|
NSU Home | NSU Store | In The Current Issue... | Contact Us | |
Non-Sport Update's Card Talk General Entertainment Discussion Hits and Misses of 2021Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Hits and Misses of 2021 | Login/Join |
Platinum Card Talk Member |
More signs of life! Japanese Anime "Demon Slayer" opened domestically last week to 2nd place and the highest weekend box office take for this style of film. This weekend it is number 1 and the 3rd highest earning anime film so far in the US. World Box office has hit $428.4 million. Mortal Kombat continues to do well enough at number 2 and WW Box Office at $66M. I can't find anything concerning a China release which could put things at a break even point. Godzilla vs Kong passed $90 million domestic and $415 million world wide. Nobody, the John Wick rip off movie by the producers of John Wick has done ok for a $16M budget. $23.3M domestic and $18.1M International. Currently it has hit VOD. I watched it and if you like Wick you will like Nobody. Scott Pilgrim vs the World had a 10th Anniversary release in just 152 theaters. It earned $720K averaging $4,736 per theater. That's pre-covid opening weekend numbers. Those theaters were busy. ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
Looks like Spiral from the book of Saw was not loved by the critics. RT gives it a 37% with a raw audience score of 69%. Still hit number 1 for the weekend and with a budget of $20 million it should be ok. With the likes of Chris Rock and Sam Jackson I had a little bit of hope some new life for the Saw title was still out there but it looks like it has been too abused and too over used. I will most likely catch on the TV release. Last weeks number 1 Wrath of Man hit the same box office numbers but was better received by critics and audiences. Will be interesting to see how well the Statham flick does internationally. ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
The Top 5 Hits of 2021 so far, domestically, as of May 21 1) Godzilla vs. Kong 2) Raya and the Last Dragon 3) Tom and Jerry 4) Demon Slayer: Mugen Train 5) Mortal Kombat "Godzilla" has grossed 95 M. The others in the 40 to 46 M range. | |||
|
Diamond Card Talk Member |
I'm not really sure what they are calling theatrical releases now and what is TV only, but Netflix's Army of the Dead came out May 14th very limited. I had liked the trailer, if you feel like watching a Zombie Apocalypse movie of course, but reviews seem very mixed. Who says its entertaining, who says it non-stop gore garbage. Anyway its made by Zach Snyder, its two and a half hours long, it has a familiar Dirty Dozen meets Ocean's 8 set up and there was talk of a franchise. Not sure if there still is after the reviews, but I'm guessing that Snyder should have cut it down. Zombies are good in short bursts, but tend to wear thin at too many for too long. I still want to see it for that Zombie tiger alone.  | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
Watched it last night. In typical Snyder fashion it looks pretty cool but the story has ripped off every cliche it possibly can. Acting is "meh" and there isn't much in it that doesn't feel like a sequel or a re-run. The tiger is pretty cool especially since he is a celebrity.  ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Diamond Card Talk Member |
I know exactly what you mean. Snyder says the right things to the press and knows how to goose up the formula so it looks cool, but original he ain't. Of course for those who haven't seen original . . . | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
Haha! Yeah even the Vegas element was a Resident Evil steal. I had not been keeping up with all the news on this thing. Guess they digitally scrubbed or re-shot Chris D’Elia out of the film and replaced him with Tig Notara. In spite of having screen time together, Dave Bautista says he never met her. Looks like the Snyder's sold this idea to Netflix as a multi project deal. ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
Looks like F9 was released in China over the weekend. We wont get it for another month. A respectable worldwide $162.3 million reported so far. ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
Yes, Tig Notaro was on Colbert's show last week and she said they shot one scene with her and just one other cast member, adding that she's never met Bautista, and everything else was editing and green-screen. She even acknowledged that she watched a cut of the whole movie before she shot her scenes which must have been weird. Jess
| |||
|
| Diamond Card Talk Member |
So I did see Army of the Dead last night and I can't make too many comments that wouldn't be spoilers, but based on a few lines that characters utter, I think Snyder might be going for an even bigger cliche movie than is immediately apparent, if he wants to take that route eventually. As for the movie by itself, I didn't find it too long really and I thought the visuals were good, but I didn't care for the last half hour. If a film lets me down at the ending, I really can't recommend it. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
The over abuse of Hollywood time annoyed me quite a bit. "We only have 9 minutes" but what we need to do will take at least 45. ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
Went to go see Wrath of Man tonight. A dark and somewhat different Statham film. Although there are better movies of this type I thought it was pretty good. Definitely worth watching. You can tell that Hollywood is backed up as every preview was essentially a high cost wanna be block buster. ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Diamond Card Talk Member |
Those Who Wish Me Dead, the Angelina Jolie as a smoke jumper film, made 2.8M over its opening weekend. Worldwide seems to be 7.1M, so it's more like a smoke bomb. It is streaming too. This one is just weird. I don't know who thought it was a good idea, it doesn't even work in the synopsis. Every element of this plot has been done several times before, not counting Jolie in a ridiculous role. She is a long way from Tomb Raider and can't do anything anymore that makes money unless it has Disney in the title. Whether its her taste or her talent, she is one of those A-list actors that make one lousy movie after another and keeps getting paid for it. | |||
|
| Gold Card Talk Member |
There are alot of actors/actresses, now in their 50s and older, whom I question as to WHY movie studios pay them so much money. What hits have these guys had in recent years ? Matt Damon (nothing since Bourne in 2016) Robert Downey, Jr. (aside from Marvel) Johnny Depp Ben Affleck (aside from playing Batman) George Clooney | |||
|
| Diamond Card Talk Member |
