Keep the Rebel Alliance off the rides.
Posted on 12/21/2017 10:36:09 AM PST by EdnaMode
The final number for the 2017 North American box office haul will decline by at least 2% from last year’s record-setting $11.38 billion — even with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” being a blockbuster.
As of Dec. 19, the domestic total for the year was $10.35 billion, or 3.1% behind the same time frame a year ago. So the final 12 days of the year would have to generate slightly more than $1 billion to match last year’s total — a highly improbable scenario, according to box office tracker comScore.
“I think the final number for 2017 will come in between $11.1 billion and $11.2 billion,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, told Variety.
That would mean that the final earnings will finish in the same range as 2015’s $11.14 billion — the second-highest year on record. It will be only the third time that the industry has made it to $11 billion. Grosses hit $10.8 billion in 2012 and $10.9 billion in 2013, then slid to $10.4 billion in 2014.
Moviegoing in 2017 was hampered by a slow summer season — the first in more than a decade to fall short of $4 billion — and a disappointing October. Gains in September, when “It” smashed records, and November plus the stellar performance by “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (with $261.1 million in its first five days) have kept prospects alive for a year above $11 billion.
The final 12 days of the year are one of the heaviest moviegoing periods in North America. The last dozen days of 2016 totaled $703.3 million, led by “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” taking in $208 million. In 2015, the final 12 days totaled $814.1 million as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” dominated with $464 million.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” will probably fall between those two movies with around $300 million for the last 12 days of 2012. The tentpole, which took in $278.8 million in its first six days, won’t have to go it alone. Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is off to a solid start with $7.2 million on its opening day at 3,765 North American sites on Wednesday. The first numbers point to a six-day gross between $45 million and $55 million range for the six-day period that runs through Christmas Day.
Fox’s Hugh Jackman musical-drama “The Greatest Showman” showed a first-day number Wednesday of $2.5 million at 3,005 locations — which would probably leave “Showman” with a six-day total of about $20 million, in line with recent forecasts.
Tracking for Universal’s comedy “Pitch Perfect 3,” which opens on Dec. 22, has been projected for a four-day opening in the $27 million to $29 million range at 3,400 North American theaters. Paramount is launching “Downsizing” on Dec. 22 at about 2,600 North American locations with box office expectations in the $10 million to $12 million range during the Friday-Monday period. Warner Bros. is also releasing “Father Figures” on Dec. 22 at about 2,800 venues as part of its output deal with Alcon with forecasts for the Friday-Monday period of about $10 million.
Sony will launch the year’s final wide release on Christmas Day with “All the Money in the World” at about 2,000 sites. Director Ridley Scott managed to revamp the thriller in six weeks, completely cutting Kevin Spacey from the film following sexual harassment and assault allegations against the actor. Christopher Plummer replaced Spacey in the role of J. Paul Getty and has already been nominated for a Golden Globe.
Gump hanks just sunk his movie.
Too expensive. A terrible value. Then there are the politics — why support something or someone who hates me.
Good. Less money to flow into the dimoKKKRAT coffers.
I have several excuses that don’t involve theaters or socializing much at all.
I’m far happier in the metal building with the pet project vehicles. Sometimes I even make progress.
Only movie I saw this year was Dunkirk. It was enough to keep me away for at least another year.
There are numerous things happening here.
People do not like being preached to and every movie has every liberal talking point in it somewhere and in some form. Everything is getting politically corrected, which leads to unbelievable characters; like little women who are much badder asses than any big brute of a guy.
There haven’t been many original movies, just sequels and remakes. Special effects, no matter how good, make up for good writing and a decent story line. Story lines themselves have been sacrificed at the PC alter or to be more inclusive of gay or “diverse” characters. One that comes to mind is Robin Hood with a black character in it. Really?
Then there is the entry price when compared with competing entertainment. When just about everybody has streaming internet and big screen TV’s why spend fifty bucks to sit in a theater with wet floors, cell phones and music that’s too loud?
One big turnoff for me is seeing an actor who I know in real life says and does things I find offensive. Tweeting anti-Trump trash is high on my list. All it takes is one of the twenty characters onscreen and I won’t see that one.
