Weekend Estimates by Klady
So yes, I now think it is fair to assume that the entire box office took a significant hit this weekend because of the horror show in Aurora.
We will see how things go this weekend and next weekend…
April 25, 2024
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| Friday | Screens | % Chg | Cume | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Gross | Thtr | % Chgn | Cume |
| Venom | 33 | 4250 | NEW | 33 |
| A Star is Born | 15.7 | 3686 | NEW | 15.7 |
| Smallfoot | 3.5 | 4131 | -46% | 31.3 |
| Night School | 3.5 | 3019 | -63% | 37.9 |
| The House Wirh a Clock in its Walls | 1.8 | 3463 | -43% | 49.5 |
| A Simple Favor | 1 | 2408 | -50% | 46.6 |
| The Nun | 0.75 | 2264 | -52% | 111.5 |
| Hell Fest | 0.6 | 2297 | -70% | 7.4 |
| Crazy Rich Asians | 0.6 | 1466 | -51% | 167.6 |
| The Predator | 0.25 | 1643 | -77% | 49.3 |
| Also Debuting | ||||
| The Hate U Give | 0.17 | 36 | ||
| Shine | 85,600 | 609 | ||
| Exes Baggage | 75,900 | 62 | ||
| NOTA | 71,300 | 138 | ||
| 96 | 61,600 | 62 | ||
| Andhadhun | 55,000 | 54 | ||
| Afsar | 45,400 | 33 | ||
| Project Gutenberg | 36,000 | 17 | ||
| Love Yatri | 22,300 | 41 | ||
| Hello, Mrs. Money | 22,200 | 37 | ||
| Studio 54 | 5,300 | 1 | ||
| Loving Pablo | 4,200 | 15 |
| 3-Day Estimates | Weekend | % Chg | Cume |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Good Dead | 24.4 (11,230) | NEW | 24.4 |
| Dolphin Tale 2 | 16.6 (4,540) | NEW | 16.6 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | 7.9 (2,550) | -23% | 305.8 |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 4.8 (1,630) | -26% | 181.1 |
| The Drop | 4.4 (5,480) | NEW | 4.4 |
| Let's Be Cops | 4.3 (1,570) | -22% | 73 |
| If I Stay | 4.0 (1,320) | -28% | 44.9 |
| The November Man | 2.8 (1,030) | -36% | 22.5 |
| The Giver | 2.5 (1,120) | -26% | 41.2 |
| The Hundred-Foot Journey | 2.5 (1,270) | -21% | 49.4 |
Review: Little Women (no spoilers) - The Hot Blog
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Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree - The Hot Blog
Gee, and the capitalists who sold off their exhibitor stocks…isn’t that like a kissin’ cousin of war profiteering? At the very least it’s in horribly bad taste.
Wonder if it’s possible to find out who did it?
I don’t see the box-office rebounding with The Watch or Step 4.
Week after that is Total Recall and Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3. Nah.
The next interesting weekend looks like August 10, with Bourne Legacy, The Campaign, and Hope Springs.
What are you thinking reporting b.o. ? You have no soul!
I kid. Still impressive for TDKR even if it did take a hit. Obviously most people weren’t too scared.
I wonder what percentage of those Rises tickets were pre-sold. One thing people fear more than death and that’s the fear of losing a deposit. If I wasn’t so bummed out the whole w/e, I may have gone to see another two to three more movies. I doubt there’ll be another time as safe as last Saturday and Sunday.
Krillian, I’m not sure the box office needs an exciting new movie to bounce back. I wonder if the next few weeks will have better-than-average holds overall due to the big across-the-board drops this past weekend.
Dark Knight Rises in particular; if it might’ve made 170 or 180 this weekend if not for the tragedy, I wonder if it might then make closer to 90+ next weekend as people catch up with it?
Even a big-dropping DKR was going to be #1 next weekend regardless.
The Watch should be able to do well; Stiller, Vaughn, and Hill have all been in several big comedy hits apiece. But there is something that feels off about the timing — even beyond the Colorado tragedy. I assume they’ve been running lots of ads for it, though; I just haven’t noticed many. I wonder if it will continue the streak of R-rated comedies doing closer to $50 million than $100 million plus. But theoretically, shouldn’t it be opening to 30-plus and finishing with 100 or more?
It’s August that does feel oddly programmed, kicking off with Total Recall which could easily underperform and Wimpy Kid which isn’t ever going to make more than 60ish.
Then Bourne, Campaign, and Hope Springs are probably the most promising releases of August, money-wise, and they’re all on the same weekend.
