Royce
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Posts posted by Royce
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As much as I detest The Lion King remake, its first trailer is arguably one of the most impressive trailers I've ever seen, in my opinion. The photorealistic CGI WAS something to behold (at first glance). They smartly focused on that and made people forget the animals had to actually... emote and bring actual emotions across.
All three Beauty and the Beast trailers were also pure hype and excitement. There was even a legit petition from people demanding that Disney release the epic version of the song by Ariana Grande and John Legend as heard in this trailer:
I think once the decade full of Disney remakes ended, the novelty is simply lost. It feels very 2010s now, very redundant and overkill. Mario and Barbie are nostalgic and old but big budgeted colorful movies featuring them feel fresh and "new".
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One thing that helped Aladdin's legs especially in Asia is the song Speechless. It's basically a Let It Go type of self-empowerment power ballad with relatable lyrics especially for young women. The song was very popular in the countries where Aladdin broke out (Japan, South Korea, etc.) and got covered a lot by their local singers.
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The lack of a globally recognized celebrity is definitely a weakness.
Maleficent without Angelina would've performed lower than Cinderella. Aladdin had Will, Beauty had Emma W. and Alice in Wonderland had Johnny Depp. TLK and JB had the "photorealistic CGI" gimmick.
Now I wonder what the hype and numbers would be like if the rumors became true and Zendaya and Harry Styles really played the lead roles.
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Now that I think about it, Ariel the character goes against Asian values taught by parents.
She is irresponsible and insensitive (skips the concert that many people worked hard for and planned for a long time), disrespectfully talks back to her father, is impulsive, reckless and self-destructive (goes to the exiled and dangerous sea witch for help) and chooses to abruptly leave her loving family she's known all her life without thinking of their reactions and emotions if she goes missing forever.
Pretty sure if an Asian 16 year old does ANY of the above, their family relationship would be strained at least and if it they did that last part, their relationship would be completely over. Actually, any POC wouldn't dare do that as a kid. Ariel definitely fits an individualistic Western mindset more (but of course she has positive traits like being adventurous, ambitious, open-minded, etc.)
I have no clue if The Little Mermaid is as popular as the other Renaissance movies in Asia but I can understand if it's not as popular.
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Aside from the abysmal first Genie reveal trailer with the wonky CGI that ruined Aladdin's hype, Aladdin was always gonna be a tougher sell than Beauty and the Beast because all of the characters are Middle Eastern (except for Genie who is black and that one white prince which was a minor role) and it's set in a completely Middle Eastern location.
Which is why the generalizations that Asian or East Asian countries are racist or against POC leads are so unfair when it's the Asian or East Asian countries that embraced Aladdin way more than Beauty and the Beast, Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland, etc.
Even China embraced Bollywood movies like Dangal which Western audiences wouldn't even check out.
The Little Mermaid has a white prince, a white dad, a white villain and it's filmed and set in Italy (Sardinia)
If anything, it's the lack of star power that could be a weakness. There's no Emma Watson/Hermione = Belle parallels, no global stars like Will Smith. The Lion King had the "photorealistic CGI" gimmick. This Little Mermaid remake is solely relying on the brand and nostalgia and the classic songs.
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It's been a decade and people in that subreddit are still shocked at Frozen making that money in Japan when if you really think about it, Frozen had all the elements to appeal to Japan. It's basically a 3D animated whimsical fairy tale shoujo movie (complete with magical powers and a dress transformation) with a hugely popular self-empowerment power ballad with high-pitched and throaty female vocals that is the type to become ubiquitous in karaokes everywhere. It also had a novelty factor since it reimagined the Snow Queen fairy tale. Notice how when Frozen 2 leaned into a more serious MCU/Avatar The Last Airbender vibe with a heroic ballad (Into the Unknown) instead, it really dropped from the first (even though it topped the first everywhere else) plus it lost that novelty factor.
