Weekend Thread | October 7-10th | Smile grins with a powerful $18.5m second weekend (18% drop!), Lyle hums a tune to $11.4m, Amsterdam gets karma'd with $6.4m

[filmlover]

7 minutes ago, ringedmortality said:

 

Is she even in stuff that warrants Oscar buzz? I only know of her roles in Valentine's Day and Lorax

[Flopped]

Margot Robbie has yet to prove she can attract an audience. Crazy that she is probably the #1 actress in Hollywood right now. Even Lady Gaga has proven herself as a draw more than she has. 

[ringedmortality]

5 minutes ago, filmlover said:

 

My mind completely blanked on that

 

Edit: I also forgot that I actually watched this

Edited October 8, 2022 by ringedmortality

[Pinacolada]

2 hours ago, Eric the Crocodile said:

Well how exactly do you make it cheaper? All those actors cost a pretty penny, and recreating the 1930s through your production design and costumes will cost a fair amount. The only way you could make a film like this cheaper is if you didn't make the movie. Which like...yeah, that probably was the solution.

Well like I said, American Hustle, another period movie with maybe not AS MANY starry actors, but more A-list actors (5 in AH vs 2 in Amsterdam, so probably a more expensive cast), with just as extravagant sets and costumes cost HALF as much as Amsterdam. So yeah I think there was a way

 

And to add onto that this movie had very little hooks from the marketing, comparing it to AH, AH looked fun, wild, sexy, and was soundtrack heavy. This had none of that. I think Hollywood needs to just not target that 1930s era anymore for these kinds of dramas. Go for the 70s disco era. Way more flashy, sexy looking, easier sell

Edited October 8, 2022 by Pinacolada

[Pinacolada]

58 minutes ago, BoxOfficeFangrl said:

I agree, general audiences don't know who David O Russell is and aren't boycotting him in large numbers. It's that his 2010s movies succeeded financially (or not) based almost entirely on the amount of critical acclaim and awards nominations they received.

 

Now, he's made a Depression-era crime caper screwball comedy(?). In 2022, that kind of movie absolutely needs critics on its side in a big way, to be a financial success. And critics (who actually are aware of #MeToo controversies and care about their impact) were never going to give DOR's first movie since the Fall of Weinstein overall positive reviews, regardless of its quality.

 

So, the studio has a not-great movie with a murky premise in a genre that's a tough sell to today's moviegoers. They can still try to lure audiences with the star power of the cast, but the stars and the PR team have to waste energy coming up with media responses for the "DOR problem". Do they refuse to answer questions about his controversies or working with him, do they limit promotion to "friendly" media, or do they give honest answers and risk the focus turning to that over the new movie?

 

Over multiple days this week, my feed showed links about Bale confirming that he intervened on the American Hustle set when DOR was abusive to Amy Adams. Even if you're a "separate the art from the artist" type, those headlines take up space that could be going to Amsterdam and why people should see it now. For the sorts of movies that don't need good Metacritic scores to succeed, the director's toxic reputation matters a lot less.

 

 

 

Yeah you nailed it here I think

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

1 hour ago, ringedmortality said:

 

Is she even in stuff that warrants Oscar buzz? I only know of her roles in Valentine's Day and Lorax

I'm probably conflating her acting attempts and soundtrack singles, but even those have petered out at the Golden Globes at most:

 

"Today Was a Fairytale" (Valentine's Day)

"Safe & Sound" (The Hunger Games)

"I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (Fifty Shades Darker)

"Beautiful Ghosts" (Cats)

 

Maybe "Carolina" will do the trick; the Best Live-Action Short gambit might backfire.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2022 by BoxOfficeFangrl

[Ryan Reynolds]

50 minutes ago, Flopped said:

Margot Robbie has yet to prove she can attract an audience. Crazy that she is probably the #1 actress in Hollywood right now. Even Lady Gaga has proven herself as a draw more than she has. 

let's see how her and Gosling can make Barbie flop

[ringedmortality]

Film twitter is gonna be real annoying when Barbie drops.

[Cooper Legion]

51 minutes ago, Grebacio said:

What's Last Duel 2.0? West Side Story?

