Weekend Numbers | actuals | 30.15M KFP IV | 28.50M DUNE II

[emoviefan]

3 minutes ago, Squire said:

Gladiator 2 is especially interesting. In terms of legacy sequels, will it be an Independence Day 2 (critical and BO bomb), Blade Runner 2049 (critical hit, BO bomb), or Top Gun Maverick (critical and BO hit)? 
 

I’m hoping it’s a return to form for Scott, at the very least. 

I think you can throw out the Blade Runner 2049 comp since a critical hit for this would lead to a financial hit since the original Blade Runner was a bomb and Gladiator was a big hit. God forbid it's ID 2 and TG Maverick would be great but modern day Ridley eh not going to hold my breath on that. 

[JustLurking]

6 minutes ago, AniNate said:

 

I would say I don't see the Blade Runner scenario happening but given the budget rumors it seems it could draw a really sizable audience and still be a "bomb". Though Villeneuve's career didn't suffer post-Blade Runner, so I doubt anyone would hold it against Ridley if people still think it's a great film.

I mean...Villeneuve made a great film and worthy follow-up to the original which pretty much followed a similar trajectory (bomba in theaters but cult film), it's hard to fault him for that. What's surprising is that right after it they went for another high-brow big budget sci-fi, thankfully a happier ending this time around.

[DAJK]

Honestly, I could see Gladiator 2 ending up like Dial of Destiny at the box office. 170M domestic is nothing to scoff at, but with a budget so big and lofty expectations...

[Godzilla]

39 minutes ago, AniNate said:

Like it or not, modern starpower sells. She's bringing in the crowd who doesn't typically go for solemn literary epics.

People don't go to movies of celebrities anymore... The movie would've made the same amount of $$$ if a complete unknown was cast. Many movies with A-List casts have flopped. The era of movie star is largely over only a couple of people can bring audiences to the theater because of their name alone.

[Godzilla]

Disbelief reaction doesn't change the fact that the era of movie stars is largely over. 

[emoviefan]

6 minutes ago, DAJK said:

Honestly, I could see Gladiator 2 ending up like Dial of Destiny at the box office. 170M domestic is nothing to scoff at, but with a budget so big and lofty expectations...

Yeah once again modern day Scott eh and can Paul Mescal have a Russell Crowe like breakout. But having a supporting cast including Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal can only help if Ridley delivers the goods. 

Edited March 17 by emoviefan

[Eric Furiosa]

I mean I only give a shit about Dune because Timothee is in it. Starpower counts at least for me

[Godzilla]

1 minute ago, Eric Atreides said:

I mean I only give a shit about Dune because Timothee is in it. Starpower counts at least for me

Outside of established IP his movies have largely not done well. His female fanbase did not show up for Bones & All which flopped despite having a relatively low budget. 

[emoviefan]

6 minutes ago, Godzilla said:

Outside of established IP his movies have largely not done well. His female fanbase did not show up for Bones & All which flopped despite having a relatively low budget. 

That's modern day starpower. I mean saying Timmy is not a star because he can not  get people to go see a cannibal movie is kind of a stretch. 

Edited March 17 by emoviefan

[DAJK]

I feel like, with some exceptions (Eric and Timothy, 13 year old boys and Sydney Sweeney, dedicated “fandoms” which themselves don’t constitute a huge portion of the moviegoing public) actors are less draws themselves and it’s more of a “actor + role” type of thing.

 

Margot Robbie AS Barbie. Tom Cruise AS Maverick (let’s be honest, random Cruise military movie wouldn’t have made 700M nor would a Cruise-less Top Gun). Gosling’s follow up to Barbie wouldn’t be predicted as this massive breakout the way Fall Guy is if the role wasn’t what people were looking for from him (essentially, the Ken-ification of Gosling).

[Wombat]

23 minutes ago, Krissykins said:

I don’t think it’s a horror film and thankfully haven’t had any twists spoiled. 
 

But my answer would be: more than $2.5m. 