DKR has plenty of room, then, to make up the “lost” ground (that resulted in the third-biggest weekend ever) and could still get above 450, I think.
All the showtimes I tried to book this weekend were sold out on Friday. Lots of presales man. I kept wondering how many no shows they had though.
This is going to sound flip/insensitive, and it’s admirable that everyone’s steering far out of the way to be respectful and thus reading in this “there was a tragedy so some people steered clear” angle, but…
“it might’ve made 170 or 180 this weekend if not for the tragedy…”
“One thing people fear more than death and that’s the fear of losing a deposit…”
“Obviously most people weren’t too scared….”
Do you guys honestly think there’s any real, quantifiable number of even CASUAL moviegoers who this past weekend stayed out of theaters out of fear they’d get SHOT? Or even people who somehow associated a new Batman movie with mass murder and stayed away?
I think history has kind of proven that there’s a proper level of disassociation between fact and fiction for 99.9999% of all humans and the world, to say nothing of an understanding of an ISOLATED INCIDENT perpetrated by a deranged mind. Remember after 9/11, Hollywood types were asking, “WILL ANYONE WANT TO SEE CORRUPT COPS (Training Day)/ NYC skylines (ZOOLANDER)/ DARK THRILLERS (Don’t Say a Word) AFTER THIS? EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED!” And of course those all did fine and nobody really steered clear of violent movies or movies at all. This asshole could’ve shot up FAST FOOD CHAIN RESTAURANT A; Do you honestly think coast-to-coast people would be avoiding said FAST FOOD CHAIN RESTAURANT on the 1 in a ten ZILLION chance some other loon would shoot it up?
I would guess the tragedy has almost NO effect on the box office. I saw three movies in a theater since Thursday and never once thought of CO. during any of the movies. We might as well all stop flying whenever a plane crashes 2.000 miles away.
I live in Denver and my wife and I did NOT go see the film this past weekend… so LexG, the number is at least 2.
And no, we didn’t think we’d get shot… but would have thought about the shootings while in the theater about 3,412 times… why go see a movie with that level of disconnect?
BluRay will be just fine for us..
“Do you guys honestly think there’s any real, quantifiable number of even CASUAL moviegoers who this past weekend stayed out of theaters out of fear they’d get SHOT? Or even people who somehow associated a new Batman movie with mass murder and stayed away?”
Yes.
Lex, did you ever hear of a movie titled SpaceCamp?
On the other hand: You’re spot-on regarding Don’t Say a Word. In fact, didn’t that one rack up Michael Douglas’ highest opening-weekend gross up to that point?
Lex, I had wondered that myself. Without trying to sound insensitive, I’m much more of your mindset: would people stay out of malls? Or post offices? Or parks? If something horrible happened in one of them on Thursday night?
Then again: for a lot of people, going out to a movie IS just that. Like stopping at McDonald’s or going to the mall to kill two hours… which is to say, it’s pretty easy to NOT do that for a weekend. It’s like how sure, *I* make sure I know what time and where and when and what I’m seeing when I go out to the movies. Do I think most moviegoers plan ahead like that? I do not.
Ultimately, the reason I’m assuming people stayed away is Batman opening to about the same as the previous movie despite four years of inflation and megafrontloading. The Heath Ledger/Joker factor is totally valid in terms of why this movie won’t get to half a billion domestic. But I do tend to think it would’ve inched up a little, opening-wise, without this spectre hanging over it.
Also worth noting that every movie in the top ten except Woody Allen’s dropped 50+ percent. Yes, Batman had a huge opening, but at the same time, those movies weren’t all dropping thousands of screens. I mean, Wes Anderson’s movie dropped by half after holding up well for weeks. So to me, as Poland says, that indicates there was some effect.
I don’t think it’s particularly logical or rational and I’ll be damned if some lunatic doing horrible things will keep me from living my life. And I wondered if it would really affect anything going into the weekend. But it seems like it has. And I feel like this kind of thing actually hits closer than 9/11, even with far far fewer people dead. It’s easy to say “my local [whatever]” isn’t a terrorist target — and it’s probably true. It’s also true, of course, that it’s just as easy for someone to shoot up any number of public or semi-public locations as a movie theater in Colorado… but it doesn’t have the added protection of, well, a crazy person with guns WOULDN’T do that here. (Even if it’s extremely unlikely.)
Indeed with $17 million Don’t Say a Word was the best opening weekend for Michael Douglas at that time.
Is there any way to really know how many people stayed away from the movies over the weekend? I’m with Lex on this one. I can see a few people here and there changing their plans, but I don’t believe that large numbers of people with concrete plans to see The Dark Knight Rises decided to not go to the movies. And I’d say TDKR opening to about the same as TDR sounds about right.
