quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Tattoox:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Raven:
NECA doesn't count, it isn't a real card manufacturer, its just a sideline for them.
/QUOTE]

I don't keep up with movie cards, because they usually don't interest me, so I may be way off base here. But......if NECA doesn't count, then I suppose CZE doesn't either (yet to do a movie set to my knowledge anyways); or Upper Deck when talking non-sport cards.

Not quite sure what you mean? I think NECA, CZE and UD are all different. I wouldn't compare NECA with either of the other two.

I said NECA doesn't count because its mainly involved in retail toys and related movie merchandise, among a lot of other things. It produced the Twilight reprint and sequel sets without any attempt to make a hobby type product. Cards are a small sideline that the general public may find in retail outlets, but they have none of the bells and whistles needed to attract non-sport collectors. NECA is all about toys and models and booble-heads, etc, not the non-sport card industry.

CZE is most certainly a card manufacturer that is marketing to card collectors. Its licenses have been TV shows, not movies so far. Upper Deck, having lost its sports licenses, is making movie and comic related non-sport cards, marketed to both retail and hobby. Whether they make movie cards or not, their business is cards and they are manufacturing them with generally adult card collectors in mind.

And to answer your second post, when I said bombed I mean at the box office. My personal opinion of the movie has nothing to do it.

Probably because it's X-Men, Hollywood is going to take another chance with Wolverine.

CZE, to my knowledge started with board games. The produce far more board games and gaming cards than non-sport cards.

UD primarily produces sport cards.

That's why I grouped them in with NECA, based on my perception of your point.

Okay, I checked the numbers because I enjoyed Wolverine.

Wolverine took in about 8 times more than Spirit.
Wolverine did a little better than Captain America.
Wolverine only did 13M less than Twilight.

So where does one say a movie is worthy of a card series? Where does one say it's a profitable franchise? (Rhetorical questions)


Just want to add that X-Files last movie barely beat out Spirit, and only made two thirds of its budget. Now unfortunately that's a flop. Yet the first movie did 4 times better, about half of what Wolvie and Cap brought in. There's alot of dynamics behind the low number of some of these movies.

Correction. I looked at the wrong info. Twilight did 120M more than Wolverine. I thought that number was off, so I checked again. They're two different animals.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tattoox,

quote:

Originally posted by Tattoox:

Probably because it's X-Men, Hollywood is going to take another chance with Wolverine.

CZE, to my knowledge started with board games. The produce far more board games and gaming cards than non-sport cards.

UD primarily produces sport cards.

That's why I grouped them in with NECA, based on my perception of your point.

Yeah they are trying to keep X-Men going, some have made money. I'm happy you liked Wolferine, but comparing it to The Spirit and Captain America is a back handed compliment. Not many people would call them good movies. And rember that its not just box office numbers, its how much the movie cost to make.

Also UD lost its major sport licenses at least a couple of years ago. That's why its high on doing non-sport cards now. It can't do what it did before and what you call its primary business is long gone.

I can understand that card manufacturers are "limited" by the studios, but common using scenes from promos/trailers and "photoshoping" or erasing characters from history is too much. I can understand it if we were in the '70s or '80s were there wasn't a magic digital button.

For the X-Men movies. I never liked they way Marvel allowed to be adapted to the movie screen. Now the cast choice was good with Wolverine, Strom, Professor X, Lady Deathstrike, and some others. Also the way to present Mystique was great.

For the Wolverine movie. I liked the introduction and the combat/fighting scenes.

Now talking about a nice movie with a bad card set was Spider-Man 2.

Well, Rittenhouse have signed Lulu for the next Bond set I hear. From where I'm sitting, that's pretty blimmin' impressive.

People are even speculating about a songs set. I'd kill for a Paul McCartney auto

I'd like to see way more movie cards but understand manufactures are reluctant due to of a commitment way befor opening day and the possibility poor showing. Getting more risky.

I've often wondered why the second X-FILES movie bombed big time in 2008. I've seen the entire show and the first film, but have yet to see the last one. Was it really that poor ?

I recall that '08 was the summer of the Dark Knight film, which pretty much killed all of the competition that July. When X-Files opened late that month, there was little fanfare, little business, and I think it actually opened at # 7 or 8 that weekend ! Shocking !

