Is Batman Begins being so well reviewed before its release (with WB selectively setting embargo dates to allow Old Media to suck all the air out of the story) that a backlash is becoming inevitable?
(Note: I agree with the positive notices… but backlash is an emotional thing, not an intellectual one.)
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” ā some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it ā I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury ā he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” ā and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging ā I was with her at that moment ā she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy namedā” “Yeah, sure ā you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that Iām on the phone with you now, after all thatās been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didnāt seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. Thereās not a case of that. He wasnāt using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had ā if that were what the accusation involved ā the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. Iām not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, āYou know, itās not this, itās thatā? Because ā let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. TimesĀ piece, thatās what it lacked. Thatās what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
No backlash from the public is expected, this movie seems to be really amping crowds up.
Still, many of the mainstream reviewers are asking why this one wasn’t directed by Tim Burton, and where all the “humour” went. Uh-huuuhhhh.
Talk about missing the point. Burton’s movies are far more flawed than nostalgia allows to remember, and the repertoire with Caine, Oldman, and Freeman looks wryly comical.
I’m expecting good things tonight.
backlash is a lazy journo tool and people in competition with the movie starting things. if its as good as people say it is they got nothiong to worry about
How can there be a backlash on Christian Bale in a a rubber suit? It doesn’t get any better for us gals out there.
Why you being so pessimistic?
I don’t know about a backlash but what I have been waiting for is the inevible reviewer that decides to generate publicity by hating the film, as Kenneth Turran does with just about every James Cameron film.
reviewers have agendas. and they can make noise and get their names out if they bash a universally loved film.
Anything with fanboys is going to have backlash. If it isn’t how a certian part of fandom wants it, they’ll declare war because, of course, their take should be the only one that matters. I do think Batman will have less backlash from them than with normal viewers who don’t want to sit through “story crap.” I haven’t seen the movie, but if I had to guess, it’d be a Hulk-like reaction, though not NEARLY as bad.
From that point of view everything of quality will have a backlash at some point in time.
“reviewers have agendas. and they can make noise and get their names out if they bash a universally loved film.”
Hmm sounds like Jeff Wells everytime a major release comes out. The fact that he likes Batman should say something about the movie.
Well, Lester, some people want to burn Peter Jackson alive for what he changed in the Lord of the Rings. One reviewer screamed bloody murder at Alfonso Cuaron leaving out much of Snape’s story in Prisoner of Azkaban. Anything popular DOES get backlash, and if it’s an adaptation of something that all ready has a following, it gets worse. It’s just a question of how vocal the group is, how many people there are, and how much it catches on.
Remember, folks, some people were deeming a Hulk a masterpiece before the general population got their hands on it (and it still has a 60% rating on the Tomatometer). Not that many people would say that anymore. But the Lord of the Rings still has a huge number of people who lvoe despite the compaints of Two Towers being an “action movie” and Return of the King having “50 endings” and leaving out Christopher Lee, so the backlish is not so bad.
What I’m seeing here is some of the similar backlash to The Hulk in that some people would react to it as “boring” and having too much “story crap.” From what I hear, Batman Begins takes an hour to kick into full gear, which may turn off some. However, if there’s enough character, it may counter-balance that (to which the Hulk had cement blocks for main characters), so I’m thinking it’ll be considerably less, and may, at its worst, just downgrade its perception from “Great comic book movie” to “A very very good one.”
ur gonna have critics with their claws out for batman. after the initial wave of great reviews come out. its what they do to separate themselves. look at wells. most people can honestly say lord of the rings was pretty good. even if u were bored u were amazed with it. except wells who cut it to shreds for 4 yrs. why? who knows. never given a reason
Oh, and if it doesn’t have any easy-to-make-fun-of scenes of fighting mutated poodles or “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!,” all the better.
It is every bit as good as they say it is. Chris Nolan can write his own ticket at this point.
There will certainly be one critic or maybe the TANDEM FROM HELL aka the Entertainment Weekly critics. Who will hate this film. Of course, it could just be well review as the Sisterhood or SW. You never know. Expecting a backlash just because seems a bit ridiculous. One last thing about Professor Snape: Most of his REAL STORY comes up in the next two films. That, they cannot cut out.
They’ve been dropping Snape hints left and right in the books. I for one cannot wait for the next book.
