Kong doesn't break $10 m in opener; #21 all time in openers behind "Pokeman" and "Meet the Fokkers"

box office mojo and Drudge ^ | 12/16/05

[LS]

Kong did not open as strongly as expected according to Drudge, taking in $9.7 m, well below expectations. It opened a paltry #21 all time, behind such powerhouses as "Pokemon."

[caver]

I'm not a fan of remakes, whatever the movie.

[hosepipe]

[ a thrice-remade movie ]

Would that make it.. THRIPE.?. i.e. thrice + tripe

[SDGOP]

I love how dreamworks was pumping this would make 110 million its opening weekend blah blah blah. Such hype to get people to go see it. The only movies to even get close to 100 million for 3 days are the spider-man movies, harry potter, and the star wars ones. Most movies like this don't have that kind of pull.

[smith288]

Who would want to sit through a 3 hour remake that already been done, how many times?

Because the movie looks fantastic? I think so at least.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I just bought the original on DVD. Very unprecedented movie back then. I always thought it was the first "blockbuster" years before Jaws.

[Cyclopean Squid]

I'm not a fan of remakes, whatever the movie.

Did you like Ben-Hur? You know, one of the greatest movies ever made--I mean the greatest movies ever made. A remake is not automatically bad.

[SquirrelKing]

By far the best remake here:

[caver]

I think Ben Hur is one of the greatest, the 1959 version that is.

I did look up that movie and found it was first done in 1907. That would make the 1959 version a remake.
So, I get your point.

I guess it depends on how old you might be. The older you are, the more likely you've seen the original version. Maybe I like remakes and just don't know it.

[LS]

I went to see Star Wars ROTS on a Wed night. My son's high school band director had tickets for the whole band at a midnight showing. The theater was packed.

[rwfromkansas]

What really pisses me off is the game of the movie. I was considering getting the game since when I was little one of my favorite games was Donkey Kong.

But, the thing is, you have zero control over the game virtually. Like the movie, you have to follow a script. I REALLY, REALLY hate that in games.

I like games like Grand Theft Auto, where you can do whatever you want.

I will probably go see the movie though. I never got to see the others in the theater since I am too young.

I have to go see Narnia again though. It is amazing and doesn't leave out the Christian symbolism that is all over the film.

[kentj]

Yesterday I saw the oldest original Kong, and the last remake playing at the same time on different channels - the discover or A&E where doing a great ape special and the history channel was trying to leverage the missing link with its evolution program about ape man.

Is this evidence that the liberals are trying to make monkey's out of us.

[twigs]

My husband and I plan to see both. We were all Rings fans for three delightful years, adding seeing the movies to the pre-Christmas rush. I'm delighted to be able to do the same thing with Narnia. I can wait until after Christmas to see KK. I even loved the BBC version of Narnia and my daughter had them memorized. So I think we will love this one.

[twigs]

I LOVED seeing the Rings films in December. They became a part of our pre-Christmas activity and I went through withdrawal the fourth year. And I'm not an avid movie fan. I just can't wait to see Narnia this year! The underlying Christian message and/or symbolism fits right into the Christmas season.

[GAB-1955]

I work part time at an independent theater, so I know a little of the logic theater owners have.

Harry is 2 hours 27 minutes long; you can fit four shows in on a weekend. Rings, you couldn't but it had a built-in audience. Narnia is doing well too at 2 1/2. You can do four shows if you have the first one early and the last one late. (Remember, you have to have about 15 minutes or so to clean the theater and seat new patrons.)

Kong? Too long, but it beats "Saw II."

[LS]

The great line from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum":

Messenger: "They raped Thrace!"

Bystander: "Oh, that's terrible."

Messenger: "It gets worse---they came back and raped Thrace again!"

Bystander: "Oh no!"

Messenger: "Then they came back and raped Thrace yet again."

Bystander: "You mean they raped Thrace thrice?"

[marajade]

Are those all Wednesday openers?

[LS]

Yep.

[AmishDude]

They did it only as a reward to Peter Jackson. He'd always wanted to do a big-budget Kong remake and, after Lord of the Rings, they would have let him remake Ishtar or Plan 9 from Outer Space.

[marajade]

And PJ is using a lot of his own money profit from the LOTR triology to finance KK. I believe they stated it cost him 200 mil to make it.

9 mil is kinda disappointing but Titanic started out slowly too and gained a ton of speed (no pun intended).

[Rebelbase]

" a paltry #21 all time, behind such powerhouses as "Pokemon.""

Pokemon was the worst movie I've ever had the misfortune to have partially seen. The creators/director of it should be drawn and quartered and their entrails fed to jackels and hyenas.