April 25, 2024
The Hot Blog
amit on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
Christian on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
YancySkancy on: Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Hcat on: Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: I Should Be Doing Box Office
Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
| 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
Box Office First Look - The Hot Blog
Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree - The Hot Blog
Upgrade is not a Focus release.
Saw Solo yesterday and thought it was alot of fun. Its the Star Wars movie for folks who’ve never seen a Star Wars movie.
[I posted a question in the Spoiler blog about a reveal.]
Folks who’ve never seen a Star Wars movie are just going to wonder why the story needed a tall hairy dog-man who had zero impact on the plot…And all those shots of his gold dice implied a mcguffin that never paid off.
Well, technically it pays off in The Last Jedi. I see your point though, although newbies would be most confused by the cameo at the end of the movie.
The struggle to get to $700m is real. Poor Black Panther. 🙂
Newbies will be confused by the cameo…. and so will fans who aren’t religious followers, but are still the original viewers of the first trilogy. I’m one of the latter and as far I knew dearth maul died before this film’s timeline. Truth be told I didn’t even remember what happened to him bc the prequels literally put me to sleep. Regardless that cameo is part of what’s wrong with the way this property is being handled – how should I know or care how he survived without being told in the film. Assuming we all read the books is stupid.
Actually Poet, if not for Chewie he’d still be stuck on that planet being charged for desertion. So there was a little impact on the plot.
Arisp, he survived on anger and hate, and the Sith Witches restored him to life, as well as his brother… Savage Opress. They rise to power, take control of the Star Wars underworld, and you are caught up. He lives to old age. Before he meets an acquaintance. Now? You are all caught up, and this is all a part of two shows.
BD, Wakanda Forever.
Wait, wasn’t Maul bisected? Sure the dark side of the strong but does it make you Olaf? Or the knight from Holy Grail?
Basically… He can eat, but pissing was a problem.
Likely saved a fortune on those expensive space moccasins he favored.
So even with Solo underperforming expectations:
Disney passed their first domestic billion in 117 days, should cross the second billion around 62 days after that.
They will have made 2 billion this year faster than anyone else will cross one.
Disney and Fox currently account for one out of every two tickets sold so far this year, and even with Fox hibernating the rest of the summer and Dinosaurs on the horizon I don’t see that combination dropping below 40 by the end of summer with 45 being more likely. Even though BO performance is cyclical, the people being skittish about the merger have a legit reason. That is a hell of a beast to compete against or negotiate with.
Someone needs to come up with a cohesive vision for Star Wars as a whole. I’m not a cartoon person but thanks to my nephews I did know Maul was alive post-Phantom Menace (because reasons, whatever). So I assumed (and have seen many others assume) they brought him back in the films for the inevitable confrontation in the Kenobi movie. Right? Well no actually. Now I find out that confrontation already happened in the canon Star Wars Rebels cartoon. Maul’s already dead again. So don’t look forward to that; however he’s used in the films his logical end was already done on the Disney channel. You can just go on Youtube and you can watch it right now. WTF kind of story planning is that?!
Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. Hopefully with this movie’s failure they will go back to the drawing board for next steps. Hey Lucasfilm, I have a friend who does a great imitation of a Disney executive pitching “Rogue Two” (Maybe they were just…singed…a little bit. Did we really SEE anyone die?); you know, just in case. Oof.
So how is solo doing “terrible” any different from azkaban underperforming almost as much in he same slot?
How is solo doing “terrible” any different from the first two marvel movies without iron man (Thor and capn) underperforming significantly relative to the Downey blessed features (we will just forget about IH it’s for the best)
This is the first Star Wars film that is unconnected, and it is bound to underperform. The important thing is that they are building a base to expand beyond the sky walkers, which is as important as marvel expanding beyond iron man. And it takes half a decade to build out that base and have a cinematic universe infrastructure.
Five years from now we’ll have two or three Star Wars films a year and most of them will be making the equivalent of he average marvel film now.
Wow that’s a BOLD prediction. I don’t see that happening (though didn’t see Marvel happening either).
Isn’t insisting that Star Wars match the books and cartoons a little like insisting that Marvel stick with the comic book continuity? You take inspiration, maybe adapt a story of two, but what happens in the movies is not reflected the next month in the comics and vice versa, why should it be so with Star Wars?