I'm not sure how well any 2021 movies, or even any movies going forward, are going to be rated in terms of hits and misses when they are on such unequal footing. There were always big productions with big budgets and lots of theatres and independents with small budgets and fewer theatres. However the direct to streaming services or the hybrid with a general release and simultaneous streaming has upended the whole system. Production people, both actors and film makers, are being blindsided to find their work sold to streaming services by the studios without notice. This is because of the backlog in completed films that were held up with COVID, but it also shows no signs of being confined to 2021, even though theatre restrictions are going away in many locations. The rise of home grown movies by the likes of Amazon, Netflix, Youtube and the channels started by the studios themselves was all pointing to this becoming how they wanted to release films, but the pandemic just made the public accept it faster as the norm and gave the studios license to push it way sooner than the generational change would have allowed. With Disney throwing out all their product on Disney+ and new films like Infinite just plopped on Paramount+ without warning and all of the movies opening in theatres and on TV screens with no time lapse in between, I think there will be too much room for interpretation of data to figure out who made how much for what. Something that the film unions have already been complaining about and will only get worse as this model runs into 2022. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
I guess I have a much more simplified version of the terms "hit" and "miss". I still focus on the box office and anything that crushes most or all of its production budget in the first week is pretty much a hit. Films left in the hole at the box office are a miss. I realize that over time most movies make money given all of the ways and years they are distributed. Even Waterworld eventually made its money back at some point. Still, the box office and seeing movies the way they are meant to be seen is the Grand Prix of released films. Straight to streaming or television services are dirt track by comparison. A great example is this weekends A Quiet Place Part II. $61 million budget with $80 million at the box office. That's a hit! Cruella I still consider a box office miss although it ran with premier access and made more money than reported. It's difficult to blame Covid as I firmly believe that the box office take for Black Widow will be significantly better. In spite of also being released on premier. Certainly it is a formula Hollywood will need to work out with its creators but their math has always been a bit shady to begin with.  ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Diamond Card Talk Member |
Yeah, I don't disagree with that in real time, but to make comparisons with box office from past films or with record breakers, I think there has to be grading on a curve. I'm not talking about inflated dollars, I'm saying the grey accounting will be greyer and lower. Many people I know are not rushing to go back to the movies. They have gotten streaming services, if they didn't have one before, and are now happy watching at home. Yeah this is generally in the over 40 crowd, but plenty of 30 somethings have gotten used to it too. When the movies feel safe to all, and I don't think that's true yet, many of these people will still be more selective about what they go out to see. More so than ever, films for theatres will be horror, sci-fi and action blockbusters only, all competing with each other. People are creatures of habit. There was a theory, can't remember if it was actually a study, that if you did something for 21 consecutive days, or didn't do something for 21 consecutive days, you broke your pattern and its your new habit. Well COVID habits are about 15 months old. I hated wearing the mask and now I don't have to wear it. I'm still wearing it. I'm not running to the movies either. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
I don't know, I think this has probably always been the case since the days of video rental. For me personally I tend to save my movie going dollars for those films that make the movie going experience a thing. I can watch a preview and know if I will watch it on the big or small screen. The latter generally has a much smaller budget and can still be a hit as it doesn't have to make as much money at the box office. I can agree that these types of movies are still in a bit of pandemic trouble on the big screen format. And no amount of days will get me used to a mask.  ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Platinum Card Talk Member |
I did do a dumb thing this weekend and saw A Quiet Place II in IMAX. Was about 20 minutes into it and realized THAT was a waste of money. Opening scene was pretty exciting. As far as sequels go it is decent and worth a look. Not as good as the first one and you could tell they stretched a bit (some might say overreached) for more ideas. It opened stronger than Godzilla vs Kong but not sure if it has the legs to hit $100 million domestically. Next couple of weeks should tell. On the International scene F9 has hit $229 million and Vin Diesel's IMDB page is already showing F&F 10 as announced. Looks like another Riddick and GotG are coming out and he is part of the cast of Avatar 2. Sort of like Stallone, looks like Vin won't have to come up with an original idea for the foreseeable future.This message has been edited. Last edited by: mykdude, ____________________ Just because it's rare doesn't mean it's valuable. | |||
|
| Diamond Card Talk Member |
Funny that people were saying his career was dead a few years ago, but I never got into F&F myself. I think I have officially given up all franchises, just watch the first movie or the first season and call it a day. The sequels are never as good as the first one and of course no longer have the benefit of originality, but a decent copy of the formula isn't even as bad as the extension into horrible plot twists that just destroy characters. If you like a film and have a satisfactory ending, why does the franchise have to ruin it? If you have characters you enjoy watching and can identify with, why does the franchise make them do totally inconsistent things just to advance the plot? And why do the franchise installments finally always wind up so far away from what started it that you are sorry you wasted your time on any of it? Sorry, I'm just mad about Lucifer. I started this year's second part from last season and I no longer know what I'm looking at or why, despite seeing the whole damn thing since 2016. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata | Page 1 2 3 4 5 ... 12 |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
Non-Sport Update's Card Talk General Entertainment Discussion Hits and Misses of 2021 | View $GS_USERNAME's Public Profile |
| Add $GS_USERNAME to my Ignore List |
| View Recent Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
| Notify me of New Posts by $GS_USERNAME |