Posted on 08/15/2017 3:11:39 AM PDT by SkyPilot
Reports now, according to Exhibitor Relations: if things continue as they have, this will be the lowest box office in a quarter century. While there have been bright spots (“Dunkirk”) and surprises (“Baby Driver”) the failures have outweighed everything.
Start with a total write off on “King Arthur” and go from there. Then go to “The Dark Tower.”
One terrible new failure: “Nut Job 2,” they say, is the biggest loser ever in wide release (4000+) studio movie. It made just over $8 million this weekend.
Four years ago, at a USC symposium, famed and very successful directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg warned the film industry that reliance on blockbusters– tent pole movies that failed would cause an implosion. At first no one took them seriously. But now maybe we’re seeing what they meant.
Spielberg said at the time: “That’s the big danger, and there’s eventually going to be an implosion — or a big meltdown. There’s going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen mega budget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that’s going to change the paradigm.”
Other huge flops this year include “Life” — the sci fi movie no one saw, “Monster Trucks,” which was a monster disaster. “Ghost in the Shell” with Scarlett Johansson also came and went quickly. Plus Will Ferrell’s “The Office” was a total write off, and Sony’s “Rough Night” was an embarrassment.
I’m not counting the $100 million plus lost on “The Promise,” because it was a vanity production.
This year also brought Tom Hanks’s biggest flop in decades, “The Circle.” And of course there were the two misbegotten TV remakes– “Baywatch” and “CHiPs.”
(Excerpt) Read more at showbiz411.com ...
I'm 2/3 of the way through my HBO 3 month "freebie," which I'll be cancelling before I get charged, but between Amazon Prime, Netflix, & Hulu, there's far more great shows and movies to watch than I have time. And all 3 combined per month is less than tickets for 2 at the local movie theater.
Mark
BTW the smallpox blankets never happened in the US or at least distributed to the Indians by our government. It did happen in Canada courtesy of The Hudson Bay Company.
This season is certainly shaping up to be one of the best so far... I'm just wishing there would be more episodes.
Mark
Everyone’s tired of the fifth sequel, the latest superhero CGI rollercoaster ride, the 5’3” woman who kicks the ass of 230 pound biker dudes, and the latest 10th remake of some movie that we’ve seen 20 times...
Every now and then Hollywood does manage to pull off a really amazing plotline finish:
would you believe the other day that the serial killer perp revealed at the very end turned out to be the blue-eyed Christian businessman..?!?!?
wow...!
who on earf could have anticipated THAT as a finish, huh..?!?
Firefly and Battlestar Galactica were pioneers in that sort of camera work that put the watcher into the scene, as well as the lens flare. But they were both seen as accents, to improve the viewer's experience.
As an example, I find the "new and improved" Star Trek movies nearly unwatchable, as it seems that EVERY scene includes lens flare and handheld shots!
Mark
I hated baby driver so much that I almost enjoyed hating it.
can you believe that piece of crap was rated 98% on Rotten Tomatoes..?! that’s why I broke down and decided to go in and try it out:
I thought I figured at 98% positive it can’t be completely bad it’s it’s maybe a little bit good.
but it wasn’t it was one of the stupidest movies I’ve seen in years..!
Nut Job 2....Rough Night Even in the titles Hollywood self describes.
I have never heard anyone say,"Ya know, that movie would have been better if they had just put in a little more profanity."
I don't want any characters' sexuality thrown in my face whether it's straight or homosexual. I have no problem with a movie with homosexual characters if it's part of the narrative, or of historical significance.
"As Good as it Gets" was a fantastic movie, as was "The Imitation Game," both of which featured homosexual characters as part of the story. It wasn't just thrown in for "impact."
Mark
“If the best movie of all time were at our local theater I probably would not go. I object to putting money in the pockets of the left-wing Hollywood jerks. They turn around and give it to people like Hillary. I’m glad the industry is failing; those people have brought it on themselves.”
I TOTALLY agree with you. Add the Meryl Streep types who constantly bash Trump (and therefore all of us who stand with him), and there you have the current losers who make up the hateful Hollywood crowd. A pox on them all!
“Add Helen Mirren to your list.”
Yep. Agree with you.
May I offer a few reasons to Hollywood and Movie Producers?
The movies STINK TO HIGH HEAVEN!!
Going to the movies used to be ENTERTAINING, Family Safe, FUN, going to the movies on a date worth it.
Now, they are VULGAR, obscene and not and, overpriced, small local theater available.
I'm sure, that were you to honest ask yourself, your parents, Grandparents as well as people on the street you would be told the same and maybe more.
Even HBO and STARZ are dragging the bottom. Their ‘new’ releases are hardly even B-level movies. Most of their schedule is old [as in decades ago] movies.
Some of the cable channels are a bit better with some newer releases, but those venues are splattered with so many commercials that they are not worth trying to watch.
Netflix and Amazon Prime are dredging the bottom for new releases of old or Inde flops. They are creating their own original movies and TV series and they are finding that making it does not necessarily make people want to watch it. Their originals seem to be hit-and-miss; a couple of successes and several failures.
I enjoyed The Last Tycoon and Cathrine The Great this week n Amazon. CTG was made in Russia with a Russia cast. Interesting in that it ends when she takes the throne. Shows a lot about Empress Elizabeth and the politics of eastern europe in the mid and late 18th century.
Have you seen the bar fight scene in "Serenity?" River Tam is a bada$$! THAT ONE ROCKS!!!
River Tam's fight in Serenity."
Summer Glau (the actress) is a trained dancer, and she performed the entire scene.
Mark
Not homoed down, but no story, no historical perspective and very poor editing. All flash and boom with no character development.
I give it a D
It is amazing with such a rich source of historical material Hollywood cannot find writers capable of comprehending it to tell the story.
When I was young I considered The Stand to be the Great America Novel.
Now I realize King is a Great American Doosh.
There are entire industries designed to separate us from our money, and they are run by people who hate us.
Big surprise that their business takes a hit when people become aware of that fact.
Halle Berry hates white people and has said so many times, once even in front of her white mother, who raised her solely.
There is not one single moment of Firefly or Serenity that I haven’t seen 100 times.
I aim to misbehave.
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