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On 4/17/2023 at 5:50 PM, MovieMan89 said:
I can’t believe that is coming out in July. No one has seen anything of the film yet, correct? Moreover, it sounded like it was still years out as recently as last year when they updated on it, so that July release was very perplexing.
Just that one teaser poster, yeah.
And there's some problems behind the scenes with the Studio Ghibli president recently resigning that may or may not be because of a scandal involving the company's co-founder Toshio Suzuki. Media reports accused Suzuki of spending the company's money for his personal use, allegedly. And now Suzuki is the new president so idk what will happen now tbh but I hope it doesn't affect the creative processes let alone the whole movie and its release.
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It's so ironic that Shinkai set out to make this film specifically for Japanese people with its highly relevant themes (like abandoned places) and the use of a real life event and yet it broke attendance records in China and Korea instead. But then again, The First Slam Dunk also broke out and provided some strong competition. Or maybe those sad themes and the callback to that real life event had the opposite effect and kept some people from doing repeat viewings and persuading other people to join them because it was too triggering and too specific.
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15 hours ago, Issac Newton said:
So, 2023 so far has provided us with two ¥10B Grossers! Now which one gonna be the 3rd ¥10B??
How Do You Live?
Oh my bad, I thought The First Slam Dunk was released in 2023
Yeah hopefully there'll be a 3rd
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Maybe since Mario wasn't as popular in Europe and South America before, the movie has more of a novelty factor to them?
Meanwhile for Asia it seems like it's the "same old same old" so they'd rather just replay their favorite Mario games and think it's pointless to watch the movie. Honestly the movie could be seen as just one giant cutscene in the video game if you've played Mario games your whole life.
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On 4/8/2023 at 3:35 PM, titanic2187 said:
If you asked me before Demon Slayer's run in 2020, I would have tell you How do you live is likely coming below TWR, continuing the downward trend in term of Japanese BO for Miyaozaki's work since Spirited Away.
But the landscape for anime changed completely after Demon Slayer's run for some reasons, Japanese seem becoming even more receptive to already popular anime genre. Remember before DS, none of the anime , no matter how popular their franchise are, achieved ¥10bn at the BO. Miyaozaki was the only director that can make a anime come pass ¥10bn, this is of course, followed by Shinkai in 2016 with Your Name. Still, that is it, you don't see other anime passing ¥10bn.
Today, anime passing ¥10bn mark has become a lot more common. We got 3 in 2022 alone. And Conon also seem to on track to have the first ¥10bn movie in the franchise. All these sign make me believe that How do you live will buck the decreasing trend and rebound from wind rises.
Just to add to this, Studio Ghibli movies getting added to streaming services (Netflix, HBO Max) during the lockdowns gave those movies a plethora of new fans (internationally) and made the existing fans nostalgic.
Another thing to note is that The Wind Rises was a serious, non-fantasy movie that wasn't for kids and was greatly controversial in Japan and abroad. Meanwhile, How Do You Live has been described as a "huge fantasy movie" aimed at children (specifically, his grandson). The last fantasy movie Miyazaki did was Ponyo (2008). And unfortunately due to Miyazaki's age, I think people are accepting that HDYL will truly be his "last movie" since it took him 10 years to make it and it's more unlikely that he will release another movie 10 or more years from now, sadly.
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Mario's relationship with his brother Luigi could be something that could pull the heartstrings and turn this into something more than a "mindless nostalgic cash grab" especially as Mario has to save him
It'd be a missed opportunity if they don't deepen that relationship or at least make it relatable and heartwarming
The first two colorful, fun and action-packed trailers got me hyped but the last trailer with Luigi in the cage and the silly, goofy creatures and finally the negativity with the reviews (or lack thereof)/embargo, etc. definitely sobered me up lol
I think it will be like many cases before, it won't be as underwhelming as the haters/doubters are predicting but also not as massive as the hyped fans are predicting
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I apologize to that one member I previously discouraged before, I'm not skeptical anymore and I can now support their dreamy box office predictions.
Of course the movie could still be a panned flop for all we know but so far I think it has potential!
