Weekend thread August 16th-18th Alien Romulus $6.5m previews

[Krissykins]

43 minutes ago, Kon said:

Is it really a win if the positive reaction doesn't attract new audience?

 

Yes, because it’s literally Saturday morning here. That audience demographic was for Friday night for a franchise film. Of course they’ll rush out.
 

Give the film a chance. We still have the whole theatrical run, then PVOD, then digital, then physical, then Disney+/Hulu for new audiences to give it a go. 

Edited August 17 by Krissykins

[JohnnyGossamer]

36 minutes ago, Kon said:

Studios weren't enough happy about Prometheus with 404.4M WW box office while the budget was 120-130M.

 

Now, you can say that the reception for Prometheus wasn't good, while the reception for Romulus seems better. However, good reception only matters if Romulus gets good legs.

Okay. Prometheus still got a 100M budget sequel greenlit within 3 years of its release and in theaters within 5 years.

[TomThomas]

37 minutes ago, Kon said:

Studios weren't enough happy about Prometheus with 404.4M WW box office while the budget was 120-130M.

 

Now, you can say that the reception for Prometheus wasn't good, while the reception for Romulus seems better. However, good reception only matters if Romulus gets good legs.

Yeah, I think we would've gotten a proper Prometheus sequel instead of Covenant if it did 100 mln more, maybe 400 mln wasn't enough to keep the course, even if those are excellent numbers for its genre.

 

Plus I think people greatly exaggarate Prometheus negative reception. 7.0 imdb, 64 metacritic and 72% RT after 12 years and is not bad at all, especially for a horror genre and legs weren't anywhere near terrible, it's actually positive reception with some loud detractors. In fact, Romulus is not even a big improvement against those numbers, in 2 years it'll have similar imdb score and its metacritic score is the same as Prometheus, so it's hardly some big return to form people pretend it is.

[JohnnyGossamer]

Only a minority is trumpeting some Alien or Aliens level return to form. Rational people are simply stating this franchise with a 100M~ budget is still very much viable theatrical presence that it'll turn a profit with said budget. Similar but not much different than what people are saying with the latest Apes and the latest Twister. I expect theatrically released sequels for all 3. None have been huge in profits theatrically but all are breaking even/turning profits theatrically before PVOD, etc. revenue streams are even considered. 

 

40M~ OW DOM/100M~ OW WW is unquestionably for an 80M~ budget Alien sequel. I'm not sure why this is even being debated. We're not saying it's a mega hit or anything. But, certainly a considerably better result than stuff like Fall Fuy and Furiosa that came earlier this summer. 

Edited August 17 by JohnnyGossamer

[TomThomas]

37 minutes ago, JohnnyGossamer said:

Okay. Prometheus still got a 100M budget sequel greenlit within 3 years of its release and in theaters within 5 years.

Kinda. Prometheus didn't get a proper sequel though, they cancelled it after 2 years of development. What we got is sort of pseudo-sequel with mostly new cast that kills off direction of its predecessor on 30+ mln lower budget, which doesn't scream studio's satisfaction with Prometheus results.

[filmnerdjamie]

37 minutes ago, JohnnyGossamer said:

Okay. Prometheus still got a 100M budget sequel greenlit within 3 years of its release and in theaters within 5 years.

 

That is true.

 

But that's because Sir Ridley had major career heat post-The Martian (Fox ultimately chose that over Neil Blomkamp's Aliens legacy sequel with a returning Sigourney Weaver) and he agreed to make a sequel that "gave the fans what they wanted" while also agreeing to a tighter budget compared to Prometheus.

[TomThomas]

19 minutes ago, JohnnyGossamer said:

Only a minority is trumpeting some Alien or Aliens level return to form. Rational people are simply stating this franchise with a 100M~ budget is still very much viable theatrical presence that it'll turn a profit with said budget.

I'm not sure about minority, I've seen many headlines and discussions about some grand return to form after prequels which is not exactly true, judging purely by numbers.

[JohnnyGossamer]

Just now, TomThomas said:

I'm not sure about minority, I've seen many headlines and discussions about some grand return to form after prequels which is not exactly true, judging purely by numbers.

Anecdotally, look at the reviews here. Otherwise, look at the CinemaScore, Letterbox, RT Audience Score, etc. People think it's better than the last 3 but not some monumental return. So maybe a vocal minority... But, yeah, I think you're very much stretching here. 

[vale9001]

If disney can spend 100M + for D+ exclusive releases like Pinocchio or Disenchanted i think in this era for movies are from well know IP making the double of the budget is already a success... the movie will find an audience cause there will always be someone start to see a saga and watches all the movies. This is why they are more obsessed than ever with sequels and prequels and universes.

 

I know this kinda makes the "box office game" less fun cause the zone of what it a success is now very gray but it's what it is. 