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
I've often wondered why the second X-FILES movie bombed big time in 2008. I've seen the entire show and the first film, but have yet to see the last one. Was it really that poor ?

I recall that '08 was the summer of the Dark Knight film, which pretty much killed all of the competition that July. When X-Files opened late that month, there was little fanfare, little business, and I think it actually opened at # 7 or 8 that weekend ! Shocking !

I liked the second movie. I think it bombed because it had nothing to do with the over all mythos of the X-Files universe. It was a stand alone movie.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
I've often wondered why the second X-FILES movie bombed big time in 2008. I've seen the entire show and the first film, but have yet to see the last one. Was it really that poor ?

I recall that '08 was the summer of the Dark Knight film, which pretty much killed all of the competition that July. When X-Files opened late that month, there was little fanfare, little business, and I think it actually opened at # 7 or 8 that weekend ! Shocking !

I liked the second movie. I think it bombed because it had nothing to do with the over all mythos of the X-Files universe. It was a stand alone movie.

As probably the biggest X-Files fan here, I have to agree with what many say. It felt like a two hour TV special, not something worthy of the big screen.

The X-Files movie wanted to attract X-Files fans, but also be complete enough on its own to pull in a movie audience that maybe didn't follow the show and wouldn't like to come into a storyline that felt mid-stream. As a result of trying to keep one foot in both camps, it satisfied neither and was just a nothing special film, not horrible, just not memorable.

That's why its so hard to make a card set on any movie that doesn't intend to usher in a franchise or isn't already part of franchise. Manufacturers have to at least think that there will be a solid fan base that will be buying regardless, and if you get broader interest from outsiders that's all the better. If you don't, than the fan base will still carry it, or at least that's the idea.

Its tough to break into it now unless its a Bond or Star Wars or Star Trek film. The Hobbit could work, but its risky, and Twilight really could have worked, but its probably past doing now that a major couldn't do it already.

I know Cryptozoic did the official Hobbit sets.

Panini did a Dr Strange set but think it was retail not hobby.

What's the verdict on movie themed sets these days?

I'm a bit out of the loop so I don't know if this question's still an issue in the industry and for collectors.

I'm surprised that nobody has done a set for the new X-files series! Too bad too, because the new Scully is a whole lot sexier than the old Scully, damn I want cards featuring the new and improved Scully!

New and more improved, and a whole lot sexier too, Scully!

Rittenhouse are doing a new X Files set to be released later this year. It's assumed it will concentrate on the new seasons as they tend not to like to cover stuff that other sets from other companies have already done.

As David Duchovny has signed for their Twin Peaks set, there's a good chance he will for their X-Files set. And Gillian has always signed for previous sets in the past too...so there's hope.

Yeah, but the question is about card sets on movies and that still remains risky on two fronts now and is probably even worse than a few years ago.

If its a new title, manufacturers don't know if the film will be any good. Its already been proven that a nice card set on a dog of a movie goes nowhere. Think Spirit, or Golden Compass or The Seeker.

But the big franchise movie usually was kind of safe. However title fatigue has started to kick in, so even though films attached to the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek should be in demand, I don't think that's necessarily a given anymore. I don't know if we are getting another Bond with a new film. Probably, but its up to RA, assuming they still have the license at all. Why hasn't anyone gotten Jurassic World?

And to make it all harder, you have the increase in box costs. If new movie cards were risky when boxes were $65, try getting someone to spend $90 - $120 on them. You need a guaranteed hit to pursue the license and the Marvel universe is probably the closet to that, but even those films come with better and worse and the cards, if made, are coming out months after the movies open.

Then manufacturers have to worry about getting autograph signers, which they won't know until after they get the license. As an example, Black Panther does not have the main male stars on board. You better believe that hurts the cards, no matter how successful the film.

So card manufacturers have good reason to be careful with movies, they need a lot of luck to get a hit movie and a hit product.

I wonder if signers is a reason no ones picked up the Jurassic World licence? But then again they've been lackluster with the sticker album they produced for the first film (and second?).

Funny but the quality for the sticker album isn't nearly as good in design as for the original Jurassic Park franchise. JP was everywhere including cards in the 1990s. And the designs were on top form.

But even then they didn't go with a top rated product. No costumes or autographs or any 'real' hits. I doubt they'd be able to convince studios that a card product is a useful promotional tool for the demographic of the new film. Which is a shame.