Support NeoGAF

[Bobby Roberts]

Whoever ok'ed putting Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis in the center of a massively overbudgeted movie should be fired. This is "Movie Economics 101."

I feel like the "massively overbudgeted" part played a way bigger role in the amount of money it's going to lose than whether or not Channing Tatum was in it.

People don't really go to movies because "movie stars" are in them. That era died about 20 years ago. Which is partially why people cacking on Jeff Bridges for not putting asses in seats is weird, too. Jeff Bridges isn't a box-office draw. Never really has been. Nobody's buying tickets to movies because Jeff Bridges is in them.

Concepts and Brands sell tickets now. You think Spongebob killed because it's a brilliant animated film? It killed because Spongebob is a known entity, and a LIKED known entity.

 

[JDSN]

Who..................lives in a pineapple under the sea?

The Watchwoskis after this bomba.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

The idea that directors who obviously give this much of a shit about telling stories are somehow "hacks" doesn't make any sense. Hacks don't have ambition at all. They don't care to have ambition. They just do what they're handed and they don't care whether it works or not. That's what a "hack" is.

The Wachowskis have a weird, varied, somewhat crazy filmography. Hacks don't have one of those.

Besides which, it sounds like there's a lot of people in this thread who haven't seen Bound if they think the only thing of worth the Wachowskis have ever done is The Matrix. And I feel like they should get some measure of credit for making the best ever live-action anime adaptation in Speed Racer - for whatever that distinction is worth.

Bound and The Matrix are their best films and it isn't even close, IMO.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Does that even hold any weight anymore?

It's a 'brand' synonymous with 'big budget special effects action' but yeah, I can't imagine it's part of the audience draw. Maybe if they go back to making noir thrillers they'll print 'hey at least Bound is still watchable!' on the posters.

The under 20 crowd has possibly not heard of the matrix - yes that is actually true and I typed that.

The under-20 crowd were toddlers when the first Matrix film came out.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Bound and The Matrix are their best films and it isn't even close, IMO.

I really, really wish they'd take a run at more crimey shit.

Adapt an Elmore Leonard book or something. Fuck it.

I could see 'em doing Tishomingo Blues.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

JA cost $170 million to make. Now we know that Chaning Tatum is not attracting crowds, at least not young ones.

This is a total marketing failure considering the movie looks like it was made for the Twilight teenage crowd.

Exactly. This should have been marketed very heavily towards teenage girls.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

After Earth cost close to $50M less, opened $9M higher, and was still considered a flop. Jupiter Ascending has zero chance of recovering that budget, even if overseas grosses are stronger.

Damn, where do the Wachowski's go from there?

This has to signal the end of them getting such huge budget movies greenlit. Crazy that they even managed to get this off the ground after how their last couple of movies did.

 

[mreddie]

Next week will be another interesting week with 50 Shades likely destroying everything and Kingsman getting good buzz because after that...oof.

 

[Crud]

So we getting another Matrix?

 

[Slayven]

It's a 'brand' synonymous with 'big budget special effects action' but yeah, I can't imagine it's part of the audience draw. Maybe if they go back to making noir thrillers they'll print 'hey at least Bound is still watchable!' on the posters.



The under-20 crowd were toddlers when the first Matrix film came out.

Kids that were born the year the Matrix came out are damn near old enough to vote

 

[megamerican]

The Wachowski's need to stop writing their own stuff. They have a great visual style, and they can direct action, but their writing is somehow both pretentious and dumb at the same time.

I'm guessing the studio had more control oversight on the first Matrix, which is why it's a tighter film than anything they've done since.

 

[jett]

Damn, where do the Wachowski's go from there?

This has to signal the end of them getting such huge budget movies greenlit. Crazy that they even managed to get this off the ground after how their last couple of movies did.

They've been developing a TV show for Netflix for several years now. It comes out on April, it's called Sense8.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I'm guessing the studio had more control oversight on the first Matrix, which is why it's a tighter film than anything they've done since.

