Posted on 07/04/2005 4:12:15 PM PDT by timsbella
War of the Worlds" conquered the box office as easily as the movie's aliens overpowered Earth, but it did not have enough firepower to overcome Hollywood's prolongued box office slump.
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's sci-fi tale took in $77.6 million over the long Fourth of July weekend, lifting its total since debuting Wednesday to $113.3 million, according to studio estimates Monday.
That fell well short of the all-time high held by "Spider-Man 2," whose $180.1 million haul in its first six days led Hollywood to a record Fourth of July weekend last year.
The top 12 movies took in $160.1 million, off 25 percent from that 2004 record weekend.
It was the 19th straight weekend that domestic revenues were down compared with last year's, extending the longest slump since analysts began tracking detailed box-office figures. The worst downturn previously recorded was 17 weekends in 1985.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Actually I've never read it. Sp thanks for giving away the ending Mr Spoiler! :-<
"Actually, I didn't bring up Steinbeck, at least I don't believe I did."
My bad. I just got home after almost a 48-hour stint (I had a few hours in a hotel), it's after midnight, and ahm tard.
That was the short story ending - never read the novel. Might be entirely different.
Nobody's gonna bring up Somerset Maugham?
Yep. It should be understood that Hollywood's obstructionism is motivated by a desire to preserve its existing middleman-heavy business model and its cultural gatekeeper power -- "piracy" is an excuse, and arguments based on it can be pretty much dismissed out of hand.
No problem. It's not that I dislike Steinbeck, he's just not one of my favorites.
Too bad! (Copious crocodile tears)
When Hollyweird pulls its collective head out of the unauthorized location where it's currently stuck, I'll return to the cineplex.
When they give us more movies like "Master and Commander," which had the theme of duty, honor, and loyalty, they'll get my dime again. Until then I will stay home, pore over my extensive library of DVD's, and then pop a classic from back when they knew how to make movies into the player attached to my big-screen TV. Hey, Hollyweird! Are you listening?
It's been nearly four years now, so more than enough time has pased by, and the 9/11 families have been very well compensated for their losses, so there's no excuse at this point.
Spot on. What is that quote from?
"When they give us more movies like "Master and Commander,"
I bought that DVD. How did it do at the box office?
Wow, I didn't realize this post was as emotionally charged as it was. I am never alone when in the company of Freepers!
I completely agree with Master & Commander, Gladiator, the LOTR movies. I have to say I liked "National Treasure" too. T'was fun.
All excellent. Did not go to the theatre to see any of them though. The price in the Toronto area went up to $14 a flick, and then someone gave their head a shake and brought them down to $9.95, but then they took away cheap matinees and the "two for Tuesday" deals.
Forget that noise, I'll watch when they come to the movie network.
14 dollars???
You betcha! My kids to a fine job of making the floors sticky too ;)
MAC was an expensive Box Office disappointment.
"I have a humble suggestion for the moguls of Hollywood to help them break out of their slump: make a movie about 9/11, the seminal historical event of our time. And I mean a patriotic blockbuster movie, not some piece of garbage like Michael Moore's."
That is one outstanding suggestion! But you know the finished product would be all touchy-feely PC so as not to offend liberals here at home and people in other parts of the world. Hollyweird has an agenda, and it's not favorable to the United States.
The two movies that have dealt albeit indirectly with 9/11 were Spike Lee's '25th Hour' and this new 'War of the Worlds' (the latter dealing with it in oblique and metaphorical fashion).
They should never, ever make a movie about 911. No kidding around, I feel very strongly about that.
"MAC was an expensive Box Office disappointment."
Too bad. I like it. I doubt that it's a timeless classic, but it's better than a lot of what they're making.
I wonder how "Intolerance" would be regarded if we weren't all infected to some degree with PC.
Last year "Passion of the Christ" was responsible for the huge success at the turnstile.
This fact is not widely explained.
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