Box office reports: Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness

I've been doing some pretty regular box office reports for Tastic Film, particularly on some of the biggest releases of the blockbuster season so far: Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness.

I look at what is topping the charts each week and how much money they are making and often compare it to their budgets to see how much profit they are taking. I'm really enjoying writing box office reports but I do find the predictability of the big winners a bit depressing. It would be great to see more box office surprises when world cinema or little indie films take audiences by storm and make a killing.

I'm developing more and more respect for the site Box Office Mojo where I get most of my figures from. It has everything and so many lists and other wonderful bits like news and comparisons and functionality that means you can look at monthly, weekly, annual or daily figures. It gives too much prominence to US box office figures and I'd like to see them have more for UK box office statistics but nevertheless it is an essential tool for my research.

It has been interesting doing these reports as keeps me very conscious of what is doing well at the box office and when things perform well or under perform. For instance many expected more from Star Trek Into Darkness and Iron Man 3 had the second biggest opening weekend ever just behind Marvel's Avengers.

These behemoths don't really give a chance to smaller films with all their marketing and dedicated fan bases. It just goes to show that if the studios are willing to spend big on marketing and push for the all important opening weekend, they can make back their huge budgets and then just sit back and relax and watch the profits roll in. However there is hope with smaller films occasionally breaking through (just maybe not during the summer blockbuster season)! Stay tuned for more of my box office reports at Tastic Film, all of which you can see by clicking here.

I Love That Blog Post #10

Get your reading glasses at the ready everybody because  here's another list of excellent blog posts I have read recently.  Please enjoy!

The Droid You’re Looking For has a very cool infographic of Nolan and his collaborators http://tdylf.com/2012/07/03/infographic-the-collaborators-of-christopher-nolan/

Forget spending time with your loved ones, if you had three weeks left of existence, what would be the last films you would wish to watch?  Go tell Kristin at All Eyes on Screen right now!  http://alleyesonscreen.com/2012/07/03/three-final-weeks-of-movies/

Ahead of The Dark Knight Rises, The Movie Blog has all you need to know about Bane http://them0vieblog.com/2012/07/04/the-dark-knight-rises-101-or-tell-me-about-bane/

 

Tyler at Southern Vision has some of Mark Kermode’s very best review rants.  The one on Transformers 3 is absolutely hilarious!  http://magnoliaforever.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/the-very-best-of-the-good-doctor/

Dan at Public Transportation Snob has an interesting top 5 of Tom Hanks performances http://www.ptsnob.com/2012/07/top-5-tom-hanks-performances.html

There must be something in the water.  After I bemoaned modern marketing over at Filmoria the other day, I found this excellent essay from The Movie Blog http://them0vieblog.com/2012/07/13/do-we-see-too-much-of-film-before-its-released-these-days/

HAPPY READING EVERYBODY!!!!  This time next week, I'll be preparing for my wedding so if I go a bit quiet this week and then for another couple of weeks, please don't shun me!

Is Modern Marketing Ruining the Movie Experience?

Here's a taster of my new article for Filmoria.  Head here to check it out!

'This isn’t about the thrill of seeing a new trailer in a darkened theatre. This isn’t even about viral marketing or crappy merchandise. This is about the studios bloated marketing departments and their endless deluge of trailers, TV spots, clips, featurettes and posters that recycle much of the same material but also show us half of the bleeding film before we’ve even paid for a ticket!'

Please head on over to Filmoria to read the rest!  And don't even get me started on this fucking poster!

2012 Releases Ranked: Part 1

We are half way through 2012 and so far, the planet is still here, the human race still exists and the cinema has been glorious!  Time to celebrate in the first of a two part post.  I have seen only 19 films that have been released in UK cinemas in 2012 so far.  Unfortunately the cinema continues to be too expensive and the lure of the Lovefilm rental service keeps me firmly planted on my sofa for most of my film watching.

So please pop back tomorrow for the top ten 2012 releases I have seen so far this year.  Here are the bottom nine and please bear in mind, even the worst is a 5 out of 10 in my opinion!  If you want to read anything I said about any of these, please click the title.

19. American Reunion 5/10

18. Like Crazy 5/10

17. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen 6/10

16. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 6/10

15. Friends with Kids 6/10

14. Martha Marcy May Marlene 7/10

13. Coriolanus 7/10

12.  Avengers Assemble 7/10

11. Sound of My Voice 7/10

What ten films could possibly be better than Avengers I hear you scream through gritted teeth?  Unless you think I'm completely insane, please swing by tomorrow to find out!  And feel free to let me know why any of these actually deserves a place in the hallowed grounds of my top 10 or on the other hand how right I am for casting these foul urchins out into the cold wasteland of the bottom 9.

Avengers and Prometheus: Worldwide Distribution Madness!

 North American readers... ever wondered why the hell you're suddenly getting huge Blockbuster films like Avengers and Prometheus released later than the rest of the world?

