No James Bond has. The past three have actually been remarkably consistent at $160M - $168M. Who knows, maybe this will be the one to finally crest $200M.
Wkd Box Office Est. 068-1012 - Ripley says: Get away from #1 you afro circus!
- Thread starter xaosslug
- Start date
- Status
Why are you surprised?
No, unless you adjust for inflation. Although Thunderball is the 27th highest grossing movie ever adjusted for inflation, with $592M domestic. Just goes to show you how huge Bond was in the 60's.
Good Job Bob
Member
Movies where an elderly British guy beats people up.
Two other movies in 1965 made more money. Cinemas just had a larger audience in general. The adjusted list isn't really accurate for films before 1980 though.
Still doesn't make what I said inaccurate though - Bond was a cultural phenomenon in the 60's.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
James Bond really is the best kind of movie franchise. Sequeling a premise is hard. You really expect to believe John McClane got in the exact same fuckin' situation TWICE!? Kevin's family left him Home Alone AGAIN, ran into the same bad guys AGAIN, more goofy traps AGAIN!? You have to rehash/redo all the audience's favorite moments and characters, and you usually just end up with a tired uninspired redo, the kind you can't do too many of it.
Sequeling characters, on the other hand, is relatively easy. That's what John McTiernian realized when he made Die Hard With A Vengeance. You don't have to do Die Hard 1.3, people just want to see John McClane doing John McClane shit. He's a cop in NYC, you don't even have to jump through a lot of hoops to explain why the sequel is happening.
James Bond is the best example of this. The universal appeal of these films is the character of James Bond. His look is so malleable(with a variety of actors over half a century), he has a built in reason for sequels(he's got another mission of MI6, it's his job), the requirement to reinvent for new times and generations so easy, there's absolutely no reason we won't be seeing James Bond movies fifty years from now, with the right craft and caretaking.
And if anybody has paid even half attention to the kind of "caretaking" MGM has done over the past few decades, that's the part that kinda worries me. I always wonder how this series would fare in somebody's else hands. For a film series that could probably go on forever, they sure do find new ways to put the series in jeopardy or on ice over the years.
Sequeling characters, on the other hand, is relatively easy. That's what John McTiernian realized when he made Die Hard With A Vengeance. You don't have to do Die Hard 1.3, people just want to see John McClane doing John McClane shit. He's a cop in NYC, you don't even have to jump through a lot of hoops to explain why the sequel is happening.
James Bond is the best example of this. The universal appeal of these films is the character of James Bond. His look is so malleable(with a variety of actors over half a century), he has a built in reason for sequels(he's got another mission of MI6, it's his job), the requirement to reinvent for new times and generations so easy, there's absolutely no reason we won't be seeing James Bond movies fifty years from now, with the right craft and caretaking.
And if anybody has paid even half attention to the kind of "caretaking" MGM has done over the past few decades, that's the part that kinda worries me. I always wonder how this series would fare in somebody's else hands. For a film series that could probably go on forever, they sure do find new ways to put the series in jeopardy or on ice over the years.
I wish EON was big enough to just produce the films themselves. Instead they have stuck with MGM and gone through multiple bankruptcies.
To put it mildly.
A good weekend. Though I suspect Prometheus will drop like a stone next weekend. The WOM is just horrible.
MIB3 is nearing a solid US gross but I'm not sure that Snow White is going to finish up anywhere near the $150/160m threshold some were talking about just last week. I wonder if Universal would be happy with a North American take of $120/130m at most when it finishes it's run?
And Battleship continues to be a complete fucking disaster. Again the ramifications of this travesty may not be felt right away but somewhere in the Comcast HQ some executive is going fucking ballistic.
I don't think it will 'kill the studio' as some have melodramatically claimed but won't be good at all.
The Bond franchise is popular and successful no doubt but it is not considered a 'AAA' franchise by Hollywood. One of the reasons Sony wildly overspent on Quantum Of Solace is that they thought it could 'break out' and become a bigger hit. Instead it did the same business as Casino Royale.
I suspect Skyfall may do a little less than QOS and CR if it is, as some have suggested, a more 'cerebral' Bond film rather than having big action set pieces. It will still be a hit of course and, coming from a non Bond fan, may be the most critically acclaimed Bind film to date.