Also Azkaban was off about 10 percent from the previous installment, Solo will be off by about 65 from Last Jedi and do less than half of Rogue.
Not to give Marvel too much credit but their strategy seems to be the opposite of what they are doing with Star Wars. Marvel’s solo movies are pieces that build up to the whole, while Star Wars solo movies are pieces broken off of a whole. The Star Wars spinoffs are a little disposable, almost fan fictiony, and don’t do that much to deepen the universe. Force Awakens and Jedi weren’t great films, for both similar (make a self contained movie goddamint, make the deaths of some of the most iconic heroes in cinematic history mean something) and different (Force too deferential, Jedi too dismissive).
I guess I’m alone in preferring the recent “SW” spin-offs to “Last Jedi” and “TFA.”
For my money, “Rogue One” felt like the first “SW” movie for grown-ups since “The Empire Strikes Back.”
And for me, “Solo” was the most entertaining “‘SW’-for-
kids” “Star Wars” since “Return of the Jedi.”
Different strokes.
Isn’t insisting that Star Wars match the books and cartoons a little like insisting that Marvel stick with the comic book continuity?
Not so far. Comic books have always had a couple of different universes going at once and characters die and come back like changing their shoes. But the ship and droid from that Rebels show were both in Rogue One and one of the characters was mentioned. Apparently the Clone Wars cartoon led directly into Revenge of the Sith. Plus the Solo writer have been mentioning how it was the cartoon that brought back Maul. Soooo I guess we are following the cartoons in continuity?
Maybe separate continuities would suit, but they need to decide that and make it clear. Otherwise your attempt to generate excitement by showing Maul becomes my nephew going: *Shrug*, Obi wan kills him in a few years on Rebels. It’s a short fight.” I am fine with stories being told about characters when we already know their ending (if it’s a good story); I just cannot believe they would have this cameo in their pocket and stick the ultimate confrontation in a cartoon. Bizarre.
Thor, Captain America 1, and Azkaban also cost less than half of what it cost to produce Solo.
A more apt comparison might be Fantastic Beasts as a prequel for an already established franchise, and Solo will probably not equal its $234m.
The argument that Solo isn’t underperforming only works if Rogue One didn’t do what it did. Because that was previously perceived to be the floor, or at least close to the floor. To have something big and expensive like Solo come out and not even do half the floor is a big deal, more than a slight blip.
When they got rid of the EU, they kept the prequels, originals, and the two cartoon series, Clone Wars and Rebels as “canon”. Hence, Darth Maul being viable.
My argument against the Star Wars vs Marvel world building approach is that Star Wars hasn’t as yet set up the threads to make them build to something bigger. I loved Rogue One, just felt Solo was too constrained by having to tie itself into a pre existing story. Marvel tie ins were initially all post credits. Just feels like one is “we tie it in here and here,now build the story around that” and the other is more “this is the world and these are the areas we don’t want you to go, have at it”.
If they wanted a more marvel approach, then the companion movies should have been in the TFA time period, and then brought those characters into episode IX.
I watch movies and should not be required to see a cartoon to catch plot points within those movies. Hell I shouldn’t have to watch the previous movie to enjoy the current one. Look at the difference between Empire and TLJ. Empire starts out and immediately reestablishes the characters and relationships. Leia is a leader, Han is reckless but loyal, Luke has mystic powers. TLJ just starts as if you missed ‘scenes from last weeks episode,’ Finn wakes up in some medical tube, never mentions why he is in there, and they don’t even establish who he is until about 45 minutes in.
For all the troubles Lucas had as a screenwriter in his Star Wars and Indiana Jones sequels he always started from square one and reintroduced everyone while also continuing the narrative.
Agree completely, hcat. And this goes back to my original complaint about TFA, which is that SW films shouldn’t end on a cliffhanger that need to be immediately resolved. Either Luke should have been given a little more screentime at the end, or (preferably) they hold him until Episode VIII. It made the ending rushed as well; we have that huge showdown with Rey, Kylo, and Finn, the “Reistance” wins the day, and our heroes all return to headquarters, minus Solo. We should have been able to reflect on this a little longer, and end the film with Leia asking Rey and Chewie to go on a mission with the final clue to Luke’s whereabouts. Instead she’s off immediately (despite her friend Finn being in critical condition), and the way it’s shot makes it look like she’s driving to the supermarket a mile away to pick up some groceries. There’s no sense of a journey at all. And then to make the anticlimactic climactic, we have that ridiculous helicopter shot, which is the exact opposite of our traditional final shot tableaux that were in all previous 6 films.
