Let's talk Box Office

[trackercowe]

Yet all three terrible Jurassic World movies had good returns at the box office. That's something I've never been able to understand, especially the last two. I guess because they're considered family/"event" movies. They're outright unwatchable though, much worse than any of these recent bombs. How long will it take for them to resurrect that franchise from the grave?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Yet all three terrible Jurassic World movies had good returns at the box office. That's something I've never been able to understand, especially the last two. I guess because they're considered family/"event" movies. They're outright unwatchable though, much worse than any of these recent bombs. How long will it take for them to resurrect that franchise from the grave?

Batman vs Superman made something like $800M despite being some of the worst crap to crawl onto the Silver Screen in recent memory.

Spiderman 3 made money!

Just because a film makes money doesnt mean its any good.

Shawshank Redemption got SLAUGHTERED at the Box Office, despite being one of the best movies ever.

[zamler]

Indy 5 will suffer because the movie doesn't star Indy. That's Kathleen Kennedy's greatest power taking beloved characters and ####ting on them she essentially says that's her intention. "Move away" from Indiana Jones is how she put it.

[Nadal Fan]

Indy 5 opens with $60M on an almost $300M budget, and the new animated movie Ruby Gillman opens with only $6M on a $70M budget. This summer hasn't been kind to alot of movies, I think the studios putting films out on streaming only 2-3 weeks after opening day is a huge mistake. Most people who miss it opening weekend will probably just wait a week to watch it at home.

[Jason14h]

People got use to not going to theatres during Covid and realized it’s not worth the time / cost Vs watching at home is the biggest issue IMO

[nfotiu]

The newer upscale theaters are pretty nice way to spend an evening.

Lots of factors, but so much money is still going to old, tired franchises. There was a time I'd be pretty excited about the latest Star Wars, Marvel, Indy movie, but now I barely care enough to watch them when they are available on a streaming service I subscribe to.

The creative talent producing streaming tv has surpassed what is going to movies lately.

[Matata]

It seems like post-covid, the only movies that have done really well are simple, escapist films with visual spectacle. In the modern media landscape, those are really the only two things film does better than any other medium.

[Sr. Mints]

I saw Indy on Friday, and the woman who brought potato chips into the theatre exemplified why watching a movie at home is preferable for so many

[Locke]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

The newer upscale theaters are pretty nice way to spend an evening.

Lots of factors, but so much money is still going to old, tired franchises. There was a time I'd be pretty excited about the latest Star Wars, Marvel, Indy movie, but now I barely care enough to watch them when they are available on a streaming service I subscribe to.

The creative talent producing streaming tv has surpassed what is going to movies lately.

Yeah, but back in the day...in the before times, before the 'Great Sickness' people bitched about the cost of going to see a movie. The ticket was the least of your worries.

Concessions were outrageous, etc. etc.

I like the newer upscale theaters but man, dinner and a movie for 2 at one of those places is pretty pricy...thats a 'once a month' outing now tops.

The concept of gathering all your buddies and going to see a movie every couple of weeks is gone.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Matata

It seems like post-covid, the only movies that have done really well are simple, escapist films with visual spectacle. In the modern media landscape, those are really the only two things film does better than any other medium.

Simple films do well because they can work in foreign markets like China where English isn't the first language(or even used). Any film not opening in China has an uphill battle to begin with, which is why so many are catering to that market these days. I'm not sure this is a good thing.

[trackercowe]

Speaking of China... Lost in the Stars made 117 million at the box office (up from 70 million on its opening weekend). Meanwhile Indiana Jones made a paltry 2.4 million. As expected Dial of Destiny will likely bomb, and end up earning less than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from 15 years ago.

Obviously most predicted this, based upon patterns and reviews from DoD. I wonder if this means the end for the Indiana Jones franchise... and perhaps Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilms. How many failures can she survive?

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Nadal Fan

Indy 5 opens with $60M on an almost $300M budget, and the new animated movie Ruby Gillman opens with only $6M on a $70M budget. This summer hasn't been kind to alot of movies, I think the studios putting films out on streaming only 2-3 weeks after opening day is a huge mistake. Most people who miss it opening weekend will probably just wait a week to watch it at home.

I have a theory that The Phantom Menace broke the incentives of the movie industry in terms of creating good original content, and it's starting to come home to roost. They saw that with the right IP you could make something the fans didn't enjoy and they would still pay to see it, certain movies became de-risked, it didn't matter what the script was.

