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ShinyDave

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Posts posted by ShinyDave

  1. They assumed that Melissa McCarthy meant tentpole numbers - and in the mid-2010s that was certainly not indefensible, but she's never been an obvious choice as the go-to for a $150m would-be international megahit. Give her (and Feig) a good script and a mid-budget production and you could get major ROI on your $50m + P&A, and that got proven multiple times in the first half of the 10s.

     

    Ghostbusters '16 was arguably Exhibit A of the limits to Hollywood's focus on big-budget tentpole plays and proven IP. You had a proven IP that couldn't work internationally, but they tried to turn it into a tentpole anyway. Ghostbusters is a winning IP, sure, but it's got very specific ways it wins.

  2. 4 hours ago, Zakiyyah6 said:

    I like Ghostbusters 2016 but I always thought that budget was outrageous. I have no idea why near 150mil was spent on a movie with no stars that would appeal to the international market nor would that kind of comedy appeal to the international market as well. They are doing what Terminator Dark Fate should have done, keeping the budget at a reasonable level so that the movie doesn't have to gross 500mil in order to be successful.

    Sometimes the conspiracist in me wonders if Ghostbusters 2016 was built to fail, to go "we gave women a chance to lead a tentpole and it didn't work, let's not do that again!"

     

    It's a ridiculous thought, but no more ridiculous than greenlighting a $150m horror comedy, even one using a highly established IP.

    • Like 1
  3. Fox News did air on Sky as part of the grab-bag of international news channels they have, almost certainly because both were parts of the Murdoch empire, albeit in Sky's case as a minority controlling stake. (Which is not unrelated to why they now don't - it was pulled with suspicious timing in the midst of the regulatory enquiry when 21CF tried to buy the remainder of Sky, which ultimately sparked a bidding war that Comcast won.)

  4. 6 hours ago, Heretic said:

    Yeah, expect some strong holds this weekend. Next week temps are climbing up to 30+ again. 

    With that weather setup, is there even a chance that Dory and Dragon actually go up on last weekend's sunshine-shrunk numbers this weekend?

  5. Weather forecasting models hinting at the prospect of next weekend being a washout, which could be huge for all the family movies. Maybe one or more of them even grow versus this weekend? (I don't know if that would be a realistic possible outcome. Others on here will presumably have evidence either way?)

     

    Can't say I'm shocked at the low opening for Pete's Dragon. As well as the immense competition both theatrical (Dory, BFG, Pets) and otherwise (Olympics, outdoor activities), it didn't seem to have a big marketing push here, or at least not one I was exposed to.

  6. At this rate it looks entirely possible that the UK run will be remarkably close to domestic. Headed for around £30m, which is $39m at the current ER; based on the market response to betting markets pricing in only a 10-15% chance of Brexit at one point right after the polls closed (I actually made a significant profit betting against this even though I was pre-Remain myself!), the ER in the event of no Brexit would likely have been GBP = 1.5USD or so, plus there'd have been less economic uncertainty affecting families and their discretionary expenditure. As such, it doesn't seem that unreasonable to think that the UK take may even have exceeded domestic in the event of a Remain vote here.

     

    Of course, this film got a nine-figure budget to perform at that level in North America too...

  7. This "disappointment" has already made more WW than BvS, a far more "sure thing" franchise film than a family movie sequel practically a generation on from the original could ever be.

     

    It also cost slightly less to produce, and probably to market too.

     

    To get anywhere near Nemo's levels of attendance - remember, we're comparing with one of the most beloved films of an era where computer animation tentpoles were rare and almost always huge - in the US was already impressive. To come anywhere near even the same raw revenue numbers in Europe with a release window that, by sheer accident, could scarcely have been worse-placed if you tried? Yeah, BV have to take that. Throw in a useful showing in China, and you have yet another megahit for a studio that is having one after another lately.

     

    A delayed sequel like this, especially for a family movie, is never, ever a slam dunk. Heck, BV showed that themselves with Alice 2, and that had half the delay! Dory, though, is going down as one of the biggest animated hits ever.

    • Like 3
  8. Dory will definitely suffer at the weekend and during the mini-heatwave/Spanish plume setup forecast for early next week. If there's a thundery breakdown on Wednesday (eminently possible with such a configuration) it should have a big day then.

     

    The BFG is literally making more money on weekdays than weekend days. Do summer holiday family flicks usually play like that?

  9. 2 hours ago, Rolling Thunder said:

    Don't buy that chest-thumping, Shiny Dave - remember, even 15 seeds in the NCAA have made heads spin! 

    Indeed. I'm not going in expecting to beat one of the top three, but I think I stand a great chance of scaring any of them.

     

    On a weekly basis my first objective is always to beat the average score. If I can keep on keeping on in that department, then I'm at least making sure someone has to play well to beat me.

    • Like 1
  10.  

    17 minutes ago, No Prisoners said:

    The pup has fangs, and you'll need them IF you make it to second round where you'll be facing one of the top 3 freshly off a bye.

    @TalismanRing @Matrix4You and myself don't die in second rounds. Good luck

    Bring it. My aim for this tournament - get to the second round and get one of the big three to at least slightly worry when they see they're facing me.

     

    I'll start dreaming of deep runs for #5.

    • Like 1
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