Gross
Some surprising numbers this weekend. What wasn't that surprising to me was the weakness of Mission Impossible III. I saw it last evening at the Vista Theatre. When a blockbuster opens there's a line around the block, but this film didn't even make it to the end of the block. The house was crowded, but not packed.
It opened yesterday with $17 million, whereas Paramount was hoping for a number above $20 million. It's still a hit, but with its price tag, if it drops quickly (and serious competition is coming) it will be a major disappointment. It looks like Tom Cruise's antics have turned a lot of people off. Not his jumping up and down on Oprah so much as lecturing Matt Lauer on drugs and Brooke Shields on childbirth. In the film's favor, it is the best of the series. (It's probably not in as much trouble as next week's Poseidon, which is just as expensive and doesn't have a major star.)
What really surprised me were the numbers for RV and United 93. The former declined only 37% from last week, while the latter dropped 59%. If the numbers hold up it suggests RV, with its rotten reviews, is getting relatively good word of mouth, while United 93, with its stellar reviews, is a film people just don't want to see. Most prognosticators predicted the opposite. Perhaps the audience views United 93 as some sort of action movie, so the Tom Cruise film cuts directly into its audience.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:53 PM
7 Comments:
You suggested that perhaps "United 93 ... is a film people just don't want to see."
This made me think of Schindler's List. Many non-Jews (including myself) assumed that this movie would be very popular among Jewish filmgoers. But I soon found out that there were a whole lot of Jewish people who didn't see S.L. because they just found the whole story too disturbing.
So maybe United 93 is like that for all Americans, or at least all Americans who occasionally fly on planes.
You may be right. Luckily for Schindler's List (if you're correct), the Jewish audience is small enough that it may be safely ignored. The film, which cost $22 million, grossed $96 million in the US and $225 million overseas. However, just about every American feels strongly about 9/11.
It appears that MI-III (which I would agree is the best of the series) is tanking worse than anyone thought.
FWIW - I have a plug for you and a look at my own summer movie picks over at the Teahouse.
Thanks for the link, Gaucho. Let me recommend that everyone check out Gaucho's latest at Teahouse on the Tracks (am I missing something with that name?). It's about predictions for the top ten summer films, which are always fun--especially after the fact since everyone always gets it wrong.
My insider friends tell me The Da Vinci Code will open huge, even though it's not a sequel and appeals to a more adult audience that doesn't always come out the first weekend.
What intrigues me most is how the latest X-Men will do. The series is huge and sequels tend to open big. If it doesn't open as well as the last one, it'll perhaps be a good indication of how DVDs have cut into theatrical.
Also, everyone is saying the big budget Poseidon will tank.
Teahouse on the Tracks is the title of a song from Donald Fagen's solo album "Kamakiriad". And Gaucho, of course, is the title of one of Steely Dan's albums.
You could say I'm a fan. :)
Based on the trailer I've seen, the X-Men movie will be huge and will stand a chance of topping both the previous movies. Pirates, on the other hand, will open huge and quickly drop off. If it does half of what the first movie did, I'll be surprised.
Still, can you believe EW's prediction? Six movies in one summer over $200 million at the box office in the U.S. alone? No way it happens.
As a huge Steely Dan fan, I'm embarrassed I didn't recognize the song title. My excuse, for what it's worth, is I don't own all their solo albums.
Gaucho, of course, I know. My question is why name yourself after their last album of the original seven when so much of their earlier stuff is better? (And as for your blog name, was Countdown To Ecstasy already taken?)
Heh. I never even checked on Countdown to Ecstasy (although my profile description is a direct lift from the liner notes for Show Biz Kids). You could say I chose Teahouse more for what it meant to me than for how it might appear to others.
I guess I'm not much of a marketer.
As for the persona of Gaucho, it's an outgrowth of the lyrics to the song rather than a nod to the album. I could, of course, have called myself Dr. Wu (probably taken already) or Clean Willie or Mr. Lapage or Jive Miguel or any number of other characters from their songs but I chose Gaucho, probably because of the ambiguity of the lyrics. Everyone I've ever spoken to about it seems to have a different idea about just who - or what - that Gaucho amigo is.
Which suits me just fine.
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