From JS above:
“he survived on anger and hate, and the Sith Witches restored him to life, as well as his brother… Savage Opress. They rise to power, take control of the Star Wars underworld, and you are caught up. He lives to old age. Before he meets an acquaintance. Now? You are all caught up, and this is all a part of two shows.”
Can you actually type this fanboy-inspired nonsense with a straight face? It’s absolutely ludicrous. This is the type of EU garbage that should never have been considered canon. And they should never have had a major plot point happen off-screen of the feature films. Imagine watching Empire Strikes Back now and thinking “well, I guess Luke isn’t really deciding that falling to his death is better than joining the Sith, he probably heard about how Darth Maul survived being CUT IN HALF and falling down a similar chasm”. Resurrecting Maul disgraces Luke, Qui-Gon, and young Obi-Wan all at once. It’s a jump-the-shark idea if I ever heard one. Lawrence Kasdan’s son should be in prison for life, and same with Kathleen Kennedy for approving it. Can’t wait for an eventual appearance of Mace Windu. He only lost both hands and was electrocuted before flying out the window, surely he had an even better chance to survive than Maul.
Y’all are thinking like overgrown children. The bad vibes about Solo were coming as early as last Christmas. Now the Walt Disney Co. is prepared to write down the value of the latest Star Wars movie. Solo is proof that an extreme reliance on brand names does not make for value in the long term.
This crash, combined with other studios’ flops, is having a ripple effect in next week’s bookings. One multiplex near me is actually picking up arthouse hit “RBG” as a 1-week programmer.
‘ Solo is proof that an extreme reliance on brand names does not make for value in the long term.’
While 80 percent of Disney’s other product proves the other side of the argument. Not that it results in quality movies or is good for the industry but I don’t see how the strategy is not working. I mean every movie they put out relies on the Disney name to sell it.
As for RBG, it cracked the top ten two weeks ago and had a larger average than half the top ten last weekend (probably more since Solo and Deadpool are still likely playing on more than one screen). A multiplex seems to be where it belongs. Good on it.
Lazarus, that’s just sharing story points, and they are parts of some of the best parts of the Clone Wars. Maul is even great in Rebels. It’s funny that you mock it, but people got for bags for it. That’s all that matters.
HC, you need to have watched The Xmas Special, to know who that bounty hunter was on Ord Mandel :D!
RBG getting ready it battle it out against Mr Rogers. Who thought you’d be seeing that write up outside MTV Celebrity Deathmatch?
I thought part of the reason Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney was because he thought they’d do the best at preserving the integrity of the franchise? But of course Disney did as Disney does and just churning out product by the boatloads. I’m sure they’d be happy to turn it into Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and air SW five nights a week until people regurgitate hairballs the moment they so much as see Chewbacca. Clearly, no one at Disney sees staging a money grab as offensive as gratuitous violence or full nudity sex scenes that I do.
Although, I can see why they’d blow up the canon for more long term possibilities. It turned out to be as well executed as throwing a slant on 2nd & goal with 1:04 left with the best short yardage back in football standing behind the qb. I saw Solo solely on SW brand name and really a feeling of obligation. Not allegiance but more to remain culturally relevant. I don’t know if that’s going to be something that’ll remain for me. I’m sure I’ll see the next and then all bets are off. I was kinda surprised that Solo didn’t do better based on “C’mon, it’s Star Wars!” pov by the gen public. I wasn’t necessarily expecting it to challenge some of the other top boxoffice champs but certainly better than it did.
Brand recognition is probably the single biggest strategy to create long term value. Star Wars has been around for 40 years now. So it took 40 years for one of its movies to not be a massive hit. If anything, it’s the exception that proves the rule. What’s true about brands is that they have to grow and evolve too; they can’t just let the brand name do the work without supporting it with innovation and ingenuity.
Yeah, true. I don’t mean to suggest the title is dead. It did seem like there was a lot of vitriol directed at the title heading in, so it didn’t seem as random a failing as some other b.o. disappointments.
“HC, you need to have watched The Xmas Special, to know who that bounty hunter was on Ord Mandel :D!”
