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Psychotic Reactions

-- John Shea

7 July, 2003

I think it's safe to say that a teetering economy has gotten the better of the box office. Last week CA2 underperformed significantly and this week's three newcomers all felt the same collective yawn from audiences. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was the runaway winner but not as spectacularly as expected, managing $44 million over the weekend and $72 million since its Wednesday release. That makes it the second highest opening of an R rated film, so it certainly performed respectably. Just not to the standards everyone was expecting. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, playing on slightly fewer screens managed only $22.9 million for the weekend. That's a bit better than the original movie but not a significant increase. MGM may have over-estimated the appeal of this franchise. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas crashed and burned with a paltry $6.6 million, landing in sixth place. Not a good sign for Dreamworks Animation. Disney/Pixar absolutely flattened them this time around with Finding Nemo which outgrossed Sinbad despite being in its sixth week of relase. Nemo took in $11 million and in doing so passed by The Matrix Reloaded for the title of highest grossing film of the year with $274 million to date.

This year's box office is lagging behind last year's despite some considerable expectations. I see two possible explanations. The obvious one is a weak economy that is keeping a lot of people from the theater. It's hard to argue with that theory. Movies are luxuries for most people and thus are amongst the first things to be cut from the budget when things get tight. I believe that is the major cause of the decline but the other explanation might be a factor too. Every year studios focus more and more on the opening weekend. With that focus, the summer is a string of record breaking openings. Studio theory is that such big openings turn the movie into an event, something to talk about at the watercooler. The very idea that everyone else is racing to this movie must make it more attractive. Right? Maybe not. The bigger the openings get, the bigger the second week drops get. Last week Hulk took a nasty 71% drop in attendance. This week Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle dove 63% in its second week. The media is starting to notice and the second week drop is becoming almost as big a story as the first week record. Could it be that the public is just getting sick of the media blitz? Think about last year with all the talk about My Big Fat Greek Wedding. That film started very small and kept expanding and climbing the box office rankings week after week because of word of mouth. People were discovering this film on their own without being pressured to see it by advertising. They went because a friend or relative recommended it and then they recommended it to their friends. Films used to be allowed to build an audience like this but now it has become the exception rather than the rule. The first Star Wars opened in only two theaters and then spent months building and growing as word of mouth spread and people came back over and over again.

There's something special about feeling like you found a treasure all on your own. No advertising can ever give you that feeling. And when that film does well over the long haul you can root for it and take some satisfaction in it. That's a good story. It's almost the complete opposite of the monster launch followed by plummetting attendance that goes on week after week in the summer. That kind of story makes me want to go take a shower.

Maybe it's time to take a step back, ease off the advertising throttle and find a fresh approach to releasing films. I know, that's a scary proposition for a studio. It requires they produce quality films they have confidence in. It means taking more time with the script than the special effects. It means skipping on the tie-in deal with another company to promote a product by way of the movie. Believe it or not guys, the Jeep ad with Angelina Jolie neither makes me want to see the movie or buy the SUV. It makes me want to throw up. I go to the movies for good stories told well, stories that entertain me. I don't go to have Jeeps, Toyotas, Cadillacs or Minis shoved down my throat. It's one thing to select these vehicles because they look good in a movie. It's another thing entirely to do it because GM outbid Ford and threw millions of dollars your way. It's crass and tacky and obvious. Audiences are much more media savvy than they are given credit for and I suspect the way they desert a movie in droves is indicitave of that.

I know movies are mostly made to make money. I'm fine with that. But the people who make the movie also need to remember that I'm a customer and I expect to be treated with respect and dignity. Advertising and tie-ins that insult my intelligence are a big step in the wrong direction. It's the same reason I walk away from a salesman trying the hard sell. I don't appreciate the pressure. If the product doesn't sell itself, getting in my face isn't going to help it any. It's just going to send me looking for someone else's product to buy. Or worse yet, keep me from buying at all.

Jonathon Mostow, the director of T3 said it best when discussing the advertising of his movie with PR people. "I was like talking to the publicity people... 'How do we stop running these stories?' Because what they were doing was creating this expectation. I mean, for $200 million, I expect to go sit down in the theater and have, like, an ass tickler installed in the seats... or like a personal masseuse."

News

The Aviator: Production is gettin under way in Montreal and our own Deadpool came up with some hard evidence of that in the form of this road sign. Obviously it's in French (shouldn't there be English too?) but it indicates you can't park here because The Aviator is being filmed in the area. Just what are they filming? One of these two buildings, that's what. Also being filmed in the city are Taking Lives and Gothika but more on them later.

Dallas: The Movie Say it isn't so. Please. Unfortunately, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, the primetime soap opera will be getting the big screen remake. Taking over the imfamous J.R. Ewing role is Bruce Willis, with son Bobby Ewing played by Colin Farrell. Jessica Lange would play boozer Sue Ellen. Yes, you can expect Larry Hagman to pop out of his bottle for a cameo. (Thanks to MovieHole)

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