This is very true. I did not like Prometheus at all but it's a very technically accomplished film so from that point of view it is worth seeing on the big screen.
And supporting an adult sci-fi film with 'mature themes' (even if it does NOTHING with them) should be always recommended. Support your local gunslinger and all that.
MIB3 is nearing a solid US gross but I'm not sure that Snow White is going to finish up anywhere near the $150/160m threshold some were talking about just last week. I wonder if Universal would be happy with a North American take of $120/130m at most when it finishes it's run?
And Battleship continues to be a complete fucking disaster. Again the ramifications of this travesty may not be felt right away but somewhere in the Comcast HQ some executive is going fucking ballistic.
I don't think it will 'kill the studio' as some have melodramatically claimed but won't be good at all.
The Bond franchise is popular and successful no doubt but it is not considered a 'AAA' franchise by Hollywood. One of the reasons Sony wildly overspent on Quantum Of Solace is that they thought it could 'break out' and become a bigger hit. Instead it did the same business as Casino Royale.
I suspect Skyfall may do a little less than QOS and CR if it is, as some have suggested, a more 'cerebral' Bond film rather than having big action set pieces. It will still be a hit of course and, coming from a non Bond fan, may be the most critically acclaimed Bind film to date.
This is very true. I did not like Prometheus at all but it's a very technically accomplished film so from that point of view it is worth seeing on the big screen.
And supporting an adult sci-fi film with 'mature themes' (even if it does NOTHING with them) should be always recommended. Support your local gunslinger and all that.
Skyfall will 2 better than QoS in my mind for 2 simple reasons:
- though I personally love it, there is no denying that QoS had fairly toxic WOM (due to the rushed-to-beat-the-writers-strike script) that killed it quickly at the box office. Conversely, Skyfall has been baking slowly in the oven for years now and has A-list talent involved on almost every level of it.
- 4 years without Bond to build the audience's craving for it up.
I will be quite shocked if Skyfall isn't the most successful Bond movie yet.
EDIT: also, the teaser has been pretty much unanimously praised.
EDIT 2: however, Skyfall does have to overcome the negative reactions to QoS.
- though I personally love it, there is no denying that QoS had fairly toxic WOM (due to the rushed-to-beat-the-writers-strike script) that killed it quickly at the box office. Conversely, Skyfall has been baking slowly in the oven for years now and has A-list talent involved on almost every level of it.
- 4 years without Bond to build the audience's craving for it up.
I will be quite shocked if Skyfall isn't the most successful Bond movie yet.
EDIT: also, the teaser has been pretty much unanimously praised.
EDIT 2: however, Skyfall does have to overcome the negative reactions to QoS.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
In an ideal world(or just a world with less inept handlers), we'd be closer to 30 Bond films at this point. You got a series where people come to see the main character, a character who can go anywhere in the world(and sometimes outside the world!), who can do pretty much anything, you never really have to explain why there's a new movie, can LOOK like pretty much anyone as long as they can do a British accent, etc. Any other studio would kill to have a franchise that bullet-proof and that malleable. And yet it seems Bond fans have to cross their fingers and hope MGM gets out of the way so a Bond movie can be made.
movie was so fucking trash.
planar1280
Banned
Fyi
madagascar cinemascore was A
Prometheus cinemascore was B and was appealing heavily by men
madagascar cinemascore was A
Prometheus cinemascore was B and was appealing heavily by men
Good Job Bob
Member
I fucking <3'd Super 8.
After QOS it might be exactly what people want. Personally this is the first time I've ever been excited for a Bond film. Though I'm not a fan I do watch them mainly because I've never really connected with the series.
Change can do a franchise good. I just wonder how much change the audience for Bond want.
In some alternate universe Warner Bros bid for MGM was accepted and Skyfall is the first Bond film produced, financed and distributed by WB.
Just looked up Casino Royale and QoS, Casino Royale didnt have a lot of competition and the one relatively bad weekend for QoS was when ... fucking TWILIGHT opened. :O Otherwise QoS drops arent that bad actually.
Seriously what the fuck is up with Sony scheduling around Twilight tentpoles.
Seriously what the fuck is up with Sony scheduling around Twilight tentpoles.