Readers from the rest of the world... have you been wondering why here in Europe and elsewhere, we are being blessed with earlier release dates all of a sudden?

Well I've done some digging and come up with something resembling answers.  After first getting the chance to see Avengers on the big screen a full week before the Americans, I began wondering just what the hell was going on with the distribution plan of this most anticipated of blockbusters.  And then I find out we're getting Prometheus similarly early. 

My first thought was that staggered distribution is beneficial as the studios can fly the talent out to premieres and press junkets in many different parts of the world and they can essentially follow the release of the film, promoting it as they go.  But why not start with the USA as always used to be the case?  And also isn't this good for pirates?  Won't shoddy filmed copies from one country end up on street corners of some other country as soon as the film first gets shown on a big screen.  I'm pretty sure this was the case when I stupidly purchased a dodgy copy of Alien VS Predator in Malaysia.  The whooping, cheering and general enthusiasm of the audience watching the film on my dodgy copy meant it must have come from America!  (I mean that as a compliment!)

The point is it's not just down to staggered distribution patterns as these have been happening for years and America always got their big blockbusters first followed by the rest of the world.  So what's happened now to cause this (quite frankly) AWESOME shift in distribution tactics?

Rolling Stone report: 'It's somewhat unusual for a major commercial film like The Avengers to open abroad ahead of its U.S. release, but in this case, it may have worked in the film's favor. Given that American grosses for superhero movies typically dwarf international grosses, it looks like The Avengers will be a massive domestic hit.'

So the idea may be to get international audiences to be more excited about the film if they see it first.  As the international market is so huge, a film needs to get a fair shot at it and if it does not do well domestically, it may be less likely to gain success elsewhere.

The Hollywood Reporter said: 'Avengers posted the biggest opening day ever in New Zealand, earning $800,000. The film also bowed to $2.9 million in France and an even stronger $3.7 million in Italy -- the second-biggest opening day for Disney and the second-best for a Marvel title. All told, Joss Whedon's film earned an eye-popping $17.1 million from only 10 markets... Avengers, which is beginning its foreign rollout a week ahead of its domestic launch May 4, likewise enjoyed a record start in Taiwan, scoring the best opening gross of all time with $1.2 million. And it scored the second-highest opening day in the Philippines, grossing $1.3 million'

 

Seems like the early release in these foreign markets definitely had some impact.  These are huge numbers and the studios are no doubt licking their lips at the extra money rolling in from what they once saw as an opportunity for a little extra money after cleaning up at the domestic box office!  After the recent success of films like Titanic 3D in China, Hollywood are going to be increasingly paying attention to ways they can increase their revenue from all us suckers for American product that live outside their borders.

 

 

Bob Mondello writes: 'Hollywood studios have started premiering big films overseas before they come to the United States, and Battleship is a prime example of this practice: It first hoisted anchor six weeks ago in Japan, then cruised into Europe a week later. Soon after, it steamed into Russia and Pakistan, and has since docked in every movie port of call on the planet except the U.S., Canada and Paraguay... The Amazing Spider-Man will amaze Japan and New Zealand five days before it amazes the U.S. And if you positively can't wait to see Ridley Scott's prequel to Alien, Prometheus, you'll want to book a flight to Europe. Prometheus will open a week early in Europe to get ahead of soccer's Eurocup finals, which the studio figures will be a huge distraction to young males, the film's target audience.'

 

This is a fascinating article and just click on Mondello's name above to read more.  It is particularly interesting to note the consideration of football in the release pattern.  Is this solely the reason behind Prometheus' early UK release?  I can't quite believe it but I'm very interested in seeing how this develops in the future.  Just as long as the studios don't start delaying the UK release of films because they think we're all a bunch of football mad nutters who run around with shaved heads, flags painted on our faces and beating each other senseless because 'our' boys lost or beat another team.

 

What do you think dear international readers?  Should I just keep my mouth shut and enjoy the early releases in the UK?  American readers... is this pissing you off?  Sound off below!

Delayed Movies of May

It's the 5th of June already and I haven't posted my list of movies that I watched in May.  The reason for my tardiness is that I had a horrible bout of Gastroenteritis and then fortunately that went away just in the nick of time for a weekend of camping out in the miserable English weather for my stag-do!  It is the Queen's Jubilee here which means I have two extra days of recovery.  God Save the Queen!

Normally I split my monthly post into two seperate lists of the worst films and the best films of the month.  But due to starting season 4 of Dexter, I only got through fourteen films in May.  Without further ado, here is my ranking:

14. Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes (Jude Gerard Prest, 2011)

Found footage style fake documentary about a possessed girl in 70s Germany.  Documentary crew and medical team spend 16 days with priests investigating what is behind the young girl’s ‘fits’.

