The Box Office Buzz and Tracking Thread: Electric Boogaloo

[Cappoedameron]

7 minutes ago, Porthos said:

It most certainly was (if by implication).  Was actually a debate 'round these parts about how much the GA might feel mislead about said advertising.

 

Turns out, the answer was: Not in the slightest.  Either by drops last year or reception of EG this year.

 

====

 

Remember, the GA isn't as tuned in as more passionate CBM fans.  Do not mistake "coverage from Comic-Con" or "discussion on movie blogs" as the same thing as "General knowledge from the general public".

Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2 were revealed at D23. Not Comic Con.  I believe the year was 2015. I'd have to look it up but it was definitely D23.

[cdsacken]

10 hours ago, Porthos said:

Sure, I personally think Inside Out is a great comp for Pikachu, especially it being in the face of a monster movie.

 

Maybe I'm just a junkie going through data withdrawal at the worst possible time.

Except Inside out was 98% RT and made directly for families, specifically parents. I think its a good comp to do 80-90% of that.

Edited April 28, 2019 by cdsacken

[Cappoedameron]

6 minutes ago, cdsacken said:

Except Inside out was 98% RT and made directly for families, specifically parents. I think its a good comp to do 80-90% of that.

I mean if Detective Pikachu is anything like the game it's based off it's 100% directed at families and it's centered around a relationship between a parent and child.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Cappoedameron

[Cap]

17 minutes ago, Cappoedameron said:

Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2 were revealed at D23. Not Comic Con.  I believe the year was 2015. I'd have to look it up but it was definitely D23.

Comic Con. Did someone say SDCC?

 

No.

 

AIW was revealed at SDCC.

 

You might be thinking of the full slate that was announced at the El Cap special fan event in like 2014 when they announced Avengers 3 would be Part 1 and Part 2. 

 

AIW footage was shown at D23 and SDCC.  I know it that was the year where the Hall H Line was really concerned we were not going to get footage because they had already shown it at D23. And Kevin totally trolled everyone by trying to walk off stage without showing the footage. But then Joe Russo and Hiddles came out to stop him. It was such a good gimmick. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by captainwondyful
Clarification

[Porthos]

29 minutes ago, Cappoedameron said:

Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2 were revealed at D23. Not Comic Con.  I believe the year was 2015. I'd have to look it up but it was definitely D23.

D23 is even more off the radar for the general public than Comic-Con (not that the SDCC is that far off the radar for the GA, just that they don't obsess over it). 

 

===

 

Look, I will absolutely grant you that fans knew about the whole Infinity War Part 1/Part 2 name change.  I'm talking about the General Audience.

 

But don't take my word for it.  Here's a random article from THR before IW:
 

Quote

Even more than those story-based questions, it remains to be seen where the MCU goes from here.

 

The movies aren’t ending anytime soon, of course. Ant-Man and The Wasp comes out later this year, Captain Marvel hits in 2019 and there are Guardians, Black Panther and Spider-Man sequels in different stages of development.

 

There’s also the issue of Avengers 4, scheduled for release in 2019. It’s presence on the calendar kind of pokes a rather large hole in the “That’s all, folks” message sent by this campaign. It’s unclear if this movie ends with a stalemate between the heroes and Thanos that has to be resolved in the next installment or if in some other way the good guys have to fight back to reclaim the win.

 

If you look back at how Warner Bros. sold the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the studio used the “It all ends here” message directly but also made it clear the finale was being presented in two parts. So audiences knew from the outset that the first film would not contain a conclusion to the story.

 

That message isn’t being shared in the Infinity War campaign. Because of that, it will be interesting to see how audiences react when they realize that nope, they have to come back next year to see how it really wraps up. Many likely already know that if they follow the entertainment press, but a good portion may not. And it’s unlikely Marvel will be able to sell the same round of “It’s all been building to this” recap stories to the press a second time around.

 

For now, we’re being told that this is it, this is what it’s all been building toward. By positioning it as the “most ambitious crossover event in history,” a claim that sadly overlooks the multiple appearances by the late Harry Anderson on Cheers, the studio has built up audience anticipation, presenting it as a can’t-miss theatrical event. It has to be seen immediately so you can discuss the answers to all those questions and the fates of all those characters with your friends.

 

This wasn't the only entertainment article wondering about this, either.

 

===

 

 

I had more to say here, but on reflection it might have implied a bit too much about EG, so I decided not to post it.  Instead, I will simply observe that while the marketing of IW may not have literally said "the conclusion to the Avengers storyline", sakes alive did they imply it heavily ('It all been leading up to this' and all that).

 

And, again, as it turns out, it didn't matter one jot in the end. 👍

Edited April 28, 2019 by Porthos

[Porthos]

I realize I'm hammering an off topic point, but I do have something of a personal example.

 

My father is what would be called a casual SW fan.  Likes seeing them in theaters, will occasionally watch them on TV or the home media server.

 

He vaguely knew there was a SW film coming out this year... Because SW films had been coming out at Xmas for a while now (except for last year).

 

Guess when he knew about IX?   

 

When Celebration announced it a couple of weeks ago.

 

"Aha! That proves folks pay attention to that sort of thing."

 

Well, no.  I laid a trap there.  See, my father knew about The Rise of Skywalker by name because one of the business channels he watches mentioned it (as well as when it was coming out). Otherwise he would have had no clue.

 

I can assure you, he is blissfully unaware of the Benioff and Weiss SW series of movies coming up, as well as the Rian Johnson trilogy.  He was also unaware of the rumored Kenobi flick.  He might have been aware that there was supposed to be some sort of third SW standalone film, but only because I mentioned it off an on.  