 

It's a damn shame, it was a great film. It seems like a tough sell to a general audience, even though it's getting pretty great reviews. They really needed to push a bit harder on the advertising, but even then I don't think an A24 thriller with a messy relationship plot underpinning it would get a lot of people who hadn't already committed to seeing it.

 

 

[AniNate]

4 minutes ago, DAJK said:

I feel like, with some exceptions (Eric and Timothy, 13 year old boys and Sydney Sweeney, dedicated “fandoms” which themselves don’t constitute a huge portion of the moviegoing public) actors are less draws themselves and it’s more of a “actor + role” type of thing.

 

Margot Robbie AS Barbie. Tom Cruise AS Maverick (let’s be honest, random Cruise military movie wouldn’t have made 700M nor would a Cruise-less Top Gun). Gosling’s follow up to Barbie wouldn’t be predicted as this massive breakout the way Fall Guy is if the role wasn’t what people were looking for from him (essentially, the Ken-ification of Gosling).

 

This is really how it's always been. No actor is gonna be a draw in whatever role they play, but if they help sell an overarching creative vision I think that counts as starpower.

 

The "starpower is dead" narrative was always kind of reductive and shortsighted, but I do think it matters moreso now with all the previously reliable franchise IP machines in flux and studios now leaning more on personalities to draw interest to unproven products. Dune could very well have been a critically drubbed bomb if it didn't have the modern entry point that Tim and Zendaya bring.

 

Edited March 17 by AniNate

[MightyDargon]

"people outside EU don't like Dune" is the new "kids don't like Mario" which was the new "Avatar is culturally irrevelant".

[filmlover]

Gladiator 2 is definitely a wild card given its nature but it does have one heck of a strong cast to give it plenty of buzz (including Denzel in a rare supporting role and two members of the new Fantastic Four) so it's all going to come down to marketing and execution. Hoping it's a hit for Paul Mescal's sake since this is arguably the most high-profile gig he's landed to date.

[Bob Train]

18 minutes ago, Godzilla said:

Outside of established IP his movies have largely not done well. His female fanbase did not show up for Bones & All which flopped despite having a relatively low budget. 

Star Power doesn't mean any actor can draw any movie to profitability. Blade Runner had Harrison Ford hot off Star Wars and Indiana Jones but still flopped. Star power does still matter somewhat as movies like ABY and Beekeeper show. 

[MightyDargon]

Star power doesn't really matter except for VERY average movies that people ONLY watch because of a specific person. I'd argue that Sydney Sweeney romcom was an example. Things like Dune really aren't. Also Dreamworks probably shouldn't rely on big name voice actors for anything other than musicals (i.e. Trolls) or Shrek where they actually matter.

[MovieMan89]

1 hour ago, MightyDargon said:

"people outside EU don't like Dune" is the new "kids don't like Mario" which was the new "Avatar is culturally irrevelant".

Avatar IS culturally irrelevant. People are highly interested in experiencing those movies on the biggest screen possible though. Big difference.  
 

Kid interest in Nintendo branded stuff has been a sore spot for them in recent years, but I will say the Mario movie made huge strides for them in that respect and kids definitely got on board. 

[MightyDargon]

2 minutes ago, MovieMan89 said:

Avatar IS culturally irrelevant. People are highly interested in experiencing those movies on the biggest screen possible though. Big difference.  
 

Kid interest in Nintendo branded stuff has been a sore spot for them in recent years, but I will say the Mario movie made huge strides for them in that respect and kids definitely got on board. 

You REALLY want to die on the "kids don't like Mario" hill, don't you? 

[MovieMan89]

4 minutes ago, MightyDargon said:

You REALLY want to die on the "kids don't like Mario" hill, don't you? 

??? I literally said kids loved the Mario movie. As for before that? Yeah, Nintendo had plenty of data showing their target audience was skewing more and more adult and the number of under 18 demo of Switch owners is incredibly small given the massive 140m install base 

[Eric Furiosa]

Moderation

 

I know where this is going. We're not making any accusations nor doing any of this "kids don't like Mario" stuff again. Please end it here.