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

[Alpha]

$3.1 million OW for Self/Less

Edited July 10, 2015 by Alpha

[MrFanaticGuy34]

42M OD by Variety.

 

Let's see what Rth has to say about the OD number. His could be higher.

[#ED]

42M OD by Variety.

 

Let's see what Rth has to say about the OD number. His could be higher.

It's lunch time in the west coast. I'm ready to get off work while Tele is eating at Mr. Pinks Hotdogs.

[Deep Wang]

It's really weird, our 200 theater was busting at the seams for all 3 shows so far, but our 2 biggest have been fluctuating wildly, as low as 110 to as high as 250.

The funny thing is that we have tons of presales for the later shows. Like at least 40 for each and over 70 for the 7:00 show. So this might play stronger in the evening than typical.

[grim22]

It's lunch time in the west coast. I'm ready to get off work while Tele is eating at Mr. Pinks Hotdogs.

No non-tourist eats at Pink's. It is basically a tourist trap.

[Cmasterclay]

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

But the only minority or women directors that are getting a chance are tokenized into the superhero of their corresponding demographic. Of course creative vision is what matters, but it's not like Trevorrow or Peyton Reed or Jon Watts have shown the skills of someone like Coogler and many other black directors, so it's not like they're getting some genius creative minds. It's not like their giving full creative control to the Damien Chazelle and J.C. Chandor's of the world, they're giving studio projects away that don't have any room for creative vision. And if they're gonna do that, they might as well look beyond the same old demographic. 

[Dementeleus]

This will die on the West Coast. We're too health-conscious for Twinkies.

[Dementeleus]

...they're giving studio projects away that don't have any room for creative vision.

 

Which is exactly why people like DuVernay are turning them down. (At least they offered it to her.) The thing is, studios not only have to be willing to expand their options, they also have to be willing to have them fail without it being a referendum on the whole concept. This is a creative industry -- failure (at some point or another) is inevitable no matter how brilliant you are.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Telemachos

[redfirebird2008]

It's really weird, our 200 theater was busting at the seams for all 3 shows so far, but our 2 biggest have been fluctuating wildly, as low as 110 to as high as 250.

The funny thing is that we have tons of presales for the later shows. Like at least 40 for each and over 70 for the 7:00 show. So this might play stronger in the evening than typical.

 

I was looking at Santikos Palladium in Richmond, TX and it definitely seems the night shows are going to do very well. That's one of the busiest theaters in the Houston area and occasionally shows up on RTH's lists. They have it playing on a lot of screens including 5 of the 6 biggest auditoriums in the theater (each of them has a 85 foot wide screen). Reserved seating for all shows, so it's kind of cool to be able to see how busy they are. I wish I had thought of checking this theater for JP4 and Inside Out.

[eXtacy]

Expected number if that holds, but still good none the less.

[GiantCALBears]

That's a very good total for Minions, drops (increases?) for everything else are going to be harsh.

[BenedictL11]

It's really weird, our 200 theater was busting at the seams for all 3 shows so far, but our 2 biggest have been fluctuating wildly, as low as 110 to as high as 250.

The funny thing is that we have tons of presales for the later shows. Like at least 40 for each and over 70 for the 7:00 show. So this might play stronger in the evening than typical.

There's a lot of evening sell-outs already I've seen for Minions. Also, I saw a few for IO.

[The Futurist]

So bumping this five pages late is probably completely unnecessary, but the only reason Creed is happening is because Coogler (and Jordan) went to MGM with the idea for this movie. I have no doubt this passion is gonna translate to quality That's the dream situation, obviously, but having a passionate director with an idea come to YOU to revitalize/continue the franchise (as I think Rian Johnson might have done with Episode 8, IIRC) rather than plugging in whatever young, just happy-to-be there white dude you can best control would no doubt assure better movies, which USUALLY leads to more money, more merch, and more strength. But the MCU model has worked so swimmingly for Disney that other studios seem afraid to give smart young directors creative control, even though Nolan's Batman movies showed how important that can be. 

 

You re assuming that Marvel never gives any creative control ?

Bullshit.

[CJohn]

This will die on the West Coast. We're too health-conscious for Twinkies.

Keep believing that Tele, your tears will only be tastier when the inevitable happens. 

[Cmasterclay]

Which is exactly why people like DuVernay are turning them down. (At least they offered it to her.) The thing is, studios not only have to be willing to expand their options, they also have to be willing to have them fail without it being a referendum on the whole concept. This is a creative industry -- failure (at some point or another) is inevitable no matter how brilliant you are.

