Weekend Thread | Actuals: Smile 22.6, DWD 6.85, TWK 6.8, Avatar 5, Bros 4.8

[Last Man Standing]

  

Just now, Valonqar said:

 

Know your audience. Who is the biggest target demo that has interest in this topic? If it's women by all means target them. Do you want successful movie or not? 

It's clearly the best route to success for gay films, but it also misses the point of representation doesn't it?

[TwoMisfits]

7 minutes ago, Krissykins said:

Smile

The Black Phone

Pearl

X

Scream

Jackass Forever

 

All covered their production budgets within their opening 3 day weekend. 
 

Any others in 2022?

 

Minions 2 by a mile...

[PenguinHyphy]

56 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

@krla

 

is onto something. Romance is a main reason why slash shipping (male/male) and fem-slash shipping  (female/female) are so popular. Shippers see romance in same sex characters interaction and take it to the next level in their writing. It isn't about sexuality. When  Cap says "when I had nothing, I had Bucky", it's an emotional line that could be interrpeted as romantic if you want. Coupled with gorgeous looking actors, great chemistry and moments where they look into each other's eyes or say suggestive lines that can be interpreted any way you like, no wonder thes epairings are more popular than canon het couples. 

 

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IMO, movies centered around gay romance should recapture Sambucky, Stucky, Magneto/Xavier dynamics if they want to become big hits. It's all about knowing looks, flirting, inuendo, suggestive lines, heart-fluttering moments. Except that this time there will be a payoff. 

 

 

Your average American is not "shipping" anyone. Only people who are perpetually on Twitter or the internet ate "shipping" people. Heartbreakers has very boisterous supporters on the internet, but the Netflix numbers are not that big if you go to the official Netflix charts. That is the biggest problem with Bros. It was marketed to internet pundits, for some strange reason, not the people who actually turn things into box office hits. They did the opposite of what Sony did with The Woman King.          

 

I saw The Woman King advertisement during college football on the weekend, and the trailers always played up the action. They did not even reveal the movie to pundits until the week before it opened, and they did those with public screenings in various cities across America. Sure, Bros would not be able to play a lot of advertisement during a college football game without a bunch of pushback from the audience, but there are probably better outlets to have pushed it instead of pushing it as an awards vehicle. Awards vehicles have been struggling at the box office for years now, so I am not even sure why they went that route. 

 

Bros was never going to be a hit no matter who starred in it. Raunchy comedy and rom coms have been bombing at the box office for years now, and bros is trying to be both. I never saw the appeal of it as a straight woman, and I cannot imagine any huge numbers of straight women seeing it as appealing either. I am still confused as to why anyone thought that this might appeal to straight women 

 

Bros with its festival launch is opening below even Easter Sunday. That says everything, and that also says that the problem is with the foundation, not just the marketing    

Edited October 1, 2022 by PenguinHyphy

[John Marston]

 

[Cmasterclay]

2 hours ago, Spidey Freak said:

 

His entire point was to feature an all-queer main cast, even the ones playing straight characters. Casting a Hemsworth as his love interest would've been antithetical to the statement he was making about LGBTQ+ actors like Luke Macfarlane being punished for being out by not being afforded enough opportunities by Hollywood.

 

Also the Hems is not really a consistent draw himself so it would've been a ton of negative press for weak returns.

 

An LGBTQ+ romcom unfortunately has an incredibly steep uphill climb when it comes to theatrical because not only do people have more than enough alternative options on streaming but streaming also provides the safety and security of enjoying LGBTQ+ content in your own home versus being judged or spotted attending a theatrical screening, which, while sounds ridiculous on the face of it, is too much pressure for young people questioning their sexuality.

 

 

I agree with every word of this and it is well said. That said, in considering solely box office, it is clear that other Apatow comedies have succeeded on the back of star power - 40 Year Old Virgin had Carrell just as he was getting huge, Knocked Up had Heigl at the height of her fame, Forgetting Sarah Marshall had Bell and a hot Brand before everyone realized he sucked, and Trainwreck had a very buzzy Schumer plus Hader, Lebron, and Cena. This clearly needed star power bigger than Luke Macfarland. Problem is, casting an out gay actor with some name recognition like Matt Bomer means the same three out gay guys get the same parts and we never create new gay stars. So the movie really was always in a no win position without Eichner having the appeal to carry the movie by himself, and it is clear he didn't.

