Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[Drtooth]

It's much weaker than it used to be. And it's pretty much an all or nothing weekend because the weeks after that right up until Christmas when even more movies come out aren't exactly summer release strong. Look at Penguins of Madagascar. It made money overseas, but that film's "failure" at the American box office caused them to overly panic again and bump B.O.O. (a completed film, mind you) completely off the schedule (also had something to do with not competing directly with Inside Out or Minions). The real money making time in November is a couple weeks earlier. No Black Friday to compete with.

I agree. It is too soon to say how the movie was affected by the massive sweeping changes, and those are two good examples. Though, Rat was an amazing movie and top notch on every level, it was far from the kid friendliest of Pixar's movies. Trying to make a comedy about gourmet food for the crowd that thinks it can sustain on pizza, french fries, and candy is a little strange. Especially since it was one of their lower earning films. I mean, the merchandise was cleared out before it hit home video. That's saying something. Of course, this film looks kid friendly as heck, so I don't see that being the problem. I'm just wondering exactly how kid friendly this film's going to be.

 

[jvcarroll]

It's much weaker than it used to be. And it's pretty much an all or nothing weekend because the weeks after that right up until Christmas when even more movies come out aren't exactly summer release strong. Look at Penguins of Madagascar. It made money overseas, but that film's "failure" at the American box office caused them to overly panic again and bump B.O.O. (a completed film, mind you) completely off the schedule (also had something to do with not competing directly with Inside Out or Minions). The real money making time in November is a couple weeks earlier. No Black Friday to compete with.

I agree. It is too soon to say how the movie was affected by the massive sweeping changes, and those are two good examples. Though, Rat was an amazing movie and top notch on every level, it was far from the kid friendliest of Pixar's movies. Trying to make a comedy about gourmet food for the crowd that thinks it can sustain on pizza, french fries, and candy is a little strange. Especially since it was one of their lower earning films. I mean, the merchandise was cleared out before it hit home video. That's saying something. Of course, this film looks kid friendly as heck, so I don't see that being the problem. I'm just wondering exactly how kid friendly this film's going to be.

I don't think it's the slot that's weaker. It's the film offerings. Penguins fizzled because Madagascar had already over-saturated the market with three films and a television show prior to that particular film. Just one of DreamWorks' many bad decisions.

Both Thanksgiving day and Black Friday are wonderful day for movies. Families are together and a movie is a perfect opportunity to be together without having to talk to one another. Ha! Plus, that Friday parents often head to the theaters after shopping or drop their older kids off while going shopping. Either way, it's a very good weekend. It definitely worked for the Muppets.

Aside from key holidays, I think the idea of release date importance is hogwash anyway. Movies are geared toward younger people and it's hard to get them into the theaters. They have tablets, phones that contain games and endless media streaming opportunities - some of those being current theatrical releases that are temporarily on demand as well. Just as streaming changed the game for network television, it's changed it for movies too and it will continue to do so.

So I don't understand the release date criticisms anymore. If a project strikes a chord with moviegoers, they'll see it no matter when it launches.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't think it's the slot that's weaker. It's the film offerings. Penguins fizzled because Madagascar had already over-saturated the market with three films and a television show prior to that particular film. Just one of DreamWorks' many bad decisions.

I believe they planned a spinoff Penguins movie since the second Madagascar just ended production. While I sort of agree about the over saturation, it didn't exactly hurt Puss in Boots's box office take being part of Shrek's HUGE media blitz, which strangely enough didn't include a cartoon series at the time. It seems to me that somehow Dreamworks kinda didn't care about the movie once it was done. Usually, you'd know a year or so in advance of what their next project is. While those who closely follow Dreamworks knew a POM movie was happening at some point, I'm sure they were shocked when they just out and released the first trailer 6 months before the film was released. Obviously, Home was bumped because they knew it couldn't compete with Big Hero, but they needed something in that slot. Even the McDonalds promotion just flat out reused molds from the 2010 cartoon series promotion. I have never seen them reuse molds for a promotion. I'm an avid collector of these things (too avid), and to see them just rerelease redecos of a 4 year old promotion was bizarre and disappointing.

Seems DW's own lack of enthusiasm for the film spread to the audience. Though I think if it had a proper summer release with bigger promotion it would have left a bigger impact.

 

[jvcarroll]

I believe they planned a spinoff Penguins movie since the second Madagascar just ended production. While I sort of agree about the over saturation, it didn't exactly hurt Puss in Boots's box office take being part of Shrek's HUGE media blitz, which strangely enough didn't include a cartoon series at the time. It seems to me that somehow Dreamworks kinda didn't care about the movie once it was done. Usually, you'd know a year or so in advance of what their next project is. While those who closely follow Dreamworks knew a POM movie was happening at some point, I'm sure they were shocked when they just out and released the first trailer 6 months before the film was released. Obviously, Home was bumped because they knew it couldn't compete with Big Hero, but they needed something in that slot. Even the McDonalds promotion just flat out reused molds from the 2010 cartoon series promotion. I have never seen them reuse molds for a promotion. I'm an avid collector of these things (too avid), and to see them just rerelease redecos of a 4 year old promotion was bizarre and disappointing.

Seems DW's own lack of enthusiasm for the film spread to the audience. Though I think if it had a proper summer release with bigger promotion it would have left a bigger impact.