I was in my PJ’s trying to watch it and my mother kept turning it off (we might have had family over). “oh don’t worry, They repeat those things over and over”
But I was able to save my UPC codes from the action figures and send away for the free Bobba Fett figure. Remember how long six to eight weeks was as a kid?
“For all the troubles Lucas had as a screenwriter in his Star Wars and Indiana Jones sequels he always started from square one and reintroduced everyone while also continuing the narrative.“
Agree to disagree. Unless my memory serves me wrong, if you jumped into Return of the Jedi without seeing Empire Strikes Back, you be what the fuck happened to Han? Who is this Lando character? And when did Luke become the Terminator with his fancy cyborg arm? Empire was the Saturday morning cartoon cliffhanger of the decade.
But would you agree that Empire had an actual ending, its plot was resolved if not to a conclusion. Han was captured, Vader lived, and the Empire was winning, but even with the somber ending of the victory simply being able to fight another day the movie felt whole. I didn’t get that from the new ones. Granted it wasn’t as awful as the second Hobbit movie just ending as abruptly as the film breaking, but there wasn’t as much a sense of the whole.
As far as being lost at the beginning of Jedi, the crawl fills in some holes but you are able to figure out the relationships immediately based on how they interact. In last Jedi Luke seeing Chewbacca again after a decade barely registers, no acknowledgement that they shared adventures and saved the universe together. Do they even interact at all after that? Why is Chewie eating alone? Lucas was able to toss out this stuff in shorthand, “how we doing” “about same as usual” boom these guys have a history together. Luke talks about his confrontation with Vader and vice versa so even if you were coming in cold you would know what terms they were meeting on and what their expectations were. Did Last Jedi even bring up Ren and Leia’s relationship before he holds his fire? Or Leia being able to use the force before her spacewalk, or even why her lineage would allow her to do so?
I agree the cliffhanger was a great and surprising move, but you could follow the plot and the motivations of the players coming in cold in the Lucas ones. I would argue you wouldn’t in the Disney versions.
So Avengers landed, Deadpool will be off about 60 million from its previous so strong not perfect, Solo whiffed. What do you think Win lose or draw is for Oceans, Incredibles, and Jurassic? I can see Fallen Kingdom coming in around 450 domestic, which would still be gangbusters but will people be dismissive about the drop?
re: Jurassic, people shouldn’t be dismissive about a drop given the pent up demand theory explaining World’s huge take.
The idea that Incredibles left money on the table by opening in November has a chance to be vindicated. Personally, Incredibles is not my favorite Pixar movie by a longshot, but I still think it’ll outdo its predecessor.
And I think Oceans feels like we sorely need it as a culture. I could see it being very leggy.
So how would you compare the Empire cliffhanger to the IW cliffhanger?
I haven’t seen Infinity so can’t speak to how it was handled. But I do think Empire, Two Towers and even Back to the future were able to wrap things up with a climax and a cliffhanger obviously leaving things to come as opposed to say the second Pirates which felt well we’ll just stop here.
Hell the Salkinds were able to film two movies at the same time and still make them feel as full separate pieces.
Palm, I wasn’t aware people thought that the December date hobbled Incredibles, it outperformed all Pixar but Nemo and none of the subsequent summer releases topped it until UP. With the increase in ticket prices, 3D, nostalgia? (is it old enough to be nostalgic for, it has to have been viewed constantly since its release but not like for the next generation old) and peoples reverence toward Pixar (which was there for the original but not the current cult like status) its going to get a monster bump and likely battle Kingdom for the #2 slot this summer.
Infinity War isn’t a cliffhanger though. It’s the end of ten years of story telling. Sure. It will be resolved, but all of these movies built to that moment and…
Also, I still remember seeing Jedi on opening day, and thinking how different everything felt.
I still have no idea how Stupid Dinosaur Movie made that much money, but im not putting anything past it’s sequel. Sure. Fallen may suffer from it’s predecessor being stupid, and Chris Pratt cooling off a lot. Still.. it’s probably going to make 500m and a billion internationally, because that’s a vibrant franchise all of a sudden.
And Oceans 8 is really freaking good. Why people aren’t talking about Incredibles 2 being a gendered swap Incredibles is beyond me. It also seems like the same movie, but libertarians are such clever filmmakers. I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
‘Infinity War isn’t a cliffhanger though.’
Now that would be something, they announce we are done and we are going to end on that note. Universe saved, but not in the way you thought.