I was thinking mid-high single digits opener with a  DOM total ~30% of prod budget or worse (regardless of critic reception), so I guess we have:

355 TLD 2.0

Moonfall TLD 3.0

3kYoL TLD 4.0

 

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

56 minutes ago, Pinacolada said:

Well like I said, American Hustle, another period movie with maybe not AS MANY starry actors, but more A-list actors (5 in AH vs 2 in Amsterdam, so probably a more expensive cast), with just as extravagant sets and costumes cost HALF as much as Amsterdam. So yeah I think there was a way

 

And to add onto that this movie had very little hooks from the marketing, comparing it to AH, AH looked fun, wild, sexy, and was soundtrack heavy. This had none of that. I think Hollywood needs to just not target that 1930s era anymore for these kinds of dramas. Go for the 70s disco era. Way more flashy, sexy looking, easier sell

The Sony email leaks revealed that the big five American Hustle stars got points, which may have lowered their upfront salaries and the budget. It also turned out that Bale/Cooper/Renner got more points than Adams/Lawrence. It caused a big outrage about gender pay disparities in Hollywood, and JLaw was openly critical.

 

So, with Amsterdam, Margot/Anya/Zoe and other actresses probably demanded their money upfront, which upped the budget. I also imagine it took less effort to recreate 1978 (especially in 2013) than the mid-1930s (or earlier, apparently the main trio met during World War I) almost 90 years later.

 

On paper, it makes no sense to greenlight Amsterdam. Maybe DOR found the New Regency exec whose favorite movie ever was The Sting and they have a soft spot for Great Depression-era crime comedies?

Edited October 8, 2022 by BoxOfficeFangrl

[MrPink]

6 hours ago, Eric the Crocodile said:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-has-david-o-russell-never-answered-for-groping-his-trans-niece

 

Had to laugh that Maggie was ghost like Swayze after this

Edited October 8, 2022 by MrPink

[ringedmortality]

Who's Maggie

[Flopped]

I saw Tar which will NOT do well with anyone outside of LA/NY arthouse theatres. 

[Ryan Reynolds]

i saw a private screening of The Good House today

[ringedmortality]

15 minutes ago, Flopped said:

I saw Tar which will NOT do well with anyone outside of LA/NY arthouse theatres. 

Wonder how it’ll do when they put it back in theaters after it’s best picture nomination 

[filmlover]

1 hour ago, BoxOfficeFangrl said:

The Sony email leaks revealed that the big five American Hustle stars got points, which may have lowered their upfront salaries and the budget. It also turned out that Bale/Cooper/Renner got more points than Adams/Lawrence. It caused a big outrage about gender pay disparities in Hollywood, and JLaw was openly critical.

 

So, with Amsterdam, Margot/Anya/Zoe and other actresses probably demanded their money upfront, which upped the budget. I also imagine it took less effort to recreate 1978 (especially in 2013) than the mid-1930s (or earlier, apparently the main trio met during World War I) almost 90 years later.

 

On paper, it makes no sense to greenlight Amsterdam. Maybe DOR found the New Regency exec whose favorite movie ever was The Sting and they have a soft spot for Great Depression-era crime comedies?

It's still hilarious and wild to me that Renner got paid more than JLaw did on American Hustle when he had the least to work with out of all five stars. Being one of The Avengers (vs. being the unquestionable lead of the big-but-not-as-gargantuan The Hunger Games) must've been incredible leverage at the time.

[Flopped]

40 minutes ago, ringedmortality said:

Wonder how it’ll do when they put it back in theaters after it’s best picture nomination 

 

I dont think it will get a BP nom. Todd Field's past movies In the Bedroom and Little Children are not exactly accessible but they're MUCH more accessible than Tar. 

[ringedmortality]

Just now, Flopped said:

 

I dont think it will get a BP nom. Todd Field's past movies In the Bedroom and Little Children are not exactly accessible but they're MUCH more accessible than Tar. 

 

Critics are gonna push it hard.

[WrathOfHan]

1 hour ago, ringedmortality said:

Wonder how it’ll do when they put it back in theaters after it’s best picture nomination 

It'll probably finish around Phantom Thread. 

[ringedmortality]

That'd be pretty damn good