Weekend Numbers: Fantastic Beasts 75M, Strange 17.6M, Trolls 17.5M, Arrival 11.8M, Edge of 17 4.8M, Bleed 2.35M, Billy Lynn 930k

[Valonqar]

9 minutes ago, James said:

My point was that there's a really good reason why legs in the US should be better than's your average Potter flick.

 

I see. Thanks. So no initial rush but strong WOM. HP was indeed very frontloaded. Hopefully legs carry FB so that they don't scrap the plan for 5 movies. despite some misgivings that I have about the first movie, I do see potential for longer series thanks to likable characters.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Valonqar

[wildphantom]

3 minutes ago, GiantCALBears said:

You maybe right but a lot of the attractions closed during the construction are still scheduled to come back by end of next summer so we'll see. Very possible we see some sort of soft opening but who knows?

 

Soft opening for Star Wars next year? 

Honestly, it won't be opening for years yet. 

 

It'll open in Florida at the same time and they've barely started construction. Disney take years on these things. 

I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. 

 

Interestingly it was confirmed today that Star Tours will get an Episode 8 add-on sequence next year, like Force Awakens did. 

[Jim Shorts]

37 minutes ago, grey ghost said:

 

I think there might be some reasoning behind this.

 

Maybe they want to spread out the crowds as much as possible instead of having all the best stuff on only one end.

 

This.  Other than Spalsh Mountain and the Winnie the Pooh ride/meet and greet, there's nothing there except restaurants and shops and is pretty much dead in the evening.  Tomorrowland on the other hand is always super packed. Putting Star Wars on the opposite end was a smart idea.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Jim Shorts

[TimmyRiggins]

Let's not forget that without J.K unwillingness (and probably a few dollars, not that she needs it) to leave that world, WB would have no Fantastic Beasts. So if she says she has a story arc that takes place over five movies (she did say that), and considering that David Heyman, the great producer on all HP movies completely supports her vision, she will get her five movies. 

 

The movie is so delightful it's only fair that the WOM is so strong from the get go. Also, let's not forget the sequel WILL have young Dumbledore, and that could be a big selling point me thinks. 

[GiantCALBears]

1 minute ago, wildphantom said:

 

Soft opening for Star Wars next year? 

Honestly, it won't be opening for years yet. 

 

It'll open in Florida at the same time and they've barely started construction. Disney take years on these things. 

I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. 

 

Interestingly it was confirmed today that Star Tours will get an Episode 8 add-on sequence next year, like Force Awakens did. 

 

Thats pretty cool on Star Tours. Nice little teaser to keep the fans happy while they wait.

[wildphantom]

45 minutes ago, grey ghost said:

 

Is Wizarding World one of the most popular theme parks?

 

I've been to the Florida one a few times. 

It's incredible. Has turned Universal Studios' fortunes around completely. 

 

In terms of theme park immersion it's on its own.

Its exciting as the bar has been raised with Universal and Disney constantly trying to out-do each other. 

Pandora: Avatar opens at Disney next year. That looks absurd in its ambition. 

[Jayhawk the Hutt]

12 minutes ago, GiantCALBears said:

You maybe right but a lot of the attractions closed during the construction are still scheduled to come back by end of next summer so we'll see. Very possible we see some sort of soft opening but who knows?

It'll be open about 2 years from now (Thanksgiving/Christmas 2018) Maybe softs the month or so before but that's about as early as its gonna get. The construction pace has been crazy at DL (checking in every month or so online), the scale of the place is massive. Only 2 attractions, but they are gonna be yuge.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Jayhawk

[Brainiac5]

2 hours ago, junkshop36 said:

Going to see FB in a couple of hours. Not super pumped or anything. I enjoyed the HP movies for the most part and it looks solid so we'll see. 

 

If it hits 75m OW I can see it doing 190-200m DOM

 

If that's the o.w 75mil ×2.667  will be the multipler it will need to get 

200.25mil. 