There’s definitely no way to say for sure. But looking at those numbers (all the way down the chart, not just Batman), I’d say something happened there.
The thing is, a lot of people who contribute to massive opening weekends don’t actually have concrete plans on the Thursday before. I think a lot of people just kind of decide to go on a whim, even to a huge movie they really want to see. There are plenty of places where you totally can decide to see Dark Knight Rises at 1PM on a Saturday and not get sold out.
If it opened to $160 million and people think it should have made $180-$190 million, that’s a pretty huge difference. You’re talking hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people deciding to not see it because of Aurora. Is that really realistic?
On the other side: if people think it should have made 180-190, and it opened to 160, are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people deciding not to see it because they decided they’re done with Batman and didn’t like the last movie that much after all?
Did every wide-release movie except Brave (and several arthouse semi-wide releases that have been playing well for weeks) drop over 50% this weekend just from Batman? Maybe. But when The Avengers broke records its weekend, a couple of top-ten movies managed under 50% drops, even when some lost a ton of screens (which many of this weekend’s movies did not). When Dark Knight broke records in 2008, the other superhero movies took a big hit but several other movies managed drops under 50%.
I’m not saying every dollar every movie lost this weekend was because of this, but my guess is that yeah, some of these drops would’ve been more like 45-55% instead of 55-70%. And Dark Knight Rises could’ve gotten at least an extra few million.
But there’s no way to say that for sure; just my guess based on numbers.
Or the prediction of $180-$190 million was off in the first place, with people assuming it would open to more than TDK due to TDK’s popularity. But you could be right. I have no concrete evidence to support my contention. Just anecdotal evidence and a hunch.
The movie opened pretty much with the same weekend multiplier as The Dark Knight. 2.133x ($160m/$75m) versus 2.235x ($158m/$67m), meaning the film basically played like a slightly more front-loaded genre sequel, with much of that extra front-loading coming from excessively large midnight showings ($30m versus $18m). Did anyone out there think The Dark Knight Rises would be less front-loaded on opening weekend than The Dark Knight? The film opened almost identically to the seventh Harry Potter film, with about 39% of the grosses coming from midnight alone and a just-over 2.07 multiplier ($24m/$62m/$125m). As someone who never thought The Dark Knight Rises was going to do $190-$200m in the first place, these numbers confirm that the shooting seemingly had little overall effect on the film this weekend. Could it have made $170m instead of $160m if not for the shooting? Sure, I’ll buy that nominal difference. But the Friday/Saturday/Sunday numbers basically played out as a top-tier blockbuster, with the 3rd-best Friday leading into the seventh-best Saturday ($45m) and the third-best Sunday ($40m), which is actually a pretty solid Saturday-to-Sunday hold. Even the ‘regular business hours’ Friday figure ($45m) is only a bit less than the usual $48-$50m earned by Spider-Man 3, The Dark Knight, and Harry Potter 7.2. Could it merely be that, relative to what is a massive opening weekend, general audiences, the ones who casually checked out The Dark Knight four years ago due to ‘It’s an event!’ media coverage and/or the appeal of seeing a classic Batman/Joker story simply decided to wait for this Batman vs. Bane showdown? I’d argue that this is more of a Spider-Man/Attack of the Clones situation, where the preordained summer champion has its thunder somewhat stolen by an unexpected phenomenon, so that a terrific performance is now read as something of a disappointment. But we’ll just have to keep an eye on the weekday numbers…
I’m sure Aurora hurt at the margins, but I also think the whole “people were scared away” thing is probably overblown. I know several people who hadn’t planned to see TDKR this weekend but ultimately decided to go exactly because of the shooting, and I’m sure they weren’t alone. Maybe more people were scared off than encouraged to go, but the shooting doesn’t seem to have cut just the one way.
There is also this to consider: How many people went to see The Dark Knight (especially during the opening week or 2 of its run) simply because of morbid curiosity? At the risk of sounding pretty damn morbid myself: Heath Ledger’s death may have generated an interest level that this new, arguably better film simply couldn’t match.
Poland, in my opinion it was fairly obvious that a mass shooting would keep some people away from the theaters, and your super condescending comment on Twitter criticizing people who think that “these events keep people away from planes, or fast food, or schools…” is exactly the kind of thing that keeps me away from so much of your writing. I just don’t understand why you insist on making so many know-it-all comments as your first line of attack on so many different subjects. I don’t need to read any further than the front page of the Hot Blog today to find more comments like it. It’s just not necessary.
