Wednesday Estimates: Mad 3 - 5.7 ; Prom - 4 ; SWATH - 2.4

[yads]

I think that's the key point. Alien fans had seen all of the trailers, knew all of the back story and references etc.

I know Alien fans who were CONVINCED it was gonna be a great movie. I've argued repeatedly that there was no logic to back it up: his last movie was Robin Hood, he's in his mid 70s now, with the writer of Lost. It just didn't tally.But the trailers, viral stuff, it all made it look like maybe they were right.At this point I just hope the director's cut is better. I've reconciled that I'm never gonna love this movie, but hopefully with the director's cut I'll at least like it. Edited June 14, 2012 by yads

[Punishment]

Prometheus $4,075,776 -19%Snow White and the Huntsman $2,400,090 -19%Men in Black 3 $1,648,982 -15%Marigold Hotel $489,281 -12%What to Expect When You're Expecting $394,862 -16%Battleship $272,595 -4%Moonrise Kingdom $230,266 -1%

Edited June 14, 2012 by Punishment

[jb007]

The Avengers - $1,349,418 (-12.8%)

[Olive]

Movie Gross % Change Theaters Total Gross Days- (2) Prometheus $4,075,776 -19% 3,396 $65,333,228 6- (3) Snow White and the Huntsman $2,400,090 -19% 3,777 $106,585,985 13- (4) Men in Black 3 $1,648,982 -15% 3,792 $141,127,949 20

[druv10]

The Avengers - $1,349,418 (-12.8%)

Great hold for it.

[Moviefanatic]

Poor RTX. Can't wait to see how you act when it crosses 600 million.

[Plain Old Tele]

I know Alien fans who were CONVINCED it was gonna be a great movie.

Expectations are a terrible, terrible thing. I'm not sure how I would've reacted had I seen it completely cold, without knowing anything whatsoever. But, as it turns out, I had gotten a sense of the mixed buzz beforehand -- so I didn't have it in a pedestal. I just laughed at the stuff I thought was silly and enjoyed the stuff I thought was cool.And really, with a couple of character moments later in the film, I think it would actually be a very strong movie. I have no idea if they were even scripted or not, but I'm curious at what ends up in the extended cut. Scott occasionally is a little too ruthless when it comes to tightening a film up, and he may well have removed things that would improve the areas I had problems with. Or maybe they never even bothered shooting 'em -- who knows?

[RTX]

4 5 Marvel's The Avengers Buena Vista 2,582 -547 -17.5% 7

I was off by 153, but it's slightly bigger drop than last week.

[Punishment]

4 5 Marvel's The Avengers Buena Vista 2,582 -547 -17.5% 7

I was off by 153, but it's slightly bigger drop than last week.

SM dropped -533 and IM dropped -528 for the same weekend, pretty much in line.

[ecstasy]

SM dropped -533 and IM dropped -528 for the same weekend, pretty much in line.

LOL He said it would lose 700+ theaters.

[spazz91]

good to see TA still doing over $1m weekdays.

[yads]

Expectations are a terrible, terrible thing.

They are.The one great thing about the SW prequels: I'll never again assume any movie is bound to be great before I see it. A lot of people will probably learn that lesson from Prometheus.

[doublejack]

First, is it just me or was today's hold for TA better than expected? This is setting up for a good weekend, I think.

I agree that those two movies are better than Prometheus. But huh??? How does that make it an inferior film? Not having answers makes it inferior? What?

Because it's trivial to develop a story that creates ambiguities and contradictions without offering up any answers. The reason is that it drives viewers to think back "did I miss something?" The answer is no, nothing was missed. It just wasn't there. It's a cheap trick, a cop out. You're led to believe there's a deeper meaning than what's really offered.Sixth Sense and Inception, in contrast, actually contain clues along the way. While they're subtle and easily overlooked, they're there. Repeat viewings reveal more of the story. Meanwhile I can watch Prometheus another 100 times and be no further ahead. It's 30% of a story.The same principle applies to books. Catcher in the Rye and Fall of the House of Usher for example pose questions, and analyzing the work you can make sense of it all and figure out what's going on and what message the author is conveying. That's why they're classics and considered mandatory reading. If you just skim the surface you're missing out.

See this is problem I have with some people who complain about Prome...no one wants to think about anything, no one wants to have to use their brain to come up with thoughts or conclusions on their own, everyone wants everything shoved down their throat or completely obvious, no one wants to have to pay too much attention (that example you gave people are tweeting and Facebook updating in the middle of the damn movie for crying out loud!), too many (younger) people can't even sit in a movie and pay attention without texting or talking, etc, etc. also, obviously when I say no one and everyone I'm just talking generally and not literally - and there are some legitimate issues with the story and movie and I'm not talking about those people...I'm talking more the examples like Totem just gave.