[Valonqar]

17 minutes ago, PenguinHyphy said:

Raunchy comedy and rom coms have been bombing at the box office for years now, and bros is trying to be both. 

 

 

Great point. 

 

21 minutes ago, Last Man Standing said:

  

It's clearly the best route to success for gay films, but it also misses the point of representation doesn't it?

 

How does depicting romance misses the point of representation? Right now, at least in blockbusters, representation is blink or you'll miss it "statement of being LGB"  such as quick spousal kiss and then off to doing things that have nothing to do with representation. Eternals devoted 5000 years to Rob Stark and whatsherface romance (when it should have been Rob and Jon Snow) while designated Mr Representation (the atomic bomb guy) got a quick kiss from his hubby to clue us in and that was it.

 

Also, most movies are made for the largest demo so you can guess who that may be. In translation, it means not to offend the demo if possible. Small budget movies can afford to do that, bigger budget ones can't. That's how you get a lot of sanitizied shit one way or the other. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Valonqar

[Last Man Standing]

2 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

How does depicting romance misses the point of representation?

 

Because your examples of fanfiction, and other successful gay media like Heartstopper, are pretty much exclusively made by straight women for straight women. Bros is different because it was written by a gay man for gay men, and your response is that he's doing it wrong.

[Valonqar]

Just now, Last Man Standing said:

 

Because your examples of fanfiction, and other successful gay media like Heartstopper, are pretty much exclusively made by straight women for straight women. Bros is different because it was written by a gay man for gay men, and your response is that he's doing it wrong.

 

My response isn't that he's doing it wrong. It got A from audience it was made for so obviously did something right. My response is that if Hollywood wants commercial success perhaps some of movies with lead gay characters should target a different, bigger audience. I'm not for making only one kind of movies. There should be variety. 

[filmlover]

There's definitely an audience out there for gay-led projects, even if it hasn't been necessarily reflected in huge box office numbers yet (the new M. Night thriller centers around a gay couple - played by a pair of out actors - and I suspect that will do pretty well early next year). An R-rated romcom led by a comedian who is hardly an A-lister (and considered "grating" to many gay and straight alike) and an actor primarily known for Hallmark fare was simply never going to be The Chosen One.

Edited October 1, 2022 by filmlover

[Valonqar]

Is it me or Deadline is embarrassing itself again with weekend proejctions?

 

No way that DWD makes only 7.56M off 2.35M Friday. Should be minimim in 8Ms. No way that WK makes only 6.2M off 1.7M Friday. Should be 6.7M give or take. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Valonqar

[Eric the Ape]

Deadline top 10

 

Quote

1.) Smile (Par) 3,645 theaters, Fri $8.2M, 3-day $19M/Wk 1

2.) Don’t Worry Darling (NL/WB), 4,121 (+8) theaters, Fri $2.35M (-75%), 3-day $7.56M (-61%)/Total $33.1M/ Wk 2

3.) The Woman King (Sony) 3,504 (-261) theaters Fri $1.7M (-41%),  3-day $6.2M (-44%)/Total $45.9M/Wk 3

4.) Bros (Uni) 3,350 theaters, Fri $1.84M, 3-day $4.75M, Wk 1

5.) Ponniyan Selvan: Part One (Sar) 500 locations, Fri $2.1M, 3-day $4.1M/Wk 1

6.)Avatar (re) (20th/Dis) 1,860 theaters, Fri $1.16M (-65%), 3-day $4.04M (-62%), Total $778.4M/Wk 2 of re-issue

7.) Barbarian (20th/Dis) 2,720 theaters (-145), Fri $809K (-42%),  3-day $2.65M (-45%)/Total $32.9M/Wk 4

8.) Bullet Train (Sony) 1,931 (+24) theaters, Fri $365K (-27%),  3-day $1.3M (-28%)/, Total $101.2M/Wk 9

9.) DC League of Super-Pets (WB) 1,924 (-427) theaters, Fri $250K (-31%) 3-day $1.21M (-30%)/Total $91.6M Wk 10

10.) Top Gun: Maverick (Par) 1,561 (-464) theaters, Fri $335K (-27%), 3-day $1.16M (-28%), Total $713.3M/Wk 19

 

I know Woman King is doing objectively good and fine, but it feels like its holds are just kinda standard for a well-reviewed awards contender and not really as exciting as the A+ Cinemascore once indicated. Am I expecting too much maybe?

