Dementeleus Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Backdraft was another summer underperformer at the time. Thought it had a ride at Universal Studios that lasted until 2009 which probably helped the film on home video I don't think it was an underperformer... it was an R-rated film that made 77m domestic (150m WW) off a 44m budget. It wasn't a giant hit, but it was pretty solid. Edited July 9, 2015 by Telemachos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Futurist Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 CG wasn't really advanced enough to pull off anything like that back then, though. They used models because that's what you used. What was the first movie that featured full CGI/non practical destruction porn, then ? Day after tomorrow ? Deep Impact ? Armageddon had models I think ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Marston Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I don't think it was an underperformer... it made 77m domestic off a 44m budget. I read the budget was 75m. It also had a prime Memorial Day release yet didn't even reach the top ten of the year. Guess not having a big star and an unnecessary R rating hurt it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) What was the first movie that featured full CGI/non practical destruction porn, then ? Day after tomorrow ? Deep Impact ? Armageddon had models I think ... TWISTER's tornadoes, I'm guessing. Though those were pretty specific and small in scale (compared to later movies). PERFECT STORM, a bit later, although that runs into the same sort of smaller-scale event. Edited July 9, 2015 by Telemachos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4815162342 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Baldwin's Ryan sort of feels like the deuteragonist in his own movie, Connery just had that power to steal any movie from the supposed main character.) Well Ryan's kind of the deuteragonist in the book as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I read the budget was 75m. Nah, here's an article from '91 mentioning the budget (in rough approximate terms). http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/backdraft-premiere-studio-throws-cold-water-on-city-halls-hot-idearavinia-expandingcheap-musicpsycho-sells-out/Content?oid=877313 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Marston Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Patriot Games underperformed but Clear and Present Danger bounced back. Though I wonder of the studio was expecting more since they put the series on hiatus after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fancyarcher Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) I read the budget was 75m. It also had a prime Memorial Day release yet didn't even reach the top ten of the year. Guess not having a big star and an unnecessary R rating hurt it I don't know about the film's actual budget, but it did pretty well. It was actually part of a string of Kurt Russell led films at the time, that managed to gross around 50m (others being Unlawful Entry, Tombstone, Stargate, Executive Decision, and Breakout) enough that he was apparently able to earn 10m+ paychecks for a while. Edited July 9, 2015 by Insidearcher 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4815162342 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Well Ryan's kind of the deuteragonist in the book as well He's also not the dominant character in The Cardinal in the Kremlin or Clear and Present Danger either (he's not in much of the first half of the latter book). Aside from Patriot Games, Ryan didn't really become the dominant force in his own series until Sum of All Fears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Marston Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Nah, here's an article from '91 mentioning the budget (in rough approximate terms). http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/backdraft-premiere-studio-throws-cold-water-on-city-halls-hot-idearavinia-expandingcheap-musicpsycho-sells-out/Content?oid=877313 Hmm. Interesting. I still think the studio was likely expecting more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Hmm. Interesting. I still think the studio was likely expecting more Can't you say that for just about every film that wasn't in the top five, though? (Of any given year). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Marston Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Can't you say that for just about every film that wasn't in the top five, though? (Of any given year). Not always. Something like Backdraft seemed like an early example of a film that was intended to be a big tentpole yet failed. We of course get many examples of those now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduperm Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Minions is at 57.8% on MT just as previews on the east coast are beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fancyarcher Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Can't you say that for just about every film that wasn't in the top five, though? (Of any given year). Yeah, besides if a film being in the top five of the year is a barometer of how successful it is, then we probably never would gotten T2 in the first place, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superduperm Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Minions