Eric Quinn

Yeah. It probably will return profit 20 years later. Movies are and always have relied on the ancillary market, whether it be to make money on DVD, merchandise, etc.. It may not be as massive as it was in the 2000s, but it has always been something that has helped movies become successful and something studio executives take into account whenever they greenlight a project. Why should we ignore that stuff just so we can act like a movie is an epic flop of massive proportions? Doesn't seem all that productive. And it's not like that stuff always "saves" movies. Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet were huge hits on home video, and probably made a profit over the years thanks to that, but they are still regarded as flops within Disney offices and with the general public. If it's just business, then why are you ignoring a fundamental part of the movie business just to use hyperbole and make movies look like bigger flops than they are? We really don't need this energy on the forums. Trust me.

I thought Deadpool was coming out on July 19...whoops.

FYC 1980s One of the few live-action cartoon adaptations that really takes advantage of the source material and has fun with it. The cast is aces all around, it's riotously funny with fantastic visual gags and one-liners, and gets you in a fun, jolly mood all throughout. It's a miracle a film as odd as this even got made in the first place. Haven't seen Legacy, at least not yet, so I don't know how this compares to that film. But this is a pretty weird, but very endearing piece of 80s sci-fi with a lot of creative visuals and great sci-fi themes of evil corporations, man fighting AI, and all that other good stuff that still resonates today. If you can get past the dated visuals (I'd argue they enhance the piece. There's no other film that looks like this), you'll have a great time. Despite the Disney logo, this is as far removed from the typical Disney family adventure thing you may expect. It's a survival story, and a pretty brutal one at that. And one I found utterly wonderful. It's absolutely beautiful in terms of cinematography and depicting the Arctic landscapes, while Charles Martin Smith is an effective lead, playing a biologist who has as few survival skills as most viewers of this movie have. It's quiet and contemplative, though consistently intense, and the film's insights into modernity and how mother nature has been left behind, slowly dying, is even more resonant four decades later. In a way, this felt like Disney's attempt to get into the New Hollywood scene after consistently floundering in the 1970s with cheesy pastiches of the good ol' days. Of course, being pre-Eisner Disney, the studio was late to the party and released this right around the time New Hollywood died on the vine. Still, what we have is damn good. This has nothing to do with the Garland film, despite featuring the ruby slippers instead of the silver ones in the book. It's dark, it's creepy, it's full of scary moments. But it's also very entertaining, full of fun characters, has great special effects, awesome setpieces, and I'd argue can still be entertaining for younger viewers, even if this is hyped as "too scary even for 80s kids". This is the kind of badass kids movies we need more in today's sanitized world. A solid "snobs vs slobs" comedy premise that offers fun production design, a good cast, solidly entertaining characters, and Little Richard being Little Richard. This is the kind of thing I miss seeing in movie theaters. Something lightweight and endearing and small and unassuming, yet still entertaining and memorable all at the same time. This was directed by the same people who directed Airplane. While not as over the top as Airplane, this still has some of that wacky charm with a fun, screwball premise, a hilarious cast that all portray despicable, yet oddly compelling characters, and tons of twists and turns that keep you guessing. It's a really fun screenplay, courtesy of Dale Launer of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels fame, and still works well as a class comedy and a wacky black comedy decades later. It's a real hidden gem of 80s comedy. This was from the same directors who later made Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Moana, etc., and it's just as good as those movies. Maybe even better than some of them. It's a lovely adaptation of Sherlock Holmes that offers really memorable and fun characters, fantastic voice acting, and a lot of great setpieces. It's also pretty gay, which is always good. It's no wonder this was the film that truly saved Disney and made them a powerhouse in the 90s onwards. I think most of you have seen this movie...but I love this movie to pieces, and I'm afraid it will be forgotten because it's Touchstone, so...please don't forget this movie.

They're boyfriends now.

IIRC Burton mentioned in an interview he only did Alice in Wonderland because it was the only way Disney would greenlight his Frankenweenie movie. Or I think it was he would do Planet of the Apes and then Big Fish could get made? One of the two, I remember that.

Four movies eh? Just those? Boy, if only the studios actually paid their writers and actors, and the box office wouldn't suck (yes I know more movies will be slotted in lol. Gotta keep a bit going.)

July 26 Deadpool 3: People are still predicting big things for this, even after Marvel utterly imploded this year. But like...nah, I don’t buy that. Deadpool 3 is coming out a whopping 6 years after the last Deadpool movie. That’s an eternity in box office time. And at least the Guardians of the Galaxy popped up in other movies and had a holiday special to keep them fresh and in the conversation. Deadpool's been MIA, which only makes the uphill battle even harder. And while people are hyped for Wolverine, the X-Men movies were never Spider-Man grossers and Logan ended things perfectly for the character. Just feels crass to bring him back in a way it wasn’t for the Sony Spider-Men. Add on all the Fox cameos for characters nobody cares about (Jennifer Garner’s Elektra returning is a big deal to nobody), and superhero movies being box office poison now, and this is going to be another disappointment for Marvel yet again. Superhero movies are dead. They should have stopped after Endgame. 90/215 (2.39x)

July 19 Twisters: This is the biggest wildcard of the year. This could go sub-100 and utterly bomb, or be a 300+ juggernaut, and neither would surprise me. The lack of legacyquel nostalgia pandering will hurt it and the brand isn't necessarily the hottest thing right now, but it has a good cast and these kinds of disaster movies don't really exist anymore. It's kind of filling up a market that hasn't been fed in ages. And while it's sad to see Lee Isaac Chung be swallowed into the evils of the blockbuster industrial complex, that could mean the movie's not that bad? This is dependent on a million factors, but I'm going to assume this has okay trailers and 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and does fine for what it is. 42/140 (3.33x)

