box office | the m0vie blog

Twilight of the Stars?

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Darren

I’ve been thinking a bit of late about movie stars. Are we reaching the end of the star-driven era of Hollywood stars? What got me thinking about it was the news of Tony Scott’s upcoming Unstoppable – a movie about a runaway train starring Denzel Washington, who has been one of Scott’s most consistent collaborators in the past. I loved Denzel Washington – and I loved Crimson Tide and, to a lesser extent, Man on Fire. And yet, I have absolutely no urge to see the film. It isn’t a “must see” simply because of the talent or skill involved. And, being honest, I don’t think I’m alone. There would have been a time years ago when a name on a marque would have marked a film as “must see”. I am beginning to suspect that the era of “star power” might be slowly passing.

Am I Cloo(ney)ed into something?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: actors, box office, celebrities, denzel washington, film stars, films, george clooney, hollywood, julia roberts, Movie, movie stars, stars | 13 Comments »

Why Inception Matters…

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Darren

I spent a great deal of last weekend heavily anticipating the box office figures for Inception. Of money it makes won’t change the fact that I think it’s an amazing film, but it will affect the impact that Christopher Nolan’s latest will have on the movie industry. And that, my friends, is very important. In fact, I’d go out on a limb and suggest that Inception might be the most important summer blockbuster of the decade, and possibly longer.

More movies like Inception? Hopefully not just in my dreams...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: audiences, big budget, blockbusters, box office, challenges, Christopher Nolan, dumbing down, films, hollywood, ideas, Inception, Movies, smart, studios, Warner Brothers, why inception matters | 6 Comments »

Man of Iron, Feet of Clay: Nothing Succeeds Like Success…

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Darren

A little while ago, I mumbled something about how ‘failure’ didn’t really mean much, despite how often the term was thrown around in discussions about films like Watchmen and Kick-Ass. They generally made their money back, received cult attention and didn’t enter the history books as massive wastes of time or energy – which I figured was kinda fair given that neither example was a box office bomb in the style of, say, Motherhood, Uma Thurman’s last film (opening weekend of £88 at the UK box office – I’m not kidding and I didn’t omit an ‘m’). Still, it looks like success isn’t a particularly better deal, given what is circulating on the web regarding Iron Man 2 and its opening weekend – just shy of $130m, I believe. When is success not success?

There may be blood in the water... but Ivan isn't the only shark circling...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2D, 3d, box office, box office records, cinema, failure, films, iron man, iron man 2, Movies, records, success, thor | 4 Comments »

What Does Box Office Failure Even Mean these Days?

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Darren

It’s already happening. We’re already calling Kick-Ass a failure. Even though it managed to narrowly slide into first place at the US Box Office over the weekend, there are tonnes of pundits ready to dogpile on top of it and describe it as the most epic kind of failure. It seems to be a cyclical experience every time that a big geek film emerges, that has experienced a large amount of pre-release hype on the old interweb: Snakes on a Plane, Watchmen and Grindhouse among others. So how come Hollywood keeps pandering to a niche that never seems to show up?

Did Kick-Ass get its ass kicked? Should we call it Ass-Kick?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: box office, economics, failure, films, geeks, grindhouse, hobo with a shotgun, hollywood, home video, kick-ass, machete, Movies, nerds, snakes on a plane, studios, watchmen | 13 Comments »

Uma Thurman’s Motherhood Makes £88 In It’s Opening Weekend…

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Darren

It’s karma for Batman & Robin. It has to be.

Even the baby clearly wasn't on board for this marketing push...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: £88, box office, film, film flops, flops, motherhood, Movies, uma thurman | 2 Comments »

Bah Humbug! Are We Past the Point Where Technical Wizardry Can Amaze?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Darren

Hmm… I bet Robert Zemickas was expecting a somewhat bigger reaction for the release of the first trailer for his version of A Christmas Carol (aka Jim Carrey plays almost everyone), the follow-up to The Polar Express (aka Tom Hanks plays everyone), than the collective ‘meh’ that it received. I’ve watched the trailer and it looks technically magnificent (and I’m sure it’ll be even more technically impressive in 3D) – but why should I care? If I’m going to put on a pair of glasses and look at something beautiful until it give me a mild headache, shouldn’t I at least be looking at something interesting and intriguing of itself? Are we past the point where technical wonders alone are enough to lure the geeks out in droves?