Sort of, but not really. My problem with Prometheus is that it is a pretender. It is a movie with an identity crisis.Is it a horror film? Definitely not IMO. It is lacking in suspense and doom, unlike Alien.Is it an action film? Definitely not. It's much too slow and plodding.Is it a techno-thriller? Nope. It wants to be I believe, but it lacks the depth of films that truly fit this genre (2001: ASO, Inception, Moon, Source Code, etc.) Prometheus leaves everything unresolved.I'd be OK with the open ended nature of Prometheus if it were a horror or action film. Since it aims to be more of a techno-thriller, it's lack of answers means it missed the mark. Badly.

I can understand why someone might not like PROMETHEUS.... but I don't get how you would be confused by it. It's really not all that complicated at all. I mean, I didn't INCEPTION was all that complicated either, you just needed to pay close attention. But you don't even need to pay close attention to follow PROMETHEUS's basic story, and it's not like there are giant twists or anything.

Exactly right, but that *is* the problem. So many are confused because they think they missed something. Scott probably wants us all to think that we did. The fact that we didn't means we've all been punked.

[Punishment]

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted $5,753,661 -19%

Edited June 14, 2012 by Punishment

[Punishment]

[Noctis]

Oh, SM1 is definitely going down.

[doublejack]

TA down 28% from last week. That's sexy!

[Deep Wang]

Sixth Sense and Inception, in contrast, actually contain clues along the way. While they're subtle and easily overlooked, they're there. Repeat viewings reveal more of the story.

This. Especially Inception.The movie doesn't hide a single detail, everything you need to figure stuff out, is presented to you. If you were like me, you wanted to watch it again to try and figure out what was up with the ending. Was it real, was it a dream. Every person I talked to had their own interpretation of it. It comes from you and what you think happens.Prometheus is like a bag of ideas that dropped on the floor and spilled everywhere. Some rolled under the couch and were forgotten about, while others were picked up and put on display.

[Gideon]

no one wants to have to pay too much attention (that example you gave people are tweeting and Facebook updating in the middle of the damn movie for crying out loud!), too many (younger) people can't even sit in a movie and pay attention without texting or talking, etc, etc.

These kind of attitudes is shocking.People do that, really?Updating twitter accounts or something?Don't know if it's because i'm not a teenager anymore but i NEVER use my phone in theatre for texting or whatever.I don't even want to know what hour it is, or if the movie will "end" soon...Movie begins: I leave "our world".End credits end: I come back to "our world".When the movie is on, you can forget me, shall you be family, friends or co-workers. Edited June 14, 2012 by Gideon

[Ozymandias]

First, is it just me or was today's hold for TA better than expected? This is setting up for a good weekend, I think.Because it's trivial to develop a story that creates ambiguities and contradictions without offering up any answers. The reason is that it drives viewers to think back "did I miss something?" The answer is no, nothing was missed. It just wasn't there. It's a cheap trick, a cop out. You're led to believe there's a deeper meaning than what's really offered.Sixth Sense and Inception, in contrast, actually contain clues along the way. While they're subtle and easily overlooked, they're there. Repeat viewings reveal more of the story. Meanwhile I can watch Prometheus another 100 times and be no further ahead. It's 30% of a story.The same principle applies to books. Catcher in the Rye and Fall of the House of Usher for example pose questions, and analyzing the work you can make sense of it all and figure out what's going on and what message the author is conveying. That's why they're classics and considered mandatory reading. If you just skim the surface you're missing out.Sort of, but not really. My problem with Prometheus is that it is a pretender. It is a movie with an identity crisis.Is it a horror film? Definitely not IMO. It is lacking in suspense and doom, unlike Alien.Is it an action film? Definitely not. It's much too slow and plodding.Is it a techno-thriller? Nope. It wants to be I believe, but it lacks the depth of films that truly fit this genre (2001: ASO, Inception, Moon, Source Code, etc.) Prometheus leaves everything unresolved.I'd be OK with the open ended nature of Prometheus if it were a horror or action film. Since it aims to be more of a techno-thriller, it's lack of answers means it missed the mark. Badly.Exactly right, but that *is* the problem. So many are confused because they think they missed something. Scott probably wants us all to think that we did. The fact that we didn't means we've all been punked.

I like having 30% of story if its done properly and doesn't hit a brick wall while reamaining a very enjoyable film. One thing I love about Prometheus is that its gonna keep my thinking about it until the sequel. Personally, I think its got more than 30% of a story because I've come up with very coherent conclusions for myself, but If I'm wrong when the sequel comes out, then great.The comparison to Inception is bogus. That film clearly feeds you all the answers with a spoon, you just have to pay attention. Plus, its aimed at the hip teenage/early 20s college crowd(the millennials), whereas Prometheus is a throw back to old school scifi. Edited June 14, 2012 by Shpongle