is at 57.8% on MT just as previews on the east coast are beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenstate5 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 It's 330 PM on the west coast and BOM still hasn't added Wednesday numbers. This is so sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dementeleus Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Not always. Something like Backdraft seemed like an early example of a film that was intended to be a big tentpole yet failed. We of course get many examples of those now I feel like you're looking at 90s filmmaking from a 21st century perspective. Studios didn't necessarily expect summer films to be big tentpoles -- though of course they were happy when they turned out to be. Unless they were runaway productions that went way over budget, if you had a budget in the high 30s/low 40s a gross of 70-80m was pretty good. This would've been particularly true for an R-rated movie that, while it had a good cast, didn't have any giant stars, and if anything, was more of an ensemble drama built around some dangerous events than anything else. CLIFFHANGER, for example, only made $8m more than BACKDRAFT (domestically), even though the budget was way, way higher and even though it starred one of the bigger names in movies at the time (though he wasn't at the pinnacle of stardom). Edited July 9, 2015 by Telemachos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxOfficeFangrl Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 It's 330 PM on the west coast and BOM still hasn't added Wednesday numbers. This is so sad. The Numbers 4 lyfe! Movie Distributor Genre Gross Change Thtrs. Per Thtr. Total Gross Days 1 (1) Inside Out Walt Disney Adventure $5,022,626 -22% 4,158 $1,208 $262,308,400 20 2 (2) Jurassic World Universal Action $3,755,685 -22% 3,737 $1,005 $569,287,130 27 3 (3) Terminator: Genisys Paramount Pictures Action $2,731,305 -32% 3,758 $727 $52,615,395 8 4 (4) Magic Mike XXL Warner Bros. Comedy $2,724,746 -15% 3,355 $812 $36,170,626 8 5 (5) Ted 2 Universal Comedy $1,792,960 -22% 3,448 $520 $64,587,665 13 6 (6) Max Warner Bros. Adventure $1,227,389 -22% 2,870 $428 $29,343,804 13 7 (7) Spy! 20th Century Fox Comedy $753,165 -18% 2,387 $316 $99,935,851 34 8 (8) San Andreas Warner Bros. Adventure $404,006 -20% 1,672 $242 $148,513,813 41 9 (9) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Fox Searchlight Drama $244,830 -13% 870 $281 $4,687,947 27 10 (10) Dope Open Road Comedy $183,841 -13% 863 $213 $14,724,697 20 - (-) Mad Max: Fury Road Warner Bros. Action $154,047 -16% 561 $275 $149,506,566 55 - (-) The Avengers: Age of Ultron Walt Disney Action $136,103 -12% 589 $231 $454,662,989 69 - (-) Pitch Perfect 2 Universal Comedy $118,040 -5% 454 $260 $182,695,640 55 - (-) Insidious Chapter 3 Focus Features Horror $101,269 -19% 651 $156 $51,573,019 34 - (-) Home 20th Century Fox Adventure $75,405 -6% 257 $293 $175,583,442 104 - (-) Tomorrowland Walt Disney Adventure $67,580 -12% 297 $228 $91,246,503 48 - (-) Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 Sony Pictures Comedy $46,838 -3% 248 $189 $70,417,076 83 - (-) Faith of Our Fathers Pure Flix / Samuel Goldwyn Films Drama $42,270 -31% 344 $123 $774,367 8 - (-) Entourage Warner Bros. Comedy $35,912 -13% 222 $162 $32,026,636 36 - (-) Far from the Madding Crowd Fox Searchlight Drama $19,290 -12% 105 $184 $11,898,482 69 - (-) A Little Chaos Focus Features Drama $17,858 +6% 87 $205 $435,507 13 - (-) Woman in Gold Weinstein Co. Drama $16,759 -12% 131 $128 $33,056,249 99 - (-) Poltergeist 20th Century Fox Horror $15,224 -6% 121 $126 $47,181,889 48 - (-) Insurgent Lionsgate Action $13,067 +1% 124 $105 $130,166,241 111 - (-) Hot Pursuit Warner Bros. Comedy $13,044 -9% 137 $95 $34,364,052 62 - (-) The Age of Adaline Lionsgate Drama $9,676 -12% 93 $104 $42,618,476 76 - (-) Escobar: Paradise Lost RADiUS-TWC Drama $3,857 -27% 44 $88 $190,257 13 - (-) Get Hard Warner Bros. Comedy $3,442 -11% 48 $72 $90,407,355 104 - (-) Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World Warner Bros. Documentary $980 +41% 4 $245 $31,274 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Marston Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) I feel like you're looking at 90s filmmaking from a 21st century perspective. Studios didn't necessarily expect summer films to be big tentpoles -- though of course they were happy when they turned out to be. Unless they were runaway productions that went way over budget, if you had a budget in the high 30s/low 40s a gross of 70-80m was pretty good. This would've been particularly true for an R-rated movie that, while it had a good cast, didn't have any giant stars, and if anything, was more of an ensemble drama built around some dangerous events than anything else. CLIFFHANGER, for example, only made $8m more than BACKDRAFT (domestically), even though the budget was way, way higher and even though it starred one of the bigger names in movies at the time (though he wasn't at the pinnacle of stardom). But Cliffhanger did great overseas from what I remember I just can't help but believe that Universal was a little shocked a "big" of movie released on Memorial Day got outgrossed by films like Sleeping With the Enemy or City Slickers Edited July 9, 2015 by John Marston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