 

He is also very unaware that SW films are 'taking a break' for a couple of years.   

 

As I said a few posts ago, just because we know a lot about upcoming movies and just because we consume a lot of entertainment press, doesn't necessarily mean a large chunk of the general public does.  Sure, the GA is more connected than ever thanks to social media.  Still can be hard to penetrate the bubbles out there.

 

That's all I was really saying: Don't overestimate what "everyone and their mother" knows about something.

[Darth Lehnsherr]

5 minutes ago, Porthos said:

I realize I'm hammering an off topic point, but I do have something of a personal example.

 

My father is what would be called a casual SW fan.  Likes seeing them in theaters, will occasionally watch them on TV or the home media server.

 

He vaguely knew there was a SW film coming out this year... Because SW films had been coming out at Xmas for a while now (except for last year).

 

Guess when he knew about IX?   

 

When Celebration announced it a couple of weeks ago.

 

"Aha! That proves folks pay attention to that sort of thing."

 

Well, no.  I laid a trap there.  See, my father knew about The Rise of Skywalker by name because one of the business channels he watches mentioned it (as well as when it was coming out). Otherwise he would have had no clue.

 

I can assure you, he is blissfully unaware of the Benioff and Weiss SW series of movies coming up, as well as the Rian Johnson trilogy.  He was also unaware of the rumored Kenobi flick.  He might have been aware that there was supposed to be some sort of third SW standalone film, but only because I mentioned it off an on.  

 

He is also very unaware that SW films are 'taking a break' for a couple of years.   

 

As I said a few posts ago, just because we know a lot about upcoming movies and just because we consume a lot of entertainment press, doesn't necessarily mean a large chunk of the general public does.  Sure, the GA is more connected than ever thanks to social media.  Still can be hard to penetrate the bubbles out there.

 

That's all I was really saying: Don't overestimate what "everyone and their mother" knows about something.

I had to explain to many of my friends that there was another Avengers film coming after Infinity War. With TROS you can bet Disney will do everything in their power to sell it as the finale of Star Wars. 

[Cap]

It is 6AM EST. I just did a cursory look at my local theaters.

 

IMAX Theater and Recliner theater are maxed until 6:30PMish, where it drops to about 50%. The Stadium Theater is doing BONKERS. They look to be at above 50%+ Until 6:00PM, then seats are available. 

 

(I also really want to know the GOT numbers on Monday.)

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by captainwondyful

[TMP]

8 minutes ago, captainwondyful said:

(I also really want to know the GOT numbers on Monday.)

 

Probably gonna be season low-point

[Cap]

1 minute ago, TMP said:

Probably gonna be season low-point

It will be interesting to see if HBO releases them ASAP or holds for the 3-Day DVR Numbers. 

[Eric Burnett]

Pulse still isn't updated. I'm seriously going through withdrawal right now.

 

[Nova]

10 minutes ago, CoolEric258 said:

Pulse still isn't updated. I'm seriously going through withdrawal right now.

 

I was actually tracking John Wick and Pikachu....but now it’s just like what’s the point 

[Nova]

John Wick 3 has sold 60 tickets for Thursday night (17-18 days out) at my theater. It’s doubled from when I last checked which is good imo 

 

Detective Pikachu has sold 90 tickets for Thursday night (10-11 days out) 

 

I don’t have any comps for John Wick 3 (except for DP2 week of release) but for Pikachu it’s currently 160% of Shazam! (which did 55 tickets 10 days out) and 235% of Dumbo (which did 38 tickets sold Monday of release. I don’t have numbers for Dumbo 10 days out). 

 

*I put the number of tickets Shazam! and Dumbo sold just in case I didn’t do percentages correct. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Nova

[rerga]

Uh...guys...

 

The showtimes for my theater next weekend are nearly sold out...

Edited April 28, 2019 by rerga

[XXR vs XXR]

Just now, rerga said:

Uh...guys...

 

The showtimes for my theater next weekend are nearly sold out...

 

Could you do a show time and seat count?

[Legion Again]

If @Porthos is still going through Fandango data withdrawals later in the week maybe we can get a report of 6PM-6AM showings for one night next Thurs/wknd? I mean, AEG 2nd weekend will be one of the highest grossing weekends all year 

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Thanos Legion

[Porthos]

3 minutes ago, Thanos Legion said:

If @Porthos is still going through Fandango data withdrawals later in the week maybe we can get a report of 6PM-6AM showings for one night next Thurs/wknd? I mean, AEG 2nd weekend will be one of the highest grossing weekends all year 

 

 

Translation:  That's gonna be a "no" from me, dawg.

 

[Legion Again]

2 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

Translation:  That's gonna be a "no" from me, dawg.

 

Hey, it’s been forever since I saw a nice Tintin reference.    

 

Could I bargain you down to an Arden check-in at some time?

[Porthos]

7 minutes ago, Thanos Legion said:

Could I bargain you down to an Arden check-in at some time?

I'm gonna be hip deep into a double Pika Pika/Aladdin check by then (Pika Pika is almost certainly switching to a daily report starting tomorrow, low sales or no low sales) and I have no idea how much time a daily Aladdin check is gonna take, but I presume I'll still be doing a daily check during its first four days.

 

We'll see about a quick Fri or Sat Arden check (Thr is kinda pointless, IMO).  But... don't count on it.

 

"Maybe" really is the best I can give you.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Porthos

[rerga]

54 minutes ago, VenomXXR said:

 

Could you do a show time and seat count?

Sure, I'll do a count on Monday