[Flopped]

So will Bros end up making less than the 2010 indie gay comedy The Kids Are All Right? That made 21M domestic. 

 

People don't talk enough about that movie and the fresh way it depicted its gay couple. 

 

 

[Flopped]

1 minute ago, Eric Smiley said:

 

I know Woman King is doing objectively good and fine, but it feels like its holds are just kinda standard for a well-reviewed awards contender and not really as exciting as the A+ Cinemascore once indicated. Am I expecting too much maybe?

 

Well rave reviews and Cinemascore aside, the movie is just ok. 

[filmlover]

1 minute ago, Eric Smiley said:

Deadline top 10

 

 

I know Woman King is doing objectively good and fine, but it feels like its holds are just kinda standard for a well-reviewed awards contender and not really as exciting as the A+ Cinemascore once indicated. Am I expecting too much maybe?

It should finish with about $60M and a 3x multiplier at least. Nothing outstanding (and perhaps not enough to make it much of an awards contender), but a fine run that provided much-needed life to theaters following a very dull stretch.

[filmnerdjamie]

I think it's two fold.

 

The subject matter was too off-putting for half the country and the marketing didn't justify why they shouldn't put that aside and support it. Came across like they were patting themselves on the back from the start. 

 

On the other as pointed out by several others before me, it's lead can be quite nasty and on the Holier Than Thou side of things on Social Media. Hard to shit on half the country for how they vote and turn around and ask them for their money?

 

But ultimately do I think homophobia was at play? Normally I wouldn't play that card but... yeah. I do.

 

Everyone is at fault on this one.

Edited October 1, 2022 by filmnerdjamie

[vale9001]

I told you months ago Bros would have flop. People don't go to see things labelled as gay if they're not gay. I'm saying this as gay man. It's not cause people are homophobic it just doesn't have any appeal.

I go to watch a movie I care and a gay character is there?. Good for him. There is a comedy with nothing special about it expect for being "gay". I just don't care 🙂

 

Plus as gay man i don't see any appeal to see something "gay" produced by Judd Appatow, with Chris Evans saying I have go to watch because it's gay. Cringe!

Mainstream hollywood maybe doesn't know there  are 500 lgbt movies produced around the world every year and gays of course already know and watch 🙄

This movie is like a non event even for them.

 

Oh and all this "a movie made only by gay people" it's just the most idiot thing I ever heard. I mean if you want to make a movie with only gay people it's like your choice, you can make whatever you want wit your art, but I read some interviews by the cast and the're like really saying gays should portrayed by gays as the norm. WTF. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by vale9001

[Flopped]

Yeah, no one wanted to see middle aged men talk about rimming and bottoming. That's the truth. Something like Love Simon (younger, less focused on sex) is more palatable. 

[ringedmortality]

9 minutes ago, Eric Smiley said:

I know Woman King is doing objectively good and fine, but it feels like its holds are just kinda standard for a well-reviewed awards contender and not really as exciting as the A+ Cinemascore once indicated. Am I expecting too much maybe?

 

The Cinemascore was probably inflated due to the skewed demos of the opening weekend. It plays well in that demo but probably not outside of it.

 

Also is it really an awards contender?

[Valonqar]

13 minutes ago, Eric Smiley said:

I know Woman King is doing objectively good and fine, but it feels like its holds are just kinda standard for a well-reviewed awards contender and not really as exciting as the A+ Cinemascore once indicated. Am I expecting too much maybe?

 

Maybe it didn't crossover? It got A+ from its target audience (black women) but perhaps it isn't attracting other demos. WOM doesn't have influence on audience that has no interest in a movie premise. 

 

hs ha typed what @ringedmortality said but he said it better. 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Valonqar

[filmlover]

1 minute ago, ringedmortality said:

Also is it really an awards contender?

Davis might happen at SAG (they love both her and commercial projects such as this) but any other recognition it possibly receives will likely be for techs only.