Weekend Estimates: Minions - 115.2M; JW - 18.1M; Inside Out - 17.1M; Gallows - 10M; Self/Less - 5.4M; MMXXL - 9.6M; T5 - 13.7M

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

I literally have no idea what the plot of Shrek the Third was, I was trying to recall the movies and the first one is the fairytale and Disney sendoff, the second is Meet the Parents and the fourth (which I actually remember liking) had Rumpelstiltskin's plan and the alternate reality but I could not remember a single thing from Shrek 3 - apparently it was the one with Justin Timberlake.

Speaking of Shrek, how the hell did Shrek 2 do 108M weekend from a 20M Wednesday and Thursday total?

 

 

I seem to recall Shrek 3 being marketed as some kind of domestic comedy with Shrek having to deal with kids, then finding out that scene plastered all over the trailers was actually just a nightmare sequence?

There were Shrek babies (triplets?) and Justin Timberlake was the voice of some faraway relative who could inherit the throne after Fiona's father died. Fiona wasn't the successor for some reason. I mostly remember JT being in it because he and Cameron Diaz had broken up by the time the movie was released and the promo tour was awkward...

 

 

Even MOS, like it or not, certainly feels like a Zach Snyder movie. Now, whether that worked or not is obviously up for debate, but at least there IS a debate, and I'll take something that's significantly flawed and interesting over something that's blandly totally competent and completely forgettable any day of the week. What's even the point of getting someone like Webb or CT if you're not gonna let them have any creative control potential that has been shown by their indie resume? You might as well just get one of the million competent TV directors who know how to work within a producer's system, like the Russos. And if studios are picking directors based on level of control rather than directorial vision, do they HAVE to pick only mid 30 white guys? If the artistic vision has no bearing on the movie, you might as well give someone underrepresented a chance (though obviously the optimal situation would be for these underrepresented directors to actually be given the opportunity to direct something with significant creative input, ala Cuaron with POA, for one example). 

 

Silly rabbit, who else is there? (that's sarcasm BTW)

[DAR]

Tim Story did prove a black director can make a pedestrian superhero movie, just as much as a white director Two in fact

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

Just in case you didn't know, the budget for The Gallows was $100,000.

[abra]

movietickets.com

Minions

71.6%

[scoobysaurus]

I hope it out grosses Jurassic World and American Sniper.

I don't mind that as long as it crushes every Pixar record on the way Edited July 10, 2015 by scoobysaurus

[RichWS]

Tim Story did prove a black director can make a pedestrian superhero movie, just as much as a white director Two in fact

I'm a dear friend of Tim Story and he's gonna be pissed when he sees this.

[Maxmoser3]

Gallows is all over Twitter. Lots of teens. Should do 13-15m.

it could do on the high end which is good but will be massacred like most horror films are.

[grim22]

Tim Story did prove a black director can make a pedestrian superhero movie, just as much as a white director Two in fact

And Lexi Alexander showed us that a female director is also equally capable in that regard.

[Cmasterclay]

I'm not saying that black and female directors aren't just as capable of making shitty or forgettable studio blockbusters as white guys, but I do think that giving a more diverse group of people the chance to utilize their creativity is a good thing, without doubt.  It's clear that the current studio blockbuster system as Gopher described is favoring white, youngish males at a rate disproportionate to the rest of Hollywood (which is already not doing too well in and of itself, obviously).

[DAR]

In the end 99% of moviegoers won't be swayed if the director is white or black.

[Cmasterclay]

In the end 99% of moviegoers won't be swayed if the director is white or black.

That isn't the point though. I'm not talking about box office. I'm talking about creative opportunities within the industry. It doesn't matter to the customer what color the chef is, or what color the teacher is, or what color the doctor is (unless you're a racist, obviously) but when it comes to the internal system re: hiring and opportunity, it does matter. Same with movies.

Edited July 10, 2015 by cmasterclay

[JohnnyGossamer]

I liked The Hughes Bros. adaptation of From Hell was pretty good.

[seduh]

prepare for the beast! It will top the animated record for OW, I hope IO drop less than 50%

[CJohn]

9 PM over here. Random articles with predictions saying they are the real deal from THR, Variety and DHD should be appearing any minute now. 

[Cmasterclay]

Here's my thing: there's nothing inherently wrong with hiring young, straight white dudes out of the indie farm system- hell, they describes me, someone should have me direct the next Green Lantern or something!- and if it's someone whose creative vision can truly shine through and make a great film, more power to them. But I just think it's so dumb that the only African-American Marvel seriously has considered hiring has been for the Black Panther movie, and the only DCU movie where a female has been part of the process is Wonder Woman. Like a woman can ONLY direct a movie about the most famous female superhero, or the ONLY major black solo film in the MCU is the only one an African-American is qualified to directed. Why couldn't Patty Jenkins direct the Flash? Why can't DuVarney or Coogler direct fucking Spider-Man, instead of some dude who hasn't really done jack doodly squat? When you only consider hiring these demographics for the heroes that fit that demographic, that feels less like a real effort for diversity and more like misguided pandering. 

[DAR]

Who's to say they won't get they get an opportunity down the line. I mean this certainly won't be the last Spidey film. Or if successful the last Flash.

Edited July 10, 2015 by DAR

[DAR]

And sorry I don't want studios to hire a minority or woman to just to hire. I want them to hire because that director has the best vision going forward. And of course it isn't always the white guy either

Edited July 10, 2015 by DAR

[grim22]

Early numbers from Variety: http://variety.com/2015/film/news/minions-box-office-sandra-bullock-1201537767/

“Minions” is heading for a powerful performance at the U.S. box office with a $110 million opening weekend, according to early Friday forecasts.

The 3D animated slapstick comedy showed plenty of punch in Thursday night previews with $6.2 million at 2,985 U.S. locations — the highest preview gross ever for an animated film. Estimates showed a $42 million Friday total.

Their multiplier seems off though. A 36M true Friday number would fetch greater than a 104M over 3 days minus previews.

[redfirebird2008]

Seems way too early as usual for numbers. Inside Out was projected at $27m around this same time on its opening day and ended up $34m, a jump of 27% from the estimates at 1 PM Pacific. A similar jump for Minions would lead to $53m for the day.

[Gopher]

42 wouldn't break the animation record (42-39-33). But we'll see. IO played hugely on the WC and in evening shows, Minions could do the same or fall behind.