Movies 52 - 1917: Sonic the Bad Boys of Prey

[Kepler]

Are their air quotes around lose?


Also, maybe, just maybe, had Disney not fired their creative talent after the pandemic in a cost savings binge they would have had the people I'm place to protect those films.

Also they could have paid the writers their fair share from the start but where's the profit in that?

Or maybe stop churning out crap, as if the entire audience is children (or adults with the tastes of children).

But I think it's just a matter of content flooding a finite market.

[St. Clown]

Are theaters filling up these days? I’m at the point that I don’t recall the last movie I saw in a theater.

[Handyman]

Are their air quotes around lose?


Also, maybe, just maybe, had Disney not fired their creative talent after the pandemic in a cost savings binge they would have had the people I'm place to protect those films.

Also they could have paid the writers their fair share from the start but where's the profit in that?

No those are legit losses. They really blew their wad on bad choices...

Their 4 highest grossing films in the US so far were:

Guardians 3
The Little Mermaid
Antman and Wasp: The Search For More Money
Indiana Jones and The Quest For Harrison Ford to Kill Our Childhoods
(numbers 4, 6, 8 and 12 respectively in US BO so far)

Of those films this is how it breaks down:

Guardians 3 made $845 million on $250 million budget
The Little Mermaid made $569 million on a $250 million budget
Antman and Wasp made $476 million on a $200 million budget
Indiana Jones made $383 million worldwide on a $300 million dollar budget (how does an Indy film cost more than GOTG 3 or Antman and Wasp?)

Now by basic numbers that looks not so bad every movie "made" money. Except they didn't. By most accounting metrics because of how splits with theaters and advertising budgets go you need to at least double the budget to actually get a movie into the black. (according to some experts on blockbusters it is actually 2.5x but we will stick with 2x to be fair)

So using those figures Indy was an anchor that offset the gains GOTG 3 had and the other 2 barely made a profit. And remember, these were their big earners, the top films they had and they basically broke even on them when all was said and done. Those should be the films that make sure Di$ney is profitable but they so overspent on them that they dug themselves a huge hole. Then you add in The Marvels bombing on a $219 million budget (it is tracking to maybe hit $300 million WW), Haunted Mansion bombing HARD, A Haunting in Venice and the Boogeyman barely breaking even WW...and so on. I mean think about this the film Chevalier cost $46 million and made less than 10% of that WW.

This is the same issue that WBD is in because when AT&T owned WB they spent $250 million on every movie they could and never made enough to pay themselves back. (a $500 million dollar return on a $250 million investment is essentially worthless since you broke even) They keep assuming the next film will be the huge hit that fills the coffers but never take into account that the films might fail and the red ink is piling up. Its like people who figure out their spending budget based on their gross salary and never take into account taxes or bills or whatever and then wonder why they are broke. Its ridiculous.

I feel bad for ESPN workers cause they are gonna be fired to make up for this loss. That is all Di$ney ever does...they will continue to burn money on Star Wars content that makes them almost no cash or Marvel content with diminishing returns and use ESPN or ABC as a way to hide the red ink. Then they will give Bob Iger another raise and double his bonus and let him continue to let the Titanic hit an iceberg and leave someone else holding the bag in 2025 when he leaves.

[Kepler]

Are theaters filling up these days? I’m at the point that I don’t recall the last movie I saw in a theater.

We saw Holdovers at a theater and it was half full for an adult drama matinee. That's pretty darn good.

[Proud2baLaker]

I was watching Christmas Vacation last night and noticed something. Now Aunt Bethany is clearly senile or similar. At one point she asks the famous line "is Rusty still in the Navy?" And we all assume she is thinking of young Rusty played by Johnny Galecki. However, earlier in the movie, when Clark is in the attic and watching the old 8mm films, we see a Christmas part from the 50s where a younger Uncle Louis hands a cookie or something to another person. It is very brief but that person appeared to be wearing the Dress Blues of a junior enlisted sailor. It made me wonder if that person was who Bethany was thinking of. Maybe this relative was also named Rusty and the Rusty we see in the movies is named after him.

Here is the scene in question and it is about 1:38 in when you, again, very briefly, see this person. Bethany's series of questions and confusion is still funny but this, to me at least, adds a little subtle something to the scene.

Maybe others have notice this? Never heard or seen it anywhere.

[Kepler]

Rubber. Sentient, telekinetic tire goes on a killing spree.

Obvious award bait but it still had some great points to it, and the writer and director managed to create a personality around an inanimate object. Some genuinely funny moments, and some lovely cinematography out in the desert.