I am almost willing to give Marvel a pass on this type of criticism since their comics at their source all feature cliff hanging story telling and are never ending in nature. You can argue that Star Wars being based on old Flash Gordon serials should also get a pass, but Disney is not reimagining Gordon, they are reimagining Star Wars.
Anyway, I am a crank who doesn’t approve. I don’t want to have cliff notes from a cartoon to follow a plot, I want a movie to be a complete piece of art, however high or low brow it is attempting, and I want the movie to be an end upon itself not an excuse to sell toys and videogames and television shows and trips to amusement parks.
“Infinity War isn’t a cliffhanger though”
Not sure I follow you JS. I’m talking about this first IW movie and not the two as a set. IW1 ending is an absolute cliffhanger that almost everyone knew was coming so it really wasn’t much of a surprise.
Also not really much of a surprise is knowing that lots of characters will be back that were killed off.
I am actually looking forward to seeing how they wrap things up with IW2, and how they set the stage for the next batch, whatever they may be. There is no way Disney does not continue this universe.
And your last paragraph is not how the world has worked since May 25th, 1977. Hard R movies from the 80s had toys, Steven Soderberg sold movie t-shirts, and enjoy some Fallen Kingdom Doritos.
If you don’t want an interconnected world, then you are 41 years too late, buddy. Hell. If you see Ocean’s 8, and don’t see the pieces they leave dangling for 9 and 10, then you aren’t paying attention.
And your whole Sell Toys things is such bullshit. No one makes a movie to sell toys. They sure as hell did with TV shows back in the 80s, but toys are never the goal from a movie, but they sure as shit help bring in those ancillaries!
You thinking anyone makes a movie with the hope to make an amusement park is funny as fuck, but they did want to sell you Powerade with the Matrix sequels ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
BD, if you really think that way, then you missed the story all of these movies told. They failed. The end. People like you, who want characters to stay dead are so… You don’t throw away pieces. You don’t throw away possibilities for cool points.
However the Avengers fix things… Will hopefully involve a meeting with Kang. Nevertheless, it’s not a cliffhanger and thinking it’s a cliffhanger is missing the point.
“BD, if you really think that way, then you missed the story all of these movies told. They failed. The end. People like you, who want characters to stay dead are so… You don’t throw away pieces. You don’t throw away possibilities for cool points.”
You are misunderstanding me JS. I’m not complaining that the characters won’t stay dead, quite the contrary, thought it was actually a good move to have some of these key characters die knowing full well some of them would be back, so the fun will be in seeing who comes back and how, so I think you’re reading me wrong.
I didn’t miss anything, IW1 ended on a cliffhanger that is to be concluded in IW2. Thought that was pretty much an accepted fact.
BD, I thought that I misunderstood you. Sorry, but it’s not a two part movie. That’s why Part 4 doesn’t have a title, because it does continue the Avengers story. While not being an exact continuation. That’s why Thanos gets the whole, “Thanos Will Return,” and the Avengers do not. Thanos won, and that’s how the Infinity War and the movie ended.
In a random box office observation, I find it interesting that 6 female led movies are stacked together on the yearly box office chart, Tomb Raider, Book Club, I feel Pretty, Life of the Party, Red Sparrow, Overboard, all ranging from $57m-$48m. But it looks like those four old ladies will eventually rule the roost, and Overboard, currently last, may etch out a win over the much more hyped Red Sparrow Good on them.
“Sorry, but it’s not a two part movie.”
JS, that’s just silly. The next Avengers movie will be all about bringing everyone back, so it’s a continuation.
“Thanos will return” was a wink at the audience.
It’s semantics really.
Taken from Wiki “The film was announced in October 2014 as Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2. The Russo brothers came on board to direct in April 2015 and by May, Markus and McFeely signed on to script the film. In July 2016, Marvel removed the film’s title, referring to it simply as Untitled Avengers film.”
Hcat, I remember DP or someone reporting on it that way…that Incredibles should have gone after summer money.
Also, Mojo is now reporting Thursday before opening grosses as Thursday grosses. At least they did for Ocean’s 8. Maybe things are changing.
JS, I guess the simplest answer is whether they were filmed back to back. Even Connery got to squeeze in a project between Goldfinger and Thunderball.