By the way, the answer to that comment was YES, YES IT DID. Air travel dropped dramatically following 9/11. Some people DO keep their kids home from school following violent attacks. People DO eat out less when the attacks happen. Not 100% of the people stay away. And not for all time. But immediately following these attacks, yes, a measurable percentage of people stay away. And it’s noticeable, as you have seen in these BO stats.
You all make fair points. I’m not arguing DKR would’ve broken the Avengers record if not for the shooting. Obviously we’re not talking about a $35 million difference. But yeah, I think it could’ve inched up five or ten million without that horrible publicity (I know there’s supposedly no such thing as bad publicity, but you know… I think this counts, even if it ultimately has little to do with the movie).
And Joe’s probably right — probably some morbid curiosity came from Ledger’s final role (though I’m not sure how many of those people wouldn’t otherwise go see a new Batman movie. Maybe, as with my made-up shooting numbers, $5-10 million’s worth?). The Dark Knight really was a perfect storm in a lot of ways.
I do think some of the more disappointed reviews underestimated how much audiences will like this movie. It doesn’t have the Joker or the barreling pace of the last movie, and ultimately I’m sure it won’t gross as much, but it has a really satisfying ending so I’d be surprised if first-weekend crowds weren’t feeling pretty good about it leaving the theater.
I still feel a twinge of unease whenever I eat at a fast food restaurant, and it dates back to San Ysidro, which occurred 28 years and one day before this latest outrage.
What’s odd is that I’d never heard of San Ysidro before this, yet it seemed like not long after that I was watching “V” and the token Hispanic was pulled over by a cop who couldn’t understand this “Sunny Sidro” the not-quite native-born English speaker kept trying to describe. (I think he even took a bite out of an onion as the officer approached in an attempt to drive him away–and it’s been 28 years since I watched this?!?)
My wife has not boarded a plane since 9/11. Another reason I am so very glad Megabus has instituted Houston-to-New Orleans service.
I had pre-ordered tickets at the Arclight last weekend..for scheduling reasons I had to change my show from an afternoon to an evening…and the person who helped me do it on the phone said that they had many people calling and changing their tickets from that weekend to next weekend…and the screening I went to was only about half full for a Saturday night first weekend showing.
Jesse, I think minus the shooting and plus 3D, then TDKR would have been the same opening as The Avengers (which had many 3D screens).
Say TKDR hits $180M without the shooting, then add 15% for the 3D and 3D IMAX screens and it’s equivalent. Doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to me.
I was looking at tracking numbers, and while The Watch will do okay, it doesn’t look like it’ll really rebound until August 10.
The Watch’s timing started off with the Trayvon Martin things, hence the title change, and now with this, the fates are just conspiring against this thing.
*IF* the shooting scared off a number of moviegoers this weekend, I’d argue that the damage is going to be felt more by every other movie in the marketplace more than The Dark Knight Rises. Point being, if you intended to see Batman last weekend and didn’t, and you decide to go to a movie this weekend, you’re likely going to check out TDKR as opposed to a different movie that you might have chosen to see had you already seen Batman 3 last weekend.
Glamourboy is right about the Arclight in Hollywood- they sold out 12 midnight screenings on Thursday. Clearly people WANTED to see the movie this weekend. They only sold out three screenings on Friday night(likely from presales)and only one on Saturday.
I’m sorry, but when has a mega blockbuster NOT sold out multiple screenings on a Saturday? People did stay away, despite the still gargantuan amount the film made.
How did it manage to make $160 million in a weekend with all of these half-full Saturday showings?
Bruce Wayne bought a lot of tickets?
It’s really not fair when a single rich guy can influence a movie’s box office so much.
Joe, even the Scientologists couldn’t save BATTLEFIELD EARTH.
Hey, maybe Wayne called in some favors and had other members of the JLA buy some ducats as well. You got to figure Superman’s good for a few grand. After all, the dude can make diamonds just by squeezing lumps of coal, right?
Arguing over the size of the impact is silly. There was an impact. I agree i don’t think were talking a huge number. I was at an IMAX show on Friday that was not sold out, in a town that just got an IMAX screen and has sold out every opening weekend Imax movie so far. They sold out ASM shows the entire first week. And on opening day they weren’t selling out.
In a town with two movie theaters. There was an impact. Some people opted to wait.
And whoever said “theres no such thing as bad publicity” didn’t take this kind of thing into account.
On the other hand: Went to see Dark Knight at an IMAX theater, and wound up having to sit in the third row. It was that crowded.
Anecdotally, I can tell you my brothers (age 10 and 13) were not allowed to go see TDKR this weekend because of the shootings.