I don't believe this is actually the case. I think it's just that they worked on the screenplay for the Matrix for a REALLY long time before they finally got to shoot it.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Seventh Son

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $7,101,000 7.8%
+ Foreign: $83,600,000 92.2%
= Worldwide: $90,701,000

 

[alfredofroylan]

The idea that directors who obviously give this much of a shit about telling stories are somehow "hacks" doesn't make any sense. Hacks don't have ambition at all. They don't care to have ambition. They just do what they're handed and they don't care whether it works or not. That's what a "hack" is.

The Wachowskis have a weird, varied, somewhat crazy filmography. Hacks don't have one of those. .

Truth but ambition alone is not enough to bring audiences to the theaters, they lack direction and focus, sure I know a lot of people that admire ambition and can stand their movies, but most audiences have left the Wachowski ship since Revolutions.

 

[Currygan]

another expected clean sweep for the Hackowski

 

[Insane Metal]

Holy shit @ Jupiter Ascending, that is a huge flop.

 

[kulapik]

Jupiter Ascending bombed,? I AM SHOCKED

 

[X05]

I'm still surprised at American Sniper.
It's totally going to become 2014's #1, right?

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Truth but ambition alone is not enough to bring audiences to the theaters

No doubt. Ambition without the ability to realize the potential of the story just means you have an ambitious mess. You don't get points for trying hard if you can't actually come through with the goods, yunno? But whether or not people come to the movies has no bearing on their being "hacks," either, which is what I was responding to.

The Wachowskis have been overreaching for awhile now, obviously. And people aren't responding to their output anymore. But that doesn't make them "hacks" at all. It just makes the people calling them as such not too good at knowing what the words they use actually mean.

Then again this is a thread where people consistently burp up the word bomba, so words and their meanings are valued about as much as a filmmaker's ambition

 

[ryutaro's mama]

I really, really wish they'd take a run at more crimey shit.

Adapt an Elmore Leonard book or something. Fuck it.

I could see 'em doing Tishomingo Blues.

Yeah this need to recapture the "Matrix Magic" is what is killing their careers. Everything doesn't need to be a CGI feast for the eyes. Dial it back and explore some other stories to tell.

 

[Fudgepuppy]

This seems like the year of box office bombs. Blackhat, Mortdecai, Jupiter Ascending, maybe Kingsman.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Can't say I'm surprised about JA. It just didn't look appealing. Tatum looks goofy as hell in it too. I wonder if the WB will keep the Wachowski's in the fold and give them a lesser DC property to work with.

Also what are the odds that American Sniper finishes as one of the 2 or 3 top grossing films of the entire year? Amazing for a movie that launched in January.

 

[Ridley327]

JA cost $170 million to make. Now we know that Chaning Tatum is not attracting crowds, at least not young ones.



Exactly. This should have been marketed very heavily towards teenage girls.

Channing Tatum is a box office draw, but even Tom Cruise couldn't make elf ears and a goatee work. Hell, we already have proof of the former with how much of a flop Legend was back in the day. Nothing gets people less interested in a big star when they're made up to look nothing like them.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

CAlso what are the odds that American Sniper finishes as one of the 2 or 3 top grossing films of the entire year? Amazing for a movie that launched in January.

It'll hit the top 3 no doubt. Question is whether it'll top Hunger Games. Seems really, really likely.

 

[Slayven]

Can't say I'm surprised about JA. It just didn't look appealing. Tatum looks goofy as hell in it too. I wonder if the WB will keep the Wachowski's in the fold and give them a lesser DC property to work with.

Also what are the odds that American Sniper finishes as one of the 2 or 3 top grossing films of the entire year? Amazing for a movie that launched in January.

2014 or 2015?

 

[kswiston]

Can't say I'm surprised about JA. It just didn't look appealing. Tatum looks goofy as hell in it too. I wonder if the WB will keep the Wachowski's in the fold and give them a lesser DC property to work with.

Also what are the odds that American Sniper finishes as one of the 2 or 3 top grossing films of the entire year? Amazing for a movie that launched in January.

It will be recorded as a 2014 film, even if 99% of its gross will be from 2015. Similar to how Avatar grossed more in 2010 than anything actually released in 2010, but counts as a 2009 film.

Comparing it to 2015 films, #3 is the absolute best it can hope for. There's next to zero chance that Avengers 2 and Star Wars 7 will fail to clear $400M domestic.