Streaming platform release a 50M budgeted original movie every week and then we are here to decide if the box office of similar budgeted movies are a success or not cause they were released on the big screen too?.

 

All the platforms are owned by the same studios release the movie on theaters. Focusing only on the box office it's like if Warner when it's about music only see how much money an artist makes with the physical sales of an album and not streaming, concerts, merchandising etc... 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 17 by vale9001

[filmlover]

It ended up being a pretty good summer for Disney giving new life to 20th Century properties and treating Fox era IP well. I imagine that Devil Wears Prada sequel is going to be given the fast track for a Summer 2026 release to coincide with the original's 20th anniversary.

Edited August 17 by filmlover

[JohnnyGossamer]

7 minutes ago, TomThomas said:

Kinda. Prometheus didn't get a proper sequel though, they cancelled it after 2 years of development. What we got is sort of pseudo-sequel with mostly new cast that kills off direction of its predecessor on 30+ mln lower budget, which doesn't scream studio's satisfaction with Prometheus results.

Mostly new cast? Everyone save Fassbender and Rapace were dead. Fass was just a head at the end of Prometheus I think even...

[wildphantom]

2 hours ago, TomThomas said:

Disney is the last studio that cares about reaction, they would've prefered 20% more with mixed reception. Money is money.

recent changes at every level in what films they’re making would beg to differ. 

[Kon]

53 minutes ago, Krissykins said:

Yes, because it’s literally Saturday morning here. That audience demographic was for Friday night for a franchise film. Of course they’ll rush out.
 

Give the film a chance. We still have the whole theatrical run, then PVOD, then digital, then physical, then Disney+/Hulu for new audiences to give it a go. 

 

You're right about this. I should wait to see what happen to the box office.

 

It's always possible Alien Romulus's good reception will attract new audience and have good legs.

[Kon]

21 minutes ago, vale9001 said:

If disney can spend 100M + for D+ exclusive releases like Pinocchio or Disenchanted i think in this era for movies are from well know IP making the double of the budget is already a success... the movie will find an audience cause there will always be someone start to see a saga and watches all the movies. This is why they are more obsessed than ever with sequels and prequels and universes.

 

I know this kinda makes the "box office game" less fun cause the zone of what it a success is now very gray but it's what it is. 

Streaming platform release a 50M budgeted original movie every week and then we are here to decide if the box office of similar budgeted movies are a success or not cause they were released on the big screen too?.

 

All the platforms are owned by the same studios release the movie on theaters. Focusing only on the box office it's like if Warner when it's about music only see how much money an artist makes with the physical sales of an album and not streaming, concerts, merchandising etc... 

 

 

 

Disney isn't doing that anymore. That's why Moana 2 or Lilo&Stitch live action have been turn into theatrical movies now.

 

Pinocchio and Disenchanted happened on a moment where studios believed streaming could be extremely profitable (and even replace theatrical profits). It's pretty clear studios don't believe that anymore.

 

Disney is focusing movies on theaters again. They are also turning streaming movies into theatrical movies.

 

 

PS: It seems Alien Romulus was originally planned as a streaming movie, but they decided to turn it into a theatrical movie.

Edited August 17 by Kon

[TomThomas]

16 minutes ago, JohnnyGossamer said:

Mostly new cast? Everyone save Fassbender and Rapace were dead. Fass was just a head at the end of Prometheus I think even...

That's why I said mostly, only Fassbender returned, and I guess Guy Pierce for a small cameo. Rapace was supposed to be one of leads obviously, but they killed her off-screen. So it's essentially new cast + Fassbender.

[Jaxon5]

2 hours ago, TomThomas said:

Yeah, but I think sequel could've still happened at least on streaming if Garland wanted it, but he implied he had a terrible experience making it and wouldn't want to come back despite initial plans for a trilogy.

Damn shame that. They did so well with the limited budget too

[kayumanggi]

 

[Eric the Marxist]

 

[JohnnyGossamer]

2 minutes ago, Kon said:

 

Disney isn't doing that anymore. That's why Moana 2 or Lilo&Stitch live action are theatrical now.

 

Pinocchio and Disenchanted happened on a moment where studios believe streaming could be extremely profitable (and even replace theatrical profits). It's pretty clear studios don't believe that anymore.

 

Disney is focusing movies on theaters again. They are also turning streaming movies into theatrical movies.

Which makes it even more likely that a theatrically profitable Romulus will get another Alien the greenlight.

[Kon]

8 minutes ago, JohnnyGossamer said:

Which makes it even more likely that a theatrically profitable Romulus will get another Alien the greenlight.

My point was that streaming isn't so profitable for studios, so expectatives on that covering a smaller box office seems a bit unreal.

 

Now, I agree we will have another Alien movie. I'm just not sure the studio will be happy enough to not realize another complete change of direction.

 

That said, Romulus seems more auto-conclusive. So, they may not need a direct continuation.

Edited August 17 by Kon