I would have let them, but I’m not their guardian.
Gus –
Taking a position that’s 50/50 and turning out to be right or wrong does not mean that anything was obvious from the start.
Being right, in retrospect, does not mean everyone who disagreed is an asshole.
9/11 is not a very good analogy. For one thing, the government restricted air travel, clearly signalling that there was a greater level of danger. And of course, 3000 people died in an attack unlike any other ever seen anywhere, much less US soil.
I happened to travel by air quite a bit in the month after 9/11. There was nothing fun about it, except you always had extra seats around.
But as I noted in that tweet, there have been similar shootings in fast foot restaurants and college campuses (probably the most), not to mention ‘going postal.” It hasn’t stopped McDonald’s or colleges or the mail.
I think Greg (And Kevin Smith on his show) has it right. Going to the movies this weekend was tainted by this. Some surely went to make the point in the opposite direction. But even going to a screening on a lot with plenty of security on Friday night, it didn’t feel quite comfortable.
As I said above… what this means next week and the week after, only time will tell. But no doubt, there will be someone – even if not Nikki – saying “Toldja!”
John, that was such a remarkable (under)achievement considering the Scientologists are such sheep that once upon a time they were instructed to go to bookstores, buy L. Ron’s newest tome, and mail it to HQ to prove their devotion.
No one would have known they were being shipped back to stores if someone unboxing one of these “new” books hadn’t discovered a stamp inside from an independent bookstore on the other side of the country.
Why do people always have to bag on Scientology? It gets tiresome, it’s mean-spirited, and it’s always the same. Like, whoo hoo, go out on a limb and make fun of ONE random religion; I don’t see any of you tough guys rolling into a BLACK GUY church or an East L.A. Catholic mass and making fun of THEIR religion.
Just Scientologists and Mormons.
ON TOPIC, I guess: Chances of Gangster Squad now seeing the light of day anytime soon? Their “next LA Confidential” seems on the verge of being “the next Jonah Hex.”
Foreseeing a pushed-to-January, cut-to-80 minutes dump?
On a lighter depressing note, ICE AGE is now the #2 grossing movie of the year behind AVENGERS internationally, and is probably the third most profitable movie worldwide this year behind AVENGERS and HUNGER GAMES.
ICE AGE is now the #11 movie franchise of all-time based on worldwide gross.
What the heck is up with foreigners’ insatiable appetite for Ray Romano as a woolly mammoth? According to Leguizamo a fifth movie is already being discussed.
And are the views of a Scientologist that much wackier than the views of a, say, Baptist who believes that the bible is the literal word of god and must be used to guide politics and daily life in America?
There’s no way “Gangster” gets dumped, with the talent involved.
And it’s interesting to see “Brave” moving into Pixar’s top ten, probably on its way to displacing “Monsters Inc” in the top five.
I don’t know of “a BLACK GUY church” that tells its members they really can’t understand The Message unless they buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of classtime.
…plus there’s that whole shunning “suppressive people” thing (including children or parents), and [I’d better take this out to make sure I don’t get sued despite telling the truth], and other fun things that make the Davidians look like a teddy bear picnic.
But there are black prosperity gospel preachers. Link
etguild- you are forgetting the insane profits per cost generated by MAGIC MIKE.
David Poland wrote: But as I noted in that tweet, there have been similar shootings in fast foot restaurants and college campuses (probably the most), not to mention ‘going postal.” It hasn’t stopped McDonald’s or colleges or the mail.”
It didn’t stop them but they took a hit. Just like Perrier, spinach, Jack in the Box and Tylenol did following their respective incidents. These things bounced back because the demand was high and they had established market presence. Check other places where there’s like shooting, a local mom & pop place and it’s likely they won’t recover. Conversely, executive parachutes sales, freeze dried meals and IMP type products skyrocketed after 9/11. Later, these sales dropped back down. Tragedies definitely move the needle.
Like someone was saying up thread, it’s not just safety but mood. I think a lot of people wanted to appreciate the time w/people they enjoy more directly than sitting in a theater. Plus, safety aside, going to a movie after getting details of that horrific event drops seeing a movie to the bottom of the list of things to do cuz it just doesn’t sound fun anymore.
It’s not that people don’t know it’s a statistically anomaly. They’ll go back to the theater. They’ll even catch up to Rises but there is a hurdle to get over mentally when the suggestion of going to see a movie and the first thing that pops to mind are hundreds of innocent people out for a good time being targeted and murdered for absolutely no reason. People aren’t always afraid of a little rain when it comes to going to the beach but a cloudy day will sure keep people away.
