THAT WAS THE POINT. as far as “kitty-killing”, that was offscreen, and shows how screwed the protag had become, that she was going against everything she held dear. Which was he whole reason for the pay-back finale.
If you missed that POINT than I wonder if you even saw this movie and simply hate it for “gossip you heard about it” ????
cheers and enjoy this rarest of horror flicks.
Say what you will about Drudge, but at least he’s willing to set aside the partisan baggage that so many people flaunt in here when making the convenient blanket statement that the comments are peppered with idiocy as a direct result of an influx of Drudge readers. MD and NF don’t see eye to eye politically, but she was a fixture on his radio show, and he always links to her stuff because he has the good sense to realize it’s the preeminent source around for shedding light on the machinations of Hollywood. If you want to play the partisan zealotry game, it could be pointed out that Drudge leaves his wanna-be competitors like Huffington in the readership dust, yet the same vocal minority of detractors are always apt to point out that he’s an alleged poster boy for an ideologically defunct core-value system, which if true would result in his site having a low volume of traffic when in fact the direct opposite is the case.
Just got back from ‘Up’ with the kids and I’m sorry to say it’s the first Pixar movie I didn’t like, won’t rent it or buy it. Forced, mawkish sentiment to make people cry when it could have been told more simply and been much funnier. Did we really need the kid to have a father cruelly abandoning him emotionally on top of the old man’s torment?
*Spoiler* – the villain was awful – he had to be at least 100 years old by the time they meet, yet he was more spry than Carl. No explanation or even curiosity on that point. Even his evil son, if he had one, would be pushing 70.
They could have dealt with his wife’s death in 2 minutes rather than a 20-minute soap opera that has no place in an entertaining family flick. Even the opening short was sub-par with none of the zip or cleverness of the previous ones.
Technically and artistically brilliant but the story was a disaster. At least they kept Randy Newman away again.
I just don’t get how this movie has good word of mouth, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
All I know is at the Vista on Sunset the afternoon showing for the Hangover had a line doubling around the block.
to: “let’s make it as vulgar as possible for the first 2/3 and then make it sugary sweet in the last 1/3 so that people are reminded that love and friendship are all that matter. Awwwwwwww. I guess this softens the blow for the female/gelded male demographic. I blame Judd Apatow for this trend”.
Maybe you should wait till you actually see the movie to comment.
To: Comment by kay — June 7, 2009 @ 12:18 am
What is this, pot luck comments?
To: Caleb
Yeah, really, have you seen The Hangover?
To: Comment by lu-ee — June 6, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
Thanks for that, I actually WILL check out Drag Me To Hell. I wanted to and just hadn’t, if that makes sense.
To: Comment by Jeff — June 7, 2009 @ 7:57 am
HILARIOUS.
Hey, french tickler — June 7, 2009 @ 2:34 am
And that’s probably why you’re not running a studio. Or maybe you should.
“Land of the Lost” bombed because Ferrell basically has “overexposed” himself too much, too often, in too many films. There is such a thing as “too much of a good thing”, except in Ferrell’s case it is simply too much of the same sappy humour and schtick he’s been doing for the past few years.
I like Ferrell, but he needs to give audiences a break for a while and take a sabbatical.
It makes me sad that an amazing horror film like Drag Me to Hell has underperformed at the box office. Not to sound like a 26 year old horror buff geezer, but I think today’s audiences wouldn’t know a good horror film if it bit them in the ass, hence the bo of DMTH. They’ll go see the latest Saw movie (a franchise that has devolved into ugly, meaningless violence and lazy screenwriting) because it’s almost like a habit, but will ignore something truly original. Now true horror film fans are unlikely to see something that isn’t a sequel or a remake or a sequel to a remake in theaters for a long time. Sucks to be us.
Got to agree with RLS: It sucks to be us… when it comes to ‘Drag Me To Hell’, which is a truly entertaining, well-crafted, funny horror film. I’m too dissapointed by its take and thought it would at least make the 50 mill mark.. but now, it’ll get luck to reach 35 mill. What happened? I think the problem has more to do with its release date. It was sandwiched right between two juggernaut films, T4 and Pixar’s Up. Those two films were destined to make huge coin regardless of their quality… and to schedule what amounts to a very well made but quaint horror film in between them wasn’t a good idea. It’s one thing to counterpogram a romantic comedy against a huge sci-fi action flick.. but to counterpogram a horror flick against a huge sci-fi action flick or a huge 3d animated film doesn’t work; all three films have similar audiences.
Seriously, folks.. go see DMTH before it leaves theaters. It’s *that* good.