Palm, we can of course see how that plays out, adjusted Dory and Nemo were in the same neighborhood, adjusting Incredibles places it at around 350. I think it will be bigger, that super powered baby is going to be a draw, and no animation until Transylvainia a month after. If its as good as the original it is going to soar. Is it 3D as well?
Hcat, sure Incredibles did good business when it did. But the whole concept of leaving money on the table is that it could have done a lot more business in the summer. For a comparison, look at the business Shrek 2 did that same year, but in the summer, and maybe you’ll get an idea of what people mean.
I’m kinda uneasy with everyone saying they’re bringing everyone back in next year’s Avengers. I mean, that just sounds so lame, and I’d have to think the people at Marvel know it sounds lame, and so will avoid that and they’ll have to come up with something better than that. But that’s just me having faith in Marvel.
For sure “everyone” is not coming back otherwise the loss seems meaningless. But for sure some of the characters where you know plans are being made for sequels would be back unless Marvel decides to take us to a whole new universe in this multiverse. I’m sure JS has thoughts on that.
And for once Star Trek won’t be bridesmaid to Star Wars at the Box Office. The well received Star Trek reboot grossed $257m in 2009 a figure Solo won’t reach.
BD, I just find it strange that everyone is talking as if they know what Marvel’s next move is and that it’s gonna be so lame. They’re accusing Marvel of being predictable when no one could have even predicted they’d still be climbing to greater heights in 2018.
So what more does Marvel have to do to prove they have tricks up their sleeve? I can’t think of any.
Agree Palmtree. I actually rewatched the first Iron Man about a week ago, just randomly on cable and it was interesting to view it with all that I know now about how that universe has evolved.
Whether your taste buds are more towards higher art or not, Marvel has never claimed to be anything more than pop culture entertainment, but they have had a few high points in this 19 film universe, with the low being The Incredible Hulk. You can’t argue that what they have pulled off is nothing short of impressive and should not be dismissed. I’ve never walked away from a Marvel movie thinking that it was a complete waste of my time, even Hulk and Thor Dark World gave me bits of entertainment. Or maybe I’m easily pleased. It’s been fun, and it’s not done yet.
JS Partisan wrote:
No one makes a movie to sell toys. They sure as hell did with TV shows back in the 80s, but toys are never the goal from a movie, but they sure as shit help bring in those ancillaries!
You thinking anyone makes a movie with the hope to make an amusement park is funny”
You would think but I remember seeing some creative exec from Disney in the early 00s on a panel discussion say that during the writer’s pitch, she’s thinking about what from the movie could be used for park ride. She mentioned a flying Winnebago ride that would tie to Escape from Witch Mountain and some other things. Man, talk about horse before the cart, I thought. She seemed pretty adamant and confident about that’s the way things are and will be. That’s just reality.
Then like 6 mos later comes news that Disney was going to slash half of its live-action dept. Gee, who couldn’t see that coming? I can’t remember what some of the movies Disney was putting out at the time. The Freaky Friday remake was good but at the time I thought they were in a lull. This may have been High School Musical days, which of course wasn’t even theatrical but they all sure were patting themselves on the back for it. I don’t know if that exec was one of the ones who felt the axe drop. Inconsequential to me. But I did think that the complaint about mktg dept having too much influence about the development and shooting of a film would ultimately be detrimental to the overall quality of films, if not the industry as a whole.
One thing I had to applaud WB for with the release of Batman Begins, they had to cognitively decide to opt out of the toy side for that one. If that movie had come out 10 years earlier, I can’t imagine they’d go over 10 mins without seeing batman in his costume and using some gadget. It totally wasn’t kid friendly action figure type film. Ultimately it rejuvenated the franchise and re-set the whole industry with everyone tripping over themselves to make an origins film.
I had hoped that by prephasing the statement with I’m a crank might have limited the ire in any response since it sort of signifies that I know that sentiment went against the tide. However you are equally out of touch if you don’t think Disney’s principle reason to buy LucasFilm and Marvel was for the merchandising possibilities. And I will even admit that their slate has gotten stronger in the last few years but you can still feel how everything is there to fuel the Disney machine.