Joe, word up to that. Snape, easily, one of the better character in the series. And having just seen Bats Being. Let me just tell you this: IT EASILY RANKS AS THE BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE EVER. THis being the first one, easily gets me giddy at how great the next can be. If anyone backlashes against this movie, especially scum like Peter Travers, they not only reveal themselves as morons in the area as film. But as idiots when it comes to rating quality comic adaptations period.
Are you typing drunk?
Definitely the best comic book film I’ve seen and I don’t think it’s so far fetched to think in a just world that it could be remembered come award time…
Check out the Salon review. You can almost hear the sound of Stephanie “Charles Taylor Jr.” Zacharek’s spine snapping as she bends over backwards trying to find reasons to hate the film. Pretty sad, and yet another reason to ignore Salon movie reviews.
So let me get this straight. The guy who types in FULL SENTENCES gets constant comments about his posting. Yet, the guy who shorthands everything, though has a decent sized IQ, never gets one mention? Man, that’s some total and utter bollocks right there. Bigboy, that some whack cracka ass cracka garbage right there. If I am typing drunk, then you are typing like a CRACKA!
Dan%R that was like me with Spiderman 2 last year!
“How can there be a backlash on Christian Bale in a a rubber suit? It doesn’t get any better for us gals out there.”
…and a few guys *coughcough*
I’m fairly certain that Christian Bale is the perfect man and that if I met him I would have to work extremely hard not to fully pounce him.
That being said, he’s quite the gentleman!
And, seriously, Hulk wasn’t bad because it was “boring”, Hulk was bad because of bad storytelling! I’m all for character development in action movies but my god, lighten up a bit. It was so dreary and depressing and at least the first hour of Batman Begins (aka Batman Exposition) looks interesting, the start of Hulk was just really dull and uninteresting (yes, boring, but “boring” isn’t the worst part of Hulk). And then you’ve got unexciting visuals and bad effects, followed by performances that… well, It’s a good thing I’ve seen “Chopper” and know what Eric Bana can really do – I suggest everyone else does the same. Fantastic Australian movie, that.
after seeing chopper its either eric bana is a waste of talent or he can’t pick a project. he was that good in that
The Hulk was a snoozer. Took 9 hours to get to the point. Not a good way to start a franchise.
Okay Salon hated it.
Say what you want about TROY but Eric Bana excellent in it . . . easily the best thing about that film.
I liked Troy. Had some really good action packed scenes. Wish they had more on the Gods and the like.
the first hour of batman is great. actually the whole movie is really good. a big time winner.
Jeez, could the backlash have already begun? This from today’s IMDB news site: “Initial news reports today (Wednesday) indicated that midnight screenings of Batman Begins, which opened Tuesday (Wednesday morning), were only sparsely attended.” Of course, this early report will be forgotten if the movie posts strong numbers on Wednesday. But if not…
It’s also IMDB news. Thats about as reliable as CBS news.
I have no idea what the opening-day numbers for “Batman Begins” are going to show tomorrow. But I went to the 7 PM screening tonight at Mann’s Village, one of the premier movie houses in Los Angeles, and the theatre did indeed look half empty. Uh-oh.
Thought the film was pretty fantastic, though. I don’t know if it’s the best comic-book movie ever, but IMHO it’s certainly the most grounded. It’s also a film that absolutely MUST be seen in a theatre. With all the talk about whether people are waiting for movies to come out on DVD, be aware that the last half of “Batman Begins” is so darkly lit that I’m not sure it will even be visible on a small screen.
I can’t say I kniw too many people who would bother seeing Batman Begins at Midnight. It’s a big movie but how many people have been clammering for this one so much so that they would see it at Midnight.
If it’s that dark, it won’t be more than a murky blob in half of the screens across the country.
the only backlash will be people talking about the opening week gross. nothing will be high enough. but who really thought this version was going to be out of this world in terms of box office?
I think audience reactions to the film are going to be polarized. WHen I saw the film, at a theater that caters mostly to a college crowd, the majority of the audience actually applauded with the end credits, but a few people were laughing sarcastically during the film.
I would find it hard to believe that people would totally trash the movie, especially with the thrilling second and third acts. But the first act might have some people squirming in their seats.
You can’t use as a sample what one crowd in one obscure part of the country thought of a film. If you did that than every art house movie in New York would be a blockbuster.
