Weekend #s: Straight Outta Compton - 26.8M; Mission Impossible - 11.7M; Sinister 2 - 10.6M; Hitman - 8.2M; American Ultra - 5.5M

[Rorschach]

I just want the franchise to end already. At this point, it seems like they are beating a dead horse.

[terrestrial]

Again though, we don't know any of it - if China was not making a difference to the studios, they wouldn't have bothered pandering to Chinese audiences and having Chinese co-productions. Saying that Chinese box office takes do not matter is just wrong. China alone contributes more to a movie's take than the rest of OS markets do some times. Studios see the profit there, they will go for it. Home video is shrinking around the world, VOD is not taking off as expected and post-theatrical life for movies is reducing by the day, which is why Chinese box office returns are chased by studios.

I do not think that it doesn't matter, I wasn't aware about my wordings could be interpreted like that!?! 

 

I meant they might have set a limit slightly higher than $500m ww if knowing beforehand what might happen (if the ww will even be 'only' $500m)

 

Like maybe giving a limit of ... let's say $550m only to be sure

 

Calculation example:

a movie makes ww $750m, $150m of that in China is better than making $750m ww with a Chinese cut of $300m.

China's cut for Terminator might end higher as average action movies.. usuall manage to get = hence the idea they might have prefered adjusting the limit slightly

Clearer now?

 

 

China is by far already a very very important market (#2 or #3 if counting the reduced cut? as a stand-alone country) and in opposition to 'western countries' still increasing.

Like e.g. it gets this year alone also seemingly ~ 5000+++ new screens (and a lot of locations logically too) = every foreign studio has to get as early as possible their feet into that market.

That alone would be reason enough, but as studios... see the future decrease like VOD... details you listed too = even more important to find additional and alternative possibilities not used fully yet and so on.

As Europe is already ~ developed as a cinema market, the exchange rates fell... again a reason to look and invest into China.

Disney starts Disneyland Shanghai, ... others too build and invest, many many opportinities

I think China market (cinema and merchandise...) is extreme important, but not without ... problems to be solved hopefully soon, but that part of this post wasn't the reason for my earlier comment

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

So every new movie about musicians is a ripoff of SOC?

 

We Are Your Friends will hurt Straight Outta Compton's box office the same way Rent derailed Walk the Line's run ten years ago...

[TLK]

How is the home media market in China ? If the box office is booming then the home media market must also be expanding. 

[PenguinHyphy]

We are your friends comes out next week, do you guys think it will come across as a suburban rip off of Straight Outta Compton, or will it be helped by SOC

 

I can assure that it will not earn more than Straight Outta Compton next weekend. 

[terrestrial]

How is the home media market in China ? If the box office is booming then the home media market must also be expanding. 

 

HV/TV nearly none-existant

 

 

Someone posted in this thread the link to the WSJ with the average percentages for BO, HV, TV...

 

[terrestrial]

ahh, another picture:

[eddyxx]

Yet they continue to pander to China. Crazy.

[filmlover]

The openers are all flimsy as expected. Too bad the studios failed to take advantage of the dead zone and didn't put something like Black Mass, which probably would've easily scored a $25M+ opening with how strong the marketing campaign has been, here.

[TLK]

I'm surprised that the Chinese TV and home media market is so weak. 

[terrestrial]

Yet they continue to pander to China. Crazy.

They have to, if you look into the 'we have to grow to stay afloat system they all use' and compare that with the possibilities all the markets offer (incl how urbanisised a lot of countries already are). Plus the studios start to understand the Chinese system more and more.

 

Read up on mtime as an example (advertising, rating, merchandise, ticket pre-sales or however that what they do is exactly called,..).

 

They also create merchandise.. possibilities via parks like Paramount and Disney... are building in China and so on.

It isn't a rigid system, it's a very fast growing and partly also changing system

[TLK]

That ancillary revenue number for China has to go up in the near future. I don't see why a movie that makes $300 million in theaters should suddenly stop making money when it goes to DVD, TV and VOD. 

[filmscholar]

Outside of Compton and MI5 pretty weak weekend, Summer is offically over.  Fantastic 4 can't catch a break, lord, lol.  "Sinister 2" is not bad cause you know they were smart with the budget.   "Hitman" and "American Ultra" are DOA. 

Edited August 23, 2015 by filmscholar

[AJG]

I'm surprised that the Chinese TV and home media market is so weak.

Why? China is the piracy capital of the world.

I'm more surprised that the box office is so strong, but then again, there is a hell of a lot more people to watch movies over there.

[Warhorse]

So every new movie about musicians is a ripoff of SOC?

Nah, SOC is a rip off of Rock of Ages. Even has the same fucking actor playing the same scheming  band manager. 

[MovieMan89]

As I suspected, the gap between Minions and IO isn't going to end up very much. Minions pulling similar numbers to IO at the same point and 9m behind. Wouldn't be shocked if Minions finishes less than 10m behind.

Edited August 24, 2015 by MovieMan89

[Warhorse]

I just want the franchise to end already. At this point, it seems like they are beating a dead horse.

Why? If you don't care to see the franchise, then don't see it. I never understood this line of thinking. It's selflish. If people are liking the movies, and the studios don't mind forking out more cash to make future movies, then so be it, it's not coming out of your pocket.

[terrestrial]

That ancillary revenue number for China has to go up in the near future. I don't see why a movie that makes $300 million in theaters should suddenly stop making money when it goes to DVD, TV and VOD. 

see AJGs post

 

Why? China is the piracy capital of the world.

I'm more surprised that the box office is so strong, but then again, there is a hell of a lot more people to watch movies over there.

 

 

here is a bit of an 'official' (Deadline) explanation for Terminator's Chinese numbers

'Summer blackout' = local movie business protection time

 

 

This weekend was particularly one to watch given the lifting of the summer blackout veil in China. TG is the first Hollywood movie released back into the Middle Kingdom since Jurassic World all the way back in early June. Banging the drum for his return to the Paramount franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger last week travelled to China, creating increased buzz by appearing even on the local version of The Voice. Despite the success of local films during the blackout period, moviegoers tend to avidly await the return of Hollywood. Lending some credence to that, TG‘s $2.2M in midnight showings brought the 4th best ever score. And, the one-day $27.4M tally (incluing midnights) on Sunday is the 4th best opening day of all time for a Hollywood movie in the market behind Furious 7, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Transformers: Age Of Extinction. It’s also Paramount’s 2nd best bow ever behind TAOE.

[MovieMan89]

Guardians and MI5 have been holding similarly so far on the weekends, with MI5 holding a little better overall. If it had the multi from here out Guardians got off its 4th weekend (4.76x) it would gross another 56m and finish around 214m. Just wanted to throw that out there for those still insisting it has no chance at 200. Not only does it have a chance, beating MI2 still isn't even out of the question.

Edited August 24, 2015 by MovieMan89

[TServo2049]

Why? If you don't care to see the franchise, then don't see it. I never understood this line of thinking. It's selflish. If people are liking the movies, and the studios don't mind forking out more cash to make future movies, then so be it, it's not coming out of your pocket.

The line of thinking seems to be that they want studios to stop making these kinds of franchise entries "nobody asked for" because they squeeze out better (usually original) movies that could have been made/released instead. They want "bad" franchises (franchises they don't like) to be punished, not rewarded. To people like this, it's those dumb GA moviegoers in (whatever country/market - USA, China, wherever) ruining cinema by being stupid enough to prolong the life of a franchise that should be dead by all rights if this were a just world, and enable the bad behaviors of Hollywood.

In short: "How dare anybody like this, the people who do are ruining the movie industry."

Edited August 24, 2015 by TServo2049