EDIT: If you are talking about 2014 films, it is already #3, and will have to be pulled from theatres in the next 2-3 weeks to miss the #1 spot. American Sniper will break the $300M mark by next Sunday at the latest.

 

[Trey]

That Cloud Atlas movie was probably as good as an adaption of that book was ever going to be, and that Speed Racer movie was definitely as good as an adaption of fucking Speed Racer was ever going to be.

We'll always have the Matrix, and I have no choice but to support big budget sci fi fantasy projects. Not a whole lot of those being made. I am impressed (and surprised) they keep getting money to make these bombs, however. Must give really good pitches.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

They've been developing a TV show for Netflix for several years now. It comes out on April, it's called Sense8.

Hmm, will keep an eye out for that.

Maybe their future will lay in TV should it prove to be a success?

 

[duckroll]

Hmm, will keep an eye out for that.

Maybe their future will lay in TV should it prove to be a success?

It depends on what Netflix considers a success. Sense8 is a project developed by the Wachowskis and JMS, and together they have apparently plotted out 5 seasons worth of plot. It's definitely something they want to do for the long term if Netflix is willing to keep paying for it, but it doesn't sound cheap either, it was shot in 8 different countries around the world, all on location with full cast and crew.

 

[Hrothgar]

Bodrev should've just made Mongol 2 instead.

 

[harSon]

That Cloud Atlas movie was probably as good as an adaption of that book was ever going to be, and that Speed Racer movie was definitely as good as an adaption of fucking Speed Racer was ever going to be.

We'll always have the Matrix, and I have no choice but to support big budget sci fi fantasy projects. Not a whole lot of those being made. I am impressed (and surprised) they keep getting money to make these bombs, however. Must give really good pitches.

I honestly would have been infinitely more excited for Jupiter Ascending had it been the same exact film, minus Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis.

 

[Meier]

Wow, that is an absolutely huge number for Spongebob. WAY above industry expectations.

Can't say I'm surprised about JA. It just didn't look appealing. Tatum looks goofy as hell in it too. I wonder if the WB will keep the Wachowski's in the fold and give them a lesser DC property to work with.

Also what are the odds that American Sniper finishes as one of the 2 or 3 top grossing films of the entire year? Amazing for a movie that launched in January.

It will probably end up as the top grossing film of 2014.

 

[Toothless]

Next week will be another interesting week with 50 Shades likely destroying everything and Kingsman getting good buzz because after that...oof.

I actually think SpongeBob might take the #2 spot. If 50 Shades sells out, it seems to me like a much better back-up date movie than Kingsman. Honestly think though the top 4 will be above 15M (50 Shades, SpongeBob, Kingsman, and American Sniper) and everything else will be at 5M or under.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

It depends on what Netflix considers a success. Sense8 is a project developed by the Wachowskis and JMS, and together they have apparently plotted out 5 seasons worth of plot. It's definitely something they want to do for the long term if Netflix is willing to keep paying for it, but it doesn't sound cheap either, it was shot in 8 different countries around the world, all on location with full cast and crew.

That does sounds pretty ambitious by Netlfix standards, but then Netflix do seem to be taking some more risks of late.

Marco Polo had surprisingly high production values, maybe it was just the director and team that were able to stretch a small budget and make it look so good with some great direction and sets, but it honestly felt and looked more like something I'd expect to see on cable TV.

 

[Ushay]

$176 mill for Jupiter Ascending ..What..The..Fuck..

It looks pretty good, hopefully they can make it back.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Well looks like I was way off with my prediction. Didn't think Seventh Son was even gonna be on the top 5 but regardless we all knew this and Jupiter had the greatest potential to bomb and well here it is. Something tells me that the general audience is fully aware when it comes to the type of movies being released in Jan and Feb.

The idea that directors who obviously give this much of a shit about telling stories are somehow "hacks" doesn't make any sense. Hacks don't have ambition at all. They don't care to have ambition. They just do what they're handed and they don't care whether it works or not. That's what a "hack" is.

The Wachowskis have a weird, varied, somewhat crazy filmography. Hacks don't have one of those.