 

[Jonwo]

43 minutes ago, James said:

I agree. It would look good in headlines. I actually recently read an interview by him saying (and that's really really true) that some people move past WB because they don't have the massive Disney hits, despite the fact that they make an insane amount of money on smaller films. I even see people on this forum, who know the workings of BO, that put Universal way above WB thank to that last year record. But a movie studio is strong when they can thrive every year, not just when they have all their franchises lined up. WB is constantly doing it and it isn't just because they release more movies. Those movies make them money. If not they would stop making them. I mean look at the numbers. WB made more than 1.5b yearly DOM for the past 9 years. The only year Universal made over 1.5b was last year. They easily will miss the mark this year.

 

I think Warner Bros has a good balance of tentpole and non tentpoles and they've had more profitable films thanks to New Line films plus midbudget successes like Sully, The Accountant etc even the not so successful films like Storks will eventually make money. 

 

Universal have done okay, they were never going to hit the heights they did last year but aside from Pets, they've had a number of successful films like Bourne, Bridget Jones etc

[robertman2]

I can't wait for the Nintendo area at Universal. Gonna be dope

[Jayhawk the Hutt]

6 minutes ago, Jim Shorts said:

 

This.  Other than Spalsh Mountain and the Winnie the Pooh ride/meet and greet, there's nothing there except restaurants and shops and is pretty much dead in the evening.  Tomorrowland on the other hand is always super packed. Putting Star Wars on the opposite end was a smart idea.

Plus there's a complete dead end there. The park will flow much better from Fantasyland/Frontierland to across Rivers of America. The backside of ROA is getting a pretty big upgrade by the looks of it. It won't be open when I go next year, but it'll be cool to see the progress of everything.

[Noctis]

What I respect immensely is that while Star Wars and the Hobbit were overstuffed to the max with endless connections and characters of the original series, Fantastic Beasts has completely new characters and is set in an entirely different setting. Say what you want, but FB has received almost universal praise when it comes to the world-building. $70m is a respectable opening, and the sequels are going to take a very interesting turn. And also...FB is the first live-action blockbuster with a character that's deeply allegorical to closeted homosexuality (and I think almost everyone noticed a very homoerotic scene in the film). With Dumbledore being in the sequel, then the world will have its very first major blockbuster with an openly gay character. 

 

Also, to those who have seen the film...

 

Leta Lestrange is going to be an interesting character in the sequel by her name alone.

[Dementeleus]

2 hours ago, yjs said:

speaking of which, has anyone here checked the 120fps? I'm super curious. But then again I was kinda let down by the Hobbit's 48fps.

 

Yes, it was fantastic.  Better than THE HOBBIT (which I liked as well). 

 

2 hours ago, grim22 said:

Trying to follow Sony's logic with Billy Lynn - Lets make a movie in a new format and ensure literally no one can see it in that format 

 

1 hour ago, yjs said:

I'm curious tho, can regular theaters support that new format or does Sony have to put in some investment for installing the new facilities? 

 

I'm late to the conversation, but Lee's gold standard of presentation is on the outer edge of current technology. No theater is equipped to do it... even the Arclight Dome had to borrow a projector from Christie (I think) to pull it off. 

 

So the 120/4K/3D version is basically a proof of concept deal. As to why Sony ditched the other variations, my guess is the mediocre response from Toronto. 

[terrestrial]

I think I've read in the past something like between starting to build/construct one of those park expansions (big ones) or similar takes at least 2 1/2 years till opening.

[Valonqar]

2 minutes ago, Noctis said:

What I respect immensely is that while Star Wars and the Hobbit were overstuffed to the max with endless connections and characters of the original series, Fantastic Beasts has completely new characters and is set in an entirely different setting. Say what you want, but FB has received almost universal praise when it comes to the world-building. $70m is a respectable opening, and the sequels are going to take a very interesting turn. And also...FB is the first live-action blockbuster with a character that's deeply allegorical to closeted homosexuality (and I think almost everyone noticed a very homoerotic scene in the film). With Dumbledore being in the sequel, then the world will have its very first major blockbuster with an openly gay character. 