Not sure how accurate this is (consider the source) or how much it really matters, but today IMDB is reporting that attendance was not so good at the midnight screenings.
i think it will do fine. but it didn’t get the hype and the press that the first ones did. this is coming in under the radar.
The numbers are in. Per BoxOfficeMojo, “Batman Begins” made $15 million yesterday. That’s respectable, but compare it to the $17.5 million that “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” made on its opening day. Granted, MMS opened on a Friday and BR’s daily take may pick up over the weekend. But I think that gross has got to be viewed as a disappointment considering Batman is one of the most recognized brand names in entertainment.
Batman opened on a Wednesday. Lets wait until after 3 weeks. I’ll take Batman over it.
I don’t know Chester. I don’t think there’s anything disappointing about $15 million on a Wednesday. Let’s see how it does on Friday.
“Lets wait until after 3 weeks.” LOL!!! Who waits so much as 3 DAYS anymore before calling it!
You waited 3 hours. Nice show of patience fella.
It is the 11th best Wednesday opening.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/days/?page=wed&p=.htm
SB, in comparison, “Revenge of the Sith” made $50 million when it opened on a Thursday. Of course, no one expected “Batman Begins” to post anywhere near those kinds of numbers, but not even a third of that?
LesterFreed, do you realize that you are on a movie industry blog where many professionals here would do minute-by-minute analyses of box office grosses if they could?
I think nearly one-third of Sith’s Wednesday gross is respectable, if not exactly earth-shattering. You may be right though Chester. We’ll find out shortly.
SB, 11th place for a Wednesday opening puts it behind such dreadful films as “Jurassic Park 3” and “Men in Black II.” Considering the excellent reviews “Batman Begins” has garnered as well as its built-in fan base, $15 million looks even poorer in comparison.
If you’re comparing Batman Begins to Episode 3 than you really shouldn’t even be arguing this. That is just a really, exceptionally dumb comparison. Unless you are the King of the Backlash team.
Do excellent reviews put people in the seats for something like Batman Begins?
Yes. They do. The average moviegoer who isn’t interested in “super heroes” will see this. The cast alone is worth the price of admission here. I think it will do very strong numbers and have a long hold even thru the crowded early July period.
If a universally recognized brand name and a gargantuan fan base coupled with excellent reviews don’t put people in the seats, I don’t know what will.
You really think so? I disagree. Not that I know all that many people, but the adults I know who aren’t all that interested in a Batman flick will be no more inclined to see it because of good reviews.
Chester you are acting like this is a bomb in the scale of The Honeymooners and Cinderella Man. it is a Wednesday opening. One of the highest of all time. For a renewal of a franchise that isn’t going for mass appeal. If they were they would have made it cartoony and with some goofy super villian played by the hot actor/comic of the moment.
That may be so, SB, but it also opens up the discussion to a lot of potentially thorny questions. Such as: Are audiences beginning to get burnt-out on comic-book movies? When did Batman become a less popular franchise than, say, Spider-Man? What does this mean for the upcoming Superman flick? If adults have stopped going to extremely well-reviewed films like “Batman Begins” and “Cinderella Man,” is this an apocalypic sign of the end of adult-oriented mainstream filmmaking as we’ve known it? Etc.
All excellent questions Chester. Wish I could answer them.
Just because it’s a recognized brand name, this is also a rebooting of the franchise, starring a relatively unknown actor. So audiences don’t fully know what they’re getting, hence are less likely to race out on opening day. And as Dave Poland always says, opening weekend is always about the marketing and not about the actual quality of the movie…I doubt that anyone races out to see a movie on opening day based purely on reviews. Opening day is for fans and movie addicts who would see it anyway.
In conclusion, don’t be so impatient to come up with a verdict.
Batman has never been as popular as Spiderman. I wish you would know what you are talking about before you start dancing on the Batman and the super hero grave. I just can’t get over the fact that you are calling Batman a bomb after a Wednesday opening that ranks among the tops of all time.
Terence, I never suggested it was a bomb. Just a disappointment. I stated from the get-go that it may very well pick up over the weekend. But IMHO it’s certainly a disappointing start.