July 12 Project Artemis: Sony has miraculously found a modest romcom hit with Anyone But You despite having the worst ad campaign ever. So with bigger stars and hopefully better trailers, this seems like a rare non-NTC that could actually do okay, at least to the current dreadful standards comedy movies are dealing with. 15/55 (3.67x)

July 3 Despicable Me 4: Reports are that they’re bringing back the bad guy from the first movie. It’s weird to say that Despicable Me is now old enough to do the legacy sequel thing and pull it off. But nostalgia is the only thing that sells, and the franchise is bigger than ever, especially with the 18-34s who are now the biggest audience sector, so I guess it will work out fine. 120/400 (3.33x)

Like I said yesterday, if there's no flying cow money shot in the Twisters trailer, thing is dead in the water. No cow, no deal.

Yes. One exception to the rule doesn’t invalidate all the other instances.

I’ll get into this more tomorrow, but Twisters is one movie where it could be a sub-100 bomb or a giant 300+ hit and neither would surprise me. It has a big benefit where these kinds of disaster movies haven’t been out for a while, which gives it an advantage like Top Gun or Jurassic World had in terms of feeling fresh. I do think them going for a remake instead of a legacyquel however does seem like something that could backfire. Like I know we all groan over forced nostalgia pandering/member berries, but the masses eat that trash up. Having Helen Hunt in there so people can Leo point and tweet “OMG MY CHILDHOOD” goes a long way in the hype circuit. They also for sure need a CGI flying cow money shot in the trailer. No cow, no deal.

When Friday numbers come out, we can open the weekend thread. I don’t think we have any. But if we do, go ahead and open it.

I just found the name for my Inside Man prequel script.

Honestly not that bad of a month...but I have a bit to keep up. So....oh noooooo theaters are going to die ahhhhhhhh

June 28 A Quiet Place: Day One: Not really sure why they went with a random prequel and aren't finishing the cliffhanger they had in the last movie. Aren't these kids gonna be too old soon? And I don’t think audiences really wanted all this. The brand is still strong enough, but we should see a franchise low here. Which I guess is fine, it’s a prequel with none of the other characters, so whatever. 37/125 (3.38x) Horizon: An American Saga Part 1: I'm sure some people will be confident this will be a breakout, but I don't buy it. The audience that would go to this back in 2009 are now happily watching Yellowstone on TV and have largely refused to go back to theaters apart from Top Gun. They aren’t going to go for this, since it’s, yet again, not a nostalgic toy commercial. But it will do better than most of these movies I suppose. 18/65 (3.61x)

June 21 The Bikeriders: Sadly, this isn't a nostalgic toy commercial, and awards prospects probably won't help it in the summertime. Even the festival buzz and good reviews will be worthless with this delay. I can maybe see it doing slightly better than most with the strong cast, but not that much. 10/35 (3.5x)

June 14 Bad Boys 4: Bad Boys 3 surprised everybody with grossing 200M back when the world was sane and normal, and thankfully Adil and Bilall are back once again to deliver an exciting and fun crowdpleaser. Only real question mark is how much the slap damaged Will Smith’s reputation and popularity, but I think but I think most have moved on and just want a good time. Which this probably will be. 50/170 (3.4x) Inside Out 2: The 2015 classic was already a hugely successful and iconic feature in the Pixar canon since day 1, and was one of the few Pixar movies that people actually wanted a sequel for. And sure enough, people are already excited judging by the crazy views on the teaser trailer, strong Quorum metrics, and it being a nostalgic toy commercial. With Disney putting out next to nothing in theaters, this is likely going to get tons of promo and hype up until release. All that's left is strong reviews, which...eh, even a Monsters University reception will probably be enough. So yeah, it should be a huge shot in the arm for the box office, though it will still be dinged by the Disney+ factor. But not that much. 140/455 (3.25x)

June 7 Ballerina: A Len Wiseman action movie in 2024 is basically destined for 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even the John Wick connections won’t save this inevitable hot mess. 12/30 (2.5x) The Watchers: Hard to really say anything about a movie where little is known about it, from an unknown director to boot. It's actually M. Night Shyamalan's kid directing. So...I guess let's assume this movie will also be a divisive one? I dunno, I'm just doing a shot in the dark on this one. 15/40 (2.67x)

I think that's just true of everything.

Quorum Updates Bob Marley: One Love T-47: 31.82% Cabrini T-70: 12.71% The First Omen T-98: 21.77% My Ex-Friend's Wedding T-133: 13.76% Ballerina T-162: 18.73% Horizon: An American Saga Part 1 T-182: 20.3% Deadpool 3 T-210: 54.04% Beetlejuice 2 T-253: 50.02% Night Swim T-7: 35.56% Awareness Final Awareness: 36% chance of 10M, 6% chance of 20M Horror Awareness: 45% chance of 10M, 9% chance of 20M Drive-Away Dolls T-56: 16.49% Awareness T-60 Awareness: 31% chance of 10M Low Awareness: 10% chance of 10M

I deal with this every time I go to Regal. It's only one ad granted, but it's still a mood kiler At least it's not 2021 anymore where I had to see that Matt Damon crypto ad inbetween the trailers every single time I saw any movie ever.