Dolittle | Jan 17 2020 | Universal | 16% RT | Winner of the Kids Choice Award!

[Valonqar]

Nothing is purely down to one person.  I'm just sayin that this is the first post-MCU role for RDJ so there will be interest. Unless the movie looks like total trash that even star power cannot salvage. We'll see. Doolittle is a brand again so it won't be the best indicator either way. Some brands are just weak (Mary Poppins) so no matter who you cast people simply have no interest.

[terrestrial]

15 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

RDJ

 

Aehm I am looking into this for Banderas, and because I want to know if this one will be better than the 1967 one (1967 version = lacking in my POV)

I liked the principle idea, disliked the 1998 version even more, have no idea why they did a part 2 for that afterwards.

Fingers crossed they do this time something worthwhile with the story idea

[Valonqar]

Strong cast so fingers crossed indeed. 

[filmlover]

A $200M Doctor Dolittle adaptation sounds like all the proof we need that Hollywood really doesn't care about flushing money down the drain.

[Cap]

11 minutes ago, filmlover said:

A $200M Doctor Dolittle adaptation sounds like all the proof we need that Hollywood really doesn't care about flushing money down the drain.

And proof that this IP is cursed with terrible decisions.  Rex Harrison.  Singing.  I still have nightmares.

[TalismanRing]

No other Sherlock movies were making $500m+ WW before or since.  That was pretty much all RDJ star power coming off Iron Man and to a lesser extent Tropic of Thunder a year before.

 

This is a test of his star power post MCU but it's not the first test.

 

Looking back on how well musicals have been doing though they should  have gone the musical route  since unlike Harrrison RDJ can sing and dance.

[Cap]

1 minute ago, TalismanRing said:

Looking back on how well musicals have been doing though they should  have gone the musical route  since unlike Harrrison RDJ can sing and dance.

But they probably would have hired pasek and Paul, so maybe we just call it being a non-musical a draw 

 

[TalismanRing]

Just now, captainwondyful said:

But they probably would have hired pasek and Paul, so maybe we just call it being a non-musical a draw 

 

Yikes.  Though in my dreams it's Mencken and Slater  - giving me a big screen Galavant re-pairing.  And they keep (or pay for) Talk To The Animals

[TMP]

Universal won't give us The Hunt, but they will give us Cats and a $200m+ (it was $175m before extensive reshoots, so it might be even bigger now) Dr. Dolittle film dropping in January. Nice.

[dudalb]

4 hours ago, captainwondyful said:

And proof that this IP is cursed with terrible decisions.  Rex Harrison.  Singing.  I still have nightmares.

That was my thought at seeing the 200 Million budget for this:

 

"Gee, they forgot what Happened to Fox back in 1967"....

Exactly same Scenario. FIlm went over budget big time and had some extensive reshoots.

Failed at the box office. I think it managed to break even, but still Fox got almost no profit for a huge investment.

That they are releasing a film that screams "Holiday Family release" in January tells you the studio does not have great confidence in this.

Harrison was great as Henry Higgins but not very good as Dr Dolittle.

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by dudalb

[stealthyfrog]

On 8/12/2019 at 7:57 AM, Valonqar said:

Nothing is purely down to one person.  I'm just sayin that this is the first post-MCU role for RDJ so there will be interest. Unless the movie looks like total trash that even star power cannot salvage. We'll see. Doolittle is a brand again so it won't be the best indicator either way. Some brands are just weak (Mary Poppins) so no matter who you cast people simply have no interest.

Does RDJ have that much star power these days? He was a big star before Iron Man and for a couple years after, but he's been exclusively Iron Man for a while now.

[Avatree]

10 hours ago, stealthyfrog said:

Does RDJ have that much star power these days? He was a big star before Iron Man and for a couple years after, but he's been exclusively Iron Man for a while now.

To be honest he hasn't really done much outside of MCU while he's been involved, other than the Sherlock Holmes films, which were successful - but it's hard to say whether much of that was down to RDJ. It's not like Sherlock would have flopped without RDJ, in my opinion. Well-received big budget tentpole film released at Christmas.

 

 

He starred in Due Date which did just about reach 100M but was seen as a disappointment coming off of the Hangover (same team and same actor Zach G).

The only other films he's starred in was The Judge and The Soloist, both of which flopped.

[Ithil]

15 hours ago, stealthyfrog said:

Does RDJ have that much star power these days? He was a big star before Iron Man and for a couple years after, but he's been exclusively Iron Man for a while now.

He became a big star because of Iron Man, not before. Before Iron Man he was washed up.

[TalismanRing]

2 hours ago, Ithil said:

He became a big star because of Iron Man, not before. Before Iron Man he was washed up.

He wasn't washed up - in the run up to IM he was a great actor doing quality work in quite a few good to great films

 

Good Night & Good Luck,  A Scanner Darkly, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac.

 

RDJ's star power and entertaining performances made the Holmes movies.  It wasn't the IP and it wasn't Guy Ritchie.  He's also why Tropic of Thunder is so damn funny and popular (with a Cruise entree) - not Jack Black or Stiller.

 

But sure every movie he was in that made money was because of the IP, or another actor or the genre.  And every under performer was just him, not the genre or the material.  Let's also ignore his star power as IM as if he was playing Batman or Spider-Man or he jumped into a ready made money making Marvel machine and that star power didn't increase globally over a decade.   Let's disregard that it's a combination of factors to make a hit as it is for every actor.  We can do this all the time - it's silly. 

[Eric Duncan]

36 minutes ago, TalismanRing said:

He wasn't washed up - in the run up to IM he was a great actor doing quality work in quite a few good to great films

 

Good Night & Good Luck,  A Scanner Darkly, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac.

 

Where's The Shaggy Dog?

[TalismanRing]

Just now, Eric! said:

Where's The Shaggy Dog?

Not in the good to great film range

 

But it did show he was back when Disney would hire him and be able to get insurance.

[Eric Duncan]

 

[LOGAN'sLuckyRun]

RDJ will NEVER hold a candle to the one and only

#NotmyDolittle

Edited September 17, 2019 by LOGAN'sLuckyRun

[Krissykins]

On 8/12/2019 at 5:51 PM, filmlover said:

A $200M Doctor Dolittle adaptation sounds like all the proof we need that Hollywood really doesn't care about flushing money down the drain.

To be fair, it also sounds like the kind of shit parents will put their kids in front of to shut them up for 2 hours. 

[cheesypoofs]

On 8/14/2019 at 6:33 AM, Avatree said:

To be honest he hasn't really done much outside of MCU while he's been involved, other than the Sherlock Holmes films, which were successful - but it's hard to say whether much of that was down to RDJ. It's not like Sherlock would have flopped without RDJ, in my opinion. Well-received big budget tentpole film released at Christmas.

 

 

He starred in Due Date which did just about reach 100M but was seen as a disappointment coming off of the Hangover (same team and same actor Zach G).

The only other films he's starred in was The Judge and The Soloist, both of which flopped.

I loved Due Date. It's a much better film than either Hangover sequel