And give me a break: 11th best for a Wednesday opening does not exactly entitle the movie to bragging rights as “one of the highest of all time.” Try putting that ranking in a newspaper ad.
are u working for marvel or another studio or something chester? relax on batman. lets see the weekend forecast before u go crying a death song
dave i now realize what u mean by backlash being emotional and not intellectual
Um, guys, this is Warner’s big tentpole movie for the summer. And we’re on a blog where we do constant box-office analyses. I have nothing against the film. In fact, if you read higher up above, I saw it and absolutely loved it. I wish it nothing but the very best. IMHO it deserves to do better than “Revenge of the Sith.”
Given all of that, can we try to keep things in context, be objective, and just get along?
It is a better film than Ep 3 but there is no way it will do even half the business Ep 3 will do. Thats not saying anything bad on it. But getting to 200 million would be a real great accomplishment for a dark, adult movie like this.
There’s no reason to do this ridiculous hour-by-hour box office prediction. Take a break. Read a book.
BluStealer, I agree completely.
jeff actually agrees with the right course of action. i may have to rethink my position on this
They could have casted Pauly Shore as Anakin Skywalker and Episode 3 would have made the same amount of money. It was a sure thing lock. I think Batman will be fine but then again I also thought Cinderella Man would open #1.
jeffmcm and bicycle bob, as I said above, if you don’t respect the fact that daily box-office analysis is one of the unavoidable things in which a lot of people (including Dave Poland) are engaged on a blog like this, then you are the ones who need to look in the mirror and ask what you are doing here. I have not said anything here to attack either of you personally, and I would appreciate the same consideration.
Chester, I haven’t seen anyone attack you. People are allowed to not share your viewpoint but don’t get on the defensive waiting for a personal attack. I thought it was a great discussion. You’re really into the numbers right away. Some are not. Whats the problem?
I didn’t attack you. Relax.
But seriously, does anyone know of a blog where they’re more interested in the movies themselves and not the peripherals like box-office?
I just saw BATMAN and I didn’t like it.
Non of the Characters shine as they should, non of the action sequences stand out, and the villains were forgettable.
All Alfred says is stupid. I didn’t like the way things got started with young Bruce and then big Bruce and then young Bruce again, and because it was too long.
Mex didn’t like it. Now its going to definately bomb.
Ha Ha!
Let him/her have an opinion.
Guess jeff got tired of just being our spell checker. Now the jerk is Miss Manners too.
Fuck off. How’s them for manners.
No surprise. Them is what we expect from you
Why? I’m usually nice on here except for when other people act like dicks. Mark made a snide and unnecessary jab at Mex. Now you made a cheap shot. This isn’t a movie blog, this is a “my opinion is the only one that matters and you’re an idiot” blog.
Miss Jeff McManners is a FOS bee-yotch.
That’s what I’m talking about. It’s impossible to have a discussion around here.
Poor Missy McManners.
I don’t particulary care for the fact that someone is using my name and trying to be me. That is what they call pretty lame. How old are you? 11?
Getting back to the point before some jerk tried to hijack this thread, is that the backlash may have already started. With all the Katie Holmes/Cruise, Scientology stuff. I wonder how it will be on War of the Worlds.
As for opening weekend prospects, in relation to (let’s face it) it’s dissapointing opening day number (especially when adjusted for inflation against rival Batman movies, it’s downright embaressing), there falls two extremes and everything in between. On one hand you have The Matrix Revolutions, which rode a $24+ million opening Wednesday towards poor word of mouth to a 3.5 weekend multiplier for $83 million. If that’s the number we’re dealing with, then we’re going to be dealing with a genuinely shameful $52.71 for five days, with about $30 million of that coming from Friday to Sunday. On the other hand, thanks to Shrek 2, we can now no longer assume that Wednesday numbers have anything to do with gotta-see factor unless those numbers are frontloaded. I recall driving to the theatre to catch a Thurs showing of Shrek 2, hearing on the radio that it had done a seemingly pathetic $11 million on Wednesday (on par with Pokemon The Movie’s $10.5 million), then seeing it in a not very full theatre and assuming the worst. Obviously, no one was counting on a 309% increase from Thurs ($9 million) to Friday ($28 million). Obviously, the world either didn’t know or didn’t care that it was opening on a Wednesday and not a Friday. Let’s be optimistic. If that’s the case, then let’s do a day by day, in line with Shrek 2’s daily 5 day numbers:
15.06
11.60
35.89
56.74
43.69
162.98 (136.32 3day)
Obviously, this is an unlikely best case scenario, since it IS well-hyped, highly anticipated franchise genre movie (as opposed to a popular movie that everyone wanted to see ‘sometime this weekend’), but it’s possible.