Here's hoping Santa can bring Zemickis a 150% return on his investment...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, a christmas carol, animation, audiences, avatar, box office, cgi, digital, films, final fantasy, final fantasy: the spirits within, first, groundbreaking, heaven's gate, imax, james cameron, jim carrey, pioneering, pixar, robert zemickis, star trek, technical, technical wizardry, the final destination, the polar express, toy story | 1 Comment »

It Was the Summer of ’09… BIGGEST. SUMMER. EVER…

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Darren

Well, at least one of my predictions worked out. Waaaay back when this blog was just starting I called this year to be the biggest summer at the American Box Office ever and – with one weekend still to go – I was right about that one.

Well, I was due after Shutter Island was moved to February scuttling my Oscar forecast. Now, if the Academy could come around to nomination Inglourious Basterds (yeah, right!), I might forgive them for that whole fiasco with The Reader.

I’m quite proud of myself, but that isn’t really a good enough reason to post (at least on its own), so I’ve brought some facts and figures and observations below.

Christian Bale isn't going to happy about this...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbusters, box office, films, finances, money, Movies, summer, summer 2009, summer blockbusters | Leave a comment »

G.I. Joe teams up with Uncle Sam…

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

I’ll admit it. In my defense, I’m suitably ashamed. But I am a little bit interested in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Yes, I know – deep down in my heart – that it will be terrible. No, I was not a fan of the television show, nor the toys – so I have no defense. I am a fan of Christopher Eccleston and I always have been, so my faith in him is on the line. And Stephen Sommers is the guy behind the two really good Mummy films, right? Still, the most interesting aspect of the production (amid all the rumours and gossip, the leaked reviews – both good and bad) is the approach that the studio is taking to marketing. Some movies – like The Dark Knight or Tron: Legacy or Cloverfield – go the subtle, nuanced approach of viral marketing. They create an emersive, engaging experience. G.I. Joe, on the other hand, is not subtle. The marketing team seems to be hammering home on single message: if you don’t dig this movie, you just ain’t patriotic enough.

No Dennis Quaid, you can't out act him... He's Christopher Eccleston!

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: andrews air base, audience, blockbusters, box office, critics, films, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, gi joe, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, middle america, military, Movies, patriotism, politics, premiere, previews, republicans, reviews, rise of cobra, stephen sommers, uncle sam | 1 Comment »

I Love You, Roger Ebert…

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Darren

There’s a lot of trash talk out there about Roger Ebert. Is he going soft in his old age? Is he wrong to ‘go easy’ on really terrible films? I don’t know and I don’t care, because the man is some sort of legend. Sure, I may disagree with his opinion from time (I don’t buy his argument against 3D, for example, and there are quite a few movies on which he and I diverge), but I always find his comments insightful, well considered and respectful. That’s something a lot of film critics these days who seem to use their reviews to make pith putdowns and blithe one-liners could learn from – and I am looking at you, David Edelstein. Still, he ain’t a man to pull his punches, and that’s another reason I love him so dearly. His latest attack was on those who dared deem Transformers 2 a good movie – or even defend it as “as good as it could have been”. The article can be read here and is well worth a look for anyone interested in the man or his artform, or even movies in general.

Some man for one man...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbusters, box office, criticism, critics, critiques, ebert, film criticism, film critics, film reviews, i am a brainiac, roger ebert, transformers 2 | 1 Comment »

Who Critiques the Critics?

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Darren

The ability of Transformers 2 to succeed so massively even with the godawful reviews that it is receiving has prompted yet another introspective look at the role that critics do, should and must play in the movie business. It’s a bout the right time of year – last year David Edelstein’s bitchy tirade against a certain blockbuster received such a vigorous lambasting that the author himself had to post an article in defense of his review, prompting other commentators to ask if the critics are out of touch with the public. I didn’t do film studies or go to journalism school. I didn’t do a term-long module on the role of the critic in the arts. Sure, it might sound like a simple enough role – you critique, it’s all there in the verb – but should you try to tell people if they’ll like the movie, or simply whether you did? If you know you hold a minority opinion, should you make some sort of concession to that? I don’t know, but the question interests me greatly.