Comparing the box office impact of the Colorado shootings to that air travel post-9/11 is, well, it’s beyond apples and oranges. It’s crazy, really. Can anyone really compare the impact of one event with that of the other at any level and do so with a straight face? And I’m not talking about a “loss of a human life is a loss of a human life” type equation. I understand why people en masse avoided flying after 9/11. I can only understand why a very few people might have been discouraged from going to the movies this past weekend. But to compare the two events in any respect is nuts.
I was one of the many who went to counter the exodus, and yes, I was a little more on edge than usual. But the only real upshot was I didn’t like TDKR in spite of wanting to love it.
As for BO, the Monday numbers look strong, slightly edging out Avengers over the same frame. It could mean nothing…or everything.
…although, intriguingly, well behind the first-Monday figure for “The Dark Knight.”
@john, MAGIC MIKE has done well but $530 million on a $100 million budget puts ICE AGE more deeply in the green by far, in fact, well ahead of any summer film profit wise other than AVENGERS.
And it has enough left in the tank to finish as the #3 all-time animated film overseas, behind its predecessor and TOY STORY 3.
Christian Bale is a class act.
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/dark-knight-rises-star-christian-bale-visits-colorado-shooting-victims-49126
@Chris, “And it’s interesting to see “Brave” moving into Pixar’s top ten, probably on its way to displacing
“Monsters Inc” in the top five.”
Nor really a great achievement when that list is only thirteen films long. And based on the trajectory, it won’t get past Cars’ $244m. Not that it’s a bad performance mind you, just saying it won’t be one of their top performers.
Nice to see Christian Bale visiting the victims.
I did like one of the notes in an article, where Warner Brothers clearly says “He’s there on his own, he’s not there representing Warner Brothers”
I dont know if the intent was for that line to feel like they were distancing themselves from the visit, or whether they were saying ‘nope, Bale’s just being a good guy, this is no PR stunt’
I think Brave’s going to end at #8 on the Pixar list too, between Cars and Wall-E, domestically.
I really wonder how its legs are going to be internationally. It hasn’t really revved up yet, and Ice Age 4 and Madagascar 3 have made a killing.
Anghus: Probably the latter. And I can understand their desire to pre-emptively defuse any cynicism. But they could have phrased it a bit more elegantly, don’t you think?
i do. it’s like publicity and pr departments dont think sometimes.
why not say “He decided to do this on his own as a gesture to the victims” instead of “WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS”
On a completely-unrelated box-office only note, if I may:
Abraham Lincoln: VH is topping out around 36 MIL and is all but disappeared from theaters? I wasn’t a big fan of it or anything, but that’s sort of amazing for a hyped summer blockbuster; NO WAY the studio didn’t think it would OPEN its first weekend at that, if not more. I kinda feel sorry for it now.
LexG: I think people will discover it on video and cable. Seriously. And again: I loved the ending.
Unrelated a bit too…but the tracking for THE WATCH is no bueno. I’m sure the tragedy is playing into it, but the fact they are hiding the alien aspect, and there are zero reviews on a Tuesday night does not bode well to say the least.
They’ve been hiding the alien aspect in all the ads on Comedy Central for weeks. Don’t know what they’re thinking.
i heard on the radio here that there have been a few arrests of would-be copy-cats in the US, including a guy pulled over on his way to a showing of TDKR with a car loaded up with guns and ammo, that can’t help put anyone at ease after recent events. i’d think it’s mostly a psychological barrier to overcome – there’s something particularly scary about the thought of being trapped in a dark, confined cavern packed with people with few exits that in a panic would likely be very hard to reach in a stampede while someone just mows people down that makes it different from a mall or fast food joint shooting. (that’s lovely about Christian Bale, it must be awful for the people who made the film to think their creation was somehow part of something so unthinkably horrible and evil, just terrible all around.)
In some weird psychological way, I believe that there were more people who felt that it would be in bad taste to go see “The Dark Knight Rises” before the bodies were even cold than actually feared a lone kook. Sort of along the lines of “People are DEAD and you want to go see a comic book movie?!?”
The biggest problem with the comparison to 9/11 and flying, besides the restrictions that were put in place immediately, is the reality that on that day it felt like half of the planes in the air were hijacked or about to be hijacked. You truly didn’t know if your next flight would be targeted by a passionately active, multi-person terrorist group vs. one nutjob in Colorado.
im glad AL: VH failed. i didnt see it, and if someone takes pleasure from it, fantastic. but were getting to meta with our niche films. everything has to be some clever mash up, and this guy’s only trick is mashing shit together. Jane Austen and Zombies. Abraham Lincoln and Vampires. Isn’t his knew one about the three wise men trying to kill jesus or something?
