By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Box Office Insider Roger Friedman Has Well-Placed Doubts About 'Superman' Take
I am surprised to find I do not have that much to say about Superman Returns, the most anticlimactically (and antiseptically) boring summer blockbuster I’ve seen in some time. The $200-million-plus budget buys 157 minutes of inorganic momentum–all the staggering visuals you could ever want, but almost no human moment so indelible as to anchor the spectacle in memory. Which would be fine if escapism was all director Bryan Singer cared about. Alas, a back catalog of accomplished indies giving way to spiritualized superhero tentpoles indicates otherwise; as Manohla Dargis said in her typically peerless review, “It’s hard not to think that Superman isn’t the only one here with a savior complex.”
Really, though, I find myself less interested in critical approximations of Superman Returns than I am in box-office forecasts–specifically that of noted industry sage Roger Friedman, whose Magic 8-Ball responds “Chances not so good” to his breathless inquiries about the film’s expected weekend windfall:
(W)hile the juries are still technically out, here are some things to chew on: As of last night, Moviefone, which measures interest in all current releases, listed Superman Returns second to Adam Sandler’s Click. The Sandler film grossed a huge amount over the weekend, $40 million, so its listing could be a carryover from that enthusiasm. Still, one would have hoped for SR to be listed at No. 1 by Moviefone fans.
Also, according to Moviefone.com, none of the “early” shows tonight have sold out. And none of the regular shows scheduled for Wednesday, the real opening day, have sold out either. By now, a real phenomenon of a film would likely have at least one or two shows crossed off on Moviefone, indicating an impending monsoon of fans. Of course, that’s New York. In Hollywood, two shows are sold out for tonight — one at Mann’s Chinese Theater and the other at The Grove.
Leave it to Friedman to get under the skin of this story: Not only is there no “impending monsoon of fans” against which area multiplexes must batten down the hatches, but Moviefone is officially established as the oracle of “interest in all current releases.” Indeed, the higher-ups at Warner Bros. are likely cracking the gin early this morning, wondering what miserable twist of fate would relegate them to second place on Moviefone (in New York, natch) after such a torturous 20-year revival of the Superman franchise. Suicide notes are trickling out of the marketing department’s shared printers as I write this, and like Goethe following The Sorrows of Young Werther, Friedman sits in shadowy repose somewhere in the Fox building wondering who will ever invite him to another premiere. It is the tragedy of the prophet.
But enough of that. Lest walk-up moviegoers, in fits of existential crises, suddenly question their own interest in Superman Returns, they are still entitled to show up tonight and all week, for that matter. I am sure they will have plenty of company, and whatever Warners execs survive the Friedman Crash will be able to stash the razor blades, at least until 2009.