Posted on 11/11/2019 11:06:24 AM PST by EdnaMode
One week after “Motherless Brooklyn” disappointed the box office, Warner Bros. has yet another flop in the form of “Doctor Sleep.” The Mike Flanagan-directed horror film based on Stephen King’s “The Shining” sequel was tracking for a debut in the $25 million range, but its opening weekend came in well below that mark with a dismal $14 million total. While “Doctor Sleep’s” $50 million production is a saving grace, Deadline reports the film is expected to lose between $20 million and $30 million for Warner Bros.
“Doctor Sleep” now joins “The Goldfinch,” “Gemini Man,” and “Terminator: Dark Fate” as one of the fall’s big studio tentpole flops, but that’s not how King wants it to be remembered.
Amidst headlines over the weekend bringing attention to “Doctor Sleep” bombing at the box office, King took to social media to share a defense of the film. Author Matt Serafini encouraged “Doctor Sleep” admirers to share positive thoughts online to drown out the negativity of the movie’s box office.
“If you liked ‘Doctor Sleep don’t spend the weekend moping over box office,” Serafini wrote. “Talk about the film, what you dug, and inspire others to check it out. Let your championship be meaningful that way. Don’t let everyone’s hard work be immediately reduced to and defined by numbers.” King shared Serafini’s opinion with his own 5.5 million followers, adding, “Agree. It’s a terrific movie. Take a friend and dig the vibe.”
King was originally hesitant to allow Flanagan to direct “Doctor Sleep.” The filmmaker’s pitch was to adapt King’s novel while including some of the iconography made famous in Stanley’s Kubrick’s “The Shining” film adaptation. King has never supported Kubrick’s film, so he was understandably cagey about letting Flanagan recreate Kubrick’s version of settings like the Overlook Hotel. Not only did the two find common ground for the film to move forward, but King has since become a champion of “Doctor Sleep.”
King continued to champion “Doctor Sleep” in the wake of the box office numbers by tweeting, “I mostly write books and hope for the best. Box office numbers aside, Mike Flanagan’s film is excellent. If people choose not to go, that is their choice, but when something is good, I cheer for it.”
“Doctor Sleep” is the year’s third high profile Stephen King film following “Pet Sematary” and “It Chapter Two.” The film is now playing in theaters nationwide.
[King has never supported Kubrick’s film]
Hey I hate to break it to everyone including FREEPERS but Terminator Dark Fate made it to #1 and has almost 200 million in worldwide sales.
Also, I thought it was pretty darn good. The best Terminator since the first one.
His talent has been grossly overestimated.
Not nearly as bad as Miss Sloane.
13 million production, and it didn’t even make ten.
***Stephen King’s “The Shining” sequel***
The Stanley Kubrick version or the horrid 1997 three part made-for-TV version.
Pay services streaming is a lot more free market than Cable TV. You can stop and start at any time and if it gets too pricey, you can drop it. So you can binge watch a series like Game of Thrones and then stop it when you are done a month later. A month of Starz is around $10. Also, there is an expectation that streaming is supposed to be inexpensive.
Lastly, there are no regulatory and usage fees that are piled on high and wide on your typical on cable TV bill. Just the usual sales taxes. Our cable TV taxes and fees were around $50 per month.
Against a 185 million budget, and double that for marketing, Terminator Dark Fate lost money.
Meh. $34 million in box office in a week on a $50 million budget? Not exactly the end of the world. That's the catering budget on a Marvel movie. And it might have legs enough to play a few weeks, pull that number up. In the end, it's AT&T's money, and $20 million is a rounding error.
Yep. Liked his old stuff, stopped reading probably 15 years ago. Don’t think I’ve missed much, from what I’ve seen.
Thanks, but I know all about the options, just nothing I want to watch, including old stuff.
“For someone who wrote “The Stand”, he sure has difficulty with the Good vs Evil story in real life.”
My perspective on The Stand is the good guys were a drug addict, a single pregnant woman, an agnostic, and an atheist. The old black lady was more some kind of spiritualist than religious. If he has a religious person in his book, they are inevitably psycho; if he has a gun owner, they’re inevitably a crazy survivalist. I’ve read The Stand several times. I like the book but that is the reality of his thought process.
Better a lackluster box-office return than a smash hit. If these pukes keep losing money or barely breaking even, maybe they’ll get the message. I doubt it, but call me an eternal optimist ...
Jerk-wad King gets no more of my money. Either books or film $.
Yeah I don’t think the promo budget is that high.
The 185 number does check out, however:
https://screenrant.com/terminator-dark-fate-movie-budget-cost/
I’d like to see it. Trailers looked good.
Just came back from watching “Midway”...terrific movie.
Ewan McGregor isn't terrible, but nobody west of the Hebrides is really rooting for the guy.
AT&T will just deduct the loss from their taxes.
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