More likely however is a multiplier between 3.5 and 4.5, with the possibility of 5.5 being the likely best case scenario. Since I had an hour to kill before dinner, I did the math, using daily numbers when possible, otherwise using weekend total divided by opening day to get the appropriate multiplier.
Here’s every top opening Wednesday, from Spider-Man 2’s $40m to Shrek 2’s $11 million (I left out Meet The Focker’s $12 million number, since Friday fell on a holiday which sent numbers tumbling). The ID4 sample is not to be trusted either, since, if I recall, they had about $13.5 million worth of Tuesday sneaks added in there (I was at the 8pm showing, 9 years ago).
Obviously, I hope the math is right, but either way, you get the idea. Unless Batman Begins has and uncommonly large multiplier, it’s in serious trouble for the moment. More wistful ranting below…
Spider-Man 2
3.75 x 15.06 = 57.22
15.06
8.85
12.04
12.5
8.14
56.6 (32.3)
Passion Of The Christ
If the days of the insanely overmarketed tentpole movie are nearing an end, we should all get on our knees in praise. Smaller budgets = lower commercial expectations = more creative freedom = better movies.
wow. that jack napier post was even worse than that slate article
I really don’t think the Cruise bad press will hurt his movie. It will probably help it.
The film is just too big for his loony antics to hurt it. I guess he picked the right time to come out of the loony closet. I should feel bad for Katie Holmes but she seems like a smart girl and knows what shes doing. I guess she thinks he can to do her what he did with Nicole Kidman.
I have liked her in other things, but I thought Katie Holmes was the weakest link in Batman Begins. She seemed to young for Christian Bale and she didn’t seem tough enough to be a big city D.A.
They should have lost the love interest and just gone for the story. No tough DA is that young. I watch Law and Order.
she made me long for kim basinger
Really? Since I didn’t really make any actual claims, other than make mathmatical comparisions and make an offhand statement about the legacy of two classic franchises.
Having said that, I probably should add something. I hope I’m wrong. I hope Batman Begins picks up wind this weekend and pulls in $65-70 million and the whole article above is rendered useless. I liked the movie, didn’t love it (main qualms – insanely ‘on the nose’ dialogue, condescending repitious explaining of themes and morals, telling character feelings rather than showing, and illogical plot points in the third act).
Unlike Slate, I was just thinking outloud and playing with numbers, not making a PhD thesis. Whatever my qualms about Batman Begins, I want to see a sequel. I want to see (for those who haven’t seen it yet…) Character C come about and kill Character A, only to have them replaced by Character B (for those who’ve seen, I think you know what I’m predicting, and it makes wonderful sense for setting up Character A as a legendary threat. Anyway, here’s to being proven wrong on Saturday morning at 10am. And if this is the end of the tentpole, there are is no better way to see it out then a Star Wars movie, a Batman movie, and a Spielberg horror/sci-fi adventure.
Scott Mendelson
i’d be surprised if batman doesn’t do well this weekend
Dammit. š
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?sortdate=2005-06-17&p=.htm
Wow. You go away for a few minutes, and things go a bit off. Poor Jeff. Dude deserves a Zissou shoulder hug. Secondly, Terence, stick to being a dad. Bats has and always will be more popular than Spidey. If anything, Bats, Supes, and Spidey are the top three comicbook characters ever. Go to a Wal-Mart and check out the merchandise. People love Bats. Thus the reason why 1989 Bats still ranks rather high on that inflation scale used by demented box office lovers. Besides that…love Begins but no where near as good as Revenge. But right up next to it. Sort of like Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch at Darlington a few years back.
Scott:
Dammit? As in “Dammit, I can’t believe the Batman Begins gross,” or what?
BTW: Saw “Herbie Fully Loaded” this morning. Kids around me loved it. Michael Keaton plays Lindsay Lohan’s father. Wouldn’t it be funny if he’s in a summer movie that winds up outgrossing the new Batman film?
Long, discombobulated rant possibly coming:
For the record, it’s no secret that I’m a big Batman fan in all media forms, but this rant has nothing to do with my opinion of the movie, aside from the reason that the numbers and what not concern me so.
