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Wkd Box Office 1218-2015 - Force Awakens does good... gOOOood, opens w/ $248m
- Thread starter xaosslug
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Tricky I Shadow
Banned
WHAT?!
There are two in this scene...
You're half right. Carrie Fisher's performance was super weak. Definitely the weakest link.
While avatar may not have had the best script on the planet and the acting was flat at times, it's arguably the best cinema "experience" in the last 20+ years. Cameron took Pandora and make it real.. and 3D...and it made people feel like they were at the movies for the first time again. Not sure why it gets shit on so much. Even it's defenders wont try to say it deserved a best picture nod.
OT, $40M MONDAY for TFA? Wow.
Seeing it tomorrow for the first time. Can't wait!!
OT, $40M MONDAY for TFA? Wow.
Seeing it tomorrow for the first time. Can't wait!!
freenudemacusers
Member
I will be curious how this does xmas day. Wife's family goes to the movies on xmas, and the few times I've been there it's relatively sparse attendance. I wonder how much a huge blockbuster with this kind of unusual performance will change that.
Looking at the Hobbit movies (recent December blockbusters), all three actually increased from Monday to Tuesday.
But it's not like TFA is following any past trends, so we'll see.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Odds better than 60 percent this movie goes into its 2nd Saturday already clocking 400 mil domestic?
Meaning by this time next week it could be north of 500 already.
Meaning by this time next week it could be north of 500 already.
Insane.
Not sure if this is a thing but movie theatre gift cards are an extremely common Christmas present. I wonder how many non-moviegoers get a GC and think "fuck it, might as well see what the fuss is about" with TFA
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I think that's an option but I also think a lot of movie theaters are gonna be saying "Oh, gift certificates and coupons aren't eligible for this film until X date"
ProudCanuck
Banned
Previous Tuesday Record is 36 Million by The Amazing Spiderman...because its opening day was tuesday...
I had no idea that was a thing theatre owners did.
Regardless, weekends 2-3 are such an enigma right now...excited to see how it goes.
That's not how gift certificates work. You are thinking of free passes. Gift Certificates are good for their cash value on anything in the theater.
I am pretty certain most theater chains dont allow you to use free passes for this film till after the New Year. I read something about that over at Box Office Theory.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I remember working for Regal and them being snitty/shitty about letting people use anything that wasn't straight up cash or card on certain releases during their opening weeks. Which we always thought was dumb because gift certificates means someone still gave the company money.
Maybe things have changed (it's been a pretty long time)
Yeah, everybody has the right to have an opinion, but this is trolling. I mean, I hope this is not serious, because it would invalidate any other movie opinion you have by that point.
I didn't say that. I used Star Wars as an example in a larger point about "nerds" holding up their favourite franchises, while decrying others, when they share many of the same flaws, that results in a dialogue of hyperbole. This, in response to someone referring to "nerds" being overly critical. It seems strange phrasing it that way, because what we're really talking about is hardcore fans. Star Wars is topical considering the thread, but you could extend this to other franchises with hardcore fans too. Folks are overly critical when it comes to things they don't like, and resort to hyperbole. This is how we come to the stance that a movie like Avatar is garbage, when really it's no more offensive than most blockbuster movies even if you don't like it.
The nitpicking by fans of the original trilogy perfectly encapsulates my point. They don't nitpick the original movies. You've got a bunch of kids who watched these movies in the 70s, became obsessively attached, and then lashed out at the prequel trilogy in such a way that it feels almost cartoonish because they didn't quite capture them the way the originals did. Possibly because they weren't ten year olds anymore, but that mentality is something I've only seen on the internet. They elevate franchises above and beyond what they are due to attachment, and then have to, for some reason, bring down others. I guess you could say it's part of nerd or geek culture, but it's pretty consistent across a lot of discussions on GAF, whether it's with games or movies. I don't find that kind of absurdity in real life.
When you have folks call movies like Avatar garbage, and then pretend stuff like The Force Awakens is so much better, it's just weird. There really isn't much of a difference. Most people who watched stuff like Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, Avatar, TFA etc. would likely say they enjoyed all of them. They'll have their favourites, and there'll probably be things they don't like about these movies, but as they are, they're made to be blockbuster movies that try to appeal to as many people as possible. There isn't some amazing character study or deep exploration of themes in these movies. They're safe movies. They're made to be that way. Some will just connect better with you than others.
Edit:
This is what I mean.
Making a cultural impact in today's world is very different than back in the 70s. Just the way movies were released back then is different from now where generations have access to everything and there are multiple big franchises releasing every year. Star Wars success is a matter of timing as much as anything else. Neglecting that, Avatar has 3 sequels to go, and the first grossed $2.8 billion dollars, and was, by far, the biggest movie ever made. Clearly, a lot of people enjoyed the movie. That success is significant.
For all you know, twenty years from now, you might be thinking it has stayed in the public consciousness when you're playing with your grandkids.
I honestly regret not watching in the Cinema when it came out
Although the blu-ray is excellent, nothing compares to how well implemented it was in theatres. I'm sure there'll be avatar 1 screenings around the time of avatar 2 in some locations.
Watching Avatar in cinema was a spectacular experience. Incredible. Very well put together movie.
But almost nobody talks about it now outside the box office discussions. I didn't even knew there is still passion about it (on either sides) before these thread.
