Sal

Almost to 770m! Not bad for Marvel's first flop!

Agreed. 50/50 is an excellent split! Especially for a movie that supposedly is for boys. Girls can love superheroes and robots too, guys. My GF was actually more excited to see this film than I was!

I agree that they are different styles of sci-fi, but that doesn't invalidate that those other films are sci-fi and that the wide-ranging claim that the public dislikes sci-fi in general is inaccurate.

I believe the issue in question isn't whether Nolan meant to break records or whether is was a good movie. It was the fact that someone was saying that science fiction doesn't do well with audiences, just generally speaking, and then countering claims that movies like Star Wars/Star Trek/Avatar/etc did well by saying they only succeeded so much because they're not actually sci-fi. (or don't count as sci-fi)

Well, the dictionary definition is: clas·sic (klsk) adj. 1. a. Belonging to the highest rank or class. b. Serving as the established model or standard: a classic example of colonial architecture. c. Having lasting significance or worth; enduring. Most modern films can't really be said to fall into this category when they come out. Even Gravity, which did well, still has to prove that it has lasting significance or appeal beyond just a couple of years to be considered classic. Star Wars IS classic by this definition. You can't simply look at one type of movie and say just because it's classic that nothing else in any other style can also be classic.

thing. They did it with me over and over again and laughed every time we did it. I agree, I can see great box office result in Japan. Not because of the Japanese elements in the movie, but because of the movie itself, how emotional it is. After watching the movie, I think the Japanese trailer was actually a bit closer to the mark. It was far more centered around Hiro and Baymax, and had a large focus on the emotional aspect. I do think that the Japanese audiences will like that.

This is what it says on the wiki definition: Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possible worlds or futures. It is similar to, but differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated physical laws (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). It's really hard to define what is and what is not sci fi, but if it's got space ships it's at least sci-fi fantasy (fantasy within the sci-fi genre).

There is a distinction, though I'd hardly say that 'classic' sci-fi is only movies like Prometheus and Interstellar! Some of the earliest sci-fi movies (and indeed a great many of sci-fi movies through the years) are adventurous (and in some cases even campy). Look at Flash Gordan. It's one of the older sci-fi films out there. Does the age not make it classic? Or if you're going by older films which are popular, the original Star Wars came out in 1977 and has endured in popularity to this day. Is that not a classic?

Gavity IS sci-fi. And GotG might have been Marvel but it's also sci-fi. Avatar is sci-fi too. You can't say that the public doesn't like sci-fi. You just have this unreleastic view that only hard sci-fi is actually sci-fi which isn't true. According to the defintion: "Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginative content such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life." A lot of popular movies fall into this category.

Also, while I agree that it's not going to get near Frozen's numbers, I also think people are very quick to say this movie is a disappointment! It's likely going to be higher than WiR and that was no slouch... but also... they seem to forget that Frozen didn't just show up and clobber the box office in its opening week. Why do they expect BH6 will?

I am surprised that people seem to think that girls would completely avoid this movie.

You might be surprised. I don't know why people think that women will avoid a movie that seems to be for boys. It's far more likely for boys to avoid going to see a 'girly' movie. I know many female Marvel fans. Also, there are two women shown on the team - even if their role in the movie is actually kind of minimal - and Baymax is a draw for cuteness.

If memory serves me, didn't Frozen debut in second place and then gained momentum?

I saw a fair number of females at the showing I was at... but keep in mind that Frozen wasn't just about getting the female audience... seriously that movie got like... everyone.

Also I wonder if another 'Princess' movie had come out instead of BH6, if it would have had a worse time. Better opening weekend, sure, but I think it would have suffered far more direct comparisons to Frozen and that might have hurt its legs in the long run. It was a good thing that they spaced out Frozen and Moana.

I don't know though, why people expected the Frozen momentum to carry over to any WDA movie that isn't Frozen. Frozen was a category unto itself. If Frozen had done numbers like Tangled or WiR would BH6's opening look bad then? I mean Frozen reached a larger audience than most normal blockbusters, much less an animated/family one. BH6's number may not be huge, but it's certainly not bad. It's opening above WiR and I expect its legs to be slightly better. I think your use of the word "anticlimactic" says a lot about the unrealistic expectations people had based on Frozen's supposed 'push' for future Disney films. 56m is pretty darn good for an animated film!

The truly sad thing is... I can believe it. Though I doubt it would hold up the posting. It does bug me just a little that Interstellar is going to retain its Certified Fresh label with its current score though. It only bugs me so much though because they were holding out on giving it and got harassed until they did. They were right to want to wait for a larger consensus.

I'm surprised though, that the Saturday estimates haven't been posted anywhere yet. Deadline and Rth have both been silent...

I love ATLA. I used to run events on one of the ATLA forums. I thoroughly enjoy that series! And I agree, the title of Big Hero 6 felt a bit shoehorned in at the end. There was never really any discussion on why they even chose that name. I was actually very glad that the characters never said it out loud during the movie.

Yeeeah, when I saw him I was thinking he'd probably be popular among the ladies

It's actually not nearly as easy as I expected to find turnarounds of Baymax online. I can't wait for my BH6 artbook to come in! It's my Christmas gift to me!

I think a lot of people make the mistake of writing kids in this kind of 'idealized' sense. Not like the kid is perfect, but it really feels just like an adult trying to write a kid and not quite getting into their head. It makes it even worse when the kid is supposed to be very smart and they often just come across as... well... a smaller adult that kind of talks like a kid... It's like movies are afraid to embrace some of the darker aspects of kids... their anger and their attitudes all get toned down and made more... quiet.

I don't get why some people seem to think there wasn't any emotional arc in this movie... I really think Hiro's growth and feelings were handled very well! He actually felt like a believable kid to me and not just a 'kid character'...if you know what I mean? The last character I really felt that way about was Lilo. (I don't count some characters because their appearances as children were limited)

Aw thanks. I'm trying to think of something really cute to do a full pic, but I'm more of a sketch artist. I'm gonna ref the next one better though! Baymax deserves to be drawn in all of his glorious puffy huggableness!

I did a sketch of Baymax!