Dammit as in it’s a darn good movie (better the second time, as the silly first act dialogue didn’t bother me as much), and it’s a shame that it’s underperforming. I can’t figure out why, as everyone I know either has seen it or wants to see it soon.
Having said that, Warner Bros. is putting on a happy face at least about the Wednesday numbers, and the press is considering it a decent number. Regardless of whether you or I disagree, as long as the official opinion is positive, then all is well (ie – Waterworld actually made money, but because it is always called a flop, it will always be known as such). As long as perception is positive, I suppose the actual numbers are nearly meaningless.
Point being, Batman films have always set the box office on fire, and I couldn’t begin to tell you why this one hasn’t done the same. Aside from spending a little too much money on the making and marketing, the studio and filmmakers did everything right here. Good movie, big, well-liked cast (both times, several cheered or lightly giggled when Freeman and Caine showed up on screen together), good, fun marketing campaign, terrific reviews and positive word of mouth… where did they go wrong? I’m starting to wonder if people really are staying home in general, and not just avoiding the ‘will eventually sees’ in theatres.
When I talk to my friends about why that theory was bullocks (‘it’s the movie, stupid’), I’d talk about nightmare scenarios that would confirm that the industry really was in trouble. One of those, purely as a joke, was Batman Begins making less than $42.5 million from Fri-Sun (of course, that’s what 1989’s Batman did on it’s opening weekend… that’s about $110 million today assuming similar screen count). Yet, it’s quite possible at this moment and that’s really really scary.
If this were the opening chapter of an untested franchise, which didn’t cost nearly $300 million to make and market, then these numbers would be promising. But this is Batman. Batman! Pardon the paraphrase, but can someone please tell me what kinda world we live in, where a hot Hollywood couple that probably aren’t actually dating, and a May-December possibly fixed romance gets all his press? And yes, this town does need an enema.
More to follow when Sunday numbers are released. Here’s hoping for a better second weekend…
Scott Mendelson
Great posting, Scott! It wasn’t discombobulated at all. You captured my sentiments exactly.
Here are a couple of related questions I’ll toss out for discussion:
1. Is it at all possible that the whole TomKat media fiasco put any kind of stench on this release? Did audiences satiate their slobbering interest in tabloid darlings last weekend? Enquiring minds want to know.
2. Have the roots of “Batman Begins”‘s great reviews actually hurt the film? That is: Is the fact that this is such an “adult” treatment of the material, with a glorious cast of older, mature actors to boot, keeping some younger audience members away?
1. LDB, why “poor Jeff”?
2. Having seen the movie, I can say that it’s pretty good with one big exception: Katie Holmes was really miscast.
3. Once again, everyone remember that the first weekend is never about the quality of the movie. Don’t get out the hankies unless next weekend has a 50% drop, which the producers of crap movies expect and don’t mind, but the Batman producers will be disappointed by.
I don’t think she was miscast. I just think they didn’t need a love interest. But every script follows a formula.
I agree that the film didn’t need a love interest, but it could have been mitigated if they had cast either a better actress or at least one who doesn’t look fifteen years old.
To those who would argue that the casting of a love interest (in this case, Katie Holmes) had a negative effect on box-office for “Batman Begins” — does this mean that the opposite must be true? That is, did Kim Basinger have a POSITIVE effect on Tim Burton’s “Batman”?
I wouldn’t say that. It’s obvious formula to have a damsel in distress, I just think her performance stuck out as poor, especially since everyone else in the cast was so strong. I’m sure that even though Kim Basinger was weak in Batman, a female presence in that movie did help, and she was a lot more necessary to the plot in that movie. Of course Michelle Pfeiffer was the best female lead in any of them.
Kim Basinger 15 years ago had a positive effect on everything.
Katie Holmes was weak for the character she was playing. Kim Basinger, as much as I hated her screeching in the 1st batman, she definitely would be a better type of love interest.
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also, Christian Bale has a pretty big cult following, and Tom has been acting like a prick. so while TC’s behavior may have hurt perceptions for those gawking at the Premier (or perceptions of Katie Holmes for obviously unleashing thetans on the crowd), it won’t hurt the gross. The word of mouth on Bale is great.
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survival of the most fit=the bats.
eww. Mr Leydon, i really hope Herbie is not the big summer gross. Then again there are no other racks in the competition (BB and WOTW).
never count out lohan. especially full figured red head lohan