HC, you know nothing about toys, because those comments impliy as much. Marvel Studios have toys, but it’s a Marvel toyline. This includes a lot of X-Men toys the last two years. You thinking Disney wanted Star Wars for toys, is another example of you forgetting Dianey suck at selling toys. Marvel and Hasbro? They know what they are doing. LFL and Hasbro now? HC. Bain Captial is one reason Toys R Us is closing. The other? The gamble they made on TFA, that Hasbro and LFL sold to them, and it completely destroyed the company. Disney doesn’t know what they are doing with the Star Wars property, and the number one place they are clueless? Toys.
Hey Triple! All they’ve been doing for ten years are making… Nolan Era Batman toys. Seriously.
Palm… Here’s what’s going to happen. Nebula is going to get that gauntlet, snap her fingers, and bring everyone back. Why or how do I know this? Read a comic 32 years ago. Also, everyone is coming back, because that’s what they’ve been fighting for … For ten years.
Pete, no. It’s not a continuation. If it were. It would have a title. That’s why part four wasn’t called Infinity War part two, because they fucking lost. Part four is something else, that will deal with those events, but they travel through time. Someone get Kang on the phone.
Finally. HC, you stated you aren’t old, and I made a lot of jokes in that reply. It’s very tongue and cheek, but movies cost a lot to make and I never blame any production needing a couple of extra bucks, to even everything out.
JS, um…ok. So your response to people thinking it’ll be predictable and lame is that…it’ll be predictable and lame but at least it’s based on the comic? Didn’t expect that response from you, but I guess you could be right.
It’s really lame to not want people back. They make a sacrifice to bring everyone back, and it’s time. Just watch the movie, and stop with the facata worrying \ (•◡•) /
JS, you are correct I know nothing about the toy industry market share and the like other than what you mentioned about Toys r us going private and never paying down their debt until they finally crashed and wanted to blame the internet. Just like the newspapers who were bought up by millionaires who saddled them with debt and then complained about young people who don’t read newspapers..
Disney bought Marvel at the downslope of the princess merchandising boom. They were absolutely cleaning up but couldn’t reach the other half of the kid population, marvel was the answer to that. The marvel films were up and running Hulk Hands proved they were exploitable in the toy market, endless IP for their Disney channel for boys XD. If they have somehow screwed up selling toys to boys that doesn’t mean it wasn’t their motivation to begin with.
What do you think Lucas’s motivation to selling to Disney was? Fox had been their home for decades and historically no one can touch Fox when it comes to Sci Fi. But no kids channel for the spin off cartoons. Warner’s has a channel that was airing just such a spinoff and proved themselves to be a wonderful steward for the Potter films. They also seem to have a strong video game presence, though I don’t follow that either. Star Wars was more valuable to Disney than the other studios because they would be able to exploit the merchandising to a higher degree. Not just toys but dear lord a billion dollars in t shirts alone.
Disney can sell a t-shirt. Marvel sells them better. The point I’m trying to make is Disney have a lane, and that’s kid friendly properties and princesses. Marvel and Marvel Studios do their own deals, and they have merch down to a T. Disney? Go to a Walmart today, and check out the toy aisles. They have a whole aisle dedicated to princesses, then look at Star Wars. You can see how they failed, and the disparities between how they sell things on a visual level.
Again. You make great points, but they arent in the thick of it. If you were? You would know bringing up video games and Star Wars leads to a lot of stuff. Disney suck at doing what Lucasfilm did for years, and they have pissed away so much money from their incompetence. Seriously. Lucas and a few others did more for the brand with less money, then Disney have done with billions. I know box office has been good, but everything else that’s Star Wars? They just do not get.
Marvel is Disney, there is no one sells it better
JS, I DO want them back. Which is why I think they’ll come back but in a way that isn’t lame, perhaps in some way that isn’t blatantly mercenary. From what I understand, there are so many theories out there for HOW they’re coming back that just going with the comic seems kinda basic at this point. But I do respect that you seem to know what you’re talking about.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. Nebula is going to get that gauntlet, snap her fingers, and bring everyone back. Why or how do I know this? Read a comic 32 years ago.”
But they haven’t exactly followed that comic have they? Where’s Adam Warlock? Where’s Galactus? And Ego is dead.
Plus “Lady” Death has never even been a factor in Thanos’ plan.
{Boy was that alot of geek speak in one comment.}
^Yeah, that.
HC, it’s owned by Disney, but they handle their own stuff.
Pete, but Nebula is still there for a reason.
No Friday or Weekend numbers? DP, you’re taking this “keeping it to myself” stuff too far.