Most (non-marvel) films have short promotional cycles these days. And the ones that don't irritate moviegoers with a feeling that if a film's promotion began over four months prior, they should have been out by now. It's been a different, faster-paced cycle over the past few years.

 

[Drtooth]

I really don't like that. I think the internet is to blame because we hear of movie rights as they've been bought. But just because a film is announced does not mean it's going to complete production first of all. But I miss seeing a film announced in teaser form 2 years before it comes out. I loved Pixar's short films that announced upcoming films. Incredibles is one of my favorites, but darned if the short cartoon of Mr. Incredible struggling into his old suit wasn't fun enough to be a standalone short. And who could forget that classic fake Superman Returns trailer that pulled out to reveal Homer Simpson wearing an illfitting Superman shirt? That gave me chills! There seems to be that lack of blasting excitement from trailers, be it that we know these movies are going to be produced and exactly when they're coming out. That's the internet part of the problem.

Then I hear about some odd regulation about how trailers for films can't be seen in theaters more than four months prior to the film's release date. Now I don't know if this really is a thing about it being an actual legal regulation, but it sure as heck feels like a self regulation. Half the thrill of going to see a movie is the trailer, and half of that thrill is seeing a film that's not out for a year or more's big official reveal. But hey, how about that Geico commercial with the goat that screams like a man that was barely funny the first time and gets less funny with every big screen showing? No problems with that.

 

[jvcarroll]

I really don't like that. I think the internet is to blame because we hear of movie rights as they've been bought. But just because a film is announced does not mean it's going to complete production first of all. But I miss seeing a film announced in teaser form 2 years before it comes out. I loved Pixar's short films that announced upcoming films. Incredibles is one of my favorites, but darned if the short cartoon of Mr. Incredible struggling into his old suit wasn't fun enough to be a standalone short. And who could forget that classic fake Superman Returns trailer that pulled out to reveal Homer Simpson wearing an illfitting Superman shirt? That gave me chills! There seems to be that lack of blasting excitement from trailers, be it that we know these movies are going to be produced and exactly when they're coming out. That's the internet part of the problem.

Then I hear about some odd regulation about how trailers for films can't be seen in theaters more than four months prior to the film's release date. Now I don't know if this really is a thing about it being an actual legal regulation, but it sure as heck feels like a self regulation. Half the thrill of going to see a movie is the trailer, and half of that thrill is seeing a film that's not out for a year or more's big official reveal. But hey, how about that Geico commercial with the goat that screams like a man that was barely funny the first time and gets less funny with every big screen showing? No problems with that.

Promotion is incredibly expensive and the price keeps going up each year. I don't blame studios for shortening their cycles. Also, everything, including production, moves quicker these days. Casting has even been known to happen very close to the beginning of a shoot. Until digital technology, it used to take up to a year to edit a film. Now they assemble a rough-cut while shooting. I'm as sentimental as you are about it, but the point is, the momentum for release is much more compressed because that's actually the way it works best.

 

[Drtooth]

It really seems when everything's moving too fast, that does nothing but help the stigma of major motion pictures being throwaway cash grabs that can easily be ignored until they hit DVD Bluray streaming. Unless something's too big and loud to translate to an iPhone screen, or just lucky as freaking heck (cough cough Pitch Perfect 2), film returns shrink. I understand all of that, but I really think there should be a little balance. Teasers can be made without anything so much as an actor or thread plot. Everything works faster, and more media savvy types already follow film production since their announcement. But that doesn't mean we can't have announcements or, you know, good movie posters. If they want film goers to be excited instead of lethargic, cynic, and willing to wait 3 months to a year to see an inferior version of the movie as a commuter time killing activity, things need to change. Making everything 3-D isn't working anymore.

On another subject, if there's one movie I recently read about that I'd love to see, it's one that's not advertised anywhere. There's some weird biopic about Brain Wilson of the Beach Boys and his manipulation by a crazy Svengali of a therapist. Now, I don't like their music (but from a personal taste perspective that I respect it's pop cultural impact), I don't follow the band, but I read something about this therapist from a TV Tropes "So bad it's Horrible" entry, and that sounds like something I'd love to see more of, even in the not really that true lens of a biopic. Oh, and I don't usually like biopics as well, so that's how interesting it sounds.

 

[mr3urious]

Sounds like The Good Dinosaur will be like Up meets The Land Before Time, what with all the character-driven moments and the overall low-key feel that both had. I still have some cautious optimism for it because of it.

 

[Luke kun]

I wonder what my movie would be like.

 

[Drtooth]

Saw Minions Saturday and it was friggin adorable. Just all over one of the cutest experiences I ever had, and none of it was saccharine in any way. To say the obvious, it lacks that emotional punch of the first film and all, but the first film was deconstruction that the second film couldn't logically replicate. I absolutely loved the film. They really could hold their own for a movie. Focusing on three Minions was probably the best decision they could have made. Too many of them on screen for too long would've destroyed any sort of plot flow. This was a really fun movie that knew it's kid audience. Probably made a decent fortune over the weekend. Made like 46 Mil on Friday alone.

It wasn't quite as deep as Inside Out, but wasn't expecting it to be. I just wonder what's next for this franchise. Don't know if I want to see DM3, and for whatever spoilery reason I could post, I can't see a Minions 2.

Spoiler

Mainly because they meet Gru at the very end of the movie, just when you think it would end. I suppose they could make it about growing up around side Gru.

EDIT: They actually have confirmed a DM3 in a couple years.