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If there can be a Fast and Furious 10, Transformers 5, Pirates of the Caribbean 5, etc.
then I don't see a problem with a Toy Story 5 and Frozen 3.
Especially since both of their predecessors ended on a bittersweet note with the main characters separating despite being known and beloved for their bond and closeness.
Did people complain about 5 Ice Age movies, 3 How To Train Your Dragon movies, 5 Despicable Me movies (including the Minions movies) and the upcoming sequel?
I also wish Incredibles 3 would get made. I want to see how the family deals with Jack Jack's newly discovered powers. And how they navigate the world as legal superheroes. Will the kids show off their powers in school? How will Tony and Violet's relationship work?
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2 hours ago, GOGODanca said:
outside of avatar sequels and avengers 5 and 6, any other possible $2 billy grossers you guys think are possible in the next couple years?
I dream of an original surprise hit that grosses $2B+ or even $3B
Even the original surprise $1B grossers of the entire 2010s were from established franchises and brands like superheroes and Disney Princesses (except for Zootopia)
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17 hours ago, John Marston said:
James Cameron DESTROYS Marvel humor
This reminded me of Miyazaki and his concept of "ma", adding quieter, peaceful scenes to give the action-packed film some breathing space which really adds to the immersion and makes you want to BE in that world. There's a sense of comfort and a dreamy vibe that comes from this and Titanic and the first Avatar both had this as well.
He really deserves all this success cause he actually studied everything and not from a money perspective but from a spiritual/emotional perspective
And also I, too, have grown tired of movies being too snarky and self-aware and self-referential
Even in animated movies like Frozen, the whole sarcastic "let's poke fun at previous Disney movies" jokes aged really badly and ironically dated the movie.
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On 1/8/2023 at 3:04 PM, MovieMan89 said:
WW?!? It’s more likely to clear 600 DOM then miss that WW lol. All signs are there for huge huge breakout. The TLDR being that Mario is a massive pop culture icon around the world, has a really great release slot for minimal competition for a solid month, reception for what’s been shown so far is through the roof among fans, and Illumination knows how to appeal en masse to kids.
Yeah I think it's possible.
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3 hours ago, grey ghost said:
The hype for TFA was insane.
You can't bring back that hype without the OT characters and without the Skywalker Saga.
The hype was supercharged by nostalgia. That will be gone the next time around.
I agree.
After the perfect nostalgic fan service movie (imo) that is No Way Home, The Force Awakens was never the same to me because all I keep thinking now is how they wasted a huge opportunity by not having the original trio together even in a single scene let alone fight the dark side as a team again. Even before Carrie's unfortunate passing, Han was already killed off so it's like the thought never even crossed anyone's minds. Who knows, maybe TFA would've crossed 1B domestic if that reunion happened and Han didn't have a downer ending.
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I've read somewhere that women/young girls dominate Japan's box office and it really shows:
Demon Slayer was at its core about rescuing the hero's sister/the love for your sister
Spirited Away, Mononoke, Howl, etc. featured a female protagonist/strong female characters
Frozen - enough said
Your Name was a romance with a female protagonist
Same with Titanicetc.
The first Avatar was marketed as a sci-fi romance right from the last scene in the first teaser (Jake and Neytiri touching foreheads intimately) and had more female appeal like Titanic (and is also the follow up to Titanic)
And yeah it had that curiosity factor from the 3D hook
Avatar 2 is not a romance, the fathers and sons are taking the lead and being the focus of the story, it's more male-appealing
And the visuals are an upgrade but not a new novelty that attracts curiosity
And yeah anime is having its renaissance moment overshadowing Hollywood movies, Top Gun was an exception I guess due to nostalgia and Tom Cruise being a big star in Japan, presumably having many female fans?
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51 minutes ago, GipJo said:
No Way Home is one of the worst movies from Marvel. I'm surprised how people could be so blind by all those nostalgia. It was horrible movie that didn't even feel like a movie. It tells no story with no real character with no emotion weight (other than blindly emotional just because woohoo three spidermans on the same screen melikey).