 

Also, to those who have seen the film...

 

 

  Hide contents

Leta Lestrange is going to be an interesting character in the sequel by her name alone.

 

 

Agreed with all this. Some of us are spoiled by enormous openings to appreciate respectable opening that may just come with long legs. Also what TimmyRiggins says about young Dumbledore being a selling point in future movies. I respect the fact that they did not try to sell FB on that character but left him for the second movie and gave the first movie to the new cast alone as their moment to shine without being upstaged by Returning Character XY or Younger Version of the Returning Character. 

[Noctis]

Tele, when are you going to watch FB? 

[La Binoche]

Quote

Roadside Attractions and Amazon brought Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea into four theaters this weekend with excellent results. One of the best movies of the year, and one that is surprisingly enjoyable considering the uber-grim subject matter, the Casey Affleck drama is a powerhouse meditation on grief and coping. It earned around $72,000 on Friday for a possible $246k opening weekend and a whopping $61k per-location-average. This one will expand to a theater near you soon enough, so make a point to catch it when it does.

 

This is much better. 

[trifle]

7 hours ago, wildphantom said:

I don't see a great hold for Beasts over thanksgiving at all. 

Moana is going to town on it. That'll be first choice for families. It could get real messy for Newt. 

 

That said, I've a feeling FB's Saturday number might be bigger than some are expecting. 

 

Over the holidays there is room for both movies to do well.

5 hours ago, keysersoze123 said:

 

I doubt its bcos of FB(Except may be strange which is kind of similar). Last friday was veteran's day and so movies will drop hard this friday which is a normal work/school day.

 

Most schools are closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Universities too.

 

5 hours ago, grey ghost said:

I'm a little worried Moana is going to pull a Good Dinosaur next weekend.

 

Any ideas why Good Dinosaur did so bad?

 

Well, I know it's a personal bias, but Moana has humans in it.  Much more my style.

 

3 hours ago, Mockingjay Raphael said:

 

Says you. And maybe because the THG franchise always was backloaded while HP movies were super front-loaded?

 

MJ2 faced TFA which didn't help its legs.  Still it was number 1 for four weeks running.

 

2 hours ago, James said:

The thing is, I don't understand why it isn't translating (or maybe it is and it will have an awesome Saturday) to kids. If you take a look at the NYT bestselling list or at the Amaozn selling charts the books are still selling amazingly well. In fact, they haven't left the NYT Children's List at all in the last 9 years. Not even for a week. I think the problem was the marketing. Aside from the music, which not everyone knows, the connection wasn't really exploited. Actually, thinking about it, if it weren't for that last trailer that really exploded, the movie would have fared much worse. WB kinda dropped the ball on this one and I hope they learn from it. If marketed well, the sequel could do wonders for the franchise.   

Instead of that 'From the world of JK Rowling' tag they should've said 'From the world of Harry Potter'. The magical words. Yeah, it would've been like cheating, but still, it would've been effective. Drop the Potter name as much as you can.

 

It doesn't star kids.  Much as I am looking forward to seeing this, it's clear that kids identify with Harry and Hermione and Ron.  Kids are less likely to see themselves in Newt.  Just saying.  I think the next one will be bigger with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, though.

Edited November 19, 2016 by trifle

[Dementeleus]

3 minutes ago, Noctis said:

Tele, when are you going to watch FB? 

 

Maybe if I get the screener. Doing some traveling with the family over the next few weeks and have a few other movies to catch up on first (if I get the chance).

[yjs]

4 minutes ago, Nutella of Arabia said:

So the 120/4K/3D version is basically a proof of concept deal. As to why Sony ditched the other variations, my guess is the mediocre response from Toronto. 

so basically it is too ahead of its time, maybe. that's a shame, the effort itself should have been more appreciated like how people praised Avatar or even the Jungle Book. But then again not all technical innovations are good or needed, I guess.

 

well I am glad you caught it and enjoyed it in an intended format. at least someone did.