Hollywood needs to go back to entertainment and give up preaching. Putting a legal muzzle on the stars would help a lot too.
You should try it - it brings much relief! ;-P
Keep the Rebel Alliance off the rides.
I drive by a movie place on the way home every day, ten screens, OK seats, popcorn’s not bad.
But it’s astonishing how shit*y the movies are.
Local high school recently commenced Monthly Movie Night in its theater. Movies are family friendly.
This is possible through the school’s purchase of an annual license allowing display of other-than-first-run movies from any legitimate source (streaming, disc, tape, etc.).
It’s catching on. There are no local commercial theaters. And the school theater’s projection quality is just a shade less than commercial quality. Sound system matches commercial quality.
Movie nights are well attended by kids and increasingly, adults. All enjoy the local big screen movie theater experience. Kids are exceptionally well-behaved. Parents enjoy going to the movies with their children. Other adults like the relaxed home town theater experience. And local businesses & organizations fall all over themselves supporting the effort.
Careful selection of movies is critical. People attend what they like.
Another factor not addressed this year:
Last Jedi was the MIDDLE of a trilogy.
We already know the setup. We’re not going to see the ending yet. Ergo, there’s not much urgency to know what happens in the middle. We’re interested, don’t get most of us wrong, but not all wound up about seeing the middle within a couple days of release.
“There are numerous things happening here.
....like little women who are much badder asses than any big brute of a guy.”
If Die Hard were made today it would have been Bonnie Bedelia saving the day instead of Bruce Willis.
“There haven’t been many original movies, just sequels and remakes. Special effects, no matter how good, make up for good writing and a decent story line.”
They guy who was The Commish on tv and played The Thing in the Fantastic Four movies said the consolidation of studios was the problem there.
He explained that once there were 3 or 4 big studios but maybe 40 smaller ones that each had a niche.
Some made family friendly films, some did western, others did horror and so on.
He said now there are only about 10 studios making all the movies and they are afraid of taking chances. Just do what was profitable last year and things will be good.
Special effects and CGI have their place, but only as enhancements. Not as stars.
“Story lines themselves have been sacrificed at the PC alter or to be more inclusive of gay or “diverse” characters. One that comes to mind is Robin Hood with a black character in it. Really?”
And a Robin Hood with a mid-west American accent.
Even Men In Tights had some actual English accents.
“why spend fifty bucks to sit in a theater with wet floors, cell phones and music that’s too loud?”
My living room is cheaper, quieter and the seat fits my butt better.
Today’s “theater experience” is more like a walk through the ghetto than a fun family adventure.
“One big turnoff for me is seeing an actor who I know in real life says and does things I find offensive.”
Three fourths of Hollyweird is dead to me, the other fourth is on short notice.
I'm that way. I shy away from anything that is in-my-face liberal PC or pointlessly amoral.
I don't mind adult situations or sensuality, but within the right context. It's not the sex & violence, but the ideas that offend me.
Unfortunately most of the current films fail to engage me. There is no middle ground. It's either SPIDER MAN XIII or some artsy-fartsy indie film with a weirdo LGBT-type as the main character.
This year I saw DUNKIRK & WONDER WOMAN. The latter was enjoyable, in spite of some PC moments.
#11 and everyone else.
http://4k.com/65-inch-tv-reviews-best-in-depth-guide-for-65-inch-smart-led-4k-ultra-hd-tvs-for-sale-buy-a-65-inch-4k-flat-screen-television-with-confidence/
He’said already been demoted from someone who feels life death through the force to a moron in between episode 8 whose actions got all but 10 rebels killed. You can’t get much worse than that.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the box office for Last Jedi ends up worse than Rogue One. It had the worst plot for a movie I have seen in a long time, and even that is taking other Star Wars movies into account such as the Ewok Adventure or Phantom Menace.
Absolutely true.
Although if you ask a Star Wars fanboy, they'd tell you that the second installment, The Empire Strikes Back is by FAR the best of the original series.
I cannot really comment, as I'm not a fanboy.
I saw the first and it was pretty good.
I haven't seen the Last Jedi, so no comment.
Indeed. New movie fare is pretty dismal. Hollywood has completely lost touch with the values of their customers.
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