We’re in this ‘too clever’ phase of riffing and original ideas get pissed on in favor of junk like AL: VH.
Last night someone asked me if i’d read Redshirts. And i hear its quite funny, but i have no interest. Once i heard the idea i thought ‘sure, that’s clever’, but the whole concept of Redshirts has been around for decades and been a staple of lazy stand up comedy. The fact that someone took a sight gag from Star Trek and turned it into a novel seems so genuinely uninspired. It’s like people can only write genre pieces about pre-existing themes and ideas. And AL:VH summed up my discontent with that movement. It’s failure brought me joy.
There was some kickstarter campaign that made a lot of money floating the idea of doing a version of Huck Finn where they replaced the Jim with a Robot. So instead of N**** Jim, you have Robot Jim. That’s the kind of thing that passes for ‘smart’ these days.
I just came in from a second viewing of DARK KNIGHT RISES and it really holds up well on second viewing. However the gun violence onscreen really made me and my bro in law feel uneasy. Not like, “get up and leave” uneasy but it definitely took me out of the film and made me feel a little weird and sad.
Also-
about 1/2 way through the movie (a 2:30 matinee no less) some WASTED dude of about 50 years old stumbled in and started yelling for his friend. He changed seats about 6 times and you could feel the edge rising in the theater. So, yeah….I think movie theaters are affected by this tragedy either within screenings or before people fork over cash.
The drunk dude was out COLD when the credits rolled too. Sitting at the seat by the exit covered in popcorn and wadded up napkins. Asshole.
I would have thought that travel after 9/11 was probably the safest it’s ever been, given that everyone was all keyed up and on super-heightened alert. There were nearly 40,000 screens last weekend that WEREN’T shot up by a madman. Just keep telling yourself: “Isolated incident.”
ETG: I don’t think a lot of overseas audiences hear Romano. I believe in many countries, local superstars dub the soundtrack, which is why those numbers are so enormous.
Interesting that DARK SHADOWS hit the bargain runs this week and managed a million and a quarter on 450 screens at an average of probably $2.50 a ticket. Looks like quite a few dubious types decided to ignore that dumbfuck trailer and take a chance. Yay.
i agree with the second viewing. i think i liked it more the second time. we’ll see how it holds up after the third.
I’m thinking IMAX for the 3rd viewing. But I really feel like I grasp Nolan’s Dark Knight politics overall in that I’m not sure HE’S sure what he’s saying and rather, he’s looking at our current state of the world, or at least the U.S. from many different angles. I’ll take it to the spoiler thread, just in case.
Another great weekend for To Rome With Love. Despite losing 192 screens, it jumped back into 10th place and was one of only two films in the top 10 to drop by less than 50%, the other being Brave. Its US gross now stands at $11.1 million and its worldwide gross at $34 million (from just 14 territories).
Obviously nowhere near Midnight in Paris numbers, but still a nice little earner and Woody’s 2nd hit in a row.
Hey, Steven! Why don’t you go see To Rome With Love again Thursday night?
http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/07-24-12-lets-take-back-the-knight-go-see-a-movie-any-movie-thursday-to-swat-back-fear-and-that-cowardly-shooter/
oh jesus. Steven Kaye is back. He’s as bad as the spam messages and posts with more frequency. Can we ban him on the premise that he may be a spambot for Woody Allen or Sony Picture Classics? We have no real proof he’s a person.
Stop The World – Anghus Wants To Get Off!
“it’s like publicity and pr departments dont think sometimes.”
My first impression was that it was written by their lawyers, to protect the studio from any impression that this was an admission of culpability. Covering their asses, in other words, against anyone who might want to sue them since they have the biggest pockets of anyone involved.
I think it sounds like a direct response to a question someone asked “was this planned or coordinated w/the studio?” Warners knows they’re getting sued. Cinemark knows they’re getting sued. Aurora Mall knows it’s getting sued. In the coming weeks, general counsel and insurance reps will start drawing up prelim settlement agreements, which will not waive the victims’ right to sue in the future, that’ll be very similar to what happens to victim families after a plane crash. There’s no gross negligence. There’s little to nothing that could’ve been done differently. One statement changes nothing.
As much as I chide studios for being run by gutless cowards who just want to play high school popularity contests all over town and grab money to the detriment of the product and the industry, I honestly think their deepest concerns are for the victims and their families. Sure they’ve probably advised people not to say anything but that’s also for the sake of not stirring up controversy or causing more distress. They’re not really concerned w/long term solvency or damage control. Plans many didn’t know existed are already underway to aid for the future. Public appearances in this case would not be part of the process.
