Weekend Actuals page 66 TA: 55.6m BS: 25.5m ; SW EP1 $293!

[AniNate]

John Carter had a guy who had directed two of the best animated films of the past decade. We won't know if that might've had an effect because they never mentioned it in the advertising.

[Ariadne]

This star manufacturing thing really got kick started with Colin Farrell in the early 2000s. Out of nowhere he was in all the big movies, with ginormous directors. Spielberg, Stone, Malick, Mann. But, he's still looking for a film that takes off just because he's in it. Maybe Total Recall? Nahhhhh.

Whenever these good looking actors appear and all of a sudden they're in all these big movies it makes me think, whose dick is he sucking?

[MovieMan89]

I've been saying "tracking, schmacking" for years...sometimes they get it right, but most of the time, they just steer you in the wrong direction. Even though I can be monumentally wrong at times, I will always trust my instincts over tracking since they work more often than not..

You just have to learn how to read tracking and it can actually work quite usefully. Hence where the "rule" comes in. I knew BS was going to open below $27m this weekend. How did I know that, besides all my better instincts telling me it was a bomb, that is? Because RS said mid 50's and MTC said 27. When MTC comes in that much lower than RS the movie opens below both of them the vast majority of the time. Now where that rule doesn't seem to work well at all is with the huge 130-140m+ openers, but otherwise I can't remember the last time its really failed.

[cookie]

^I remember Lorax went against the rs/mtc rule.

[AniNate]

Avengers did too

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

Avatar had James Cameron, Transformers had Transformers. What did John Carter or Battleship have?

JC: Andrew Stanton(Pixar...Finding Nemo, Wall-E)Battleship had....uh....Hancock Director...uh...a household name board game....uh....actually, I got nothing.

[Ariadne]

John Carter had a guy who had directed two of the best animated films of the past decade. We won't know if that might've had an effect because they never mentioned it in the advertising.

If the average joe doesn't know a Director's name and their movies are from a widly different genre, it's not going to make people see you're movie. If anything it may put them off.

[cookie]

Avengers did too

That's because mtc's too stubborn to predict anything above 140m. Edited May 19, 2012 by C00k13

[MovieMan89]

^I remember Lorax went against the rs/mtc rule.

Ah yes, I forgot to say animation, that's the other kicker. Never trust tracking with animation since those are basically impossible to track. Find me the last none $140m+, non animated movie the rule has failed on though. I know its been awhile.

[AniNate]

If the average joe doesn't know a Director's name and their movies are from a widly different genre, it's not going to make people see you're movie. If anything it may put them off.

Well, those movies were the reason he got the John Carter gig. Whatever justification they had for making that investment, they should've trusted the audience would understand it.

And Wall-E isn't that different. It's a sci-fi romance too, just less bloody and with robots.

Edited May 19, 2012 by tribefan695

[DAR]

JC: Andrew Stanton(Pixar...Finding Nemo, Wall-E)Battleship had....uh....Hancock Director...uh...a household name board game....uh....actually, I got nothing.

Berg has been involved in some good things in the past. The Kingdom and Friday Night Lights.

[TLK]

Avatar had James Cameron, Transformers had Transformers. What did John Carter or Battleship have?

Battleship had aliens and explosions. They were using the Transformers formula but it didn't work. To the credit of Universal, they have gone in the other direction with Snow White. A lot of people don't want Kristen Stewart for the role of Snow White but having Stewart and Hemsworth gives the movie star power and a shot at success. Can you imagine a big budget Snow White and The Huntsman movie with some unknown actors? Universal would've been completely doomed.

[cookie]

If the average joe doesn't know a Director's name and their movies are from a widly different genre, it's not going to make people see you're movie. If anything it may put them off.

I'm not sure if Battleship had much more going for it...

I mean, really?

[Ariadne]

JC: Andrew Stanton(Pixar...Finding Nemo, Wall-E)Battleship had....uh....Hancock Director...uh...a household name board game....uh....actually, I got nothing.

I'll be honest, I've never heard of Andrew Stanton and I know more about movies than the average person. This was his first live-action feature film - that isn't a draw.

[AniNate]

I'm not sure if Battleship had much more going for it...

I mean, really?

He was advertised as "the director of Hancock" in one of the German tv spots. But yeah, "studio that brought you Transformers" sounds really desperate.

[Ariadne]

Battleship had aliens and explosions. They were using the Transformers formula but it didn't work. To the credit of Universal, they have gone in the other direction with Snow White. A lot of people don't want Kristen Stewart for the role of Snow White but having Stewart and Hemsworth gives the movie star power and a shot at success. Can you imagine a big budget Snow White and The Huntsman movie with some unknown actors? Universal would've been completely doomed.

The whole premise of Battleship was ridiculous and lame - you need more than aliens and explosions and Rihanna.

[StarSaber]

TA should be over 16m in the morning. BAD for Battleship. [insert overused ship-related disaster pun here]

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

I'll be honest, I've never heard of Andrew Stanton and I know more about movies than the average person. This was his first live-action feature film - that isn't a draw.

I was reaching...obviously.

[AniNate]

I'll be honest, I've never heard of Andrew Stanton and I know more about movies than the average person. This was his first live-action feature film - that isn't a draw.

Well, it was for me. That was the reason I'd been defending the film in the face of all the negativity up to its release. After Wall-E I was down with whatever he was planning on next.

[cookie]

He was advertised as "the director of Hancock" in one of the German tv spots.

Because I want to associate one piece of shit with another piece of shit.Seriously, I hate that movie.