But almost nobody talks about it now outside the box office discussions. I didn't even knew there is still passion about it (on either sides) before these thread.
I disagree. Any time "should I see it in 3D" comes up in real life, said film is ALWAYS compared to Avatar's 3D. At least where I live (New York).
Bobby Roberts
Banned
There isn't, really.
Nobody really talks about it. It only gets hagiographied in the box office threads because people keep acting like deserve's got anything to do with anything when it comes to the money rolling in.
Word of Mouth is important - but even then, it's less about whether the movie is some sort of objective good that any idiot can recognize, and more about whether the quality of the film (or A quality of the film) was, for the time, appealing to large numbers of people.
This is some numbers bullshit. And the numbers bullshit always derails when people start trying to claim that artistic integrity has something to do with the numbers.
You must have missed quite a number of good movies in 3d if your entourage is still stuck with Avatar as a comparison. Honestly it sounds a bit snobbish to me, because nobody else in Hollywood seems willing to spend money on what Cameron was willing to.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Not necessarily. The size and commonality of that shared experience makes it a pretty quick and simple go-to example. Before Avatar, 3D wasn't considered much of a draw. Avatar did it well enough that people went, and felt their time spent there was justified. Maybe 3D was done better in films that followed, but that sense of "holy shit, it WAS worth the money" wasn't equaled in the same way, so when they think back, they think on Avatar, which was a giant communal experience on a global level, tied to a feeling of satisfaction that overcame initial expectations in quality of FX.
Sometimes I feel like the only person who didn't experience this. Avatar was whatever in the theatre. I was bored for most of the film. As I was walking out, I talked about it with my group of friends... all three of which also felt it was boring. The "3D IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE" wasn't all that spectacular for me.
I understand I'm in the minority for that, though. I couldn't stop seeing my facebook friends posting "AVATAR IS THE GREATEST EXPERIENCE IN A THEATRE I'VE EVER HAD, THE 3D MADE IT FEEL LIKE I WAS THERE" and all that shit.
It's not a horrible movie. The Star Wars prequels are horrible movies. It was just mediocre. Boring. I watched it once and have ZERO desire to watch it again, which is unfortunate because I legitimately LOVE every other James Cameron movie.
Interfectum
Member
I think that's why you have so many defensive Avatar fans in this thread. If that movie is no longer top dog it's relevance pretty much disappears. As you said, the only time people even talk about the movie is "OMG it made so much money, Cameron beast mode, nothing will top this movie in the box office, etc, etc." Rarely ever does anyone talk about plot points, character arcs, etc... Yet The Force Awakens will be talked about for years, plot wise, despite being a ANH 'remake.'
Yea I would say even as poor and boring I found Avatar to be, it can't be denied that it was quite the experience in the theaters. It'll be interesting to see if the quality of TFA as a film combined with the franchise appeal can be bigger than the 3D appeal of Avatar, but it'll be tough I think.
First time, unique experiences are huge.
First time, unique experiences are huge.
You'd understand if you watched Magnum PI.
I have never pulled this before on GAF.
but your taste is horrible. kudos
Wait, I'm being a snob? Didn't expect that.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Hey, I tried steering it back to the numbers!
Like, we're looking at a film that could somehow clear 500 mil domestic a few days before New Year's.
That's kinda crazy, right? In that short a time we still won't really know how long the legs are likely going to be .
$40m on Monday.. insane. Definitely looks like this is a realistic prediction now and maybe slightly conservative.
I don't think EPVII has any advantage over Avatar in it's plot or characters. It's not like we're comparing The Wire to The Walking Dead. They're two fun and relatively simple summer blockbusters
that both came out in Winter
Did you see the sunrise?I have never pulled this before on GAF.
but your taste is horrible. kudos
Haha yes.
Iger really is a genius. I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't talk to its quality but the merchandise, park-tie ins, etc. alone are going to make this deal so worthwhile.
I hope it makes Disney a ton of money. They deserve it for breathing new life into the most iconic franchise.
lol. touche.
it actually should be $600M if not before NYD, then before the weekend is over.
as far as we know, Lucas approached Iger. I mean don't get me wrong, Iger is possibly only behind Steve Jobs as greatest CEO of all time.. But Lucas wanted to be done with Star Wars and saw Disney as the only studio capable of taking it over.
But yeah.. Iger's moves are crazy. Pixar (both mending that relationship AND then buying them), Muppets, Marvel, Star Wars.. insane to think of Disney at the end of Eisner's reign compared to today. Holy shit.
Goddamnit, we're going to be stuck in the 80s forever.
Interfectum
Member
'You'll believe aetheists can fly'!
Lifejumper
Member
Hes in it?
Isn't Sheamus playing him?
It should do way more than that. Unless it just gets slaughtered in the reviews or something.
You guys are late on this, from yesterday:
ProudCanuck
Banned
George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
That happened at my (now closed) local cinema. I was a member and regularly would get coupons for 20% off ticket prices, but that wouldn't apply to recently released films.
Interfectum
Member
According to Devin Faraci, yeah.
Yes and a certain familiar voice for him is all but guaranteed to be back.
the only person to have ever done so. as long as he's living, why would anyone else? I mean he did the 2nd Rebels mini-movie for crying outloud. Disney/Lucasfilm will continue to pay him whatever they need to. The backlash would be insane.
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