Posted on 06/20/2005 7:10:06 AM PDT by Syco
Batman was powerful enough to rule the box office, but the superhero was unable to pull Hollywood out of its worst slump in 20 years.
"Batman Begins" debuted as the top movie with $46.9 million, while overall movie revenues skidded for the 17th-straight weekend, tying a slide in 1985 that had been the longest box-office decline since analysts began keeping detailed records on movie grosses.
The top 12 movies took in $128.5 million, down 1.6 percent from the same weekend in 2004, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The slump may be a sign that more people are seeing movies at home. An Associated Press-AOL poll last week found that 73 percent of adults prefer watching movies on DVD, videotape or pay-per-view rather than going to the theater.
Studio executives blame the downturn on a comparatively weak lineup of movies this year and say it will take more time to determine if DVDs and other home-entertainment options are eroding theater business.
hollywood doesn't CARE about YOU or your KIDS. It only cares about nudity, foul language, terrible violence and political nonsense. Stay home and pop your own corn and sit back and enjoy some fun stuff with your kids.
"Studio executives blame the downturn on a comparatively Weak lineup of movies this year"
Movie line up this summer looks like they pulled it out of a 30 year old TV guide.
Star status has diminished because the American movie goer may be tired of the liberal bias that Hollywood holds. This is in addition to what you said.
Scarecrow got away, just in case you missed it Gordon told Batman that at the end, same time he showed the calling card of another nut burger that was running around, a joker card.
I sure did miss it.
I thought Liam Neeson (sp) was "the villian" and he went down with the train wreck.
I guess the REAL villian was Dr. Crane.
Thanks!
Liam was the root villain, he died, but he's also replacable. Scarecrow was the comic book "classic" villain, he lived and is at large.
Yes, don't tell them what to do. Just because family films make more money, and box office is down, doesn't mean they should make the good business decision and make more of the profitable family films...
And it was, it really, really was the best Batman ever. I was impressed. Christian Bale was great. I expected to be disappointed, after the last Batmans and hearing that it would be 'dark'. For me, the thorn among the roses was Katie Holmes as the lead female. The young version of her character did a great job. But I just don't care for Tom's female clone of himself.
Yes, the recurring imagery and themes in this movie are outstanding. The bats, the train, Wayne Manor, Bruce and his father with the stethoscope, "Why do we fall?"...it's truly amazing.
I cannot wait for the DVD.
Batman is *not* appropriate for young kids. At least 10+. It's rather realistic and some themes wouldn't play well with little kids. It's a good film but not for children (esp. 4 & 2).
This one captures the "Dark Knight" feel very well. Gotham City is corrupt, dark, and dangerous. The Batmobile is fantastic!
The lead, Christian Bale, is a good choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman--he has the look, the voice, etc. Also well-cast are Michael Caine as Alfred (he's especially good), Gary Oldman as Gordon, Morgan Freeman as sort of a counterpart to 007's gadget guru, and Liam Neeson as Wayne's mentor. Katie Holmes as the love interest/Asst. DA is OK--not great, but OK. There are a few other key characters--a crime boss, a crooked cop, a spooky court psychiatrist.
Kept my interest throughout, very entertaining.
I have to agree. I saw it last week. I thought it was the best of all of them. What I liked was how it blended the graphic art/'comic' strip story ideas into a real life story, in a believable way. As a kid, I regularly watched the Batman series, it was too colorful and the 60's wacky psychedelic, more so now in comparison. This was believable, especially the special effects (like the 'gas') that have been outrageously over done in previous versions. I loved Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne, the best hands down (and I love Michael Keaton). That voice. Wow. Gotham was dark, gritty, corrupt but believable. I loved that the Batmobile was rugged. Gary Oldman was fantastic, as Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine were. Liam Neeson - wow. I'm not a fan of Katie, however. Imho, she didn't have a lot of chemistry or believability. I'm hoping for a sequel, but I realize this is kind of the prequel to the 1989 version, filling in blanks regular graphic arts readers would know but the rest of us might not. It was so good, I might have to see it again at the theatre.
Agreed 100% but I have to add in Gary Oldman's excellent performance. The man is a brilliant actor!
Wow, Cillian Murphy was a great choice but Lewis would have been very interesting to see in this part.
I thought it was a bit odd that the driver had to lay down on his stomach in order to fire a weapon. Not the most functional of contraptions. : )
I think Nolan is a great director. I really enjoyed Memento.
Regarding the script or plot line, wouldn't that military weapon have vaporized the water inside of a human just as it vaporized the water inside a pipe?
I know I'm picking for no good reason. This is a great movie.
You're right, I confused the text.
I thought Murphy was brilliant in that role. He just looks creepy. I really had to take a close look at his face- it looked symetrical and in-human; and for a moment I thought it was some odd-ball movie special effect just for the sake of making the character look weird. But it would seem Murphy's looks are God-given.
Wow! Nice setup! I can recognize some major high-end components. It must be great to watch movies in that room. It's great to see examples of what an audiophile setup actually looks like.
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