Posted on 12/17/2005 11:10:22 AM PST by dangus
A gross of $11,000 per screen is quite good. If you're an autumn Wide Release, opening on 3500 screens across the country. When a movie opens on only 69 of the nation's largest theaters in a few dozen of the largest cities, with almost all of your target audience within range of those theaters, it's pretty bad.
Brokeback Mountain played in fourteen times more theaters this Friday than last Friday, and made less than four times as much money, only $760,000. It looks like the movie will make considerably less than its $15 million budget before the Academy Awards come out. How many tens of millions of dollars in free promotion, reduced pay and credibility were spent on this film?
King Kong also appears to be a flop. I've seen this movie: Peter Jackson has mastered many movie-making techniques with the Lord of the Rings, and the movie is an amazing spectacle with much positive and true to say about human nature. But Jackson did not learn how to discipline his budgeting or story-telling. His movie is also bloated, over-long, too violent, very horrific and a bit tooo preposterous.
The early part of the movie centers around a movie director too obsessed with his story, prone to overkill, and swindling a movie company out of far more than they would have been willing to spend. Given that actor Jack Black even slightly resembles Peter Jackson, I can't help but to wonder if how consciously auto-biographical the film is. It will make many, many, many times more than Brokeback Mountain, and still become known as a flop. I sincerely hope Peter Jackson learns the right things from the experience; he is very talented, very passionate, and, from the messages of his movies, very decent. King Kong made $14 million last night... It will probably easily pass $100 million, but land short of its $200 million budget. On the other hand, it is precisely the sort of movie that translates well overseas, and does well on DVD. But it will not be the Box Office savior hoped for.
Chronicles of Narnia will apparently need a rebound in the Christmas vacations to be profitable. Except for a literally rushed ending, it's almost perfect, a purely magical delight. But it seems to have very weak legs; it's not surprising since everyone who wanted to see this movie knew they did so a long time ago, and most rushed out to see it immediately. Today's movie markets don't allow for the sort of excellent word of mouth that Narnia is getting.
That word of mouth means probably good DVD sales, and strong anticipation of a sequel, so Narnia's Box Office is by no means a failure... just it'll take some time to become profitable. Narnia sold about $9 million worth of tickets, down over 60% from last Friday.
But there doesn't seem to be any great challenger to Narnia for the Holiday season. The Family Stone opened weak ($4 million), Harry Potter is mostly played out ($1.5 million), as are Walk the Line ($1 million) and Yours Mine and Ours (under $1 million) Syriana also fell hard, too... ($1.6 million).
Don't look for any saviors at the box office next week either... Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Fun with Dick and Jane, The Ringer, and Rumor Has It all open, but none look too strong
Cowpoke mountain aint far from heah....just a stones throw from the Little Big Horny River in Wyomin....Oh give a home, where the cowpokers roam, my dear little antelope plays...where seldom its known, ewe sat on mah bone, when the skies had fahrworks all day......OHHHHHH...HOMO ON THE RANGE....Where the queer, and the antelope play......
Er, you wanna rephrase? Unless it was intentional of course.
PMSL!!!
Howl's Moving Castle was what I was thinking of, but it sounds like you have them all.
The TV Guide Channnel did a feature on Holiday movies: King Kong, Harry Potter, etc. Not a word about the Chronicles of Narnia. Prejudice, perhaps?
And Brokeback Mountain is supposed to be BIG Golden Globe contender! Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
We're taking our boys to see Narnia next week.
Kong isn't doing good?
I'm sad :(
Doug McIntyre kept referring to this film as "the cowpoke movie." Say no more.
Jerry Van Dyke could surely reprise his role without losing a step.
I know I'm paying to see trash.
make that NOT paying to see this trash
The film will be required viewing in all elementary schools through out the land.
Good Times, the Movie
My Name Is Earl, the Movie
Bosum Buddies, the Movie
I saw brokeback last night. It had nothing so explicit that I was offended, but don't take the kids.
"haven't had a discussion around the water cooler like the one you mention."
I wasn't trying to imply that you had.
Gay cowboys eating pudding just doesn't appeal to mass audiences. Who'da thunk it?
Then what the hell are they doing hitting on each other when there's all that talent around?
Makes ya wonder about the quality of today's Hollywood pervs...
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