Absolutely. To me, directors break into several groups, on inexact lines. There's the kings of Hollywood who can do pretty much whatever (Spielberg, Cameron, Nolan, etc.),there's the big-name/biggish name group of directors who can alternate between  original fare at a comparitively large-scale prices and more artistic versions of franchise blockbusters (everyone from J.J. to Matt Vaughn to Zach Snyder to Whedon to Sam Raimi), there's the huge name prestige directors who can sell adult dramas and mid-priced fare based on quality and name (Marty Scorcese, Tarantino, D.O. Russell, Ang Lee, David Fincher, etc.), there's the legion of TV/music video type guys who know how to work in a system and direct bargain bin blockbusters and action movies by the dozens (the Ratners and McGs and Alan Taylors and Peyton Reeds of the world), there's comedy big wigs (Apatow and McKay types) and there's no-name, tiny level indie guys trying to make a big break despite no real prestige (Webb, Watts Trevorrow, etc). But there's one category of director that can determine whether franchise/blockbuster movies start to try something different and wield some creative firepower, and that's mid-level autuers who have earned tons of respect through a couple of exceedingly well received projects but haven't become big enough to really earn that star director status that affords so much creative freedom. This was Nolan before Batman, Raimi before Spider-Man, Whedon before Avengers, etc. In the past, these guys were given opportunities to direct blockbusters with their creative vision intact, and they used this to become stars. But now, that lack of creative opportunity means that they instead choose to work their way up the harder way, through adult films that eventually earn them the freedom they want (Innaritu is a prime example of this). This is people like DuVernay, Coogler, Jeff Nichols, Damien Chazelle, J.C. Chandor, Dennis Villevenhue, and maybe even Oscar nominated people like Bennett Miller and Steve McQueen (though they're on the way to big name status pronto). Instead of creating the best version of a franchise, they're taking the beaten path and earning a bigger name through mid-level dramas and prestige pieces. And that's all good. They make great movies. But the reliance on a studio vision of events has stifled the opportunity for even better blockbusters, because these great mid-level artists don't want to do it anymore, like Nolan after Memento. 

[BadAtGender]

You re assuming that Marvel never gives any creative control ?

Bullshit.

 

Well, not a lot of creative control.

[TServo2049]

Perhaps the worry is that if the directors have TOO much creative control, the films wouldn't fit together into a cohesive continuity. If they're stand-alone, then it may be difficult to fit them into a "universe." Not saying I agree with this, I would be interested if the films were even more varied.

Could it be possible for radically thematically and stylistically different films to still fit together? Or would it be better to go back to stand-alone films/series that don't exist in a shared continuity?

Edited July 10, 2015 by TServo2049

[The Futurist]

Well, not a lot of creative control.

 

You can't assume to know exactly what went on behind the scenes of every Marvel studio movie.

 

Jon Favreau, Joe Johnston, Kenneth Branagh, Shane Black, Joss Whedon 1,Russo s brothers, James Gunn went all on record saying that their collaboration with Marvel was smooth and felt they made THEIR movie and were proud of it.

 

Known Marvel/directors battles :

 

Letterier/ Edward Norton on TIH : the suicide scene cut.

 

Alan Taylor : Feige wanted more comedy, Taylor didn't. Clash.

 

The Edgar Wright debacle on Ant-Man which seems to have traumatize lots of you. Visionnary director castrated by Feige ! oh noes ! How dare you evil corporate suits !

 

Joss Whedon 2 on Ultron : shit happens on a 300M movie, sequel to the then biggest movie ever not directed by James Cameron.

 

Nolan is an exception, not the rule. 

 

And let s not pretend that Marvel having battles with directors is anything new, it started around 1904 ...

Edited July 10, 2015 by The Futurist

[redfirebird2008]

Perhaps the worry is that if the directors have TOO much creative control, the films wouldn't fit together into a cohesive continuity. If they're stand-alone, then it may be difficult to fit them into a "universe." Not saying I agree with this, I would be interested if the films were even more varied.

Could it be possible for radically thematically and stylistically different films to still fit together? Or would it be better to go back to stand-alone films/series that don't exist in a shared continuity?

 

I think both ways can be very effective but I admire how Feige has managed to make all the movies cross over so well with each other. I do feel like they are a tipping point though. I find myself getting sort of tired of it all and look back at the world-building of Phase 1 with a bit of nostalgia.

 

We need more movies like Winter Soldier (exciting modern political conspiracy that ties in with the WW2 events of the first film) and fewer movies like Avengers 2 (not a bad movie, but too much of a rehash).

[BadAtGender]

Perhaps the worry is that if the directors have TOO much creative control, the films wouldn't fit together into a cohesive continuity. If they're stand-alone, then it may be difficult to fit them into a "universe." Not saying I agree with this, I would be interested if the films were even more varied.

Could it be possible for radically thematically and stylistically different films to still fit together? Or would it be better to go back to stand-alone films/series that don't exist in a shared continuity?

 

Yes, it's easily possible for thematic and stylistic differences in the films to fit together. Hell, the comic book universes that exist already have that range. In fact, it's pretty much proven that when a specific tone is force across the line, the whole suffers. DC tried to make things consistent across the board for feel with the new 52, and outside of a few standout titles, it didn't really work. They've since abandoned that approach and are letting creators do what they will. And now we have Gotham Academy, which is pretty much the absolute best.

 

Cohesive continuity is pretty much bullshit. It's fairly clear from interviews about the MCU films that the "grand plan" that everything fits together is mostly bunk. Sure, they have a loose outline, but they're already making up so many things for each film as they happen that they could easily allow for, say, DuVernay's heavily political Black Panther and not miss a beat going forward.