In the 90s, 80% of the top grossing films were either original content or first time novel adaptations designed to be stand alone stories. 2000 / 2001 still had a lot of original content that had already been in development, but by 2002 it flipped, where 80% of movies were re-makes, continuations or adaptations of earlier Film/TV, or in the case of something like Harry Potter / LOTR the were sold as series before they started. I think it's also not a coincidence that at the same time the Oscars stopped giving awards to the best movies and actors in a given year, they were looking at the best stuff the industry had to offer, and they were bored with it, it was something they had seen before.

I think this might the audiences catching up to where the critics already were, do we need to pay to see a de-aged Harrison Ford trying to re-capture a story that is 30 years gone by?

The movie industry is a business, and this could be a sign we are in for a correction, and we'll start to see more investment in original content, if people aren't going to pay to see the Indiana Jones re-hash.

[Matata]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Simple films do well because they can work in foreign markets like China where English isn't the first language(or even used). Any film not opening in China has an uphill battle to begin with, which is why so many are catering to that market these days. I'm not sure this is a good thing.

Have there been any movies that did great in the US but poorly overseas? The movies that bomb in China seem to do mediocre at best in the US.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Speaking of China... Lost in the Stars made 117 million at the box office (up from 70 million on its opening weekend). Meanwhile Indiana Jones made a paltry 2.4 million. As expected Dial of Destiny will likely bomb, and end up earning less than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from 15 years ago.

Obviously most predicted this, based upon patterns and reviews from DoD. I wonder if this means the end for the Indiana Jones franchise... and perhaps Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilms. How many failures can she survive?

I think theres a few things going on, obviously the shift to home-theater/streaming. The fact that one only has to wait a couple months to watch it at home hurts Box Office dearly.

Further, everything I've read review-wise about DoD has been pretty much the same. Its an okay-to-good film, but it doesnt do much 'special' and its a little too long.

I think if you're expecting people to sit in a theater for, what? ~2h40 runtime film? You'd better be blowing them away with a movie they cant take their eyes off of.

Further, if you have a movie that runs that long, it also limits your showing ability, you can only run that movie so many times a day.

And Kathleen Kennedy...my God that woman feels like she's been living under the 'Sword of Damocles' for something like 30 years. Did she learn how to weasel her way out of responsibility from Trump?

She needs to shoved down a Death Star reactor pit.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Matata

Have there been any movies that did great in the US but poorly overseas? The movies that bomb in China seem to do mediocre at best in the US.

Top Gun Maverick (not surprisingly) didn't even get released in China. It was the top-grossing film domestically last year and did well internationally despite no revenue from China.

Wakanda Forever was in the worldwide top-10 last year with over 50% of its total coming from the US and Canada.

The Minions did better in China last year than Wakanda Forever and The Batman. Top Gun, Thor, and Dr. Strange didn't get released in China.


The Star Wars films have all done pretty poorly in China. In fact, I think any film that relies on pre-2000 nostalgia does poorly in China. Also, anything that's too jingoistically American.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by getbak

Top Gun Maverick (not surprisingly) didn't even get released in China. It was the top-grossing film domestically last year and did well internationally despite no revenue from China.

Wakanda Forever was in the worldwide top-10 last year with over 50% of its total coming from the US and Canada.

The Minions did better in China last year than Wakanda Forever and The Batman. Top Gun, Thor, and Dr. Strange didn't get released in China.


The Star Wars films have all done pretty poorly in China. In fact, I think any film that relies on pre-2000 nostalgia does poorly in China. Also, anything that's too jingoistically American.

Top Gun, for obvious reasons, wasn't allowed to play I China. They'll also ban movies with too much supernatural content, for example Ghostbusters.

Some studios would also edit movies for the Chinese censors. IMO a pretty despicable practice.

https://www.outkick.com/disney-admit...lm-censorship/

[OutOfTheCube]

Coming out so fast on streaming is a big one. I'm a big Wes Anderson fan so was definitely going to see Asteroid City -- I was busy on opening weekend so couldn't make it, then read a few days later it would already be released on streaming July 11th. So I'm just waiting to watch it at home.

[ThisIsAnOutrage]

If you liked Cabin in the Woods and anything involving the Wayans, you must see The Blackening. It's a rare gem; a horror comedy that delivers both horror and comedy.

[Nadal Fan]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1679695541012254722

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Nadal Fan

https://twitter.com/user/status/1679695541012254722

Yeah...that Cusack Tweet kinda stings, on top of which...canceling or destroying content for write-offs and to dodge having to pay royalties and residuals?

Thats greasy. Thats really greasy.

I think if one were to engage an Auditing firm to independently comb through the books of the major Hollywood studios...people would not like the results, and it wouldnt surprise me if the current auditing firms signing off on the financials would experience an Arthur Andersen.