Good Job Bob
Member
It's crazy how Casino Royale is the best Bond film ever and QoS is the worst Bond film ever.
Meh, I enjoyed QoS. GAF's hyperbole hate for it is as much as the love for CR.
Btw, a few more days for you before the glorious Whedon avatar comes off. Have you decided on your new avvy?
You are in the vast minority if you think QoS is worse than A View To A Kill, Die Another Day, or Moonraker.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I'll just settle for a Bond movie every other year or so that can get even close to CR. I really hope Skyfall is a sign of things to come.
I HATE QoS and I don't even think it makes my bottom five Bond films. AVTAK, Moonraker, MWTGG, the second half of DAD, TWINE...
Good Job Bob
Member
I have an idea.
Been a long time since I've watched those but I definitely feel QoS is worse. The script is trash and the editing is just fucking incomprehensible.
Realistically a Bond film ever three years seem more plausible. Two years just seems too tight a schedule to be churning out films of that size.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
I'm going to go see Prometheus in a day or two. I got spoilered once, I hope it doesn't ruin my experience.
You need to watch more Bond films.
Discotheque
Banned
I was sorely disappointed by QOS coming off of Casino Royale. I can't call it awful though, it's just merely decent. It was on par with Brosnan's sequels (though I prefer Tomorrow Never Dies over QOS)
They were able to do one every 2 years quite consistently from the 60's through the 80's. But films are such a bigger endeavour these days that I think a Bond film every 3 years is about the best you can expect if you want them to be good.
It would wager we'll see Bond 24 in 2015, Bond 25 in 2018 (followed by Craig's retirement at age 50), new Bond search in 2019-2020, Bond 26 in 2021.
shira
Member
He's getting too old. New Bond plz
ViewtifulJC
Banned
To get back to the topic of the week, I do kinda hope Prometheus does well. The screenplay is a hot mess, but if this shit flops, it's gonna be a long time before we see a "hard" sci-fi big budget, r-rated film of this caliber again, especially from Fox. For all it's many flaws, you can never fault it for lacking ambition or big ideas, and I like to see that kind and scale of filmmaking continue into the near future.
Just don't get the guy from Lost to write it.
Just don't get the guy from Lost to write it.
Prometheus isn't going to flop. It's budget is modest enough that it's going to be a success for the studio. If anything, I hope it shows studios you don't need to throw $2-250 million at a project to get a high caliber production. The script is shit, but that was on Lindelof. To be honest, who wasn't expecting that? Not to mention it had nothing to do with the budget.
planar1280
Banned
Good Job Bob
Member
How is 50M for an R-rated hard Sci-Fi film not well?
That's fucking phenomenal.
Lol, okay.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
The 3d definitely helps, and it's not the crappy post-conversion kind.
As I keep saying studios NEVER report the true budgets of their films.
But in saying that Fox are notoriously tight fisted when it come to their productions and while Prometheus didn't look cheap if you think about it there weren't that many locations, sets, cast etc.
I'm not saying it would have been cheap to make but it could have been made for a sensible budget. So I could believe a 'sub $150m' figure.
Maybe, but it may not do well enough to encourage more of these types of movies or FOX to do a sequel. A lot will depend on the international BO. If WOM is poor and the BO projections in North America continue to drop, this one could struggle to pass $100m domestically.
:lol
So you'll believe a movie that looked like shit, John Carter, cost north of $300M, but you won't believe that Prometheus, which looked amazing, cost south of $125M?
shira
Member
The Wachowskis will alway be g2g for R scifi.
Promethei would be good, prolly not going to be SRS and Lost guy though
Even if it had bad word of mouth, it won't struggle to pass $100M with a ~$50M opening in the summer. That said, user scores are not bad on most of the major movie sites, so I doubt the word of mouth is quite as bad as a few people are making it out to be. WOM is just not going to drive extra business.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Wait a minute
John Carter cost 300M?
...how? Where!?
John Carter cost 300M?
...how? Where!?
Good Job Bob
Member
Really not hard to believe considering they have entirely different teams and studios behind them.
You actually believe Fox is going to shell out 200m+ for an R rated hard Sci-Fi flick? Lol.
- Status