EmpireCity

$8m for TG2

Uh.... no.

Zero.

I actually don't think that you do get it....

I put this in the weekend thread, but after watching the ending of TG2 yet again, I'm convinced it is the possibly the most thrilling and satisfying 3rd act of a movie I have ever seen. The emotion, cinematography, editing, score, sound effects and incredible real action knowing they are really in F-18's filming this makes it flat out edge of your seat white knuckle movie making. Every single crowd I have seen it with goes bonkers cheering and clapping at multiple points. I think it will play in theaters until nearly October and can see Paramount bringing it out again for multiple IMAX runs in the fall, winter and before the Oscars. My guess is you see some sort of IMAX double feature with the original as well. It is one of the films that decades down the road theaters will be playing and audiences will be showing up to watch again.

I got to watch the end of TG2 another time, and each time it just grows on you and think it is legitimately one of the most thirilling 3rd acts of a movie that I have ever seen. All of it, the emotion, the editing, the score, the unprecedented "realism" of them being in actual F-18's and especially the final action is flat out incredible. White knuckle edge of your seat action that makes each and every audience I have seen it with explode with cheers and claps. Tom Cruise might go down as our greatst movie star ever.

The distributor is begging for anyone and everyone to play it.

$14m for LY

$22m for JWD

$18.5m for TG2 as of right now.

Again, there are millions of families that aren't budget constrained. I get that there are millions that of course are, but I think you're acting as if most families are just going to choose to abandon things if they can't get some extreme discounts. That just isn't the case.

The window is only partially the issue, the much bigger issue is announcing a streaming date before a movie even releases. That is the monumentally stupid part.

Also, no offense, but I keep hearing over and over "that is what consumers prefer" as if that is some overriding factor in business the last 500 years or 100 years going forward. Business has never actually given a shit what consumers prefer. In fact, it is directly against their interest on some level to care for or provide what the consumer prefers. Doing that only destroys the aura and core of a lot of brands. Imagine if the high end fasion designers were in every strip mall or sold their goods at a cheap discounted price delivered to your home. They would all be out of business and their brand would be non-existent. Instead, they deliver a high quality and desierable product that you have to (usually) get up off your ass and leave the house to go find. Disney operated this way for decades and it built them an empire. They had theme parks that you had to travel sometimes thousands of miles and pay an inflated price to go see. They delivered magic and an experience. This was extended at a lesser price to your local theater which then enforced a loyal fan base that drove the brand to even higher levels. When it came to home video, Disney created a fake vault so it built urgency and scarcity and made the release of a film on a plastic VHS tape or a DVD a true event. The only time they really faltered is when a dipshit CEO couldn't see the forest from the trees and started pumping out cheap bullshit or delivering coveted content to consumers at a bargain price. Sound familiar? Bob Chapek isn't the only high powered CEO of a legacy company to be a complete dumbass. He isn't the first, and he won't be the last. Disney animation and Pixar are performing south of mediocre crap like Sonic 2, smaller (but good) film like The Bad Guys, and about to have their legs ripped out by a Minions spin off movie. Why? Because those movies are only available in theaters, which makes them an event and builds anticipation and urgency that you have to get up off your ass and leave the house and spend money. The lesson here is simple. The only question is how many hundreds of millions and even billions are Bob Chapek and the Disney board willing to burn before they learn it as well.

Bingo to all of this.

Some will, but most won't. I mean this with all due respect, but there are millions and millions of families who aren't completely budget constrained and searching for the latest T-Mobile deal and thinking that $8 for Disney+ is outrageously high. Most families are willing to pay and theaters are still one of the cheaper ways to burn THREE* hours of time. The families who are having to count every penny were never a core audience to begin with. They were more apt to head to a public park or pool and let the kids run around for free. *putting the time limit on it because the last time this came up you cited a bunch of 1 hour options.

Lol.

Lol

Not just possible, it's going to smash it.

Here is what I hope/think might happen next weekend as a total guess for now.... 1. Elvis w/ $42m 2. TG2 w/ $35m 3. JWD w/ $31m 4. LY w/ $25m 5. BP w/ $23m

Man, I am so looking forward to next week and how it plays out. Possibly the most interesting weekend overall since the pandemic started.

It's early, but let's be safe and go with $18m for TG2 as of now. Quite frankly, a lot of theater bookers didn't plan well enough for TG2 on Father's Day. The only thing holding it back from even higher numbers is lack of seats. Cinemark has it stuck in medium sized theaters today. Idiots. Same thing for a number of other chains.

I won't as long as you and Cap stop giving out Warning points for silly reasons as well. We have a deal.

I'm 99% sure this will happen.

I'll just say this.... what I am seeing right now is something I haven't really seen before. It's wild. I was about $1m off in my early number yesterday and not going to really give one today because there isn't really a previous test case for this, but I won't be shocked if the number for TG2 on Sunday has a 2 at the front of it. Let's see how it plays out. Right now everything I see everywhere is sold out.

It's not an inconvenience at all. Welcome and glad to have you here.