I'm glad they made it and I will look out for more from Quentin Dupieux.

Also, one actor (Stephen Spinella) was actually terrific.

[dxmnkd316]

Are theaters filling up these days? I’m at the point that I don’t recall the last movie I saw in a theater.

Only Taylor swift concerts

[aparch]

I'm getting sick of everyone, including Bob Iger, sh*tting all over The Marvels for being a dud despite coming just under 20 mil shy of production costs.

Killers of the Flower Moon is over 50 Mil shy of recouping its production cost and its being hailed as doing well for itself.

I get it, superhero fatigue is a thing. Every long series has its flat spots (James Bond, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park/World).

it just feels like the studios are kowtowing to a vocal minority.


Huh. Kinda like politics too.

[ScoobyDoo]

I'm getting sick of everyone, including Bob Iger, sh*tting all over The Marvels for being a dud despite coming just under 20 mil shy of production costs.

Killers of the Flower Moon is over 50 Mil shy of recouping its production cost and its being hailed as doing well for itself.

I get it, superhero fatigue is a thing. Every long series has its flat spots (James Bond, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park/World).

it just feels like the studios are kowtowing to a vocal minority.


Huh. Kinda like politics too.

I agree 100%. **** Iger.

[mookie1995]

Nothing ever changes.

Girls waiting outside Errol Flynn's hotel room at the Hotel Alameda to be, ahem, chosen:



My money's on bottom right. That woman gets what she wants.

odds any of them are braless??

[Kepler]

odds any of them are braless??

[Handyman]

I'm getting sick of everyone, including Bob Iger, sh*tting all over The Marvels for being a dud despite coming just under 20 mil shy of production costs.

Killers of the Flower Moon is over 50 Mil shy of recouping its production cost and its being hailed as doing well for itself.

I get it, superhero fatigue is a thing. Every long series has its flat spots (James Bond, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park/World).

it just feels like the studios are kowtowing to a vocal minority.


Huh. Kinda like politics too.

I am not defending Bob Iger in any way but Marvels crapping the bed is a big deal box office wise. It cost way too much money and it is going to get nowhere near being in the black. They aren't kowtowing to a vocal minority that is how this always worked. Look at how much DC films get ripped for it or Transformers or films from any number of studios. (and some of them actually did make profits unlike Marvels) When you put in that kind of money, push the film as a huge blockbuster and it tanks the amount of heat it will receive is going to be out of this world. The problem is Marvel fans aren't used to it even though things have been lurching this way since Endgame.

When things like this happen heads roll, creatives get fired and fans get divided. (unless their names are Zack Snyder or Kathleen Kennedy ;^) ) Most years Marvels would have been kind of written off as a loss leader as something else would have made up for it and it would be forgotten. The Eternals tanked too ($400 million WW on a $236 million budget) but that year Di$ney probably wasn't set to lose 3/4 of a billion coming out of a massive strike so it went unnoticed. (plus that was still dealing with Pandemic issues i believe and Black Widow vastly underperformed as well) Marvels is going to get the backlash from that because they were sort of propping it up to be the savior of their year and BO in general...which was stupid but if it blew up Marvels would have gotten all the positive press as well. It is just the nature of the beast.

And comparing it to Flower Moon is not exactly an apples to oranges comparison and you know it. First of all it isn't a tentpole film it is a rated R drama and second it is not really a major studio release it is an Apple release distributed by Paramount. That changes how things are looked at right or wrong.

(can you tell I follow box office way more than I should)

It sucks I know and it feels like piling on. The truth is though this has been happening forever and it is a bit disingenuous of Marvel fans to pretend otherwise. Other fanbases have been complaining about this forever and Marvel fans brushed it off like they were crazy. (keep in mind, some were crazy but they were still right) Marvels wont even be the last film this year to get this type of treatment...when Aquaman underperforms the amount of crap it gets will be through the roof. (since the first made a billion and this film was racked with issues and spending problems) And it won't be because anyone is playing to a specific crowd (except people who love to hate stuff) it will be because a film that was expected to make a lot of money, and needed to make a lot of money didn't. When that happens the pr!cks in charge make sure we all know who to blame and why.

[Kepler]

Nice.

[RaceBoarder]

Adam Savage takes a look at some of Hollywood's prop cash

This is something that I've always found interesting. It's one of the areas of Movie Magic that you always see, yet never really think about until it's done BAD. And then it becomes the focal point.

[Handyman]

I saw Die Hard in the theater...it is even better on the big screen!