Fuck all to like about this film.  Unoriginal, ugly, boring and not even remotely scary.  Tries to steal every great moment from The Exorcist and fails to make a single one work:  Girl pisses on floor.  Spider walks down stairs.  Forces priest into sexual act.  Makes bed shake.  All captured by the cameras of the crew present at the exorcism.  None of it works.  Absolutely dreadful.  Appalling accents, acting and staging.  One of the worst films I’ve ever seen.  I can’t even write proper sentences about it.

13. Kicking and Screaming (Jesse Dylan, 2005)

The one where Will Ferrell coaches a kids' soccer team.  Loved it anytime Ferrell is let off the leash, especially on coffee.  Much better than Ferrell’s basketball movie Semi-Pro and probably equal with Blades of Glory, but no competition with Talladega Nights.

12. American Reunion (Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, 2012)

While it’s great to see the guys again, the brief cameos from the rest of the crowd and most of all, Jim’s Dad and Stifler’s Mum getting high together, the script is lazy and misogynistic and just not that funny.

11. Flash Point (Wilson Yip, 2007)

This is totally worth while watching for the final fight scene.  The rest is pretty formulaic and unmemorable.  Just standard cop action thriller stuff.  But when the guns get emptied and the hero and villain have only their hands and feet to fight with, this is exceptional stuff!

10. Faster (George Tillman Jr., 2011)

This had pretty close to fascinating characters for an action flick.  However there is a bit of a lack of decent action considering the title and the set up.  Fails to get the pulse racing but spends plenty of time introducing a bunch of quite weird and definitely interesting characters.

9. The Ref (Ted Demme, 1994)

Denis Leary is a bit subdued here but it’s unsurprising considering the cast of characters he is surrounded by.  Criminal on the run takes dysfunctional family hostage and chaos ensues.  Pretty forgettable unfortunately since I'd been kind of waiting to see this ever since it first came out in '94.

8. Fright Night (Craig Gillespie, 2011)

Fun take on vampires with very likeable turns from Colin Farell, David Tenant and Anton Yelchin.  It’s not scary, just mildly entertaining. 

7. Avengers Assemble (Joss Whedon, 2012)

Marvel’s Avengers team up to take out Loki and his army before they enslave the Earth.

The iconic characters get dressed up for a spectacular but hardly pulse pounding action climax.  Ruffalo steals the show as the latest incarnation of Bruce Banner.  It’s all a bit silly and slow to start and lacking in any sense of tension as we all know all these characters will survive and how the film will end.  Oh except one character that I personally couldn’t care less about.

6. Following (Christopher Nolan, 1999)

Christopher Nolan’s feature debut about a man who likes to follow people and becomes embroiled with a thief.

It is a pleasure to see lots of Nolan’s trademarks in their embryonic phase;  a mysterious thief called Cobb, a non-linear, confusing but rewarding narrative puzzle and a Batman symbol on a character’s door.  On the other hand, it did have a bit of dodgy acting though.

5. TrollHunter (Andre Ovredal, 2011)

Documentary team find out there is much more than just bears that need hunting in Norway.

Finally a found footage movie that’s not shit!  The camera operators aren’t completely hopeless so the cinematography is actually quite nice in places.  Great end and a unique original story well told with some cool special effects and use of night vision.  The titular troll hunter is an interesting anti-hero with a bit of depth to the character.  It’s more comedy than horror but unfortunately it’s not remotely scary and it’s not that funny.

 

4. The Ice Storm (Ang Lee, 1997)

 This 70s set family drama revolves around sex, desire, sadness and shame.  A fantastic ensemble get some interesting if not overly memorable characters to dig into but it all takes a little turn for the melodramatic come the end.  Still, it’s very well acted and has some brilliantly awkward moments.

3. Crazy Heart (Scott Cooper, 2009)

This tale of a country and western singer living life at the bottom of a bottle is worth catching for a heartbreaking and brilliant performance from Jeff Bridges alone.  Maggie Gyllenhaal also excels as the love interest in a simple, straight forward but perfectly acted piece of character-driven cinema.

2. Into the Abyss (Werner Herzog, 2012)

Documentary on death row that explores the crime, the victims’ families and the killers themselves.  I loved Herzog’s voice, accent and deeply odd questioning of his subjects.  Despite Herzog proclaiming at the start that he is anti-death penalty, this is not at all preachy and completely leaves the viewer able to make up their own mind.

Didn’t love how it occasionally feels as though Herzog is deliberately and clearly pushing his subjects to provoke emotional responses.

1. This Film is Not Yet Rated (Kirby Dick, 2006)

This documentary on film censorship in America investigates the strange secrecy that surrounds the MPAA.  It explores the violence vs sex debate and whether the MPAA is actually homophobic and out-of-touch with public views.  It might go a little far in the investigative side of things, bordering on invasion of privacy but nevertheless it is an important and thoughtful documentary that made me very grateful to live in England where the BBFC are at least very open about their policy and decisions. 

What did you love/hate this month?  What do you think of any of these films?  Thanks for stopping by!