No need to be bitter about its acclaim and the love it received and deserved for truly fulfilling the wildest dreams of Spider-Man fans. Even if someone has never seen the other Spider-Man movies, No Way Home's story and emotional aspect are pretty universal.
When I first saw it, I was struck at how the 3 Peters perfectly represented the archetypal id, ego and superego concept:
Tom is the Id, younger and driven by impulse and dictated by needs. He wants results fast and will do anything to get what he wants regardless of the consequences.
Andrew is the Ego. He constantly self-deprecates and compares himself to the other Peters. The one in the middle of the Id and the Superego.
Tobey is the Superego. He represents the moral standard and the conscience. His role is perfectly expressed in that scene where he stops a vengeful Tom, the Id, from murdering the man that killed his beloved aunt, reminding him to hold onto his moral values and principles even when it's hard and feels impossible.
No other modern blockbuster has ever captured this interesting concept and I don't even think it was intentional. It just happened naturally and almost serendipitously.
Another universal concept perfectly captured was the theme of brotherhood. The eldest, the middle child and the youngest child could relate to the stereotypical qualities the 3 Peters represented. It was touching how each of them found a brother they never had, even if it was just for a short time. There was a sense of comfort when the older Peters gave the youngest Peter support and reminded him that he wasn't alone. It could be interpreted as a brother supporting you but could also be interpreted as that inner voice inside yourself telling you to go on and keep living (since they are technically the same person).
No Way Home definitely isn't perfect as a movie but it really is unique and special.
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1 hour ago, Gkalaitza said:
I think Miyazaki's next movie will do better than that. It will have the ghibli stylistic appeal but also do something new and fresh with stacked AF staff as far as i know. Also it seems like it will be a better "family movie" and more rewatchable and for all ages than The Wind Rises. Also the market seems to be even better for anime movies + Yen inflation. I'd bet it should be able to do over 15b .Its not like he is less of a houshold name or that the demographic changes will hurt Miyazaki films
I agree, there's been a resurgence of nostalgia for Miyazaki movies during the pandemic where people have been seeking comfort and escapism and it's been 14 years since the last family-friendly fantasy Miyazaki movie. But yeah it will still depend if the movie will be good or not. I'm still down from my disappointment with Avatar 2 (as a movie, not the box office numbers).
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Saw this last night and as a massive Avatar fan and a staunch defender of the first movie for YEARS...
I was very disappointed with this sequel to the point where I was pissed off for the majority of the film 😢
I've never even watched the first Avatar in theaters let alone in 3D, I saw it online years later on a mere laptop screen and I still think it's miles MILES (no pun intended) better than Avatar: The Way of Water. Almost all the things I loved about the first movie were severely downplayed in this movie despite the endless references and callbacks (which honestly pissed me off even more) and the things that I was indifferent about in the first movie took center stage in this movie. I really missed the epic scale, mythological story telling, spirituality and a strong sense of community that blew me away in the first movie. Even Eywa felt like a completely different concept now. It just didn't click with me at all aside from Zoe Saldana's acting in only one scene. My dry eyes were dazzled by the glowing things but my heart was empty.
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If the first Avatar was Princess Mononoke
Then the Avatar sequel that will focus on Kiri's messianic arc will be Nausicaä (perhaps the hyped Avatar 4?)
(half-joking)
THE LITTLE MERMAID WEEKEND THREAD
in Numbers and Data
Posted
Not sure if already mentioned but Disney+ is probably another factor in Mermaid's underperformance worldwide.
Coupled with live action remake fatigue, people are probably just willing to wait for its Disney+ release, a new habit formed by Mulan's Disney+ release and other Disney movies (Cruella, Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, etc.)
And there's less incentive to rush out to theaters when everyone already knows the story aka no spoilers and there isn't a breakthrough in CGI like Jungle Book/The Lion King let alone Avatar 2. Add the cognitive dissonance of the casting and the lack of star power. It's just a perfect storm for an underperformance.