Besides which, it sounds like there's a lot of people in this thread who haven't seen Bound if they think the only thing of worth the Wachowskis have ever done is The Matrix. And I feel like they should get some measure of credit for making the best ever live-action anime adaptation in Speed Racer - for whatever that distinction is worth.

They definitely need to do something else that isn't sci-fi or at least mix it with another genre. Even The Matrix was more than just a sci-fi movie with it's clear influences from crime noir, kung fu, and anime.

 

[Exterminieren]

We've had 4 big bombs so far in 2015 and it's only February.

There's reason to be cheery, though. The bombs have all been totally predictable- if you didn't see JA or SS bombing, you weren't paying attention. The hits, on the other hand, have been surprising and cheering- absolutely no one foresaw American Sniper catching fire the way it did, and even lower grossing stuff has performed nicely- SpongeBob this week, Paddington's had unexpectedly nice legs, The Imitation Game has, as noted, put a successful little run together... That's reason to be positive.

I do wonder if we're going to see further polarisation of the market, with both more bombs and more successes, and fewer marginal cases.

 

[WillyFive]

Glad spongebob did well. It's nice to see a hand-drawn animated feature do good at the box office.

Even if they cheated by only putting the live-action/CGI parts in the trailers.

My feelings exactly.

I honestly did not expect to see a 2D animated film open at #1 again, but it's true that the trailers really made it seem like it was CG.

 

[Messofanego]

“The Wachowkis have an incredible history of making fan favorite films,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution executive vice president. “This didn’t hit the wide audience their films have in the past, but they’ll do better in the future.”

At least it's good to hear Wachowskis will still get more chances.

 

[Exterminieren]

At least it's good to hear Wachowskis will still get more chances.

Frankly, if Warners are still willing to hand them blockbuster budgets, they deserve to lose every penny of it.

No way in hell that quote tells the whole story, though. This has got to be one bomba too far.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Honestly, the studio was already bracing themselves for Jupiter Ascending to perform poorly. They did move it from last summer to February.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I wouldn't be against them trying to reboot The Matrix.

I feel there's still some untapped potential there. A live action remake of The Second Renaissance would be pretty sweet.

 

[CreeperBlocks]

Has anyone seen the new Spongebob Movie? Is it as good as the first one or no?

 

[wachie]

I'm still surprised at American Sniper.
It's totally going to become 2014's #1, right?

Nope.

 

[Aaron Strife]

How much of it is hand drawn. It made it seem like majority was CGI

I heard they don't go above water until like the last 20 minutes. Seeing it tonight

 

[TheSeks]

“Jupiter Ascending,” an ambitious science-fiction fantasy from Andy and Lana Wachowski, eked out $19 million from 3,181 theaters, making it the “Matrix” siblings’ third consecutive whiff after “Cloud Atlas” and “Speed Racer.” The film stars Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis and cost a staggering $179 million to produce.

Holy shit. Let that sink in for a minute. Just... HOLY SHIT. How do they continue to get bankrolled massive budgets!?

 

[Ether_Snake]

I guess studios are hoping for another hit like the Matrix.

Well the people running those studios are fucking clueless if they thought Jupiter was gonna be it.

 

[harSon]

Just let them adapt a worthwhile novel. Something like Neuromancer or Snow Crash would fit their style completely, and considering the fact that they were influenced by such novels - the "From the creators of The Matrix trilogy" will carry a lot more weight due to the overwhelming similarities. I'm not sure if Hyperion fits them, and would probably be better suited as a television show - but goddamnit someone needs to do it!

When Gravity Fails would be an amazing adaptation for the two, especially considering the novel's heavy usage of trans characters - although I'm not sure if the Middle Eastern setting would sit well with the Muslim community

 

[alfredofroylan]

I wouldn't be against them trying to reboot The Matrix.

I feel there's still some untapped potential there. A live action remake of The Second Renaissance would be pretty sweet.

I had a question about that, the whole "anti-machine" thing feel stupid and forced because a big part of the economy depended on robots and machines, I mean it's implied that big corporations had a lot of money invested on them. They didn't do anything to stop that? They just let the luddite angry mob run wild just because? And who had the bright idea to obscure the Sun?