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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
 Posted - 01/12/2006 : 11:15:44 AM
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I was reading a magazine in the dentist's office this week. Of course, it wasn't exactly current, so I was rather amused looking through their predictions for the second half of the 2005 movie season.
The least comprehensible prediction was for Memoirs of a Geisha, which, they boldly claimed "could be the biggest box office smash of the season".
Anyone recall any other recent predictions that reached such Criswell-like heights? |
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Victoria Silverwolf
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
80 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2006 : 02:42:56 AM
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Yeah, it's pretty silly to suggest that any movie which isn't full of action and big special effects is going to be THE biggest box office smash of the season. (That sounds like I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not.) It was pretty obvious that Narnia and King Kong would be bigger hits. I will admit, though, that Memoirs of a Geisha looked like a movie which would do pretty well. It was a best-selling novel, for one thing.
Anyway, I remember when the so-so horror anthology Nightmares came out and advertised itself as "this year's sleeper." Not really.
Reality is a crutch for people who can't face up to science fiction. |
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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2006 : 08:51:33 AM
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| I remember a Newsweek article on summer movies from 1997 that mentioned that Titanic might, if they were lucky, break even as a "moderate" hit. |
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Jonah Falcon
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2006 : 10:16:10 AM
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King Kong flopped. It's performed well below expectations, and might not even break even (thanks to the budget ($200M+) and the marketing (approaching $500M!). In its 5th week of release, it's averaging $160 per screen (!).
http://www.thestinkers.com/spinningkong.html
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Edited by - Jonah Falcon on 01/13/2006 10:17:48 AM |
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Cannon Fodder
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Australia
176 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2006 : 10:23:52 PM
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| Has the studio really have spent that much on marketing for King Kong? Where did that 500 million figure come from? It seems a little high to me. Marketing costs aside the movie has already paid for pretty much its entire budget with the US box office so far and is doing pretty good outside of the US from what I've seen. Sure, Kong might have performed below expectations but I'm not sure if it accurate to catagorise it as a flop. |
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Ubiq
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2006 : 11:18:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Cannon Fodder
Has the studio really have spent that much on marketing for King Kong? Where did that 500 million figure come from? It seems a little high to me.
Same here; I'm a prime demographic for that movie (25 year old male who loved the Lord of the Rings) and I've seen more ads for the video game than the actual movie it was based on. If they really spent that much on marketing, then whoever is in charge of advertising is an idiot.
BM: I should have mentioned this at the beginning. I solve my problems with violence. |
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hbrennan
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Philippines
1455 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2006 : 11:26:22 PM
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I, personally, was disappointed with Memoirs of a Geisha. The novel is one of my top ten favorites of all time and I've read it several times (not to mention having lived in Japan for 2 1/2 years). I have to admit, though, that I was skeptical about the screen adaptation being able to do the novel justice.
"...yet it hadn't destroyed his brain."
re: Charles "The Butcher" Benton (1956)
http://henrybrennan.blogspot.com/ |
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RVHorror
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
532 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2006 : 12:43:24 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by twitterpate
Anyone recall any other recent predictions that reached such Criswell-like heights?
Entertainment Weakly said that Star Trek V (the Shatner directed one) would be a huge hit. But really, you could look over dozens of summer fare from the last few years, and all the failed ones (Hulk, for example) were always presented as potential blockbusters.
Movie success is always, always a crapshoot, and sometimes the studios just shoot crap and hope it will stick rather than stink. |
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Food
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - 01/14/2006 : 6:46:36 PM
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Re: Memoirs of a Geisha: My Asian studies professor, an Asian lady who lived in Japan for a decade and Taiwan for a decade and a half, saw the movie with her husband, who also teaches Asian studies. When a student asked about the movie, she told the class that she and her husband both thought it sucked. She said her hubby had previously tried to read the book, but got fed up with it after the first chapter.
I've neither read the book nor seen the movie, but I'll take the lady's word for it. She's a great educator. |
Edited by - Food on 01/14/2006 6:47:40 PM |
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 6:17:40 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Food
Re: Memoirs of a Geisha: My Asian studies professor, an Asian lady who lived in Japan for a decade and Taiwan for a decade and a half, saw the movie with her husband, who also teaches Asian studies. When a student asked about the movie, she told the class that she and her husband both thought it sucked. She said her hubby had previously tried to read the book, but got fed up with it after the first chapter.
I've neither read the book nor seen the movie, but I'll take the lady's word for it. She's a great educator.
Wow. Well, gotta admit...she ought to know!
"Cole, stop handing Dr. Doom the Keys to the Baxter building." Brent Sienna/PvP.
"I speak 34 different languages. But gibberish is not one of them."- Danger Mouse.
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dconner
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2006 : 12:05:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by twitterpate
I remember a Newsweek article on summer movies from 1997 that mentioned that Titanic might, if they were lucky, break even as a "moderate" hit.
A lot of people forget that the pre-written MSM storyline for Titanic was that it was a disaster of epic proportions. With its runaway budget, production problems, having its premiere shifted from summer to winter, it was (to the media) clearly the next Waterworld or Heaven's Gate level bomb. |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2006 : 7:43:59 PM
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I do remember Premiere magazine giving its predictions for 1994's summer movies, and it had Speed at #19. Their quote: "Wipeout!" A few months later, Speed's producers sent Premiere's editors a copy of that issue with a little note along the lines of "You were saying?" It was meant to be good-natured, and Premiere was a good enough sport to show the note with their mea culpa.
But you can't predict stuff like this, not really. You get give a "probably" to something, but that's about it. |
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