What would be the basis for a suit against Warners?
Hey anghus, I don’t mind being banned on the premise I may be a spambot, just as long as you’re banned on the premise your a microcephalic ignoramus. Deal?
Sounds like Woody is writing Steven Kaye’s comebacks.
Seriously, the K-Stew story is breaking and no “MOVIE BLOGGERS” are on this.
This is the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
Nobody knows what you are talking about. Drink another beer and pass out.
Steven, i wouldnt mind your unbridled enthusiasm for the box office for Woody Allen films if you brought anything else to the table.
You don’t participate, you just show up when Woody Allen has a film out, make these declaratory posts and then vanish.
In your singular devotion, whether intended or not, you come across like at best like a sycophant. At worst, like a psycho. I would have no problem believing you live in a one bedroom apartment with magazine photos of woody as wallpaper.
” just as long as you’re banned on the premise your a microcephalic ignoramus”
I have no problem admitting either thing. Though i’ll admit i’d be a little weirded out if Dave banned me for having a small penis.
Yes LexG, if there’s hope for Rupert Saunders, there is hope for you.
@Yancy – The influence of The Joker, much like the parents who sued Dungeons & Dragons (board game) or the one against Judas Priest (backmasking) for teen murders and suicides. They might cite the number of people who show up in costume as proof of influence and they should’ve acted more responsibly in curtailing its influence of people.
– I don’t agree but that’s my best guest for what they’d use. Some of it would be ambulance chasing lawyers, some of it would be entitlement of people thinking they should get enough money to buy a sports franchise and then there’s the more legit concern that would have, or some would have on the behalf of others, that they’d be in and out of hospitals and therapy for the rest of their lives. It’s not they would actually believe WB is wrong but they have no means to pay for this themselves.
So Gangster Squad is January 11 now. Will there be a qualifying run? Or is it not good enough?
I never thought Gangster Squad looked like Oscar bait (despite a great cast) so I can’t imagine they lose much by pushing it back some and hoping it catches the same fire that Taken did.
Even if it didn’t look like Oscar bait, it seemed like a fall release to me. But I guess it should be able to find an audience in January.
Speaking of movies of late….when I saw TDKR at a sold-out (635 people!) screening at midnight, the reaction to the JACK REACHER trailer couldn’t have been worse. Audible groans, 3-4 WTF is THAT and all sorts of loud guffaws could be heard. While there wasn’t nearly as many people in the theater second time I saw TDKR with the JACK REACHER trailer “everyone” in that one seemed to think the film was some kind of joke.
I still like Tom Cruise alot but this movie looks idiotic. The name JACK REACHER is terrrrrrible too. The only thing that could make the movie seem like a bigger joke is if it co-starred Travolta. Jack Reacher….c’mon.
HE IS CRUISE, HE IS GOD, YOU WILL BOW.
CRUISE POWER 4 EVER, THE GOD OF ALL HUMANS, HE IS GOD.
FACE THE REACHER. It looks FUCKING AWESOME. CHEVELLE POWER.
SO TIRED of people badmouthing KING LORD GOD CRUISE, who is the biggest idol of my entire life.
I’m seriously thinking about checking out Scientology. Seems cool.
Yup, Don R. Lewis, only a matter of time before that one becomes known as “Jack Reacharound.”
CRUISE.
As I said, I love Cruise. But the thought of walking up to a ticket counter and keeping a straight face while saying “One for Jack Reacher” is simply out of the question.
The previous title, “One Shot,” wasn’t much better… but yeah, Jack Reacher is a terrible title.
That said – I still want to see it.
He’s called Jack Reacher because Cruise is so short he has to reach for anything that’s not on the bottom shelf.
Thank you! I’m here all week!
Okay, one more joke, a rewrite of a famous old one:
Pattinson comes home, finds Sanders boning Stewart, and gasps, “Rupert, I HAVE to, but you?“
There’s a Dark Knight Rises ad on TNT’s Dallas tonight. Guess the ad pre-emption is over.
Alternate title options.
Dick Catcher.
Fist of Darkness
The Long Hard Fist Goodnight
The shooting made me change my plans from Saturday afternoon to Friday evening. Wasn’t gonna keep me away. I tried to watch it again in IMAX, but both screens around here were front row only or sold out even for the noon show. That might be your limiting factor. Even downtown Seattle was sold out ALL shows Saturday from 9:45 am onwards.
Surprising how lame the Jack Treacher trailer looks, considering even Knight and Day was surprisingly good.